Daily roundup 16 October: Male social workers, peace campaigners, and hate crime

Recruiters are targeting engineering and science graduates to attract more male social workers who can help fathers keep in touch with their children. The Telegraph reports that social work graduate programme Frontline is focusing its current recruitment efforts on degree courses like economics and the sciences as well as approaching chess and rugby clubs to get more men into the female-dominated profession.


Peace campaigners have been accused of "indoctrinating" children, after Britain's largest teaching union promoted a scheme to sell white poppies ahead of Remembrance Sunday. The Telegraph reports that the Peace Pledge Union, a pacifist organisation, will this week formally launch a new campaign for schools across the country to endorse white poppies.


Hate crimes against disabled children are rising, an investigation has discovered. The BBC reports that figures from police forces across the UK show there were 450 incidents reported last year, an increase from 181 in 2014/15. The Home Office said the rise was due to better reporting and more victims willing to come forward.


Facebook has said it will provide £1m to train for one young person in every UK secondary school so they can support children who experience cyber-bullying. The BBC reports that the firm said The "digital safety ambassador" scheme is part of its commitment to online safety.


More than 10,000 children have been forced to wait longer than the 18-week target time for specialist mental health care, new figures have shown. The Herald reports that Liberal Democrat health spokesman in Scotland, Alex Cole-Hamilton, hit out at the "atrocious waits" some young people have for treatment, saying these could be more than 600 days in some cases.