Daily roundup 22 January: Domestic violence, scurvy death, and child abuse

Domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid has launched a campaign to raise awareness among family courts of the dangers of domestic abuse. The Child First campaign calls on the family courts and the government to put the safety of children back at the heart of all decisions made by the family court judiciary. Women's Aid has highlighted the cases of 19 children who were all intentionally killed by a parent who was also a known perpetrator of domestic abuse as a result of unsafe child contact arrangements.


Concerns were raised about a boy more than a year before he died of scurvy, a serious case review has found. The BBC reports that a probe into the death of Dylan Seabridge, eight, who died in Pembrokeshire in 2011, concluded that laws on home education in Wales needed to be strengthened as a matter of urgency.


GCSE attainment among deaf pupils in England lags behind that of their peers, according to latest exam result figures. The Guardian reports that 58.9 per cent of deaf students failed to get five good GCSEs last summer, compared with 35.8 per cent of hearing children.


Rotherham Council is to get some of its decision-making powers back. The Sheffield Star reports that the council, which was stripped of its powers in the wake of the child sexual exploitation scandal in the town, will be handed back responsibility for education and schools, public health, leisure services, housing, and highways maintenance. Licensing, children’s services and adult social care are among the services that will remain under the control of commissioners because they are deemed to still be high risk.


Children were forced to engage in "sexual activities" with each other and animals, a family court judge has concluded. The BBC reports that social workers from Coventry Council asked a judge to look into the case after allegations were made by a number of children. Some of the abuse, which was videoed on occasion, allegedly took place at a Birmingham hotel. Judge Hilary Watson concluded it was "highly probable" the children had been forced to perform sex acts on animals.


UK Youth Parliament has begun its year-long campaign to tackle racism and religious discrimination. Don't Hate, Educate aims to help young people speak out about religious discrimination, and members will begin by calling politicians to action, encouraging them to get involved in campaigning and raising awareness.