Daily roundup 10 August: Gloucestershire Council, family contact, and LSCB appointment

The Department for Education has appointed an adviser to oversee improvements at "inadequate"-rated Gloucestershire County Council's children's services. The appointment follows a damning Ofsted report in June that questioned the integrity of leadership at the department amid "serious and widespread failings".


Video calling technology should be made available to some prisoners so that they can stay in touch with family members unable to visit them, a review ordered by the government has suggested. The review by Lord Farmer found strong family relationships to be fundamental to reducing reoffending rates. It recommends that "virtual visits" would be appropriate for a small percentage of the prison population with relatives who cannot visit them regularly or at all, reports the Guardian.


Professor Nick Frost has been appointed chair of Calderdale Safeguarding Children Board. Frost, who is a professor of social work at Leeds Beckett University and a qualified social worker, will replace Richard Burrows, who held the position since 2013, reports the Yorkshire Post.


The proportion of pupils from low-affluence households who believe they are likely to go to university has fallen to the lowest level for the seven years, according to an Ipsos Mori poll. The survey of 2,612 academy and maintained school pupils in England and Wales aged 11 to 16 published by the Sutton Trust shows 61 per cent of disadvantaged children intend to go on to further education. The gap in likelihood between the wealthiest and poorest households is also the highest it has ever been. 


Core Assets Children's Services Group has been awarded a 12-month contract to support 30 young people in Wolverhampton at risk of offending. Core Assets will provide mentoring to 16- to 19-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training and have already offended or been identified as at risk of offending. The deal is part of Black Country Impact, which is supported by the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative.