Daily roundup 21 April: DfE permanent secretary, CSA, and school commissioners

Jonathan Slater, director general, economic and domestic affairs, at the Cabinet Office, has been appointed as the new permanent secretary for the Department for Education. He will take up the position on 3 May following the announcement that current permanent secretary Chris Wormald is to become permanent secretary at the Department of Health.?


?Nearly 70,000 pictures and videos that show child sex abuse have been removed from the internet in the past year, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has said. The BBC reports the IWF was given more powers in 2014 to actively search for such content and take action.?


The government has responded to recommendations by the education select committee to reassess the role of regional schools commissioners (RSC) as part of plans to covert all schools into academies. The government does not state intentions to reassess their role, but says it will soon publish consultation findings on the responsibilities and powers delegated to RSCs resulting from the Education and Adoption Act.


The Department for Education has published details of how to apply to the Adoption services: practice and improvement fund over the next two years. Up to £14m will be available for the programme in 2016/17 and 2017/18, which will help the development of regional adoption agencies. The first round of bidding is open to voluntary adoption agencies and other voluntary sector organisations.?


Children in Berkshire who may have autism have to wait an average of more than a year to be assessed by professionals. The BBC reports waiting times have increased nearly three-fold since 2013 and autism charities have claimed the longer times could cause issues in children’s development.?


A mother who lost her baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy is campaigning to change the law so parents can be given death certificates from 16 weeks. Kent Online reports 31-year-old Lisa Bailey from Dover has set up a petition in the hope it will get 100,000 signatures and be debated in parliament.