31st August
Childcare costs stopping mothers going to work, says study
The high cost of childcare and commuting is forcing women to give up their jobs to avoid ending up out of pocket, according to new research.
The study says the number of women opting to look after their children instead of doing paid employment has risen by 32,000 since last summer, with rising childcare costs being a key factor in their decision. The figures are based on analysis of the latest ONS Labour Force Survey, and the number of women classing themselves as economically inactive because they are looking after their family and home.
According to the insurer Aviva's latest Family Finances Report, the average cost of full-time childcare is £385 a month, but this rises to £729 for children under two. Part-time care comes in at £193 a month, or £364 for the under-twos.
On top of this, the average worker is spending £120 (full-time) and £90 (part-time) on expenses associated with their jobs, such as clothes, travel and food, and £147 on school-related costs. After meeting these costs, Aviva said a woman in a relationship on the average part-time salary of £8,557, after tax and national insurance, with children aged one and seven would be losing £98 a month.
In contrast, a woman in a similar position who does not pay for childcare will take home £402 a month once work costs are taken into account. According to the insurer's research, 54% of families say they are not currently paying for childcare.
Full-time workers are better off, but only just. A woman with a one-year-old and seven-year-old who earns £17,513 after tax will have £120 left if she does pay for childcare, If she does not have to meet childcare costs, she will have £1,118.
The report acknowledges the figures do not take into account non-financial benefits of working. "Many people – parents in particular – report further reasons for working, such as the social interaction and mental stimulation it brings," it says. "The question of whether to work becomes even more difficult if people genuinely enjoy their jobs and want to work, but find themselves just breaking even – or even financially worse off – if their childcare costs are beyond their income."
It also warns that moving from two incomes to one can leave families exposed to potential problems. Louise Colley, head of protection at Aviva, said: "As care costs rise, it's quite possible we will see more and more couples relying on one salary while the other person looks after the children – simply because they may actually be worse off if both people work. However, while this may make financial sense, it can also leave families vulnerable should anything happen to that income earner."
Emily Devane gave up work as a teacher to look after her children, Kate, three, and Sam, one. Devane, who was a history teacher at a school in Hertfordshire, had returned part-time after having her daughter and had planned to do the same after Sam was born.
"I went back three days a week after Kate was born and that worked fine, but the fees at the nursery have gone up," she said. "I did the maths and I worked out I would be earning about £50 a week."
Devane's job meant a long commute and rising petrol costs, plus work after school hours. When Kate was offered three hours a day free of charge at a local pre-school, giving up work made even more sense. "I would have had to find a childminder who would have taken her to nursery and looked after Sam," she said. "It wasn't easy to make the decision – I think for women, particularly educated women, your work defines you. It was really difficult to give up." However, she added: "I could be earning very little money looking after other people's children or be here with my children, which for me seems the wiser decision at the moment."
source: Hilary Osborne, The Guardian
30th August
Schools urged to improve meals to boost uptake
Schools should invest in improving the quality and attractiveness of meals, a charity has warned after research revealed school food prices are being forced up because of low uptake.
The School Food Trust said that all schools should continue to strive for good quality food and do more to encourage an increase in the number of children buying schools meals.
The call comes after research by consumer charity Which? revealed that just 45 per cent of children have school meals, a figure the organisation claims is 10 per cent less than is needed to maintain low costs.
Freedom of information requests sent out to 154 councils in England revealed that the average meal price across all schools in the 2009/10 financial year was £1.93, a rise of 5p on the previous year, below the current rate of food inflation.
David Edwards, the School Food Trust’s director of programmes, stressed that at an average of £1.93, school meals were still cheaper and healthier than other options, but urged schools to keep investing in good food to attract more children.
"Ultimately, increasing the number of children eating school meals will mean that schools can spread their costs, reducing the need for subsidy in the longer-term," he said.
While the average year-on-year rise in school meals is three per cent, there are big variations across the country according to the data from Which?. In Doncaster, meal prices have increased by 17 per cent and Lewisham Borough Council has raised prices by 14 per cent.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "School meals in most areas are still a relatively low-cost and low-hassle way to provide a decent lunch for your children.
"But if schools can't find ways to protect the extra funding that has gone to school meals and increase the number of children taking them up, there's a real risk of even more price hikes or a drop in standards, undoing the progress that has been made over the past five years."
source: Melodie Michel, Children & Young People Now
Number of disabled children taking short breaks soars
The number of disabled children accessing short breaks has more than doubled since 2008, according to latest figures.
The figures, revealed in a report by Together for Disabled Children and commissioned by the government, show that 162,831 families accessed a short break from March 2010 to March 2011.
This is an increase of 105,000 on the 57,383 who accessed short break funding during 2008/9.
But campaign group Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) warns many families may miss out as councils tighten eligibility criteria in response to budget restrictions.
Laura Courtney, EDCM campaign manager, said: "It is crucial that the government monitors the eligibility criteria of every local area to ensure that they do not impose illegal restrictions on access to short breaks."
Over the period highlighted in the report, short breaks funding has received significant investment, through the previous Labour government’s Aiming High for Disabled Children agenda and the coalition government’s pledge to provide £800m over the next four years for short breaks through its early intervention grant.
However, Courtney is also concerned that short break funding through the early intervention grant may not reach many families, as it has not been ringfenced.
She added: "We urge the government to monitor the delivery of short breaks under the early intervention grant, to ensure that the removal of the ringfence has not had a detrimental effect on local authorities’ delivery of breaks."
Since April this year councils have had a legal duty to provide short breaks to disabled children and their families. They must also publish their eligibility criteria by October this year.
Children’s minister, Sarah Teather said: "Short breaks provide families with early help so they can cope better in times of stress and are less likely to need help from social care services.
"That’s why it’s vital that local authorities continue to invest in short breaks and make it a priority. We have backed this up with a new duty on local authorities to provide short breaks."
source: Joe Lepper, Children & Young People Now
26th August
Growing number of childminders receive top marks
The number of childminders receiving one of the top two marks from Ofsted has increased by 11 percentage points over the past two years.
According to the latest National Childminding Association (NCMA) membership survey the proportion who received a "good" or "outstanding" score this year was 74 per cent, compared with 63 per cent in 2009 and 72 per cent last year.
NCMA chief executive Catherine Farrell said the findings show the greater commitment to training and an increasing sense of professionalism in the sector.
She said: "Similar to last year, more than three quarters of our childminders have undertaken training in the past 12 months and more than half hold a childcare qualification at Level 3 or above. These large numbers demonstrate a strong commitment to ongoing professional development."
The survey also revealed that nine out of 10 childminders are prepared to offer out of hours care before and after school. On average they are providing care for six children a week and 16 per cent care for 10 or more children.
source: Joe Lepper, Children & Young People Now
23rd August
Young people 'need support to be better parents'
Better support to help young people learn and develop parenting skills must be central to government efforts to improve the lives of the most troubled families, Parenting UK has claimed.
Prime Minister David Cameron said that parenting would be at the centre of the "fight back" following the riots in England, in a speech last week.
While the parenting charity welcomed the statement it warned that unless parenting is viewed as a skill that can be nurtured and developed little will change.
Parenting UK chief executive Pamela Park said: "The causes of the recent unrest in England are complex and multi-faceted. However, the quality of parenting is a significant part of the jigsaw."
Parenting UK published a report following a roundtable event in October last year, which suggested that a GCSE focusing on "core life skills" should be introduced, which would cover parenting.
Park said: "It’s important to ask what the costs are for not equipping today’s students with these skills. If we want children to develop respect and understand the consequences of their behaviour, we need to make sure their parents have the right skills."
The proposal for the GCSE is being reviewed as part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Positive for Youth policy, due to be published in November. Parenting UK also suggested raising the status of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education to provide pupils with relationship skills. The DfE is currently conducting an internal review of the subject to find ways of giving schools more control over how they teach it to children.
Parenting UK also warned that the government’s policies must be properly implemented, which it warned would be difficult at a time of tightened budgets.
Park added: "It is important that what is recognised by the government and the sector is followed through on the ground, which is not always easy in light of the cuts being made."
source: Melodie Michel, Children & Young People Now
16th August
Nursery sector faces limited growth prospects
Nursery providers are beginning to see more stability following the recession, but cuts to childcare tax credits and the increase in more informal childcare arrangements are likely to stunt growth in the sector in the coming year, a market intelligence provider has reported.
In its annual publication on the state the nursery sector, Laing & Buisson said the UK market had increased in real terms by one per cent, or around £4.1bn.
But on average occupancy figures for nurseries have remained relatively static, with a vacancy rate of 18.2 per cent in March 2011, compared with a 17.5 per cent the previous year.
Author of the report economist Philip Blackburn said: "The children's nurseries market looks to be in fair shape post-recession, as recent contraction appears to have levelled off.
"However, a number of economic risks have the potential to dampen demand for children’s nursery care going forward, not least very weak economic growth in 2011, and heavy fiscal restraints on public spending.
"Specific to the nursery sector, these factors include static corporate funding of nursery care in 2010; cuts to childcare tax credits and to relief on corporate childcare vouchers in 2011; and increasing use of informal childcare by parents."
When asked in March 2011, nurseries on average reported that the fees that charge had increased by 3.5 per cent in the previous 12 months less than the 4.6 per cent inflation in 2010.
Blackburn added: "At the same time the coalition has committed to many of Labour’s spending pledges for early years, most notably the extension of subsidised places for two-, three- and four-year-olds. In addition, most nursery providers appear generally optimistic about future business conditions, and strong performers, which have been able to attract investment, are in a good position to expand and develop while business values remain below trend."
source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now
15th August
Bright students seek jobs instead of university Bright teenagers are preparing to shun university in favour of finding a job amid intense competition for degree courses and fears over rising graduate debt.
Research by The Daily Telegraph shows a sharp rise in the number of students aged 17 and 18 directly applying to leading companies after leaving school and college.
Employers such as Network Rail, Marks & Spencer, Laing O’Rourke, the engineering firm, and the accountancy firms PricewaterhouseCoopers and Grant Thornton are reporting huge rises in applications for A-level entry jobs this summer.
The disclosure, which comes days before students throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their A-level results, casts doubt on claims that degrees are a prerequisite for careers at top companies.
The exam results are expected to trigger the most intense scramble for university places ever seen as record numbers of students compete for courses before the introduction of annual tuition fees of up to £9,000 in 2012. With those who missed out on places last year adding to demand, it is believed 220,000 out of 707,000 applicants in total may be rejected.
The demand for places has already prompted an estimated third of universities to declare themselves “full” a week before results are published.
In a series of other developments yesterday, it emerged that:
A record one in 10 A-levels could be awarded an A* grade — a rise of around one percentage point on last year — which will make it even harder for universities to pick out the brightest students;
The head of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said that schools were wrecking teenagers’ degree ambitions by advising them to study the wrong A-levels — leaving them locked out of the most academically demanding institutions;
One of Britain’s biggest exam boards, Edexcel, apologised after wrongly posting thousands of A-level results on its website on Saturday — almost a week early.
University still remains the main aspiration for most schoolchildren. But the competition for places is prompting more sixth-formers to seek other options.
These include applying to European universities where tuition fees are often a fraction of the £3,290 being charged in England from September.
Yesterday, Maastricht University in the Netherlands, which charges £1,526 a year, said it had seen a 15-fold rise in applications from Britain this summer.
But some teenagers are shunning university altogether to focus on apprenticeships and other school entry-level programmes. According to figures from the Association of Graduate Recruiters, more than a quarter of leading businesses employ staff directly from schools and colleges and a fifth of other companies are considering opening up recruitment schemes to this age group.
For the first time, Boots, the chemist, is running an apprenticeship scheme for sixth-formers this year.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has so far received 1,600 applications for just 100 places on its employment scheme for A-level students. Applications for the programme, which leads to a chartered accountant qualification in four years, have doubled in a year and increased almost fourfold since 2008.
Gaenor Bagley, the firm’s head of people, said: “Students are being forced to look at different options for their future and university may not be the right solution. Anyone who has a genuine interest in pursuing a career in business has options.”
Network Rail has received 8,000 applications for 200 places on its paid apprenticeship programme, up from just 4,000 in 2010. The firm said demand for positions was being caused by university leavers unable to find graduate jobs.
Marks & Spencer said applications for just 40 places on its management scheme had increased from 1,100 to 1,600 in a year. Laing O’Rourke said applications for its training scheme had increased by almost 10 per cent to 284 this summer, while Grant Thornton said it had 700 applications for school leaver-entry jobs.
The Government has created more than 100,000 extra apprenticeships for people aged 19 and over this year as an option for young people.
source: Graeme Paton and Kate Griffin, The Telegraph
11th August
Medieval Fun this Summer
A range of free, fun, and medieval activities are being held in Wakefield's museums and castles this summer.
Children will have the chance to become a knight, princess or a jester in the ‘Great Hall’ at Sandal Castle on Wednesday August 24. They will be able to take part in an exciting workshop led by some medieval entertainers. Suitable for families with children aged 4-7.
Or if you are fancy yourself as an up and coming chef, visit Wakefield Museum on the same day and take part in their Illuminating Medieval Food event. Here you can learn to write with a real quill and illustrate your own medieval recipes. What sort of recipe would you choose? A pig with swan’s wings, or perhaps a dish of pretend intestines made from fruit! Suitable for families with children aged 7 and above.
Cllr David Dagger, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, said: "These events are great for anyone who is interested in medieval fun. It is set to be a fantastic day out for the whole family, with lots going on at both Sandal Castle and Wakefield Museum. As both events are free there is no reason why people can’t attend them both and spend the day stepping back in time."
Both workshops run 11am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3pm on Wednesday August 24.
The medieval theme is linked to the current exhibition ‘Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice’ at Wakefield Museum, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust and focuses on healthy eating.
To see the full range of free family workshops on offer, visit www.experiencewakefield.com
Booking is essential as places are limited, contact 01924 302700.
source: Wakefield Council Press Release
4th August
How to become a better mum or dad: Five easy daily steps to combat poor parenting
Mothers and fathers across the country should follow a ‘five-a-day’ pledge to become better parents, according to a think-tank.
They must be taught how to improve their parenting skills, with the poorest families given extra child benefit if they agree to enrol in special classes.
Critics have branded the recommendations from the CentreForum ‘ridiculous’ and another example of ‘nanny state meddling’.
They come just days after Coalition ‘poverty tsar’ Frank Field made explosive claims about the tragic effect of poor parenting.
The Labour MP revealed that many children begin school without knowing their first name because their parents barely speak to them.
The report from the liberal think-tank calls for a national campaign to boost parenting skills.
Each day, parents should be encouraged to read to their youngsters for 15 minutes and talk to them for 20 minutes while the television is turned off.
They should also praise their children frequently, play with them on the floor for ten minutes and provide a nutritious diet.
It should be ‘socially acceptable’ for parents to ask for help and learn how to improve, but this would require a shift in attitudes similar to those seen in relation to wearing seatbelts and drink-driving, the report states.
Report author Chris Paterson said: ‘The scientific evidence shows that what parents do with their children is crucial in terms of the way the brain – and skills – develop.
‘There’s also evidence of significant gaps in information and behaviour between different parents as to what activities they should be doing and how often they are doing them.
‘One of the key ideas of a campaign would be to move towards it becoming socially acceptable to see parenting as something that’s learnt. People don’t pick it up automatically. Why would they?’
Parents hoping to adopt must study child development as it is not assumed they will ‘automatically’ know what to do.
Mr Paterson said: ‘In any other walk of life it’s accepted you have to learn things. There’s a bit of a block when it comes to having your own child as it is assumed you’d automatically know what to do. The evidence points to the fact that this is not the case.’
A greater number of fragmented families has compounded the problem because parents are less able to draw on the advice and skills of experienced extended family members.
The think-tank report also suggests creating an additional child benefit supplement for the poorest 20 per cent of the population who attend parenting classes, to encourage take-up.
But Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘It’s ridiculous. Anyone would think we have money to burn in this country. It’s another well-meaning, but ill-thought-out, hare-brained scheme.’
And Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘It’s another example of nanny state meddling. While a few parents may need this sort of advice, the vast majority manage perfectly well on their own.’
source: Sarah harris, Mail Online