Daily roundup 18 February: School expansion, teenage fathers and care decision

The Prime Minister has said he approves of good school’s being able to expand, which includes grammar schools, the Times reports. David Cameron’s support comes as Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan faces a decision as to whether an existing grammar school should be able to expand to a separate site. Cameron said: “That’s a decision for the Education Secretary to make. But the principle is very clear: good schools should have the freedom to expand.”


Babies have a higher risk of autism and schizophrenia if born to teenage fathers, researchers have suggested. The study by the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Forensic Genetics in Munster claims children could be more prone to conditions caused by genetic mutation because adolescent boys have more “copying errors” in their sperm cells. According to the Times, the findings change previous thoughts that boys have lower mutation rates in their reproductive cells than adult fathers.


The country's most senior family judge has criticised senior social workers after a child was placed in foster care because of concerns over the father’s link to far-right political group the English Defence League. The Daily Mail reports that Sir James Munby ordered the child to be returned to the father and warned social workers against the “risk of social engineering”.


A council leader who failed to tackle grooming should use her redundancy money to pay towards facilities so it doesn’t happen again, an abuse victim has said. Joanna Simons will receive a £600,000 redundancy after agreeing to leave Oxfordshire County Council ahead of a report on the sex grooming case, which is supposed to be highly critical. The Daily Mail reports that the victim has criticised the council's decision.


One in 10 Doncaster schools are over capacity, according to The Star. This year, 35 of the borough’s 121 schools were oversubscribed with more pupils than it intended to accommodate. Teachers’ unions have expressed fears that pupils could struggle to enter their first choice schools.


Funding of £90,000 will provide a major boost to voter registration among young people, according to UK Youth. The money will be used to develop a toolkit for youth workers and volunteers to help young people re-engage with democracy.