Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 30/10/24.
Report: The effect of Sure Start on youth misbehaviour, crime and contacts with children’s social care – Institute for Fiscal Studies
October 2024. This report looks to understand whether an integrated early years programme delivered in local neighbourhoods, such as Sure Start, was able to influence the need for costlier interventions, such as those delivered through children’s social care and the youth justice system:
News: Advertising ban and ‘healthiness’ reporting on the cards amid obesity crisis – The Caterer
24 October 2024, Jungmin Seo. The House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee stressed that large food businesses “must be held to account” for selling unhealthy food and drink:
Report: Support for children and young people with special educational needs – National Audit Office
24 October 2024. Based on an NAO estimate, around 1.9 million children and young people aged 0 to 25 years in England (11%) were identified as having special educational needs (SEN) in January 2024, with 1.7 million at school:
Link: https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/support-for-children-and-young-people-with-special-educational-needs/
Article: Special educational needs bill in England hits record £10bn a year – Guardian Online
24 October 2024, Richard Adams. National Audit Office report finds no signs of improvement in lives of pupils despite record spending:
Impact assessment: Online Safety Act: Enactment impact assessment – Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
23 October 2024. This assessment is an update to the Online Safety Bill final stage impact assessment published in 2022 – and reflects several major policy changes made during passage of the Online Safety Bill:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-act-enactment-impact-assessment
Policy paper: Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy – Cabinet Office
23 October 2024. A publication of the report: Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy
Article: Free school meals trial feeds 20,000 more children – BBC News Online
22 October 2024, Nathan Standley and Elaine Dunkley. Thousands more children from England’s poorest households are eating a free school meal because of a new trial scheme:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8egkp8y90o
Opinion: Rachel de Souza: Left in limbo – Nursery World
22 October 2024. For the children and families facing the crisis in community, mental health and SEN services, it is urgent and real, says the children’s commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza:
Link: https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/content/opinion/rachel-de-souza-left-in-limbo
News: English smacking ban being considered by government – BBC News Online
21 October 2024, Jennifer McKiernan. Government ministers are considering a smacking ban for England, the Department for Education has confirmed:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr4x4lqv4d0o
News: UK Youth welcomes National Youth Strategy plan – and urges investment to back it – UK Youth
18 October 2024. UK Youth has hailed the Government’s pledge to develop a National Youth Strategy – and urged leaders to commit funding to it in the upcoming Budget:
Open consultation: Healthy Start for families with no recourse to public funds – Department of Health and Social Care
18 October 2024. The Department of Health and Social Care wants to know what you think about whether Healthy Start should be given to families with no recourse to public funds. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 13 December 2024:
News: Disadvantaged children miss out on their funded entitlement due to confusion among parents – Nursery World
18 October 2024. Disadvantaged children are being prevented from taking up the 15-hour entitlement due to confusion surrounding the different childcare entitlements, restrictions on how funded hours can be accessed and additional charges to access them:
Consultation outcome: Early years foundation stage (EYFS) safeguarding – Department for Education
17 October 2024. This is the government’s response to the consultation on proposed changes to strengthen EYFS safeguarding requirements, which ran from 22 April 2024 to 17 June 2024:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs-safeguarding
News: Parents want smartphones banned in schools, poll finds – i-news
15 October 2024, Richard Vaughan. Private members’ bill to be tabled on banning smartphones from schools:
Link: https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/parents-want-smart-phone-use-illegal-schools-3325207