The latest Newsround Special, on Tuesday, dealt with cancer. Other specials have included knife crime, divorce, living with alcohol, depression, poverty, Internet safety, coping with death, and growing up in care.

But one issue that CBBC avoids is homophobic bullying.

An inquest into the death of Dominic Crouch heard that he jumped from a six-storey block of flats. Roger Crouch, Dominic's father, said after the verdict of suicide was returned: "Dominic was clearly upset about rumours that he believed were being spread about him."

Mr Crouch is insistent that his son, who attended a Catholic school and played rugby, was not actually gay.

New sections of the Equality Act 2010 come into force next week.

Amongst the provisions of the Act is that for 'positive action' which is explained in part of the guidance -

‘Positive action’ is when something is done specifically to help someone who has a protected characteristic. There are several different reasons why it may be appropriate to take some sort of positive action, for instance if someone is suffering some kind of disadvantage linked to that characteristic ....

Positive action is not a legal requirement, but CBBC ought to help counter homophobia rather than condone it.

Last month Joe Godwin, Director of BBC Children's, was at the Kidscreen Summit in New York's Hilton to discuss kids' heroes: Are they reflected in children's media? Can we use attributes that kids respect in building the next generation of media heroes and superheroes?

But back here in the UK, CBBC has been resolutely silent about gay heroes and superheroes. Why is it no surprise that kids get upset about rumours of their sexual orientation and, in extreme cases, contemplate suicide?

The UK children's commissioners are rarely heard on Newsround. But this morning Leah reported that the Children's Commissioner for England [Maggie Atkinson] thinks that "you guys know better than anyone else about what makes a good teacher." Less than 1 in 5 children are consulted when hiring new teachers.

Leah said that some teachers don't like the idea because they say "it gives kids too much power."

Few regular viewers to CBBC would have missed seeing at least one of the trailers for the Channel's "biggest party of the year so far" - Finale Friday. The party, it seems, was to celebrate the season finales of two series: Tracy Beaker and Sadie J.

Perhaps Fag-end Friday would have been a more fitting description for the so-called party, as this evening's last two episodes of Sadie J were particularly dire.

Newsround Blog reviewed Sadie J in January, soon after it began. Despite very good performances from the cast, what started off promisingly soon became repetitious and tiresome. Sadie's life appeared to revolve around having fun and going to parties; we rarely saw anything much deeper in her character. Her two best friends were also one-dimensional, and I was left with the distinct impression that the writer was afraid to develop the stories into anything more serious. Hints that Kit might have been gay remained just that - hints. In contrast, it was clear that, as usual with CBBC, the programme was full to the brim with heteronormative and heterosexual references.

The lack of invention was especially noticeable in the last two episodes this evening. About three quarters of the time we were watching flashbacks to previous episodes in the series. And I mean this literally: it was atrocious. For the last few minutes CBBC resorted to outtakes - a sure sign of desperation.

Sadie J could have been so much better.

Monday's Newsround included an attempt to explain the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers football supporters.

Ricky: We sent Leah to the Final at Hampden Park yesterday to find out what young fans really feel about the tensions.

Leah: This is the first time that both sides have faced each other since the trouble a couple of weeks ago. And in just a few hours time this place will packed full of supporters from both sides. And like most big cities there are often footballing rivalries. But here the tensions go back hundreds of years, and it's all to do with religion. To start with Celtic fans were mainly Catholic, and Rangers, Protestant. And for that reason there's been friction between the two sides and they don't always get on. For some supporters the tension of years ago still matters today.

Leah spoke to two young supporters; one a Rangers fan and the other a Celtic fan. Neither approved of the violence. Leah ended her report hoping that the plans put in place to stamp out the violence really make a difference.

But apart from Leah's entreaty, CBBC doesn't exactly encourage tolerance or good behaviour. Not even between friends.

Take yesterday's Newsround. On of the news reports was about a revolutionary new way of teaching football in Scotland. The idea is to use smaller pitches, goalposts and fewer players in teams. Experts think it will get kids more involved in the game.

But after the report came the sofa chat between Ore and Sonali -

Ore: Iain Stirling would have loved to have had that programme when he was back at school. He's rubbish. He really is.

Sonali: Say it to his face.

Ore: Yeah I will do, when he's back in the morning.

Sonali: We're gonna talk about rubbish playgrounds now, not rubbish players. ..

That was just the latest in a series of put-downs CBBC presenters have made against each other, perhaps in jest, but without considering their behaviour could encourage playground taunts and bullying.

Newsround reporter Ricky says he's applied for tickets to the London Olympics. He's hoping to go to the swimming semi-finals and the closing ceremony.

On the 3.25pm bulletin this afternoon Newsround reported on the London Olympics countdown clock -

Ricky: And to add to the excitement, this clock has been unveiled in Trafalgar Square in London. It'll be counting down the minutes and days to the opening ceremony next year.

What Ricky didn't say was that the clock had broken down three hours previously. Later, at 5pm, a filmed report by Leah about the 2012 Olympics concluded with a mention of the countdown clock -

Leah: And just in case you were wondering how long it is till the London Olympics, they've got this massive clock in London's Trafalgar Square to remind everyone. They've covered all bases.

Back in the studio Leah and Ricky look at each other (see screenshot below)

Leah and Ricky on Newsround
Leah: Ooohhh dear. Not quite all bases .. (Ricky shakes his head in agreement)

Leah: .. because since I was there, the clock's actually broken

Ricky: (shocked at just hearing the news from Leah) Nooooo ... it hasn't!

Leah: But I'm sure someone will get there soon to fix it

Ricky: Hopefully. Right, now we asked some of you what you think about the Olympics ....

Yesterday's Newsround included Sonali's explanation of nuclear power. Taken together with Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe series, it really does look like the BBC is dumbing down science at the moment.

Is homosexuality un-African? That's was the title of a BBC World Service Debate, first broadcast yesterday. Why choose that topic for debate when they might have asked so many other questions. They could have debated whether ginger hair is un-African; or whether having blue eyes is un-African; or whether being white is un-African.

Fifteen months ago the BBC asked 'Should homosexuals face execution?' That debate caused considerable offence, and Peter Horrocks explained the BBC's rationale. In doing so Peter acknowledged that the question was too stark, especially when taken out of context and circulated on social media. Nevertheless he believed it was "an absolutely legitimate debate to have."

Peter Horrocks: That wasn't just the BBC plucking that question out of the air. It was because it's being considered by the Ugandan parliament. The context within the programme was absolutely clear. The context within the website was absolutely clear. But if you just take that headline away and say "the BBC is asking this," I can absolutely understand why some people were significantly offended by that, and we apologise for that, and that's something which we're going to learn from.

What exactly was learnt from the December 2009 controversy? If they'd been a bit more thoughtful, they might have posed the question in a different way. Instead of asking 'Is homosexuality un-African?' and thereby lending credence to the notion and reinforcing prejudice, the BBC could have challenged their intended audience by calling the debate 'Is homophobia un-African?'

So why didn't they choose that title? Perhaps because it would have attracted a smaller audience, or perhaps because David Bahati - the Ugandan MP who wants to legislate the judicial murder of gay people - would be less willing to participate as a panelist. Would that have been such a bad thing? In fact aren't we really back to the question of why the BBC wanted such a debate in the first place?

If ever there was a missed opportunity to make a real advance for kids, Newsround has achieved just that. Pressacker Hannah, accompanied by Newsround reporter, Hayley, went to meet Health Minister Anne Milton to ask why the government wasn't intending to introduce a ban on adults smoking in cars when children are present.

Leah: Now guys listen, last week we told you about a group of kids who were so fed up with adults smoking around children in cars they wanted to get it banned.

Ore: You got in touch, and loads of you agree. So, with the help of presspacker Hannah, Newsround took some of your thoughts to the top to get some answers.

video clip Hayley: ... Research by the British Lung Foundation has shown that smoking in small places like the car is particularly dangerous to children. I've come to Westminster with Hannah, one of the campaigners, because you're going to put some questions to Anne Milton, the minister in charge, aren't you?

Hannah: Yes I am.

Hayley: What are you hoping for?

Hannah: Hopefully there should be a law made so that parents can't smoke in cars with children.

Hannah (questions the minister): We want to know if you're going to ban it.

Anne Milton MP: No we're not going to ban smoking in cars because we think that would be interfering in people's family life .....

Hannah might have pointed out that the concentration of smoke could be far higher in a car than in a workplace, yet smoking at work is banned. She might have asked why the government cares less about the health of children than they do about the 'rights' of grown ups. Hayley explained that kids were often embarrassed to ask parents to stop smoking. But the cheeky minister got away with telling Hannah and Newsround viewers that kids needed to educate their parents.

Hannah said she would carry on fighting, and hoped that making more of a noise would result in a change. This seems like an ideal topic where the UK children's commissioners could get involved. It would be nice to see them on Newsround more often.

Should women be allowed to wear the niqab in public places, or is the French government right to ban it? That was the first topic on Newsround last Friday at 5pm.

Ore: Most of you are used to being told what you can and can't wear at school. But imagine being banned from wearing certain clothes all the time.

Hayley: Yep. In France it will soon be illegal to wear the niqab - the Muslim face veil - in any public place. It's meant to make women feel more free, but some people say it might well do the opposite.

The video report which followed failed to give a voice to those in the Muslim community, such as Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who favour a secular society where women and men are treated as equals. Newsround's report seemed to give more weight to those opposed to the French law, and ended by saying similar legislation is unlikely in Britain .

Tomorrow, 8th March, is International Women's Day (centenary year)

CBBC ought to take a few lessons in accuracy from Newsround Blog.

Hayley reported the Queen's forthcoming visit to Ireland. Someone at Newsround seems to be confused between Queen Elizabeth's dad George VI, and her granddad George V who visited Ireland in 1911. The script error occurred on bulletins today, but at least the accompanying film clip was of George V.

Two former Newsround presenters have been in the news recently. On Monday there was Helen Skelton's tightrope walk at Battersea Power Station, which will be the subject of a Blue Peter Special next week.

And on Tuesday it was reported that Lizo Mzimba will receive "substantial damages" and costs from The Independent after it repeated false allegations in The Tab - a Cambridge student newspaper which, itself, had already apologised for the untruthful story.

Mr Mzimba said: "I'm very pleased that this matter has finally been resolved."

After months of problems, it's nice to see Newsround video clips working more smoothly on broadband.

Here's the clip of Helen Skelton's amazing tightrope walk between the chimneys of the old Battersea Power Station. Helen presented Newsround a few years back, but now works on Blue Peter.

With 'gay' being a commonly heard word in schools, it's been something of an anomaly for it to be so infrequently heard on children's TV. But that's been the reality over the past few years, and CBBC's de facto policy undoubtedly bolsters heteronormativity and the concomitant belief that being gay is not a good thing.

Ballet Boys, in the 'My Life' series of documentaries, made a welcome change as it challenged stereotypes and broached the issue of sexual orientation in an honest, responsible and open-minded way such as used to be the norm on BBC children's TV.

The documentary focussed on three brothers from Liverpool who are all passionate about dancing and want to become professional ballet dancers. The eldest is Jamie (13), then Michael (11) and the youngest Adam (9)

The brothers have had to be strong in the face of taunts and bullying. Michael, we were told, has struggled the most with people who think that ballet is something that's not very manly. He needed to decide whether he could ignore the bullies and try and win a place at Elmhurst with his older brother.

Michael: Boys what do football call us gay, but then they say it's not gay for girls to do football, which it isn't. But then it's gay for boys to do a more girlish type sport. I mean more girls do it than boys, not it's more girlish cos you've got to be dead strong.

Narrator: In Michael's school dance largely means street dance, not ballet.

Michael: I feel like saying well dance is dance. It doesn't matter what shape or form. It's like pasta can come with tuna or tomato - it's still pasta. Toast - butter, no butter; dark, not dark - it's still toast. A boy, whether he's gay or not gay, he is still a boy.

Jamie also had something to say about the taunts.

Jamie: I did say to my mate, I said, "if you can give me one good reason, what's wrong with doing ballet?" He goes, "Yeah, cos it's gay," and that's all he could say. And I was just like, "personally, obviously, I don't think it's gay." I said "it's nothing wrong being gay." I said, "apart from that, do you know - just think about it - apart from that, one good reason?" And he couldn't think of one thing. So actually if the worst thing someone could say about us is "Ah you do ballet," then that's saying quite a lot of good things about us in a way.

Ballet Boys is a definite step in the right direction. But is a boy, who's perhaps hiding his sexual orientation from his parents and friends, likely to watch a programme about ballet? He might well prefer to be seen watching a programme about football. And that's why CBBC's continuing failure to tackle homophobia in sports is so wrong, and why the failure to report on the Justin Campaign on Saturday's MOTD Kickabout was an unforgivable omission.

Yesterday was Football v Homophobia Day. But not unexpectedly the Justin Campaign didn't even get a mention on CBBC's MOTD Kickabout, or for that matter on BBC1's Football Focus.

Justin Fashanu was a black player, but against the odds and despite racist attitudes in the sport at the time he managed to rise to the top of his profession to become the first British footballer to transfer for £1 million. Racism is far less common in football now than it was 20 years ago, but the same is not true of homophobia - the prejudice which led to his downfall. Saturday would have been Justin's 50th birthday.

We were told, before its launch, that MOTD Kickabout would focus on all things footie. On 29 January the programme highlighted sexist attitudes in the sport. So why did CBBC pass up a perfect chance yesterday to highlight homophobia? They could have easily found time if they wanted to. This is just the latest in a long list of lost opportunities.

As noted several times previously on Newsround Blog, the BBC encourages yobbish attitudes. On Friday's Newsround and repeated on yesterday's MOTD Kickabout -

Boy: ManUnited fans you'd better watch out. You get less cocky, because we're gonna crush you into the ground like a piece of dirt!

There are, however, a few positive signs on BBC children's TV. Ballet Boys, which was shown on Saturday (BBC2 at 11.15am) broke CBBC's long-standing practice regarding use of the 'g' word. More about this in a future blog.

Is the Government doing enough to combat homophobic bullying?

In June last year the Prime Minister said "... we'll never really tackle homophobic bullying in schools, we'll never tackle homophobic issues in the workplace just by passing laws. It's culture change and behavioural change that is needed as well ..."

But yesterday Mr Cameron seemed to suggest, when trying to cut welfare benefits, that legislation is a means to achieve cultural change.

David Cameron: I want to make something clear. The [Welfare Reform] Bill is not an exercise in accounting. It is about changing our culture ...

So perhaps the Government ought to do more in terms of legislating to help bring about a change in homophobic attitudes. Certainly faster movement towards equality would help.

'Should homosexuals face execution?' might sound like a debate on Radio Uganda, but regrettably it was in fact a question posed by our very own BBC in December 2009. Rather than simply issue a fulsome and unreserved apology, the BBC has sought to compensate for the insult in other ways.

Last night's BBC Three documentary: World's Worst Place to be Gay? was presented by Scott Mills, who began the film showing what he does best: DJing in clubs. Scott claimed that being gay simply wasn't an issue in most places where he works.

Scott: So, I'm gay. Big deal you might think. And in this country it really isn't.

Maybe Scott ought to question why 'gay' is now such a rarely heard word on BBC children's TV.

Scott: Although things still aren't perfect, we've come a long way.

In fact BBC children's TV has gone backwards in terms of lesbian and gay representation. Scott and other BBC employees might want to make enquiries as to why this has happened.

Scott: In other parts of the world homosexuals are still hated and discriminated against. A wave of intense homophobia is washing across Africa, where homosexuality is already illegal in 37 countries. It's being fuelled by fundamentalist preachers, intolerant governments and homophobic politicians...

Scott Mills' first impression on arriving in Uganda was that it's a really cool and friendly place. But he soon found out from talking to the population that there was a real hatred of gay people, with some saying homosexuals should be killed. As a result LGB people are disowned by their families and made to live secretly in a slum ghetto.

After undergoing a bizarre ceremony intended to 'cure' his homosexuality Scott decided to find out the views of young Ugandans.

Scott: In western countries it was the young who led the fight against homophobia. So is that where the hope lies in Uganda?

It turned out that the high school kids he spoke to had similar views to the rest of the population, which left Scott rather disheartened.

Scott: It seemed to me that young kids think like this because as soon as they're old enough to learn they're fed an unending diet of anti-gay propaganda.

World's Worst Place to be Gay? on iPlayer till 21 February 2011

Takeover is the theme of CBBC programmes for this half-term. Presumably the channel will be running repeats of programmes like Gimme a Break, Remote Control Star and Project Parent. Of course kids aren't really in charge - it's just a pretence that they are.

Pretence isn't just limited to programme making, it's also a problem on the Internet as Daniel Roche, of Outnumbered and Just William fame found out.

Newsround 5pm this evening -

Ore: Last year some of his mates thought they were chatting to him on Facebook. It turned out they were talking to a complete stranger - someone pretending to be him online.

Leah: Things got serious when the impostor tried to arrange to meet one of Daniel's friends. Now with Safer Internet Day taking place this week, Daniel wanted to tell us his story.

Ricky Eleven-year-old Daniel. Famous for playing cheeky Ben in Outnumbered. He's never signed up to Facebook - he knows you have to be 13 or over to have an account. So imagine how surprised he was when his friends said they found him online. It turned out to be a fake Facebook page created by a stranger.

Daniel: They mentioned if I had a Facebook account and I said 'no.' They said 'oh' and they showed it to me and mum and we were a bit bewildered and we kind of looked at it a bit and we researched it and he was pretending to be me.

Ricky: The Facebook impostor contacted some of Daniel's schoolfriends, and even tried to arrange a meeting with one girl.

Those lucky enough to have a very good Internet connection can watch the full report here. Last year's Newsround Special about keeping safe on the Internet: Caught in the Web is available here, and is being repeated at 4.55pm tomorrow on BBC One.

What is it about the BBC that prompts them to seek out an anti-diversity view nearly every time an LGBT-related story makes the news? It doesn't matter who, as long as they've a contrary opinion, the BBC will use them to 'balance' the report.

Remember that report about Elton John's new baby? Former Newsround presenter, Lizo Mzimba told viewers that "not everyone is pleased" about it and then, to prove his point, we saw extracts from an interview with Stephen Green, in which Mr Green suggested that gay people treat babies as designer accessories. Green said that "to deprive a baby of a mother" is like an act of pure selfishness.

Anyone who saw that news item on 28th December 2010 would have noticed that the interview was captioned with Stephen Green's name, and below that his organisation "Christian Voice." Without knowing any background about his 'Christian' organisation, viewers might have assumed Green is representative of traditional Christian family values. However thanks to some good investigative journalism on the part of the generally homophobic Daily Mail, the truth about Stephen Green is out. In view of which I suspect Mr Green is unlikely to be invited by the BBC to proffer an opinion again. Perhaps friend and soulmate Melanie Phillips will offer him a shoulder to cry on.

Can't the BBC learn a lesson? Let's hope Newsround covers LGBT History Month, which begins today, and without the usual BBC "balance."

Balance? Will CBBC ever get it: LGBT History Month is an attempt to put right the heteronormative indoctrination all kids receive from Day 1 of their lives. Or as Melanie Phillips tendentiously put it recently: the ruthless campaign by the gay rights lobby to destroy the very ­concept of normal sexual behaviour.

With the London Olympics just around the corner you'd think CBBC would want to make its output cover a more diverse range of a sports. But, contrary to common sense, someone decided to do away with Sportsround and concentrate on footy. I like football but I'd be disappointed if we don't see changes before too long, and certainly in good time for the Olympics.

For its first three weeks MOTD Kickabout was fronted by Ore Oduba, but Sonali was in charge today. The first item looked back at the recent sexist remarks by Sky commentators Richard Keys and Andy Gray. MOTD Kickabout guests Dan Walker and John Farnworth both felt that the Sky presenters were wrong and had outdated views. Walker said that he'd been taught years ago that you're never alone with a microphone.

After the full-time whistle Sonali asked Dan Walker how MOTD Kickabout compares with Football Focus -

Dan: Much better soft toys. And you're far more attractive than Lawro as well, so ..

Now why does all this remind me of a controversial Yorkie advert.

Whatever happened to the 'Outwit Ore' quiz on Saturday's MOTD Kickabout? And did Ore actually complete his forfeit of doing Iain Stirling's makeup for a week? I'm guessing that, after losing on the first two shows, Ore simply decided to ditch that section and not bother with the forfeit. Anyway, Sonali will be presenting Kickabout next Saturday.

Football was the top story on Newsround at 5pm yesterday. It was about the row over what will happen to the Olympic stadium after the 2012 games. If Spurs purchase the stadium they plan to bulldoze it and build a new one in its place. But that would contravene a promise made when London originally applied to host the Olympics. Lord Coe said we ought to be very careful about potentially trashing our international reputation.

The second Newsround story was also about a football controversy -

Sonali: Now to the footie comments that have got loads of people's blood boiling.

Ricky: Richard Keys and Andy Gray, here they are, are two of the best known Sky Sports presenters

Sonali: But over the weekend they were overheard saying someone needed to teach this assistant referee, Sian Massey, the offside rule because she's a girl. Listen carefully to this.

(recording of Sky presenters) Richard Keys: Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her. Andy Gray: Yeah, I know. Can you believe that, female linesman! That's exactly what I said. Women don't know the offside rule. Richard Keys: Course they don't.

Sexist remarks are unfortunately nothing new in football. A few years ago Newsround reported that Luton Town boss Mike Newell was in trouble for saying that female referees and linesmen shouldn't be involved in matches. At the time Newsround quoted Newell: "It is bad enough with the incapable referees and linesmen we have, but if you start bringing in women you have big problems." Then Newsround had the effrontery to ask "But is he right?"

They really should have known better than to ask such foolish questions, and this time round they didn't. Perhaps CBBC is learning a thing or two from Newsround Blog - like this entry on 14 November 2006.

However, with LGBT History Month only a week away, unfortunately it's looking less and less likely that Newsround or MOTD Kickabout will have anything to say about homophobic prejudice which has blighted footie for so long.