One in 10 pupils in England have missed school because they felt unsafe

  • A survey of 70,000 English school children aged 7-18 years by Edurio & The Key education support services found that one in 10 pupils have missed school in the last six months because they felt unsafe.
  • The report looked at the connection between children feeling safe in school and attendance levels.
  • The report found that pupils are most likely to feel unsafe in corridors and playgrounds, usually because of other children but 13% said because of a teacher.
  • To learn more, go to the Guardian’s website.

Rise in vape sales to children alarms Trading Standards officers

  • A survey by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute has found a rise in shops selling vaping products to children as young as 12 years old.
  • They found that 60% of local Trading Standards services are most concerned about high street shops selling illicit vapes to children.
  • Trading Standards teams across England and Wales reported a significant rise in vape sales to underage young people last year.
  • For more, go to the Independent’s website.

Concern at decline of West Midlands children’s centres

  • More than half of council-run children’s centres in the West Midlands have closed in the past decade.
  • Some have shut down completely, others have had services reduced or been repurposed by schools, private nurseries or charities.
  • Some families described the Lakeside Children’s Centre in Erdington as their ‘lifeline’.
  • Freedom of Information requests shown to local authorities in Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Solihull showed that in 2010 there were 189 council-run centres but by 2021, only 75 remained.
  • To read the full story, go to the BBC’s website.