Daily roundup 5 July: Baby health, academy trust, and serious case reviews

Almost one in 500 babies born in hospitals in England is dependent on substances their mother took while pregnant, a BBC Look investigation has found. The BBC reports that neonatal abstinence syndrome, caused by women taking legal and illegal drugs while pregnant, was present in an average of 0.2 per cent of babies born.


An academy trust running a school faces closure after the Department for Education threatened to withdraw funding unless it changes the way it is run by the end of the month. The Times reports that the Durand Academy Trust is at risk of having all of its funding withdrawn, and that its complex financial and governance models have long caused concern with DfE officials.


The Department for Education has published analysis of issues emerging from serious case reviews between 2011 and 2014. Pathways to harm, pathways to protection: a triennial analysis of serious case reviews assesses 293 reviews carried out by local safeguarding children's boards over the three-year period identifying trends in findings. The report, compiled by academics at the universities of Warwick and East Anglia, also looks at learnings over the previous decade.


Just over half of 11-year-olds met the new, tougher expected standards for reading, writing and maths this year. The BBC reports that this compares to 80 per cent of pupils who met the required standard in reading, writing and maths last year under the previous system.


The family of murdered schoolgirl Alice Gross have called for more restrictions on the movement of known criminals though Europe. An inquest into Alice's death found the 14-year-old was "unlawfully killed" in a sexually-motivated attack in 2014. During the inquest the coroner heard that despite having a previous murder conviction, the suspected killer Arnis Zalkalns, who was discovered hanged days after Alice's body was found, was able to move to Britain because of a lack of basic border security, reports the Express.


The Duke of Cambridge has urged everyone to challenge bullying behaviour in a video message recorded for National Stand Up To Bullying Day. In the message, the Duke warns that bullying is not just confined to the school playground and can affect anyone regardless of age, background, gender, sexuality, race, disability or religion. Today (5 July), is the first ever National Stand Up To Bullying Day, which is backed by charity The Diana Award, reports ITV news.