Daily roundup 2 February: Fostering, badgers, and transgender legal action

The status of fostering must be raised to give foster carers the recognition they deserve, MPs have heard. The Telegraph reports that Harriet Ward, professor of child and family research at Loughborough University told the education select committee that the increasingly complex needs of children in care mean fosterers face a tough task, often feeling unsupported and underrated.


A transgender teenager is taking legal action against his former school for discrimination. The BBC reports that Aidan, 16, who was born female, claims he was effectively excluded because Hereford Cathedral School refused to let him wear a boy's uniform.


Children who go on anti-badger-cull marche?s? could be reported to the government's anti-terror programme Prevent because teachers fear being marked down by inspectors, an MP has claimed. The Telegraph reports that conservative MP Lucy Allan, who is also a school governor at Telford Primary School, said teachers are sitting around thinking up scenarios that might justify referring a pupil.


A man groomed online and sexually abused by a string of older men when he was 13 has been denied compensation because the agency that handles claims says he "consented" to the assaults. The BBC reports that Peter, who is now 19, was abused by 21 men, two of them teachers, who all acted independently. But the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has refused Peter compensation on the grounds that he "willingly" met the men after registering on websites for over-18s.


Applications for university courses are down on last year, admissions body Ucas has said. To date, 564,190 people have applied to UK higher education courses for 2017, a decrease of five per cent compared with the same point last year.