Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 15/11/24.
News: Folic acid added to flour to lessen birth defects – BBC News Online
14 November 2024, Michelle Roberts. Folic acid is to be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour in the UK to help prevent birth defects:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c206d60xe7no
Article: More families being ‘forced’ into home education – BBC News Online
14 November 2024, Alix Hattenstone. The children’s commissioner for England believes some families are being “forced” to educate their children at home after a BBC investigation found the number making the switch has doubled in five years:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c704x7e5515o
News: Gordon Brown: Two-child benefit cap is trapping families in poverty – i-news
12 November 2024, Vicky Spratt. Gordon Brown said child poverty has become a far bigger problem than pensioner poverty:
Link: https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/gordon-brown-two-child-benefit-cap-traps-families-poverty-3376670
News: Early years settings forced to increase fees or close due to incoming NICs and minimum wage rises – Nursery World
12 November 2024, Katy Morton. The majority of providers plan to increase their fees if the Government fails to mitigate the combined impact of National Insurance increases and minimum wage rises, reveal new findings:
Article: Early Years Sector Writes To Chancellor Over Post-Budget Concerns – Politics Home
11 November 2024, Matilda Martin. “The silence from Treasury” in the aftermath of the Budget is “illogical and unacceptable”, the early years sector has warned:
Link: https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/early-years-sector-writes-to-chancellor-impact-of-budget
Press release: Infant formula: CMA sets out concerns and potential solutions – Competition and Markets Authority
8 November 2024. CMA interim report outlines concerns regarding the infant formula market – all of which appear to be contributing to parents paying over the odds:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/infant-formula-cma-sets-out-concerns-and-potential-solutions
Research briefing: Youth Services in the UK – House of Commons Library
7 November 2024. An overview of youth services; the statutory duties and policy in different parts of the UK as well as a summary of some of research into the impacts of youth work:
Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10132/?
Policy Paper & Factsheet: Mental Health Bill 2025 – Department of Health & Social Care
7 November 2024. Includes:
- Introduction: the Mental Health Act
- The Independent Review
- Facts and figures:
Article: Australia plans social media ban for under-16s – BBC News Online
7 November 2024, Hannah Ritchie. Australia’s government says it will introduce “world-leading” legislation to ban children under 16 from social media:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gzd62g1r3o
Books: Report finds ‘shocking and dispiriting’ fall in children reading for pleasure – Guardian Online
5 November 2024, Ella Creamer. National Literacy Trust finds only 35% of eight to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time, a sharp drop on last year to the lowest figure yet recorded:
Revealed: Childhood obesity is twice as high in England’s most deprived places than in affluent areas – IPPR
5 November 2024. IPPR analysis of national child measurement data published shows that the epidemic of children affected by obesity evolved unequally over the life of the last government, and that its effects were not felt evenly across the country:
Resource: The healthiest generation of children ever: A roadmap for the health system – National Children’s Bureau
4 November 2024. The NCB roadmap calls for children to be a central pillar of forthcoming health plans such as the NHS Ten Year Plan, with children advising directly on health policy that affects them:
News: Concerns children’s health will be an afterthought as Government fails to clarify how it will spend NHS investment – Nursery World
4 November 2024, Katy Morton. Health professionals have warned that children’s health risks becoming an afterthought as the Government has failed to clarify how it will use the major investment in the NHS, announced in the Budget, to ensure the ‘healthiest generation ever’:
Post: Mental health support for young people in schools – UK Parliament
1 November 2024. Evidence suggests that the decline of psychological wellbeing in schools has accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic. How can we best support students individually and equitably?:
Link: https://post.parliament.uk/mental-health-support-for-young-people-in-schools/
Article: Sugar in first 1,000 days linked to poor health later – BBC News Online
31 October 2024, James Gallagher. Cutting sugar in the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life – from conception to the age of two – appears to reduce the risk of developing significant health issues in adult life, say researchers:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93qlyp42jyo
Policy paper: Soft Drinks Industry Levy review – HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs
30 October 2024. The government is reviewing the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’s sugar content thresholds and the exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/soft-drinks-industry-levy-review
Opinion: ‘Why this is not the time to shy away from a childminding strategy’ – Nursery World
28 October 2024, Brett Wigdortz. The Government’s ramping up of subsidised childcare must prioritise childminders. Supporting them to provide 50 per cent of new recruits for an expanded workforce would be a start: