The government is being urged to review a policy that campaigners say bars children of virtually destitute families from receiving free school meals because of their parents' immigration status. The Guardian reports that head teachers and campaigners have expressed outrage that pupils who are among the poorest in society are missing out on free school meals because their parents have no access to benefits as a part of a condition known as "no recourse to public funds".
Children with special needs were routinely physically restrained at a school described by inspectors as "woeful" and "dire", a report has revealed. The BBC reports that The Bridge School in Ipswich has been rated as inadequate in all areas by the Ofsted inspectors. They found a "long-standing" and "serious" decline at the school that caters for children with severe and complex learning difficulties.
An initiative to get schoolchildren to walk or run a mile every day leads to significant improvements in their health, a study has found. The BBC reports that the Daily Mile scheme was originally the brainchild of a Scottish head teacher. University researchers have compared the health of children at a primary school that takes part in the scheme with those at a school that does not. They found it led to improved fitness and body composition.
Politicians in Kent have voiced concerns that parts of the county are continuing to see large numbers of vulnerable children placed in the county by other authorities. Kent Online reports that most up-to-date figures show that the overall number of looked-after children from outside the county stands at 1,272.
The Department for Education has published revised advice for local authorities on suitable accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The guidance sets out the steps that local authorities should take to plan for the provision of support for looked-after children who are unaccompanied-asylum seeking children, including where the child is a victim of trafficking.
Children should be taught at school to spot adverts hidden in video games, Instagram posts and vlogs, experts have urged. The Evening Standard reports that Media Smart, a not-for-profit company, said it was vital that pupils be given compulsory lessons to help them become "media literate". Director Rachel Barber-Mack said children were bombarded with images that have been airbrushed, and "free content" that contains adverts or takes data.
A man who attacked his four children with a hammer and drove them into a wall at 92mph has had his sentence increased from 14 to 24 years by appeal court judges. The Guardian reports that Owen Scott, who was in a drug-induced psychosis when he tried to kill his children last August, will serve an extra 10 years in jail after the solicitor general, Robert Buckland, referred his original minimum term to the court of appeal.
