Daily roundup: Breakfast clubs, Gove-levels and a sexual health campaign

Breakfast clubs in primary schools are being forced to close because of budget cuts, an investigation by Labour has found. The Guardian reports that freedom of information requests made by Sharon Hodgson, shadow minister for children and families, found that the number of breakfast clubs has fallen in 40 per cent of 128 local authorities. According to the responses, Essex County Council had 219 breakfast clubs in schools last year, but 169 this year.

A new exam system for 16-year-olds in England is due to be unveiled today. Speaking to BBC News, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said changes to the system will give parents confidence in the exams their children take. From 2015, current GCSEs will be replaced by a “more rigorous” system based on a single end-of-year exam, similar to the old O-levels. Clegg and Education Secretary Michael Gove will outline the proposed new system - dubbed 'Gove-levels' - to MPs today.

Cuts to sexual health services are restricting young women's access to contraception, the charities Brook and FPA have warned. According to their We can't go backwards campaign, women's choice is being restricted and “rights are being eroded”. FPA chief executive, Julie Bentley, said: “We are seeing the beginnings of a crisis in this critical women’s health issue. Modern contraception is effective in stopping unplanned pregnancy and is also highly cost effective. But it is simply useless if women are stopped from accessing and using it.”

More children than ever before are being taken into care in Doncaster, it has emerged. The Doncaster Free Press reports that, according to council papers, the current number in care is 522. A paper presented at a council meeting on children and young people revealed that a record 494 child protection plans have been drawn up for children in the area so far this year. The number of children in care stood at 510 in March this year and 450 in March 2011.

More than 17,000 children are growing up separated from their mothers who are in prison, an investigation by The Independent has found. The newspaper found the number of women in prisons has more than doubled in 15 years. A total of 80 young children are accommodated with their mothers behind bars in eight mother and baby units. Evidence suggests that separation from mothers can cause long-term emotional, social, and psychological damage to children.

And finally, a forum for young people in Scotland who are blind or partially sighted is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Haggeye has campaigned on issues including avoidable sight loss, accessible transport and the need for more school books in braille and audio format. The charity's youth engagement officer Mo Colvin, said: "Haggeye has empowered young people to take ownership of the project and develop it in a direction where they are able to make their own decisions on where they want it to go, something that a lot of them had not had an opportunity to do previously.”