Daily roundup 21 September: Gender stereotypes, slouching, and chronic fatigue syndrome

Girls as young as seven feel they cannot say or do what they want because of gender stereotyping, a survey has found. The Guardian reports that a poll of nearly 2,000 young people by Girlguiding UK found that 55 per cent of girls aged seven to 21 did not feel they could speak freely because of their gender.


A new academy that forbids slouching and talking in corridors has seen 20 pupils leave since the start of term, parents have claimed. The BBC reports that those removing their children from Great Yarmouth Charter Academy cited "draconian" new behaviour rules. Norfolk County Council said 13 parents had made transfer requests.


A controversial treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome can help children get better, a trial has shown. The Guardian reports that a treatment called the lightning process has shown positive results in a small trial conducted by Bristol University's paediatrician and professor of child health, Esther Crawley. The treatment, which is developed from osteopathy, life coaching and neuro-linguistic programming, resulted in improvements at both six and 12 months into the trial.


A consultation seeking views on proposals designed to bring greater clarity to the short inspection process of schools has launched. Ofsted said the new approach is designed to give schools that may be at risk of decline more time to improve following a short inspection, while retaining their good rating. The changes would allow those schools the opportunity to seek appropriate support, for example from within their multi-academy trust, local authority or other school improvement bodies.


A growing number of families are taking their transgender children out of schools because their rights are being breached, it has been claimed. The BBC reports that some schools are causing pupils stress by not using the name they prefer or enforcing gendered uniform rules, said Bernadette John, head of the Good Schools Guide.


A creative writing competition has been launched to allow foster children to share their stories. The St Helens Star reports that the You Can Foster campaign has launched the competition for children in foster care across Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside in the hope that it will inspire children in foster care to share their stories.


Half of parents read to their children for less than an hour a week, a study by Book People found. The East Anglian Daily Times reports that a study by the Book People found that more than one in five (22 per cent) parents do not read to their son or daughter at all. Education professionals are urging parents to read more often to their children, because teachers notice the difference in reading competence between a child whose parents read to them regularly and those who do not.