Social issues

More than 6,000 primary school pupils at schools across the country are currently signed up to take part in the Plastic Bottle Boat Challenge. The pupils’ aim is to set a new Guinness World Record to highlight the impact plastic waste is having on oceans and the environment. The Plastic …

Leading charity Aquarius has launched a brand new service to help schools utilise the pupil premium to provide specialist support for young people affected by mental health issues and problems arising from alcohol, drug and gambling misuse in the home. Figures from NHS Trusts across England reveal that over 100,000 …

It was last week reported that the university diversity drive is failing Britain’s ‘poorest’ students. Statistics released by UCAS, the admissions body, showed that there were 12,760 university applications from the UK’s richest postcode areas for the September 2018 intake, compared to a meagre 7,210 applications from students living in …

As the Chancellor delivers his Spring statement today, school leaders’ union NAHT is warning that young people with the highest needs are paying the most acute price for the government’s decision not to fund schools fully. Today, NAHT publishes figures from its annual survey of school budgets. The survey showed …

Responding to a report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on children and young people’s mental health needs, Cllr Richard Watts, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Action to tackle the crisis in children and young people’s mental health is long overdue and this …

Dig-In, the leading student brand-engagement platform, in collaboration with mental healthcare provider The Insight Network, has today released initial findings from one of the world’s largest-ever student mental health surveys, questioning more than 17,000 students from 130 universities across England, Scotland and Wales. The results will go on to form …

Eight out of ten school leaders report that many children arriving at primary school are not ready to take part in classroom activities. Of these, 86 per cent were concerned that children’s school readiness is worse than five years ago. The findings come from a new survey of school leaders …

Bright children from poorer backgrounds are far less likely to go to university or study A-levels that could get them into top universities than their wealthier counterparts – even if they live in the same neighbourhood and achieve similar results at GCSE. New research by the Social Mobility Commission has …

A new study for Anti-Bullying Week by not-for-profit organisation Internet Matters,  has found that parents were significantly more likely to be concerned about children aged 13 and under compared to those 14 and above. With smartphone use amongst children now increasingly common, cyberbullying ranks alongside online grooming and sexting in the …

Around 8,000 of London’s frontline professionals working with young people are being offered training in mental health support and safeguarding. The scheme aims to help young Londoners, particularly those affected by gang-related crime, thanks to £1.4m from the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC). The Mental Health and Safeguarding …