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Tag: Children and Families Committee
Two in five parents in Scotland worried about impact of mental health on family, NSPCC finds
- New survey reveals three in four (75%) UK parents with children under five are anxious about their child’s emotional and mental wellbeing.
- Contacts to the NSPCC Helpline from UK adults with concerns about children’s mental health increased by 21% last year.
- Majority of UK parents (57%) think parenting is harder now that it was when they were growing up.
- Supported by TV presenter and author, Anna Williamson, and actor T’Nia Miller, NSPCC launches refreshed online parenting advice and TV ad campaign to help improve access to easy-to-understand advice for families, parents, and carers.
More than 40% of parents in Scotland said they were worried about the impact of mental health on their family, a new survey commissioned by the NSPCC has revealed.
The survey reveals top parenting concerns across the UK with issues such as mental health, bullying and social media use ranking highly.
It comes as the NSPCC launches a new campaign and refreshed advice for parents to help with many of the everyday challenges they face when raising children.
Across the UK, the issue that parents of children and babies aged five and under were most likely to be concerned about was their child’s emotional wellbeing and/or mental health, with 75% saying it was a worry. More than two thirds (67%) also cited learning development as a cause for concern.
For parents of six to 11-year-olds, 56% said they were anxious about their child’s mental health and 47% of parents of children between 12 – 17 also expressed the same concern.
The charity has also revealed that contacts to its helpline from UK adults with concerns about children’s mental health increased by a fifth last year.
Between April 2023 and December 2023, the NSPCC Helpline dealt with 2,499 child welfare contacts about child mental and emotional health. This is a 21% increase compared to the same time frame in 2022.
These statistics show that children’s emotional and mental wellbeing is especially worrying for parents with children under 5. Parents with very young children are thirsty for information about infant mental health and support with early childhood development which is why it is so important that free, expert advice is available online.
Everyone has a role to play to look after each other and keep children safe. From members of the community supporting families in their area, to local services and governments across the UK offering crucial support for new parents.
The NSPCC knows that being a parent is not easy. In fact, most parents across the UK (57%) said that parenting is harder now than when they were children. Many parents say they do not always know where to go for expert support, with half (53%) relying on advice from family members and two in five (41%) relying on friends.
That is why the charity wants all parents to know that everyone has options, and the NSPCC is always there when it comes to helping keep children safe and healthy on the phone and online.
The survey also revealed that more than twice as many parents across the UK think growing up is harder for girls than boys.
The new campaign, supported by TV presenter and author Anna Williamson, focusses on the NSPCC’s refreshed parenting pages on its website which help make the expertise and guidance they offer at every stage of parenting more accessible and user-friendly.
Available here is advice about babies and toddlers, family life, friends and relationships, health and wellbeing or navigating the digital world.
NSPCC Ambassador Anna Williamson said: “We live in a world where parents feel more anxious than ever which is why I’m so proud to support this campaign that is all about giving them free, non-judgement expert advice.
“As a mum myself, I too have worried about the impact of things like bullying, mental wellbeing and social media on my children so it’s great to see charities like the NSPCC taking positive steps to help give parents the tools they need to navigate tricky topics together.”
Actor and Director, Samantha Morton said: “Parents feel so much pressure to get things ‘right’ for their children – but parenting doesn’t look the same for everyone.
“It’s concerning to see that many parents don’t know where to turn for expert advice which is why I’m keen to support the NSPCC’ new campaign to give straightforward tips and help for every stage of parenting.”
The NSPCC has also launched a national TV ad campaign, in which actor T’Nia Miller, star of Years and Years, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Sex Education, reads a poem all about the many anxieties of parenthood.
The 60 second video is called ‘Not Letting Go’ and includes a graphic series of stills and animations from award-winning artist Martina Lang.
T’Nia Miller said: “It was such an honour to be a very small part of the really important work that the NSPCC does.
“When I first read the poem I was so moved and as a parent of two I related in many ways. Parenting isn’t easy. It’s the hardest job on earth – so it’s important that we start with parents so that children can grow and flourish.”
Sir Peter Wanless, CEO at the NSPCC, said: “Parents and carers tell us that raising their families is becoming increasingly difficult. With a cost-of-living crisis, new online threats to children and increasing mental health concerns among young people, there are a rising number of challenges in childhood today.
“We know that parents can be a vital positive influence in young children’s lives. I hope that our advice will help provide easy to understand support and help parents feel less anxious as they navigate family life.
“Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you are worried about a child or your ability to help. We must all work together to ensure that our children have happy and healthy futures.”
Free NSPCC parenting advice is only a click away and is designed to help families feel empowered to support their children before problems escalate. Visit it now on the NSPCC website.
Programme for Government: Boost for childcare to be announced
Support with cost of living pressures
Childcare provision will be expanded to increase access for more families across Scotland, as part of a new package of measures to tackle poverty.
The First Minister will outline the proposals as part of this year’s Programme for Government, which will be focussed on reducing poverty and offering practical help and support, particularly to those families who need it most.
Further support is to be announced for frontline staff working in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers in the early learning and childcare sector.
The First Minister will set out details of the expansion plans in an address to Parliament today. Speaking ahead of his statement he said: “Helping families deal with cost of living pressures is one of my key priorities, and providing further funding to expand childcare provision will help deliver that.
“Scotland already has the most generous and high quality early learning and childcare offer in the UK and the measures I am setting out today will help make it even fairer and more affordable for those who need it most.
“Supporting families is not only fundamentally the right thing to do, it is critical to our mission – affordable and accessible childcare supports employment and the economy, and secure and sustainable employment helps lift families out of poverty.
“This will be a Programme for Government focused on what really matters to the people of Scotland – reducing poverty, delivering growth, helping to tackle climate change, and providing high quality public services.”
The First Minister met parents who have benefitted from early learning and childcare provision at Rowantree Primary School Nursery, Dundee, on Monday.
In 2022-23 the Scottish Government delivered on a commitment to start designing and building a system of school age childcare to help tackle child poverty through work in four ‘early adopter’ communities in Glasgow, Dundee, Clackmannanshire and Inverclyde – supported by £15 million of funding.
HMRC: Boost your childcare budget this half term
As the February half term draws closer, families are being reminded that they can save up to £2,000 a year on childcare costs with Tax-Free Childcare.
More than 24,900 families in Scotland used the scheme in September 2022 and benefitted from the government paying towards childcare costs.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is encouraging families to find out more about Tax-Free Childcare and check their eligibility via Childcare Choices.
Tax-Free Childcare can help working families pay for any approved childcare for children aged 11 or under, or, 16 if the child has a disability – whether the child goes to nursery, a childminder, attends breakfast or after school club, has holiday care or goes to an out of school activity.
For every £8 paid into an online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 from the government. Parents can receive up to £500 every 3 months (£2,000 a year), or £1,000 (£4,000 a year) if their child is disabled.
Opening a Tax-Free Childcare account is simple and takes around 20 minutes. Money can be deposited at any time and can be used straight away, or whenever it is needed. Unused money in the account can be withdrawn at any time.
Go to GOV.UK to register and get started.
Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury said: “Tax-Free Childcare can make a big difference to household budgets and I urge families to make sure they are getting the help they are entitled to.
“It is a simple process – go online today, set up an account and start making real savings on your childcare costs.”
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “We want to help working families and by using Tax-Free Childcare, they can use the government top-up to make their money go further.
“Search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK to find out how it could help you.”
Families could be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare if they:
- have a child or children aged 11 or under. They stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11th birthday. If their child has a disability, they may get up to £4,000 a year until 1 September after their 16th birthday
- earn, or expect to earn, at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week, on average
- each earn no more than £100,000 per annum
- do not receive tax credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers
A full list of the eligibility criteria is available on GOV.UK.
Families can learn more about the childcare offers available to them and what support they’re entitled to by visiting Childcare Choices.
The government is offering help for households. Check GOV.UK to find out what cost of living support, including help with childcare costs, families could be eligible for.
City schools: three options tabled
Three alternative options have been developed by the City of Edinburgh Council for the future of schools in the west and south west of the city. These options have resulted from the widespread informal consultation across the various school and local communities since an original proposal was published in November.