at ten: warnings of a generation of children persistently missing school — the legacy of the covid lockdowns. at least one in five pupils in england is now "persistently absent", meaning they're missing 10% or more of their lessons. the lockdowns taking a terrible toll on youngsters. she would literally just she would literallyjust scream. couldn't get her dressed, we will try and get her dress but nothing. sometimes she would refuse to get out of bed. it's a green light from the government for development of the largest untapped oilfield in the uk. condemnation of the move has been swift. a teenage boy has been arrested, after a 15—year—old girl is stabbed to death in south london. osimhen! and, he bagged one tonight, but what happened after napoli's star striker recently missed a penalty? now he's threatening legal action against his own club.

and on newsnight at 10:30, we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live with some key players on today's big stories. plus, a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. there are warnings tonight of a generation of children, being permanently affected by past covid lockdowns, the last of which ended more than two years ago. who can forget that overnight, schools shut their doors while thousands of children were kept at home learning online? but now it's clear, growing numbers of youngsters are persistently missing school, with the children's commissioner for england warning the crisis needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency. at least one in five pupils in england is now "persistently absent" meaning they're missing 10% or more of their lessons —

that's double the rate, before the pandemic. a committee of mps is recommending a series of measures including a national roll—out of attendance mentors to work with families. new guidance on the standardisation of fines for parents across england whose kids are missing school, and more support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. our education editor, branwynjeffreys, has our top story. morning! let's get you in quickly! a new school year but they're still dealing with the legacy of the pandemic. that's it, you're running late now. four out of ten pupils here have struggled to attend. come this way for a minute, lovely. i meant to try and come and get you at break time. sarah kennett is the troubleshooter, dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues, focused on those at risk of not turning up. i'll come to 112 and i'll walk you through, 0k? i've got several students that i monitor daily,

so what i'm going to do now isjust have a check in with them, see how the day's gone. schools say attitudes have changed since covid — some families are less committed to school. sarah's job is to work out if there's a problem that can be solved. they learn to trust you and you just get to know them. it sounds really an obvious thing but, over time, you just get to know which ones have real issues with certain things and which ones are just trying to avoid something. so, this week, how do you feel, because you've got all day monday... she's been working with ava, who's waiting to be assessed for autism and struggles with severe anxiety. it is pretty hard—going. it can overwhelm people. and what does overwhelmed feel like when it's happening? it's sort of like, it depends if it turns into more anxiety or if it's just too much.

hands up if you managed to write one so difficult your partner couldn't crack it. some pupils who've always loved school have started struggling. ettie mae began secondary school during the pandemic and, for more than a year, she regularly refused to go. she would literallyjust scream. couldn't get her dressed, sometimes refused to get out of bed. was it covid and being at home, do you think, that triggered ettie mae's anxieties? yeah, definitely because that's when it all began. definitely that. spend a couple of days in schools and you realise just how complicated this is, because they're dealing with a whole pile of issues — mental health, financial pressures on families, poor housing. so there isn't a simple solution. but, engaging with families seems to provide the best results. across this group of schools, they are worried about covid's legacy.

we've got a group of children who are attending and have attended less well for a considerable amount of time, and that is potentially creating a lost generation, as a result of the impact of the pandemic on children here. the end of another full day for ettie mae. she's turned a corner, but schools fear others may never fully return. branwyn. lockdowns are not unique to the uk, our other countries dealing with seeming mass absentees? in our other countries dealing with seeming mass absentees? in march 2020, and it's— seeming mass absentees? in march 2020, and it's extraordinary - seeming mass absentees? in march 2020, and it's extraordinary to - seeming mass absentees? in march 2020, and it's extraordinary to look| 2020, and it's extraordinary to look back at it, but schools shut in almost every single school and children were out of school for an extended period of time. even as recently as the beginning of last year, more than half a billion children globally were still partially or fully out of school. so

enormous loss of learning and we know that some other countries are struggling with attendance. it is certainly an issue in the united states, for example. the report todayis states, for example. the report today is a reminder of the impact of those lockdowns in england. increased mental distress among children, a loss of confidence and increased anxiety about school. we can't fully capture what happened to their social and emotional development during that time. so what might work? eddie may got back to school, starting with 15 minutes a day and building up. the government is trying attendance mentors and some areas working with families and mps say that now massively needs to be scaled up to be a national effort.— massively needs to be scaled up to be a national effort. branwen, thank ou. be a national effort. branwen, thank yom branwen _ be a national effort. branwen, thank you. branwen jeffreys. _ the government has given the green light for the development of what will be the uk's largest untapped oil and gas field in the north sea. the site at rosebank,

west of the shetland isles, will produce 300 million barrels of oil during its lifetime, with the companies involved saying it will boost the uk econony. but criticism has been swift, with claims the move is incompatible with the legal obligation of the uk to reach net zero on carbon emissions in 2050. we'll have analysis on the potential environmental impact and the politics behind the decision, but first our business editor, simonjack, takes a look at the arguments for and against the rosebank proposals. for over 50 years, the waters around the uk have provided oil, gas, jobs, tax and carbon emissions. but reserves are dwindling and the uk is now a net importer of oil and gas, while the owners are the biggest new development for decades say this is a good day for the uk. it's an investment into energy security and jobs in the uk. there's a continued need for oil and gas through the entire transition and even after net zero, we will we will need oil and gas

in our daily lives and to run the society as we know it. so will this decision help improve the uk's energy security? no, says the man who conducted a landmark energy and climate review. it will not improve the uk's energy security. it will be sold on world markets. if we were in a crisis, we couldn't really divert it to the uk. and, of course, it may slow us down in the development of onshore, offshore when the renewables are the ones which are most secure and that's where we should be looking for security. even energy industry bodies concede that rosebank will do little, if anything, to increase security and lower prices, but is there a positive economic impact? yes, says the government and the other partner in the project. we're talking about an £8 billion investment in the uk over the lifetime of rosebank. that is a huge amount ofjob creation, that's a huge amount of tax revenue that will be created.

we're talking about communities that live up in scotland and communities across the uk that will benefit from investment. countries, by and large, like it when there are large investments of infrastructure at scale in theirjurisdiction, and this is a large investment at scale. so there's a lot of benefits to the uk. but the benefits are hotly disputed by others. there is no real economic profit to be had for the uk public from this field. all of those profits are going to these private, multi—billion pound companies and it's not going to make a scrap of difference in the everyday life of most people across the uk. this is a huge mistake — on economic grounds, on energy security grounds and on climate grounds, and that the uk public do not stand to benefit from this field. and what will today's decision mean for the climate? experts say when it comes to emissions, what happens between now and 2050 matters. it's today's emissions plus tomorrow's emissions, plus the emissions the day after — all the way to 2050.

and you add those up to get your contribution to global warming. so to pretend that all that matters is net zero by 2050 is to misunderstand the science. the government insists that home grown oil and gas has a lower carbon footprint than importing it from halfway around the world. but others argue that the climate doesn't care where oil is drilled and carbon emitted and the best way to increase energy security, bring down bills emissions and create jobs is to invest more heavily in renewable energy sources. simon jack, bbc news. 0ur climate editor, justin rowlatt is here, and chris mason is in glasgow. the big question, 0k, how does all this square with reaching net zero by 2050? this square with reaching net zero b 2050? �* , ,., , this square with reaching net zero b 2050? ~ y ., this square with reaching net zero b 2050? ~ _, a ., by 2050? absolutely, and it's worth remembering _ by 2050? absolutely, and it's worth remembering reaching _ by 2050? absolutely, and it's worth remembering reaching net - by 2050? absolutely, and it's worth remembering reaching net zero - by 2050? absolutely, and it's worth remembering reaching net zero by l remembering reaching net zero by 2050 isn'tjust another government 2050 isn't just another government policy 2050 isn'tjust another government policy but a legal obligation under the climate act. net zero means not

adding any more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. adding barrels of oil will produce more than 120 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. the government says that is not enough to knock the uk off any of its climate targets. it says, listen, by 2050, we still will be using some oil and gas, perhaps 25% of total energy use. that is compatible with net zero as long as you take the equivalent amount of c02. but as you had in that report, climate scientists have been saying it's notjust about climate scientists have been saying it's not just about when you climate scientists have been saying it's notjust about when you get climate scientists have been saying it's not just about when you get to net zero, it is also about how you get there. this is what professor edgar hawkins of reading university said today. delaying action means more emissions, hotter global temperatures and more severe weather events. that is why campaigners are saying this oil field breaches the uk obligations and they are planning legal action, which means ultimately, the future of rosebank could be decided in the courts. qm.

could be decided in the courts. 0k, thank ou could be decided in the courts. 0k, thank you for— could be decided in the courts. 0k, thank you for that. chris, take us through the politics of all of this, of what is an incredibly controversial decision. yes, hugely controversial. the politics is this, the prime minister says he welcomes this decision. the context is a speech he gave last week about green issues, in which he said he was willing to take brave decisions in what he described as the long—term interests of the country. clearly in politics, long—term interests, that is very much in the eye of the beholder. as we have seen, likely that this development would lower bills in the uk. there is then the argument we had a bit of their around energy security and there are those in government and beyond who say that what happened in the last couple of years, russia's invasion of ukraine, has changed the mindset of western governments around energy security, including fossil fuels. governments around energy security, including fossilfuels. so

governments around energy security, including fossil fuels. so they think that does justify having supplies that are closer to home. what about the broader political reaction? the first minister here in scotland felt it was a mistake because it would remove incentives or diluting incentives for energy companies to invest in renewables. the uk government takes a counter argument, saying it will create a greater opportunity to invest in renewables. and the position of labour, you might say what does it matter what they say, they are in opposition question what they have real agency because this is a long—term project, there is a general election coming up and labour miles ahead in the opinion polls. they say they're not having a cake but eating it anyway. they say they would oppose it at this point but if it is under way when they come in to government it would still be able to continue and that matters because if labour today had said no, we categorically oppose this and we would make sure it didn't happen if we were in government then it could make the project unfeasible. they

think for the sake of economic credibility and political stability that it credibility and political stability thatitis credibility and political stability that it is important that they say what they are saying and so politically at least tonight, that means rosebank is on. qm. politically at least tonight, that means rosebank is on. ok, chris mason in glasgow. _ means rosebank is on. ok, chris mason in glasgow. thank - means rosebank is on. ok, chris mason in glasgow. thank you. i mason in glasgow. thank you. and justin rowlatt in the studio, many thanks. a teenage boy has been arrested after a 15—year—old girl was stabbed to death in south london on her way to school. police say the boy, who may have known the victim, was arrested shortly after the girl died at the scene in croydon. here's daniel sandford. on one of the main roads through the london borough of croydon, a bus that had been full of schoolchildren at 8:30am this morning and a tent at the spot where a 15—year—old girl was stabbed in the neck and died before she could be taken to hospital. she was a pupil at the local private school. witnesses said there had been an argument with a boy who tried to give her or her friend flowers. passers—by and a bus driver tried to save her. the friends that were with her had to be comforted by strangers.

these two 15—year—olds who were with the young girl at the point of incident are absolutely devastated. 0ne wants to know what they could have done differently to keep her alive. the weapon used in the attack was described by witnesses as a long knife with a jagged edge. teenage stabbings have remained a persistent problem in the capital. what was unusual this time is that it was a teenage girl on her way to school. detectives said a 17—year—old boy had been arrested soon afterwards. we remain in the early stages of our investigation. however, based on what we know so far, we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this offence. from our initial inquiries, we believe the suspect may have known the victim. of all the homicides in england and wales in the year to march last year, 122 of the victims were in the 16—to—24 age group — that was the biggest group.

but 69 were teenagers between the age of 13 and 19. in 74% of those deaths, the weapon used was a knife or sharp implement. sir mark rowley, the head of london's main police force, was at the scene this afternoon. he knows that after a peak two years ago, murders of teenagers in the capital are on the rise again. the impact this has had on the community is immense. it is devastating that another young life has been taken. we, the community, stand with our partners and the family in honouring that grief and that mourning. 0ld palace ofjohn whitgift, the school where the girl who died was in year 11, said everyone was deeply shocked by the senseless death of a much—loved pupil. daniel sandford, bbc news, croydon. donald trump is tonight hoping to win over blue—collar working class voters in the midwest, in his bid to become the republican nominee for president.

he's in michigan, while all the other candidates in the race are thousands of miles away in california, taking part in a debate. the former president is way ahead of the rest of the field, according opinion polls. 0ur north america editor, sarah smith, is in clinton, michigan. donald trump not even seeing the need to debate the other candidates on this occasion and he believes he is very much on of the denomination? he is so far ahead in the polling, he has more support than the other candidates put together so he has decided he can skip the debate and he will give a speech at a car parts factory here where he will tell also factory here where he will tell also factory workers where he would be better off as president because the push for electric vehicles byjoe biden would decimate theirjobs. he is in michigan because of an auto worker strike but he has chosen to give his speech in a nonunionised plant. the other republican candidates are really struggling to

get any attention because donald trump just dominates the news every day. whether it is the ruling yesterday from a judge that he thought that there may inflated his assets or given a speech tonight, he gets the headlines where they really struggle to get any kind of footing in the news —— whether it was the ruling yesterday that he fraudulently inflated his assets. sarah smith, thanks forjoining us. an american soldier who ran across the border to north korea from the south, is now in american custody. travis king was handed over to us officials in china, although the full circumstances of his return haven't yet been revealed. the 23—year—old reconnaissance specialist, illegally crossed into the north, back in july. as the us and north korea have no diplomatic relations, sweden's embassy in pyongyang negotiated for mr king's safe return, on behalf of the us. at least 113 people are confirmed to have died, and more than 150 others were injured, following a fire at

a wedding in northern iraq. it's thought fireworks set off in a hall caused the blaze. local media have reported that the bride and groom managed to survive. the first space in the uk, where people are able to take their own illegal drugs, including heroin, has been approved by the authorities in glasgow. the consumption room is designed to create a safe environment for drug users, with medical staff on hand. scotland's drug—related deaths as a proportion of the country's population is the highest in europe, and well above the british average. critics say there are "some concerns" for the local community, but the scottish government hopes the move will cut drug—related deaths. here's our scotland editor, james cook. i'm an addict. do you mind me asking what drugs you've used over the years? heroin and cocaine. on a rainy night in glasgow, it's not hard to find people struggling on the edge of society. this is jade.

she's 33. my ex—partner died of drugs. my dad died — he was an addict. my sister passed away. a lot of my friends have passed away. somebody had overdosed the other day and i had to save their life. jade, do you mind me asking, why do you do it? cos it numbs you, it makes you... i do it to block my past, my traumas out. do you think a consumption room might have made a difference and might make a difference to people in the future? i think it will make a massive, massive difference in the future, aye. i think it would be a brilliant idea to do that. so this is the injection area of an enhanced drugs treatment service. the plan is for this clinic to be expanded to include a room for people to inject their own drugs. these mirrors are very slightly tilted, not visibly to the eye. that allows the nurse to be able to give the patients some space and some privacy and a bit of dignity while they're having their injection. this is used at present for people

who have heroin prescribed to them by the nhs as part of their treatment. but is this pretty much similar to what a consumption room would look like? absolutely, it will be very similar. the booths will be almost exactly the same. the project is a response to a scottish national emergency, with more than 1,000 people dying from drugs every year. i think it will reach a population of people that are experiencing very high rates of drug—related harms and help us engage them in reducing the harms they experience. ultimately, will it save lives? we think, that for those individuals who use this service, we expect to see positive outcomes, including reduced mortality rates for them. there are concerns here in the east end of glasgow about what the consumption room will mean for the community, but officials behind the project say it will be better than the current situation. they say between 400 and 500 people are regularly injecting drugs in public in glasgow.

but the uk government, and some other critics, say this plan is the wrong priority. if you look at the money and where the investment is going, we are spending an absolute fraction of that money on actually helping people get well, get off drugs, rebuild their lives, and the majority of this investment is going on what they call safe consumption or harm reduction. we are asking for the same amount of investment to be put into services that can help people get well. other countries have tried consumption rooms. we visited this one recently in portugal, and the scottish government insists the evidence from abroad is that they do save lives. james cook, bbc news, glasgow. wildlife charities claim the uk is one of the most nature—depleted countries on earth. their report, published this evening, says the losses are outpacing investment to reverse the damage. the suggestion is more than 1,500

native species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction in great britain, including 40% of birds and over a quarter of land mammals. and flowering plants are now visible in less than half the places where they would have been seen 50 years ago. the report cites climate change, the way we manage our land for food and unsustainable fishing as some of the main factors driving the decline. but there is some hope because we've never had a better understanding of what we need to do to improve the situation. here's victoria gill. a suburban hedgehog highway in constant use. just by making holes in fences, gardeners here in 0xfordshire are giving urban hedgehogs a boost. it's really important that the the gardens, which are such important green spaces for the hedgehogs, that they're all connected. so we've got a hole here that they come through and then they'll trundle

through and they go all the way up through the garden to a hole on the other side that they can get through. so it's just a nice way of making sure that they can roam. but while hedgehog numbers in urban areas are stable. in the countryside they are not very well, like many uk species. uk wildlife is under pressure from habitat loss, pollution and climate change. almost 1,500 species are threatened with extinction here, according to this report. that includes 13 seabird species, some of britain's most familiar mammals and many plants and insects. but the latest evidence also provides a glimmer of hope, showing that targeted conservation efforts, like the mission to make gardens more wildlife friendly, can work. we need to try and look at ways that we can thrive alongside nature and just try and roll that out from gardens and urban areas out into the wider countryside as well. cow moos an important way to bring wildlife back to the countryside is nature friendly farming.

here in the north pennines, this 400 acre farm has been split into smaller pastures. the herd here is moved into a new field every day. the idea is that it's similar to buffalo on the plains and they're moving every day. we're the predators, we're moving the electric fence, so we're keeping them moving. he's the wolf! yeah. the aim is to work with the land, the cattle fertilise the soil, and then each field is left for 60 days to restore itself before it's grazed again. in here, when you dig through all this long grass, you can hopefully, yeah, see quite a lot of evidence of insect life and quite a lot of worm activity, too. so, this is healthy soil. paul and nick have also planted trees in hedgerows to create more natural habitats. this is the most diverse hedge, would you say? yeah, one of them. we've got bird cherry, holly, hawthorn.

and their efforts have paid off — a recent bird survey showed there were 49 different species breeding on theirfarm. it's like a smorgasbord for nature. it is quietly coming back. and the more and more of those little habitats you have, the more and more nature you seem to attract. in a way, it's almost addictive. the uk is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and the hope is that this report will provide an alarm call and a guide to making more space for the natural world. victoria gill, bbc news. two of the highest profile stars on the news channel gb news, dan wootton and laurence fox, have been suspended after comments made during a live broadcast about a female journalist. david sillito has that story. let's move on to the bbc, laurence... dan wootton, gb news presenter, talking to actor and regular gb news contributor laurence fox, in a discussion about a debate that had taken place on the bbc, featuring the journalist ava evans.

laurence fox was asked what he made of it... we are past the watershed so i can say this. show me a single self—respecting man who would like to climb into bed with that woman ever? he then went on to repeat the comments, but in rather more blunt language. this time, with laughter from dan wootton. who'd want to shag that? oh, laurence... look, she... dan da n wootto n dan wootton did apologise but soon the channel had some breaking news of its own... we begin this bulletin - with some breaking news. i can tell you that gb news, i this company, has suspended its presenter dan wootton. laurence fox has also been suspended and ava evans has received a formal apology. honestly, not to cast doubt on our media landscape, but i didn't actually think anything was going to happen, especially not when i first saw the clip last night. i didn't think anything would come of it. i don't want to say i'm pleased by it.

i just think that that's probably the best outcome i could have hoped for. it is, of course, not the first time the channel has run into trouble. this, one of three breaches of tv rules about impartiality and politicians presenting news. you're watching gb news... and on tonight's dan wootton show it was... ..mark dolan. laurence fox may be unrepentant, but for gb news this has crossed a line. we have freedom of speech but not freedom from the fallout. - david sillito, bbc news. the reigning italian football champions, napoli, are embroiled in a bitter row with their star striker, victor 0simen. he's threatening to take legal action against the club after a video was posted on napoli's tik tok account mocking him for missing a penalty. here's nesta mcgregor. napoli's victor 0simhen,

back among the goals... commentator: it�*s through to osimhen! despite being a centre forward at the centre of a social media row with his own club. the 24—year—old nigerian is one of the world's best and helped napoli secure the league title last year. but at the weekend, the club posted a video mocking him for missing a penalty. squeaky laugh neither the striker or his agent saw the funny side, neither the striker or his agent threatening legal action, claiming it causes very serious damage and adds to the negative attention surrounding the player. if there has been a breach of contract by the club towards their employee, it could have serious consequences. the danger for napoli is that if it goes terribly wrong. a player who ordinarily might be valued at 100 million euros in the transfer market, potentially more, might end up walking on a free. napoli are yet to comment on the issue. on their tiktok account it's common to see posts mocking the opposition and their own players. although previously the club posted,

then deleted, a video in which they called victor 0simhen a name deemed a racial slur in some parts of the world. i think it's not necessarily the case that 0simhen is looking at it and thinking, "gosh, that's the club "being racist towards me," but what he might consider is, is this opening up the floor up to those who would? victor 0simhen may decide to leave napoli but social media is not going anywhere. although clubs may now think twice before they hit the send button. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini. it has been very blustery today thanks to storm agnes and a gust of