Daily roundup 12 April: Free schools, honour-based abuse, and diets

The Department for Education has approved applications for 131 new free schools, creating more than 69,000 places. The government said the new schools will be led by high-performing institutions, including a grammar-school-led multi-academy trust and the largest state boarding school in the country.


A teachers' union has backed calls for more information and training for school staff on how to spot the signs of "honour-based abuse". The BBC reports that the Association of Teachers and Lecturers annual conference heard that some forms of abuse can go undetected because teachers are unaware that they exist. Since 2015, teachers have been required to report cases of female genital mutilation in under-18s to the police, but other abuses like "breast ironing" often slip through the net, delegates heard.


Diets that cut out dairy food could be a "ticking time bomb" for young people's bone health, a charity is warning. The BBC reports that a National Osteoporosis Society survey found that a fifth of under-25s are cutting out or reducing dairy in their diet. It said it was concerned many young adults were putting their health at risk by following eating fads.


Only one hour on social media a day is enough to reduce the happiness of children, with the effect worse for girls than boys, a new study suggests. The Daily Mail reports that researchers found the longer children spend chatting on Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram, the less happy they feel about a number of aspects of their lives.


Charities and MPs have called on the government to rescue children with links to the UK from the Dunkirk refugee camp, which was destroyed by fire on Monday night. The Mirror reports that the French camp was ravaged by a blaze overnight, leaving hundreds of people homeless. The Safe Passage project said it has identified 80 children in the camp who have relatives in the UK.