Gillie Christou, one of Baby P's social workers, who along with Maria Ward has lost an employment tribunal appeal hearing. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA Two of Baby P's social workers have vowed to fight on after losing their appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that they were fairly sacked.Gillie Christou and Maria Ward claimed they were unjustly fired by Haringey council in north London in response to a public outcry about 17-month-old Peter Connelly's horrific death.A Watford employment tribunal panel previously concluded that the local authority had acted reasonably in dismissing them because of serious failings in their care of the toddler.At a brief hearing on Friday at the employment appeal tribunal in central London, at which neither woman appeared, Mr Justice Wilkie announced the pair's ... Continue reading →

Restricting the disability living allowance (or the personal independence payment) to "those who need it most" must seem to many right now to be entirely reasonable. But this policy accepts that the 500,000 scheduled to be denied help, although not the people who need it "most", will nevertheless be genuinely "in need". Another blow for the offensive claim that "we are all in this together".Restricting bankers' bonuses to those "who need it most" might help redress the balance, and give Atos a useful damage-limitation opportunity (Paralympics sponsorship: Controversial Atos deal defended by organisers, 22 May). Bankers in line for bonuses could be subjected to the renowned Atos assessment process that disabled people are undergoing, and required to show that, if they were denied their bonus, ... Continue reading →

Jean McFarlane in 1974, the year of her appointment as professor of nursing at Manchester University. Photograph: Don Mcphee for the Guardian Jean McFarlane, Lady McFarlane of Llandaff, who has died aged 86, was one of nursing's great pioneers. Her work on what has come to be called the nursing process is now an integral part of every nursing curriculum and every nurse's practice. In 1974 she was appointed England's first professor of nursing, at Manchester University, where she developed a degree course and established the country's first professorial nursing unit. She was also responsible for England's first nursing research programme (the Study of Nursing Care), and was mentor to many of those who became the nurse leaders of the next generation.Although most of her ... Continue reading →

All teachers have seen the effects of not having breakfast on their pupils. How much of a problem is pupil hunger on a long term basis in your classroom? Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian As teachers we have probably all had hungry children in our class. There wasn't time for breakfast, they overslept, their sister/brother/dog/hamster had eaten all the Coco-Pops. You have heard the excuses and know the knock-on effects.Few can say they witnessed a child actually foraging for pencil sharpenings to eat because they were so hungry. But I did.Callum had come in early that cold winter morning and was helping his teacher with a few jobs before class – one of which was sharpening the pencils. I'd popped up from my year ... Continue reading →

Almost a third of families with disabled children have taken out loans in the past year to help them afford everyday essentials such as food and heating. Photograph: Jeffrey Blackle/Alamy Sign up to Society daily email briefingToday's top SocietyGuardian stories• A third of parents of disabled children took out loans to buy basics last year• Cable dismisses Beecroft proposals for outsourced public sector workers• Around 2,400 senior civil servants being paid 'off-payroll'• GPs call for work capability assessment to be scrapped• Newborn twins' hospital death avoidable, says mother• UK to resist giving prisoners the vote despite European court ruling• Rabies case confirmed in UK• Babies born by caesarean section more likely to become obese, say researchers• Doortje Braeken: We should teach young people about more ... Continue reading →

Cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood tackles issue of performance management in front of Commons committee and defends job-split with head of civil service, Sir Bob Kerslake. Photograph: Graeme Robertson More than 40,000 civil servants who are deemed to be performing poorly will be at risk of losing their jobs under a tougher performance management regime being introduced by the government.Cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood told MPs on the Commons public administration select committee that the forthcoming white paper on civil service reform, due to be published in June, would tackle the issue of poor performance in the civil service by identifying and potentially getting rid of the bottom 10% of poorly-perfoming officials.Earlier this month, the Daily Telegraph reported that civil service managers would be "forced" ... Continue reading →

Two of the government's flagship academy schools are facing legal challenges over their refusal to admit children with statements of special needs.One of the cases involves Mossbourne academy in Hackney, east London, which has become one of the most celebrated schools in the country for its academic record.The school has refused to admit an 11-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, arguing that it would compromise other children's education and that it already has a higher than average number of pupils with special needs.The case has highlighted the fact that academies may not have the same legal obligations to children with special needs as maintained schools. While parents of children with special needs have the right to appeal against a decision at any other school, lawyers are ... Continue reading →

One in 4 adults with a learning disability now spends less than an hour outside of their home per day due to cuts to day services and increases in charges, a report has found. The report, ‘Stuck at home: the impact of day service cuts on people with a learning disability’, by learning disability charity Mencap, found that more than half (57%) of those known to social services do not receive any day service provision – up from 48% in 2009/10. In addition, 1 in 3 (32%) local authorities have closed day services in the past 3 years, with 20% of these not offering any form of alternative service. For the report, Mencap issued a freedom of information request to 151 local authorities in England ... Continue reading →

Whistleblower attacks 'disgraceful' A4E Iain Duncan Smith has set up a review into his £5 billion Work Programme amid the ongoing A4e scandal. A former chief auditor at the welfare-to-work company this week told MPs it had engaged in "disgraceful misuse of government and taxpayer funding". Providers running the "payment by results" have also struggled to break even due to receiving fewer referrals than expected. Recommended External Links 07:40 | Twitter Evidence of A4E whistle blower who exposed welfare to work "systematic fraud" set to be published by Public Accounts Committee Norman Smith Latest PRO Contnet On Air Summaries and transcripts from TV and radio 1 hour ago on BBC News 1 hour ago on Daybreak, ITV 23/05/2012 on Newsnight, BBC Two See all On ... Continue reading →