Daily roundup 21 March: SEND funding, religion, and school trip
Neil Puffett
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Councils in London warn of funding shortfall to support children with special educational needs; research finds decline in religiosity among young people in UK is steepest in Europe; and school in Newcastle apologises for leaving young person in London following school trip, all in the news today.
Local authorities in London have called for increased government funding to support children with special educational needs. London Councils said boroughs in the capital were underfunded by £100m in 2016/17 while pressure on school finances limits their ability to support pupils with additional needs.
Research published today by academics at St Mary's University Twickenham and the Institut Catholique de Paris has revealed the decline of religiosity in the UK among young people is among the greatest in Europe. According to the report, 70 per cent of young adults aged 16 to 29 in the UK identify as having no religion, while 10 per cent identify as Catholic, seven per cent as Anglican, and six per cent as Muslim.
A head teacher has apologised for a "failure" which saw a child left behind on a school trip to London. ITV News reports that the principal of the Discovery School, in Newcastle, apologised directly to the child's parents after they were left in King's Cross station while the rest of the group boarded a train back to Tyneside. The teenager got home safely, meeting a teacher who had got off the train to wait at York.
Knowsley Council has appointed Colette Dutton as director of children's services. Dutton has been covering the role on an interim basis since November last year.
