Teachers are being advised of the signs a girl may be at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) as "cutting season" approaches. The National FGM Centre said the so-called season arrives at the start of the summer holidays, when potentially thousands of UK girls could be flown abroad to unwittingly undergo the procedure. The centre said any teacher who suspects a pupil is going overseas for this purpose should follow normal safeguarding procedures.
A man has been spared jail after being prosecuted for smacking a child. The Metro reports that Damian Pidwell, 34, is said to have used "excessive chastisement" when he smacked a child up to three times. Medics discovered swelling and bruising on the child's body after the incident was reported to the authorities. Tidwell received a six-month suspended prison sentence after admitting assault.
A baby could become the first person without a legal mother if a transgender man wins a historic court battle. The Telegraph reports that lawyers representing the parent told a judge that he had been biologically able to get pregnant and give birth but had legally become a man when the child was born. The man wants to be identified as the child's "father" or "parent" on a birth certificate, however a birth registrar told the man the law requires people who give birth to children to be registered as mothers.
The Centre for Mental Health has been chosen as the new host of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition. The coalition brings together leading organisations from across England in relation to mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. The coalition had previously been based at the Mental Health Foundation since its inception in 2009.
An Islington charity helping asylum seekers and refugees has received funding to cope with an increase in demand. The City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation's charitable arm, awarded £123,000 to the charity Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile to help young refugees rebuild their lives. The charity supports young asylum seekers and refugees through its specialist therapeutic rehabilitation services.
