Daily roundup: Unofficial exclusions, youth homelessness, and support for grandparent carers

The charity Contact a Family has launched a project to gauge the level of unofficial exclusions of disabled children in England and Wales. It is calling on parents of disabled children who may have been unofficially excluded to fill out a survey to get a better picture of how widespread the practice is. Jill Davies, spokeswoman for the charity, said: “Because unofficial exclusions are not formally recorded by schools it is almost impossible to find out how widespread this practice is. There is also a real gap in understanding about how unofficial exclusions can affect a child’s self esteem and progress at school as well as a parent’s ability to work.”

More than £250,000 was raised for homeless young people’s charity Centrepoint after 850 workers in London gave up their beds for the night to take part in a sleep out event. The money will go towards the charity’s Christmas appeal to fund services for young people including mental health support and help into education, training and employment. Meanwhile Shelter has launched a campaign to highlight the plight of the estimated 75,000 children in Britain who will wake up homeless on Christmas day. Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said there is a rising numbers of families who have lost their home and have no permanent roof over their heads. “No child should be homeless at Christmas,” he said.

The majority of people think grandparent carers should receive increased support from local authorities, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Grandparents Plus, the Family and Parenting Institute and Family Lives. The poll showed that 76 per cent of people think grandparents, and other kinship carers, should get practical help from councils. Grandparents Plus chief executive Sam Smethers said: “Grandparent carers are already treated as second class carers because they are not entitled to similar support to foster carers or to parental leave when they take on care of children.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has appointed Jacqui Cheer, deputy chief constable at Suffolk Police, as its new lead for children and young people. The children and young people's lead officer post has been vacant for approaching a year since the previous post holder Ian McPherson retired. Cheer, who is currently on secondment to Cleveland Police, previously led Operation Sumac, the investigation into the murders of five young women in Ipswich.

Pre-school children from being cared for by staff with teaching qualifications, a report has found. A study by Education Scotland examined the impact of staff qualifications on children attending nursery school in Scotland. It found a “significant variation” in access to a teacher across the early years sector. Education Scotland is now calling for staff to be given more opportunity to improve their skills. Bill Maxwell, chief executive of Education Scotland, said: “Few can now doubt the importance of ensuring the best possible educational experiences for our youngest children, and the positive investment that represents for individuals and for society as a whole.”

And finally, a guide to help parents teach their children about the commercial nature of the internet has received the backing of children’s minister Edward Timpson. The guide, put together by Media Smart, alongside the Advertising Association, among others, outlines how children can be exposed to advertising on the internet, from search engine results to games. Timpson, said: “As a father myself, I see this pack as a welcome step in equipping parents with the relevant information to help them educate their children about the commercial techniques used in an increasingly digital world.”