Daily roundup 17 October: Free school meals, whistleblowing, and asylum seekers

Schools minister David Laws has written to councils inviting them to bid for extra funding to deliver free schools meals. The Department for Education has made an additional £20m available to help schools enhance kitchen and dining facilities.


New figures show that an increasing number of academy and free school staff are calling whistleblowing helplines to report problems because they do not know how else to raise the alarm. The Independent reports that whistleblowing charity Public Concern at Work received 1,910 calls from teachers in 2013 compared with 1,632 in 2012.


Head teachers are calling for extra vigilance after claiming that adult asylum seekers pretending to be children are being placed in secondary schools alongside pupils as young as 11. The Daily Mail reports that head teachers at schools in Kent are worried about the safety of children after finding that 21-year-olds have been placed in their schools after lying about their age.


Voluntary and community groups supporting children and young people with mental health problems are being invited to bid for shares of a new £25m fund. The Department for Education has launched the fund as part of efforts to improve mental health provision for children and young people.


Children’s centres staff in Warrington are at risk of losing their jobs after the council approved plans to reduce the service. The Warrington Guardian reports that five centres will be decommissioned and services scaled back as part of plans to save £238,000.


Half of areas that score worst for child poverty levels are in London, a study has found. The BBC reports that a child poverty map of the UK, published by campaign group End Child Poverty showed that 10 of the top 20 constituencies with the highest child poverty rates were in London. Glasgow was the worst-affected area in Scotland.