Daily roundup 13 March: Happiness lessons, knives, and child refugees

Eight-year-old children will be given lessons on happiness and teenagers will be instructed on combating anxiety and suicidal thoughts under government projects due to be trialled. The Observer reports that the Department for Education is inviting bidders for multimillion-pound contracts to offer mental health training in more than 200 schools.


The number of children carrying knives in London's schools has doubled in the last five years, it has emerged. The Evening Standard reports that statistics released by the Met police show that the number of pupils caught in possession of knives in schools has risen for a fifth successive year, with 299 students found with knives in 2016, compared with 236 in 2015 and 203 in 2014. In 2011, there were 152 children caught carrying knives in schools.


The Home Office turned down repeated offers from fostering agencies that would have allowed up to 100 child refugees a week to be given sanctuary in Britain, according to the chief executive of the UK's largest fostering and adoption charity. The Observer reports that Andy Elvin, chief executive of Tact Care, said that a series of meetings was held involving Home Office officials, the Department for Education and foster organisations between September 2015 and 7 June 2016, which looked at solutions to the transfer of child refugees from Europe.


A poverty charity has warned of the consequences of upcoming changes to the provision of housing support for young adults. From next month, young people aged 18 to 21 who make a new claim for Universal Credit and who are out of work will not be automatically entitled to housing support. Turn2us said this is going to leave some young people even more vulnerable to homelessness.


The first public session of a joint inquiry by the health and education select committees into the role of education in children and young people's mental health will be held tomorrow. The committees will consider the co-ordination between health and education services, the success of early intervention and prevention in schools and colleges and the impact of budget pressures.