Daily roundup 26 September: Rugby tackles, adoption crisis, and obesity

Chief medical officers in the UK have been urged to protect children from the risk of rugby injuries by removing contact from the school game. The BBC reports that Professor Allyson Pollock, from Newcastle University, said she is set to present new evidence showing that banning tackling would reduce concussion, head and neck injuries. Last year chief medical officers rejected a call for a ban on tackling in youth rugby.
 
 
More than a quarter of adopted UK families are "in crisis", a survey has found. The BBC reports that a survey it conducted alongside charity Adoption UK found that more than half of those surveyed reported living with a child who was violent, including being punched, kicked or threatened with knives. More serious incidents included hospital visits and sexual assault.
 
 
Children are leaving school fatter than ever - even though obesity is dropping among new arrivals, new figures show. The Telegraph reports that statistics published by Public Health England show that 19.8 per cent of children in their last year of school are obese - a rise from 17.5 per cent in 2006/7.


Specialist emotional and mental health support will be provided in schools across Wales, under a new pilot scheme launched by the Welsh Government. ITV News reports that health secretary Vaughan Gething and education secretary Kirsty Williams have agreed a £1.4m investment to strengthen the support from specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to schoolchildren.


Online safety experts have warned parents to be vigilant about teenagers' use of anonymous feedback apps that allow users to leave unnamed comments about others. This report from The Guardian comes amid new concerns over cyberbullying. The role of social media in teenage depression has come under scrutiny in response to research published last week indicating that 24 per cent of girls, and nine per cent of boys show signs of depression.