Daily roundup 26 June: Anxiety, education, and struggling families

One in three children are so anxious that they have suffered sleepless nights in the last year. A study by The Children’s Society found that 25 per cent of young people questioned reported often feeling sad. The same proportion said they do not feel optimistic about the future. The charity has warned that society is in danger of creating a “worried generation” of 16- and 17-year-olds.


The number of teenagers in education or training is at its highest in more than two decades, the Department for Education has claimed. Latest statistics show that at the end of 2014, the proportion of 16- to 18-year-olds in education or work-based learning rose by one percentage point on the previous year, to 1,590,000.


A third of parents have said they are only just “surviving” or “struggling to cope” in their everyday lives. A poll of more than 2,000 British parents by 4Children found that nearly half (46 per cent) are currently “facing financial struggles”. Only one in 10 parents (12 per cent) described themselves as “thriving” or “doing really well”.


Surrey Police has been criticised for its treatment of children in custody, by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. Get Surrey reports that the force was criticised for routinely fingerprinting, photographing and taking DNA samples from children without the presence of an appropriate adult.


The future of Cambridgeshire’s children's centres is in doubt, with the local authority set to conduct a major review into provision. Cambridge News reports that children’s centres in the county have already had their funding cut by almost a quarter over the past 12 months.