02/02/2025: AI-generated child sex abuse images targeted with new laws
Four new laws will tackle the threat of child sexual abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the government has announced.
01/02/2025: Top supermarkets running ‘prohibited’ tobacco ads
Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are displaying adverts for tobacco products in their stores which Trading Standards says are against the law.
31/01/2025: Violence against women and girls growing, says watchdog
The Home Office’s response to the “serious and growing problem” of violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been ineffective, the UK’s spending watchdog has said.
30/01/2025: Call for age restrictions on video game loot boxes
More regulation is needed to limit gambling-like practices in video games, researchers have warned.
29/01/2025: ‘We don’t just teach – we clothe the kids, feed them and brush their teeth’
As the bell rings at St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy in Boston, Lincolnshire, head teacher Mrs Booth spots a little boy coming through the gates with his hood pulled up, crying.
28/01/2025: Children joined riots for the ‘thrill’, report says
Children who took part in riots last summer were primarily driven by curiosity and the “thrill of the moment”, rather than far-right ideology and social media misinformation, the children’s commissioner for England has said.
27/01/2025: Press now allowed to report from family courts
Journalists can now report from family courts in England and Wales in what the UK’s most senior family judge has called a “watershed” change.
27/01/2025: ‘Do not boost SEND tribunal powers’, council representatives urge
A proposed extension of the powers and jurisdiction of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Tribunals have been criticised by local government representatives.
27/01/2025: Domestic abuse tsar calls on police to recognise victim rights of child witnesses
The police are currently failing to recognise the victim rights of children who witness violence and abuse in their home, according to the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales.
27/01/2025: ‘Flawed statistics’ undermine understanding of children in care outcomes, warns regional body
Available figures do not enable councils to determine whether they are purchasing the right kinds of placement, according to ‘co-operative’ set up to test region-wide commissioning of care
27/01/2025: Scottish child abuse gang members jailed for between eight and 20 years
Seven people, whom the judge said had plumbed ‘the depths of human depravity’, will be monitored for life
27/01/2025: Gen Z far less likely to be atheists than parents and grandparents, new study reveals
With many of younger generation found to identify as ‘spiritual’, research counters assumption spirituality is on decline and in fact implies God is ‘making a comeback’
27/01/2025: Effective Relational Working In Youth Justice
An evidence-informed model and guide for effective relational working in youth justice.
25/01/2025: Axel Rudakubana: from ‘unassuming’ schoolboy to Southport killer
How a chain of events apparently beginning at school five years ago led to the murder of three girls in horrific atrocity.
24/01/2025: Talking about extreme online violence with young people: advice for parents
How can parents know when children are accessing violent material and how should they discuss the risks?
24/01/2025: Gender dysphoria diagnoses among children in England rise fiftyfold over 10 years
Study of GP records finds prevalence rose from one in 60,000 in 2011 to one in 1,200 in 2021 – but numbers still low overall.
23/01/2025: Government appoints 19 experts to help with SEND reform
The government has appointed experts to advise on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms to mainstream education.
23/01/2025: Child deaths in England rising above pre-pandemic levels, study finds
Number surges after temporary decline during lockdowns, with rate higher for children from non-white backgrounds
22/01/2025: Southport attacker guilty pleas trigger online knife crackdown
Online retailers could be forced to ask for two types of ID as part of government measures to stop children buying knives in the wake of the Southport triple-killer’s confession.
22/01/2025: Child mental health admissions to acute wards in England rise 65% in a decade
Hospital wards struggle to cope with rising cases of self-harm and eating disorders, the study warns.
20/01/2025: Free school meals ‘would tackle child poverty’
A Labour MP has said he wants to see the government introduce free school meals as a means to tackle child poverty, once the economy improves.
20/01/2025: Poor parental mental health becomes top concern in child social care assessments
Mental health problems among parents have overtaken domestic abuse as the most common factor highlighted in children’s social care assessments.
19/01/2025: School forced to close after ‘ransomware attack’
A school in Cheshire has announced a temporary closure after falling victim to a “ransomware attack”.
18/01/2025: Schools ‘need more help’ to tackle rising number of sexual assaults by pupils
Charities say better guidance is needed over increasing number of sexual assaults in UK primary schools.
17/01/2025: Ofsted inspection reforms ‘do not go far enough’
A school leaders’ union has said Ofsted inspection reforms “do not go anywhere near far enough”.
17/01/2025: Police warning over WhatsApp account takeover scam
Police in Derbyshire have issued a warning over a rise in scammers attempting to take over people’s WhatsApp accounts.
17/01/2025: People with working-class accents more likely to be suspected of committing crimes
Negative stereotypes linked to some accents raise serious concerns of bias in justice system, warn researchers.
17/01/2025: Police fear ‘rightwing driven’ reaction to grooming gangs will harm victims
Senior officers say fraction of child abuse cases relate to gangs and funding could be diverted from current cases.
16/01/2025: All porn sites must ‘robustly’ verify UK user ages by July
All websites on which pornographic material can be found, including social media platforms, must introduce “robust” age-checking techniques such as demanding photo ID or running credit card checks for UK users by July.
16/01/2025: Home Secretary announces local inquiries into grooming gangs
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced a £5 million plan to implement five local inquiries into grooming gangs.