Daily roundup 31 March: Exclusions, cancer and children's centre

Thirty pupils aged four and under were permanently banned from schools for their behaviour in just 12 months, according to the most recent data from the Department for Education. The Mirror reports that 870 primary and nursery children were permanently excluded for incidents including assault, racism and sexual misconduct in 2013/14.


Scientists are beginning work to genetically test tumours from children with cancer, and hope it will accelerate children's access to new drugs. The BBC reports that the new test analyses changes in 81 different cancer genes, and will be tested on 400 children over the next two years.


Volunteers from Brighton are building a children's centre for refugees at a refugee camp in Dunkirk. The Argus reports that the centre will have two classrooms, a baby and toddler soft room, outdoor play space and a safe space for vulnerable parents.


Eleven of Wiltshire Council's 18 youth workers face redundancy, leaving just seven workers for the county's 100,000 children. The Sailsbury Journal reports that the decision is an extension of a "community-led model" where volunteers provide most of Wiltshire's youth services, according to the council.


A doctor in Belfast was able to continue working with children after he was convicted for child abuse in the 1970s, a study has found. The BBC reports that Dr Morris Fraser, a senior psychiatric registrar at the Royal Victoria Hospital, was convicted twice and allowed to continue his practice for about 20 years.


A private girls' school has hired a consultant to teach pupils aged 13 to 15 how to handle the breakdown of "intense" friendships. The Daily Mail reports that the school's head teacher says she is concerned how teenage girls respond to falling out with their friends.