Category Archives: Children

Great Ormond Street apologises after children suffered ‘severe harm’ under surgeon

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NHS hospital reviews care of 700 patients after inquiry found orthopaedic doctor caused lifelong damage to some, one of whom underwent an ‘avoidable limb amputation’

A leading NHS children’s hospital is reviewing the care 721 patients received after an investigation found that children treated by one of its surgeons came to “severe harm” during limb reconstruction operations.

Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) in London has offered its “sincere apologies” to children who have suffered what the Sunday Times reported was in some cases lifelong damage.

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DRC receives first donation of 100,000 mpox vaccines to contain outbreak

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Jab not yet approved for children, who make up most cases, while officials warn millions more doses will be required

The first donation of mpox vaccines arrived in Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday, but officials say millions more doses will be needed.

The announcement came amid warnings that the geographical spread of the virus, formerly known as monkeypox, was increasing, and swift action was needed across the continent to contain the outbreak.

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China says it is ending foreign adoptions, prompting concern from US

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US diplomats seeking clarity for hundreds of families in the process of international adoption

The Chinese government is ending its international adoption programme, and the US is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications.

At a daily briefing on Thursday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said Beijing was no longer allowing intercountry adoptions of children from China, with the only exception for blood relatives to adopt a child or a stepchild.

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Retired New Orleans priest accused of child rape found competent – but trial could be delayed

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Lawrence Hecker, 92 and diagnosed with dementia, will be evaluated again to see if he is capable of defending himself

A court-ordered psychiatrist evaluated self-acknowledged child molester and retired priest Lawrence Hecker for a third time on Thursday, declaring him “fragilely competent” to stand trial on rape and kidnapping charges.

New Orleans criminal court judge Benedict Willard stopped short of declaring Hecker competent to stand trial and assist in his own defense but kept a 24 September trial date in place.

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Target for cutting premature birthrate in England will not be met, minister says

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Gillian Merron tells Lords the goal of reducing rate of preterm births to 6%, which was set in 2019, may be changed

The women’s health minister has admitted there is no chance the government will meet its target of reducing the premature birthrate to 6% in England by 2025.

Preterm birth, when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is the biggest cause of death among children under five in the UK. The previous government set a target in 2019 to reduce the preterm birthrate to 6% by 2025.

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School exclusions rise by fifth in England in past year, study finds

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Increasing amounts spent on educating pupils outside mainstream ‘where quality and safety is less guaranteed’

Suspensions and exclusions from schools in England went up by more than a fifth in the past year, according to analysis of live attendance data in a new report that raises concerns about children being shifted out of mainstream education into alternative provision.

Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that cash-strapped councils are spending increasing amounts on educating pupils outside the mainstream schools “where quality and safety is less guaranteed”.

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NSW minister admits child protection system will continue using motels hours after suggesting ban

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Kate Washington tells hearing ‘accredited providers’ will continue with hotel and motel placements for children removed from families

The minister in charge of New South Wales’ troubled child protection system has admitted that vulnerable children will continue to be housed in hotels and motels – just hours after suggesting such emergency accommodation would be banned.

The state’s families minister, Kate Washington, told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday that “accredited providers” would continue to operate hotel and motel placements for children who had been removed from their families due to abuse or neglect.

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‘They’re about two years behind’: fears for children born during lockdown as they start at school

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Covid’s world of masks and remote health visits has created a generation at risk of social and emotional difficulties

Babies born in 2020 started life in the strange world of lockdown in a small bubble of people with faces hidden behind masks. Social ­experiences, such as seeing extended family, trips to the playground or mother and baby groups, could not happen. And struggling public ­services meant infants were likely to miss out on face-to-face appointments with a health visitor who might have been able to spot developmental difficulties early.

Those babies are now four years old, and in England are arriving at school for the first time this week. Experts say teachers should be braced to encounter – and tackle – problems ranging from poor speech and language development to social and emotional difficulties.

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Dangerous play: how online gaming purchases led an Australian youth into a secret gambling addiction

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Matthew’s* father had no idea his son was even gambling, let alone deep in debt, until he got a terrifying phone call

Vincent* didn’t know his 20-year-old son Matthew* was gambling until he took a phone call from him as he stood on a cliff’s edge after racking up thousands of dollars of debt.

Matthew was crying and revealed a gambling problem which had begun years earlier with online gaming, causing increasing debt. Matthew had opened up to another family member earlier that evening, who made him feel more ashamed, calling him an idiot.

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Branded UK school uniforms cost more than double high-street prices, analysis reveals

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The Children’s Society urges schools and government to ensure ‘undue financial strain’ is not placed on families

Parents are routinely paying more than double the price for branded school uniforms compared with similar items offered by supermarkets and high-street stores, an analysis by the Observer reveals.

Despite government guidance to reduce costs, the analysis shows that parents who are required by state schools to buy clothing featuring official school logos are still paying significantly more than for unbranded blazers, jumpers, ties and sports kit.

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Stray bullets and closed schools: Rio’s kids suffer as police crack down on gangs

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Thousands of schoolchildren in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas miss classes and risk violence as Brazil’s police battle drug gangs

Textbooks and marker pens are not all that science teacher Roberto Brandão, 54, takes with him each morning when he sets off for work in a school in one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas. He also carries a first-aid kit in case he or any of his students is hit by a bullet.

“I always have it in my backpack because I could be shot at any time,” he said, displaying the red waterproof bag after attending a seminar on how police operations are affecting children’s learning in Maré.

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Anger in China after women lock crying toddler in plane toilet to ‘educate’ her

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After video of incident causes online outrage, airline says girl was taken to lavatory with grandmother’s consent

Two women in China have been accused of child abuse after they separated a crying toddler from her grandmother and locked her in the toilet of a plane, on a domestic flight.

In a video uploaded by one of the women to social media, the girl can been seen wailing and trying to get out of the locked lavatory door. One of the women can be heard saying “if you stop crying, you can go out” and “if you stop crying, auntie will take you back to grandma”. Neither of the women are thought to be related to the child.

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Parents urged to ensure children get measles jab before new UK school term

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Health agency warns of surge in cases of potentially serious disease as MMR vaccination uptake falls below 95%

Parents should make sure their children are fully vaccinated against measles before the new school term begins, the UK’s health agency has said, amid concerns that pupils mixing at school could fuel a new surge in cases.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there have been 2,278 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in England since the start of 2024, with London and the West Midlands particularly affected. The majority of cases – 62% – have been in children aged 10 years and under.

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France to trial ban on mobile phones at school for children under 15

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‘Digital pause’ experiment at 200 secondary schools could be extended nationwide in January

France is to trial a ban on mobile phones at school for pupils up to the age of 15, seeking to give children a “digital pause” that, if judged successful, could be rolled out nationwide from January.

Just under 200 secondary schools will take place in the experiment that will require youngsters to hand over phones on arrival at reception. It takes the prohibition on the devices further than a 2018 law that banned pupils at primary and secondary schools from using their phones on the premises but allowed them to keep possession of them.

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Gaza polio vaccine rollout hindered by Israeli evacuation orders, says UN

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Aid workers preparing to distribute medicine to children in effort to contain outbreak call for pause in fighting

The UN has said its ability to function in Gaza is being crippled by a flurry of Israeli evacuation orders, forcing Palestinians into ever smaller and more remote areas, days before a critical effort to contain a polio outbreak.

Aid workers warn that without a humanitarian pause, a vaccination drive due to begin this weekend could fail to reach enough children to stop the spread of the virus, which was detected there this month for the first time in 25 years. A baby has already been partly paralysed by the disease, and health experts have warned it could spread rapidly given the terrible sanitation and overcrowding in camps for Gaza’s exhausted, displaced population.

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Fifty English secondary schools suspended more than a quarter of pupils after pandemic

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Exclusive: Children in disadvantaged areas three times as likely to be sent away as pupils in wealthier places

Fifty secondary schools in England suspended more than a quarter of their students after the pandemic, with children at schools with the most disadvantaged pupils three times as likely to be suspended as those in wealthier areas, according to analysis by the Guardian.

The proportion of schools suspending large numbers of pupils has risen sharply since schools were closed to many children during Covid, and teachers have struggled with deteriorating behaviour since they reopened.

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High levels of fluoride in drinking water linked to lower IQ in children

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US government study finds association between high levels of fluoride exposure and potential neurological risk

A US government report expected to stir debate concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit is linked with lower IQ in children.

The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, marks the first time a federal agency has determined – “with moderate confidence” – that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children. While the report was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoride in drinking water alone, it is a striking acknowledgment of a potential neurological risk from high levels of fluoride.

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Five children a week killed or injured in Haiti’s gang warfare

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Analysis of UN data shows rising toll on children who are being caught in the crossfire, as well as recruited to kidnap, loot and murder, say aid groups

Five children have been killed or injured in Haiti for every week of the first six months of 2024, caught in the crossfire of warring gangs.

At least 131 children have been killed or injured so far this year, according to analysis of UN Data by Save the Children – up 47% on the final six months of 2023 when 89 cases were documented.

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Reports to NSPCC helpline of physical punishment of children triple in year

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Charity says rise ‘hugely concerning’ and calls for change in law in England and Northern Ireland in line with rest of UK

Concerns raised to the NSPCC helpline about children being physically punished have more than tripled in a year, the charity has said.

Helpline staff heard about children being hit, slapped and shaken, with 45% of the concerns raised requiring a referral to social services, the police or other agencies.

The NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000.

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Black children in England and Wales four times more likely to be strip-searched, figures show

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Children’s commissioner finds wide disparity with white counterparts in year to June 2023, with 88% of searches aimed at finding drugs

Black children are four times more likely to be strip-searched by police officers across England and Wales than their white counterparts, according to the latest nationwide figures disclosed by a watchdog.

The children’s commissioner also found that children under the age of 15 are a bigger proportion of those subjected to intimate searches, official figures from the year to June 2023 showed. Fewer than half of all searches of children in that year (45%) were conducted in the presence of an appropriate adult.

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