21/01/2022: Stop caging people with autism and learning disabilities, says Robert Buckland
Ex-Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland is calling for changes to mental health laws to stop people with autism or learning disabilities being detained in hospitals for long periods. Last year, the BBC found that 100 people with learning disabilities and autism had been held in hospitals for at least 20 years. Sir Robert said the “effective caging of human beings” was “out of date”.
Read: BBC
20/01/2022: MoJ Has Under Invested In Its Female Offender Strategy
The Ministry of Justice has made limited progress on its Female Offender Strategy to improve outcomes for women in the criminal justice system because it has not prioritised investment in this work, according to a report published yesterday by the National Audit Office (NAO). As readers know, women in the justice system have distinct needs and worse outcomes than men.
Read: Russell Webster
07/01/2022: Devolved governments raise funding concerns about UK policy compelling councils to take asylum-seeking children
The Scottish and Welsh governments are seeking an urgent meeting with the Home Office to raise concerns over its now-mandatory requirement for UK councils to take unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Since 14 December, the Home Office has compelled all British local authorities to sign up to its previously voluntary national transfer scheme (NTS), which enables councils for whom unaccompanied children make up more than 0.07% of their child population to refer children to other authorities.
Read: Community Care
02/01/2022: More than half of UK’s black children live in poverty, analysis shows
More than half of black children in the UK are now growing up in poverty, a new analysis of official data has revealed. Black children are also now more than twice as likely to be growing up poor as white children, according to the Labour party research, which was based on government figures for households that have a “relative low income” – defined as being below 60% of the median, the standard definition for poverty.
Read: Guardian
16/12/2021: ‘A lot fell into place’: the adults who discovered they were autistic – after their child was diagnosed
The recorded incidence of autism has increased 787% in 20 years. For many parents, getting help for an autistic child alerted them to their own traits. When John Purnell’s 10-year-old son was diagnosed as autistic, he knew exactly how to respond. “I’ve always been fascinated by research, by detail, by finding out everything there is to find out about something,” he says. “So I did a really deep dive.”
Read: Guardian
15/12/2021: Three in five LGBTQ+ young people abused online
Around 60 per cent of young LGBTQ+ people have been subjected to hate speech online, a survey has revealed. The survey, of more than 1,500 young people, found that three in five of those from the LGBTQ+ community had experienced hateful content online that had made them upset. In comparison 41 per cent of heterosexual young people said they had experienced such content.
11/11/2021: How PE teachers can help to tackle racism in sport
It’s time to address the elephant in the room: racism in sport is a problem. It’s always been an issue, but the scandal at Yorkshire County Cricket Club has brought the discussion back to the fore. PE teachers and schools have a critical role to play here: and all should be teaching racial justice and equity as part of their core purpose.
10/11/2021: School system blighted by failures to support autistic pupils, charity warns
A charity has found widespread failures across education to support autistic pupils and their families, who are facing long delays, inadequate help and stressful legal battles. A survey of parents and carers by the National Autistic Society (NAS) found a quarter face a three year wait for help while 57 per cent do not receive assistance within a year.
05/11/2021: Girls In Custody
A recent (October 2021) report by the Centre For Mental Health looks at the needs of girls in the Children and Young People Secure Estate (CYPSE). Out of Sight, authored by Lorraine Khan, Androulla Harris and Curtis Sinclair, was commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement in partnership with the Youth Custody Service. The review is informed by interviews with girls who had been in the CYPSE, conducted by Leaders Unlocked.
Read: Russell Webster
05/11/2021: Girls ‘face more mental health issues in secondary’
Girls experience increasing mental health issues at secondary school compared with boys, according to new research. John Jerrim, an education professor at UCL’s Institute of Education, has drawn on pre-pandemic data to explore the factors influencing pupils’ mental health.
01/11/2021: What do we know about girls and gangs?
HM Inspectorate of Probation has published the latest report in its “Academic Insights” series which is aimed at everyone within the probation sector with an interest in the evidence base. The Inspectorate commissions leading academics to present their views on specific topics in order to inform debate and help everyone’s understanding of what helps and what hinders probation and youth offending services.
Read: Work with Offenders
30/10/2021: Student ‘still feels vulnerable on nights out’ five years after alleged spiking
A former art student who had to use a walking stick and lost the use of her hand for weeks after she believes she was spiked has said she still feels vulnerable going out, five years after the alleged incident. Polly Sutherland, who was studying at Lancaster University, was 19 when her friends noticed she was behaving uncharacteristically during a night out at the university’s student union club, the Sugarhouse, in December 2016.
Read: Guardian
29/10/2021: Research reveals rapes and assaults admitted to by male UK students
The first survey examining sexual violence by male UK students has shone a light on misogyny at universities, with scores admitting to rape, sexual assault and other forcible acts. Of the 554 male students surveyed, 63 reported that they had committed 251 sexual assaults, rapes and other coercive and unwanted incidents in the past two years, according to researchers at the University of Kent.
Read: Guardian
21/10/2021: Youth offending services failing black and mixed heritage boys, inspectors warn
Inspectors have warned of “significant deficits” in support offered by youth offending teams, and their partners across social care and education, to black and mixed heritage boys. A report by the inspectorate of probation found that many of these boys face multiple disadvantages in their life, at school and with their mental health.
21/10/2021: ‘School-to-prison pipeline’: youth justice services failing black boys
The government has been urged to act over the “school to prison pipeline” after a report found black and mixed heritage boys in England received poor support from youth offending services. HM Inspectorate of Probation found “significant deficits” in the quality of work conducted by youth offending services and partner agencies when dealing with black and mixed heritage boys.
Read: Guardian
