Daily roundup 27 January: Contraception, nursery closure, and social investment

Girls as young as 10 have been given a contraceptive implant by the NHS, it has emerged. A Freedom of Information request by The Telegraph found that implants have been given out nearly 10,000 times to girls under 16 in the last five years. Charities have raised concerns over the health risks.


A nursery in Oxford has been closed after claims that children were being physically abused by members of staff. The Oxford Mail reports Park Town Nursery closed permanently on January 16 following an investigation into the allegations by Ofsted.


The Children's Partnership - the children's voluntary sector strategic partner to the Department for Education - has launched a new toolkit advising charities and social enterprises on the benefits of social investment. The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Social Investment Toolkit is designed to help the sector maximise funding.


A primary school head teacher is calling for a campaign to tackle attitudes towards domestic violence in Birmingham. The Birmingham Mail reports that the call comes after the teacher found that some five-year-old children in her school view domestic violence as “normal”. Data from the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership shows that attacks in the home make up 10 per cent of all recorded crime in the West Midlands.


The GCSE exam system has changed too much since 2013 to accurately compare results, a teacher’s union has claimed. The Telegraph reports that the Association for School and College Leaders does not believe schools should be judged on a single set of exam results. New data, highlighting the GCSE and A Level performance of every secondary school in England is due to be released in a few days time.


The National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care and Children England have launched a web forum to promote debate and fresh thinking about the future of residential care commissioning. The bodies say the forum will help kick start a national debate to put children back at the centre of care commissioning. Contributions are invited from all stakeholders in children’s services, including providers, researchers, commissioners and those with personal experience of residential care.