Daily roundup 23 September: Child refugees, special needs, and button batteries

A legal amendment to give child refugees in Calais protection under British safeguarding rules, a move that would speed up transfers to the UK, has been presented to parliament. The Guardian reports that the proposed amendment to the Immigration Act, which has been led by Labour MP for Walthamstow Stella Creasy, would oblige the Home Secretary to treat unaccompanied child refugees at the camp as potential UK citizens.?


Many children with special needs are not getting a fair chance in schools, the children's commissioner for Wales has said. The BBC reports that Sally Holland said the current process for assessing children was difficult for parents to navigate and new legislation by the Welsh government aimed at improving provision is "a once in a generation opportunity".


Parents have been warned to keep "button batteries" away from children after doctors reported a sharp rise in the number of children admitted to hospitals after swallowing them. The Guardian reports that doctors at Great Ormond Street have said around one child a month is admitted after swallowing the batteries - an increase on two years ago when it was one child a year.


The number of same-sex couples making adoptions in Scotland has risen, data has revealed. New figures from the National Records of Scotland show that 22 adoptions out of 504 made in 2015 were by same-sex couples - an increase on the 17 made in 2014.


Families across Liverpool should have access to parenting programmes in order to allow intervention and improve mental health, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, Luciana Berger has said. Evidence-based parenting support can help families create a more happy, healthy region in which no one is left behind, Berger said.


Coventry City Council and Coventry University have created a new app for professionals on how to spot and deal with female genital mutilation (FGM). The app, Petals for Professionals, works to encourage the prevention and management of FGM.


A "core group" of young people are committing a high number of crimes in North Somerset, a report written for North Somerset Council states. The Weston Mercury reports that the 312 offences by under-18s in 2015/16 were committed by 133 individuals.