Daily roundup 11 September: Playgrounds, fire safety, and fast food

Thousands of children are using playgrounds near to roads with illegal levels of pollution, according to new analysis. The Telegraph reports that more than 950 schools are near roads that have from harmful levels of illegal pollution. The findings come from an assessment for environmental law charity ClientEarth of latest government data.


The government must ensure schools are safe from fires with all new and refurbished school buildings fitted with fire sprinklers, the National Education Union, National Association of Head Teachers and Association of School & College Leaders have said. The three unions have published joint guidance for school leaders on fire risk assessments in schools in light of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. 


Children who live near fast food outlets are more likely to gain weight compared with those living farther away, new research suggests. The Guardian reports that researchers from the University of the West of England tracked the weight of more than 1,500 state primary school pupils aged four to 11. The study found children living closer to fast food outlets were more likely to gain a significant amount of weight between the first and last year of primary school.


Pupils in East Sussex will benefit from a £250,000 funding boost aimed at raising teaching standards, improving attendance and reducing exclusions in secondary schools. East Sussex County Council said the money will be used to set up a Secondary Inclusion Partnership, which will see county schools working together, and with providers from outside the area, to share support and expertise.


A doctor who gave sex-change hormones to children as young as 12 has been stopped from working in that specialist area by the General Medical Council. WalesOnline reports that Abergavenny-based GP Dr Helen Webberley started to treat children who wanted to change sex from a private gender clinic she set up from her home. Webberley prescribed a number of child patients with a hormone treatment, which causes permanent body changes and is said to compromise fertility. Under NHS guidelines the treatment is not allowed for children.


One of Britain's biggest children's charities made a series of secret compensation payments to child sex victims abused in its care. The Telegraph reports that The Children's Society has admitted that dozens of vulnerable children were sexually assaulted while they were residents in the homes it ran. The charity has issued an apology to children in its care who suffered harm and abuse.