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Listen to this14 DECEMBER
UK
A youth charity is to launch a volunteering programme for young people affected by homelessness after receiving nearly £400,000 in Big Lottery Fund cash.
The funding has been awarded to Depaul UK through the Big Lottery Fund's Reaching Communities programme, which awards grants in excess of £10,000 to help people and communities most in need.
The charity will use the grant to fund the "Get Volunteering" programme, which will aim to encourage young people affected by homelessness to take on voluntary work.
It will form part of Depaul UK's national Get Up and Go progression programme for 16- to 25-year-olds, which supports young people affected by homelessness on their path to independent living, training and employment.
Nick Sinclair, head of volunteering at Depaul UK, said: "This is an
exciting new venture for Depaul UK, inspired and designed by young
people in our services across the country."
The charity is also
looking to recruit three part-time project co-ordinators for its North
East, North West and London offices to lead the project.
The co-ordinators will be tasked with supporting homeless young people into volunteering opportunities, and helping them develop skills and to engage with the community.
"We are now looking for three excellent people to join the team to bring this project to life," Sinclair added. "Their roles will be broad and exciting, supporting young people to start volunteering within Depaul and in their local communities."
James Harcourt, deputy director of responsive programmes at the Big Lottery Fund, added: "It's great to see Depaul UK bringing such a positive change to communities.
"They are giving young people affected by homelessness the opportunity to overcome barriers, learn new skills and improve their lives for the future."
By Adam Offord
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12 DECEMBER
Youth mental health should be the Government’s priority in light of Youthline Wellington’s cries for help, says NZ Association of Counsellors (NZAC) president, Bev Weber.
The free counsellor helpline announced earlier today is struggling financially, and called for donations, grants, and partnerships. While the Wellington hub is minimally funded by the Government, other funding is donated by individuals or businesses.
Ms Weber says services like Youthline are instrumental in complementing other counselling services. For it to close ‘or possibly even terminate its services’ would be tragic, she says.
"These services are incredibly important to the mental health of so many people, not just in Wellington but for those who access its services throughout the country.”
Ms Weber is urging the Government to step in and help, especially as Christmas approaches.
“This is probably one of the most stressful times of the year,” she says. “If the potential closure of one of Youthline’s hubs becomes a reality, then it’s going to have negative impacts on those who miss out on its vital service and further compound the mental health service’s problems.”
Ms Weber says as New Zealand’s youth suicide rate is consistently one of the highest in the OECD, the youth mental health service is under increasing pressure.
“NZAC sees youth mental health as a major issue that needs addressing by the Ministries of Health and Social Development immediately. Make youth mental health a priority.”
Last year, Youthline Wellington’s counsellors answered over 920 calls and responded to almost 6,000 text messages from young people. In addition, youth workers reached out to almost 1,400 young people through education in the community and school visits.
9 December 2016
Press Release: New Zealand Association of Counsellors
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9 DECEMBER
CHEO breaks ground on expansion to enhance special needs
services
Ontario is helping children and youth with
special needs and their families receive better care close to home by
supporting the expansion of treatment space for special needs services
at the Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre at the Children's Hospital of
Eastern Ontario (CHEO-OCTC).
Minister of Children and Youth Services Michael Coteau made the announcement today in Ottawa at the ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion. The new addition will increase the hospital's treatment capacity for children and youth with special needs and improve services for Francophone clients.
The expansion will include:
• Six treatment rooms for specialized,
therapist-led care for children and youth with disabilities such as
cerebral palsy, congenital conditions, developmental delays, autism
spectrum disorders and brain injuries
• A new space for a French
language pre-school program, which will give francophone children
receiving treatment a dedicated area to learn, play, develop and grow
The project is expected to be completed in June 2017.
Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in the province's history.
Supporting children and families is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.
Quick facts:
• Ontario is contributing $600,000 towards the
new addition at CHEO.
• CHEO-OCTC is a pediatric health and research
centre, which provides rehabilitation services for children and youth
with special needs, including specialized programs for eating disorders,
autism, psychiatric mental health, sexual assault, telepsychiatry and
early language development.
• The Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
at CHEO is one of Ontario’s 21 children’s treatment centres, which serve
approximately 70,000 kids every year.
• Ontario has invested
approximately $83 million this year for new, more accessible and
welcoming health treatment facilities for children, including the
ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development Oakville and the Ron
Joyce Children’s Health Centre in Hamilton.
5 December 2016
Ministry of Children and Youth Services
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7 DECEMBER
Braving the consequences of war, natural disaster and other emergencies, nearly 2 million children in 20 countries around the world have been able to continue their schooling over the past four years as a result of a partnership between the European Commission's department for humanitarian aid and civil protection and UNICEF.
The results of the EU-supported education-in-emergencies programme were released during a public event in Brussels concluding an innovative social media-led awareness-raising campaign which sought to engage young Europeans on the issue.
“When conflict or other crises strike, children need more than food, shelter and medicine”, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, told the event at the European Parliament.
“Education can be just as much of a life-saver, providing children with a safe, protective space and helping ensure they learn the skills they need to build a better future for themselves and their communities. The EU is leading the way in its support for education in emergencies.”
Of the 462 million school-aged children and young people living in countries affected by emergencies, an estimated 75 million are in desperate need of educational support. Even so, education continues to be one of the least funded sectors in humanitarian appeals. At present, less than 2% of the global humanitarian budget goes for this purpose.
The seven-month EU-UNICEF #EmergencyLessons campaign reached more than 70 million people on Twitter alone, targeting in particular young Europeans in seven target EU countries: Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. Supporters were encouraged to spread the word among their peers through social media platforms, as well as at their own schools and in public events. The campaign drew on the inspirational real-life stories of children in Iraq, Ukraine, Nepal, and Guinea who continued to study despite war, natural disaster and disease outbreaks.
“Children are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to continue their education even in the worst of circumstances,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Justin Forsyth. ”It’s up to the rest of us to make sure the necessary resources are available for them. The European Union has set an example by committing to increase the EU humanitarian aid budget to education in emergencies to 6% in 2017 and we hope others will do the same”. Christos Stylianides made the announcement at the international Education in Emergencies Forum that took place on 30 November in Brussels.
Support for the campaign came from celebrities such as British actor Tom Hiddleston, Italian European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, Slovenian Basketball player Boštjan Nachbar, Hungarian news presenter and media personality Kriszta D. Tóth, and Slovakian dancer Jaro Bekr.
During the Brussels event, child and youth representatives presented their own call for stronger international support for programmes that allow children caught up in emergencies to continue their learning.
6 December 2016
https://www.unicef.org/media/media_93825.html
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5 DECEMBER
The Conservative Party of New Zealand welcomes the report from Lindsay Mitchell on Child Abuse & Family Structure.
Whilst the report only confirms what we were already aware of, that family structure is vitally important to the welfare of children, we hope that it will initiate discussion and bring change in the way we promote families.
Absentee fathers, multiple partners and uncommitted relationships are killing our children and it is time that we grew up as a nation and started promoting committed, exclusive relationships as the optimal place to raise children.
Lindsay Mitchell states “The growth of child abuse has accompanied a reduction in marriage and an increase in cohabiting or single-parent families.”
She also found that “The risk of abuse for children whose parent / caregiver had spent more than 80% of the last five years on a benefit was 38 times greater than for those with no benefit history. Most children included in a benefit appear with a single parent or caregiver”
“If we, as a nation, are serious about combating child abuse, then we need to promote stable committed relationships, hand ups not hand outs, and recognise personal responsibilities must come before personal rights,” says party spokesman Leighton Baker.
1 December 2016
Press Release: Conservative Party
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1612/S00010/child-abuse-and-family-structure.htm
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2 DECEMBER
A scheme to recruit good teachers to work in deprived areas has been dropped, the government has confirmed.
The National Teaching Service was announced by England's then Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, in 2015. The plan was for 1,500 outstanding teachers and leaders to be deployed by 2020 "to the schools that need them most", with a pilot in the North West. But following the pilot "we can confirm that we will not be progressing", said a Department for Education spokesman.
Teacher shortages
The original plan was to send "the country's best teachers and leaders to underperforming schools that struggle to attract and retain the professionals they need", according to a speech made by Mrs Morgan to the Policy Exchange think-tank in November 2015.
The initiative was part of a government plan "to give every child an excellent education".
"Too many places are lagging behind, meaning young people in these areas are not being given a fair shot," said the government at the time.
NTS staff would work with schools for a period of up to three years in a bid to drive up standards.
An initial pilot was launched to enlist up to 100 teachers and leaders to work in primary and secondary schools in the North West from September 2016. But according to the Times Educational Supplement, just 54 teachers were recruited after only 116 applied.
The government says the pilot was launched "to test the concept of how a National Teaching Service could work".
"We are pleased with the level of interest in the pilot and the calibre of the successful candidates," said a Department for Education spokesman. "However, following a review of the outcomes, we can confirm that we will not be progressing with the further rollout of the National Teaching Service
"We recognise that it is vitally important that schools, particularly in challenging areas, can recruit and retain excellent teachers, and we are determined to continue to support them to do this. We will use the lessons learnt from the pilot to secure a better understanding of to support schools in the future, and will set out future plans in due course."
'Damning'
On Thursday, Ofsted's annual report highlighted serious problems in recruiting teachers and school leaders, particularly in northern England, where, it said, heads were reporting an "auction" for teachers.
Labour's shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said Ofsted's verdict on the government's teacher recruitment record was "damning".
"We now learn that they've are scrapping the much lauded National Teaching Service after just a year," she said. "Last week, we learnt that the Tories have missed their recruitment target for the fifth year in row. And last year, the highest number of teachers left the profession in a decade."
"The chronic teacher shortage continues to threaten standards under the Tories, and they are completely failing to take this crisis seriously."
1 December 2016
http://www.bbc.com/news/education-38172256
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