Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 30/11/22.
Article: LEYF to ‘double number of hours’ for London’s poorest children with £750,000 from Westminster Foundation – Nursery World
28 November 2022, Catherine Gaunt. The Duke of Westminster’s charitable foundation is providing £750,000 over five years to the London Early Years Foundation to expand access to early education places to some of the poorest children in the capital:
Blog: How we are improving support for children with SEND – Department for Education
29 November 2022. The DfE wants all children and young people to have the same opportunity to meet their potential – including children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). That’s why children and young people with SEND are set to benefit from more wellbeing and technology support. Here’s what you need to know:
Link: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/11/29/how-we-are-improving-support-for-children-with-send/
Open consultation: Changes to the early years educator level 3 criteria – Department for Education:
28 November 2022. Views sought on proposed revisions to the criteria that underpin the early years educator level 3 criteria. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 23 January 2023:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-early-years-educator-level-3-criteria
News: School meals: ‘We can only afford one a week for our daughter’ – BBC News Online
29 November 2022, Branwen Jeffreys. Children need nourishing school dinners more than ever before, as many families struggle with the cost of living, a leading expert has warned. BBC News has been speaking to families and schools as they try to tackle the problem:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-63756634
News: Online Safety Bill: Plan to make big tech remove harmful content axed – BBC News Online
29 November 2022, Chris Vallance & Shiona McCallum. Controversial measures which would have forced big technology platforms to take down legal but harmful material have been axed from the Online Safety Bill:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-63782082
Briefing: COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities study: Mental Health and Wellbeing – COSMO
23 November 2022. Erica Holt-White, Alice De Gennaro, Jake Anders, Carl Cullinane, Erin Early, Rebecca Montacute, Xin Shao and James Yarde. The impact of the pandemic on health and wellbeing goes far beyond the direct effects of someone catching COVID-19 itself. The effects on young people’s mental health were non-trivial – increased reports of anxiety, sleep problems and panic attacks were seen across all ages, and concerns about school, college and university also increased:
Link: https://cosmostudy.uk/publications/mental-health-and-wellbeing
Policy proposal: Putting health in the spotlight: quantifying the impact of obesity prevention policies in the UK – The Behavioural Insights Team
22 November 2022. This report examines the impact of four obesity prevention policies either recently implemented by the UK government, or scheduled for future implementation, finding that their combined net benefit to the UK over 25 years is estimated to be over £76 billion. These policies work to push unhealthy food out of the spotlight and redress the balance with the healthy food that children need to thrive:
News: Encouraging self-harm to be criminalised in Online Safety Bill – BBC News Online
27 November 2022, Charley Evans. The encouragement of self-harm will be criminalised in an update to the Online Safety Bill, the government has said:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63768496
News: ‘Not enough’ done to help early development – BBC News Online
28 November 2022. “Not enough is being done” to support the early development of children and nurture their potential, the Princess of Wales has said:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63765377
Research briefing: Online Safety Bill: Commons stages – House of Commons Library
24 November 2022. This Briefing summarises the Commons stages of the Online Safety Bill [Bill 4 2022-23]:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9579/
Speech: Children’s Minister closes debate on children’s social care – Department for Education and Claire Coutinho MP
25 November 2022. Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing Claire Coutinho addresses Parliament during backbench debate on the independent review of children’s social care:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/childrens-minister-closes-debate-on-childrens-social-care
Article: Acting on health inequalities will save lives and money – Politics Home
21 November 2022, Policy@Manchester. Across the UK, disparities in health and care are the most visible part of the levelling-up agenda – and tackling them is central to bridging regional gaps in wealth and productivity, say experts and Parliamentarians:
Link: https://www.politicshome.com/members/article/acting-on-health-inequalities-will-save-lives-and-money
Report: New First 1001 Days report highlights the ongoing impact for babies born during the COVID pandemic – Parent-Infant Foundation
23 November 2022. A new report released by the First 1001 Days Movement and Institute of Health Visiting shows an alarming 95% of professionals questioned say they are seeing an ongoing negative impact on babies’ and young children’s social skills due to the COVID pandemic:
Research briefing: Independent review of Children’s social care – House of Commons Briefing
22 November 2022. A backbench business debate has been scheduled for Thursday 24 November on the independent review of Children’s social care:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2022-0211/
News: ‘Shocking’ report suggests stark rise in young people with mental health issues – Sky News
23 November 2022. More than four in 10 young people were above the threshold for “probable mental ill health” and girls appeared to fare worse than boys:
Article: Robin Walker elected as chair of the Education Select Committee – Nursery World
18 November 2022, Katy Morton. Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, has been chosen as the new chair of the Education Select Committee:
Article: Michael Gove cracks down on mould-infested homes after death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak and writes to every council in England to warn the tragedy must ‘never be allowed to happen again’ – Daily Mail
20 November 2022, Elizabeth Haigh. Housing Secretary Michael Gove has launched a crackdown on poor housing conditions by demanding every council and housing authority provide details of how they plan to tackle damp and mould following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak:
Report: ‘Out of sight, Out of mind’ – Centre for Social Justice
November 2022. CSJ report on Home Education ‘Out of sight, Out of mind’:
Link: https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/out-of-sight-and-out-of-mind
Lords Debate: Childhood Obesity – Parallel Parliament
17 November 2022. Text of short debate in the Lords on Childhood Obesity:
Link: https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/debate/2022-11-17/lords/lords-chamber/childhood-obesity
National statistics: Information on looked-after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2021 to 2022 – Department for Education
17 November 2022. Information on looked-after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2021 to 2022:
News: Nearly 2 million children missing school regularly after post-Covid surge in home education, report finds – FE News
16 November 2022. Nearly two million children in England are missing from school, according to a new study from a leading think-tank warning that classroom attendance has reached a ‘crisis point’:
News: Parents in England who fail to register home schooling could face sanctions – Guardian Online
3 February 2022, Sally Weale. Government is planning compulsory national register but details of penalties are yet to be determined:
Research briefing: Social security support for children – House of Commons Library
22 November 2022. A Westminster Hall debate has been scheduled for Wednesday 23 November on social security support for children. The debate will be opened by Anum Qaisar MP:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2022-0208/
Article: Chancellor urged to abolish business rates for nurseries that ‘push businesses into making a loss’ – Nursery World
16 November 2022, Katy Morton. Abolishing business rates for nurseries could mitigate rising fees for parents, increase pay for staff, and make settings more sustainable, according to the latest NDNA findings:
News: Is cost of living causing children to miss school in Wales? – BBC News Online
14 November 2022. There are calls for an urgent government investigation into children missing school due to the cost of living crisis:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63590367
Article: MPs unite in opposition to Government’s plans to change staff-to-child ratios in petition debate – Nursery World
15 November 2022, Catherine Gaunt. MPs from across the House of Commons voiced the overwhelming opposition of early years providers and parents to Government plans to change staff-to-child ratios in early years settings, during the debate in Westminster Hall:
Press release: Support for vulnerable adolescents Report – National Audit Office
11 November 2022. Government is still developing its understanding of the complex challenges involved in supporting vulnerable adolescents. Gaps in knowledge and the lack of a strategic approach mean that government cannot yet say whether its plans to spend a further £2bn will address the needs of families, vulnerable adolescents and children in the most effective way, according to the National Audit Office (NAO):
Link: https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/support-for-vulnerable-adolescents/