The government has admitted for the first time that almost half of all children will be dangerously overweight by 2050 if drastic action is not taken to halt the growth in childhood obesity.

Almost 3,000 crimes were committed last year where the suspect was too young to be prosecuted, the BBC has learned. Figures show there were about 1,300 incidents of criminal damage and arson, and over 60 sex offences where suspects were under-10s in England and Wales.

Gambling addiction in Britain is on the rise, fuelled by an explosion in internet betting, a major study has found. The revelation coincides with the introduction of controversial new gambling legislation this weekend.

A council at the centre of a controversial move to take a child into care at birth has seen a 100 per cent increase in kids it puts up for adoption in the last five years, we can reveal.

The social care workforce is ready to use more web-based methods of learning, according to Ipsos MORI research commissioned by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

A child born to a labourer is six times more likely to suffer extreme poverty by the age of 30 than one born to a lawyer, a major study has revealed. In a remarkable portrait of childhood in Britain, academics have exposed a society in which inequalities are entrenched and social mobility is a myth.

Beverley Hughes, the Children’s Minister, has responded to criticism about security issues surrounding ContactPoint, the new children’s database. In a letter to Family Law Week she states that:

An official report into Britain’s mental health services will warn tomorrow that there are significant gaps in care offered round the country. Many patients do not receive the quick and effective treatment they need.

The first human trial of a new schizophrenia drug has yielded promising results, report scientists. What sets apart the experimental drug from all other antipsychotics is its target in the brain – glutamate receptors rather than dopamine.