Tag: Children and Families

Green budget deal sealed

More than 200,000 additional children to receive free school meals

More than 200,000 additional primary school children will receive free school meals, including over 17,300 in City of Edinburgh, over 4,900 in East Lothian, over 4,400 in Midlothian and over 8,800 in West Lothian thanks to a budget deal struck between the SNP and the Scottish Greens.

The deal will see free school meals provision expanded to all primary children by next summer, phased in on a timetable agreed with local councils, and ensure that those currently eligible get free meals throughout the school holidays.

The agreement will ensure passage of the Scottish Government’s budget through parliament.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has struck a deal which guarantees the Budget Bill can clear its final stages.

It will see the phased introduction of free school meals for all primary pupils, an enhanced public sector pay deal, new Pandemic Support Payments and additional funding to support environmental, active travel and energy efficiency initiatives.

Talks are continuing ahead of tomorrow’s Stage 3 debate with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who voted for the budget at Stage 1 in exchange for increased spending on mental health, business support and education recovery.

The new commitments build on the budget’s existing measures to address the challenges of the ongoing pandemic and lay the foundations for recovery. These include meeting the main ask of business by extending 100% rates relief for the retail, hospitality, leisure, aviation and newspaper sectors for a further 12 months – considerably exceeding the relief offered in England – supporting families by allocating money for a council tax freeze and providing record £16 billion to the NHS.

The new initiatives will be funded mainly from the unallocated balance of funding from last week’s UK budget.

They include:

  • Pandemic Support Payments of £130 to households receiving Council Tax Reduction and two payments of £100 to families of children qualifying for free school meals
  • the phased introduction of free school meals to all primary school children by August 2022
  • an £800 pay rise for public sector workers earning up to £25,000, and a 2% increase for those earning over £25,000 up to £40,000.
  • extending free bus travel to under 22s
  • £40 million to support the green recovery, including a further £15 million for active travel, £10 million for energy efficiency, £10 million for biodiversity and £5 million for agri-environmental measures

Ms Forbes said: “We continue to face unprecedented challenges and I have sought to engage constructively to deliver a budget that meets the needs of the nation.

“I would like to thank all parties for the positive way they have participated in this process. The budget addresses key issues raised by every party and I hope all MSPs feel able to support it. We have reached an agreement with the Scottish Greens and I am hopeful about the outcome of my continuing talks with the Liberal Democrats.

“Today I can announce that we are able to go further in offering a fair and affordable pay settlement to the public sector workers to whom we owe so much through the pandemic, particularly the lowest paid.

“The budget already contains measures to help struggling families, but in this deal we are also announcing details of a £100 million programme of one-off Pandemic Support Payments. And we commit to providing free school meals to every primary school pupil by August 2022, with expansion for P4s starting after this year’s summer holidays.

“A green recovery lies at the heart of the Scottish Government’s policies and today we are delivering significant new investments in energy efficiency and active travel, while providing additional funding to support biodiversity and make our agriculture more environmentally-friendly.

“And, as we rebuild from Covid, we will support our young people by extending our original commitment to concessionary travel for all under 19s to include everyone up to age 22, giving all 18-21 year olds free bus travel.

“Every penny made available to us to tackle the pandemic has been allocated. These remain difficult times, but this budget puts us on the path to a fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland.”

Scottish Greens Lothian MSP Alison Johnstone said: “I am absolutely delighted that our budget deal ensures that all primary school children will receive free school meals from the summer of 2022, with p4 pupils getting them from this summer and p5 from January.”

“I know this news will be welcomed by the families who will benefit from this forward-thinking policy. Knowing that every primary school child will benefit from a healthy meal every day will make a huge difference to families’ finances and wellbeing.”

All P1-P3 pupils currently get free school meals. The Green deal will expand this to P4 in August 2021, P5 in January 2022, and P6 and P7 children in August 2022.

£49.5m has been allocated to fund this this year, and £112m next year.

Scottish Government ‘no longer clapping for carers’

Responding to the Finance Secretary’s comments to the Finance and Constitution Committee meeting this morning on social care pay, Rhea Wolfson of the GMB Scotland Women’s Campaign Unit said: “On International Women’s Day Kate Forbes has cut a budget deal with the Greens that sells short tens of thousands of women across the social care sector – and what’s worse is the Finance Secretary used our NHS nurses as a reason for not delivering a £15 an hour minimum.

“The fight for a £15 social care minimum hasn’t been “plucked out of a hat”. What our members are asking politicians to do is support the objective of bringing social care pay into line with the average hourly rate of pay, to help tackle the recruitment crisis in care and to ensure a chronically exploited workforce are properly valued for the work they do. 

“The Scottish Government claimed it wanted to put social care on an equal footing with the NHS and the Feeley Review has shown that a significant investment in social care and its workers could have a transformative effect on our economy and society.

“After the tragic events of the last year, a golden opportunity was there to do the right thing by our care workers but instead the Finance Secretary has chosen to pit key worker against key worker to keep one group mired in low-pay.

“It’s clear the Scottish Government is no longer clapping for our carers.”

Responding to the amended Scottish Budget with improvements in public sector pay policy, expanded access to free school meals and additional payments to less well-off households, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “We have strongly pressed the Scottish Government to reject the real terms pay cuts approach of the Tories at Westminster and we recognise the different course that the Finance Secretary has taken on Public Sector Pay Policy in Scotland.

“We welcome the Scottish Greens’ intervention to press for a better deal for public sector workers, the expansion of free school meal to all primary children and additional payments to poorer households.

“But revising public sector pay policy is less than half of the story. We remain deeply concerned that pay commitments must be funded across the public sector. Local councils continue to be starved of funding despite delivering so many of our essential public services and with so many workers who deliver those services being underpaid and undervalued.

“Nowhere is this more the case than for our social care workers in the public, third and private sectors. The Cabinet Secretary indicated that this will not be the final budget revision of the year and that she will respect the outcome of a collectively bargained pay deal for the care sector.

“To make this commitment meaningful and to address the scandal of low pay, the Government must commit to fund that deal and we intend to campaign hard to hold them to this.”

“The proposed extension of free schools meals to all primary aged children is an important step towards our campaign goal of achieving universal provision for all secondary school, primary school and nursery children. We intend to continue that campaign.”

NSPCC Scotland wants next Scottish Government to transform childhood with £100m investment

NSPCC Scotland calls for Fair Start Fund to be invested in public services to support emotional wellbeing of babies and their families

The charity sets out its calls ahead of Scottish elections, as it holds its UK flagship How Safe conference.

Huge investment in supporting the mental and emotional health of babies and their carers must be a priority for Holyrood’s new government.

That’s the message from NSPCC Scotland, which says to deliver on long-held policy aspirations and to make Scotland a country that fully respects children’s rights, the new Scottish Government needs to radically transform early childhood.

Ahead of May’s election, the charity has outlined its call for a £100m Fair Start Fund to be invested in public services, as the country emerges from the pandemic, to support the emotional wellbeing of babies’ and their families. This will ensure that all young children in Scotland receive nurturing care and thrive; not just survive. 

The charity is setting out its calls as it holds its UK flagship How Safe conference online, which brought together a panel of guest speakers who discussed mental health in pregnancy and the child’s first year, and the impact of the pandemic.

Despite overwhelming evidence that people’s experiences in early childhood lay the foundations for their future health and wellbeing, and over a decade on from the Scottish Government’s Early Years Framework, there is still a massive gulf in the support young children need, and the support they receive.

NSPCC Scotland research shows that before the pandemic hit, there were very few services across the country that specifically addressed the emotional and developmental needs of infants or children under the age of two1.

And the charity has long warned that without the right support at the right time, adult mental health problems during pregnancy and the first year can have serious immediate and long-term consequences for both young children and families.

Research undertaken during Covid-19 has underlined how closely attuned a young child’s mental and emotional wellbeing is with that of their parents. A UK-wide survey by Parent-Infant Foundation, Best Beginnings and Home Start found that six in 10 new parents shared significant concerns about their mental health and a third of parents reported that interaction with their child had changed2.

Also, a Public Health Scotland survey found a clear association between a child’s wellbeing and their parents mental and emotional health during the lockdown period3.

With need increasing as a result of the pandemic, NSPCC Scotland says a £100m investment fund is essential so that all parents are supported to give their children the best start in life. 

It is vital to scope out the level of need among young children and families and ensure that sufficient community and specialist services are available across Scotland to support very young children’s social and emotional development.

Joanna Barrett, policy and public affairs manager for NSPCC Scotland, said: “A baby’s experiences can have a profound impact on the rest of their life. Yet, this is a stage of life that is too often overlooked and under-supported.

“With plans to incorporate the UNCRC into Scots law, which places the rights of all children, including babies, on a statutory footing, it is vital we radically transform early childhood in Scotland – a challenge we urge the new government to fully embrace.

“We recognise that advances in early years policy have been made in Scotland in the last decade but this needs to be matched with funding. Huge investment is needed to ensure that all children in our country are offered the best start in life. Also, it is imperative that those who have experienced early adversity, including the effects of the pandemic, receive the specialist mental health support they and their carers need to heal and move on.”

NSPCC Scotland’s Fight for a Fair Start campaign is calling on the public to back its petition urging the next Scottish Government to invest heavily in early childhood.

Fight for a Fair Start is supported by Jo Malone London who have also funded direct services to new and prospective parents, focusing on support with their mental health problems, to help them develop secure and healthy relationships with their children.

Kiltwalk gives family the chance to say thanks to local charity who helped them

Held In Our Heart’s participation in 2021’s Kiltwalk event signals a step towards normality for the people of Scotland. The Kiltwalk fundraising platform has been designed to turbocharge fundraising, and is often used by supporters of charities to support their cause, or to thank them for their services that they themselves have used.

Whilst this year’s Kiltwalk event is virtual in nature, the role in which this Kiltwalk plays in constructing community bonds, spirit, and the development of connections, compassion, and friendship is critical to the operations of Held In Our Heart, and for the bereaved families who use its services.

One such example of this, is the story of Ian and Brenda who got involved with Held In Our Hearts in 2019 after tragically losing their baby boy Fraser at one month old from sepsis.

They said: “Fraser was born 11th August 2019 just before 32 weeks weighing 3lb 1oz. He spent 4 weeks in the Neonatal Unit and came on so amazingly that we welcomed him home on 4th September.

“A few days later he didn’t seem right…I phoned NHS 24 and was given an appointment to take him to outpatients. After a couple of hours we were given the devastating news that Fraser had sepsis and was unlikely to make it through.

“We spent the next few days spending time with Fraser, family and friends visiting him and making memories with help from the Neonatal unit and CHAS.

“On 11th September doctors did a brain scan and told us it was time to take away the machines, our Fraser was gone. We held him as he peacefully slipped away.

“When we were put in touch with Held in our Hearts they were amazing. So welcoming and understanding. As a family we want to do something to give back for all the support they have given us even despite the restrictions that lockdown imposed and that is why this year we are doing the Kiltwalk in Fraser’s name to help raise funds so they can continue to provide support for all bereaved families.”

Held In Our Heart fundraising manager, Tracy Watt, said: “The Virtual Kiltwalk is a chance for us as a community to engage and connect with others, and although we are not able to walk together physically we can focus on 23-25th April in the knowledge that we are not alone.

“The Kiltwalk is an event that is for all ages and abilities and not just for walking, you can swim or cycle too.

“What sets this weekend apart from all other kilwalk events is that you can choose your own challenge and make it a weekend of being together in spirit and all sharing the same goal in support of our bereaved families.”

Held In Our Hearts are continuing efforts to provide baby loss counselling and support to families, and have seen a successful adaptation to the shifted landscape of support services directly linked to the current pandemic and various restrictions, and regulations.

The 2021 Kiltwalk event holds a particularly special place in the hearts and minds of everyone at the charity. The Kiltwalk event is a clear way to connect further with the bereaved families who use, and have used, Held In Our Hearts services – much in the same way the Kiltwalk event provides these families with the ability to express their gratitude to the kindness and compassion given to them in their journey of grief.

CSEthe Signs: Raising awareness of online danger

A campaign has been launched to help children and young people recognise the signs of online harms including child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSE).

The CSEthe Signs initiative aims to raise awareness among those aged 11 to 17 and their parents and carers of what constitutes CSE, and where they can go for advice and support if they have concerns. 

It is part of a coordinated response from the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and Child Protection Committees Scotland, who will each run campaigns this month to help keep young people safe online.

Police Scotland recently announced that reports of online sexual abuse and exploitation increased by 13.4% from April to December 2020 compared with the same period in 2019.

Children’s Minister Maree Todd said: “We are determined to tackle child sexual exploitation in all its forms and it is very worrying to see a rise in reports of this abhorrent type of abuse online.

“Many children and young people have been spending more time online as a result of the pandemic, so now more than ever it is vital that they and their parents and carers know how to stay safe. The CSEthe Signs campaign provides valuable information on what to look out for and where to get advice and support if there are concerns about CSE.

“The campaign adds to the extensive range of work the Scottish Government and partners have been doing to prevent CSE, including delivery of our National CSE Action Plan.”

Assistant Chief Constable Judi Heaton, lead for Public Protection and Major Crime, Police Scotland, said: “The internet brings huge benefits and opportunities but it also opens the door for abuse and online predators.

“Children and young people should be able to access the virtual world, platforms and apps, chat with their friends and explore without the threat of abuse and exploitation. By working together we want to empower children and young people to protect themselves online, to identify when something is not right and to report it either to their parents, their teachers or to the police.”

Child Protection Committees Scotland chair Alan Small said: “Parents and carers play a vital role in protecting their children from the predatory behaviour of online abusers.

“It’s important that support and guidance is provided to help parents feel confident about asking what their children are looking at online and who they are talking to. Campaigns like CSEthe Signs help parents and carers understand what they can do to keep all of our children and young people safe from online harm.” 

The CSEthe Signs campaign will run during March through social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

More than 1,500 children have been waiting over a year for mental health treatment

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of children’s services, has called for the Scottish Government to urgently increase mental health spend in its budget.

The call comes as new figures published today (2nd March 2021) from Public Health Scotland indicate that at the end of December 2020, 1,560 children and young people had been waiting over a year for mental health treatment.

These figures are the worst on record and represent a near tripling from December 2019 (589).

The SCSC has urged greatly increased investment in services for children and young people to tackle a current mental health pandemic. It has also called for a ‘national crusade’ as referrals begin to return to pre-lockdown levels.

The call comes amid growing concerns over a ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable children and young people, whose mental health is being impacted by the pandemic.  Even prior to the pandemic cases of poor mental health were at unprecedented levels and there are a growing number of vulnerable children who cannot access services.

However, just over 50p in every £100 of the NHS budget is being spent on specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). A frighteningly low figure even though mental health services are literally creaking at the seams due to greatly increasing demand.

The figures from Public Health Scotland also indicate that only four Scottish health boards are meeting the Scottish Government’s waiting time target of 18 weeks from referral to treatment over the quarter to December 2020. One out of four individuals are not being seen within this already lengthy 18-week target.

While 4,091 children and young people were treated over the period October to December 2020 by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), only 73.1 per cent were seen within the 18-week waiting target and only four health boards met this target.

In addition, 332 had been waiting over a year prior to treatment, compared with 272 in the same quarter the previous year.

The SCSC has warned that mental health services will face an overwhelming and unprecedented pressure due to pent-up demand created by the Covid-19 lockdown, coupled with a cut in youth support services. This could potentially lead to a ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable children and young people who are missing out on the support they vitally need.

The SCSC has also called for a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention and greater partnership working between the public, private and third sector. The coalition has also urged that greater awareness is made of the services on offer, especially those at a community level.

A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “These latest figures are deeply troubling and point to a highly challenging environment for both our young people and our mental health services.

“We welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is intending to invest more than £1.1 billion in mental health services overall, but significantly greater funding is needed to address the current crisis facing our children and young people.

“While referrals are beginning to return to pre-lockdown levels, it is vital that children and families are provided with the support they so desperately need, especially given the impact of the pandemic on mental health. The fact that more than 1,500 of our most vulnerable children have been waiting more than a year for treatment in this respect is deeply disturbing.

“We would urge the Scottish Government to look to not just the NHS, but the third sector and other private sector organisations to play a key role in this, renewing its focus on prevention and early intervention.

“Our mental health services must receive the funding they vitally need or we face having a ‘lost generation’ of vulnerable children and young people.” 

Richie’s back to support young people in North Edinburgh

‘HOMECOMING’ FOR FORMER COMMUNITY COP

FETLOR Youth Club has appointed a director to deepen the work the charity does to support young people. Richie Adams joins the Club with a wealth of leadership experience and a passion to support young people, helping them achieve their potential.

Dr Adams describes his appointment to the north Edinburgh charity as a ‘homecoming’, giving back to the community he has served across his career.

Having worked as a community police officer in Drylaw, Muirhouse and Pilton, he knows the north Edinburgh community well.

Richie’s passion for supporting the vulnerable is also evident through his voluntary work as chair of Edinburgh Community Food.

Richie retired from the Police Scotland as a superintendent having served in both Edinburgh and Glasgow and has led a number of significant strategic projects for policing.

He comes to FetLor following a successful term as Director of Education in the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service.

Andrew Barrie, FetLor’s chairman, said: “Richie’s appointment marks a real milestone for FetLor, at a time when young people need the charity’s services more than ever.

“The impact of the pandemic on young people has been profound. Richie is now working hard to get our resources to where young people need us most.

“It’s important that we develop partnerships across youth work in north Edinburgh and Richie is seeking to strengthen links with existing partners and forge new associations so we can reach the young people who really need us.

“Richie’s wealth of experience will drive this work forward. His collaborative approach will help build FetLor’s team so that we can continue to foster an environment where young people can build their confidence and go on to lead fulfilling lives.”

Prior to the pandemic, FetLor Youth Club was able to provide space for over 400 young people in the north of Edinburgh to feel safe, empowered and listened to.

The current restrictions have forced the Club’s youth outreach to be brought online.

Staff are continuing to work hard to ensure its children and young people are supported.

Work is also ongoing to make sure the charity can open the doors of its building on Crewe Road South as soon as possible.

Richie (51), said: “I’m really excited and proud to join the dedicated team at FetLor at this crucial time.

“FetLor has a long history of doing exceptional work to support young people in the north of Edinburgh. At this time, its services are needed more than ever.

“Many young people feel their mental health has suffered during lockdown and others have disengaged from school.  At FetLor we are working hard to support our young people during these difficult times.

“We have partnered with a local school to support children who have become disengaged. Our youth team is also hosting regular one to one Zoom calls with a number of young people, helping them get through these most challenging of times.

“As we look towards delivering our service in a post Covid environment there will be much to do. We are looking forward to working with partners and to the community to work out how best to serve our young people as restrictions lift.”

Further £7.4 million to tackle child poverty

Action to tackle deep-rooted inequality and child poverty will be accelerated through £7.4 million of additional investment.

The funding will be made available to local authorities specifically to help disabled parents and enhance the support they get. The funding will also be allocated to the Social Innovation Partnership which invests in alternative approaches to tackling poverty and improving lives.

In addition to the £23.3 million committed in the 2021-22 Scottish Budget, this investment brings the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Fund to a cumulative total of £50 million from 2018–2022, helping towards our ambition to eradicate child poverty and to halve the disability employment gap in Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government Aileen Campbell said: “This increased funding delivers not only on our commitment to invest £50 million through our Tackling Child Poverty Fund, but also to target support to disabled parents to access employment.

“The impacts of COVID have been particularly damaging to disabled people’s employment prospects and it is right that we invest now to enhance the support available.

“Our long-standing Social Innovation Partnership is supporting life-changing and innovative work to tackle child poverty and this increased investment will help to accelerate action.

“We remain firmly committed to eradicating child poverty in Scotland and halving the disability employment gap, and this new investment takes us one step closer to realising these ambitions.”

The £7.4 million is made up of £2.4 million for the Social Innovation Partnership, with an extra £5 million provided through the Parental Employability Support Fund, targeted specifically at supporting disabled parents.

Fabulous Forthview supporting families through COVID

Local Primary School’s ‘highly-effective practice in family learning and parental engagement’ is shared across Scotland

Education Scotland has highlighted Forthview Primary School’s outstanding work during the pandemic in their latest Scotland Learns e-bulletin .

When HM Inspectors visited Forthview Primary School as part of the thematic inspection of family learning, they noted their highly-effective practice in family learning and parental engagement.

The school have provided a recovery update on how their practice in family learning and parental engagement has been developed during lockdown and since schools returned in August.

They share what is working well for Forthview children and their families at this time. A sketchnote (above) has been developed to share this practice.

Racism in Edinburgh High Schools: ‘Lessons Learned’

A ‘robust set of actions’ setting out how Edinburgh schools should deal with racist incidents has been drawn up by the City of Edinburgh Council.

This follows an independently-overseen inquiry into the handling of racism complaints by Edinburgh’s high schools.

The four main areas highlighted for improvement are:

  • Improving processes to report racist incidents
  • Improving the culture in schools to clearly show zero tolerance of racist conduct
  • Managing racist incidents sensitively and ensuring ongoing support for anyone reporting racist conduct
  • Reviewing the curriculum to ensure it does not perpetuate racist or colonialist attitudes

The move comes after the completion of an investigation into claims made following last year’s Black Lives Matter campaign. The claims were made by former and current pupils who complained that a number of high schools were failing to deal with racist incidents properly and that a culture of racism existed.

The main focus of the investigation was on St Augustine’s and Holy Rood RC High Schools but also included Craigmount, Drummond and Firrhill.  

In total 73 complaints were received via social media and emails, and 30 complainants agreed to be interviewed.

As part of the detailed and wide-ranging inquiry, evidence was gathered through interviews with the complainants, school staff and by examining school records. The three-month long investigation was overseen by an independent equalities adviser.

Although schools demonstrated many effective examples of responding appropriately to alleged racist incidents, the overall conclusion of the investigation was that more could be done within schools to develop a firm anti-racist perspective. 

There was no evidence, however, to support complaints that schools enabled racism.  

Interviews were carried out by senior Council officers skilled at working with young people and trained in equalities and anti-racism.

Parents or supporters were invited to be present during interviews and support was available from the independent third sector agency, Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council. As well as detailing their concerns, complainants were also asked what outcomes they were looking for. 

Complainants have now been issued with a personal letter summarising their complaint and detailing the conclusions and next steps relating to their investigation. They have all been offered face to face meetings to fully discuss the findings and the actions the Council proposes to take.

The authority has committed to auditing its current plans to improve equalities in schools, to ensure that all actions identified from the report are included. 

These include supporting all schools to: appoint pupil and staff equalities co-ordinators, embed additional guidance for dealing with racist incidents and provide staff training to review the curriculum so it does not perpetuate racist or colonialist attitudes.

In addition, an annual equalities award (Saroj Lal award) will shortly be announced.  This has been created in honour of Saroj Lal (1937-2020), Edinburgh’s first Asian primary school teacher and a leading figure in the campaign for race equality and social justice in Scotland. 

It will be launched by summer 2021 and is designed to raise awareness of diversity and equality. The award aims to shine a light on the impact of prejudice and the potential to use art for positive change.  

Councillor Ian Perry, Convener for Education, Children and Families at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Firstly I want to apologise unreservedly to any of our young people who felt their concerns or reports about racism were not taken seriously or that their school has not dealt with any incidents properly.

“I want to thank everyone who has come forward and brought these allegations to light for sharing their personal accounts and recollections and to the staff who took part in the inquiry.

“This will have been very difficult for our young people but hearing their voices has allowed this investigation to take place and has shown clearly what is needed to drive forward positive change in our schools.

“This was a very thorough investigation and as a result we now have a clear and very robust action plan which can only strengthen our commitment to dealing with racism. Ultimately, we all want every young person who attends our schools to feel safe and supported as they go through their education.  I hope that the lessons learned from this investigation will mean that many more young people feel that this will improve as a result.”

Councillor Alison Dickie, Vice Convener for Education, Children and Families at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I’m so sorry that young people have felt their voices weren’t being heard and have had to resort to being part of this investigation to help bring about change.

“I want to praise them all for showing such strength in coming forward to raise these issues with us. They have all shown great patience and co-operation while their complaints were being investigated. While this will have been a difficult process, it is only by hearing their voices that we can fully understand the experiences that young people have and make improvements.

“Racism is an issue that needs both city and Council-wide action. This is about a change of culture and systems. Although there is positive work taking place across our schools, we fully realise that much more needs to be done. This involves listening to young people who have experienced racism and placing them in the driving seat of our work towards race equality.

“Already, as a direct result of that direct voice, we are working to increase staff training, develop an anti-racist and culturally inclusive curriculum and empower young people with lived experiences across our schools to lead on improving our procedures for the reporting of racist incidents. 

“Delivery is key, and we will do that together.”

NSPCC to hold virtual assembly for children with guest hosts Ant & Dec and David Walliams

  • The charity is hosting its second virtual ‘Speak Out. Stay Safe’ assembly on Tuesday morning at 10am to help keep children safe and well during the pandemic
  • Parents and children are being encouraged to join the assembly that will be held on the NSPCC Facebook page
  • The first virtual assembly that aired online in June has had more than 100,000 views

Amid growing concerns about the impact of COVID19 on children’s safety and mental health and wellbeing the NSPCC is holding a second virtual ‘Speak Out. Stay Safe’ assembly on Facebook tomorrow (Tuesday February 23rd) at 10am.

The special broadcast suitable for children aged five and over aims to help them understand how to speak to a trusted adult if they feel anxious or worried, and it explains the support that Childline can offer.

It will also focus on some additional concerns that some children are experiencing due to the pandemic.

The assembly will see the return of guest hosts Ant & Dec and features an appearance from comedian David Walliams. The TV duo who have been long term supporters of the children’s charity hosted the first online assembly in June last year which received over 100,000 views on Facebook and YouTube.

A recording of Tuesday’s online assembly will also be available on the NSPCC’s website, Facebook and YouTube channel after the event for anyone who misses it.

One Facebook user who watched the first assembly said:” My boys loved it and following a family bereavement this gave them an opportunity to talk about their feelings. We took blank paper and marked it for every worry or fear we had and shared.”

With many vulnerable children still facing increased risks at home and with others struggling with their mental health due to the challenges posed by the pandemic, it’s vital that children know what to do and who to speak if something is worrying or upsetting them.

The coronavirus related worries the assembly will cover include, children not being able to see their family and friends, changes in daily routines, experiencing new feelings and spending more time online.

Guest hosts Ant & Dec said:

Ant: “After what has been an incredibly difficult start to the year for many young people, we feel privileged to once again be hosting the NSPCC’s virtual assembly for children and their families.

Dec: “We hope we can remind children that they don’t have to just carry their worries with them – they can always speak to someone they trust if they’re feeling sad, overwhelmed, or unsafe.”

Service Head of School Service, Janet Hinton said: “The lockdown has turned the lives of children upside down and many are struggling to cope with the challenges it has posed.

“Although our trained ‘Speak Out. Stay Safe’ staff can’t currently go into schools, it is essential that every child knows who they can turn to if they need help and support.

“After watching the assembly, parents and carers can continue this conversation with their children by visiting the NSPCC website where they can find additional activities.”

Prior to the pandemic, ‘Speak Out. Stay Safe’ had been delivered in 96% of primary schools across Scotland with trained NSPCC volunteers and staff delivering the assembly and workshop with the help of ‘Speak Out. Stay safe’ mascot, Buddy the speech bubble.

The importance of empowering children to understand that they have the right to speak out and stay safe has been highlighted in a recent court case which saw 63-year-old Sidney Sales from Luton jailed for three years after a girl spoke about the abuse she had suffered following seeing the NSPCC assembly at school.

Adults concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC helpline seven days a week on 0808 800 5000, or email help@nspcc.org.uk.

Children can call Childline on 0800 11 11 or visit www.childline.org.uk.