Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Ball Game Ideas for Young Children
Ball games are fun at any age, and a great way to get our hearts pumping! Here we explore some games you can enjoy with the little ones in your life, whether they are babies, toddlers or pre-schoolers.
Don’t forget to praise their efforts and show them that you enjoy the games you play together, too!
Babies
Even babies can enjoy playing with a ball. When a baby can hold up their head while lying on their tummy, encourage them to reach for the ball, by placing it just out of reach. This will encourage them to explore their surroundings, reach and grab.
Toddlers
Encourage your child to throw, kick and roll the ball to you. Make this easier at first by sitting or standing close to each other. Practice makes perfect – don’t expect your little one to catch straight away. You could even use a cardboard box or washing basket as a goal.
Pre-schoolers
Show your child how to use their hand as a bat. Bowl the ball to them and encourage them to hit it! As your little one improves; change the rules so that they must run from one base to another after a hit. The next step is rounders or cricket!
Injury law expert, National Accident Helpline, has announced the winners of its Future Legal Mind competition, with Scottish student Syed Adil taking one of the prizes.
Syed will be awarded £1,500 which will go towards his studies, as well as mentoring with experienced lawyers. He will also be given the opportunity to complete a work experience placement at National Accident Helpline’s law firm, National Accident Law.
Syed is currently studying a dual degree in Scots and English Law, with European Legal Studies, at the University of Aberdeen. He hopes to further pursue a master’s degree and be called to the Scottish and English Bar, developing a career as a cross-border Barrister, and utilising his dual-qualifying degree to its full extent.
This year, the competition – which is one of the leading law essay competitions in the UK – was split into two categories: undergraduate and postgraduate. Syed was awarded the undergraduate prize and Matthew Johnson, studying at Oxford Brookes GDL, was awarded the postgraduate prize.
The competition was judged by National Accident Helpline, with the panel made up of John Kushnick, Legal Operations Director, Jonathan White, Legal and Compliance Director, and Helen Fairhurst, Marketing Director.
John Kushnick said: “Syed presented in a calm and caring way, having prepared a thorough and excellently referenced essay.
“What made him stand out was his passion for law, as amply evidenced by his extensive extra-curricular activities. A very impressive candidate indeed.”
Jonathan White commented: “Syed’s entry stood out for me because of the current relevance of the topic in view of recent, well-publicised events.
“He articulately set out his concerns about the government exceeding its authority following Brexit and the essay was brilliantly researched and extensively referenced.”
Runners up of the competition have also been announced as:
Undergraduate – Tamar Knight, Cardiff University
Postgraduate – Kieran Power, University of Law Bloomsbury
Postgraduate – Sebastian Dack-Owens, BPP Law School
As part of the competition, students were invited to submit their thoughts on two topics. These were ‘Now that the UK has officially left the EU, what legal changes would you recommend making over the next 10 years?’ and ‘Is the UK court system fit for purpose and what role should other, alternative forms of dispute resolution play?’.
Shortlisted students were then required to send a short recording of why they deserve to be named the winner.
Jonathan White, Legal and Compliance Director at National Accident Helpline, added: “We believe it’s crucial for the legal sector to evolve in a way that inspires the next generation to build their careers in law – that’s why we continue to run Future Legal Mind.
“We look forward to continuing to support and champion Syed and Matthew in their careers over the years ahead, as well as seeing what the competition will bring in 2023.”
The finalists for this year’s competition were:
Undergraduates:
Farid Ahmed, studying BA Hons Law and Politics at the University of Stirling
Simon Cooper, a second-year student at Bournemouth University
Syed Adil, studying a dual degree in Scottish and English Law with European Legal Studies at the University of Aberdeen
Sarah Daniel, a first-year student at the University of London
Tamar Knight, studying an undergraduate LLB Law degree course at Cardiff University
Postgraduates:
Federica Boscolo Gnola, studying a Graduate Diploma in Law Postgraduate Course at the University of Law
Jason Nicholson, a postgraduate Legal Practise Course at the University of Law
Kieran Power, completing a Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law’s London Bloomsbury campus
Matthew Johnson, a Graduate Diploma in Law postgraduate student at Oxford Brookes
Sebastian Dack-Owens, a Bar Training Course student at BBP Law School
With great sadness and frustration, I read recently about an inquest into the death of an 80-year-old with coeliac disease who was fed cereal containing gluten in hospital. The patient fell ill within hours and started to vomit. She died four days later from aspiration pneumonia.
As someone with coeliac disease myself, it is upsetting to realise that even among medical professionals there is such a lack of understanding of this serious autoimmune disease.
One in 100 people have coeliac disease, and there is no cure. The only treatment is a strict gluten free diet. Even a crumb of gluten can cause a severe reaction.
My own mother, who is 86, has had difficult experiences in hospital. She was offered toast containing gluten, which would have made her very unwell. Another time she was told she was ‘too late’ at 4pm for gluten free food. The hospital clearly regarded a gluten free diet as a specialist request, rather than a medical necessity that should be offered as part of standard care provisions.
At Coeliac UK, we are calling on all hospitals to urgently review their guidelines and protocols. We’re asking the NHS to update the information about coeliac disease on their website as the current list of symptoms is misleading. And we want to see better training for healthcare professionals to improve their understanding of coeliac disease, and their management of patients who have the condition.
No one with coeliac disease should have to worry about being glutened in hospital.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding thousands of parents and families in Scotland not to miss out on financial support that can help pay for childcare during the summer holidays.
Through Tax-Free Childcare, families can receive up to £2,000 a year per child – or £4,000 if their child is disabled – to put towards the cost of childcare. And it is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability. The money can help towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other approved childcare schemes.
The UK Government will pay 20% of childcare costs by topping up the money paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account. This means for every £8 paid into the online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 in government top-up.
More than 22,700 families in Scotland used Tax-Free Childcare in March 2022 – the highest number of families recorded using the scheme since it was launched in April 2017 – but thousands more could be missing out. Research published earlier this year by HMRC estimated that about 1.3 million families could be eligible for this UK Government support.
Parents and carers are being urged find out more about Tax-Free Childcare via the Childcare Choices website.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “Tax-Free Childcare can make a big difference to families, helping with the bills for things like holiday clubs, nurseries, childminders and after school clubs.
“It’s easy to register – search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK.”
Helen Whately, HM Treasury’s Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Tax-Free Childcare helps families with the cost of childcare bills but we know that thousands of parents could be missing out.
“That is why I’m encouraging families to sign up now and save on childcare costs.
“There are lots of fantastic holiday clubs and childcare providers to help working parents during the summer holidays, so now is the time to take advantage of this support.”
For thousands of families who use Tax-Free Childcare, the money they save each month on their childcare costs is money that goes back into their pockets. Accounts can be opened at any time of the year and can be used straight away, and money can be deposited at any time and used when needed. Any unused money that is deposited can be simply withdrawn at any time.
During the school summer holidays, it is more important than ever that parents and carers are able to access the financial aid they qualify for. It can reduce their costs, help them to stay in work, or help them work more hours.
More than one million families in the UK are entitled to some form of UK Government childcare support and the government is encouraging those eligible to not miss out on their entitlements.
To ensure that parents get the childcare support they are entitled to, the government is launching an awareness raising advertising campaign this week.
Aldi is on the hunt for new store locations in Edinburgh as part of its rapid expansion drive.The priority areas where it is looking include Bonnyrigg and Drylaw.
Aldi, which already has more than 960 stores across the UK, is looking for freehold town-centre or edge-of-town sites that are around 1.5 acres.
Each site should be able to accommodate a 20,000 sq foot store with around 100 parking spaces. Ideally the location will be near a main road with good visibility and access.
The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket even offers a finder’s fee for people who recommend a site, including members of the public – which is either 1.5% of a freehold price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leasehold sites.
George Brown, National Property Director at Aldi UK, said: “By opening more Aldi stores, we can provide affordable, high-quality food to even more people.
“But despite our growth in recent years, some people still don’t have access to a local store, which is why it is our mission to continue on with our ambitious plans and change that.
“Our finder’s fee is available to anyone who can find Aldi an appropriate site so we’d encourage people to share any suitable suggestions and get it touch.”
INSTITUT FRANÇAIS D’ÉCOSSE ANNOUNCES FRINGE PROGRAMME
The Institut français d’Écosse is proud to announce the full programme of its 11th edition of Vive le Fringe!
Bringing up on stage some theatre, music and dance, our exciting programme celebratesthe significance of cross-cultural exchanges between France and Scotland.
She has a mesmerizing voice. She is Scottish but sings in French. Each year, she makes us travel through time and French music. The one and only Christine Bovill will return this year to the French Institute in Scotland with her latest show “Paris, From Piaf to Pop”.
Travelling into the 60s and the Americanisation of French music, this show offers a delicious celebration of the Golden Age of French song and how it evolved during the Swinging Sixties.
Stevenson meets the French touch! The French duo Fergessen presents “Stevensongs”. Setting to music some of the most beautiful poems and letters by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, the duo creates a live synthetic folk atmosphere, where text and music intertwine. An echo chamber for Stevenson’s words to ring both in English and in French. Here starts a sensitive journey towards inner and faraway places.
Luxembourg-based theatre company Purple Soup Crew will be premiering their latest play “S-ex-iety” this Summer. How come that if millions of people watch porn, we hardly ever talk about it? S-ex-iety is the story of three roommates, Honey, Missy and Babe that come into contact with the adult industry.
Each of them has a different point of view on this subject and obviously, this will lead to many discussions. Without moralising or unveiling the dark sides of the porn industry, the play also raises contemporary issues, while using a good amount of humour.
This Summer, we will dance with Constant Vigier & Sonia Killmann bringing their latest show “Bamboozled”. Sonia Killmann is a saxophone player and sonic artist from Belgium. Constant Vigier is a French dancer and choreographer drawing his influence from his training at Paris Opera Ballet School. Combining live dance, live music, and projections, Bamboozled is a dialogue between its parts in equal measure.
Lastly, we are delighted to welcome the Scottish cult legend Jesse Rae. Known as the Scotland Funk Ambassador, Jesse Rae began his career in the 70s when he moved to the USA and became close to leading soul artists. Jesse Rae wrote many songs full of Scots words and sings with a thick Scottish accent.
Coming to the Fringe with his show “Vive Funk”, Jesse Rae will celebrate William Wallace’s victory against the English troops with powerful Funk music and outlandish staging.
The British Dental Association Scotland has warned Ministers they risk undermining the future sustainability of NHS dentistry, as they move to scale down vital financial support for the service.
For the last three months practices have received a 1.7 multiplier to the fees paid to provide NHS care, a reflection of the unprecedented backlog practices have faced as they try to ‘live with COVID’. The Scottish Government has now moved to pare the multiplier down to 1.3 for the next 3 months.
This reduction follows no dialogue with the profession despite the BDA calling for regular discussions with the Government about the latest activity data and any proposed changes.
The discredited low margin/high volume model dentists in Scotland work to means treatment can often be delivered at a loss, a growing problem given the growing levels of unmet need, particularly among those from move deprived communities.
Official data suggests the total number of high street NHS dentists in Scotland has fallen by over 5% since the onset of COVID. The BDA warn heavy-handed policies will only push Scottish dentists down the road of their colleagues in England, where thousands of dentists have left the NHS since lockdown, amid warnings from MPs south of the border that NHS dentistry now faces a ‘slow death’.
The BDA has again urged the Scottish Government to, in the short term, develop a suitable interim funding package to support dentists and their teams as they work through the backlog, and begin work on a new, sustainable long-term model for NHS dentistry.
Dentists remain anxious that the Government will look to remove the multiplier altogether at the first opportunity despite its stated intention not to return to the pre-pandemic financial arrangements. The BDA has repeatedly voiced its strong opposition to a return to the pre-Covid “treadmill”.
David McColl, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee said:“Ministers are playing with fire, pulling away the life support from a service millions depend on.
“This multiplier helped ensure NHS dentists received fees for care that actually covered their costs. Slashing them will leave colleagues churning out dentures at a loss while thinking twice about their future.
“Scotland has already lost too many NHS dentists since lockdown. Ministers are now blindly heading down the path the Westminster Government has chosen, which has sparked an exodus.
“Cuts have consequences. The Scottish Government promised free NHS dentistry for all. Short-sighted policies like this will likely result in the exact opposite, and stark oral health inequalities will only widen further.”
Join us for an online information event about a planning application for a major development at Fountainbridge. This exciting project involves the landmark regeneration of a brownfield former brewery site, which is uniquely positioned on the Union Canal in Edinburgh.
The online community event is on Thursday 30 June, between 3pm and 7pm.
The development team, including representatives from Cruden and Buccleuch Property, will be available online to answer your questions and listen to your views through a dedicated chat system https://orbitconsultations.scot/fountainbridge/
The number of people successfully applying for the Young Carer Grant has risen in the last year. A total of 2,490 applications were approved in 2021-22, up 200 from the previous year.
This means from its introduction in October 2019 until 30 April this year, more than £1.8 million had been paid out to 4,265 young people, with some getting the payment up to three times.
The Young Carer Grant, which is unique to Scotland, was increased from £308.15 to £326.65 from 1 April.
The payment is available for 16-18 year-olds who spend an average of 16 hours caring for a person or people in receipt of a disability benefit. As long as someone remains eligible, they can apply on an annual basis.
Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “The dedication shown by young carers in Scotland is remarkable and I am pleased that we can help to recognise their important contribution by offering extra financial support through the Scottish Government’s Young Carer Grant.
“At a time when many young people are leaving school and taking advantage of new opportunities, it is right that we recognise for many people aged between 16 and 18 those chances are impacted by their caring responsibilities and the time they devote to loved ones.
“I am encouraged by the increase in successful applications for our Young Carer Grant, which is only available in Scotland, and we will continue to pro-actively increase awareness and encourage take up of this benefit.
“If anyone thinks they, or someone they know, might be eligible, I’d encourage them to find out more and apply.”
ARGET OVARIAN CANCER LEAD MARCH TO DOWNING STREET TO DEMAND GOVERNMENT TAKE ACTION ON THE OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS CRISIS
“Enough is enough.” These are the words etched onto paper by over 20,000 people in an open letter, published by Target Ovarian Cancer, urging the government to take action on the ovarian cancer awareness crisis –a disease which kills 11 women every day.
Target Ovarian Cancer campaigners marched to Number 10 Downing Street yesterday to amplify the voices of thousands of people who have signed the open letter demanding that the government take urgent action to save lives.
This momentous milestone – the first time thousands have come together to call on the government in this way – comes following the alarming findings of the charity’s latest research which revealed that four out of five women could not name the key symptom of ovarian cancer, persistent bloating.
This is in addition to the Ovarian Cancer Audit Feasibility Pilot which revealed 14% of women diagnosed in England between 2013 and 2018 died within two months of diagnosis, and 30% died within the first year.
The open letter has been led by Target Ovarian Cancer – the UK’s leading ovarian cancer charity that improves early diagnosis, funds life-saving research and provides much-needed support to everyone affected by ovarian cancer.
As there is no current effective screening process for ovarian cancer, knowing the symptoms – persistent bloating, abdominal pain, feeling full quickly, and needing to wee more urgently – is essential to survival and early diagnosis.
Annwen Jones OBE, Chief Executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, said:“At Target Ovarian Cancer, we know that there is a huge crisis in ovarian cancer awareness and diagnosis and are overwhelmed by the strength of support our open letter has received.
“It’s extremely sobering to see over 20,000 people come together to demand that the government take immediate action to save lives. 20,000 voices cannot be ignored.
“The reality is that too many people are dying as not enough is being done to make the symptoms of ovarian cancer known. The reality is that diagnosis is coming too late because of this. The reality is that we need the government’s support to reach anyone who could be diagnosed early with this disease in order to save lives.
The open letter tells the government what is needed to combat the crisis: dedicated ovarian cancer symptoms awareness campaigns across the UK.
One supporter who joined fellow Target Ovarian Cancer’s campaigners is Annie Griffin, who was diagnosed with stage Ia mucinous ovarian cancer – a rare type of ovarian cancer – in 2020.
Annie added:“If we don’t share our ovarian cancer experiences with our MPs how will they know what we go through? How can we expect change if we don’t speak up?
“The weeks and months that it took to get diagnosed and finally understand what was wrong with me took their toll. I genuinely thought it was middle age, perimenopause, and fibroids. Nothing rang alarm bells, and I don’t want that to happen to other women. That’s why we need more awareness around ovarian cancer, that’s why I’m on a mission to help make that happen.”
The charity was outside Westminster today on behalf of 20,000 people, demanding the government take urgent action on the ovarian cancer awareness crisis.
Della Ogunleye, 60 from London, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2019, also attended the open letter hand in, added:“Target Ovarian Cancer amplifies our voices.
“Together, we can reach places and have conversations that we may not be able to achieve alone. The saying goes, if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together.
“We need greater awareness of symptoms now. By standing together our voices will be louder.”
To find out more about Target Ovarian Cancer or access its support line visit:
