NSPCC chief executive: ‘More children should be taken into care’

‘More children need to be taken into care’

Too many children at risk of serious neglect or abuse are being left with their parents because the care system is considered such a poor alternative, the head of the NSPCC has said.

Andrew Flanagan, the new chief executive of the charity, said that after the Baby P tragedy the debate should shift to why foster and residential care were considered “not a good option” and the steps needed to improve the system so that it was not used as an excuse to leave children in danger.

Read more on this story in The Daily Mail

Girls are too protected to spot online dangers, says Girlguiding UK

Young girls are too wrapped up in cotton wool to understand the dangers of meeting strangers online and street safety, research by Girlguiding UK suggests.
The poll of 986 Guides aged between 10 and 18 found a fifth have considered meeting someone that they contacted via the internet, even though the same proportion had encountered people lying online.

Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph

Third of children eat a takeaway a week

Children as young as nine months are eating a diet of takeaways, fizzy drinks, crisps and sweets, according to an independent group of health professionals with an interest in children and nutrition.

A survey of 1,000 parents by the Infant and Toddler Forum found that nearly a third of under-threes eat at least one takeaway a week and 19% are given takeaways or adult ready meals every day.
Read more on this story in The Guardian

Flexible hours for parents of under-16s

Millions of parents with children up to the age of 16 will be able to request flexible working from their employers from today, under a change to the law which will dramatically increase the number of people entitled to ask for more family-friendly conditions.

Legislation introduced in 2003 allowed parents with children under the age of six to request flexible working from employers who were obliged to “seriously consider” any application and only reject it if there were “good business reasons for doing so”.

Read more on this story in The Guardian