Daily roundup 12 April: Care applications, Ayeeshia Smith, and gender identity

A total of 1,221 applications for children to be taken into care were made to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) in March 2016, statistics show. The figure represents a 14 per cent increase on the same month last year, when a total of 1,070 care applications were made. Between April 2015 and March 2016 Cafcass received a total of 12,741 applications – 14 per cent higher than the previous financial year, when 11,159 applications were received.


A 23-year-old mother has been told she will serve a minimum of 24 years in prison after being convicted of killing her 21-month-old daughter. The Telegraph reports Kathryn Smith has been convicted of killing daughter Ayeeshia Smith in a “brutal and sustained attack”.    


The number of young people referred to England’s only gender identity clinic for under-18s has doubled in the past year, figures have revealed. The BBC reports there were 1,398 referrals made to London’s Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust last year compared with 697 in 2014/15.?


A charity that supports bereaved families has demanded the government investigates the way deaths of young people in mental health units are recorded. The BBC reports research by Inquest suggests at least nine young people have died in England as inpatients since 2010.


Nearly a quarter of children and young people who go to mental health services for help are turned away, research has revealed. The Guardian reports that a report by think-tank CentreForum showed mental healthcare providers refused to treat an average 23 per cent of under-18s referred to them by GPs, teachers, parents and others.?


More than 200 children across North Lincolnshire needed hospital treatment to have their decaying teeth removed between April 2014 and March 2015, data shows. The Scunthorpe Telegraph reports the data released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre revealed 215 children aged 10 and under were admitted to hospital for acute treatment of tooth decay. ?