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The privately-owned children’s home accused of failing to protect a victim of the Rochdale sex abuse ring is being investigated by standards watchdogs. Inspectors turned up unannounced at the single-occupancy home which is now part of a group owned by an Anglo-American private equity company. The education watchdog Ofsted, which is responsible for standards in [...]

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OUR core physiology relies on subtle organic timers: disrupt them, and effects range from jet lag to schizophrenia. Exactly how and when life began keeping time is unclear, but a candidate for the original biological clock may solve the mystery. Biological clocks are ubiquitous in nature, so the first clock should pre-date the evolutionary parting [...]

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Children’s television programmes including Blue Peter and Newsround will be moved off BBC1 and BBC2 as part of the corporation’s cost-cutting measures. The shows will move to digital channels CBBC and CBeebies as part of the Delivering Quality First scheme. The plans, part of a process which has seen the BBC commit to saving billions [...]

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She is a former Miss World, a successful Bollywood star and married to the son of one of India’s best-loved stars. She found international fame in the Hollywood film Bride and Prejudice, and Julia Roberts billed her as the world’s most beautiful woman. Thanks to the notoriety such fame and fortune has brought her, Aishwarya [...]

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Security forces in Cambodia have killed a teenage girl during a clash with villagers armed with axes and crossbows in the latest of a series of violent evictions aimed at clearing land for development. Reports said that during a clash between up to 400 soldiers and police and villagers in Kratie province in the east [...]

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Forget the reductions in news, arts and music programming announced in the BBC’s latest round of cost-saving alterations to the entertainment schedules – there is only one change that really matters. After 60 years on the flagship – or, in lay terms, “proper” – channel, BBC1, Blue Peter is to be moved to CBBC, the [...]

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A 15-year-old youth is facing a life sentence after being found guilty of stabbing a student to death in a row over conkers. The youth was found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering architecture student Steven Grisales, 21. Mr Grisales died after he went over to remonstrate with three boys throwing conkers still in [...]

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A Chinese restaurant offering an all-you-can-eat buffet is charging customers £20 in ‘wastage’ if they leave food on their plates. Managers at the Kylin Buffet in Ocean Road, South Shields, have put up a notice urging diners to eat up all their food – or face the penalty charge. The policy has outraged one mother [...]

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Critics also warn that the move will make it harder for parents to regulate their children’s television viewing.   The corporation announced that all shows aimed at children will be moved off BBC One and BBC Two and onto digital channels dedicated to young viewers. They claim the move will save money while at the [...]

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Take an exclusive behind the scenes look at the making of the Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two video game. Meet some of the key people behind the creation of the game, and get a deeper understanding into the core gameplay features, mechanics and storyline. Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two [...]

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For most parents, it’s an achievement to get the children to school in time with everything they need (homework, the signed consent forms, the right sports kit, musical instruments, the cake for the charity fundraiser). But it seems we should also now be weighing their school bags. The combined weight of everything they are having [...]

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The new headteacher of a school called the strictest in Britain has unveiled plans to create a chain of similar schools. Peter Hughes, the principal of Mossbourne Academy in Hackney, is setting up another secondary school and wants to open a primary school in the borough. Mr Hughes has taken over from Sir Michael Wilshaw, [...]

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It has emerged that chemicals found in everyday household products may be contributing to rising rates of cancer, diabetes, brain diseases and fertility problems. Foetal development is particularly sensitive. Environmental watchdog the European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched a report saying that products that disrupt the hormone system (known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs) should [...]

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A 10-year-old girl’s life has been transformed after surgeons removed a tumour weighing more than three kilos from her abdomen. Eliana Mann is said to be like a “new child” after the rare growth — which had reached the size of a small football — was taken out in a nine-hour operation. Before it was [...]

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Some of London’s most deprived children will be damaged further by being struck off the special needs list, a leading headteacher warned today. Children who act as carers, those who are homeless or whose parents have died could lose out on extra support, Jo Shuter, head of Quintin Kynaston school in St John’s Wood, claimed. [...]

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Yesterday she was told in no uncertain terms to stop playing mother to her fiancé’s children. But Elizabeth Hurley is clearly a woman who doesn’t scare easily as she stepped out with Shane Warne’s daughter. The model was snapped with her betrothed and his youngest girl Summer, and her son Damian, both 10. They were [...]

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A mother whose baby died after being deprived of oxygen when he was born has told an inquest that she is “tortured” by the memory of his birth. Noah Tyler died 10 months after suffering irreversible brain damage at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, a pathologist said. A midwife admitted making “catastrophic mistakes” [...]

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Schools in England will be banned from taking pupils’ fingerprints and using face-recognition technology unless they get permission from parents. New government guidance says written parental permission must be obtained to use students’ biometric data. Pupils themselves will also be allowed to refuse to participate. Schools can use fingerprinting or face scanning for recording attendance, [...]

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Bronx high school teacher Charles Best found that the resources for his classroom were severely lacking. He and his fellow teachers bought pencils and copy paper out-of-pocket, and spent much of their time together discussing the ways they wished they could engage their students if they had the extra funding. “The resources our students needed [...]

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It’s a hairstyle favoured by celebs from Rihanna to Justin Bieber and often copied by their young fans. But a leading optometrist has warned that having a side fringe that falls into the face can cause long-term eye damage. Andrew Hogan told the Australian Daily Telegraph: ‘If a young emo chap has a fringe covering [...]

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Childminders in England say their professionalism could be undermined, and families ill-served, if government plans to change the way they are regulated go ahead. Liz Bayram, joint chief executive of the National Childminding Association, said she was “very concerned” about signals that the government is seeking to bring “a lighter touch” to childminding regulation based [...]

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A brave two-year-old boy is winning his battle against an inoperable brain tumour – and doctors hope a pioneering drug will stop it from returning. Joseph Middlemass was diagnosed in May last year after his parents noticed he had stopped crawling and later had a seizure. Doctors found the nursery pupil from Newcastle had a pea-sized [...]

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Lady Gaga will have to cancel her sold-out show in Indonesia following protests by Islamic hard-liners and conservative lawmakers, who said her sexy clothes and dance moves will corrupt young people. National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar, responding to the pressure, said today that the permit for her 3 June “Born This Way Ball” concert [...]

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A young Ugandan boy is fighting for his life after his legs mysteriously swelled up to ‘elephant size’ and he contracted a potentially deadly flesh-eating infection. Vincent Oketch, 10, is bed bound, unable to walk and forced to wear girl’s dresses and skirts because he cannot fit into shorts or trousers due to the condition. [...]

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A mother-of-four who killed her children and then herself early on Tuesday morning said she wanted to be cremated with them, in a harrowing text message sent to a friend hours earlier. Sheriff’s deputies in Brevard County, Florida said 33-year-old Tanya Thomas shot her four children, who ranged in age from 12 to 17. They [...]

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Women’s empowerment guru, Tyra Banks, has spoken out in support of Vogue’s decision to ban rail thin models from its pages. The 38-year-old media mogul and former supermodel praised the fashion glossy’s 19 editors today for banding together to put a stop to ‘thinspirational’ editorial and called for a toast ‘over some barbecue and burgers’. [...]

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Charities, teachers’ leaders and campaigners yesterday condemned plans that could remove thousands of children from the special-needs register. Ministers have announced a series of reforms in the belief that too many children at schools in England have been wrongly labelled as having special educational needs (SEN). There will be a new single category of SEN [...]

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The average family with children throws away £680 of food a year, according to research. The sum, which equals £13 a week, makes a total of £12 billion across the nation. The study found that the average household spends £68 a week on food but that 91% of households with children admit to throwing some [...]

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A TV ad for Center Parcs resorts has been banned for promoting a family deal for when parents would least be able to take it. The £249 holiday promoted by the company was only available midweek  – and only in school term time. Both British and foreign holiday companies, together with airlines, routinely push up [...]

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A mother-of-two is recovering after being trapped in her wrecked van for almost three days and surviving on cans of soda and rainwater. Veronica McFoy lost control of her vehicle on a rural road in West Virginia last Monday. The 41-year-old’s car went careering over a 30-foot embankment and landed in an overgrown area not [...]

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Mothers will receive one-to-one care from a named midwife during labour and birth as part of government plans to combat postnatal depression. Women who have a miscarriage or stillbirth and parents who are forced to cope with the death of a baby will also be offered increased support from the NHS. Under the plans, health [...]

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When I was 18, I changed my name. Crucially, I gave myself a new middle name — Justine. Actually, it wasn’t new at all. It was the name my birth mother gave me before I was adopted. I can still remember the horror my teenage self felt  when I saw my birth certificate and realised [...]

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A schizophrenic who knifed a schoolboy to death and wounded three other pupils after failing to take his medication was today jailed for at least 20 years. Serif Aslan stabbed Kasey Gordon, 15, in the heart in front of horrified shoppers. Aslan, 34, who was free to roam the streets despite a long history of [...]

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Giving water to children with their meals helps encourage them to eat their greens, a study has revealed. Researchers claim children who drink more water make better food choices and have a healthier appetite for vegetables. A team from the University of Oregon in the U.S. looked at the drinks and vegetables consumed by 75 [...]

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Children should not have to start school until they are six to prevent early ‘adultification’, an academic has claimed. Going against conventional wisdom that their intellect should be fed and stimulated early on, education expert Dr Richard House says that over-emphasis on the three Rs – reading writing and arithmetic – can actually cause long [...]

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The global mortality rate for women giving birth has fallen by half over the past two decades, a UN report released today said. While there has been considerable progress, more work remains because a woman dies of pregnancy-related complications every two minutes, the report said. The report from the World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s [...]

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UK families are wasting £270 a year (£5.20 a week) on discarded food and drink, according to a survey of their kitchen habits. Most families massively underestimate the amount of food they throw away each week, according to new research. Despite the economic downturn they admit to buying more than they need, often tempted by [...]

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Pupils should not be subjected to full classroom tuition until the age of six to off-set the effects of premature “adultification”, it was claimed.   Dr Richard House, a senior lecturer at Roehampton University’s Research Centre for Therapeutic Education, said gifted pupils from relatively affluent backgrounds suffered the most from being pushed “too far, too [...]

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Men’s sperm count could be reduced by exposure to chemicals in the environment, according to research. A rise in IVF treatments could be down to the effect of chemicals such as cosmetics, detergents and pollutants. Researchers from the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with academics in Edinburgh, the James Hutton Institute, the University of Aberdeen [...]

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A study led by a University of Bristol academic found that a child’s educational achievements can be harmed when a father loses his job. Using British Cohort Study data, Professor Paul Gregg studied job losses during the 1980s recession to assess the impact of unemployment on children’s academic performance.   The research found that children [...]

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My younger brother never has any money and for years my parents have bankrolled his various career changes and batty business ventures. Now he is in his thirties I feel it’s time for him to stand on his own feet. Constantly bailing him out only encourages him and I’m resentful that he’s received so many [...]

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In January she had a modest baby bump but what a difference four months can make. Chris Evans and his wife Natasha Shishman proudly showed off her heavily pregnant shape at the Sony Radio Awards. The Radio presenter, 46, was every inch the proud father-to-be as pointed enthusiastically at his wife’s baby bump, not that [...]

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AS the gales raged and the floods rose, their homes were destroyed and their families torn apart. Caragh Hunter, of HART Wildlife Rescue, said: ‘Two were found inside a fallen tree. The others were found after being blown from trees. They’re all between four and eight weeks old. One was saved after a crow attacked [...]

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IT is the sort of louche behaviour Brideshead Revisited’s Sebastian Flyte might have revelled in during his Oxford days. But today’s pyjama-clad students drifting in to the dining hall for breakfast at Brasenose College face a dressing down. Laminated signs have appeared warning students to end the  ‘slovenly practice’ of eating breakfast in their night [...]

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Terminally-ill Australian Shaun Wilson-Miller, 17, has become an internet sensation after accidentally posting a heartbreaking and inspirational farewell message to the world on YouTube. Shaun, who has been told by doctors he does not have long left to live after his body rejected a SECOND heart transplant, was only trying to post his tragic goodbye [...]

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A young couple delivered their baby in a bathroom after a labour lasting just eight minutes. Joshua Courtney, advised by a midwife over the phone, helped Natalie Dunleavy give birth after her waters broke at their home in Tingley, Wakefield. Miss Dunleavy, 22, said: “It was so quick it was unbelievable. Josh was amazing. It [...]

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She says she has lost two stone since being pregnant, but Una Healy insists that she is still all ‘soft’ and ‘squidgy’ following the birth of baby girl Aoife Belle two months ago. That is hard to believe though, looking at the pictures of the super svelte singer making her way through Heathrow today. Una, [...]

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While a soup slurper or sandwich chomper be irritating to most, for 19-year-old Emma Riehl, everyday noises are unbearable. She suffers from a rare disease known as misophonia, in which she simply cannot tolerate noises like chewing, swallowing, and breathing. The neurological condition, which literally means ‘the hatred of sound,’ means that many of its [...]

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When Daniella Jackson was diagnosed with cancer at five months pregnant her doctors quickly advised her to have an abortion. They said she needed a termination to allow her lung tumour to be removed before it killed her. But the 21-year-old, who is a devout Roman Catholic, refused, saying she felt too close to her [...]

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The final of the competition, which was broadcast on Sunday night on BBC2, was won by teenage cellist Laura van der Heijden. However Norman Lebrecht, the arts critic and BBC Radio 3 presenter, criticised the corporation’s coverage as being “low-key to the point of torpor”. Viewers also accused the corporation of using a lightweight production [...]

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