Daily roundup: Age disputes, exercise, and parenting advice

Croydon Council has been made to pay out £1.2m in legal costs between 2010 and 2012 over wrong decisions about age-disputed children. The Guardian reports that the decisions to class some asylum-seeking children as adults prevented them from going to school and, for some, resulted in homelessness or being unlawfully held in adult detention centres. It is thought Croydon has faced hundreds of legal challenges. Croydon’s legal bill is large because it is the only place in the UK where a claim for asylum can be processed once people are in the country. Details of the pay-outs were obtained by Coram Children’s Legal Centre following a freedom of information request.

More than a third of teachers say children are exercising less, research has found. A survey by the Smith Institute found that teachers blamed lack of funding and pressure on time, stating the ability of schools to run sports clubs, competitions and events are being affected. Schools that were able to maintain or increase levels of participation cited longer working days, and their school’s commitment to sport as reasons.

Parents are to receive leaflets on how to prepare their children for school as part of a drive by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and Family Action. A series of four leaflets will encourage parents to engage with their child’s learning and show parents what they can do to support them. The leaflets will follow five key themes: good routines, speaking and listening, spending time together, being prepared and good behaviour, giving parents practical and positive messages.  

A scathing report by the British Medical Association has found that cuts to welfare benefits and social care could widen inequalities, and increase child poverty. The Growing Up report says cuts to child benefit, Sure Start children’s centre closures and regressive tax policies have already affected women and children. The BMA has called on government to invest in early intervention, pointing to estimates that for every £1 invested on programmes for children and families, £10 can be saved from the cost of dealing with health and social issues in later life.

Children’s social workers in Walsall are dealing with too many cases and agency staff are not used often enough, a report has found. The Wolverhampton Express and Star reports that a working group tasked with overhauling the department says teams should be relocated and laptops issued to staff. The review comes after an improvement notice was served on Walsall by the government in the wake of an Ofsted inspection that rated child protection services as “inadequate”.

And finally, Prime Minister David Cameron has said the coalition will "find a way forward" on its childcare changes in England. The BBC reports that Cameron said plans to allow childminders and nurseries to look after more babies and toddlers from September have “a lot of merit”. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has previously raised concerns about safety and whether the move would reduce costs.