Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 16/09/24.
News: Nurseries in England say new rules have reduced care to ‘crowd control’ – Guardian Online
14 September 2024, Anna Fazackerley. The first study into Tory shake-up of childcare shows staff are overwhelmed:
Article: One of England’s biggest school academy trusts to ban phone use – BBC News Online
14 September 2024, Vincent McAviney, Mallory Moench and Kris Bramwell. One of England’s largest school academy trusts is set to ban phones during the school day. Ormiston Academies Trust confirmed to the BBC it was phasing out access to smartphones for around 35,000 pupils at its 42 state schools across the country:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgdx7ddz55o
Article: Recommendations of Labour commissioned Bell Review on the early years leaked – Nursery World
13 September 2024, Katy Morton. Recommendations of Labour commissioned Bell Review on the early years leaked:
News: Helen Hayes elected as Chair of Education Committee - Education Committee
11 September 2024. Following nominations and elections, Helen Hayes MP has been elected Chair of the Education Committee:
Article: Millions of parents struggling to feed their children as the cost-of-living continues to ‘bite’ – Nursery World
11 September 2024, Katy Morton. A quarter of parents in Britain have struggled to provide sufficient food for their children over the past 12 months due to the cost of living, reveals new research:
Official Statistics: Oral health survey of children in year 6, 2023 – detailed report – Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
10 September 2024. Detailed findings of the National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) survey, which took place in the academic year 2022 to 2023:
Article: Children in care wait 10 years for permanent home in Scotland – study: BBC News Online
10 September 2024. More than one in 10 children in care were still in temporary placements a decade after entering the care system in Scotland, a major study has revealed:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy9e3g822jqo
News: All primary pupils should receive free school lunches, say health experts – The National
10 September 2024. All primary school-aged children should be given free meals to help tackle the obesity crisis, leading health experts have said:
Articles: Hundreds of SEN kids missing from school – report – BBC News Online
10 September 2024, Kate Berry and Nathan Standley. New analysis suggests hundreds of children with special educational needs are missing out on any form of suitable education, either at school or at home:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9qg94d45zxo
Petition: Support Our Call For A School Nurse in Every School – SAPHNA
7 September 2024. The School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA) is deeply concerned about the worsening of children’s health outcomes in the UK, including increases in the prevalence of mental problems, dental decay, obesity and respiratory problems. Alarmingly, children in the most deprived areas are facing the worst of these health crises. This troubling trend coincides with a marked 35% decrease in the number of school nurses since 2009. A school nurse in every school is not just a preventive measure, it’s an essential investment in the future wellbeing of our children:
Link: https://www.change.org/p/support-our-call-for-a-school-nurse-in-every-school
Blog: Children’s Commissioner responds to new figures on children referred to mental health support for anxiety – The Children’s Commissioner
6 September 2024. Official figures show in 2023-24 there were 204,526 new referrals of patients aged 17 and under where the primary cause was anxiety. In 2019-20, the year before Covid, the total was 98,953:
Article: Rise in fines for term-time holidays won’t stop us, say parents – BBC News Online
5 September 2024, Colletta Smith & Rory Carson. More pupils in England were off school without permission in the last week of the summer term than at any point in the academic year, official figures show:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ykz4nr11no
News: A new early years inspection framework – Nursery World
3 September 2024, Katy Morton. Ofsted has been urged to work collaboratively with the sector following the news the inspectorate is to scrap one word judgements and introduce a new early years inspection framework:
Article: One-word Ofsted grades for schools to be scrapped – BBC News Online
2 September 2024, Branwen Jeffreys and Nathan Standley. Ofsted’s new system for grading schools in England will not cause confusion for parents, the prime minister said on after announcing changes: