Daily roundup: Academies, gender-related abortion, and 'safe-havens' for bullied children

There are now more than 2,600 open academies, while a further 500 schools will convert soon, according to Department for Education statistics. The figures show 15 per cent of all schools are now academies or in the conversion process, while 100 per cent of secondary schools in Darlington, Rutland and Bexley have converted. Education Secretary Michael Gove hailed the figures as proof that teachers are relishing new academy freedoms. But Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the news that more than 80 per cent of schools have not chosen academy status is “scarcely a success”, stood against the government’s ambition that all schools should become academies.

Ministers may collect data on the sex of unborn babies at the time of abortion in order to investigate claims of illegal gender-related abortions among UK immigrant communities. The Daily Telegraph reports that the government has been urged to open an inquiry after it emerged that birth rates for girls and boys vary noticeably according to where their mothers were born. Lord Alton of Liverpool, a crossbench peer said the data on birth rates provides preliminary evidence to back up concerns that sex-selection abortions are happening in Britain, but more robust evidence is needed.

Shops and businesses in Denbighshire, Wales, are being asked to act as 'safe-havens' to children being bullied on their journeys to and from school, BBC Wales reports. Workers in the area will be given training on how to offer support to children who come into their shops looking for help. It is part of the I-Spy campaign, which aims to bring schools, community groups and police together to tackle bullying. Phil Pierce, head teacher of Prestatyn High School, told the BBC he hopes the scheme will launch next month. 

Colleges in Scotland are to receive £24m in funding to help get young people into work, according to a story in the Daily Record. Official figures show 21.1 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds in Scotland were out of work last autumn. The funding was announced in a Holyrood debate by the Scottish youth employment minister Angela Constance. The money will come from a combination of the Scottish Funding Council, and Skills Development Scotland.

And finally, a six-year-old girl has donated her hair to help children with cancer, ITV news reports. Amelia Bailey has had her hair cut off and will donate it to the Little Princess Trust, a charity that specialises in providing wigs to children suffering with the disease. She came up with the idea after the daughter of one of her mum's friends died of cancer.