Daily roundup 4 April: GCSEs, child slavery, and Rotherham appointment

White British pupils are falling behind those from other ethnic backgrounds at GCSE level because of a lack of support from parents. The Guardian reports that think-tank CentreForum has found that white British children's performance has slipped into 13th place behind those of Chinese, Indian, Asian and back African heritage.

Child survivors of last year's Nepal earthquake are being sold to British families as slaves, according to an investigation. The Sun reports that it found that slaves as young as 10 are being brought to the UK as orphaned relatives adopted by rich families in India.


Rotherham Council has appointed a new children's services deputy director. The Rotherham Advertiser reports that Mel Meggs, who previously worked as service director for early help and safeguarding at Derbyshire County Council, will replace Rotherham's assistant director for safeguarding children and families.


A three-year-old was spoken to by police for allegedly sexually abusing two children aged five and seven. The Telegraph reports that the Durham Police investigated the claim that the child took part in "sexual activity" with the other children.


Campaigners against the Scottish government's Named Persons scheme have demanded urgent talks with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to clarify whether the scheme is compulsory. The Scotsman reports that the No to Named Persons group call the scheme, which will be rolled out across Scotland in August and will allocate a single point of contact for all children, "confusing".