Tagged With "Commissioner for England"
Blog Post
All pupils will be taught about mental and physical wellbeing (gov.uk)
It's a start. Clearly many children do not grow up in households where this information is known and understood and healthy patterns hold. I believe we still have a way to go including ACEs and that emotional health is key. All children in England will be taught how to look after their mental wellbeing and recognise when classmates may be struggling, as the Government unveils new guidance for the introduction of compulsory health education. Bold new plans set out today (Monday 25 February)...
Blog Post
Associations of Adverse Childhood Experiences with Educational Attainment and Adolescent Health and the Role of Family Socioeconomic Factors: A Prospective Cohort Study in the UK [journals.plos.org]
By Lotte C. Houtepen, Jon Heron, Matthew J. Suderman, et al., PLOS Medicine, March 2, 2020 Background Experiencing multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a risk factor for many adverse outcomes. We explore associations of ACEs with educational attainment and adolescent health and the role of family and socioeconomic factors in these associations. Methods and findings Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective cohort of children born...
Blog Post
Bringing the global to the local: Review of global trends in the prevalence and services for child maltreatment in order to inform research, policy and practice in England
Research shows that child maltreatment is prevalent and impacts on the health and well-being of children in every society. This report presents for the first time international trend and prevalence data according to the NSPCC indicators utilised in the “How safe are our children” annual reports in order to compare England against other countries.
Blog Post
British Doctors May Soon Prescribe Art, Music, Dance, Singing Lessons [smithsonianmag.com]
An ambitious initiative unveiled this week by British Health Secretary Matt Hancock may soon enable the country’s doctors to prescribe therapeutic art- or hobby-based treatments for ailments ranging from dementia to psychosis, lung conditions and mental health issues. Writing for the Times , Kat Lay explains that this unconventional strategy, described by the U.K. government as “social prescribing,” could find patients enrolled in dance classes and singing lessons, or perhaps enjoying a...
Blog Post
Bruising in Children: Exploring the Attitudes, Knowledge and Training of Child Protection Social Workers and the Interface with Paediatricians regarding Childhood Bruising
Abstract While child protection social workers (CPSWs) make decisions about which children with an injury need a medical examination, we do not know how they make these decisions. We aimed to ascertain the knowledge, attitudes and training of CPSWs in regards to assessing childhood bruising. Paediatricians' views on the bruising knowledge and training of CPSWs were also explored, as well as the relationship and communication between the two professions. Semi‐structured, face‐to‐face...
Blog Post
Child poverty and education
Child poverty and education The National Education Union (NEU) has published a report looking at the extent to which poverty is damaging the educational opportunities for children from poor families. Findings from a snapshot survey of 908 NEU members including heads, teachers and school support staff working in England, Wales and Northern Ireland finds that: 87% of respondents said that poverty is having a significant impact on the learning of their pupils and students; and 60% believe that...
Blog Post
Children 'failed in first 1,000 days', says MPs [BBC News]
The Health and Social Care Committee said the first 1,000 days were critical, but not enough was done. It warned cuts to children's centres, health visiting and services to support parents had left families vulnerable. Nearly a third of children are not "school ready" by the time they reach five, because they have not developed the necessary skills and behaviours. The cross-party group wants the government to pay for extra contact with health visitors beyond the age of two-and-a-half. The...
Blog Post
Children living in households with complex needs
Children living in households with complex needs The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a report analysing the voices of children living in households with domestic abuse, parental substance misuse and parental mental health problems. The report presents findings from interviews with 15 children and young people aged 6 to 19 who were supported in three projects in London, Doncaster and Herefordshire. The interviews explored: how experiences at home affected their emotional...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
UK - The Kinship Care: State of the Nation Survey (Grandparents)
https://www.grandparentsplus.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=75a6b874-6666-4224-8770-48905670dbaf The Kinship Care: State of the Nation Survey This report is based on a survey of members of the Grandparents Plus Kinship Care Support Network, which includes almost 4,000 kinship carers. The results are based on responses from 671 kinship carers living in England and Wales, making it the largest ever survey of its kind. Carried out in February 2017 using both online and postal...
Blog Post
Why mental health services in England are finally receiving attention [theguardian.com]
England is witnessing the “ biggest expansion of mental health services in Europe ”, according to health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has promised that an extra £1.3bn would be invested annually in mental health services by 2021. With one in four people expected to suffer from mental illness at some time in their life – whether it’s a new mother struggling with postnatal depression, a teenager with an eating disorder, or an older person isolated and lonely at home – the financial commitment is...
Blog Post
England’s children commissioner calls for volunteer social workers (The Guardian)
By Sally Weale, March 31, 2020, The Guardian Anne Longfield plans to recruit retired staff to help vulnerable children amid coronavirus crisis The children’s commissioner for England has called for an army of volunteers to help support children’s social care during the coronavirus crisis in an effort to stop the most vulnerable falling through the gaps and disappearing from view. Just as doctors and nurses who left the NHS have responded to calls to return to work to help save lives, Anne...
Blog Post
Fathers affected by birthing process can get help on the NHS now [Daily Echo - UK]
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’...
Blog Post
First 1000 days of life - policy and practice examined
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/
Blog Post
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.
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Introduce mental health checks for new mothers, ministers told Six-week checkup would help the 50% of UK mothers with mental health problems
New mothers should receive a mental health checkup six weeks after giving birth to help tackle possible postnatal depression and other problems related to having a baby, ministers have been told. A cross-party group of 60 MPs and peers have written to Steve Brine, the minister for public health and primary care, demanding that all mothers in England have an assessment of their emotional and mental health carried out by a GP, practice nurse or health visitor. They say that making such...
Blog Post
Making Connections Understanding how local agencies can better keep missing children safe
The Childrens Society Report attached...
Blog Post
Mental Health, Social Adversity, and Health-Related Outcomes in Sexual Minority Adolescents: A Contemporary National Cohort Study [thelancet.com]
By Background Sexual minority adolescents are more likely to have mental health problems, adverse social environments, and negative health outcomes compared with their heterosexual counterparts. There is a paucity of up-to-date population-level estimates of the extent of risk across these domains in the UK. We analysed outcomes across mental health, social environment, and health-related domains in sexual minority adolescents compared with their heterosexual counterparts in a large,...
Blog Post
Mindfulness and Meditation to Become Part of the Curriculum in 370 Schools in England (brightvibes.com)
In 370 schools across England, children will be taught how to meditate, techniques for muscle relaxation, and breathing exercises for mindfulness. The program is being conducted under a mental health study that the British government is running up until 2021. Aside from the increasing number of young children that are showing signs of early onset depression and anxiety , National Health Service (NHS) reports have also indicated that 1-in-8 British children have mental disorders. Despite...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
More than half of heroin/morphine misuse death hotspots in England and Wales are seaside locations [Ons.gov.uk]
Some of England and Wales's favourite seaside resort areas are now among the towns with the highest rates of deaths from the misuse of heroin/morphine. Six of the 10 local authority districts in England and Wales with the highest rates of heroin- and/or morphine-misuse deaths are coastal holiday resorts, figures have revealed. Places that may have been more synonymous with family holidays are among the 10 areas that saw the highest rates of drugs misuse fatalities where heroin and/or...
Blog Post
MRC-funded research reveals extent of trauma and PTSD in young people [cambridgenetwork.co.uk]
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 have a range of mental health disorders. Relatively little is known about the extent of trauma and its effects on mental health in young people. The researchers looked at participants in the E-Risk Study , funded by the MRC, which includes 2,232 children born in England and...
Blog Post
Plan International reveals that every hour a victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) is either discovered or treated at a medical appointment in England.
The charities statistics showed there were almost 9,000 times when a girl or woman was assessed at a doctor’s surgery or hospital. Worldwide. It is estimated that 200 million women and girls are affected by FGM. These figures were released to raise awareness and mark the international day of zero tolerance to FGM (which took place on February 7th). The FGM process, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), includes the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or...
Blog Post
Police officer attitudes to the practicalities of the sex offenders' register, VISOR and Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure Scheme in England and Wales.
Authors: Kieran F. McCartan, James Hoggett and Jack O'Sullivan Format: Article Summary: Examines police officers' understandings of and attitudes to the sex offenders' register, Violent and Sex Offenders' Register (VISOR) and Child Sexual Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS) in England and Wales. The research is based on a US study using a mixed methods approach including an online survey. Findings showed that police officers were supportive of the registers in principle but they found the...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
The plight of young people inhabiting the Children and Young People Secure Estate
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...
Comment
Re: Good intentions but the right approach? The case of ACEs
Andrew thanks for your interesting contribution to the debate around ACEs. As a survivor of early trauma, having been sent to an English boarding school at the age of 6 in the late 1950s, I have followed the development of the ACEs movement closely in Britain and Ireland and in the USA. After careful consideration I am an advocate of an ACEs, trauma-informed approach to ameliorating trauma consequences [it makes a whole lot more sense than the orthodox psychoanalysis I was subjected to over...
Blog Post
Growing evidence that minority ethnic groups in England may be at higher risk of COVID-19 [biomedcentral.com]
By Anne Korn, Biomed Central, May 29, 2020 Evidence available to date suggests that minority ethnic groups in England, particularly black and south Asian people, may be at increased risk of testing positive for Covid-19, compared to people from white British backgrounds, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Medicine. Previous pandemics have often disproportionately impacted ethnic minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. While early evidence...
Blog Post
Epigenetics of Poverty: Why Children from Deprived Backgrounds are Hardwired for Poorer Health (wakeup-world.com)
For those of us passionate about social justice and equality, it stands to reason that children growing up in disadvantaged backgrounds may struggle to reach the opportunities and privilege others take for granted. We also know that people from deprived areas tend to have worse health outcomes throughout life than people from better off communities [1] . Poverty has always had clear links to health, but now a biological explanation for part of this may be coming to light. Long-term research...
Blog Post
Poverty in the pandemic: the impact of coronavirus on low- income families and children August 2020
The Child Poverty Action Group and the Church of England have published findings from a survey looking at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on low income families in England . The survey of 285 low-income families with children who are eligible for free school meals found that: 8 in 10 respondents reported being in a worse financial position than before the pandemic; and almost half have had physical or mental health problems because of coronavirus. To read the report, click on the link .
Blog Post
how lockdown during the coronavirus crisis has affected children’s lives at home
The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a blog looking at how lockdown during the coronavirus crisis has affected children’s lives at home . The blog discusses: the home environment and access to open space; and family relationships. To read the blog, click on the link .
Blog Post
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.
Blog Post
Unmasking ACEs and racial trauma as causes of health inequity: ways forward for primary care
Dear Colleagues & Friends, We are delighted to invite you to our second Racial Justice Open Conversation . This live webinar will provide participants with a unique opportunity to hear from two London GPs who are at the forefront of a movement to raise awareness of the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and racial trauma in causing health inequity and in medical practice and education. Challenges and solutions will be addressed during the event, giving special emphasis to...
Blog Post
Leicester mums share relief and fears as commissioner plans to 'rebuild childhood' after lockdown [leicestermercury.co.uk]
By Finvola Dunphy, Leicestershire Live, March 17, 2021 Leicester Mums in business express feelings of both relief and worry as their children return to school following coronavirus lockdown. Today, March 16, the new children's commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, plans to "rebuild childhood" after the disruption of Covid-19.
Member
Pam McArdle
Member
Lisa Simpson!
Member
Sandra Evers
Member
Toni England
Member
Pamela Lawson
Member
Tom Elliott
Member
Jacqui Cryer
Member
Hannah Harrsi
Member