NCB in the news
July 2010
Children's minister urges early years and childcare sector to
contribute to EYFS review, Nursery World, 06.7.2010
Speaking at an NCB event in Westminster
yesterday in advance of the launch of the EYFS review today,
children's minister Sarah Teather said the EYFS had set standards
and 'raised the bar' for many in the sector.
BTHA takes play message onto TV Toys 'n' Playthings,
01.07.10
The British Toy & Hobby Association under
its consumer brand, the Lion Mark, has partnered with Play England
to ask parents to pledge time to play this summer.
Two TV adverts have been produced that will
run from this month through to September which encourage parents to
think about making more time to play with their children, and more
time to just let their children play.
Appointment at British Youth Council, Youth Work Now
01.07.10
Ingrid Duffin has joined the British Youth
Council as communications assistant. Duffin is employed as part of
the National Children's Bureau's Skills Development Programme,
which provides learning opportunities for unemployed young
people.
Website of the week, East
Anglian Daily Times [Essex] 17.7.2010
The Anti-Bullying Alliance has launched a
competition to get school pupils thinking about Taking Action
Together against bullying, which is the theme of this years
Anti-Bullying Week in November. ABA is asking key stage 2 and 3
pupils to design a computer screensaver depicting the theme of
collective action against bullying.
June 2010
Play time's over for children of pushy parents Daily Express,
16.6.2010
A recent study by the British Toy and Hobby
Association in partnership with Play England has found that
children are left with only 1 hour a day to play with friends.
Parents say long school hours, homework and extra-curricular
lessons mean children lead increasingly structured lives.
Coverage also in
Daily Mail online - 15.06.2010,
The Sun 29.6.2010,
Daily Telegraph, 15.06.2010 and across regional
newspapers.
Survey reveals one-third of councils lack coherent plan to support
parents of pre-school age, Children and Young People Now,
23.06.2010
More than a third of councils do not have a
clear plan in place to support parents of pre-school-age children,
according to a survey carried out by the National Quality
Improvement Network (NQIN), which asked senior childcare staff
whether their council had a strategic quality improvement framework
for engaging with parents of pre-school-age children and helping
them with home learning.
Sue Owen, director of Well-Being at NCB, said it was a concern
that so many councils did not have a quality improvement framework
on engaging with parents. ‘We believe that all local authorities
would benefit from a consistent approach to managing parental
engagement in early years settings and home learning,” Sue
said.
Too much homework and television leaves just one hour a day for
'children to be children', The Daily Mail, 15.06.2010
Figures released by Play England, part of NCB and the British
Toy and Hobby Association show that children are under more
pressure today with homework, extra lessonsand television
preventing children from having time to play each day.
May 2010
Children have their say, The Independent, 07.05.2010
Barbara Hearn discusses the importance of the
participation of children and young people in issues which affect
them and illustrates the way in which NCB involves young people on
interview panels for the appointment and selection of staff.
Involving young people in NCB appointments, helps make clear to
candidates that young people are at the heart of work conducted by
NCB, helps draw out how candidates view the issues that children
and young people face, and helps the young interviewers to develop
an understanding of the work that the NCB does.
April 2010
Young girl campaigns against racism, CBBC
Newsound, 22.04.2010
Reem from Young NCB Northern Ireland, appeared on BBC Newsround to
discuss putting a stop to racism. Reem is campaign to end racism by
speaking to politicians on how to ensure everyone is equal.
March 2010
Children's
outdoor play access 'a political issue', BBC News,
23.03.2010
Children's access to safe places to play should be treated as a
serious political issue says Play England. Play England has issued
a manifesto as a survey for Play England says 83% of adults
want the next government to have more opportunities for outdoor
play.
Increasing
numbers of ASBO children taken into custody: report, Community
Newswire, 30.03.2010
NCB's report, Children and Young People In 'Breach' looks at how to
improve outcomes for young offenders and reduce re-offending. It
contains the initial findings from a project to increase
understanding of policy and practice in breach proceedings,
focusing on children and young people who end up in custody as a
result of breach.
February 2010
Barbara Hearn comments on new figures on
the number of young people not in education, employment or
training. BBC News Channel, 08.02.2010
Barbara Hearn appears on the BBC News Channel to discuss the
growing concern about the number of young people not in education,
employment and training. Barbara discusses the need to commit to
investing into services such as life skills development, affordable
transport and ongoing guidance and support to reduce the number of
young people not in education, employment or training.
January 2010
Backlash over plan to extend TV advertising, Guardian,
04.01.2010
Ministers are facing opposition over plans to allow products to be
used in television programmes for marketing purposes. NCB amongst
other organisations have signed a petition to oppose the plan in
the fear that product placement will reduce the protection of young
people from harmful marketing influences, and fuel childhood
obesity.
Don’t be distracted from the importance of play, Guardian
06.01.2010
Adrian Voce, writes about the importance of play as a fundamental
need for children that requires local accessible spaces which are
safe but also physically challenging, stimulating and
well-maintained. Adrian comments ‘the national play strategy takes
on this challenge and has given rise to a change, both in the
priority now being afforded to children’s play by local councils
and in the quality of play areas being provided. ‘
Fight
for early start, Nursery World, 14.01.2010
A campaign to highlight the importance of investment in services
for young children has been launched by the Early Childhood Unit at
NCB. The Firm Foundations campaign is designed to provide
information about evidence collected on how to ensure quality early
years education and its benefits.
Give them a
break, Times Educational Supplement, 22.01.2010
Helen Ward (TES) interviews Catherine Prisk about play
underpinning all learning and development in the early years, and
the need for national guidance on outdoor space. Catherine Prisk
challenges schools to make more of playtime. She says play is often
the most effective way of supporting children at risk who need down
time. ‘Play should be promoted as a good in itself, not just
something that leads to measurable outcomes.’ Catherine continues:
‘Play opportunities in some schools are so poor that creating a
fight or taunting someone… provide some variety, challenge and
risk. Once you’ve got play opportunities, those behaviours
disappear.’