Category Archives: England

Children’s development ‘put back by years’ due to failure of special educational needs system

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Local government ombudsman report into SEND in England offers damning assessment

England’s special education system is failing, causing thousands of children to have their development put back by months or even years, according to a damning report by the local government ombudsman.

Amerdeep Somal, the local government and social care ombudsman, said her caseload was now dominated by complaints from families involving special educational needs (Sen) provision and schools, with more than 90% of complaints being upheld.

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Slovenian girl, 12, saves project aiming to reintroduce cicadas to New Forest

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Conservationists failed to capture elusive insects this summer, so Kristina Kenda offered to step in

When British conservationists flew to Slovenia this summer hoping to catch enough singing cicadas to reintroduce the species to the New Forest, the grasshopper-sized insects proved impossible to locate, flying elusively at great height between trees.

Now a 12-year-old girl has offered to save the Species Recovery Trust’s reintroduction project. Kristina Kenda, the daughter of the Airbnb hosts who accommodated the trust’s director, Dom Price, and conservation officer Holly Stanworth in the summer summer, will put out special nets to hopefully catch enough cicadas to re-establish a British population.

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Too many buildings remain unsafe after Grenfell disaster, housing minister warns

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Wajid Khan tells House of Lords remediation work is yet to start on half of properties with unsafe cladding

Far too many high and medium-rise buildings are still unsafe after the Grenfell disaster, with dangerous cladding remaining on at least 2,400 blocks, a housing minister has warned.

Wajid Khan, a Labour peer and housing minister, said on Friday that remediation work had not started at approximately 50% of properties being monitored for their unsafe cladding.

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Prison blueprints leak sparks security alert in jails in England and Wales

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Plans are understood to show where cameras and sensors are, triggering fears of weapon smuggling and escapes

Detailed prison blueprints have been leaked, triggering a security alert at jails in England and Wales, it has emerged.

The leak, first reported by the Times, involves prison layouts being shared on the dark web in the last fortnight, prompting an investigation by the National Crime Agency.

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UK weather: Met Office warnings as ‘multi-hazard’ Storm Bert approaches

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Several weather warnings in place for weekend, with snow, wind, rain and ice predicted

Storm Bert is expected to bring wind, rain, ice and snow to much of the UK over the weekend in what forecasters have called a “multi-hazard event”.

The Met Office has issued several weather warnings – mostly yellow, but also including the more severe amber in Scotland – for Saturday and Sunday.

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Gatwick airport reopens terminal after bomb scare evacuation

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Security cordon lifted and train services resume as travel plans are disrupted for thousands of people

Gatwick’s south terminal has reopened for passengers after a security alert caused disruption for thousands of people.

Sussex police said they had released two people after concluding their investigation into reports of a suspect package at the airport. A bomb disposal team made the package safe, the force added in a statement on X.

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Tributes paid to ‘kind and loving’ British tourist who died in Laos

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Simone White was one of six people to die in suspected methanol poisoning incident in Vang Vieng

Tributes have been paid to the “beautiful, kind and loving” British tourist Simone White, one of six people to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.

The six died after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol in Vang Vieng, a town popular with backpackers. These include the Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, an American man and two Danish women aged 19 and 20.

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Tests for year 1 pupils in England should be dropped, headteachers urge

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NAHT says early checks on phonics, arithmetic and English in primary schools are potential waste of time and funding

Primary school pupils in England should not face compulsory tests on phonics, times tables or grammar and punctuation, an influential headteachers’ union has advised the government.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) told the government’s national curriculum and assessment review that there was an “urgent need” to reconsider the phonics check of reading ability, along with the multiplication check and tests of spelling, grammar and punctuation, as a potential waste of school time and funding.

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Judge denies he was asked to give advice about Letby because he is a Freemason

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Simon Medland KC told inquiry his membership of organisation was not the reason he was approached by hospital boss

A judge has denied he was asked to give legal advice to hospital bosses over concerns about nurse Lucy Letby because he is a Freemason, a public inquiry has heard.

The Thirlwall inquiry into events surrounding the crimes of Letby heard that both Judge Simon Medland KC and the Countess of Chester’s former director of corporate and legal services, Stephen Cross, are members of the organisation.

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Regulator stops customers from being billed for ‘undeserved’ bonuses

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Ofwat uses new powers to ensure investors pay at Thames, Yorkshire, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water

Investors at Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water will be forced to pick up the tab for executive bonuses after the regulator determined that the sector had awarded “undeserved” extra payments, worth £6.8m.

Ofwat said on Thursday it had used new powers to ensure that shareholders and bondholders at the three companies paid for bonuses because they had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”.

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Mental health patients harmed by being sent to units far from home, report finds

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Distant placements found to have led to anxiety, PTSD and suicide in some cases, as use of them increases in England

Mental health patients in England are being harmed by the increase in placements in psychiatric units far from their homes and families, a new report indicates.

Patients have had anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while some have died by suicide as a result of their distant placements, according to a Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) report, which drew on interviews with patients and their loved ones. The participants spoke of how their experiences had resulted in feelings of anger, frustration and a loss of trust in the mental health system.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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UK failing animals with just one welfare inspector for every 878 farms – report

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Only 2.5% of more than 300,000 farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, researchers find

There is just one local authority inspector for every 878 farms in England, Scotland and Wales, according to a report, which says that the current welfare system is continuing to fail animals.

Researchers for the Animal Law Foundation found that only 2.5% of the more than 300,000 UK farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, a marginal decrease from 2018-21 when Covid-19 might be expected to have affected inspection rates.

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England’s national parks facing financial peril due to budget cuts, say CEOs

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Exclusive: Leaders warn cost savings will lead to mass redundancies and that spaces could become ‘paper parks’

England’s national parks face a 12% real-terms cut to their budget which would lead to mass redundancies of wardens and the closure of visitor centres and other facilities, park leaders have warned.

The chief executives told the Guardian that soon the spaces would become “paper parks” designated by a “brown sign on the motorway” and they will have to “turn the lights off, close the doors and put up closed signs” if the cuts go ahead.

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Call to ban cakes and biscuits at school lunchtimes in England

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Campaigners want ministers to overhaul rules to outlaw snacks that contain up to 12 teaspoons of sugar

Schools in England should be banned from giving pupils cakes or biscuits as part of their lunch because they contain so much sugar, food campaigners say.

They want ministers to overhaul the rules that guide schools on the nutritional content of the meals they serve to outlaw such sugary snacks.

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Unlicensed medicines may lead to more baby deaths in England, coroner warns

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Contaminated feed inquest conclusions highlight concerns over lack of requirement for providers to report problems

More babies in England could die from issues caused by unlicensed medicines if providers are not required to report problems, a coroner has warned.

The conclusions were reached at the end of an inquest held after three infants died due to receiving contaminated feed.

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Houses in national parks in England and Wales sell for 25% more, study finds

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Nationwide says New Forest is most expensive national park with an average property price of £576,000

Buying a home in a national park comes at a 25% price premium, with the New Forest the most expensive of the 13 parks in England and Wales, according to Britain’s biggest building society.

Nationwide said properties in a national park enjoy a valuation almost £67,000 more than a similar property elsewhere, based on the average UK house price of £266,640.

New Forest – £576,000

South Downs – £400,000

Peak District – £375,000

Yorkshire Dales – £353,000

Lake District – £333,000

Dartmoor – £310,000

Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) – £274,000

Eryri (Snowdonia) – £173,000

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Pregnant cow rescued after getting stuck in swimming pool in Rutland

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The 600kg animal was in the deep end and it took Leicestershire firefighters three hours to get her out safely

A pregnant cow has had to be rescued by firefighters after she got stuck in a small swimming pool.

The 590kg (93-stone) cow was found in the deep end of the pool in two to three feet of water at a house in Ketton, Rutland.

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Schools in England could be judged on scale of colours in Ofsted proposals

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Inspectorate aims to replace single headline grade such as outstanding with assessment of 10 key areas

Schools could be judged on a five-step scale of colours or descriptions across 10 separate areas, such as inclusion and belonging, according to proposals by England’s schools inspectorate.

The proposals by Ofsted aim to replace inspection reports that culminate in a single headline grade such as outstanding, which Labour pledged to scrap after a coroner’s report said Ofsted’s inspection had contributed to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry last year.

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Girl who died after leaving police vehicle on M5 named as Tamzin Hall

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Police say family of 17-year-old have asked for privacy after she was fatally struck by car on motorway in Somerset

A teenage girl who fled a stationary police vehicle on the M5 and was fatally struck by a car has been named as Tamzin Hall.

The 17-year-old from Wellington, Somerset, died after being struck by a vehicle travelling southbound on the motorway between Bridgwater and Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.

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Many NHS staff would use conscience clause if assisted dying is legalised, say doctors

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Christian and Muslim groups say medics who refuse to help patients die not protected in England and Wales bill

A significant proportion of NHS medical staff are likely to exercise a conscience clause if assisted dying is legalised by parliament.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill stipulates that no doctor would be under any obligation to participate in assisted dying.

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