Prime Minister David Cameron's crackdown on British-born extremists will push marginalised young people further towards radicalisation, a Muslim organisation has warned. The Guardian reports that Harun Khan, deputy secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), raised concerns about the prime minister's anti-terrorism strategy. "Part of the problem is the constant talk of legislation, harassment and monitoring, stripping people of their passports. This is what's leading young people towards radicalism."
A think-tank is calling on charities to open their own free schools in a bid to break the cycle of disadvantage. The BBC reports that the Centre for Social Justice thinks charity-led schools could be key to breaking the link between poverty and educational underachievement.
Two leading youth work organisations have merged as part of efforts to accelerate plans to improve opportunities for young people. Youth leadership charity Changemakers has merged into the Foyer Federation and will adopt the organisation’s ‘advantaged thinking’ movement.
The interim children's services chief at Somerset County Council has told staff not to let controversy over his pay to distract them from their work. The Western Daily Press reports that a leaked letter from Peter Lewis, who cost the authority £318,500 in pay and recruitment agency fees, to staff asked them to ignore coverage about his financial package.
The Conservatives have pledged to downgrade schools that fail to teach all pupils five “core” GCSE subjects. The Telegraph reports that the party’s election manifesto contains plans to give Ofsted powers to mark down schools that refuse to teach English, maths, science, a language and history or geography to all GCSE pupils.
Members of the public underestimate the number of children affected by cancer, research has found. A study by Clic Sargent found that 34 per cent of adults in Britain underestimated the number of children diagnosed with cancer each year – currently 1,600.
The parents of a five-year-old cancer patient are due to appear at an extradition hearing in Madrid today, after they took their son from his Southampton hospital and went abroad to seek medical treatment. The child, who is suffering from a grade four tumour on his spine, has been made a ward of court in a hearing at the High Court. Police obtained an international arrest warrant for the child's parents on suspicion of child neglect after doctors warned disrupting the boy's treatment would endangered his health, reports the Times.
