More than 100,000 children will benefit from £1.25bn for mental health services over the next five years, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said. The announcement comes as politicians, business chiefs and showbusiness stars pledge their support to the Times' “Time to Mind” campaign, which aims to end the lack of support mental health services receive for children and young people. Additionally Clegg also revealed a £250m-a-year funding package, which will be revealed in the last budget before the general election.
The number of young British Muslims trying to join Islamic State in Syria is “on a larger scale than we envisaged”, the chairman of the home affairs select committee has said. Keith Vaz made the comment last night after three young people from Britain were stopped in Istanbul on Friday. Vaz has called on parents and local authorities to be more “vigilant”, the Express reports.
The poorest funded schools will receive £1.9m less than the best-funded schools, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has suggested. ASCL general secretary Malcolm Trove has blamed an out-dated grant system, however the Department for Education has claimed the budget for the 69 least fairly funded areas has been increased for 2015/16. According to the BBC, Trove said: “School funding is a postcode lottery.”
Andrew Johnston has been appointed as the new chief executive of The Boys' Brigade. Taking up the position this summer, Johnston will be succeeding Steve Dickinson who has held the post since 2004 and is going on to be the chief executive of The Global Fellowship of Christian Youth - the international family of uniformed Christian youth organisations of which The Boys’ Brigade is a part. Over his 30 year career, Johnston has been involved with Christian organisations, including the Methodist Church and Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The Commons education select committee is calling on the general public to say which issues related to education and children’s services should be on the agenda for the new education committee in the next parliament. Graham Stuart, chair of the committee, made the call after launching a report reviewing the work of the committee over the past five years. He said: “While we have driven real progress in areas such as the use of B&B accommodation for children in care and the reform of exams for 15 to 19 year-olds, there is still more to be done. That is why we are asking people to tweet their suggestions for key issues that our successor Committee should focus on in the next Parliament, using the hashtag #closethegap.”
The Department for Education has published a review of personal wellbeing education practices that schools can use in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons. It outlines the impact of, and best practice for, PSHE education.
