A survey has found that poorer parents cannot afford to feed their children properly during the summer holidays. According to The Mirror, the poll by Kellogg’s found that one in eight children do not eat a proper meal every day without free school meals or breakfast clubs.
A series of leaflets explaining key changes to the special educational needs and disability support system have been published to help children and young people understand the reforms. The Department for Education, together with The Council for Disabled Children, has also created a series of related videos explaining the changes.
A judge at Exeter Crown Court has issued a warning about the danger of “paedophile panic” after presiding over a case involving a vigilante who threatened an innocent teenager with a knife after she saw him giving sweets to children. The Exeter Express and Echo reports that Recorder Mr James Tindal told 31-year-old Natalie Keogh that her reaction was “ridiculous and stupid”.
Stoke-on-Trent Council chiefs may have to pay back thousands of pounds to the government if it proceeds with plans to relocate a children's centre. The Stoke Sentinel reports that the authority received £743,968 from the Department for Education to upgrade Penkhull Children's Centre in 2008. But a council report warns that the DfE could now "claw back" its investment if cabinet members rubber stamp plans to move the service because not enough families are using it.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with a series of sexual offences on an underage girl. The Bucks Herald reports that the boy was charged with five counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, one count of causing or inciting a child aged between 13 and 17 to prostitution or pornography and a further count of possession of an indecent photograph of a child.
A teacher has been banned from the profession indefinitely after he swore at pupils, punched them and called them offensive names. The BBC reports that David Foster, a former science teacher at Derby Moor Community Sports College, admitted swearing and making sexual comments in the classroom. The National College for Teaching and Leadership said his behaviour fell "short of the standards expected".
