Is 'Buffalo' the answer to obesity (28th January 2010)There is no ‘quick fix’ to childhood obesity. However, the early signs are that a partnership between health and council officials in Burnley may be on the right track.
Information
Children and families experiencing domestic violence: police and children's social services' responses (September 2009)In England and Wales, the Adoption and Children Act 2002 amended the definition of significant harm provided by the Children Act 1989, adding a new category of “impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another”. Since domestic violence and children’s exposure to it represent a widespread social problem, this amendment has acted to draw a potentially large group of families within the remit of children’s social services. The growing mountain of police notifications to children’s social services of domestic violence incidents where children are involved and the pressures that this has created have been noted by a range of commentators in the UK, North America and Australia.
The notification system has emerged against what is acknowledged to be a background of fragmented services for children and families experiencing domestic violence, and represents an attempt to improve communication and coordination between universal and highly targeted services. This research, from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, examined both the notification process itself and the subsequent service pathways followed by families brought to the attention of children’s social services in
this way. It also explored which other agencies contributed to services for families experiencing domestic violence and captured young people’s, survivors’ and perpetrators’ views of services.
Executive summary
Child wellbeing and child poverty. Where the UK stands in the European table (21st April 2009)Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has published a briefing drawn from a new league table (produced by researchers from the University of York) of child wellbeing in European countries, in which the UK comes in 24th place out of 29 countries. The briefing also outlines the policies CPAG is calling for to end child poverty and improve child wellbeing in the UK.
Briefing Cognitive testing: British Social Attitudes child poverty questions (April 2009)This research explores the effectiveness of both existing and new questions on poverty, for use in the British Social Attitudes Survey. It considers among other things whether the public believe child poverty exists in Britatin today, what it is and who is responsible for tackling it.
Research
Preventing child accidents in the home (18th March 2009)Accidents in the home are the biggest cause of injury to children under five. Tragically, around 500,000 under fives every year are admitted to hospital after an accident at home. More tragically, many of these accidents could have been prevented by taking simple steps.
To help parents of young children and the practitioners who work with them keep children safe from accidents at home the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) has produced:
- Accidents and Child Development, an easy-to-use guidance booklet for any practitioners involved with the safety, or care of children
- How Safe is Your Child at Home?, a short leaflet for parents and carers, covering common risks to children in the home and how they can be reduced.
Accidents and Child Development
How Safe is Your Child at Home?
The Sure Start Journey – A Summary of Evidence (5th March 2008)
This document is intended to help Sure Start centre leaders reach out to all families, especially the most disadvantaged, and to ensure that parents and children are offered the highest quality and most effective services.
Click here for the Document
The Impact of Sure Start Local Programmes on Three Year Olds and their Families (4th March 2008)
A new National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS) report has been published. It found that living in a Sure Start Local Programme (SSLP) area was associated with positive impacts on 5 of the 14 outcomes investigated. Children living in SSLP areas exhibited more positive social behaviour and greater independence/self-regulation, whilst parents made greater use of support services, exhibited less negative parenting and provided a better home-learning environment.
Click here for the Report
Click here for the Summary
