Daily roundup 25 November: Anti-terrorism duties, school inspections, and mental health

Home Secretary Theresa May has announced a new legal duty requiring schools, local councils and prisons to prevent children and young people from being drawn into terrorism. In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute yesterday, May said that the legal requirement would be introduced under the new Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill.


A series of no-notice Ofsted inspections have uncovered a variety of school weaknesses. The BBC reports that Ofsted carried out 35 inspections in September without warning, unveiling problems with poor teaching, inadequate governing bodies and failures to safeguard pupils against extremism.


Young people will be encouraged to use apps to treat themselves for depression under government plans to fight mental illness. Ministers want children and adults to be able to get treatment for mental health problems online as part of a transformation of how illnesses such as depression are dealt with by the NHS. Care minister Norman Lamb said allowing people to bypass GP referrals to get help via the internet or over the phone would encourage more patients to seek treatment, reports the Times.


Children at risk of being taken into care and those on the fringes of gangs should be considered for boarding places more often, Lord Nash, the schools minister, has said. He was speaking at Holyport College, a free school in Berkshire which opened this term, reports the Times.


The research carried out by Contact A Family has found a major rise in the number of families facing financial problems since its last survey two years ago. It asked 3,500 people for their experiences, and found the number cutting back on food has nearly doubled in the last two years, while a third of families with disabled children are going without heating. A further 22 per cent said their child's health had worsened as a result, reports Sky News.


Organisations across Rotherham have been asked to sign up to a campaign against child sexual exploitation (CSE). The Rotherham Standing Together Against Child Sexual Exploitation campaign hopes to galvanise support to tackle CSE and raise awareness amongst organisations in an effort to prevent abuse. Andrew Denniff of the Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce said: “Now is the time for us to move forward together to ensure that what has happened to our town can never be repeated, demonstrating the strength of our community and our determination to keep Rotherham’s children safe.”


Wakefield Council has announced that three children’s centres previously earmarked for closure will stay open following a public consultation on the plans. The Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express reports that the council is now considering revised plans to close 11 centres rather than 14.