Daily roundup 8 September: Mental health, Leicestershire, and youth custody

Manchester-based mental health charity 42nd Street has been awarded £100,000 to address issues arising from May's terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena. The funding from the Co-op Foundation and Big Lottery Fund will equip local community groups with the skills and confidence to support young people who have experienced trauma. 42nd Street will offer therapeutic support to young people, and help grassroots organisations develop the skills to support young people in their own communities.


An extra £2.5m is set to be invested in children's services in Leicestershire to reduce caseloads and manage a rise in the number of children in care. If approved by the council's cabinet, the funding would be used to create 37 new social care posts and address an eight per cent rise in looked-after children in the past 12 months. It will also help the authority implement improvements identified by Ofsted following its "requires improvement" judgment in February, reports the Loughborough Echo.


The number of children detained in youth custody remained static in July, latest figures show. According to Youth Justice Board data, there were 924 under-18s in custody in July, the same number as the previous month, but 63 more than in July 2016. The number of young people including 18-year-olds held in the secure estate rose by 10 between June and July to 1,035.


Independent advocacy organisation the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS), has been awarded two regional contracts to deliver a range of services to children and young people across South East Wales. The first contract covers Caerphilly, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Newport, Monmouthshire and Aneurin Bevin University Health Board, with the second covering the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff councils. Under the contracts, NYAS advocates will provide independent advocacy to children and young people in care, in need or leaving care, in addition to delivering the Independent Visitor service.


School leaders have voiced concerns funding cuts could see breakfast clubs for disadvantaged pupils close in the coming years. The BBC reports that 43 per cent of 750 teachers surveyed by Kellogg's feared that their breakfast club could close in the next three years due to wider school funding pressures. This is despite teachers saying clubs had a positive impact on pupil behaviour, school attendance and exam performance. 


The Office for National Statistics has published an analysis of suicide data and trends over the past 15 years. It shows young men aged 15 to 19 are two-and-a-half times more likely to die from suicide than females of the same age. Overall, the male age-specific suicide rate is around three times higher than the female.