14/01/2026: SEND reforms could increase demand, warn children’s services leaders
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms risk driving up demand unless the system is re-designed around inclusion, shared responsibility and adequate resources, children’s services leaders have warned.
(Source: Children and Young People Now)
14/01/2026: One in four UK teenagers in care have attempted to end their lives, study says
Research also shows teenagers in care are four times more likely to try to end their lives than peers with no care history.
13/01/2026: Safe spaces needed for drug-addicted children, say grieving mums
Three women whose teenage sons died after becoming addicted to drugs have told the BBC the system failed their children.
13/01/2026: MPs launch probe into youth custody provision
The Commons’ Justice Committee is to investigate standards in youth custody in England and Wales and whether existing provision prevents offending and upholds a “child first” approach.
(Source: Children and Young People Now)
12/01/2026: Parents of under-fives to be offered screen time guidance
Parents of under-fives in England are to be offered official advice on how long their children should spend watching TV or looking at computer screens.
11/01/2026: Ban social media for under-16s, top teaching union urges UK government
NASUWT says evidence growing that unregulated access affects behaviour in school and harms mental health.
08/01/2026: Responding to AI misuse and “Undressing” Images on Social Media
We are increasingly seeing reports of individuals who have been affected by the misuse of artificial intelligence on social media platforms, particularly where AI tools have been used to create synthetic sexualised images of individuals as well as using AI to undress people using their publicly available photos.
(Source: South West Grid for Learning)
07/01/2026: Schools want help in ‘lonely battle’ against vapes
Teenagers in hospital, thousands of pounds spent on e-cigarette detectors and addicted students hiding in toilets – just some of the challenges schools are facing in what has been described as a “public health emergency”.
07/11/2025: Cheshire to become first county to see phones locked away at all secondary schools
Mobile phones will be locked away during the school day in every state high school in Cheshire, under an initiative led by the county’s police and crime commissioner (PCC).
(Source: Children and Young People Now)
07/11/2025: Child and parental mental health problems increasingly driving need for social care, DfE figures show
Mental ill-health shows fastest rate of growth of factors identified at the end of assessments, as directors’ body warns strain on the NHS is increasing pressures on councils.
07/11/2025: New Thematic Inspection on the Effectiveness of Diverting Children from the Criminal Justice System
The effectiveness of diverting children from the criminal justice system: meeting needs, ensuring safety, and preventing reoffending.
(Source: Youth Justice Legal Centre)
06/11/2025: Free school meals for 1,300 more children in Devon
About 1,300 extra children in Devon are now getting free school meals after a change in policy.