Daily roundup 12 January: Zahawi visit, Medway trial, Greening

Nadhim Zahawi met with children's social workers on his first outing as children's minister. The Stratford Observer reports that Zahawi, who was made parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Education earlier this week, visited staff at Hackney Council alongside chief children's social worker Isabelle Trowler.


A team leader at a youth jail would play a "game" with inmates that left them unable to breathe, a jury has heard. The BBC reports that Maidstone Crown Court heard that Anthony Dance, of Hailsham, would place his arm under teenagers' necks and bend them over until they tapped him to stop. Dance is one of four members of staff at Medway Secure Training Centre in Kent on trial accused of misconduct in judicial or public office. All four deny the charges.


A former adviser to Prime Minister Theresa May has sparked criticism for a newspaper article attacking ex-education secretary Justine Greening. The BBC reports that Nick Timothy said Greening, who resigned during this week's cabinet reshuffle, had resisted planned government reforms. Former universities minister Jo Johnson dismissed the claims, stating that Greening had been "faultlessly loyal".


Nearly one in three children's homes in the West Midlands has been flagged by Ofsted as performing badly. The Birmingham Mail reports that latest figures from the inspectorate show that 30 per cent of all children's homes in the region were rated poorly during their last inspection. In total 22 of the 98 homes in the area were rated as "requires improvement", and seven of them were judged to be "inadequate".


A company set up to run children's services in Sunderland, Together for Children, is set to receive an additional £4m in funding. The Sunderland Echo reports that the company is forecasting a budget shortfall of £5.7m this year primarily as a result of increased numbers of looked-after children, and the continued use of agency social workers.


Kate Middleton made a surprise visit to a national conference on children's mental health yesterday. The Mirror reports that the Duchess of Cambridge joined delegates during a coffee break at the event run by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, for which she is patron.