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Daily News Summary
23 May 2023

Redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse launches in England
Safeguarding concerns in schools are rising, teacher survey suggests
School support staff to vote on strikes over pay
Teacher banned from profession for 'misgendering' pupil
Labour could introduce new salt and sugar tax, leader suggests
High levels of lead and nickel found in illegal vapes

Redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse launches in England

 

A national redress scheme, modelled on recommendations put forward by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) last October, will see thousands of victims of institutional child abuse paid sums of up to £100,000 in compensation. The scheme will be accompanied by a new mandatory duty on professionals working with children — in both paid and voluntary roles — to report allegations of abuse, making it a criminal offence to fail to report an allegation. By Matt Dathan, The Times.

 
The Times

Safeguarding concerns in schools are rising, teacher survey suggests

 

A Tes survey of over 1,200 school staff suggests 73 per cent feel there are more safeguarding concerns being raised than this time last year. In addition, 39 per cent of respondents said they do not feel that there is sufficient guidance for schools overall on how to deal with allegations of sexual harassment and violence. By Charlotte Santry, Tes.

 
Tes

School support staff to vote on strikes over pay

 

School support staff are voting today on whether to take industrial action over pay. Unison, which had called for an increase of two per cent above inflation, has said an offer of a flat rate of £1,925 was “nowhere near” enough to meet rising prices during the cost-of-living crisis. By John Roberts, Tes.

Dr Anthony Freeling, acting vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, has joined union calls to restart negotiations over lecturer strikes and end student “suffering”. A joint statement has been issued by Dr Freeling and the head of the local University and College Union (UCU) in an attempt to “urgently” restart negotiations. By Benedict Smith, The Telegraph.

 

Teacher banned from profession for 'misgendering' pupil

 

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the UK, a Christian teacher has been banned from the profession for “misgendering” a pupil. Joshua Sutcliffe was ruled by the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) to have failed to treat a pupil with “dignity and respect” and was also found to have failed to protect the child's wellbeing when he did not use the preferred pronouns of a girl who identified as a boy. By Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph.

 
The Telegraph

Labour could introduce new salt and sugar tax, leader suggests

 

In a key speech yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer suggested the party could introduce a new tax on sugary and salty foods after the cost-of-living crisis eases. Unveiling new plans to ban the marketing of junk food to children on TV and social media, the Labour leader outlined his vision to overhaul the NHS and ‌explained that part of his plan is to encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles to ease the burden on hospitals. By Nick Gutteridge, The Telegraph.

 
The Telegraph

High levels of lead and nickel found in illegal vapes

 

BBC News has found that vapes confiscated from a school contain high levels of lead, nickel and chromium, which can affect the central nervous system and brain development of children, according to the World Health Organisation. The results of laboratory tests on used vapes, gathered at Baxter College in Kidderminster, showed pupils using them could be inhaling more than twice the daily safe amount of lead, and nine times the safe amount of nickel. By Hugh Pym and Lucy Watkinson.

 
BBC

 

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