The former director of children’s services at Buckinghamshire County Council warned that the authority was putting vulnerable children at risk six months before Ofsted rated the department “inadequate”. The Bucks Herald reports that Sue Imbriano, who retired in September, wrote a letter to council chief executive Chris Williams warning him of safeguarding concerns in January.
Ofsted is to limit the number of no-notice school inspections it carries out due to “logistical drawbacks”. The Telegraph reports that the power will be reserved for cases where schools are suspected of teaching a narrow curriculum.
Former employees of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre have warned that failures within the organisation are leaving children at risk. The BBC reports that former staff told Newsnight that a lack of specialist staff and outdated IT systems are leaving children at risk of sexual abuse.
A new cash incentive scheme in Surrey has helped to create 280 apprenticeships for young people in six months. The scheme was launched by Surrey County Council earlier in the year as part of efforts to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training.
A Somerset inpatient-unit for children and young people with mental health conditions has reopened following a 20-month closure. The BBC reports that Wessex House, a 12-bed unit in Bridgwater, which was forced to close in March 2013 due to staff shortages, has reopened with four beds and new staff.
Plans to close a nursery with specialist resources for deaf children in Tower Hamlets have been criticised by the National Deaf Children’s Society. The charity has said closing Overland Children’s Centre, one of four nurseries earmarked for closure, would remove a vital lifeline for families and deaf children.
