NCB in the news

December 09

Guardian, 04.12.2009                                                                           ‘Be proud of who you are’                                                            A member of the HIV Network speaks about living with HIV and the importance of the HIV Conference to coincide with World Aids Day. ‘If you are young and HIV positive in today's society you are hard pressed to find a sympathetic or understanding ear. People's preconceptions govern their behaviour and if you do not hide who you are you quickly become victimised or marginalised, not because people are cruel but because people fear what they do not understand.’

Guardian, 16.12.09                                                                             Reviews of the decade: Social Policy in the Noughties: 10 years of change and controversy                                                             Guardian assess social policy and public service over the past decade. Lisa Payne, principle policy officer at NCB, talks about the impact and significance of the Every Child Matters initiative. Lisa comments, "the ambitions were amazing, the investment was unprecedented, and the prioritisation of children unmatched in my memory."

November 09

eGov Monitor 16.11.09                                                                                  Family life under the    UNCRC                                                                           

Barbara Hearn, Deputy Chief Executive, NCB, discusses the centrality of famiy life to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. There is a common misconception that the UNCRC, ratified in 1991, is about advancing children's rights over those of adults. In fact, the theme of family is central to the preamble and ten of the Convention's articles.

BBC News Channel 16.11.09                                                                           

Lauren Seager, Regional Strategy Coordinator of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, based at NCB discussed new research by ABA ahead of Anti Bullying Week which found that primary school children are becoming victims of cyberbullying. Lauren talked about the issue of cyberbullying, what parents can do to help children and young people stay safe and the practical steps children can take themselves to prevent cyberbullying.

GMTV 15.11.09                                                                                             GMTV Anti-bullying special                                                                               Anti-bullying special including advice, tips and oracle. It's National Anti-Bullying Week and this year the focus is Stay Safe in Cyberspace. Sue Steel, National Manager of ABA, appeared on the program. According to research by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, based at NCB ahead of Anti Bullying Week on the 16-20th November, primary school children are becoming victims of cyberbullying. The survey revealed that one in five of Year 6 pupils surveyed aged 10 or 11 have been cyberbullied whilst at home, with 22% not knowing how to protect themselves against cyberbullying. This years Anti-Bullying Week’s theme was Stay Safe in Cyberspace with the results evidence that cyberbullying is prevalent, whenever a computer or mobile phone is switched on, meaning children and young people may have no escape.

October 09

BBC 5 Live 21.10.09                                                                                    

NCB/BYC report based on recent survey found that careers advice is failing young people. Rajay Naik Chair of the British Youth Council talks about report and the need for a younger generation to gain accurate and valuable guidance especially in a time of recession.

The Times, 13.11.09                                                                                Letter to the editor                                                                                  

From Jane Lees, Chair Sex Education Forum. Sir, It is important that both schools and parents have a role in ensuring that children grow up with the essential information and skills to stay safe and be healthy (“Sex education lessons”, letter, Nov 11).

Community Care, 8.10.09                                                                            ‘We’ve got the balance wrong’                                                                        

Sector leaders including Sheryl Burton join the debate sparked by Barnado’s chief executive Martin Narey that we are not taking enough children into care and that professionals are under too much pressure to continue working with families who ‘can’t be fixed.’ Sheryl  Burton addresses that the decision to remove a child is a drastic step and the need to ensure that early intervention and support services are accessible to, and respected by children and families.

September 09

eGov Monitor 28.09.09                                                                               NCB to conduct research on child minding practices in the 21st century                                                                                    

NCB has launched its research study into childminding practice. The 18 month project will seek to answer key questions around childminding practice, parental choice and the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) as they relate to childminding.

West Sussex County Times, 25.09.09                                                           How mobile phone films will help combat bullying                                           Young mobile moviemakers are being urged to focus their phones on cyberbullying, which is the key theme of this year’s nationwide Anti-Bullying Week, which takes place from November 16-20.

Times Educational Supplement, 11.09.09                                                        Let them play, charity advises                                                                 Synopsis - Play England has warned cutting school break times ignores the fact that children do better if they have a chance to let off steam. Lisa Davis, policy officer at Play England said, ‘Research shows that break times are being shortened and afternoon breaks are being cut because of pressure on the school day to deliver educational requirements.’

Children and Young People Now, 09.09.09                                                       The young inspector calls                                                                      Synopsis - As part of Young Inspector programme, run by the Look Listen Change consortium and hosted by NCB, a group of young people toured the premises of a building occupied by Salford’s youth offending service. They quizzed young clients, staff and managers as part of the assessment and were impressed with many aspects of the service.

Under 5, 01.09.09                                                                                 Synopsis - Interview with Assistant Director for Health, Well-being and Environment at the National Children’s Bureau. Jo Butcher talks about the NCB Small Steps to a Sustainable Future Project, One Step One World and the importance of children learning about protecting the planet from an early age as well as, the best ways of communicating the issues of climate change to young children.

August 09

Times Educational Supplement 28.08.09                                                          On the Move                                                                                       Synopsis – Ivana LaValle is to become the new director of research, evidence and evaluation at the National Children’s Bureau. She will be taking over the role from Jane Lewis, who is to become director of Research in Practice, a department of Dartington Hall Trust. Ms LaValle will join the NCB on November 2.

BBC News Online, 24.08.09                                                                         Rain stops play - but should it?                                                                 Synopsis- Lack of rain shelter and ill-equipped playgrounds prevent children from playing in the rain. As part of a £235 million national play strategy, children young people and adults have been asking for more stimulating places to play when the weather is bad. According to Mick Conway, from Play England, shelter from wet weather, with seating for parents and children, is increasingly being included in the programme.

The Observer, 02.08.09                                                                                Most parents can't find enough time to play with their children                         Synopsis – Anushka Asthana examines a study by Play England which reveals more than half of all parents believe modern life is so hectic that it is impossible to devote enough time to playing with children. Commenting on the study, Adrian Voce, said: “Children- especially younger ones – want to play with their parents, and their parents want it too. But this research shows they are missing out, and that is a concern.”

July 09

Community Newswire, 22.07.09                                                                       Youngsters with HIV attend international conference                                    Synopsis – Commenting on the seventh annual meeting for young people affected by HIV in Barcelona, Maria Phelan, coordinator of the Children and Young People HIV Network, said, ‘This is a great opportunity for young adults living with HIV and practitioners to meet with their peers and discuss their experiences and the challenges they face in a safe, comfortable environment’.

June 09

Guardian online, 15.06.09
Make the unfiltered web illegal, says children's coalition
Synopsis – In a new "digital manifesto" published today, a leading group of charities including the NSPCC, the Children's Society and NCB argue that the government should legally compel ISPs to screen out images of child abuse and underage sex.

Community Care, 18.06.09
Bill's 10% poverty target is 'not ambitious enough', warns NCB
Synopsis – Campaign groups have expressed disappointment that a UK-wide legal duty to end child poverty by 2020, published today, has been set at "unambitious" levels. The cross-departmental Child Poverty Bill would set a target of reducing the proportion of children living in households in relative poverty to 10% by 2020. NCB said since Denmark, Sweden, Finland had already reduced child poverty to 5% the UK should strive to do the same.

Third Sector, 13.06.09
Knighthood for Paul Ennals
Synopsis –Paul Ennals, chief executive of NCB, was awarded a knighthood for services to children and young people in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Ennals, who became the charity's chief executive 11 years ago, said he worked with "an extraordinarily talented set of people".

May 09

Sky News, 08.05.09
Cafcass publish care statistics
Synopsis – Paul Ennals, Chief Executive of NCB, comments on the Cafcass care statistics data, showing that since November 2008 there has been a significant growth in care applications by local authorities. The significant rise may be explained by a lowering of the threshold of intervention by local authorities following the publicity surrounding Baby P.

April 09

The Guardian, 15.04.09
Talking 'bout my generation
Synopsis -  This special edition of Society Guardian focuses on the views and experiences of young people - including two Young NCB members involved in NCB’s Young Researcher Network project on teenagers in the media. On the Guardian website, there is also a video by teenage film-makers Naushin Shariff and Hannah Eveson investigating what their peers make of the portrayal of teenagers by the media.

Guardian, 20.04.09
Children in care: how Britain is failing its most vulnerable
Synopsis - Jonathan Stanley, manager of the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care at NCB, says standards are gradually improving here, but he stresses that the staff need better training. In Denmark, most workers in care homes have degrees. In the UK they only need an NVQ3 - a different league of qualification. "We've not valued our residential workers, yet they are working with the most needy in the country," he said.

March 09

Newsround, 30.03.09
Kids need help to deal with death
Synopsis - Much more help is needed for children who are affected by the death of a friend or family member.  That's according to the Child Bereavement Network (CBN) - a group of charities that's trying to make it easier for children to deal with death.

BBC News, 12.03.09
Action pledged over child safety
Synopsis - Paul Ennals, chief executive of NCB, said morale amongst social workers had "never been lower". "They've felt that the challenges they've been facing on a day-to-day basis, on all our behalves, haven't really been recognised.  And so many of the staff, I'm afraid, have been choosing to move out of that work to find other work that's maybe a bit less threatening and less difficult."

February 09

Scholtasic Education Plus, 27.02.09
Michael Rosen to launch new National Children’s Bureau publication
Synopsis – The Parents, Early Years and Learning (PEAL) project, based at NCB is looking forward to children’s laureate, Michael Rosen, launch their new book Parents as Partners in the Early Years Foundation Stage – Principles into Practice.

Medical News Today, 13.02.09
NCB Welcomes Governments first ever Child Health strategy
Synopsis – Paul Ennals, Chief Executive of NCB comments, “In particular we welcome the focus on helping children to make and sustain healthy lifestyle choices. NCB’S health Challenge Programme has proved effective in helping young people to be active partners in their own health – to make small but significant steps towards healthier lifestyles.”

January 09

BBC News online, 09.01.09
Young 'resent negative images'
Synopsis – Young people are complaining about a diet of negative news media stories about them in a research project from NCB. The survey of young people's attitudes claimed that the media had a highly skewed view of their experiences. They felt they were usually depicted in terms of crime, sex and drugs - with the only positive images coming from exceptional cases such as sports stars.

Times Educational Supplement, 23.01.09
Citizenship - The doctor will see you now
Synopsis – Designed by a group of young people aged 13 to 15, the poster forms part of a project commissioned by the General Medical Council and run by NCB, in partnership with Children in Scotland. The young people produced the final design with the help of a professional designer after reviewing key messages from the GMC's 0-18 years: guidance for all doctors. This sets out doctors' responsibilities to act always in the best interests of children and young people, to listen to them and to involve them in decisions that affect them.

The Huddersfield Examiner, 24.01.09
Princess Anne visits to see youth project
Life Routes programme manager Sophie Woods said: "We are delighted that her Royal Highness has taken the time to come and visit the Life Routes centre of excellence. Having a royal visit is a wonderful recognition of all the hard work the young people, staff and volunteers here have put into this superb project."

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