ISC Daily News Summary

Addressing the House of Commons yesterday afternoon, home secretary Yvette Cooper said individuals who cover up or fail to report child sexual abuse could face professional or criminal sanctions under a new offence to be added to the Crime and Policing Bill this spring. The proposal was one of 20 recommendations made by Professor Alexis Jay following her seven-year inquiry into child sexual abuse, which concluded in 2022. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp welcomed the move, but also urged Ms Cooper to announce a national statutory public inquiry into sexual abuse of children by grooming gangs. By Kate Whannel, BBC News. 

Writing in The Telegraph, former schools minister Sir Nick Gibb says Labour's proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill undermines successful education reforms by curbing academies' autonomy, reintroducing local authority control, and favouring a "progressivist" approach. He argues that the policy is "an act of vandalism" and risks harming academic standards as well as cross-sector partnerships. "Bridget Phillipson has been clear that there will be no new free schools created while she’s in post. She is even threatening to halt the partnership between Eton College and the Star Academies trust for new sixth forms serving deprived communities in Dudley, Middlesbrough and Oldham," he warns. 

Children in the Islamic community should be taught to see themselves primarily as Muslim rather than British, according to Wajid Akhter, the frontrunner to lead the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). Mr Akhter has warned that teaching children to prioritise their nationality or ethnicity could result in a shallow identity, whereas placing faith at the core of their identity offers a strong foundation for life. By Charles Hymas, The Telegraph.