Daily roundup 15 November: Nursery safety, serious case review, and witchcraft

Television show Good Morning Britain has come in for criticism after broadcasting an investigation into the quality of care at nurseries. The breakfast show said the investigation found shocking levels of care and resulted in the closure of one nursery rated "good" by Ofsted. Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said he was "frustrated and disappointed" by the coverage, adding that there is "a big difference between raising specific concerns about the practices of a single provider and suggesting that there are low standards of care across the whole sector".


A serious case review into the death of a three month-old baby who was shaken by his father has highlighted missed opportunities to intervene. The BBC reports that the review by Doncaster Safeguarding Children Board highlighted a "lack of curiosity by professionals" in what was happening within the family and information was not shared.


Hundreds of children each year are beaten, starved and reviled by their own families after being branded a witch or as possessed by evil spirits but only a fraction of the cases are identified, it has been claimed. The Mirror reports that figures released by the Metropolitan Police in 2015 showed there were around 60 cases of faith-based abuse in the capital, but Oladapo Awosokanre, from campaign group Africans Unite Against Child Abuse, believes there are hundreds more cases across the UK each year.


Money earmarked to boost mental health provision for children in England is failing to make it to frontline services, a report has suggested. The BBC reports that the government last year pledged £1.4bn for child mental health by 2020, but a report by the Education Policy Institute's Independent Commission on Children and Young People's Mental Health claims only £75m made it to the clinical commissioning groups that pay for services last year.


Half of the fizzy drinks sold in supermarkets have more sugar in one can than an adult should consume in a day, with ginger beer the worst offender, research has found. The Guardian reports that findings published in the BMJ reveal that 55 per cent of all carbonated drinks on sale in shops contain more than 30 grams, or seven teaspoons, of sugar - the limit that everyone over the age of 11 is encouraged to stick to.


The children's commissioner for Northern Ireland has said it is not "in a child's best interests" to be involved in a paramilitary parade, after children joined a republican march in west Belfast. The Irish News reports that Koulla Yiasouma was speaking after children in berets marched to remember a teenage IRA member killed in a bomb blast 25 years ago.