29th January

New Programme For Outreach Practitioners
The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is launching a programme to enable Children's Centre outreach practitioners to access training opportunities.

CWDC, in partnership with the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners (NAPP), is offering outreach practitioners opportunities to access training from May 2010 until March 2011 to support this valuable work that helps to make a difference to the lives of children and families.

Funding is available to enable up to 5,000 practitioners, who deliver outreach and are based in or linked to Children's Centres across England, to take up new training opportunities by March 2010.  The project will build on and develop the skills and capacity of outreach practitioners to provide an effective and comprehensive outreach service to ensure it meets the diverse needs of different families and communities.

A training course and resources have been developed specifically in the context of outreach for this project to meet the development needs of children's centre outreach practitioners. The training is based on a unit from the Work with Parents Level 3 qualification and includes the draft core principles and standards for outreach developed by DCSF.

In addition, CWDC will be offering other relevant training for outreach practitioner development through training providers in the regions.

CWDC and NAPP are holding three launch events to enable employers of outreach practitioners to find out more about the new training opportunities.

• 4 March 2010, Bristol
• 5 March 2010, London
• 8 March 2010, Manchester

source: CWDC

28th January

Diversity Joins Forces With Department Of Health
Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity, are joining forces with the Department of Health to launch a Government campaign to get kids boogying for a healthier future across the country.

The ‘Let’s Dance with Change4Life’ campaign will see the whole nation getting down with free taster dance classes across the country.

The campaign will give kids the chance to win a dance workshop with Diversity, as well as opening up free dance classes to everyone for the first ever national weekend of dance in March, sponsored by Change4Life partner, the Fitness Industry Association. 

‘Let’s Dance with Change4Life’ is the latest part of the groundbreaking Change4Life movement, which is getting families in England eating well, moving more and living longer. 

Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron said:

“Dancing is one of the most enjoyable ways for families to get active and stay healthy.

“It’s great that the Government’s ‘Let’s Dance with Change4Life’ campaign has teamed up with Diversity to find their favourite Change4Life dancer.

“We have also teamed up with the Fitness Industry Association, so that every family will get the chance to try a new type of dance during our free weekend of dance in March.

“But there’s no need to wait until then. Too many young people aren’t active for the sixty minutes they need each day, which puts them at risk of developing cancer, type 2 diabetes or heart disease when they grow up.”

The Let’s Dance with Change4Life and Diversity competition asks 5 – 12 year olds to recreate one of three dance routines choreographed by the 11-strong street dance group Diversity.

Kids across the UK will be copying the group’s moves from an online guide. To enter the competition they simply need to film and upload their dance routines on www.change4life.com/dance.

Diversity will then choose their favourite entry who will join them for an exclusive dance workshop and win tickets to their tour. Tickets and merchandise are also up for grabs for runners up. The best videos will be showcased on the Change4Life YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/letsdance .

Ashley Banjo, lead choreographer for Diversity and judge on Sky 1’s ‘Got To Dance’ said:

“We are very excited about launching ‘Let’s Dance with Change4Life’.

“Dance has been such an important part of all our lives - it’s a great way to keep fit, burn energy and have fun with your friends and family.”

13-year-old Diversity member, Perry said:

“I absolutely love to dance. I think it is a really fun way to keep active and has helped me make lots of friends.

“‘Let’s Dance with Change4Life’ is a really great way for kids to have a go at some of our moves.”

The Let’s Dance with Change4Life national free weekend of dance will take place in the first weekend in March. For two days, dance schools across the country will open their doors to families and give taster sessions so they can try a new type of dance for free.

David Stalker, Executive Director of the Fitness Industry Association said:

“Dancing your way to fitness is fun and ideal for people of all ages and abilities.  That is why over 1,000 Fitness Industry Association gyms and leisure centres nationwide have already declared their support for this initiative. Our aim is to get the nation moving and their feet tapping”

Let’s Dance with Change4Life follows on from the success of Swim4Life, Walk4Life and Bike4Life which last year helped thousands of families to splash, stroll and cycle their way to more active, healthier lives.

source: Department of Health

27th January

Government's Online Childcare Directory Goes Live
The government has today launched an online directory of all childcare available to families across England.

The Family Information Directory claims to show parents the full range of childcare provision available to them in their local area. It will also provide information on services and support available to them at every stage in a child's life

The directory is part of the government’s flagship information service for parents, the Family Information Direct programme, formerly Parent Know How. The service incorporates independent advice from 18 organisations, charities and voluntary groups.

"We know that at any stage in their child’s upbringing parents and carers might need additional support or advice," said children’s minister Dawn Primarolo.

"Through the Family Information Direct programme we want to ensure that anyone with childcare responsibilities – from mums and dads to grandparents and carers – has the information and support they need in one convenient place."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families confirmed that the government still plans to go ahead with the national price comparison website for childcare provision that was due to be rolled out early this year.

"Over the past few months, work has focused on improving the quality and consistency of the data on the Family Information Directory and now this service has launched, we will look at extending the range of features once the service is being more widely used by parents and carers," she added.

source: Ross Watson, Children & Young People Now

Working Parents To Be Given More Choice
A consultation is to take place on the notice period fathers have to give for two-week paternity leave, the government has announced.

As part of the Families and Relationships Green Paper, the government is seeking to extend the choices families are able to make in relation to work-life balance.

Sure Start children's centres will be encouraged to offer a walking bus service to help increase the hours when parents can potentially work.

Families will also be helped to reclaim more childcare costs for children over eight through tax credits.

Meanwhile government advisory group the Standing Commission for Carers, will be asked to explore the challenges facing inter-generational and distance carers.

But Fiona Weir, chief executive of single parent charity Gingerbread, said the paper lacks "meaningful measures" for single parents.

"We know that what single parents worry most about is making ends meet, and finding a part time job that allows them to be there for their children when they need them," she said.

"The government has missed an opportunity to put its own house in order and ensure that all public sector jobs are suitable for parents, and to set out more ambitious steps to help families escape poverty."

source: Neil Puffett, Children & Young People Now

21st January

Green Paper Sets Out Measures To Prevent Family Breakdown
The government is to launch a comprehensive review of the family justice system that will focus on settling disputes out of court, under plans set out in the families green paper today.

Support for All: the Families and Relationships Green Paper also sets out proposals to help prevent the breakdown of families, support the role of fathers and grandparents and introduce flexible working for parents.

Under the measures, more support and encouragement will be given to businesses to introduce "family-friendly" working practices and pilot Parenting Apart Together sessions will be offered at an earlier stage, where parents have decided to separate.

The government has also pledged to improve the information available for grandparents about their legal options in seeking to maintain relationships with their grandchildren following the divorce of parents.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said: "Strong, stable families are the bedrock of our society. Families give children the love and security they need to grow up and explore the world, and the moral guidance and aspiration to make the most of their talents and be good citizens.

"It is families, rather than the government, teachers or GPs, that bring up children. Parents have told us that bringing up children is one of the most rewarding things in life but it can also be challenging so we need to offer them the support they need."

The government is holding a summit tomorrow with health visitors, midwives, charities and new fathers to address how fathers can get more involved in the important stages of their child’s upbringing.

It is also supporting plans by the Royal College of Midwives to produce professional guidance for their members on how to best engage with fathers around the birth of their child.

Other proposals include:

• reviewing the notice period fathers have to give for the two-week paternity leave period
• publishing a practice guide in partnership with BT to promote father-friendly working practices for employers and employees
• extending the offer of key worker support to families with disabled children aged birth to 19.
• publishing for consultation new sex and relationship education guidance for schools
• commissioning independent experts to produce further materials for couples worried that their relationship is coming under strain
• working with the Kids in the Middle coalition to produce a guide for children and young people whose parents are separating or divorcing.

source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now

18th January

Take Action! Help Us Get Party Manifesto Commitments For Disabled Children
The Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign (EDCM) have launched their 'Disabled children's manifesto for change' and are asking supporters to email their MPs and ask what commitments they will be making to improve services and resources for disabled children and their families in their 'party manifesto' for the 2010 General Election. For further information about how to get involved in the campaign go to their website at www.ncb.org.uk/edcm/home.aspx

source: EDCM Campaign Team

12th January

Cameron Plans To Bring 'Spirit of Enterprise' To Sure Start
David Cameron has set out Conservative plans to focus Sure Start more heavily on early intervention, reaching the disadvantaged, and better involving the voluntary sector in a speech to think-tank Demos.

The Conservative leader said his party would contract "self-governing" independent organisations, such as Home-Start and 4Children, which would be partly paid by results, to run children's centres. Comparing Sure Start to the academies programme he said: "We will bring a new focus, and a new spirit of enterprise and innovation to early years support."

Cameron reiterated the Conservative's commitment to increasing the number of Sure Start health visitors by 4,200, and said they would play a vital role in encouraging good parenting.

He said although the party was committed to Sure Start "it isn't working as well as it should. There is little accountability in how Sure Start money is spent so the funding doesn't necessarily follow the support programmes that work."

Cameron also said Sure Start did not have enough "diversity of provision, because the voluntary sector and other community organisations have been crowded out" and that funding was confusing.

source: Charlotte Goddard, Children & Young People Now

Pupils' Packed Lunches Fail To Meet Nutritional Standards
Just one per cent of pupils' packed lunches meet nutritional standards set for school meals, latest research has revealed.

A report published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that parents preferred to give their children crisps, sweets and sugary drinks rather than vegetables, fruit and yoghurts.

Around 1,300 packed lunches of eight- and nine-year-old pupils at 89 schools across the UK were analysed for the research.

Sandwiches were among the most common items, but one in three fillings were low in protein and only one in 10 children had sandwiches containing salad or vegetables. Just one in 10 children were given a separate portion of vegetables.

Researchers at the University of Leeds compared the contents with government standards for school meals laid out in 2006 and 2008. These specified that school meals must contain protein-rich and low-fat foods, vegetables, fruit and dairy products, and banned sweets, crisps and artificially sweetened drinks.

Just 1.1 per cent of packed lunches met all the nutritional standards for school meals and less than half met specific standards in 2008 relating to levels of vitamin A, folate, iron and zinc content. The researchers are calling for health promotion programmes to educate parents about nutrition.

The report says: "Standards for school meals, introduced from 2006 to 2008, are producing drastic improvements in lunches supplied by primary schools, leading to a widening of the gap between school meals and packed lunches, unless action is taken by schools, parents, children and food manufacturers."

source: Joe Lepper, Children & Young People Now

7th January

'The Fonz' To Front Special Educational Needs Campaign
The actor who played "the Fonz" in 70s TV show Happy Days is fronting a new initiative designed to boost the confidence of children with special educational needs (SEN).

Henry Winkler joined the Children’s Secretary Ed Balls and Sarah Brown, wife of the Prime Minister, at 10 Downing Street to launch the My Way campaign, which has been developed by children’s weekly newspaper First News.

The campaign, which will start in the 22 January issue of First News, sent to all schools throughout the UK, will aim to raise awareness of learning differences, improve attitudes towards children with SEN and inspire young people with SEN.

It will also encourage pupils to share their experiences of learning to develop greater understanding of the way in which different people learn.

The campaign will run until the end of the academic year and will culminate in a tour, which will involve Winkler visiting schools around the country.

Balls said the campaign would help improve the self-esteem of children with SEN. "Through highlighting positive role models and sharing good examples of teaching and learning this campaign will promote inclusion in the classroom and inspire young people to go on and achieve," he explained.

Winkler said: "Every child has greatness inside them. We need to help them to dig it out and give it to the world."

Winkler is dyslexic and struggled at school. His experiences inspired him to write children’s books that follow a character called Hank Zipzer, who also has SEN.

source: Lauren Higgs, Children & Young People Now


4th January

Government Invests £12.5m In Childcare For Disabled
The government has pledged an extra £12.5m to fund childcare support for disabled children across England.

The money will fund the national roll out of the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare Programme (Dcatch), a £35m pilot which has been running in 10 local authorities since 2008.

The pilots were part of the government's £340m Aiming High for Disabled Children programme. The 10 pilot areas tested ways to improve access to childcare and levels of support for families with disabled children.

The £12.5m will be distributed among the 142 authorities that did not take part in the pilots, with each area receiving at least £59,000. Local authorities will have flexibility to use the funds to meet local needs, choosing from a range of options developed in the pilot areas.

These include creating ‘Parent Champions'; parents with experience of using services for disabled children who can offer advice and support to others. Other effective methods include specialist training for childminders and staff so that they have the skills they need to work with disabled children. The money could also be used to produce better information for parents of disabled children so they are more aware of the options available to them.

"Understandably, some parents of disabled children are apprehensive about using childcare because of the unique and special requirements that their child has," said children's minister Dawn Primarolo. "That's why I want to make sure that all families have access to high quality support which is most suitable for them. I'm delighted that we are rolling out the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare Programme nationally following the successful pilots, helping to improve the lives and outcomes for disabled children."

The Dcatch pilots are due to run until 2011, while the remaining 142 authorities will receive funding from April 2010.

source: Ross Watson, Children & Young People Now