Tagged With "Early Years"
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According to the latest personal wellbeing report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average ratings of anxiety increased between the years ending September 2015 and 2016.
Life satisfaction, worthwhile and happiness, however, remained unchanged during this time. Research also found that Wales was the only country to have higher anxiety ratings than the UK average. The report, entitled ‘Personal wellbeing in the UK: Oct 2015 to Sept 2016’, included a survey of adults in the UK, to better understand how they feel about their lives. Despite a growth in the levels of anxiety, the average ratings remained lower compared with the years ending September 2012 and...
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Barnardo’s selected to run the National Centre for Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse
As part of an effort to address CSE and abuse, the UK Home Office is backing the centre until 2020 following previous criticism for a lack of progress on delivering their action plan. The centre hopes to gather and share high-quality evidence of successful schemes that have previously prevented child sexual exploitation and abuse. The scheme was launched at an event in Westminster in January, and there will be other events in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Wales, taking place throughout...
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Children with special educational needs and disability
Children with special educational needs and disability The BBC reports that Judge Rowley has ruled in the Upper Tribunal that the exclusion from school of a 13-year-old boy due to behaviour linked to his autism was unlawful. The judge ruled that "aggressive behaviour is not a choice for children with autism” and that their behaviour in school "is a manifestation of the very condition which calls for special educational provision to be made for them". Source: BBC Date: 14 August 2018 Further...
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This teenager posted 40 uplifting notes on a bridge to stop suicides. It’s working. (upworthy.com)
Paige Hunter said she only wanted to help others struggling to talk about mental health issues. Now, a local police department is honoring the 18-year-old for what they called an “inspired” idea that has literally saved lives. Hunter wrote dozens of encouraging letters and posted the signs along the Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland, England. Paige said she never wanted an award, just a better way to cope with the often overwhelming burden of mental illness. And she's expanding her efforts to...
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Towards an ACE-Aware, trauma-responsive Ireland: Firkin Crane event Cork 08 April 2019
https://soundcloud.com/jane-mulcahy/firkin-crane-event-towards-an-ace-aware-trauma-responsive-ireland This event was an open discussion with survivors of childhood trauma and professionals working in the Early Years sector, education, health, addiction and homeless services about the desirability of raising public and political awareness of the prevalence and impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Ireland and the need for a collaborative cross sector trauma-responsive approach for...
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Treat Historic Trauma to Rehabilitate Prisoners, Psychologists Say [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
By Tess de la Mare, Belfast Telegraph Digital, January 2, 2020 The traumatic histories of offenders stuck in the prison system should be treated as a public health issue to break cycles of offending, psychologists working with inmates have said. But despite the often complex histories of violent offenders, in the UK’s squeezed prison system there are limited resources available for rehabilitation. Forensic psychologist Dr Naomi Murphy runs a five-year intensive psychotherapy programme for...
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U.K. Appoints Minister for Suicide Prevention [NYTimes.com]
Months after appointing its first minister for loneliness, Britain named a minister for suicide prevention as part of a new push to tackle mental health issues. Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday announced the appointment of the health minister Jackie Doyle-Price to the new role. She will lead government efforts to cut the number of suicides and overcome the stigma that prevents people with mental health problems from seeking help. While suicide rates have dropped in recent years, about...
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Could yoga save prisoners from a life of crime?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/11/yoga-prisons-crime-cut-reoffending The 46-year-old charity worker has been clean of drugs for seven years after breaking his two-decade cycle of addiction, reoffending and imprisonment. He now has a full-time job with the Karuna Trust , a charity working in India and Nepal, and he’s been out of prison for more than five years. He puts this down to the self-control he gained during his daily sessions of yoga and meditation while “inside”. “One...
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Facebook has started to use artificial intelligence to identify users of the network that could be at risk of suicide
According to the BBC, Facebook has begun to develop algorithms that locate warning signs in users’ posts and the comments other users post in response to this. Once highlighted, the company’s human review team will assess the situation and, if necessary, contact those thought to be at risk of self-harm. They will subsequently suggest ways in which the user can seek help. Facebook has stated that this new technology is not only helpful but also critical to the well-being of users. So far, the...
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Four-year-old referred to specialist unit after killing pair of kittens
https://www.scotsman.com/news/four-year-old-referred-to-specialist-unit-after-killing-pair-of-kittens-1-4794346 A four-year-old child has been referred to the newly-launched Scottish Animal Guardians programme after killing two kittens, it has emerged. Details of cruelty by youngsters were revealed at Scotland’s first human-animal interaction conference by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Edinburgh. A total of 25 children from the Edinburgh City Council area have been referred to the...
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Good intentions but the right approach? The case of ACEs
There are of course lots of examples of fine work going on around ACEs, but there are also aspects of the ACE movement that make me feel a little uncomfortable. I worry that what is clearly a well-intentioned desire to just do something might not do good and could cause harm. My concerns are absolutely not meant as a criticism of the motivation and altruism underlying the ACEs movement, but as a cautionary nudge to make sure that, in our enthusiasm to do good, we don’t run before we can walk.
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Greater Manchester plan to give thousands of children and young people the best start in life
A new plan was launched at the Greater Manchester Health and Care Board which will help hundreds of thousands of children and young people in Greater Manchester to get better health and care to improve their development and fulfil their potential. The four-year plan maps out how agencies in the region will work closer together to make sure local services offered from before birth through to adulthood, will give every child across Greater Manchester the best possible start in life. The...
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How Adverse Childhood Experiences Cost $1.33 Trillion a Year (psychologytoday.com)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/201909/how-adverse-childhood-experiences-cost-133-trillion-year
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How many children experience the death of their mother UK 🇬🇧
Finally it seems we are starting to map key events in lives experiences. The death of a parent can have a profound impact on children which may be felt throughout their life. However, there are currently no official estimates of the number of children who are affected by bereavement. Nick Stripe explains how ONS is starting to fill the evidence gap. In new statistics published today we have estimated the proportion of children born between the years 1971-2000 who experienced the death of...
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How many children experience trauma and PTSD UK 🇬🇧
This article intrigued me, is this purely PTSD or did it included identifying CPTSD or developmental trauma?... MRC-funded research from King’s College London suggests one in 13 young people in the UK have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before reaching age 18. The first UK-based study of its kind, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found 31% of young people had a traumatic experience during childhood, and those who were exposed to trauma were twice as likely as their peers to...
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International Congress in Paris: The Transition to School
For many children, the transition to a traditional elementary school setting, whether it be from home or a pre-school environment, represents a radical discontinuity - not just in terms of their physical environment, but on multiple levels, including values, behavioral and learning expectations, teacher attitudes, emotional support, etc. What if, in line with the latest neuroscientific discoveries about brain maturation, we were to re-envision early childhood education as commencing at birth...
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Is Anxiety to Blame for Missed School? [madinamerica.com]
A team of researchers based in the UK, affiliated with the University of Exeter and the University of Bristol, recently investigated the relationship between mental health and school attendance. Katie Finning and colleagues conducted a systematic review examining overall absenteeism, excused and medical absences, unexcused absences, and school refusal within 11 studies across six countries across North America, Europe, and Asia. Their results point to connections between anxiety, unexcused...
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Leader of the Commons to Chair Ministerial Group on Family Support from Conception to Age 2
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/leader-of-the-commons-to-chair-ministerial-group-on-family-support-from-conception-to-the-age-of-two This includes: record investment in early years education and childcare support of around £6 billion by 2020 £365 million investment to enable 30,000 more women to access appropriate, high-quality specialist perinatal mental health care by 2020/21 15 hours per week of free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds – nearly 750,000 children have...
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Making Connections Understanding how local agencies can better keep missing children safe
The Childrens Society Report attached...
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More Evidence that Green Space Helps Develop Young Brains (psmag.com)
Several recent studies have found children tend to fare better academically if they have ample access to the natural world. But the reasons for this remains hazy. Do they get more exercise? Breathe cleaner air? New British research reveals one likely advantage such kids enjoy. It finds they score higher on a standard test of Spatial Working Memory —the ability to retain visual information long enough to process it and make use of it to solve problems. For a child, this may mean developing an...
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National Statistics HBAI, 1994/95 to 2016/17: children data tables Children income data tables produced as part of the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) report: 1994/95 to 2016/17 (Gov.uk)
Details The HBAI report presents information on living standards in the United Kingdom year-on-year from 1994/1995 to 2016/2017. These data tables provide greater detail about the income of children, especially those in families with low income. They include the following information. Overall trends How many and what percentage of children are in low income households, and is this proportion rising or falling over time? Detailed breakdowns What percentages of children in low income live in...
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One in four girls is depressed at age 14, new study reveals
New research shows a quarter of girls (24%) and one in 10 boys (9%) are depressed at age 14. Researchers from the UCL Institute of Education and the University of Liverpool analysed information on more than 10,000 children born in 2000-01 who are taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study . At ages 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14, parents reported on their children’s mental health. Then, when they reached 14, the children were themselves asked questions about their depressive symptoms. Based on the...
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Poverty & Income Inequality in Scotland: 2014-17
This publication presents three year averaged estimates of the percentage of people, children, working age adults and pensioners living in low income households in Scotland, and other statistics on household income and income inequality. Previously, we reported on single-year estimates, see page 2 for more information. The estimates are used to monitor progress in reducing poverty and income inequality. Key trends Poverty rates appear to be rising slowly. Income inequality appears to be...
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Prince Harry and Oprah’s New TV Series Could Change the Way We View Mental Health at Work (thriveglobal.com)
A couple of years ago, Prince Harry joined the ever-growing list of high-profile public figures who are opening up about their mental health struggles. “I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life, but my work as well,” Harry said on a podcast for The Daily Telegraph . Now Harry and Oprah Winfrey are teaming up on a series for Apple TV+ that will debut...
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SafeLives statistics show the effects of domestic abuse on young people
Sadly, domestic abuse and violence are a part of many people’s lives. In a large number of these cases those affected are under 18. However, many people are not aware of this, and do not know how far-reaching the effects can be. SafeLives is a national charity with the goal of preventing – and eventually ending – domestic abuse. Since 2005, it has been providing many people with the help and support they need to escape abusive relationships. Recent research it conducted into this area, and...
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Scotland's parents need 'oxygen' [holyrood.com]
While probably not in your diary, the second of October 2017 is the fifth anniversary of the Scottish Government’s National Parenting Strategy. Other initiatives and events took precedence during this extraordinary period in Scotland’s history. But, when launched, the Strategywas not a trivial, ‘off the cuff’ public policy. After an extensive consultation process, the Scottish Government proposed dozens of actions under the rubric ‘Our commitment to Scotland’s parents’. A year later, NHS...
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Silent Killer: In London, Air Pollution has Become a Matter of Life and Death (psmag.com)
According to researchers at Kings College London, air pollution kills roughly 9,500 people in the city on average every year. Another study, commissioned by the Khan, found that there are over 800 educational institutions in the city where pupils are exposed to levels of nitrogen dioxide that breach the European Union's legal limits. Members of Parliament have even termed it a national health emergency. "This is, without doubt, a public-health disaster," says Jonathan Grigg, a professor of...
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State of Child Health England – One Year On (Jan 2018)
State of Child Health: One Year On The State of Child Health 2017, uncovered alarming inequalities in the health and wellbeing of children across the UK and a clear disparity with the rest of Western Europe. One year on, our scorecard reveals that although progress has been made in some areas, in general, the picture for infants, children and young people remains largely unchanged across England. Government has taken some steps in the right direction. The successful passage of the soft...
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State of Child Health Scotland – One Year On (Jan 2018)
State of Child Health: One Year On Child health in Scotland ranks among the worse in Western Europe, and the disparity between children living in the most and least affluent communities is unacceptably wide. One in four children – 210,000 – live in poverty, 28% are overweight or obese and many of the approximately 400 deaths among infants, children and young people each year are avoidable. In January 2017, we published a report, the State of Child Health, in which we presented...
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State of Child Health Wales – One Year On (Jan 2018)
State of Child Health: One Year On In January 2017, we published a report the State of Child Health. This contained a series of policy recommendations for Wales and made the human and economic case for child health to be a top priority for Government and public services. It served as a call to action and a vision of what could be achieved. In the year since the report’s publication, there have been positive developments and important commitments made in Wales. These include the passing of...
Comment
Re: Maltreated children five times more likely to develop multiple chronic illnesses in adulthood says study [firstpost.com]
As a seventy four year old who’s still in therapy after suffering sexual & violent abuse from the age of seven and witnessing my younger sister getting abused aged five. This behaviour from our deranged alcoholic father has had a profound disturbing effect on our lives. Being told by my ex wife to ‘get over it‘ stop waisting money on therapy and to give it to her, as she knew what I needed, didn’t help. Nor did our two children growing up to become drug addicts and gouging one of the...
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Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - call for evidence to help inform a review into improving health and development outcomes of babies and young children in England
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a call for evidence to help inform a review into improving health and development outcomes of babies and young children in England. They want to hear from new parents, health service professionals, charities, volunteer groups and academics. The consultation closes 16 October 2020. Click on the link . The closing date for responses is 11:59pm on Friday 16 October 2020.
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A 17-year-old created a free app that makes Disney+ films more accessible for deaf children (upworthy.com)
Subtitles and closed captions make it possible for deaf people to enjoy films and television shows—but what about little kids who can't read yet, or whose reading isn't fast enough to keep up with the captions? How does a deaf child fully appreciate a children's movie if they can't understand what any of the characters are saying and can't read the captions? Mariella Satow ran into that question when she was teaching herself American Sign Language. According to the BBC , 17-year-old Satow...
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The Loss of Cultural Identity and Neurological Dysregulation
Pre-COVID, I was invited to speak at a conference in Flagstaff, Arizona. During lunch the organizers brought dancers from the Apache tribe to perform. What we witnessed was so powerful and moving, that it prompted me to inquire about the spiritual significance of the songs and dance. They explained to me that after going to war, the warriors returned to their land and were gathered together to perform that particular dance and song. As a tribal African woman, it all made perfect sense. As...
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Teen mom who couldn't find babysitter takes her 1-year-old toddler as prom date and they're adorable (upworthy.com)
Image source: TikTok/melissa-mccabe To read more of Sethuraman S.'s article, please click here. A teenage mom has received appreciation after taking her toddler as her date to the school prom. Melissa Mccabe, who is 16 now, became pregnant when she was 14 and gave birth to Arthur in November 2020. Mccabe, who lives in the U.K., describes her 1-year-old son as her "little blessing" and said she wanted him to be part of her prom. "When prom came around, no one could really have him and I...
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Opinion: Why we should all care about Black men’s mental health (msn.com)
Keith Magee - Arron Dunworth © Provided by CNN To read more of Keith Magee's article, please click here. Editor’s Note: Keith Magee is a theologian, political adviser and social justice scholar. He is chair and professor of practice in social justice at Newcastle University (United Kingdom). He is visiting professor in cultural justice at University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, senior fellow within Cultural Engagement, where he leads Black Britain and Beyond ,...