Daily roundup 10 July: Abuse helpline, Ofsted and serious case review

A Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry helpline has been launched by the NSPCC, with a team of trained counsellors available to provide support for survivors of abuse. The charity’s chief executive Peter Wanless said: “Many of them will have harrowing stories to tell so we want to make what could be a tortuous journey as easy as possible.”

A £7m Birmingham free school is to go into special measures following a highly critical Ofsted report. The BBC reports teaching at Perry Beeches III was described as “inadequate” while the report also said too many students were underachieving.

More could have been done to help 17-year-old Kesia Leatherbarrow who committed suicide after being held in a police cell, a report has found. The Manchester Evening News reports a serious case review carried out by Tameside’s Safeguarding Children Board found a number of key errors were made in dealing with the young girl.

A new web-based app, which allows people to report instances of girls they think are vulnerable to female genital mutilation (FGM) has been developed by Coventry University. The Express reports the app, also known as Petals, is supported by the government and the NSPCC, and provides easy access to information on what FGM is, its implications and why it is a crime. 


Rotherham councillors have almost unanimously backed tougher new licensing measures for Rotherham taxi drivers. The new licensing policy includes every driver being trained on how to spot signs of child sexual exploitation and putting CCTV in all cabs, the Rotherham Star reports.


Weekly philosophy sessions in class can boost primary school pupils’ ability in maths and literacy, a study for the Education Endowment Foundation claims. The BBC reports more than 3,000 nine and 10-year-olds in 48 UK schools took part in hour-long sessions. It found maths and reading scores improved by an average of two months over a year.