Daily roundup 21 August: Exclusion, locked rooms, and gambling

Excluding children from school may lead to long-term psychiatric problems and psychological distress, a major study has found. The Guardian reports that research by the University of Exeter also found that poor mental health can lead to school exclusion. The study found a "bi-directional association" between psychological distress and exclusion - children with psychological distress and mental health problems were more likely to be excluded but their exclusion acted as a predictor of increased psychological distress three years later on.


A head teacher who punished children by locking them in rooms has been found guilty of unprofessional conduct. The BBC reports that the National College for Teaching and Leadership panel was told children at Tollgate Primary School in Bury St Edmunds could regularly be heard "shouting or crying" from the rooms.


Children are being bombarded with a record number of gambling adverts as betting websites embark on a push to attract new customers, it has been claimed. The Times reports that figures show that the industry has spent £1.4bn on advertising since 2012, with online casinos doubling their marketing budgets over the past five years. Britain's biggest charity to help addicts, GambleAware is so concerned about the increasing volume of advertising that it is urging ministers to introduce stricter rules.


A child protection officer has been sacked after police searched his ­computer and found images of children being ­sexually abused. The Mirror reports that the social worker, who had worked at specialist child protection units at Surrey County Council, and before that, Brighton and Hove City Council, was suspended from his job and then fired - but spared jail.


A Booker prize-winning novelist has warned that children will be illiterate within a generation, because of the devastating impact of Twitter. The Times reports that Howard Jacobson said that the combination of social media and smartphones had changed the nature of communication so completely that even he now craved interruption. Within 20 years, "we will have children who can't read, who don't want to read", he said.