Daily roundup 14 October: Care leavers, Rotherham Council, and child poverty

One in three vulnerable young people is leaving care aged just 16 or 17, despite new polling showing the UK public believes 21 or older is the right age to move out of the family home. Action for Children, the charity behind the research, has warned that young people in the most difficult situations are not getting the right help early enough, leading to further problems arising later in life.


A culture of male-dominated bullying at Rotherham Council contributed to the town’s child sex abuse scandal, senior figures have claimed. The Yorkshire Post reports that, appearing before the communities select committee, professor Alexis Jay, whose report revealed 1,400 abuse cases were ignored, missed or overlooked in the town, said the macho environment was not an "appropriate environment" for an issue as sensitive as child exploitation to be discussed, making the issue difficult to solve.


The head teacher of a primary school has had to create an "emergency fund" to help deprived families pay for basic furniture, daily meals and bus fares for pupils to attend class. The Guardian reports that the head teacher's fund was created because increasing numbers of parents are struggling to make both ends meet and are turning to schools for help. To help fund such support schools are having to tap into the pupil premium, it adds.


New research shows that bilingual children perform better in noisy classrooms than monolingual children. The BBC reports that the research by Anglia Ruskin University demonstrates the importance of learning a second language in early childhood.


Mayor of London Boris Johnson has branded it a "disgrace" that 11 per cent of young people in London are currently not in education, employment or training. The mayor made his comments to business leaders in a speech about tackling the UK's skills shortage. Johnson said that society is failing to properly prepare young people for the reality of the jobs market and urged all businesses to do more to help, reports the Telegraph.


Seven schools in the London borough of Camden have had new sporting and play equipment installed to encourage young people to get active. The equipment has been funded by a £785,000 grant from Camden Clinical Commissioning Group and £310,000 from Camden Council. High level platforms, musical trampolines, witches’ towers and timber trails are just some of the features built in the school playgrounds.