Daily roundup 21 February: Child poverty, hijab row, and Rotherham

Single parents are increasingly being pushed into precarious zero-hours contracts and unsuitable self-employment, putting more children at risk of living in poverty, a charity has warned. The Guardian says that in a report to mark its 100th anniversary, the single parents' charity Gingerbread said there had been a 58 per cent increase in the number of self-employed single parents in the past 10 years, but warned that a significant number of parents reported being pushed into unsuitable self-employment by jobcentre advisers in an attempt to get them into work.


Education chiefs have been criticised for failing to support a primary school at the centre of a row over banning the hijab. The Evening Standard reports that teachers at St Stephen's school in Newham faced a co-ordinated campaign of bullying and harassment after the school stopped young girls from wearing the headscarf. Staff were not given proper "emotional care and public support" by the local authority during the crisis, according to a damning report by Ofsted.


The number of potential victims of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham has risen to more than 1,500, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said. The BBC says that a report by professor Alexis Jay published in 2014 estimated 1,400 children were abused in the South Yorkshire town between 1997 and 2013. The NCA, which is carrying out an independent inquiry, said it calculates the true figure to be 1,510. It said it had identified 110 suspects and six trials were listed for 2018.


Save the Children has apologised to female employees after the charity's former chief executive admitted he had made "unsuitable and thoughtless" comments. The Evening Standard reports that Justin Forsyth was twice investigated after concerns were raised about his conduct in 2011 and again in 2015, involving three women in total. Forsyth, who is now deputy executive director of Unicef in New York, admitted making "some personal mistakes" and said he had "apologised unreservedly" to the workers at the time.


Two men have been stabbed to death within the space of two hours in Camden, north London. The BBC reports that one victim, believed to be in his late teens, died in Bartholomew Road after he was stabbed at about 8.30pm on Tuesday. Police were then called to Malden Road around 10.10pm, following reports of a disturbance, where they found a man with serious knife wounds. The man, thought to be about 20, was given first aid, but died at the scene. A total of 16 people have been stabbed to death in London since the start of 2018, including five teenagers.


A probe on excessive use of smart phones and social media has been launched by MPs amid fears for young people's wellbeing. The Sun reports that the inquiry by the science and technology select committee follows reports that 95 per cent of 15-year-olds use social media sites before or after school.


Labour is expected to end the practice of deporting children who arrived in Britain without permission to stay once they turn 18. The Mirror reports that Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott is set to declare the move today as she discusses Labour policy after Brexit. She is also expected to say that under a Labour government, carers and parents of legally admitted child refugees would be allowed to join them in Britain.