Daily roundup 11 August: Play, data breach and Kids Company

Parents are giving their children less freedom to play outside than their European counterparts, according to research. The BBC reports that England ranks seventh for child independence in Europe, following a study of 18,000 seven- to 15-year-olds by University of Westminster academics.


A social worker left children's confidential files with information linked to sex offenders on a train, it has emerged. The Mirror reports that this case is one of more than 4,000 data breaches by council workers between April 2011 and 2014.


Two of Kids Company vice-chairman's children were employed by the charity, it has emerged. The Times reports that the two children, both in their thirties, were paid a salary of almost £50,000 between them.


A 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to custody for 11 years for stabbing his teacher in class. The Guardian reports that 50-year-old supply teacher Vincent Uzomah was stabbed at Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford on 11 June following an argument about an iPhone.


The government is sharing its own database of child abuse images with net charity the Internet Watch Foundation. The BBC reports that each image has been given a unique “hash” number, which makes it traceable without being viewed, and means charity partners, such as Google and Facebook, will be able to remove images faster.


Youth services in the town of Ludlow in Shropshire could grind to a halt from September as no one has come forward to run them. The Shropshire Star reports that urgent talks are in place to find a solution to the problem, which has come after Shropshire Council laid off youth workers who ran clubs at Ludlow’s Youth Centre this summer.