Round Up

I was away for most of last week, so here's a quick summary of some of the new reports and research which came out during that time:

• A report from the UN's Committee on the Rights of the Child made 120 recommendations for improving the rights of children in the UK; among its recommendations were calls for a ban on all corporal punishment and raising the age of responsibility. You can read the conclusions of the report by clicking here, also available are summaries from the BBC and the Guardian.
• The End Child Poverty campaign released new figures which show that 174 constituencies in the UK contain 50% of children living in or on the brink of poverty. In addition, there are areas of particular concentration in Birmingham and Glasgow where child poverty can run at higher than 80%. This map provides an overall picture of the situation across the UK.
• The 11th annual report of the British Education Suppliers Association (BESA) has suggested that many primary and secondary schools consider themselves underequipped with regards to their ICT provision. A summary of the findings is available by following this link and clicking on the PDF symbol.
• Children's Experience of Private Fostering is a new report published by Ofsted.
• Also new from Ofsted is Learning Outside the Classroom, which examines current provision in schools and colleges, and how they can overcome barriers in this area.