Daily roundup: Social mobility, hospital admissions, and personal budgets

The UK is lagging behind other countries when it comes to social mobility in schools, league tables have shown. The BBC reports that global rankings compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lists the UK as below average on fairness. At the top end of the spectrum, countries including Finland, South Korea, Canada, and Japan have high results and high levels of fairness, meaning pupils can succeed regardless of background. The UK belongs to a group including France, Germany and the United States, that are above average for results, but have lower levels of equity.

The number of children being admitted to hospital each year in England has increased by more than 24 per cent in ten years. The BBC reports that according to Archives of Disease in Childhood, 739,000 under-15s were admitted to hospital in 2010, compared to 594,000 in 1999. The greatest increase came in under-5s attending hospital. Researchers said the increase could include factors such as changing behaviour of parents, a lack of out-of-hours GPs, or doctors being more cautious and admitting more patients. The study found that the rise was largely related to “common infections” that resulted in very short hospital stays.

Guidance on how personal budgets should be used to support disabled children and young people has been produced by the charity Kids. The organisation, alongside partners including the Daycare Trust and Disability Rights UK, has put together a range of resources for local authorities on commissioning for personalisation. It has also created a handbook for parents and carers of disabled children explaining what personal budgets are and how they can be used.

A petition calling on government to make free school meals to all children in the UK living in poverty is being presented at 10 Downing Street today. The petition is part of the Children’s Society Fair and Square campaign. The charity argues that free school meals are key to moving children out of poverty and helping them flourish.

Government figures show that the number of people volunteering has gone up. The Official Statistics show that the proportion of people volunteering at least once a year went up from 65 per cent in 2010/11 to 71 per cent in 2012. The government has claimed the figures vindicate its Big Society agenda, which includes the National Citizen Service for 16- and 17-year-olds. Prime Minister David Cameron said: “We all want a bigger, stronger society where people do their bit and that’s why I am pleased that the Community Life Survey shows we are making progress.”

And finally, plans to cut play services and short breaks for disabled children in Calderdale have been placed on hold for a year. The Huddersfield Examiner reports that Calderdale Council will freeze plans to reduce funding on each of the service areas. Tim Swift, leader of the authority, said concerns raised in a consultation on the cuts, regarding the speed of the changes, had been taken into consideration. “People brought options forward and the proposal we’re making is to remove the saving in year one to give time for a review,” he said.