Daily roundup 2 May: DCS departure, cot deaths, recruitment problems

The chief of children's services at a council rated "inadequate" by Ofsted is to step down. Barbara Peacock, the current executive director for people at Croydon Council, is to leave her post at the end of May as part of a restructure. The Croydon Advertiser reports that the council has said it is currently "consulting affected staff on a proposed restructure".


One of the world's leading experts on cot deaths has raised significant safety concerns about cardboard baby boxes given out free to thousands of new mothers in Scotland. Tens of thousands of baby boxes, which include a mattress, blankets, a digital thermometer, clothes, books and bathing products, have been given to expectant mothers for free under a nationwide scheme launched by Scottish ministers last year. Peter Blair, a specialist in medical statistics with the University of Bristol medical school, has questioned how safe the boxes are, the Guardian reports.


The leader of an "inadequate" council-run children's services has said its Ofsted rating is hampering the recruitment of social workers. Reading Borough Council's provision was found to be "making uneven and slow progress" in March and was given the watchdog's lowest rating in 2016. Deborah Jenkins, chair of a trust now running the services, said it was "increasingly difficult" to find staff for services with "problems", reports the BBC.


One in four young people have been contacted over social media by an adult they don't know, with a third of these children aged under 13, new NSPCC research has shown. A survey of 2,059 children and 2,049 parents for Net Aware, a guide to social media sites, apps and games that young people use, found that Facebook and YouTube received high risk ratings for containing violent, bullying and adult content. The guide is produced by NSPCC in partnership with O2.


Only a third of Londoners think their local council is doing everything possible to tackle child poverty, with 65 per cent wanting their new council leader to make a strong commitment on the issue, a new poll has found. The survey on behalf of the 4in10 anti-poverty coalition, also found that 61 per cent of respondents would be more likely to vote for a party that made a commitment to improving the lives of the poorest children. The results were released on the eve of local elections in London and other parts England.