Daily roundup: Midwives in Wirral, BYC annual meeting and children with psychopathic traits

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has signed the first formal trade union recognition agreement outside the NHS with One-to-One Midwives, a Wirral-based private company contracted to provide maternity care for NHS Wirral. When a trade union and an employer agree to negotiate about employment terms and conditions, the employer is said to ‘recognise’ the trade union. RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick said: “The shift in plurality of providers in the NHS means that the RCM must remain relevant to its members working in new circumstances.”

Young people from youth organisations, including The Prince’s Trust, Girlguiding UK, The Scout Association, and Centrepoint are to attend the British Youth Council’s (BYC) annual council meeting in Cardiff this weekend to help shape the charity’s work for the coming year. Topics up for debate include youth unemployment and assisted suicide. BYC chair Liam Preston said: “In these difficult times for young people we aim to be a rallying point to defend our future for the benefit of all.”

Around one per cent of children in the UK could be inherently psychopathic, with parents unable to change their behaviour, researchers from University College London have found. A team of psychologists has conducted two studies which found that psychopathic traits in children are largely genetic and that between a quarter and half of children with conduct problems fall into the “callous-unemotional” category. The results of the study will be revealed at The British Science Festival at the University of Aberdeen next week.

A new academy trust has officially opened after receiving government approval in January. The Academy Transformation Trust's first primary school in Birmingham and two more in Sandwell and Norfolk will be open to pupils from this September. The trust is planning to sponsor more than 30 further academies by the end of 2013, which will include primary, secondary and special schools.

Trainee teachers should be taught how to withstand the contradictions of school life, according to an Institute of Education lecturer. Ruth Heilbronn, lecturer in education at the Institute of Education, said research shows that many teachers struggle with the conflict between personal values and the demand to meet targets. She said the national curriculum "states that ‘teachers should aim to give every pupil the opportunity to experience success in learning’. However, the drive to achieve high league table ranking frequently militates against the principle of inclusion.”

More than a third of 16- to 24-year-olds admit to risky behaviour in the sun, according to a survey by Cancer Research UK. Thirty five per cent of the young people questioned plan to use sunbeds, tanning oils, only apply sunscreen when they start to burn, let their skin burn in the hope that it will eventually go brown or do not intend to wear any sunscreen at all in strong sun this summer. More than a quarter of young people said they would spend at least an hour in strong sun without protecting their skin.