Daily roundup 9 May: Music, mental health, and conversation

A project that provides young people with the skills and experience needed to forge a career in music and the creative industry has been awarded £4m funding from the Big Lottery Fund. The Big Music Project said the money will allow it to continue into 2018 with a stronger focus on disadvantaged young people, provide more career opportunities and expand into more areas of the UK.?


Government funding for mental health services is not making its way to the frontline of service provision, research has found. The Guardian reports that analysis by trade association NHS Providers and the Healthcare Financial Management Association has found that only 55 per cent of mental health trusts received a real-terms increase in their 2015/16 budgets.


Parents' use of smartphones is affecting children's ability to hold conversations, according to a survey of more than 1,000 primary school staff by school advice service The Key. The Telegraph reports that teachers have warned that children are suffering from a lack of attention and interaction as a result of parents being obsessed with their smartphones.


Thousands of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) were not offered secondary school places by the official deadline, it has emerged. The BBC reports that 111 councils missed the deadline for 3,812 pupils with SEN, according to information requests from education law specialists Simpson Millar.


Heavily sugared drinks are to be named and shamed by Liverpool City Council in a drive to warn parents about the health dangers they pose to children. The Guardian reports it will become the first council in Britain to campaign against what health experts say are “unbelievable” amounts of sugar in well-known brands of drink.?


Residents in a city suburb are protesting at plans to open a children’s care home in their street. The Birmingham Mail reports an application has been submitted to convert a large detached home on Wychall Lane in Kings Norton into a residential facility for 10- to 18-year-olds.