Daily roundup 7 October: Child tax credits, life expectancy, and services for deaf children

Government tax credit reforms will teach parents that “children cost money” and discourage them from having a third child, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has said. The Telegraph reports that Duncan Smith said the changes would ensure parents do not “assume” that taxpayers will pick up the cost of having more children.


Children starting secondary school this year could have up to 40 jobs in their lifetime and find themselves working until they are 100 years old, a futurist has predicted. The Independent reports that Rohit Talwar, chief executive of Fast Future, told a conference of head teachers in Scotland that life expectancy was increasing but with advances in technology there would be fewer jobs.


Chair of the education select committee Neil Carmichael has backed calls to improve services for deaf children. The Gazette Series reports Carmichael met with a member of the National Deaf Children’s Society’s youth advisory board to discuss the need to get the right support in place to ensure deaf children don’t fall behind their peers.


Vocabulary is improving among young children in Scotland, a study by the Scottish government study has concluded. The BBC reports that the Growing Up in Scotland project, which is following the lives of 10,000 children, found that vocabulary scores at the age of three had improved by 3.5 per cent in the lowest income group, and two percentage points in the highest.