There is a “shocking” lack of places for traveller families to live in England, according to a charity. Only 18 out of 251 authorised traveller sites have any spaces available, research from Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) suggests. It says the government must “do more” to identify land for the community to live on. The government says councils are “best placed” to assess the local need for permanent traveller sites.

Leading mental health professionals will chair in-depth discussions and workshops on delivering high quality children’s mental health support during the pandemic at the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Summit, which is taking place online. The conference will take place online on the afternoon of Monday 1st March and the morning of Tuesday 2nd March 2021.

Calls by concerned adults to an NSPCC child welfare hotline have jumped by over 50% over the course of the pandemic, the charity has said. The NSPCC said it was now receiving more than 30 calls a day from adults worried that a child was living with domestic abuse, up 53% from pre-pandemic levels.

Vulnerable children are facing an increasing wave of hidden abuse since the start of the pandemic, according to ongoing evidence of a slump in the numbers being identified by social services. The impact of the pandemic since March has intensified issues such as domestic violence, parental mental health and alcohol and substance abuse – all factors that put children at greater risk.