Daily roundup: New role for ADCS president; support for young carers, and children's services in Salford

The president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services has been appointed as Ofsted’s regional director for London. Jones will be leaving Lambeth council where she is currently director of children's services in September 2013. Lib Peck, leader of Lambeth council, said: “Debbie Jones’ dedication and commitment has helped to raise the bar for children’s services and the result has meant thousands of young people in Lambeth have had a better start in life.”

The government must improve support for young carers in school or risk failing its own social mobility challenge, the charity Family Action has warned. Speaking at a parliamentary event to promote the charity's campaign to improve support for young carers, chief executive Helen Dent said the pupil premium alone will not tackle the disadvantage faced by vulnerable pupils. She said: “Young carers are an often hidden group who may suffer at school because of benign ignorance from teachers and fear of disclosure from the young people themselves.” 

A council that was ordered by Ofsted to improve its children's services has had its improvement notice lifted. The BBC reports that Salford Council was issued with the notice in 2010, but has made significant improvements since then. Salford's assistant mayor for children's services, John Merry, said: “We have risen to the challenge set two years ago but our ambition is to have an outstanding child protection service.”

Undercover police are keeping watch outside schools in Croydon to combat a sharp rise in the number of children being mugged for their phones. The Croydon Advertiser reports that 1,497 phones were stolen on streets across Croydon in 2012, up 52 per cent from 2010, with 10- to 17-year-old schoolchildren the largest victim group. The Met Police is now stationing undercover officers outside schools and along children's routes home to tackle the situation.

Youth crime in Swansea has dropped by nearly 80 per cent in the last decade. The BBC reports that figures presented to Swansea Council by the city’s youth offending team (YOT) show that there were 428 youth crimes compared to 2,044 ten years ago. The decline has been attributed to targeting children likely to get into trouble such as those starting to play truant. The YOT estimated the drop in youth crime has resulted in annual savings of more than £2.8m.

And finally, two offender rehabilitation charities have merged in an attempt to better meet the needs of prisoners’ families. The Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) and Time for Families will become a single organisation working to help prisoners avoid re-offending, and strengthen family relationships. “By coming together, we can provide an enhanced service and achieve even greater outcomes than we have independently,” a joint statement issued by the two charities said.