Tag: Children and Families

New report calls for action on tutoring and mentoring to help close Scotland’s attainment gap

Stark gaps in educational attainment in Scotland could be reduced through the rollout of mentoring and tutoring support, according to a new report.

Highlighting evidence showing that mentoring and tutoring have positive impacts on attainment for young people living in the grip of poverty, the report, based on research conducted by the Poverty Alliance for The Robertson Trust, calls for mentoring and tutoring to be available and targeted to all school-aged children and young people at risk of poverty in Scotland. 

It showed that high-quality tutoring programmes, in particular, can significantly reduce inequalities in educational attainment. Despite this, the report reveals that the provision of free tuition for young people living in Scotland is sparse.

In comparison to the National Tutoring Programme, which provides free tuition for pupils in England and Wales, the Scottish Government has not committed to widespread, accessible tuition as part of Covid-19 recovery.

Published yesterday on National Mentoring Day, the report highlights the success of mentoring as an effective intervention for improving self-confidence and raising aspirations amongst young people affected by poverty.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government and The Hunter Foundation committed to the expansion of mentoring and leadership support for care-experienced young people through funding the roll-out of MCR Pathways’ Young Scottish Talent and Columba 1400’s Leadership Academies across Scotland. 

However, this report reveals a mixed landscape in terms of mentoring provision, with geographical gaps and a lack of provision directed at groups of children and young people who are more likely to be living in poverty compounded by other forms of disadvantage.

Dr Jim McCormick, Chief Executive, The Robertson Trust said: “Too many young people across Scotland are seeing their life chances restricted by poverty.  

“At a time when painstaking progress is at risk of unravelling, it is deeply concerning to see any research which highlights an uneven educational playing field. The lack of free tutoring support is just one example of this and something that will invariably put young people living in poverty at a further disadvantage. 

“We are keen to use these findings to understand what the role of an independent funder should be in working towards equal access to tutoring/mentoring opportunities which can lead to positive academic, developmental and emotional outcomes.

“Based on what we’ve heard, we are calling for greater collaboration between funders and support organisations to help bridge the gaps, both to level the playing field and to build a stronger evidence base of what works. 

“Equally, we hope that this review will stimulate renewed commitment to act on the poverty-related attainment gap across Scotland, particularly in light of the disproportionate impact Covid-19 has had on those most affected.” 

Dr Laura Robertson, Research Officer at the Poverty Alliance and lead author of the review, said: “The Scottish Government has put tackling the poverty-based attainment gap at the heart of its agenda.

“However, inequalities in education attainment remain stark. Covid-19 has not only tightened the grip of poverty on the lives of many children and young people, but has also exacerbated these inequalities. Now, more than ever, children and young people need access to additional support.  

“This report reveals that – despite the evidence that it works – young people living in poverty still don’t have equal access to high quality tutoring free of charge. In a just society, all children and young people should have access to support that allows them to reach their potential, so the Scottish Government must – if it wants to end the attainment gap – respond with action.” 

Poverty-Alliance-Mentoring-and-Tutoring-ReviewFINALv2Download

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler back Scottish Book Trust major fundraising mission for Scotland

National charity Scottish Book Trust has today launched a major fundraising campaign, backed by The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, to drive its new ambition of ensuring everyone in Scotland has access to books and that no one misses out on the many lifelong benefits this brings.

Since the pandemic, the charity has been overwhelmed by increasing demand for its vital work to support vulnerable children and families.

Featuring a woodland illustration of The Gruffalo’s ‘deep dark wood’ from the iconic picture book, with the main Gruffalo character missing from the scene, the campaign refers to the famous line from the story that ‘there is no such thing as a Gruffalo’ and uses it to illustrate that for many children this is true because they don’t have books at home.

Without books, children are missing out and the impact of this lasts a lifetime. Books help families bond, bring joy and comfort, give children a sense of escapism and, importantly, improve their mental health and wellbeing.

New research conducted by Scottish Book Trust revealed that 85% of parents from Scotland’s most deprived areas said that reading helps them bond with their child and that reading makes their children happy, while 95% of all parents in Scotland said they think it is important for children to own their own books.

Julia Donaldson said: “I have read and performed my stories to many children in Scotland and when The Gruffalo was published, I was writer-in-residence at Easterhouse in Glasgow. I have seen first-hand how books can light up a child, catch an imagination and change a life.

“A lot of the work I have done has been alongside Scottish Book Trust and I have seen the important and effective work that they do for children and families throughout Scotland.

“I couldn’t be more pleased that The Gruffalo is now leading a fundraising campaign for the charity at a time when families need books and support more than ever.”

Axel Scheffler said: “It is sobering to see these well-known pictures from The Gruffalo without the characters included and to be starkly reminded that so many children and families have no access to books.

“Helping them to gain access is an urgent issue and I hope that this campaign will be able to raise the funds needed for Scottish Book Trust to make a difference to children’s lives in Scotland.”

Scottish Book Trust also surveyed education and early years practitioners and their responses underlined the need for books at home was great, with over two thirds stating some children they work with only own books gifted to them by Scottish Book Trust. Over 90% of respondents also stated that some pupils had lost reading skill and vocabulary due to lockdown.

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “The need for our work has never been greater than now, and the stark, long-term effects of the pandemic have only exacerbated this. Access to books and reading are absolutely essential for a child’s development and life chances – without books at home, young people in Scotland are missing out.

“By supporting Scottish Book Trust’s fundraising campaign, you can help us deliver more of our vital work to support those who need our help the most. We are incredibly grateful to Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler and Macmillan Children’s Books for their support.”

Funds raised from the campaign will enable Scottish Book Trust to deliver more of its life-changing work. Some examples of its programmes include specialist outreach support for young families through Bookbug for the Home, providing tactile books for children with additional support needs, supporting those living with dementia and the people who care for them, and giving books to families in need through food banks and community hubs.

http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/donate

Lorraine Kelly returns for “extra special” STV Children’s Appeal fundraising show

  • The STV Children’s Appeal 2021 will air on STV at 8:30pm on Friday 29 October
  • Lorraine hosts from performing arts charity CentreStage’s new Kilmarnock HQ
  • The Appeal – which is celebrating its 10th birthday – supports the 1 in 4 children affected by poverty in Scotland

The STV Children’s Appeal has announced that its annual TV fundraising event will return for 2021 on Friday (29 October), with long-term host Lorraine Kelly back at the helm as the charity appeal celebrates its tenth birthday.

Viewers can expect The STV Children’s Appeal 2021 to look a little different from previous shows as, for the first time, it will be hosted at Kilmarnock-based performing arts academy CentreStage – a charity with a close, enduring relationship with the Appeal.

CentreStage’s recent move to new headquarters on the site of the former Kilmarnock Academy “wouldn’t have happened” without the support of the STV Children’s Appeal, according to the charity’s founder, Fiona McKenzie.

Friday’s show will see Lorraine meeting some of the many people who benefit from CentreStage’s activities and discovering why it has proven a lifeline for the local community. The show will also feature a rousing live performance from the 60-strong CentreStage Choir, made up of local people from all backgrounds, circumstances and abilities.

Elsewhere, The STV Children’s Appeal 2021 will put the spotlight on some of the community heroes up and down the country who have raised thousands for the Appeal in its tenth year – with one young musical duo set to receive a huge surprise from Simon Cowell in response to their impressive fundraising work.

BBC Radio 1’s Jordan North will take part in a special edition of Celebrity Catchphrase, while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also chats to Lorraine about the importance of the Appeal and why she continues to be “delighted to support it”. 

STV is also set to air a one-off documentary tonight Tuesday 26 October focused on how the Covid pandemic has impacted youth mental health across Scotland. 

Where’s Your Head At? – presented by Andrea Brymer – will share the stories of young people who have been particularly affected by the mental health crisis. Earlier this year, the STV Children’s Appeal distributed £152,000 to charities supporting the mental wellbeing of Scotland’s young people.

Lorraine Kelly said: “This year’s STV Children’s Appeal show is going to be extra special, as we’re broadcasting direct from one of the amazing charities that the Appeal has supported over the last 10 years.

“Being in the heart of a community that really benefits from the unwavering generosity of the Scottish people year after year makes the show even more authentic, and reminds us all why the work of the Appeal to tackle child poverty continues to be so important 10 years on.”

Paul Mathieson, CentreStage CEO, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome the STV Children’s Appeal to CentreStage and to host this year’s show. Our long-standing relationship with the Appeal has allowed us to provide significant support and opportunities to so many children and families across our local communities.

“On behalf of the full team at CentreStage, I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved.”

The STV Children’s Appeal 2021 airs on STV at 8:30pm on Friday 29 October. Viewers can donate £10 to the STV Children’s Appeal by texting TEN to 70607 (standard network rates apply).

Nigerian hospital reports surge in child ops thanks to KidsOR charity

A hospital Operating Room for children in the capital of Nigeria, which was newly installed in August 2019 thanks to a Scottish-based charity, has managed to increase the number of paediatric operations carried out by more than two-thirds in just a year.

From July 2018 to July the following year, 229 operations on children at the National Hospital in Abuja were carried out. Then, thanks to Kids Operating Room, a new Operating Room was installed in August 2019. This new Operating Room has enabled the surgical team in Abuja to undertake 381 operations from September 2019 to September last year – a staggering rise of more than 66 per cent.

Commenting on the difference that the new Operating Room has made, Dr Olubunmi Majekodunmi, the hospital’s Chief Paediatric Surgeon, said: “Having a KidsOR Operating Room has made surgeries far more effective. We have paediatric-sized instruments and do not have to struggle with larger ones meant for adult surgeries.

“As for the children, they move into an Operating Room filled with beautiful wallpapers and exciting toys and are so engaged that they do not even realise when they are put under anaesthesia. But, most importantly, our backlog of patients which used to involve a waiting list of a year or sometimes more, has been cleared.

“The relief on the faces of parents when they realise that their kids can have surgeries within a few days – enough time for pre-operative preparation – is priceless. Thank you KidsOR for such a tremendous gift!”

Rosemary Mugwe, Africa Director at KidsOR, said: “The Surgical Team at National Hospital were carrying out fantastic work before KidsOR came on board; however, they lacked specialist paediatric equipment to provide safe, quality surgery.

“We were happy to provide the tools – metaphorically and literally – to give them even greater capacity to help the children of Abuja. And we are delighted to learn of the large increase in the number of operations being carried out meaning that children do not have to wait for life saving or life changing surgery.”

The charity’s research also revealed that the percentage of wound infections decreased from 1.3 per cent to 0.29 per cent during the year after the new Operating Room was installed. This figure represents the percentage of surgical cases in which the patient developed a surgical infection and is another quality of surgery measure.

KidsOR is a Scottish global health charity with bases in Edinburgh, Dundee and Nairobi with an ambition to provide all children around the world with access to safe surgery.

The charity also funds training of surgeons and anaesthesia providers and works with National Ministries of Health to develop sustainable healthcare services.

Events line-up to enrich climate conference

A 10 metre tall puppet, STORM, will make an appearance in Glasgow and many projects are already well underway in the run up to the climate conference, including the launch of Climate Beacon hubs in seven locations across Scotland.

STORM is a huge sea-goddess puppet made entirely out of recycled materials with oyster shells for eyes and kelp for hair and is created by Vision Mechanics. She is due to walk in Govan on 10 November.

Led by Creative Carbon Scotland, the Climate Beacons project is a collaboration between climate change, environmental, arts, heritage and cultural organisations to stimulate long-term public engagement in climate change. The hubs throughout Scotland, including Argyll, Caithness and East Sutherland, Fife and Inverclyde, will provide information about climate change in each local area.

The hubs will be run as sustainably as possible with many of the projects and activities using recycled materials.

For instance the Message in a Bottle project in the Outer Hebrides will send messages to people at COP26 in plastic bottles washed up on the beach and the Midlothian hub at the National Mining Museum Scotland will feature outdoor clay sculpture that will eventually degrade back into the earth.

Creative Carbon Scotland’s film, Climate Action Needs Culture, made in collaboration with national cultural and heritage organisations, will be shown to a variety of cultural leaders and policymakers on November 5 as a virtual event.

Scotland’s five national performing arts companies, each receiving regular support from the Scottish Government, are among the many cultural organisations across Scotland organising events around COP26.

On 31 October, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra will premiere Symbiosis, a new commission for strings in a 20 minute video. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra will give a pop-up performance at ScotRail’s Haymarket Station on 1 November to welcome delegates to COP26 while the RSNO Junior Chorus will perform a selection of specially commissioned Green Songs in the official COP26 Green Zone the following day.

Scottish Opera have launched an intergalactic view of climate change in The Last Aliens, an opera for primary children. Schools can access the production online now with live tours planned next year.

Schools and communities across Scotland and India have created 100 shoes for a digital shoe shop as part of Millipede, the National Theatre of Scotland’s collaboration with ThinkArts, a Kolkata-based children’s organisation. Launching on 1 November, the interactive art installation will explore personal responses to climate change and carbon footprints through a range of creative activities.

Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “With the world’s spotlight on Scotland, COP26 in Glasgow is a once in a lifetime event and our cultural organisations have risen to the occasion by programming an impressive line-up of live and online activities to engage audiences at home and abroad. 

“The Scottish Government is proud to support the cultural and heritage sectors as they have a major role to play in encouraging debate around environmental issues.

“Climate change affects us all and it’s heartening to see so many communities taking part in these projects to create a lasting legacy for future generations.”

A dedicated website, Culture at COP, for all cultural activities around COP26 has been set up by Museums and Galleries Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and the Climate Heritage Network.

Seaweed in the City at Granton:Hub

There are a few free spaces still available for this artist-led workshop at granton:hub aimed at youngsters: making art with seaweed.

Sunday 7 November, 1.30 – 3pm.

Book here on eventbrite:

https://eventbrite.co.uk/e/seaweed-in-the-city-seaweed-art-workshop-tickets-189230001027?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

SEAWEED IN THE CITY ACTIVITIES

Ooni Pizza Ovens’ Darina brings the magic of pizza-making to life in new children’s book

Ooni Pizza Ovens’ Co-founder and Co-CEO Darina Garland has written and self-published her first ever children’s book – Jo and The Dough – with all profits to be donated to mental health charity, YoungMinds.

Inspired by an excited conversation whilst preparing pizza together as a family, and the vivid imaginations of her sons, Darina was struck with the idea to create a book where the yeast comes to life for an epic adventure.

The story follows a young girl Jo, whose dad is eager to show her how to make homemade pizza from scratch. As she learns just how long it’s going to take for the dough to rise, a hungry and impatient Jo sneaks a little extra yeast into the mixture to help speed things up.

When Jo is awakened by a mysterious noise, she’s shocked to discover that her dough has grown into a monster!

This cheeky dough monster has plans of his own and as he heads out of the door, he leaves Jo with no choice but to follow him on a neighbourhood adventure, rounding up ingredients for an epic pizza party.

Darina has teamed up with her Ooni colleague, illustrator Edith Ault, and together they’ve created a magical, fun-filled book that will appeal to children and curious adults alike — or anyone who loves to eat pizza and read as a family.

Darina Garland, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Ooni Pizza Ovens and author of Jo and the Dough, says: “When we cook pizza together as a family, it’s all about being creative, sharing joy and having fun.

“When I realised the awe my sons experienced when learning about the magic of yeast, and the pure excitement of the dough rising, I knew that this could be a fantastic idea for a story. Edith’s vivid illustrations really bring the adventure to life! The illustrations are awesome!”

“Passion and Kindness are two core values at Ooni. Not only do we want to share the joy of making pizza as a way to connect people, but we’re very aware of our responsibility to be a business for good through our Ooni Impact Fund, helping causes we’re passionate about and leaving the world just a little bit better than we found it.”

100% of profits from Jo and the Dough sales will be donated to YoungMinds, the UK’s leading charity supporting mental health among children and young people.

Darina and her husband and fellow Ooni Co-founder Kristian Tapaninaho are aiming to raise £40,000 for YoungMinds through profits from Jo and The Dough and other campaign activity. The work the charity does in aiming to ensure that all young people receive the mental health support they need is absolutely vital and a cause close to their hearts.

Readers are encouraged to enjoy Jo and the Dough whilst creating their own pizza – the book includes an exclusive, child-friendly recipe for Neapolitan-style dough, so that every family can recreate the magic at home – albeit with the correct measurement of yeast!

Jo and the Dough is available in hardback to purchase from uk.ooni.com now, retailing at £9.99.