29/09/23 – Useful Links

Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 29/09/23.

Article: – £60m wasted in SEND tribunals disputing EHCP plans – research – Nursery World

27 September 2023, Catherine Gaunt. Councils wasted £60m in unsuccessful court disputes in SEND tribunals, which could have been used to fund specialist support for children with special educational needs, according to new research:

Link: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/60m-wasted-in-send-tribunals-disputing-ehcp-plans-research

News: School absences: The school picking kids up from home to boost attendance- BBC News Online

27 September 2023, Branwen Jeffreys. The number of children missing school in England is a crisis that needs to be tackled with bigger, bolder national measures, MPs say:

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66917186

News: Pornography driving UK teens towards child abuse material, say experts – Guardian Online

26 September 2023, Harriet Grant. Police and charities warn of rise in harmful sexual behaviour among young people:

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/26/pornography-driving-teens-child-abuse-material-charities-police

Research briefing: Early years funding in England – House of Commons Library

 25 September 2023. An overview of early years funding in England since 2017-18 and Government plans for reform:

Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8052/

Comment: Not even bankers wear ties and blazers any more. So why should schoolchildren? – Guardian Online

25 September 2023, André Spicer. Suspended for wearing the wrong socks: there’s no way this is ‘preparing children for the world of work’:

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/25/why-do-we-force-our-kids-into-ties-and-blazers-when-not-even-bankers-wear-them-any-more?

News: Government scraps £5m plan to fund school cooking ‘revolution’ less than 2 years after unveiling – The i on MSN

24 September 2023, Jason Murugesu. The Government has scrapped a £5m plan to fund a “school cooking revolution” just 19 months after it was unveiled, i can reveal:

Link: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/government-scraps-5m-plan-to-fund-school-cooking-revolution-less-than-2-years-after-unveiling/ar-AA1haOzo

News: AI-generated naked child images shock Spanish town of Almendralejo – BBC News Online

24 September 2023, Guy Hedgecoe. A sleepy town in southern Spain is in shock after it emerged that AI-generated naked images of young local girls had been circulating on social media without their knowledge:

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66877718

Blog: I Want My Son to Take Risks, Not Stress Over Grades – Psychology Today

23 September 2023, Becky Diamond. The focus on academic achievement robs kids of the chance to build life skills:

Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/risking-it/202309/i-want-my-son-to-take-risks-not-stress-over-grades

Research and analysis: Subject report series: PE – OFSTED

20 September 2023. An Ofsted subject report on the quality of physical education (PE) in primary and secondary schools in England:

Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-pe

Research briefing: Help with childcare costs in England – House of Commons Library

20 September 2023. Information on the support available for help with childcare costs and the Government’s proposals for reform:

Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8054/

Article: Number of graduates in nurseries ‘plummeted’ over last decade – Nursery World

20 September 2023, Katy Morton. The number of graduate early years teachers in England has dropped by 77 per cent over the last nine years, finds new research:

Link: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/number-of-graduates-in-nurseries-plummeted-over-last-decade

News: Many teens feel unsafe and anxious, but are positive about future – poll – BBC News Online

20 September 2023. Many teenage girls say they experience sexual harassment in their day-to-day lives and do not feel safe on the street alone:

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66855386

News: Online Safety Bill: Crackdown on harmful social media content agreed – BBC News Online

19 September 2023, Chris Vallance. Peers have passed a controversial new law aimed at making social media firms more responsible for users’ safety on their platforms:

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66854618

Press release: Britain makes internet safer, as Online Safety Bill finished and ready to become law – Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and The Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP

19 September 2023. Online Safety Bill passes its final Parliamentary debate and is now ready to become law:

Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/britain-makes-internet-safer-as-online-safety-bill-finished-and-ready-to-become-law

Article: Child poverty ‘ripping’ through schools and taking staff away from their ‘core’ roles to help – Nursery World

19 September 2023, Katy Morton. New survey findings suggest that child poverty is pushing schools to the ‘brink’, with staff being forced from their ‘core roles’ to deal with its impact:

Link: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/child-poverty-ripping-through-schools-and-taking-staff-away-from-their-core-roles-to-help

News: Young people ditching ambitions over UK cost of living crisis, research finds – Guardian Online

19 September 2023, Amelia Hill. Survey of 18- to 24-year-olds for Prince’s Trust found two-thirds had lowered their career expectations:

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/19/young-people-ditching-ambitions-over-uk-cost-of-living-crisis-research-finds

Research briefing: Relationships and Sex Education in Schools (England) – House of Commons Library

18 September 2023. This House of Commons Library briefing provides an overview of the current rules and recent reforms to relationships and sex education in English schools:

Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06103/

News: Improve NHS mental health funding or more children will die by suicide, says coroner – Guardian Online

14 September 2023, Matthew Weaver. A prevention of future deaths report is sent to Steve Barclay after Allison Aules, 12, took her own life:

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/14/improve-nhs-mental-health-funding-or-more-children-will-die-by-suicide-says-coroner

Blog: ‘The Big Ambition’ Launch – The Children’s Commissioner

14 September 2023. This survey is for children and young people aged 6-18 and parents of children and young people aged 0-18 to capture the voices of all children in England:

Link: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/blog/the-childrens-commissioner-launches-the-big-ambition/

Report: The Good Childhood – The Children’s Society

September 2023. This year’s Good Childhood Report reveals that too many young people are unhappy with their lives. 10% of the children aged 10 to 17 who completed our household survey in May and June 2023 had low wellbeing, and almost a third were unhappy with at least one specific area of their lives:

Link: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/good-childhood