Daily roundup 18 September: Slough independent trust, Kids Company, and foster care

Slough Borough Council is bidding for £2m of Department for Education (DfE) funding to cover set-up costs for an independent trust to run children's services. The Slough Express reports that Slough Council has budgeted £25.9m for the trust, up on the current children's services budget of £21.8m. The DfE ordered the trust to be established after children's services at the authority were rated "inadequate".


A £3m public grant that was awarded to defunct charity Kids Company is to be investigated by the National Audit Office (NAO). The BBC reports the spending watchdog is to investigate why the money was awarded and how grants were monitored. The NAO will also examine other government funding given to the charity over the past decade.


A couple have been awarded £20,000 in damages from Hackney Council after it kept their eight children in foster care for two months after the expiry of a police protection order. The Guardian reports that following an allegation from one of the children of abuse, the couple's home was deemed to be not fit for children. The parents’ complaints about the handling of their case by Hackney were considered over a period of nearly six years, culminating in a final decision by the Local Government Ombudsman in April 2013.


The education select committee will quiz children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield as part of a one-off evidence session. Taking place on 28 October, the session will look into commitments set out in her recent Ambitious for Children report as well as her work on child protection and welfare.


Around 100 jobs are at risk from a proposed shake-up of children's centres in Barnsley. The Barnsley Chronicle reports that the council is required to save £2m from its budget, and is looking at ways to remodel its 19 children's centres.


Teachers should ignore boisterous children instead of telling them off, a teaching expert has said. The Telegraph reports teacher and education consultant Bill Rogers believes teachers should learn to “tactically ignore” disruptive children.