The celebrity mum is supporting the international aid charity this Mother’s Day
Musician and celebrity mum Izzy Judd says she has been swept off her feet by international aid charity Mary’s Meals.
The mother-of-three – who is married to McFly star Harry – is encouraging families across the UK to support the charity by giving a Mother’s Day gift that will help to feed children living in the world’s poorest countries.
She says: “As a mother to Lola, Kit and Lockie, I know how important it is for children to be happy, healthy, and well-educated. And that’s what Mary’s Meals is all about. Its life-changing school meals attract little ones into the classroom, where they can learn their way to a better future.
“I have been swept off my feet by this incredible charity – and you should be too!”
Mary’s Meals serves nutritious school meals to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries. The promise of a good meal attracts hungry children into the classroom, where they can gain an education that that can be their ladder out of poverty.
The charity feeds more than 2.4 million children every school day – and it says this simply wouldn’t be possible without the love and dedication of mothers all around the world.
Dan McNally, head of grassroots engagement at Mary’s Meals, explains: “Here in the UK, we are lucky to be supported by amazing women, like Izzy, who fundraise and volunteer so that we can feed desperately hungry children.
“And in the countries where we work, it is most often mothers who volunteer to prepare, cook, and serve the food. They do this so that their children, and the children in their communities, can have the chance of a better life.”
To mark Mother’s Day [Sunday, 19 March], Mary’s Meals is offering a range of beautiful gift cards. Priced from just £19.15, each of these special cards will feed a hungry child with Mary’s Meals every day for a school year.
Izzy continues: “I will be dropping some hints to my children for a Mary’s Meals gift, and I will also be giving one of these lovely cards to my own mum, Gill.
“I think she will be thrilled to know that, together, we are ensuring that a child is in school, with a full belly, ready to learn.”
It costs just £19.15 to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a full school year.
To find out more and to purchase a Mother’s Day gift card, please visit:
New Carers Trust survey reveals devastating double whammy of cost-of-living crisis and increasing intensity of caring responsibilities on children and young adults
“I’d love to have kid problems. Instead, I’m saving up to try and pay our rent and to see if I can squeeze in some food at the end of it.”
66% of young carers and young adult carers in Scotland told Carers Trust’s survey the cost-of-living crisis is always or usually hitting them and their family adversely
36% say they always or usually face additional costs because they are an unpaid carer
54% say the time they spend caring has increased in the past year
52% always or usually feel stressed because they are an unpaid carer.
A new Carers Trust survey released yesterday (9th March) shows the devastating double whammy of the cost-of-living crisis and the increasing intensity of caring responsibilities shouldered by children and young people providing unpaid care to family members.
The report, released a week ahead of Young Carers Action Day (15 March), an annual event led and organised by national charity Carers Trust, aims to raise awareness of the devastating impact on young people of fulfilling their caring role without sufficient support.
The UK-wide survey of 1,109 young carers (aged under 18) and young adult carers (aged 18-25), including 181 living in Scotland, showed alarming findings, with many young people contributing to or managing the family finances.
The survey found that 36% of respondents in Scotland said they always or usually face additional costs because they are a young carer or young adult carer and 66% said the cost-of-living crisis is always or usually affecting them and their family.
One young adult told the survey: “I’d love to have kid problems. Instead, I’m saving up to try and pay our rent and to see if I can squeeze in some food at the end of it.”
The survey also found a significant intensification of their caring role. More than half (59%) of those surveyed in Scotland report caring for between 20 and 49 hours, while also balancing their studies, work and lives outside of caring. However, as many stated in the survey, this does not reflect the extra time they spend worrying about the needs of the person they care for and the true figure may be much higher.
In total, 54% of young carer and young adult carer respondents in Scotland said the time they spend caring has increased in the last year and 36% said they now care for more people than they used to.
One young adult told the survey: “Caring never stops. Especially when it’s time to sleep, your brain constantly worries about how tomorrow will be, hospital appointments, money etc. It’s in overdrive.”
Time spent caring hits education and wellbeing
A higher proportion of those caring for more hours per week reported problems with money, not having time to socialise, feeling stressed and worried and not getting enough rest, sleep or time for themselves.
In terms of education, 49% of respondents in Scotland said that they never or do not often get help in school, college or university to balance caring and education work, with a third of overall respondents saying they usually or always struggle with that balance. They also report a lack of support from schools, with 32% of Scotland respondents saying there is ‘not often’ or ‘never’ someone at their school, college or university who understands about them being a carer.
For those who work, 50% ‘always’ or ‘usually’ struggle to balance caring with paid work in Scotland.
One young adult said: “There is a lot of pressure on me, to the detriment of my own health, wellbeing, success, happiness and future.”
The findings suggest these pressures are having a devastating effect on mental health. Many struggle with emotional wellbeing and feel stressed, overwhelmed or drained. The survey revealed that 52% of young carer and young adult carer respondents in Scotland ‘always’ or ‘usually’ feel stressed.
Illustrating the overwhelming nature of being a young carer, one said: “You don’t get to have bad days. If you have a bad day, the whole house can fall into disarray. It’s exhausting and traumatic.”
Young and young adult carers say the key things they need are support around: mental health, money and finances, education and a break from caring.
Among its recommendations, Carers Trust is calling for:
All schools, colleges and universities to appoint a Young Carers Champion with strategic responsibility and oversight for identifying and implementing appropriate support.
Improved access to financial support for young carers and young adult carers, including extending Carer’s Support Payment (currently Carer’s Allowance) eligibility to unpaid carers in full-time education.
Scottish Government to increase the level of funding for young carer and young adult carer support and ring-fence it.
Louise Morgan, Director of Carers Trust Scotland comments: “These shocking survey results show young people caring for their loved ones are being hit by a perfect storm of increasing intensity in their caring responsibilities and the spiralling cost of living.
“It cannot be right that children and young adult carers are having to take on the burden of dealing with stretched household finances and caring for ever longer hours, to the detriment of their education and wellbeing.
“These young people and the local organisations that support them need radical action from local and nation governments. Young people also tell us they urgently need support with mental health and access to breaks. It’s high time we gave them the help they so sorely need.”
This week marks Scottish Apprenticeship Week (6th-10th March), a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on the vital role apprenticeships play in supporting people, employers and the economy.
Modern Apprenticeships allow people from diverse backgrounds, no matter their background and abilities, to gain and develop skills for every business no matter its size or sector.
The rewards of getting young people who are disabled or care experienced into work are well worth it. They bring passion, skills, dedication and drive to the workplace.
Recruiting a Modern Apprentice enables employers to fill the skills gaps that exist within their current workforce, as apprentices begin to learn sector-specific skills from day one, developing specialist knowledge that will positively affect the bottom line.
However, as always, we can do more and support for businesses and other employers is key as it is they who clearly make the vital difference.
As we mark Scottish Apprenticeship Week, we would urge Scotland’s employers to look beyond the label and take on a Modern Apprentice who may have an additional need, taking advantage of the excellent skills offered by many of these young people.
The war in Ukraine started over a year ago in February 2022, causing 17.4 million individuals to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Twinkl Educational Publishing continues to help Ukrainian children and has now teamed up with the Ukraine-based charity fund Voices of Children to provide FREE mental health and art therapy resources for families affected by the war and for anyone in need.
As highlighted in an article published in the European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry journal in March 2022: The effects of war on refugee children are vast, encompassing everything from immediate stress responses to a higher likelihood of developing mental health issues like PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, being separated from parents and losing a sense of safety during war can have long-term negative impacts on a child’s development. These experiences stand in stark contrast to children’s fundamental needs and rights to grow up in a safe, secure, and predictable environment.
Psychologists from the Voices of Children Foundation explained how the preservation of mental health can be influenced by the people who surround us, showing that resilience is important, and it is resilience which enables an individual to maintain faith in their own strength to overcome difficulties.
Psychologists from the Voices of Children Foundation said: “One of the difficulties in the work of a psychologist or psychotherapist, which we now encounter quite often, is the misuse of the term “trauma”. The psyche of a person, in particular a small child, has a number of protective mechanisms that are activated in conditions of increased stress. The preservation of mental health is also influenced by the people who surround us, who support and care for us and help us cope with the most severe stress.”
To conclude they mentioned that studies linked to mass disasters showed that post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most severe forms of stress reaction, and it develops in 25-30% of people who have been in emergency situations.
Twinkl’s partnership with Voices of Children wants to contribute to the delivery of trauma-informed care by providing a selection ofmental health and art therapy resources that have been reviewed and recommended by the Foundation’s psychologists.
These mental health materials are now easily accessible for FREE and grouped in bundles to help parents, carers and mental health professionals support Toddlers and young learners, children aged 7-11, and Teenagersexpress and manage their emotions, develop coping strategies, and reduce anxiety.
Besides storytelling, art therapy activities such as the ones included in this pack are part of the methodology used by the Foundation’s psychologists in their Art Therapy Programme which focuses on understanding children’s emotions and supporting their wellbeing while also helping parents deal with child anxiety.
All resources are available from 24th February 2023 onwards in both Ukrainian and English, to aid speakers of both languages in accessing them. Some materials curated in partnership with Voices of Children are also published in German, French and Polish, and all resource packs created from this collaboration can be found in the Voices of Children page at Twinkl’s platform.
Apart from the Dual Language materials, these resources are also available in Ukrainian only and can be accessed for FREE by Ukrainian families and educators anywhere in the world!
Find out more about the resources created in collaboration with Voices of Children by visiting Twinkl’s Blog.
Cllr Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, officially opened the new Granton Early Learning and Childcare building with Head Teacher Lorraine Cusack and Senior Early Years Officer Lesley Watt yesterday.
Five new settings based on primary school sites – Craigentinny, Granton, Nether Currie, St John Vianney and St Mark’s – have opened up in the Capital in the past few months providing places for an additional 500 children.
Cllr Griffiths said: “This is an exciting time for early learning and childcare in Edinburgh with five new settings opening recently providing places for over 500 children.
“As a Council we will do everything we can to ensure our children get the best possible start in life on their journey to becoming successful learners and confident individuals.”
Proposals for a replacement Liberton High School have taken a major step forward after the planning application for the new school was approved yesterday (Wednesday 1 March 2023).
The plans for the school, which will have capacity for 1,200 pupils, were approved by Councillors on the Development Management Sub-Committee.
Construction is due to begin in May this year with the new school planned to open in 2025.
The three-storey building will consist of a variety of inspirational and inclusive spaces for learning. Classrooms, studios, workshops and science labs will connect and work with shared collaborative areas and breakout spaces, providing learners with more personalisation and choice over their learning environment.
Sports facilities include a floodlit multi use games area, basketball court and athletics facilities. The current tennis and beach volleyball courts and mountain bike trail will be retained as will the sports block.
A new fitness suite and dance studio will be provided to complement the existing sports facilities. There will also be outdoor learning spaces and a grassed amphitheatre.
A key part of the new school will be the community campus features as it will include non-educational facilities such as a café, library and flexible workspaces.
The school will be constructed to Passivhaus standards designed to meet the city-wide aspirations for our schools to be as energy efficient as possible in response to the Climate Emergency and Edinburgh’s 2030 Net Zero target.
Councillor Joan Griffiths, Convener of the Education, Children and Families Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “The new school campuses we’re planning are innovatively and sustainably designed so they are inspirational places for learning for the next generation of young people creating a vibrant and thriving learning environment.
“The Liberton Community Campus is a really exciting project which provides an amazing opportunity to create, as part of an inclusive net zero-carbon city, a community lifelong learning and sports hub to replace the existing school.
“This means public services can be co-located with links to active travel networks, green infrastructure and public transport networks. This Community Hub vision for the building to be ‘more than a school’ aligns with our 20 Minute Neighbourhood Strategy – to localise and co-locate services, making them more accessible for communities and to improve the experiences and outcomes for everyone.
“This is all part of the Council’s plan to support the wellbeing of everyone and end poverty and isolation in Edinburgh.
While reading was the only core subject which saw attainment levels improve in 2022, (at Key Stage 2, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, up from 73% in 2019. 28% of pupils reached the higher standard in reading, up from 27% in 2019[2]), the National Literacy Trust’s Annual Literacy Survey shows that the number of children who say they enjoy it is in serious decline.
Reading for pleasure is not just a ‘nice to have’, it is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.
However, reading for pleasure is at its lowest levels in 18 years; fewer than one in two (47.8%) children aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in 2022, the lowest level since 2005. This is even lower for children growing up in poverty; fewer children and young people who receive Free School Meals (FSMs) said they enjoyed reading compared with their peers who do not receive FSMs (43.8% vs. 48.8%). The percentage-point-gap between these groups has more than doubled from 2.1pp to 5pp, between 2020 and 2022.
The cost of living is putting the biggest squeeze on family budgets in years and creating further barriers to reading for pleasure, with almost two thirds (64%) of parents saying they currently have less money to spend on books for their children than before. 500,000 (1 in 15; 6.5%) children in England aged 8 – 18 say they don’t own a single book, which rises to one in 10 (9.7%) for those eligible for Free School Meals. Over one in five (22.4%) pupils receiving free school meals said that the book they ‘bought’ with their World Book Day book token was the first book of their own.
This year, the charity World Book Day has focused on a large number of initiatives and provided guidance to ensure anyone can take part and experience the joy and inspiration of reading, regardless of household income.
This includes ideas for no or low-cost costumes or costume swaps, book swaps or other free activities in school or community groups. There is also advice on how to fundraise more inclusively, focusing more on reading over other aspects such as dressing up.
Fewer boys than girls said they enjoyed reading (45.6% vs. 54.9%) and fewer than 3 in 10 (28.0%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they read daily, the second-lowest level since the National Literacy Trust survey began. Boys who receive Free School Meals had the lowest levels of reading enjoyment, with just 2 in 5 (39.8%) enjoying reading; a drop of 6.5 per cent since 2020.
Children and young people who take part in World Book Day activities enjoy reading more compared with their peers who don’t take part – 63.8% vs 48.4%, while 54.7% read more books as a result of World Book Day.
Parents surveyed by the charity said that 50% of children find reading more fun because of World Book Day, 48% make more time to read and 49% feel they have more choice in what they read because of it. Children who are the most engaged with literacy are also three times more likely to have higher levels of mental wellbeing than those who are the least engaged (39.4% vs 11.8%.)
In its 25th year in 2022, World Book Day distributed 50 million £1 book tokens through schools, nurseries, magazines and partnerships, to enable children to get a book of their own, for free.
Cassie Chadderton, CEO of World Book Day comments:“World Book Day exists to encourage more children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to benefit from a life-long habit of reading for pleasure. Many families are facing financial challenges so we want all children, families, schools and communities to feel welcome to celebrate the joy of reading in ways that work for them.
“There are lots of affordable, inclusive and of course, enjoyable ways to create joy and excitement around reading. Dressing up is a great way to encourage children to read, and we’ve shared ideas for other fun activities and resources to help schools, nurseries and families to work together to create a World Book Day where everyone feels included. The joy of reading cannot be underestimated in terms of improved wellbeing and the improved life chances it can lead to.”
Jonathan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust, said: “World Book Day is an important moment to inspire and delight children with the wonder of books and a powerful platform to reinforce the importance of building literacy skills for life – this is even more essential during times of economic hardship.
“Economic studies have shown that reading for pleasure can result in children getting better GCSEs, in turn boosting their lifetime earnings and raising the UK’s GDP. In the future, my hope is that more children will grow up to be adults who read and that reading and books are part of their world.”
Families caring for young disabled adults at home are being offered help by a forward-thinking national charity to improve quality of life.
Faced with three times higher costs to bring up disabled children, the continuing cost-of-living crisis is placing families in financial jeopardy. It is therefore even harder to afford the things that improve their disabled young adult’s day-to-day living.
National charity Family Fund is now urging families with a disabled 18-24 year-old living at home to apply for wide-ranging grants through its Your Opportunity scheme.
Set up four years ago, to help young disabled adults lead more fulfilling lives and realise ambitions – the scheme offers grants to support the transition to adulthood and includes technology, training and leisure activities.
Your Opportunity has supported over 1,200 families across the UK in the last 12 months and immediate funds are now available to help many more.
Family Fund is the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families living on a low income, raising disabled and seriously ill children and young people. Last year, it provided over 170,919 grants and services worth over £37 million to families across the UK.
The charity’s latest research, based on polls with the families it supports, shows that over four out of five families (82%) say they cannot replace worn out furniture and nearly four out of five (78%) say they cannot afford to repair or replace major electrical goods such as cookers, fridges or washing machines.
For nearly half of families with disabled children and young people, paying for a beneficial activity or hobby for their disabled child is out of the question.
Cheryl Ward, Family Fund’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We continue to see families with disabled or seriously ill children and young people increasingly struggling to afford the most basic household essentials like food and heating as costs rise and many face mounting debts.
“This means there is very little room for the extras which improve a young person’s quality of life- yet when a child reaches 18, they lose an average of 57% of the support and benefits they had before they reached adulthood.
“Raising a disabled or seriously ill child is three times more expensive than raising other children and this financial cliff-edge at 18 can be very tough for parents and carers of young adults. With the cost of living continuing to increase, we’re urging families to apply to us for grants as soon as possible, through our Your Opportunity scheme.”
Your Opportunity grants include:
computers or tablets to support young people with further education, online hobbies and the overall building of independence;
transport costs for bus fares for appointments, or to support independent travel to clubs or hobbies;
help with the cost of membership fees, season tickets, computer games, and music systems to promote recreation and days out;
help with the cost of buying a provisional driving licence, and other learning materials to support driving ambitions;
white goods to help with independence, or help make mealtimes easier for carers;
sports, or lightweight, wheelchairs to enable participation in sport activities, or access to activities that would not be possible with a day-to-day wheelchair.
The Your Opportunity scheme was initially set up in 2019 by Family Fund, with funding from Edward Gostling Foundation, Pears Foundation and funding raised by Family Fund.
Cheryl Wardadded: “We are extremely grateful to The Edward Gostling Foundation and Pears Foundation for recognising the need to support our work in improving the lives of young people across the UK.”
Families are eligible to apply if the young person lives at home with their parent or main carer.
Families interested in making an application for a young person should go to:
George, 22, has Down’s Syndrome and autism. He lives in Derbyshire with mum, Jemma, step-father Shaun and brother Charlie, 19, has breathing problems and requires an oxygen machine when asleep.
Jemma said: “The cost-of-living crisis has impacted our lives hugely. I worry about it a lot because when you have a child, like George, who requires the use of an oxygen machine overnight, your bills are horrendous.
“After George turned 18, a lot of the support finished but life didn’t get any easier. Our lives didn’t change, and we still need support.
“I’ve always been frugal with things but it’s getting to a point where I think I literally can’t cut back anymore. I shop in the cheaper supermarkets and buy the reduced items. I do everything that I can but it comes to a point where there’s nothing more that you can do. We don’t ever eat out or have takeaways.
“We’ve not been on holiday, or go on day trips. Also, because I’m a carer, I can’t even do more hours at work because I don’t have anyone else to look after George. Everything is going up but we don’t have any more money.
“The biggest worry for me is the cost of electricity and running George’s oxygen machine. I genuinely have no idea if I’m going to be able to run that at Christmas. If the cost goes up even more then I probably won’t be able to.
“Furthermore, the cost of fuel is huge. It’s got to the point where I only drive to work and back. I used to take George on drives to visit places, but we can’t afford to do that anymore.”
George enjoys singing and performing arts at his specialist college and his family are anxious to be able to support activities that further improve his quality of life at home.
Grants from the Your Opportunity scheme have helped the family purchase items – a swinging garden chair and a computer – which they could not otherwise have afforded.
Jemma added: “George absolutely loves the chair. He never used to sit outside before, but now he spends hours on it rocking, so when the weather is fine he is able to sit out and enjoy time in the garden.
“George also uses the computer for his specialised programmes that help his conditions through education and entertainment. He loves technology.”
Picture shows: George in his swinging garden chair
Children across the UK will be stepping into their imaginations and dressing up as their favourite characters for World Book Day this Thursday on March 2nd.
Here at the Royal National Institute of Blind people (RNIB), we want to make sure that children with vision impairments can celebrate the power of reading on World Book Day – and every day of the year – alongside their fully sighted peers. This means giving them access to the same books and reading opportunities at school and at home.
That’s why we’re so excited that, for the first time, we have accessible electronic versions of all this year’s World Book Day titles available to download as part of our RNIB Library (www.rniblibrary.com). This means that all learners with a print disability can get them at the same time as their friends and classmates!
This year’s range of books includes Lenny Henry’s ‘The Boy with Wings; Attack of the Rampaging Robot’, ‘Lifesize Creepy Crawlies’ by Sophy Henn and the hilarious ‘Bedtime for the Burpee Bears’ by Joe Wicks and Paul Howard.
There’s something to suit beginner-readers right through to confident book-lovers. So whether your child is dreaming of being able to fly or spinning webs like Spiderman, there’s sure to be something to spark their imagination.
The books are also available in braille and audio CD and can be ordered through RNIB’s Helpline on 0303 123 9999.
On behalf of all at RNIB, we wish you an amazing, word-filled World Book Day!
James Bartlett
Senior Manager Reading Services, RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)
