Daily roundup 26 July: Teacher qualifications, terror charge, and strike threat

There are 24,000 teachers without formal teaching qualifications in state schools in England - an increase of more than 60 per cent in four years. The BBC reports that the figure, which features in the annual school workforce survey, means that more than 5 per cent of teachers do not have qualified teacher status.


A 17-year-old girl has been charged with terrorism offences after allegedly communicating with an Isis fighter in Syria and arranging to receive weapons in order to conduct an attack in the UK, Scotland Yard has said. The Guardian reports that the girl is also alleged to have received instructions on how to train and use weapons.


Children's centre staff in Coventry could be set to strike over plans to cut back services. The Coventry Telegraph reports that the GMB union has said it is balloting for strike action among its members who work at Coventry's 14 children's centres regarding plans for their closure.


A support helpline that offers information and advice to current and prospective foster carers is to launch a campaign in a bid to keep its services free-of-charge. Fosterline said its has provided advice, information and support to over 83,700 service users in the last year.


Thousands of children have been left waiting for mental health treatment as the Scottish Government's target for young people being treated within 18 weeks has been missed. The Scotsman reports that 3,666 children waited longer than the target timescale during the last year.