Daily roundup 15 September: Aspiration, knife crime, and 'mosquitos'

A new Department for Education-backed initiative has been established to tackle regional divides on attainment and aspiration. South Yorkshire Futures, which is being run by Sheffield Hallam University, is a social mobility partnership focused on improving educational attainment and raising aspiration. Children's minister Robert Goodwill MP, who was present at the official launch event in Sheffield, said the initiative would create better opportunities for young people growing up in this area.


More young people are being cautioned or sentenced for carrying knives than at any time for nearly eight years, new figures have revealed. The Guardian reports that under-18s were penalised for knife possession 1,180 times from April to June, Ministry of Justice statistics show - the highest quarterly tally for that age group since the period July to September 2009.


Member of the Scottish parliament Christina McKelvie has called for a ban on a controversial "mosquito device" being used at a train station in Hamilton. The Daily Record reports that McKelvie made the call following a meeting with children's commissioner for Scotland Bruce Adamson, and chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, Amy Lee Fraioli. The device was installed after reports of antisocial behaviour and youth disorder in the area.


The education select committee has launched an inquiry into value for money in higher education. The inquiry will examine the use of graduate outcomes data, social justice and progression of disadvantaged students in higher education, and the quality of teaching across institutions. Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee, said: "Over recent months there has been increasing public attention on the costs to students and to the taxpayer of higher education. The public scrutiny of vice-chancellor pay has raised wider questions about value for money.


Sexually abused children as young as 12 could still be refused compensation by a government body on the grounds that they "consented," under revised rules. The Guardian reports that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority began a review of its guidelines earlier this year when it emerged that almost 700 child victims had been denied payments, even in cases where the attacker had been jailed. The revised guidance states that victims of child sexual abuse can still be disqualified from the scheme on the basis that "consent ‘in fact' is different from consent ‘in law'".


The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has created a website offering free end-to-end business support for nurseries and other childcare providers. The Early Years Business Zone was developed to support providers to deliver early years services for children up to the age of five. The platform is free to use, offering assessment tools, business support tailored specifically for the early years sector and a network for sharing best practice.


Children who don't care about being punished could grow up to be psychopaths and one in 100 display the warning signs, a King's College scientist has said. The Telegraph reports that Professor Stephen Scott, from the Institute of Psychiatry, said that children who displayed "callous unemotional traits" were not properly provided for by the mental health system. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Antisocial behaviour in children that is persistent and outside the normal quantity is rather un-talked about because it's rather shameful."