Among Us is getting a VR version

  • Among Us is getting a virtual reality adaption – a first-person 3D experience instead of a third person 2D one.
  • This is due to launch on Meta Quest, PlayStation VR and Steam VR but there is currently no scheduled release date.
  • The VR adaption is part of a partnership with consulting firm, Robot Teddy, which is overseeing the game’s jump to new platforms.
  • For Your Go-To-Guide on Among Us, read our blog here.
  • Full story, here.

 

MPs prepare amendments to Online Safety Bill on violence against women  

  • MPs are preparing to amend the upcoming Online Safety Bill amid growing fears that it will not be tough enough in key areas.
  • MPs are looking to strengthen the bill when it comes to violence against women and girls online.
  • The amendments aim to ensure that violence against women is viewed as a specific harm alongside other online harms, such as child abuse and racism.
  • The draft Bill is set to introduce requirements on social media firms to ensure they protect users from material that is considered “legal but harmful”.
  • Full story, here.

 

Children’s mental health referrals increasing in Liverpool  

  • Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Unit in Liverpool has reported an increase in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) referrals.
  • The mental health team has experienced a 43% year-on-year increase in referral calls.
  • Referrals in September 2021 had already surpassed the 3,500 calls received during 2020.
  • Levels of intentional self-harming in young people are “ongoing and the most severe” the team has experienced.
  • Eating disorder inpatient admissions have risen by more than 300% since pre-pandemic.
  • Full story, here.

Children’s commissioner calls for Health and Wellbeing census to be paused  

  • Scotland’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Bruce Adamson, has called for halting the government’s Health and Wellbeing census.
  • The census is focused on pupils’ experience of drug use, alcohol consumption and sex.
  • Adamson expresses concern that those who answer the survey may be able to be identified and that questions don’t respect a pupil’s right to privacy.
  • 8 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have refused to participate in the survey, despite the First Minister confirming that it was being used for ‘statistical and research purposes only.’
  • Full story, here.

Ofsted inspections will not go ahead in schools during the last week of term   

  • Ofsted inspections will not go ahead in schools this term to allow them to plan for Omicron variant contingency measures.
  • In addition, Ofsted has stated that secondary schools will also not be inspected during the first week of term in January 2022.
  • This follows the Department of Education’s guidance to secondary schools that they should test pupils after the Christmas break to try and further reduce post-Christmas transmission.
  • The Department of Education has stated that early year’s settings, schools, and colleges will only be inspected if there are safeguarding concerns.
  • Full story, here.