Daily roundup 12 February: Kids Company, nursery death and free milk

Former chief executive of children's charity Kids Company Camila Batmanghelidjh has denied claims she "mesmerised" Prime Minister David Cameron to gain funding for the charity. The BBC reports that Batmanghelidjh told Radio 4's Woman's Hour that she presented robust arguments to the government for additional funding.


The parents of a toddler who choked to death on a jelly cube while at nursery have called for the setting to close after it admitted breaching health and safety rules. The Evening Standard reports that the parents of 22-month-old Tiya Chauhan have called on Ofsted to shut the nursery down.


The government will consider bringing free milk back into schools in a bid to boost the health of children, education minister Lord Nash has said. The Telegraph reports that Nash said he would take the idea back to government after Conservative peer Lord Lexden called for its reintroduction.


There is one nursery teacher for every 84 children in pre-school settings in Scotland, a study has revealed. The Herald Scotsman reports that there has been a 30 per cent reduction in nursery teachers in the past 10 years, but only a four per cent drop in children.
 

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has written to three head teachers to praise them for their exceptional leadership in supporting other schools to improve. According to Ofsted the letters are the first to be issued as part of a new initiative to recognise exceptional system leadership.


A group of mothers have launched a £1.5m campaign to build an adventure play park in Portsmouth. The Portsmouth News reports that the group of eight mothers now need to raise the money needed to the achieve charitable status so they can apply for grants.