Daily roundup 12 December: Sexual harassment, online protection and care applications

Research has found that more than a third of girls have been sexually harassed in mixed-sex schools. A report by the National Education Union and UK Feminista has revealed that sexist language and gender stereotyping are typical features of school culture, contributing to a climate in which sexual harassment is commonplace. The study has found that 66 per cent of female students and 37 per cent of male students have experienced or witnessed the use of sexist language.


Children will be given extra protection online the government has said. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has announced that an amendment will be made to the Data Protection Bill which will require the Information Commissioner's Office to produce a statutory code of practice on age-appropriate website design and privacy for children under the age of 16. It will also ensure that websites and apps must be designed to make clear what personal data of children is being collected, how it is being used, and how both children and parents can stay in control of this data.


The number of care applications in November 2017 fell five per cent compared with the same month in 2016. Latest figures from Cafcass show that in November 2017, 1,228 care applications were received, the second highest monthly total for November on record, yet lower than 1,294 in November 2016. So far this year, the number of care applications received by Cafcass is 9,584.


About half a million children and young people gamble every week, a Gambling Commission survey set to be released today will show. The BBC reports that the regulator has warned that children as young as 11 are using so-called skin betting websites, which let players gamble with virtual items as currency. The items won can often be sold and turned back into real money.


Portraying fathers as incompetent in children's books is sex discrimination and should be banned, a think-tank has claimed. The Daily Mail reports that the Fatherhood Institute, a charity that advocates a more active role for fathers, said any stories showing men to be ham-fisted when it comes to domestic work should be re-written.


Fewer children than ever are writing letters to Father Christmas as the tradition is replaced by email, the head of a literacy charity has warned. The Telegraph reports that the centuries-old custom is a valuable part of childhood and is "paramount to a child's development", Matthew Hickey, chief executive of the Children's Literacy Charity, said.