Sugar levels in puddings, biscuits and chocolate have not been cut despite a government crackdown on sweet treats. The BBC reports that Public Health England (PHE) has set a target of reducing the sugar intake from a host of popular foods by a fifth by 2020. Its first year update shows progress in yoghurts and breakfast cereals, but not in other areas. PHE said it still represented a good start, although it expects faster progress in the coming years.
Grammar school pupils gain no social or emotional advantages by age 14 over children who do not attend a selective school, a study has suggested. The Guardian reports that the research by University College London is the latest to call into question the government's plans to expand selective state education, which have been fiercely opposed by educationalists and policymakers. Recent studies have suggested that grammar schools only outperform their non-grammar peers academically because they select well, rather than because they add value, and do not increase social mobility.
Surrey County Council is bringing in help from other local authorities to help with its struggling children's services. The BBC reports that Hampshire County Council will assist the local authority with developing early help work, Essex County Council will help to review and restructure the multi-agency safeguarding hub, while Hertfordshire County Council will deploy its director of children's services to work in Surrey for two days a week to introduce a family safeguarding system.
Pupils in secondary schools with a more diverse racial mix are much more positive about people of different ethnicities, researchers have found. The BBC reports that a study by the London School of Economics and the University of Bristol, looking at the attitudes of 4,000 teenagers in English state schools, found that the more mixed the school, the warmer feelings pupils are likely to have towards other races and ethnicities.
