Daily roundup 4 February: Sex education, child abuse, and disability support

Sex education will become part of the curriculum for primary schools if Labour wins the general election, shadow Education Secretary, Tristram Hunt has said. The party thinks the move will help tackle homophobic bullying, as well as problems in later life, such as domestic violence and rape. However, the Daily Mail reports that some groups are concerned it will harm childhood innocence.


A police officer and two councillors have been accused of having sex with victims of the Rotherham child abuse scandal, the Times reports. Allegations against the police officer have been passed onto the police watchdog while complaints regarding the two councillors are understood to have been sent to the National Crime Agency.


More parents of children with autism are challenging local authorities because they feel their needs are not being met, government figures have revealed. The number of autism related appeals taken up at the special educational needs and disability tribunal in 2013/14 rose by 33 per cent to 4,069 compared to 3,602 the previous school year, the BBC reports.


Youth offending in Kirklees increased by more than in any other part of England and Wales last year. According to figures released by the Ministry of Justice there were 900 instances of youth crime in the region between April 2013 and March 2014, up by 66 per cent from the 543 in the previous 12-month period. There are around 42,000 children aged between 10 and 17 in Kirklees meaning that in 2013-14 there were 21.4 youth crimes for every 1,000 young people, reports the Huddersfield Daily Examiner.


Data obtained by the BBC has revealed Police Scotland have failed to comply to a commitment made last year in abolishing stop searches on children under the age of 12. Since then, police has searched 356 children, with 91 per cent recovering no items.