Two reports out today show that the increase in life expectancy that has shown steady progress in Scotland since the Second World War, has now stalled and that health inequalities have worsened.
In the past seven years, Scotland has seen the slowest growth in life expectancy, since at least the late 1970s and death rates have now begun to rise for people living in our poorest areas. Continue reading “Unravelling”: Stalling life expectancy is a warning light for public health in Scotland
Continue reading Alan Turing is voted Greatest Figure of the Twentieth Century
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been appointed the inaugural #HeForShe Global Advocate by UN Women, with the Scottish Government becoming signatories to the UN Women’s global solidarity movement for gender equality which engages men and boys as advocates for equality.
As a Global Advocate, the First Minister has pledged to make concrete commitments to advancing gender equality around the world and support UN Women in their work to end global gender inequality.
The announcement was made during a meeting with the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, in New York.
The First Minister also announced a new pilot project to reduce rates of early and child marriage in rural areas of Malawi as part of a further Scottish Government partnership with UN Women.
She confirmed funding of £113,000 for the UN Women Malawi project ‘WeLearn – A Virtual Skills School Pilot’ as part of her North America programme.
The project will empower young women and girls with information, skills and support networks to reduce social and economic isolation. It will also educate the wider community, and members of both sexes, about gender inequalities and the damaging impact child marriage has on a young person’s education.
The First Minister said: “Progressing gender equality supports a basic human right and will help people flourish and reach their full potential, which will ultimately create a wealthier and fairer society.”
“Gender equality and a commitment to education are fundamental shared values. I want to ensure Scotland is a good global citizen, supporting the UN’s Goals both at home and in our partner countries, including Malawi.
“Malawi has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, mostly affecting girls with less education and in rural areas. The Scottish Government will do everything we can to tackle the injustices and hardships faced by many young girls and women around the globe.
“The Scottish Government has signed up to the UN’s #HeForShe campaign because it is vital we continue to make progress with gender equality. I am honoured to have been asked to be their first Global Advocate.”
UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said: “It is my honour to announce today Her Excellency Ms. Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, as an inaugural HeForShe Global Advocate for Gender Equality. The First Minister is already leading the way in her own government with a gender balanced cabinet.
“So, she is in a unique position to now galvanize the men and boys of Scotland to further advance gender equality, with a strong focus on youth. UN Women is delighted to partner with the First Minister to drive meaningful, lasting change and a more equal world for all.”
Drivers who flout basic driving rules by speeding, using mobile phones or not wearing a seatbelt are to be targeted next week by Police Scotland. Continue reading Police to target drivers flouting basic motoring rules
In 2014 plans were submitted and passed for the development of a huge retail, sports and entertainment complex at the Accies rugby ground on Comely Bank Road, Edinburgh (writes Bruce Thomson).
The developers then claimed that funding was in place and that there was so much interest in leasing the shops that it was a case of selecting the best applicants out of all those seeking space. Over five years later there is still availability and the developer, Raeburn Place Foundation, is still begging for funding which has now been acquired, in part, from the Bank of Scotland.
Are the lenders aware of the potential problems of a ransom strip on the site? Do they know of the pending case in the Court of Session over ownership of the wall and six- foot strip and do they know of the huge amount of opposition to this scheme in a conservation and residential area?
Over 3000 local people signed a petition against this build. It is abundantly clear that the vast majority are still strongly opposed to it. The whole concept is unnecessarily grandiose and inappropriate to this attractive area, recently voted by the Sunday Times as one of the most desirable places to live within the UK.
The enormity of the whole project—as high as three double decker buses, with facilities for over 5000 people including restaurants, a museum, shops, meeting/function rooms spectator stands etc. is totally out of scale in a residential area like Stockbridge.
David Newlands, a well-respected businessman and Chairman of the Raeburn Place Foundation, says this is a momentous day for him and his fellow trustees. The development, he says, will transform Raeburn Place into a sports hub and community resource.
This statement might be true if the whole project was to proceed, but last year a decision was made to complete the build in two phases: the first, which appears to be in progress, is the commercial one, including shops, meeting rooms, etc. No sign of any sporting facilities as promised to the planners at the original application stage in 2014. This is left in limbo and could happen in the future, providing always that funds are available. There is no certainty of this and in view of the difficulties incurred over the last few years in raising funds, it would seem highly unlikely that Mr Newlands’ vision of a sports hub will ever materialise.
This phase of the development would seem to be premature, but of course the Foundation are keen to show strength. They need to convince Marks and Spencer Food (the principle lessee) that the build is imminent.
They need to dispose of their portacabins and create proper and modern changing facilities for both themselves and visiting teams. They have applied to the City planners to make “non- material changes” to the original plans, but these are extensive and would appear to be “material”, in which case a whole new set of plans would have to be submitted and the usual formalities gone through. The Planners will make a decision later this month.
The Ransom Strip puts the developer in a dangerous situation, but one he seems to be ignoring. Having no access from Comely Bank Road for either pedestrians or vehicles will certainly prejudice the design.
The Foundation have failed to keep the Community Council updated or to advise them of progress or otherwise and have completely ignored local people who have suffered considerable anguish and concern for many years.
This might be a momentous day for the few in favour of this huge structure, but it is a very sad one for those nearby who are going to have to live with their memories of what it used to be like, cope with construction traffic and thereafter excessive noise both day and night.
Bruce Thompson,
Chair, Save Stockbridge
Holyrood’s Social Security Committee has raised deep concerns with Universal Credit in its latest report into in-work poverty. The report warns that people due to move from Tax Credits to Universal Credit face significant issues and a dramatic culture change. Continue reading Holyrood’s Social Security Committee expresses ‘deep concerns’ over Universal Credit
Friday 8th February from 3 – 4pm
Today is Time to Talk Day
Time to Talk day aims to get people all around the country talking about mental health.
It’s the only time of year where all four of the UKs anti-stigma programmes get together to challenge discrimination by getting people everywhere to have conversations.
Time to Talk day happens on the first Thursday every February. It’s a great day for communities, workplaces, schools, or anyone to get together and have a chat.
The more we talk about it, the better life is for all of us.
Try NHS Lothian’s six tips to help you be happier, more in control, and able to cope better with life’s ups and downs:
Manage your stress levels
If you have a lot of stress in your life, find ways to reduce it, such as learning a few time-management techniques or talking to your boss about changing your working hours.
Introduce regular exercise and time to yourself. These are positive changes. Taking control of your time in this way can effectively reduce stress.
If you have feelings of anxiety along with your stress, breathing techniques can help. Try this breathing exercise for stress.
Use humour and enjoy yourself
Try to see the funny side of situations and you’ll often be able to cope better. Jokes have a way of making worries seem less important.
Doing things that you enjoy is also good for your emotional wellbeing. Simple activities like watching sports with a friend, having a soak in the bath, or meeting up with friends for coffee can all improve your day.
Doing something you’re good at, such as cooking or dancing, is a good way to enjoy yourself and have a sense of achievement.
Try to avoid things that seem enjoyable at the time but make you feel worse afterwards, such as drinking too much alcohol or eating junk food.
Boost your self-esteem
Self-esteem is the way you feel about yourself. The best way to improve your self-esteem is to treat yourself as you would treat a valued friend, in a positive but honest way.
Notice when you’re putting yourself down, such as thinking, “You’re so stupid for not getting that job”, and instead think, “Would I say that to my best friend?”. You probably wouldn’t.
Tell yourself something positive instead, such as: “You’re a bright person, you’ll get the next job”.
Have a healthy lifestyle:
Limit your alcohol intake
When times are hard, it’s tempting to drink alcohol because it “numbs” painful feelings. But it can exaggerate some feelings and make you feel angry or aggressive. It can also make you feel more depressed.
Read more about the effects of alcohol on your health and get simple tips to help you cut down.
Choose a well-balanced diet
Making healthy choices about your diet can make you feel emotionally stronger. You’re doing something positive for yourself, which lifts your self-esteem.
A good diet helps your brain and body work efficiently, too. Aim to have a balanced diet that includes all the main food groups.
Do some exercise
Even moderate exercise releases chemicals in your brain that lift your mood. It can help you sleep better, have more energy and keep your heart healthy.
Choose an exercise that you enjoy. If it helps, do it with a friend or listen to music. Adults should aim for 150 minutes a week.
Get enough sleep
Around seven to eight hours is the average amount of sleep an adult needs for their body and mind to fully rest.
Writing a “to do” list for the next day before bed can organise your thoughts and clear your mind of any distractions.
Talk and share
Communication is important, whether it’s with a friend, family member or counsellor.
Talking things through helps you to release tension, rather than keeping it inside. It helps strengthen your relationships and connect with people.
Lots of people find talking to a counsellor about things that are troubling them very helpful.
See benefits of talking therapy for more information.
If you want to talk anonymously or urgently, you can call the Samaritans 24 hours a day on 116 123.
Build your resilience
Resilience is what allows you to cope with life’s ups and downs. Making something worthwhile out of painful times helps your resilience grow.
Starting a support group to help others, or making something creative out of bad experiences by, for example, writing, painting or singing, can help you express pain and get through hard times.
See Five ways to build your mental resilience.
Is their school using these easy techniques?
Child Mental Health Week (February 4-10)
It’s widely known that children who feel nurtured and safe will not only learn better but feel better too,but it’s sometimes easy to overlook as teachers grapple with the every-day demands of the primary school classroom.
Child Mental Health Week (February 4-10) is the ideal opportunity for schools to focus on creating a nurturing environment where every child feels valued and safe. Education expert and former primary school teacher Becky Cranham has some great ideas.
Teachers can take some time each week to learn a new fact about each child. They could give them a ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ card for them to fill in with something interesting about themselves, or as a space to share anything they are struggling with or worried about. Having one-to-one feedback on these (you could write a quick response on the back of the card and leave it in their tray, or take a child aside if necessary) or sharing a quick “Hey, I didn’t know you love ostriches – they’re my favourite animal too!” moment with a child can make them feel really valued and supported.
It’s often the same children putting their hands up to answer a question. Teachers can use Flip Sticks to keep track of who you’ve asked a question and to encourage the whole class to take part in discussions. Another good method is to use ‘Talk for Me Buddies’ – a child discusses a question or problem with a partner who then feeds back what the first child has said to the rest of the class, and vice versa. This is great for children who want to share their ideas with the class but who don’t yet have the confidence to voice their own thoughts in a large group.
Play fosters creativity, collaboration and problem solving, all of which are important for good mental health. Teachers should make sure there is time in the timetable for children to play, whether it’s a Maths game, a role-play activity or ateam-building game to foster class relationships.
This gives children and adults the language to describe how they are feeling. In the words of US child psychiatrist Dr Dan Siegel, ‘Name it to tame it’. Children need to be able to identify the emotions they are feeling in order to understand how to deal with what they are feeling. Teachers could display an Emotions Poster in the classroom and encourage children to refer to it throughout the day, or give them each an individual feelings monitor to encourage them to identify when they feel different emotions, and thereby how to deal with them.
We recently asked some of our Facebook followers what they do in the to take the register. One response that we absolutely loved was to do a mood register. This involved children giving a number from 1 to 10 when answering their name in the register to show how they were feeling that day. The teacher can then follow-up with any low-scoring children later in the day for a private chat, and other children can be aware of how their peers are feeling, giving them the chance to offer encouragement and support. This is what this teacher said about how it was working in her classroom:
“It’s amazing how, when you make talking about feelings and emotions the ‘norm’, children feel totally safe and natural expressing how they feel.”
It’s important for children’s feelings to have an appropriate outlet. Boundaries should be put in place around behaviours to keep everyone safe and strategies developed to help reinforce those boundaries. For example, children should know that they are allowed to feel happy, angry, sad or whatever other emotion they may be feeling, but that they are not allowed to bully or hit. When addressing undesirable behaviour, it’s good to help both the child concerned and the other children in the class to understand that there are appropriate and inappropriate ways of dealing with difficult emotions. Learning to identify these will come in time as the children are supported in identifying and accepting their feelings.
Sometimes it’s important to help children (and colleagues) to see past the latest disastrous playtime or bad lesson and focus instead on the bigger picture. Is a child frustrated because they didn’t understand column subtraction straight away?Teachers can remind them of a time they struggled with, and overcame. Is this really any different? Do they really want to end the friendship with their best friend over the argument they had at playtime?
It rains a lot in Britain. But that doesn’t mean that we should automatically discount the idea of making outside learning a regular occurrence. It doesn’t have to mean traipsing around a forest looking for earthworms (although this kind of outdoor learning is extremely valuable, too). Exploring places of worship, streetscapes, architecture, local businesses, museums, galleries, parks and shopping centres all provide rich experiences that provide an immediately engaging environment and provide many opportunities for learning.
It’s a great opportunity to discuss the feelings and actions of the characters when children are read to. Is there a better way they could have reacted? What led up to the crisis point? Analysing the actions and reactions of characters in a number of stressful situations can support children in identifying how they themselves react in certain situations and how they might react more positively next time. It’s also important to share stories that directly encourage empathy, sympathy and kindness in order to foster these traits in children. The Kindness Movement, for example, are giving away a free kindness book which can help kickstart your class in thinking about, and discussing, feelings.
Being able to calm down is a skill that needs to be practised (in some children more than others!). Embedding periods of calm into your classroom through simple activities, like this one from the Everyday Mental Health Classroom Resourcewebsite, will help children to feel safer and more peaceful, leading in turn to better learning.
Becky Cranham, a former primary school teacher, is Lead Resource Creator of PlanBee, an education resources website.
Continue reading Improving mental health in your child’s classroom
For Women: Tuesdays and Wednesdays starts 19th February
