Daily roundup 31 May: Bullying, lollipop wardens, and obesity

An anti-bullying charity has found that more than half of young people have been bullied while playing games online. Sky News reports that charity Ditch the Label found that 57 per cent of the 2,500 young people it surveyed had been bullied online. It also found that 22 per cent of young people had stopped playing games as a result of online bullying.


The number of school lollipop staff in Wales has fallen by almost a quarter in the past three years, figures show. The BBC reports that, as of March 2016, the number employed by local authorities fell by 170 to fewer than 600 compared with three years earlier - a drop of 23 per cent.


Being obese in childhood raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes much later in life, a study has found. The Daily Mail reports that scientists at the University of Surrey found that children who were obese at the age of 10 were shown to have damaged arteries 25 years later - even if they lost weight in the intervening years.


Three schools in Northern Ireland have apologised to the families of children with special educational needs after initially refusing to accept them as pupils. The BBC reports that settlements were reached in cases brought against Wallace High School, Lisburn; St Brigid's College, Londonderry; and Lislagan Primary School, Ballymoney.


Schools offering lessons in happiness and "mindfulness" risk damaging pupils' mental health rather than improving it, it has been claimed. According to iNews, Pooky Knightsmith, vice chair of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, said such interventions can exacerbate pupils' problems, particularly if they have suffered abuse.


A former Mayor of Worcester has accused Worcestershire County Council of making road improvements "more important" than child protection. The Worcester News reports that Paul Denham, Labour's spokesman for children and families, said the local authority is more interested in potholes than protecting young people.