Google to ban “Sugar daddy” apps
- Google Play is changing its inappropriate-content policy from the 1st of September to ban apps promoting “sugar dating” or “compensated sexual relationships” alongside Google’s newly announced privacy policies.
- These often involve older men offering money and gifts in exchange for relationships with young women, though not always involving sex.
- Several apps have been identified on the Play Store that facilitate these relationships
- This decision may be motivated by US legislation that threatens to make platforms liable for facilitating prostitution.
- For information on how to keep young people safe on dating apps, our guide can be found here.
- The full story can be found here.
Summer school catch-up classes not up to scratch
- Shadow education secretary, Kate Green has flagged concerns over the scheme for catch-up education classes following problems caused by children missing school due to COVID-19.
- This follows yesterday’s news on using social media as supplemental education on social issues and the call for a home-school register earlier in the week.
- The Department of Education reported that 74% of all secondary schools in England are offering a mixture of academic and extracurricular activities before the new academic year in September following a £200m scheme.
- Labour raises concerns that while 540,000 children are registered to take part, this is equivalent to just one in 15 state school pupils.
- The Education Policy Institute estimates that a three-year funding package worth £13.5bn will be needed to fill the gaps in children’s learning resulting from the pandemic.
- Read the full story here.
Isle of Man to extend COVID-19 vaccines to over 12s
- Following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, Isle of Man has been brought in line with decisions for the rest of the UK (more information here).
- Some children in the lsle of Man will be offered a coronavirus vaccine if they live with someone who is immunocompromised and those with underlying health conditions.
- This is in addition to clinically vulnerable 16 and 17-year-olds who are already eligible.
- Click here for our helpful short animation and activity explaining coronavirus to children.
- Read the full story here.
Defrocked cardinal charged with sexual abuse of teen boy
- Theodore McCarrick is the first cardinal in the US to be criminally charged with a sexual crime against a minor.
- This follows a Vatican investigation that confirmed McCarrick had sexually molested adults and children. He has been charged with the sexual abuse of a teenage boy in 1974.
- This news adds to this week’s reports of six decades of sexual abuse in children’s home in Shirley Oaks and the independent review of five cases in Bradford since 2001.
- For full story, see here.