Media Highlights: February 2020

Children’s social care

The Mirror featured a report by the Local Government Association on the need for  sustainable funding for children’s services. The Department for Education issued an immediate response, acknowledging the report and assured that an extra £1bn would be available for adult and children’s social care next year, and promising an independent review.

Following last month’s coverage on the crisis in accommodation for children in care, the government announced ‘strict new measures’ including a ban on under-16s in care being accommodated in unregulated placements. The Guardian, Independent, BBC News, and The Mirror all reported on the story. 

A Freedom of Information request made by The Huffington Post to the Department for Education revealed that Ministers have been asked to intervene 72 times over the last three years to use their power to force academies to accept looked after children, with some schools repeatedly blocking enrolment.

The Independent and BBC News highlighted a report which found that “poor-quality criminal investigations” of child sexual abuse in the family are leaving too many children at risk of further harm from suspected perpetrators.

An editorial in The Guardian argues central government must join the dots between its wage policies and social care funding, supplying the resources needed to guarantee the quality care millions of people across the UK deserve.

In The Guardian, Frances Ryan points out that the UK’s 700,000 young carers are doing the equivalent of  £12,000 worth of unpaid work a year and the government’s immigration plans are likely to increase the burden. 

A BBC News report highlighted fears that the financial instability of children’s care providers could put vulnerable children in care at risk. Six out of the 10 largest providers of children's homes and foster carers are running huge debts, suggests a report for councils in England. 

Children and Young People Now reported that the weekly cost of local authority-run children’s homes is £750 more than independent and voluntary-run children’s homes.

Wales’ children’s commissioner Sally Holland called for action to be taken to stop children feeling like they are being "bought and sold" in the care system, using her annual report to call for private companies to be prevented from making profits on children's homes or foster care. 

The Guardian interviewed Helen Costa who founded social enterprise Cornerstone after feeling unprepared for what adoption would bring. Cornerstone has pioneered the world’s first Virtual Reality experience for fostering and adoption services which offers “immersive therapeutic support using social Virtual Reality to help children in the care system”. 

Children’s mental health 

Place2Be celebrated Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week from 3-9th February, encouraging schools to participate using the theme of Find Your Brave. 

A BBC News report highlighted that mental health services for children are falling short; with children waiting on average 53 days before entering treatment and although children constitute 20% of the population, they receive only 10% of mental health funding. 

In The Times, mental health campaigner Ben West highlights that schools teachers receive no formal education on mental health as part of teacher training yet the leading cause of death for any boy in a classroom in the UK is suicide. He argues that mental health “first aid” education should be a mandatory part of teacher training.

An opinion piece in The Guardian argued that investment in early years education is more important than ever, particularly as we confront an epidemic of poor mental health among children. 

Fears over pupil’s health was highlighted in The Independent which found that the number of school nurses has fallen by 11% in four years – from 472 in 2015 to 420 in 2018.

Attainment gap 

The Guardian reported that a breakdown of GCSE results issued by the Department for Education showed the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others increased for the second year in a row.  

Teaching and schools

Writing in The Times, Layla Moran, LibDem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, called on the government to invest in pupil and teacher wellbeing. Moran contends that a “one size fits all” approach to learning will fail lots of children, and school inspections must adopt a less punishing approach.

Writing in The Times, Alice Thomson highlighted the benefits of flexi-schools, particularly in improving mental health and wellbeing. She highlighted a YouGov poll which found parents would prefer if primary schools were judged on pupil happiness rather than test results. 

Ofsted published a report on the effect of funding cuts on schools. CYPN noted that staff and leaders reported that pupils with SEND, and predominantly pupils with SEN support rather than those with EHCPs, have been "particularly negatively affected. The Guardian, and The Times noted a reduced curriculum.

Academics from the University of Plymouth address the high turnover of social workers in The Guardian, suggesting that new initiatives need to address the trauma and distress experienced by practitioners.

Social mobility and equality of educational opportunity

In The Times chairman of the Social Mobility Foundation Alan Milburn commented that Britain’s stagnant social mobility will never be solved unless employers proactively address recruitment policies. Milburn added that councils, mayors and community groups have a responsibility for creating new opportunities for the most disadvantaged in their areas.

A BBC News report revealed that businesses in the UK are only using about a quarter of the money made available for apprentice training, with 55 of the UK’s largest employers each having returned over £1m back to the government.  

A Sutton Trust report on social segregation in comprehensive schools was featured in The Independent. The report found that 43% of comprehensive headteachers said their schools take the socio-economic profile of their local community into little or no account when designing their admissions policies. 

The Times reported on the success story of Cambridge graduate and entrepreneur Joe Seddon’s Access Oxbridge, a mentoring scheme to help underprivileged students navigate the Oxbridge application process. Last year the programme secured 50 offers, which surpassed this year. 

The Times and The Independent reported on a study from Centre for Social Justice which recommends that universities use part of its outreach funding to pay for dedicated universities admissions specialists at schools in the poorest areas. 

Further education

The Guardian reported that said the number of UK sixth formers applying for undergraduate places rose to 275,300, despite a 1.5% decline in the UK’s overall 18-year-old population. Across the UK, applications from young people in the areas with the poorest educational backgrounds rose at twice that of areas with the highest attainment, however, students from the most advantaged areas were still 2.24 times more likely to apply to higher education. 

Universities could abolish the use of predictive grades amid growing pressure. A poll commissioned by Universities UK found that 56% of 1500 students said universities and colleges should make offers only after receiving students’ results. Students who were the first from their families to apply to higher education, and those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, were more likely to support post-A-level admissions.

The Times editorial team commented on signs of a “deeper malaise in higher education” with financial pressures leading to increased unconditional offers and money being diverted away from research towards marketing.