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Unruly youths face new crackdown: THE government will this week announce the creation of an academy to produce better parents whose children grow into model citizens. The National Parenting Academy will be unveiled by Tony Blair and his senior ministers among other new measures in the government’s “respect” agenda. But it is expected to lead to charges that Labour is once again more concerned with “nanny state” prescriptions than effective measures to tackle crime. The academy will seek to ensure parents act when their children are small to stop them becoming tearaways. One senior government source said: “It is about nipping it in the bud, before these kids start getting Asbos.” The academy will be attended by a range of people who will be trained to work with parents. They will include social workers, clinical psychologists, community safety officers and youth justice workers. A site for the centre has yet to be chosen. Last night, David Cameron, the Conservative leader, attacked Blair’s plans saying his “recycled crackdowns missed the point”. “The real respect agenda must include long-term solutions to the causes of social breakdown, not just short-term sanctions and punishment,” he said. “The real respect agenda must be based on optimism about the ability of people and communities to create civilised lives for themselves, rather than a pessimistic view of human nature.” Ruth Kelly, the education secretary, will set out details of the plan in Birmingham on Tuesday, the same day other ministers will undertake a nationwide media offensive aimed at showing Blair is serious about improving “respect”. There are sharp disagreements, however, about how much money will be allocated to the plans. Blair is expected to say that £25m a year extra is being committed, but that is short of the £100m a year he is understood to have wanted. The new measures will, according to the government, “broaden and widen the clampdown on antisocial behaviour to tackle its causes in the home, classroom and local community, and address a wider culture of disrespect in society”. In addition to the academy, other elements include programmes of activities with sports and cultural organisations to encourage good behaviour among young people and provide more for them to do; volunteering programmes; reducing truancy; and “neighbourhood charters” setting out what residents can expect from public services. In addition, there will be a national programme to identify and support the most “challenging” families to reduce the likelihood of their children becoming troublemakers. The number of community support officers will be raised from 6,000 to 24,000, and the police will be given a new “house closure power” to clear properties associated with persistent antisocial behaviour. A Blairite think tank is recommending that families write mission statements, hold regular meetings and set targets. The Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing claims families are more likely to avoid conflict if they adopt a more business-like approach to how they function and organise themselves. A report produced by Carol Craig, chief executive of the Glasgow-based group, which receives £450,000 of funding from the Scottish executive, says families should draft a list of their aims and responsibilities and arrange formal meetings at set times of the year where goals can be reviewed. Mission statements could include commitments to eat together, remove televisions from children’s bedrooms and play games in the evening. “Many families are managed on the basis of crisis, moods, quick fixes and instant gratification,” says the report. “By getting input from every family member . . . you get the family talking on things that really matter deeply.” Andrew Porter http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1974970,00.html
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