Daily roundup 6 February: Foster carers, child abuse, and Rotherham

More than 8,000 new foster families are needed across the UK this year, according to figures released from The Fostering Network. With a rising number of children coming into care, and around 13 per cent of foster carers retiring or leaving the service last year, the network said there is a need to not only recruit more foster carers but also better utilise the current pool of carers. More foster families are particularly needed to provide homes for teenagers, children with disabilities and sibling groups, it added.


More than 45 men have been charged with a wide range of sex crimes against vulnerable girls. The Daily Mail reports an operation by Northumbria Police saw 20 suspects appear in court over crimes including rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking, while a separate case saw 25 men from Halifax charged with various historic and child-related sex offences. Police leading one investigation have warned far-rights groups may stir up racial tension because almost all men in both cases are from Asian backgrounds.


A petition has been set up calling for former Rotherham Council director of children’s services Joyce Thacker and other council staff to be investigated by police over failings linked to the child sexual exploitation scandal in the town, reports the Barnsley Star. The petition, addressed to South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Alan Billings and Home Secretary Teresa May, said: “The people responsible for lack of action which has allowed thousands of girls in Rotherham to be groomed and raped cannot simply resign and escape." It added that Thacker, former PCC for the area Shaun Wright and former council chief executive Martin Kimber "must be properly investigated and prosecuted if found guilty of offences”.  


The Federation of Detached Youth Work has set up a survey to gauge the current state of detached youth work and street work in the UK. Developing a greater understanding of the current context for practitioners is important to preserve the practice, the federation said. It hopes the 10-minute survey will also strengthen networks and enable closer working.


The Department for Education has allocated £300,000 of funding to help get more young disabled people into playing sport. Youth Sport Trust will manage the Project Ability programme to organise Paralympic athlete visits and to deliver specialist training to teachers. The programme enables 49 schools to act as centres of excellence for disability sport in their region.
 

Angry parents protested outside a primary school in Stirling, Scotland after it emerged that an 11-year-old girl had been charged with sex offences. The Mirror reports that dozens of pupils were pulled out of school by their worried parents.