Daily roundup 29 October: Classroom bullying, child poverty, and Rotherham abuse

A new fund worth £2m has been launched by the Department for Education as part of efforts to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. Shares of the fund will be offered to charitable and not-for-profit organisations that present creative ideas about how to tackle the issue.


Millions of families are struggling with the hidden costs of sending children to state school, with many forced to take out loans or scrimp on food and heating to pay for basics such as dinners, uniforms, course materials and trips. Parents face average annual bills of £800 a pupil, according to the Children’s Commission on Poverty inquiry. More than 95 per cent of parents on low incomes reported difficulties meeting school-related costs, while large numbers of poorer children said they fell behind academically and were subjected to humiliation, embarrassment and bullying because their poverty made them “stand out” in the classroom, reports the Guardian.


Police in Rotherham dismissed victims of child sexual abuse as “silly girls” and “lovesick teenagers”, a secret recording reveals. In the recording, obtained by the Times, officers from the town’s child exploitation team admitted that until recently their colleagues ignored offences in cases where young victims were groomed to comply with the sexual demands of adults. They were speaking last year at a private meeting with an abuse survivor.


A new report claims that almost 650 children reported missing in Greater Manchester in 2014 were at risk of child sexual exploitation. The figures, which also show that 530 of the 3,242 missing children were in care, were brought to light by an inquiry commissioned by Stockport MP Ann Coffey following the Rochdale grooming case in 2012, the BBC reports.


Dudley Council is considering handing the running of its youth services to voluntary groups. The Express and Star reports that councillor Tim Crumpton said the move is being considered as part of plans to cut £200,000 from its youth service budget.


The National Literacy Forum - a charity coalition concerned with raising low literacy levels in the UK - has received a ministerial pledge from all three political parties backing its campaign to improve childhood literacy. The forum launches its Vision for Literacy today, which sets out the key steps government needs to take during its next three terms for it to meet the ultimate goal: for all children born this year to have the literacy skills they need to succeed by the time they finish secondary school.