Daily roundup 25 February: Domestic violence, family debt, and taser use

Domestic abuse victims and their children live with abuse for an average of 2.7 years before acting on it, according to a database study by charity SafeLives. It claims an estimated 130,000 children in the UK live with domestic violence, with children harmed in 62 per cent of cases, the Guardian reports. Additionally, the study found that in about a quarter of domestic abuse cases, the victim has a child under three-years-old.


Expensive school uniforms force families into debt or to cut back on basics, a report by the Children’s Society has warned. According to Sky News, the findings are based on a poll of 1,000 parents, which revealed 95 per cent thought uniform costs were “unreasonable”.  Lily Caprani, of the Children’s Society said: “It’s time for the government to introduce legally binding rules to stop schools from making parents pay over the odds for items available only at specialist shops.”


More than 400 children have had tasers drawn on them by police in England and Wales in 2013, figures obtained by the BBC show. The Home Office taser database shows a 38 per cent increase on 2012 in the number of children who had a taser aimed at them. Tasers were fired 37 times at 10 to 17-year-olds. The figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show the youngest person to have a taser aimed at them was 11, while the youngest person fired on was 14.


The Children’s Partnership – the children’s voluntary sector strategic partner to the Department for Education – has produced a guide clarifying the role charities can play in the commissioning process, and how they can provide extra social value to public sector contracts. The Social Value and Commissioning Toolkit charts how the commissioning landscape is changing, with charities and social enterprises playing a greater role in the design and delivery of public services.


Young people involved on Coram’s peer network The Adoptables have helped design a new section of First4Adoption’s website. Their “Top 10 Tips” for prospective adopters give the young people’s perspective on a range of issues including the value of adoption and how best to tell a child that she or he is adopted. First4Adoption gives people advice and information about the adoption process.


A new interactive guide developed by charity Together for Short Lives, helps schools, further education and early years providers implement the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms for children with life-limiting conditions. The downloadable pdf resource is aimed at governors, head teachers, SEN co-ordinators, classroom teachers, teaching assistants and school nurses with the support they need to be able to work with children who need palliative care. It can be accessed via the Together SEND online hub.


The current student loan system is unsustainable, according to Nicholas Barr of the London School of Economics. Graduates begin repayments once they are earning more than £21,000, but Barr believes the system is costing the taxpayer too much. He has suggested students begin paying loans back once they earn £18,000 or at the very least ensuring the current system is not linked to inflation, the Daily Mail reports.