Daily roundup: child carers, pupil premium spending, legal aid cuts

Child carers are missing out on childhood, sacrificing their health, education and friendships, a report from the Children’s Society has revealed. A study of 15,000 young carers in the Hidden from View report found they had poorer school exam results and lived in households with lower incomes than average. It coincided with latest ONS data that showed there are 244,000 carers aged under 19 in England.

A survey of 1,600 teachers carried out for the Sutton Trust from the National Foundation for Education Research, shows that one quarter say their top priority for spending pupil premium cash is on early intervention programmes, covering such things as behaviour improvement or extra tuition. The research also found that 34 per cent of teachers made early intervention their second or third priority when spending the £900 per disadvantaged pupil. A third of teachers use the Sutton Trust toolkit when making decisions, according to the study.

Too many expert witnesses are being paid to give evidence of little value in family courts, according to the Ministry of Justice which is proposing a fresh round of cuts to legal aid. The latest consultation is aimed at making significant savings from the government's annual bill of more than £50m spent on experts' reports. According to The Guardian, the department hopes that new standards will ensure evidence provided in family courts can only be given by "qualified, experienced and recognised professionals".

New Philanthropy Capital has called on charities working with young people to do more to measure the “softer” outcomes which impact upon youth employability. A report by the charity think tank highlights key factors that influence young people’s ability to get a job and how these can be effectively measured. It found good teamwork, communication, self-esteem and empathy skills were important, but often overlooked, factors in influencing job prospects.

Around one third of English local authorities plan to cut education services for deaf children over the next year, the National Deaf Chldren’s Society fears. Services, such as the Teachers of the Deaf programme, in a further 28 per cent of councils are either at risk of being cut or subject to review, the Society claims. The data was compiled from responses to a Freedom of Information request to councils.

And finally, the nursery in the House of Commons should increase its fees or close to save the taxpayer money, according to a BBC report. It says Labour MP Roger Godsiff has tabled a motion saying the nursery, which ran at a loss of more than £100,000 last year, is a drain on the public finances. Godsiff says the nursery, which opened in 2010, is used by just 24 children, only six full-time, although the Commons expects numbers attending to rise.