Daily roundup 15 August: Child neglect, Grenfell inquiry, and children's centres

A joint targeted area inspection of safeguarding in Peterborough has highlighted the high rates of child protection plans linked to neglect. The Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection found 68 per cent of children on child protection plans were under the category of neglect, compared with the England average of 44 per cent. The report states that high levels of deprivation, diverse populations and recently-arrived families from minority ethnic communities are all contributory factors.


The public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire will examine the actions of Kensington and Chelsea Council but will not address broader questions of social housing policy, the government has said. However, the Guardian reports that Prime Minister Theresa May has stressed questions relating to social housing policy will not be seen as a lower priority.


Cambridgeshire Council is running a series of "drop in" sessions for parents to explain its proposals to close 30 of its 40 children's centres by next April, reports the Wisbech Standard. The council says the move would save £1m and ensure health and family services are better integrated. A consultation on the proposals runs until 22 September.


A study by the Institute for Public Policy Research has warned of a lack of "ethnic mixing" in the UK's universities. The study found that ethnic minority students are more likely to be concentrated in new universities in London and big cities, while white students are more likely to attend predominantly white institutions. The report, Diverse Places of Learning?, warns of "segregation" as a result of students' choices of university, the BBC reports.


A female prison officer has been jailed after taking part in phone sex with a young offender and exchanging over 850 text messages with the inmate. Chelsea Blackwell, aged 27, was sentenced to eight months in prison after she sent love letters to Emmanuel Callender-Scott, an inmate at Aylesbury Young Offender Institution, and used two mobile phones to make around 115 calls to him. A court heard that Blackwell had lost her job, reports the Express.