Daily roundup 12 May: Care applications, sentencing guidelines and serious case review

The number of applications for children to be taken into the care system in England has risen again. Figures published by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) show that a total of 1,221 applications for children to be taken into care were made in April 2016. The figure represents a 28 per cent increase on the same month last year, when a total of 956 care applications were made. ?


?New guidance on the sentencing of youth offenders has been published by the Sentencing Council. Its proposals come in two parts - the overall approach courts should take when sentencing young offenders aged 10 to 17 and draft sentencing guidelines. It aims to provide judges and magistrates with up-to-date guidance that will help ensure consistency in sentencing in England and Wales.? A consultation will run until 3 August.


Courts and social services “let down” a four-year-old girl who was found beaten to death by her father nearly a year after concerns were first raised, a serious case review (SCR) has found. The Daily Mail reports that Carl Wheatley, 31, was last year jailed for 21 years for killing his daughter Alexa-Marie Quinn, who was found with 66 injuries on her body after he subjected her to a tortuous 10-day battering. An SCR that the courts and social services in Hertfordshire had seven major opportunities to intervene when serious concerns were raised, but no action was taken.


Almost half (48 per cent) of low-income households are not claiming the welfare benefits and tax credits they could be entitled to, research has found. Research carried out by national charity Turn2us found that 40 per cent of those with children said they had been deterred from checking or claiming potential benefits entitlements because they did not think they would be eligible.?


The head of a flagship multi-academy trust has resigned, leaving the future of its five schools uncertain. The BBC reports Liam Nolan, chief executive of Birmingham’s Perry Beeches Academy Trust, is stepping aside so the trust “can move forward”.? The Education Funding Agency criticised the trust in March for "significant weakness in financial management".