Police officers are being trained to understand the impact of “toxic stress” caused by childhood trauma amid evidence it can dramatically increase a person’s likelihood of offending. Officers and staff from Police Scotland’s Ayrshire division are among the first in the country to become “trauma informed” by learning about the effect of so-called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). According to the Scottish Government, someone who has experienced four or more ACEs is 14 times more likely to...

Highland councillors yesterday committed to following the principles laid out in a new report on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) by NHS Highland. The council is the first local authority in the UK to commit to becoming ‘ACE Aware’, and working with NHS and third sector to embed the principles into frontline children’s services. The report sets out to change traditional ways of thinking about children and adults who have had a poor start in life due to ‘toxic stress’ in their surroundings...

CAMPAIGNING Bournemouth University academic Dr Andy Mayers is celebrating after learning that fathers who have experienced stress or mental health issues as a result of the birthing process are to be provided with mental health support through the NHS for the first time. Speaking after the NHS announcement Dr Andrew Mayers, Principal Academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University, said, “Until this announcement, fathers were not formally considered for needing support for ‘perinatal’...

In the new report, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience, and Trauma-Informed Care: A Public Health Approach to Understanding and Responding to Adversity , Professor Hugo van Warden, t he director of public health for NHS Highland (Scotland), writes: "This report deals with ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ and chronic exposure to ‘toxic stress’. A key message in this report is that such experiences increase the risk of later development of poor mental health, adverse behavioural...

A children’s helpline says the number of counselling sessions it has delivered to youngsters with anxiety has almost doubled in two years, with nine out of 10 calls from girls. According to Childline, which is supported by the NSPCC children’s charity, there has been a sharp rise in the number of young people seeking help because of anxiety as they struggle to cope with the demands of modern life. The NSPCC said Childline counsellors delivered 11,700 sessions to children and teenagers...

Cuts to children's services budgets for family support and youth work represent a "false economy", simply leading to greater pressure on safeguarding provision, Ofsted has warned. The inspectorate's annual report noted that while the overall effectiveness of children's services provision is continuing to improve, the impact of ongoing financial restrictions risks jeopardising progress. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said that local authority social care budgets have experienced the...

The Institute of Health Equity at University College London has summarised research into the health inequalities for people with learning disabilities, including children and young people . Findings include: compared with the general population, children with learning disabilities are more likely to be bullied; children and young people with learning disabilities are more likely to live in poverty, have worse mental health and display more risky health behaviours; girls with learning...

This report centres on findings from Centrepoint’s analysis of data collected for the 2017/18 Youth homelessness databank . The databank collects local data from across the UK on the scale of youth homelessness. It also provides an insight into the type of interactions young people are having with their local councils and what support is being offered. The research estimates 103,000 young people asked for help from their local council in 2017/18 because they were homeless or at risk of...

The Health and Social Care Committee hears from senior officials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about how policy and practice in other parts of the UK can help inform England's approach to the first 1000 days. The Committee will also hear from Public Health England about their role in giving children the best start in life. https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/health-and-social-care-committee/news/first-1000-days-evidence-17-191/

This report by User Voice highlights the plight of young people inhabiting the Children and Young People Secure Estate – which is made up of secure children’s homes, secure training centres and youth offender institutions. Commissioned by NHS England, which has responsibility for health and wellbeing matters in the estate, User Voice employed its peer-led research approach to elicit the views of some of the hardest-to-reach people in the criminal justice system. The project was inspired by...

this is one of the few (and perhaps the first) examination of the possible effects of religious involvement on academic performance and mental health outcomes of maltreated children in the United Kingdom.