Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 13/03/23.
Commons debate: Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan – They Work For You
15 March in Westminster Hall there will be a debate ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan’ led by Kevan Jones MP:
Link: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/calendar/?d=2023-03-15#cal41882
Blog: Kids Need Leisure Time as Much as Adults Do: Without time for unstructured play, children’s mental health suffers – Psychology Today
10 March 2023, Suzanne Degges-White Ph.D. Lifetime Connections. Without time for unstructured play, children’s mental health suffers:
News: Childcare: Full-time nursery for under-twos nearly £15k a year, says report – BBC News Online
10 March 2023, Vanessa Clarke, Navtej Johal & Callum Thomson. The average annual cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under two in Great Britain is now £14,836:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-64865602
News: Review into teaching of sex education announced – BBC News Online
9 March 2023. The government will review how sex education is taught in schools in England following concerns that children are being exposed to “inappropriate” content:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64892868
Article: Average nursery loses £32,000 a year by subsidising 15-hour childcare – Nursery World
9 March 2023, Catherine Gaunt. Less than 2 per cent of nurseries say the Government funding they receive to provide universal childcare for three-and four-year-olds covers their delivery costs, according to a survey by the National Day Nurseries Association, which also found that closures have risen by 87 per cent:
Article: Some parents in England spending 80% of pay on childcare, study says – The Guardian Online
8 March 2023, Kiran Stacey, Sarah Marsh and Carmen Aguilar García. Two other studies also show there are insufficient places in half of the country’s councils:
News: Three-quarters of children detained under mental health act are girls, new report warns – The Independent
8 March 2023, Rebecca Thomas. Youngsters face ‘patchy’ support with 80-day treatment wait in one area:
Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/mental-health-act-girls-children-b2295986.html
Written evidence: Support for childcare and the early years – UK Parliament
7 March 2023. A number of written submissions to the Education Select’s Inquiry into ‘Support for childcare and the early years’ have been published:
News: New special educational needs schools years away, says heads’ group – BBC News Online
2 March 2023, Kate McGough & Elaine Dunkley. The government has unveiled new plans to reform support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in England:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-64804555
Article: Parents claim it doesn’t make ‘financial sense’ to work due to childcare costs – survey – Nursery World
2 March 2023, Katy Morton. Three-quarters of mothers who pay for childcare say that it does not make financial sense for them to work, reveals new research:
Article: Petition calling for free schools for all primary children to be delivered to 10 Downing Street – Nursery World
2 March 2023, Katy Morton. A petition of over 32,000 signatures calling for free school meals to be expanded is being delivered to Parliament by Barnardo’s and actress and ambassador Michelle Collins today (2 March):
Press release: Transformational reform begins for children and young people with SEND – Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care, and Claire Coutinho MP
2 March 2023. Plan for better, fairer access to high quality special educational needs and disabilities support:
News: Send: Special educational needs children in England to receive more help – BBC News Online
2 March 2023, Kate McGough & Elaine Dunkley. The government has unveiled new plans to reform support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in England:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-64804555
Article: Education secretary talks of battle to get support for nephew with Down’s syndrome – Guardian Online
1 March 2023, Sally Weale. Gillian Keegan opens up about 16-year-old relative as government prepares to publish Send improvement plan for England:
News: Smartphones and social media are destroying children’s mental health – Financial Times
Link: https://www.ft.com/content/0e2f6f8e-bb03-4fa7-8864-f48f576167d2
List of Written Evidence: Inquiry – Support for childcare and the early years – Education Committee, UK Parliament
March 2023. A long list of Written Evidence to the Education Committee’s Inquiry into ‘Support for childcare and the early years’ has been published:
Link: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7164/support-for-childcare-and-the-early-years/publications/
Report: A Crisis on our Doorstep – Barnardo’s
March 2023. This report takes a closer look at how this national crisis has affected children, families and young people using Barnardo’s services during winter 2022/23. It shows how we have responded to address hunger, health and wellbeing, access to essential items and access to safe and warm housing:
Article: Agency’s ‘ineffective’ grade puts childminders on alert – Nursery World
28 February 2023, Katy Morton. Childminders in more than 100 local authority areas are being restricted or having funding for entitlement offers withheld after their agency’s Ofsted inspection:
Link: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/agency-s-ineffective-grade-puts-childminders-on-alert
News: Campaign to help parents with introducing babies to solid food – Department of Health and Social Care and Neil O’Brien MP
28 February 2023. Government campaign promotes NHS advice on weaning as survey finds half of parents in England are confused about how much to feed their baby in the process:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/campaign-to-help-parents-with-introducing-babies-to-solid-food
News: Pupil absences remain above pre-Covid levels – BBC News Online
23 February 2023, Hazel Shearing. The number of pupils regularly missing school in England has not returned to pre-Covid pandemic levels, according to official statistics:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-64747813
Article: YMCA warns of nursery closures amid rising costs and below inflation funding rates – Nursery World
23 February 2023, Catherine Gaunt. YMCA, the largest charity provider of childcare in the UK, is closing four nurseries at the end of the month, and warns more could close, as years of underfunding and rates for 2023-24 leave early years providers ‘buckling under the strain’: