Daily roundup 15 July: Ofsted, Syria, and food allergies

Ofsted’s Sir Michael Wilshaw has warned that "potentially high numbers of pupils" are disappearing from school registers in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets in east London. The BBC reports that the chief inspector described the situation as a "serious safeguarding issue" because it was unclear where some pupils had gone next. The Department for Education has said it will take "immediate steps".


A total of 43 UK women and girls are believed to have travelled to Syria in the past year, UK counter-terrorism chiefs say. The BBC reports that figures released by the Metropolitan Police are the first official count of British women thought to be in the warzone.


Tests to detect food allergies in children could be missing many potentially life-threatening conditions, it has been claimed. The Daily Mail reports that for every child diagnosed with an allergy via blood or skin-prick tests, another goes undiagnosed.


Children's services in Wolverhampton will lose millions of pounds as a result of new cuts planned by the council. The Express and Star reports that the council plans to save £4.3m by restructuring children's services. The controlling Labour cabinet will vote on the latest savings on 22 July.


Worcestershire County Council is spending £4m a year on agency staff to work in child protection services, it has emerged. Worcester News reports that the authority currently employs 27 frontline agency workers to work alongside an in-house cohort of 120 full-time equivalent staff.