Daily roundup: School places, mental health, and troubled families

Scorecards that measure the number of school places created and needed across England have been published by the Department for Education. The statistics show that local authorities are generally doing well to create the required number of school places – 90 per cent of the new places needed for 2015 are either already in place or plans are under way to secure the final 10 per cent.

Mental health problems among staff in education settings are on the increase according to a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. A study of more 900 education staff found that a third (38 per cent) of school and college staff have noticed a rise in mental health problems among colleagues in the past two years.

Reading has reached its target for the number of troubled families it has to turn around by 2015. The Reading Post reports that the council successfully helped 117 families between April 2012 and February 2014. The achievement means the authority has beaten the targets it set itself at the start of the Department for Communities and Local Government-funded programme by 30 per cent.

Plans to axe £1m from young people’s services in Devon, which place 34 youth centres at risk, could lead to an increase in youth crime, it has been warned. The Exmouth Journal reports that East and Mid Devon Community Partnership – a group of agencies that work together to try and reduce crime and disorder in the district – believe a lack of positive activities will leave young people at a “loose end”.

Working mothers do not feel guilty about leaving their child during the day. The Telegraph reports that a survey by Mumsnet found that of the 900 mothers polled, almost half (48 per cent) said that having a paid job made them happier. Only 13 per cent of working mothers said they felt guilty about spending time away from their children.

A pioneering project to improve foster care services for vulnerable children has been praised by Ofsted. The Huddersfield Daily Examiner reports that Kirklees Council has doubled the number of local foster carers it has recruited while also cutting the time it takes for new foster carers to be approved.