The Duchess of Cambridge surprised members of a new Beaver Scouts group last night by joining them for a meeting at their base in Bow in east London. The Duchess, who is an official volunteer at The Scout Association, visited the group as part of the organisation’s Better Prepared campaign, which aims to establish Scouts groups in the 200 most disadvantaged areas of the country, and took part in a range of activities to raise disability awareness.
Taking over children's services in Rotherham and sorting out the “toxic” mess is “the most difficult job in Britain”, the man tasked with the role has claimed. The Guardian reports that Ian Thomas, who takes over as interim director of children’s services on 1 January, describes the structure of the department, which was at the centre of a child sexual exploitation scandal following the publication of a scathing report in August, as “all over the place" and "not fit for purpose”.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has earmarked £5m to improve children's "character". The Daily Mail reports that Morgan wants schools to give character-building the same weight as academic subjects, claiming that instilling resilience and "grit" in pupils was just as important as helping them achieve good grades. The £5m fund is intended to help schools offer classes and activities which foster traits such as self-control, commitment, endeavour and humour.
Schools are struggling to cope with an influx of Roma children from Eastern Europe who arrive unable to speak English, Ofsted has warned. The Daily Mail reports that, according to inspectors, schools are hampered by a lack of resources to meet the needs of new arrivals who may be unfamiliar with school routines and behaviour expectations.
The NSPCC is to manage a new confidential helpline for victims of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The BBC reports that the 24-hour support service will be available seven days a week and has been launched in response to Alexis Jay’s investigation report into abuse in the town, which was published in August.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has launched a 16-month-long project to tackle significant under-reporting of hate crime against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Great Britain. Most recent figures in England and Wales show less than 4,500 homophobic and transphobic incidents and crimes reported to police between 2012 and 2013, with just under 750 reports in Scotland.
