Daily roundup 11 April: Loneliness, prosthetics, and baseline assessments

Young adults are more likely to feel lonely than older age groups, a study by the Office for National Statistics has found. The BBC reports that the research found that almost 10 per cent of people aged between 16 and 24 were "always or often" lonely - the highest proportion of any age group. This was more than three times higher than people aged 65 and older. Researchers said that older people might become more "resilient" to worries about loneliness.


Children with limb loss will benefit from a further £1.5m investment into sports and activity prosthetics. The Department of Health and Social Care is the next stage of a government fund that has supported 220 disabled children since its launch in March 2016. The fund will also support research and innovation to improve prosthetic technology.


Assessments to measure the progress pupils make from the very start of primary school are set to be designed and delivered by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), the Department for Education has announced. Schools minister Nick Gibb said the assessments will ensure that schools are recognised for getting the best outcomes for their pupils and that teachers receive credit for their hard work during the initial years of education.


The Welsh Government has announced a new £1.7m grant to fund new play areas across Wales. ITV News reports that the grant will have a particular focus on increasing accessibility for disabled children. Wales was the first country in the world to legislate for play. Under The Children and Families Measure 2010, local authorities have a duty to assess for and secure sufficient play opportunities for children in their areas.


Almost half (49 per cent) of education staff say secondary school pupils have been suicidal because of stress, according to a survey by the National Education Union (NEU). The NEU survey of 730 education staff working in early years, primary, secondary, sixth-form colleges and FE colleges found that 45 per cent reported pupils having eating disorders, and 48 per cent said pupils were having panic attacks.