Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 28/07/23
News: Childcare plan won’t work without more money – MPs – BBC News Online
26 July 2023, Vanessa Clarke. The government’s plan to expand funded childcare for working parents “will not work” unless the amount paid to providers is right, MPs have warned:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66087320
News: ‘Put learners first’: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools – Guardian Online
26 July 2023, Patrick Butler and Hibaq Farah. Major UN report issues warning over excessive use, with one in four countries already banning the devices:
News: Numbers in temporary accommodation in England hit record – BBC News Online
26 July 2023, Michael Buchanan and Judith Burns. The number of people living in temporary accommodation in England has hit a 25-year high, according to the latest official figures:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66296333
News: More childcare places lost as childminders quit – BBC News Online
23 July 2023, Vanessa Clarke & Daniel Wainwright. A drastic decline in childminders could lead to a shortage of places, early years providers are warning. There were 9,800 fewer childcare workers in 2022 than in 2019, with childminders down by a fifth:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66237789
News: Baby loss in pregnancy: Pledge to store remains in dignified way – BBC News Online
22 July 2023, Smitha Mundasad & Tulip Mazumdar. Women who lose babies during pregnancy have been promised improved care, including better ways for remains to be collected and stored with dignity:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66259223
Article: NHS staff shortages halting children’s mental health service improvements, PAC warns – Children & Young People Now
21 July 2023, Fiona Simpson. NHS workforce shortages are halting improvements to mental health services, including those for children and young people, a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) finds:
Open consultation: Early years funding, extension of the entitlements – Department for Education
21 July 2023. Views sought on proposals regarding our approach to funding for early years entitlements for 2-year-olds and under from April 2024. This consultation is being held on another website. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 8 September 2023:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/early-years-funding-extension-of-the-entitlements
Article: DfE launches consultation on proposed funding formula for 30 hours expansion – Nursery World
21 July 223, Katy Morton. The DfE has launched its consultation on its new proposed ‘fair funding formula’ for the delivery of the extension of the funded hours for children from nine months old, starting from April:
Article: Political parties told to simplify early years funding system – Nursery World
20 July 2023, Katy Morton. Ahead of the next general election, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) is calling on the political parties to simplify the early years funding system and weight it ‘more heavily’ towards children with SEND and from low-income families:
News: Children waiting over a year in pain for NHS tooth removal – BBC News Online
19 July 2023, Ruth Green, Jonathan Fagg & Dominic Hughes. Children in some areas of England are waiting up to 18 months on average for dental general-anaesthetic treatment and teeth extractions, an investigation reveals:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66095984
Article: Iconic nursery school Coram faces closure amid rent hike and accuses namesake charity of abandoning it – Nursery World
18 July 2023, Catherine Gaunt. One of England’s oldest and most renowned nursery schools is facing closure because the charity that originally helped to set it up plans to double its rent and cut its provision in half:
News: Summer childcare costs hit nearly £1,000 a child – BBC News Online
18 July 2023, Vishala Sri-Pathma & Jemma Dempsey. The cost of childcare through the school summer holidays is now £943 per child on average, a survey suggests. Working parents also face a huge disparity in price depending on where they live in Britain, according to the charity Coram Family and Childcare:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66193974
Article: CAMHS crisis – the long wait for neuro assessments – Politics Home
17 July 2023, Justine Smith. In a follow up to our investigation in April, the House has learned thousands of children with suspected ADHD and autism are suffering “severe and irrevocable damage” to their futures, as they wait up to seven years for NHS help:
Link: https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/camhs-crisis-long-wait-neuro-screening
Research briefing: Home education in England – House of Commons Library
14 July 2023. This briefing provides information and the key issues on home education in England as well as current and past proposals for reform:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05108/
News: NHS England to open 10 more clinics for children with obesity – Contemporary Health
26 June 2023, Nicholas Feenie. In response to the alarming rise in childhood obesity, NHS England has announced plans to launch 10 additional clinics specifically tailored to the needs of children with obesity. This expansion comes as part of a concerted effort to combat the escalating numbers of children and young people struggling with obesity and its associated health complications:
News: Obesity rates in the UK propel NHS prescription expenditure beyond £10 billion – – Contemporary Health
22 June 2023, Nicholas Feenie. During the financial year of 2022/23, the NHS allocated £10.4 billion to prescription drugs, which is an approximately 10% increase compared to the preceding year: