| |
| | British Medical Journal Open Research has found that sharing a bed with a newborn baby increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome fivefold even if parents avoid smoking, alcohol and drugs.
|
| Source: BBC Online 20 May 2013 |
| Further information:
Bed sharing with parents increases the risk of cot death fivefold even if the parents are non-smokers |
|
| | Andrea Leadsom, Conservative MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Sure Start Children's Centres, has confirmed that the Department for Education will study children's centres in Manchester, York and Bury to establish whether provision of birth registration services helps children's centres engage more with parents.
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| Source: Children & Young People Now 22 May 2013 |
|
| | Early intervention for troubled families
This conference, organised by Capita, will take place in Central London on 28 June 2013.
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| Source: Capita |
|
| | The Sutton Trust has published the results of a survey of 1,587 teachers and school leaders on how they plan to spend the pupil premium. Findings include: 23% of teachers said their top priority would be early intervention programmes (e.g. preventing young children turning to bad behaviour as they get older). A further 34% made early intervention their 2nd or 3rd priority.
|
| Source: The Sutton Trust 16 May 2013 |
| Further information:
NFER teacher voice omnibus: March 2013 survey: spending priorities for the pupil premium. (PDF) |
|
| | ChildLine has produced posters and wallet cards publicising the service aimed at children in care, and primary school and secondary school students.
|
| Source: NSPCC Inform 14 May 2013 |
|
| | The Welsh Government is planning to create 146 new projects as part of the Flying Start scheme to support vulnerable families in disadvantaged communities.
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| Source: Welsh Assembly Government 13 May 2013 |
|
| | The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency has released birth rate figures showing that the birth rate for teenage mothers, 1,100 births in 2012, is now the lowest on record.
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| Source: Northern Ireland Executive Press Release 08 May 2013 |
| Further information:
Births in Northern Ireland, 2012 |
|
| | Save the Children has published a report ranking the UK 23rd out of 176 countries for quality of life for mothers using indicators including maternal health, under-5 mortality, income, education and political status. The UK has some of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in Europe. The charity suggests this is due to the UK having a higher proportion of young and old mothers, but another reason cited is poverty and inequality.
|
| Source: BBC Online 07 May 2013 |
| Further information:
Surviving the first day: state of the world's mothers 2013 - executive summary |
| Full report |
|
| | Action for Children has published a report examining the barriers to delivering effective early intervention services. The report urges Government to produce 10 year spending plans setting out funding available to children's services. It also recommends that local authorities enter in to long-term contracts and commissioning arrangements for children's services and interventions. The report is partly based on Social Care Institute for Excellence research in to early intervention decision making in children's services.
|
| Source: Children & Young People Now |
| Further information:
Early intervention - where now for local authorities? Action for Children (PDF) |
| Early intervention: decision-making in local authority children's services. SCIE (PDF) |
|
| | The London Safeguarding Children Board is consulting on revisions to the Pan London Child Protection Procedures. The purpose is to separate procedures from practice guidance and update procedures in accordance with Working Together 2013 and other social work developments. Deadline for feedback is 14th June 2013.
|
| Source: London Safeguarding Children Board 29 April 2013 |
| Further information:
Consultation page |
| Part A: core procedures |
| Part B: practice guidance |
|
| | The Pre-School Learning Alliance has published Safeguarding through effective supervision, guidance on safeguarding and child protection in early years settings.
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| Source: Pre-school Learning Alliance 25 April 2013 |
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| | Early attachment and the importance of language
This conference, organised by Children in Wales, takes place on 21 May 2013 in Cardiff and 10 June 2013 in Deganwy.
|
| Source: Children in Wales |
|
| | Under plans set out in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill, 3 and 4-year-olds will be entitled to 600 hours of funded early learning and childcare. This entitlement will also be extended to looked after 2-year-olds and those with a kinship care order. The Bill also has provision for kinship carers to receive more local authority support.
|
| Source: Scottish Government 21 April 2013 |
| Further information:
Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill |
|
| | Ofsted has launched a consultation on proposals to revise inspection arrangements for early years providers. Proposals include: replacing the current 'satisfactory' judgement with a single judgement of 'requires improvement' for all early years providers. Closing date is 24 May 2013.
|
| Source: Ofsted Press Release 19 April 2013 |
| Further information:
Good early years provision for all (PDF) |
|
| | The Department for Education has commissioned research from NatCen Social Research, the charity, 4Children and the consultancy, Frontier Economics to analyse the cost benefits of early education and its impact on children. The eight-year project will start in September 2013.
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| Source: Children & Young People Now 18 April 2013 |
| Further information:
NatCen Social Research press release |
|
| | The NSPCC has published How safe are our children? providing the most up-to-date and robust child protection data from each of the four nations of the UK. Findings include: more than one child a week dies due to maltreatment and one in five children today has experienced serious abuse at some point in their life; there has been a 40% increase in members of the public contacting the NSPCC with child welfare concerns over the past 3 years; more children are coming off child protection plans or registers after shorter periods and not being re-registered.
|
| Source: NSPCC Inform 17 April 2013 |
| Further information:
How safe are our children? (PDF) |
|
| | C4EO has produced a summary of an evaluation of a targeted parenting programme in Luton for families with multiple difficulties. The programme has been flagged as an example of promising practice.
|
| Source: C4EO 15 April 2013 |
|
| | Buttle UK and the University of Bristol have published a report on informal kinship care in the UK. It compares the welfare of children looked after by family members with children in the formal care system and reveals the severe financial hardship faced by family carers bringing up children with little or no statutory support. Key recommendations include a national allowance for kinship carers.
|
| Source: Buttle UK 15 April 2013 |
| Further information:
The poor relations? Children and informal kinship carers speak out. Summary report. (PDF) |
|
| | The Early Intervention Foundation has been launched. It has 3 objectives: to advocate for early intervention as an alternative to more widespread late intervention; to assess which programmes work and their cost effectiveness; to advise local commissioners and service providers on evidence-based best practice. The focus will initially be on programmes in England, but the Foundation will also work with partners across the UK and internationally.
|
| Source: Early Intervention Foundation 15 April 2013 |
|
| | How safe are our children?
This conference, organised by the NSPCC, will take place in London on 18 and 19 April, 2013.
|
| Source: NSPCC Inform |
|
| | A safer childhood, a brighter future
This conference, organised by the NSPCC, will take place in Glasgow on 24 and 25 April, 2013.
|
| Source: NSPCC Inform |
|
| | Interface, an organisation supporting those who work with vulnerable families, has produced short films to help professionals engage effectively with those families. The films, developed by Emoquo, enable practitioners to build emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills in difficult situations by working through a range of scenarios in a safe environment.
|
| Source: Guardian 11 April 2013 |
| Further information:
Emoquo - Troubled Families Skillsbites |
|
| | The Fatherhood Institute has received funding from the European Union to extend and develop the work they have done with the Family Rights Group to engage more effectively with fathers in families where there are safeguarding concerns. This work has already led to the publication of a good practice guide on engaging with men in social care.
|
| Source: Fatherhood Institute 08 April 2013 |
| Further information:
Engaging with men in social care: a good practice guide (PDF) |
|
| | The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) and Barnardo's will run the ABC Pathway Programme, a scheme funded by the Department for Education to help unemployed parents attending children's centres become registered childminders. PACEY has also received a grant from the DfE to work with the National Children's Bureau to run a programme aimed at improving the home learning environment of young children from disadvantaged families.
|
| Source: Children & Young People Now 08 April 2013 |
|
| | The Department for Education has published the findings of a survey of families using Sure Start Children's Centres in the most disadvantaged areas of England as part of a six year evaluation of children's centres. Findings include: mothers were far more likely to use services than fathers; fathers were most likely to attend employment and peer support groups; and the services families were most likely to use were play groups (47%) and health visitor drop in sessions (47%).
|
| Source: Department for Education 08 April 2013 |
| Further information:
Evaluation of Children's Centres (ECCE) Strand 2: baseline survey of families using children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas: research report (PDF) |
|
| | How safe are our children?
This conference, organised by the NSPCC, will take place in London on 18 and 19 April, 2013.
|
| Source: NSPCC Inform |
|
| | A safer childhood, a brighter future
This conference, organised by the NSPCC, will take place in Glasgow on 24 and 25 April, 2013.
|
| Source: NSPCC Inform |
|
| | The Department of Health has announced that the Family Nurse Partnership is to be extended so that by 2015, 16,000 more young and disadvantaged new parents under the age of 20 will receive tailored support from a specialist nurse who visits the mother at home from early pregnancy until the baby is 2-years-old.
|
| Source: DoH Press Release 04 April 2013 |
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