Daily roundup: free schools, social workers and youth unemployment

Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt has written to Michael Gove saying he is concerned problems at a Muslim free school reveal a "systemic complacency" over standards. In his letter to the Education Secretary, Hunt said: "In the coming days, we expect Ofsted to publish the inspection report on one of your flagship free schools, the Al-Madinah Free School in Derby… and I am extremely concerned that this situation could be indicative of a systemic complacency on standards." Hunt went on to ask whether Gove was satisfied with current performance arrangements in free schools, the BBC reports.

Membership of The College of Social Work has this week reached 10,000, 18 months after its launch. College chair Jo Cleary said: “We are delighted that so many social workers are joining The College and providing a strong unified voice for the profession."

The number of unemployed young people aged 16- to 24-years-old fell by 1,000 between June and August. Figures from the Office National of Statistics, published today, reveal that 958,000 young adults are currently out of work. Nationally, the number of unemployed people fell by 18,000 to 2.49 million, while the number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance fell by 41,700 to 1.35 million.

Surrey County Council is offering up to £300 to each local business that provides work experience placements to 16- to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training. The aim of the initiative is to help unemployed teenagers gain experience that will improve their future job prospects. The council wants to fill 110 work experience places by next April as part of its commitment to boosting the county’s economic growth.

The charity Business in the Community is calling on UK employers to remove the default criminal-record disclosure tick box from job application forms. Its Ban the Box campaign aims to address the discrimination faced by job-seeking ex-offenders. By employers assessing job seekers on their skills and abilities first, rather than excluding them because of an unrelated conviction, reoffending rates could also drop, it says.

A three-year research project, undertaken by the RSPB, has found that only 21 per cent of children in the UK have a level of connection to nature that can be considered "realistic and achievable" for all children. The questionnaire asked 1,088 children aged eight to 12-years-old on their views about nature. The RSPB said the findings add to growing concerns over generations of children with little or no contact with the natural world and wildlife.