When designing our disability benefits, Social Security Scotland collaborated with disabled people and their families to create a better and more compassionate system, putting dignity, fairness and respect at its heart.
Child Disability Payment was launched in November 2021. It helps families cover the extra costs of looking after a child or young person who is disabled, who has a long-term health condition or who is terminally ill. Importantly, it isn’t means tested.
Since its introduction, over 80,500 children and young people have received the payment, with more than £621 million being paid out.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, visited Carrongrange High School – Falkirk Council’s secondary school for pupils with severe and complex additional support needs – on 1 May.
The school’s motto is, ‘Carrongrange – Where you can be all you can be’.
We spoke to children and their families and learned what impact Child Disability Payment has on the lives of pupils who receive it and how it is helping them to live full and independent lives.
Dughall Boyne’s daughter, Rosselyn, has bilateral coloboma, a condition which prevented her eyes from developing properly. She receives Child Disability Payment.
Dughall, father of Rosselyn
According to Dughall: “Child Disability Payment has been very important for Rosselyn.
“Everything costs more when you have a disability. The payments have allowed us to find after-school activities for Rosselyn which have helped develop her independence. She likes horse-riding but riding lessons for the disabled cost a lot more, because you need three people around the horse.
“Rosselyn has now moved on to Adult Disability Payment and the transfer has been very smooth. We were told at regular intervals what was happening with things like setting up the named contact.
“There were no big forms to fill in and it was all online. We just had to tick the box saying that there had been no change in Rosselyn’s condition. Previously, with the DWP, there was a 13-page form to complete. It’s certainly helped to take a couple of hours off the process and it’s been well received by parents throughout the school.”
Catherine and her son Louis
Catherine Sneddon’s son, Louis, also goes to Carrongrange. She echoed Dughall’s words about Social Security Scotland’s human rights approach to delivering disability benefits.
“Louis has been on Disability Living Allowance since he was diagnosed in 2013. Back then I didn’t know if he’d be able to claim and it was a constant battle with the DWP.
“It’s only recently that he’s transferred over to Child Disability Payment. It was much more plain sailing than I anticipated. I expected a fight and what I got was a questionnaire through the post. The level of care he gets has been the same for three years so I ticked the box saying, ‘He’s stable.’ And that was it.
“With the DWP I would have had to get a letter from his neurologist to prove he still needed Disability Living Allowance for children. For them your child is what they see on the form. They don’t know how hard it is to care for a child with a disability at home, at school and in the community.
“Social Security Scotland is so different.”
Janine Proudlock, Carrongrange’s headteacher, described exactly how Child Disability Payment helps pupils be all they can be: “For me the Scottish Child Disability Payment supports families to ensure they have the right resources, at the right to time to do the right work to allow the whole family to flourish.
“Whether it’s caring support or specialised resources to meet their child’s needs, this is an essential fund to improve the lives of young people and their families.”
People can find out more about Child Disability Payment and apply by visiting mygov.scot/childdisabilitypayment or by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222.
A Scottish Parliament Committee has reported its alarm at the gap between the ambitions and implementation of a policy that aspires for children and young people with additional support needs (ASN) to be taught in mainstream education.
Holyrood’s Education, Children and Young People Committee unanimously agreed that the policy behind mainstreaming is the best route forward, however its inquiry found that the Scottish Government and local authorities are failing to implement it properly.
Speaking as the report was published, Sue Webber MSP, Convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee, said:“The situation faced by children and young people with additional support needs is intolerable.
“During our inquiry, we were extremely concerned to hear about negative experiences of additional support for learning provision, the educating of children and young people in mainstream schools and the detrimental impact this has had on some pupils, their parents and carers, and teachers and support staff.
“Things must change. The Scottish Government and local authorities have been repeatedly warned about the consequences of failing to improve support for children with additional support needs. With a rising number of children reporting with additional support needs, a third of pupils in some areas, the Government and local authorities must not ignore the concerns and recommendations made in this report.”
During the inquiry, children and young people told the Committee that it can be hard to understand when someone does not give them the support they need and that a lack of support staff to cope with the number of pupils who need support can leave them feeling frustrated.
The Committee was particularly concerned by evidence that highlighted challenges of getting children the support they required.
In evidence to the Committee, the National Autistic Society said: “We see continually that autistic children and young people are forced to “fail” in mainstream settings before any other option or support is offered.
“Families have to fight the system to get that support, with many being forced into legal action and having to engage a solicitor before a solution is found.”
Other concerns raised in the Committee’s report look at the problems with a move towards open-plan schools, which could prove extremely overwhelming for children with autism and the number of neurodivergent children who are masking at school.
To improve the situation, the Committee makes several recommendations including reviewing placing requests, undertaking research on the prevalence and impact of masking, and urgently addressing gaps in specialist provision.
Responding to the report, a spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition commented: “The report by the Parliamentary committee on a lack of support to children and young people with additional support needs (ASN) is not a surprise to any of those involved in the sector.
“We have consistently warned of a potential ‘lost generation’ of those in this group, now amounting to more than 259,000 children.
“The number of those with ASN, such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems, amounts to more than a third of pupils, a doubling in numbers over the past decade, including an increase in those with complex needs.
“As a coalition of organisations that support vulnerable children and young people, we have however for many years shared the concerns of the committee over a lack of resourcing to support an escalating number of pupils with ASN, including a lack of specialist teachers and support staff.
“There has, for example, been a cut in ASN spending per pupil of just under £2,000 over the last decade, and the number of specialist ASN teachers has fallen by just under 400.
“Under the new First Minister, we need a ‘national crusade’ to address of the needs of more than a third of our children and young people, providing the necessary resources to address their needs.
“While we support the principle of mainstreaming, that all children and young are taught in mainstream classes unless exceptional circumstances apply, it is difficult to see how this can work effectively when those with ASN are in many cases not receiving the necessary care and support.
“This situation is putting an incredible level of pressure on teachers and other staff, with an impact also in terms of surging levels of school violence and poor behaviour we are witnessing.
“The committee noted this gap between policy ambition and implementation, which is leading to mainstream education being ‘intolerable’ for many children and young people with ASN.
“There are also many of those in mainstream education, whose complexity of needs would be far better served in a special school setting, delivering what is best for their educational and social requirements.
“The Scottish Government, local authorities, health and other agencies need to work in collaboration with the private and third sectors to provide the necessary resourcing and support to address the needs of children and young people with ASN.“
Council refuses to pass on uplift in Housing Benefit to charity housing provider as Scottish Government declares a housing emergency
Right There, a charity which helps prevent homelessness, has been forced to end its contract with City of Edinburgh Council, to provide critical housing in three locations for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
The charity, which was formerly called Ypeople, says this is its ‘absolute worst case scenario’, and ‘a last resort’ but after months of trying to negotiate with the Council, housing bosses are refusing to pass on its uplift in housing benefit to increase the Housing Management Payment.
The Housing Management Payment has remained unchanged since 2019 despite the cost of living skyrocketing in that time. Over the last five years, the local authority has received increased housing benefit which it refuses to pass on to providers to help deal with increased costs of running an assisted housing programme.
The housing facilities facing closure are one in Broomhouse and two residential units in Pilton. Their closure comes after the local authority failed to engage with the charity on contractual terms over recent weeks.
It will build pressure on the Council’s administration after a housing emergency was declared in the capital in November of last year, now even more so with the Scottish Government expected to announce a national housing emergency later today.
Janet Haugh, CEO of Right Theresaid: “We are devastated that we are having to pull the plug on this service, this is our absolute worst case scenario, especially when Scotland is at the brink of a national housing crisis.
“We have done everything in our power to resolve this with the Council but sadly as a charity we simply cannot absorb a projected £2.5 million deficit over the next five years and continue running this service.”
Housing Benefit levels have increased across Scotland to reflect the increased cost of living, utilities and general inflationary increases. Despite that, the Council expects Right There to subsidise the cost of an essential service despite being in receipt of additional payments to which the residents are entitled.
The project run by Right There provides accommodation support for 44 of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people, who live with the consequences of family breakdowns, homelessness, poverty, addiction, and many other challenges. In addition, the jobs of 19 support workers are now at risk.
Janet Haughadded: “We have exhausted all avenues with the Council and bringing the contract to a conclusion by triggering the three months’ notice period is our last resort.
“Our priority now is to work with the Council to hand over the running of the programme to either the local authority or another provider to ensure as much continuity and as little distress as possible for the 44 residents affected, and the support workers whose jobs are at risk.”
‘Putting women at the centre of their own care, listening to them, learning lessons from both failed and successful maternity services is crucial to delivering safer better care’ – that’s the message from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) as it responds to a new report on birth trauma.
The report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and the Birth Trauma Association follows the UK’s first-ever inquiry into birth trauma to which the RCM provided evidence in February.
Safe levels of staffing and ensuring there are enough midwives so they have time with women particularly during antenatal appointments to pick up issues early on. In addition to discussing concerns and making decisions around birth choices and infant feeding choices is fundamental to delivering good quality maternity care says the RCM.
The RCM says it also supports the reports call for the reinstatement of a Maternity Commissioner with accountability to the Prime Minster, this the College says is very much needed particularly as their remit would include a commitment to tackle inequalities in maternity care for Black, Asian and minority ethic women.
Commenting, RCM’s Chief Executive, Gill Walton said: “Sadly, not all birth experiences are positive and poor experiences can have a devastating impact on woman and should be taken very seriously as a threat to maternal mental and physical health and infant wellbeing.
“The women who shared their experiences with the inquiry must be commended for doing so and we owe it to them to learn and improve from the failings that happened in their care. Undoubtedly staffing shortages drastically impact the safety and quality of care that midwives can and so want to deliver.
“Our own members tell us they are struggling to give women the time and quality of care they need and deserve. Also, with the rise in more complex pregnancies, having the right skill mix of staff on shift is key.
“Access to appropriate training has also been highlighted in this report and when there aren’t enough midwives, crucial training is often postponed and this impacts how prepared staff can be for not only emergency situations, but how improvements in day-to-day maternity care can be achieved.”
Solving the midwifery recruitment and retention crisis with practical solutions must be the number one priority for any incoming Government says the RCM who recently published ‘How to Fix the Midwifery Staffing Crisis’ a practical guide which contains solutions for the next UK Parliament.
Included in the key recommendations is a plea for mother’s health records to be digitised, this is something the RCM has long called for. Assessing and documenting risk in an electronic record is essential to providing safer effective midwifery care. The RCM has already published an Electronic Guidance and Audit tool and has called for midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) to receive appropriate training on electronic record keeping systems used in their Trusts and Health Boards.
The report also highlighted the difficulty many women have in accessing maternal mental health services. Mental ill-health ranks with physical factors as one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in the UK, and yet this is not reflected in the resources allocated to it says RCM. Last year the RCM called for the postcode lottery provision of perinatal mental health services to be tackled urgently and published a ‘perinatal roadmap’ which laid out recommendations to improve perinatal mental health care in the UK.
Commenting on that, Gill Walton added: ““We need to ensure that every Trust or Health Board in the UK providing maternity services has a fulltime perinatal specialist midwife.
“This would make an enormous difference and enable midwives to refer women in their care to someone in their service for immediate support. The RCM also believes and have advised that all maternity professionals should be equally concerned with mental as well as physical health in pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal period.
“Also, the recommendation of a standardised post birth service for give mothers a space to speak about their experiences we would support, but this is something that needs separate levels of investment. It’s important too that fathers and birthing partners who have witnessed a traumatic birth have access to the right support and help postnatally.”
Health and Social Care Secretary speech at birth trauma APPG
A speech the Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins gave at The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Birth Trauma
Good evening everyone. It is an absolute privilege to be speaking to you all this evening as we mark the launch of the first ever Birth Trauma Inquiry report.
And I’d like to start by May by thanking my dear friend Theo (Theodora Clarke MP) for her strength in speaking out about her own experiences and in so doing, creating this incredible workstream whereby other women are being invited to give their experiences and to be listened to.
I mean, Theo is, to my mind the exemplar of a parliamentary powerhouse, and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with you, but also I genuinely think the work that you have achieved will have very, very long term and positive benefits for women across England.
The reaction that you have received from women shows just how critical this work is.
You have given a voice to those who may never have shared the pain and the suffering that they have been through, or when they have spoken up, they have not been listened to.
And so, thanks to you and to the brave women in this room, but also the many, many brave women who have contributed to this report, or who have shared their stories today with media outlets, as it has rightly got such media attention.
But thanks to those brave women, things are changing and you are shining a bright light on the struggles that too many women face, and you are putting birth trauma at the heart of our national conversation, and ensuring that other mums do not have to suffer in silence.
And I’d also really like to thank the wider APPG, co-chaired by Theo but also by Rosie, and both of whom have really demonstrated, along with APPG colleagues, just how cross-party working can work to the very best for us as a country.
And so thank you to every single parliamentarian involved in the APPG.
And in that spirit, I am determined to make care for new mums and mums-to-be faster, simpler and fairer because the birth of a child should be amongst the happiest moments in our lives.
Theo said of course, the overwhelming majority of families it is.
Each week around 10,000 babies are born in England on the NHS and most of them are born safely and with mothers and families reporting a good experience of the care they receive.
But we want that for every woman and every family.
And as this inquiry demonstrates so starkly, there is far too much unacceptable variation across the country in the service that women receive.
Some mums endure simply unacceptable care and live with the consequences of that trauma for the rest of their lives.
Now I’ve been open about my own experiences with the NHS.
The NHS is genuinely one of the reasons I came into politics.
I was diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of three and I’ve seen the very best of the NHS, but I’ve also seen some of its darker corners and that includes in my own experience when I was pregnant.
Aa you can imagine the clinicians in the room will understand a type one diabetic having being pregnant brings its own complications. And I had wonderful, wonderful care in many, many instances. But I also had examples where I wouldn’t wish other women to go through the same, including and I’ve spoken about this, I was rushed into hospital earlier than anyone had planned, and I was put on a ward, heavily pregnant, not quite knowing what the future was holding for me or my baby.
And, I was on the ward where women who had just experienced extremely traumatic, dare I say it, dangerous births were being rushed from theater onto the ward where I was.
Now clearly those their experiences were far, far worse and far more traumatic than my own.
But you can imagine the how frightening actually that experience was for a first-time mum to be, with the concerns that I was having to live with at the time.
So just that, as an example, I know everybody was trying to do their best at that point, but I desperately want to ensure that women who are expecting and who need additional support don’t find themselves in similar or even worse situations as I did.
And I want to make sure that no woman goes through a physical and mental trauma, and while giving birth, that could have been prevented.
Now I know that the Women’s Health Summit in January, Dame Lesley Regan and I talked about and forgive me, gentlemen, we talked about the NHS being a system that was created by men for men.
And that struck a chord with many women, particularly those who know Lesley and know she is another female powerhouse And the truth is that women have suffered in pain that would simply not be tolerated in any other part of the hospital.
Women have tried to raise concerns about unacceptable care, but they’re being told it’s all just natural.
And it is that, if you like, silencing, that really should not be the reality that women face in the 21st century.
We can and we will do better.
Now, being made Health Secretary in November, I have been impatient to make progress.
And that is why in January I held the Women’s Health Summit, where I made birth trauma one of the top priorities for the second year of the Women’s Health Strategy.
And I want to make this year not just the year that we listen, but that we act and that this is happening now.
We are rolling out new maternal mental health services for new mums, which are already available in all but three local health systems.
We are, believe you me, paying close attention to those final three areas to make sure they finalise their plans at pace this year.
On physical injuries too, we are rolling out improved perinatal pelvic health services, including guidance to better support women who experience serious tears and to prevent these from happening in the first place.
We’re halfway through. We plan to get to full coverage by the end of the financial year. And these services will be supported by our announcement at the Spring Budget of an extra £35 million pounds more for more midwives and better training for when things go wrong.
On top of the extra £186 million pounds a year, we are already investing into maternity services and safety compared to three years ago.
And thanks to Thea, we have also introduced standalone GP appointments six to eight weeks after giving birth to ask those crucial questions about whether mum is okay while keeping separate checks for her baby, because we know a happy, healthy mum means a happy, healthy baby.
And this is supported by new guidance to prompt, direct questions about their birth experience, even if there is nothing in her notes to suggest that the birth was traumatic.
I want to embed a culture that listens to women right from the start of their pregnancy, and so I’m delighted that NHS England are co-producing new decision-making tools with new mums to help guide through choices on how they give birth, what interventions could happen and what pain relief they should be offered.
These will be made available in a range of languages and formats to make sure that they can be tailored to different settings and to different local populations, because the ethnic disparities that Kim and Theo have highlighted have to be tackled, and we are determined to do that.
Theo’s speech in Parliament spoke to the lasting impact that birth trauma can have on the whole family. And of course, dads and partners are very much part of that. And so I’m extremely grateful to Theo’s husband for making that point.
But also we have listened in government and Maria Caulfield, my minister, who is responsible for men’s health along with a great many other things, will be chairing the next session of the Men’s Health Task and Finish Group in June to focus on dads mental health and trauma so that we can better understand how to support partners.
And I’m delighted to announce that the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will commission new research into the economic impact of birth trauma, including how this affects women returning to work.
That’s a really important idea and a really important commitment.
I know there is so much work to do to deliver on the detailed findings of this report and I, together with NHS England, fully support the APPG’s call to develop a comprehensive cross-government national strategy for maternal care.
I’m very grateful to the NHS for the progress that have been made so far on the three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, but I want to go further and a comprehensive national strategy will help us to keep driving that work forward while making sure everyone across government and the health service are crystal clear about what we need in maternity services to focus on.
And I also want to be clearer to mums and those looking after them, what their rights and expectations should be, so that everybody can be clear about the standard of care that mums deserve.
So watch this space.
Now in conclusion, this is the first time in the NHS’s 75-year history that I, as the Secretary of State, but also the Chief Executive of NHS England, are both mums.
We get it.
And for this, this is not just professional, it is personal.
Both Amanda and I take our responsibilities to all of you incredibly seriously and I have to say more soon on how I plan to make this area of our health system faster, simpler and fairer.
So I want to finish by thanking you, each and every one of you that has been involved in this report, for everything you have done to kickstart the national conversation about birth, trauma and how women should be listened to and their concerns acted upon.
And I really look forward to continuing this conversation with you in the months ahead.
We are excited to re-launch our school uniform referral service – Clothing Crisis Packs – for children and young people who are in exceptional need.
Many families can now access free school uniform locally through our pilot projects in schools and networks of community wardrobes. For others, it is usually best to support the family to maximise their income through a “cash first” approach so that they can buy school uniform themselves. A small minority cannot access any of these options, and this is when our Clothing Crisis Packs are available.
If you are a professional working with families in exceptional need, please visit our website to find out more about changes to our referral system.
In this article, Ofcom explain some of the main measures and the difference we expect them to make. Whether you are a parent, carer or someone working with children, this can help you understand what is happening to help children in the UK live safer lives online.
Protecting children is a priority
Protecting children so they can enjoy the benefits of being online, without experiencing the potentially serious harms that exist in the online world, is a priority for Ofcom.
Under the Act social media apps, search and other online services must prevent children from encountering the most harmful content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, and pornography. They must also minimise children’s exposure to other serious harms, including violent, hateful or abusive material, bullying content, and content promoting dangerous challenges.
What will companies have to do to protect children online?
Firstly, online services must establish whether children are likely to access their site – or part of it. And secondly, if children are likely to access it, the company must carry out a further assessment to identify the risks their service poses to children, including the risk that come from the design of their services, their functionalities and algorithms. They then need to introduce various safety measures to mitigate these risks.
Our consultation proposes more than 40 safety measures that services would need to take – all aimed at making sure children enjoy safer screen time when they are online. These include:
Robust age checks – our draft Codes expect services to know which of their users are children in order to keep protect them from harmful content. In practice, this means that all services which don’t ban harmful content should introduce highly effective age-checks to prevent children from accessing the entire site or app, or age-restricting parts of it for adults-only access.
Safer algorithms – under our proposals, any service that has systems that recommend personalised content to users and is at a high risk of harmful content must design their algorithms to filter out the most harmful content from children’s feeds, and downrank other harmful content. Children must also be able to provide negative feedback so the algorithm can learn what content they don’t want to see.
Effective moderation – all services, like social media apps and search services, must have content moderation systems and processes to take quick action on harmful content and large search services should use a ‘safe search’ setting for children, which can’t be turned off and must filter out the most harmful content. Other broader measures require clear policies from services on what kind of content is allowed, how content is prioritised for review, and for content moderation teams to be well-resourced and trained.
What difference will these measures make?
We believe these measures will improve children’s online experiences in a number of ways. For example:
Children will not normally be able to access pornography.
Children will be protected from seeing, and being recommended, potentially harmful content.
Children will not be added to group chats without their consent.
It will be easier for children to complain when they see harmful content, and they can be more confident that their complaints will be acted on.
Our consultation follows proposals we’ve already published for how children should be protected from illegal content and activity such as grooming, child sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as how children should be prevented from accessing pornographic content.
Next steps
Our consultation is open until 17 July and we welcome any feedback on the proposals. We expect to finalise our proposals and publish our final statement and documents in spring next year.
Independent Arts Projects (IAP) in association with National Theatre of Scotland present
Shō and the Demons of the Deep
Written by Zoë Bullock, adapted from the work by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko
Directed by Shilpa T-Hyland
Designer – Claire Halleran, Lighting Design – Kate Bonney, Composer and Sound Design – Niroshini Thambar, Movement Director – Mele Broomes, Design Assistant – Morven McLeod
Cast: Itxaso Moreno,Christina Strachan and Rebecca Wilkie
Touring Scotland in April and May 2024
Coming to Edinburgh International Children’s Festival on Monday 27 – Thursday 30 May.
Independent Arts Projects (IAP) in association with National Theatre of Scotland present Shō and the Demons of the Deep, a timely new production for younger audiences aged 8 and over, written by Zoë Bullock, touring across Scotland in April and May 2024.
Shō and the Demons of the Deepis a visual adventure story about overcoming fear, and how the actions of one generation can affect the next. The production is inspired by the powerful picture book of the same name by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko.
“A dream. A dream of a hand reaching into the future and shaping it. A dream of change”
Shō’s city has been plagued by nightmares for as long as she can remember, but hers are the worst of all. One day, Shō had enough. She throws her nightmares away into the river, where they wash out to sea. Soon people start copying her; the city is rid of its nightmares, and everyone is delighted. But sixty years later, when the river becomes poisoned, to save her home, Shō’s granddaughter Hana must face her greatest fears.
Sho’s story unfolds through a magical mix of movement, music and miniature worlds, taking the audience from big cities to the ocean floor on a very big adventure!
Shō and the Demons of the Deepis a perfect story for the times we are living through; about young people dealing with anxiety and how to be a small brave person in a big scary world.
Zoe Bullock, writer, said: “Shō and the Demons of the Deep is a hopeful, joyous show about how we can work together to confront what scares us.
“It’s based on a beautiful picture book, and we’ve worked hard to do that justice and make something magical.
“Creating it with a wonderful team and the support of the NTS has been an absolute pleasure, and I can’t wait to share the story with people across Scotland.”
The production was supported through a National Theatre of Scotland Develop Residency in 2022.
Zoë Bullock is an award-winning writer based in Glasgow. Her writing for theatre includes The Listening Tree (Imaginate/Eco Drama, Edinburgh International Children’s Festival), Puss in Boots: A Solar Punk Pantomime (Hopscotch Theatre), Island Chains (New Earth Theatre, New Stories Festival), Octopus (Alpine Fellowship Award finalist). Her short films include: The Air We Breathe (Short Circuit, Grand Prize winner of The Script Lab Free Screenplay Contest 2023), Granny Fenella (Imaginate), Little Spoon’s Big Adventures (Visible Fictions), and the VR/360 experience Chamber 404 (Vroom Theatre/Camden People’s Theatre).
Shilpa T-Hyland’s directing credits include Wickies: The Vanishing Men of Eilean Mor (Paul Morrissey, Christopher Wheeler, Molly Morris), Kissing Linford Christie (Catherine Wheels, co-director), The Guns of Johnny Diablo, The Prognostications of Mikey Noyce and Oscar (A Play, A Pie and A Pint), Revolution Days (Bijli), We’ll Meet in Moscow (Traverse) and Miss Julie (Horsecross). She previously worked with NTS as an Associate Director on Burn and The 306: Dusk (NTS, Horsecross).
Itxaso Moreno trained at Bizkaiko Antzerki Ikastegia in Bilbao, Basque Country. Theatre includes Sleeping Beauty (Platform), The Tempest (Tron Theatre), Low Pay? Don’t Pay! (Glasgow Live/Tron Theatre) and has previously worked with National Theatre of Scotland on This Restless House (a co-production with The Citizens Theatre) and Home (NTS).
Christina Strachan has appeared in Forever Home by Pauline Lockhart, the critically acclaimed one-woman show Rose (Òran Mór and Milan), Department Q (Netflix), Payback (STV), Ghost Crew (Hex Media).
RebeccaWilkie graduated from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, winning their prestigious James Bridie Gold Medal award. Her recent theatre credits include Everything Under the Sun (Army at the Fringe) winning a Scotsman Fringe First award, The Infernal Serpent (A Play, A Pie, and A Pint) and Nightlands & Fallen Angels of the Moine (Dogstar Theatre).
Independent Arts Projects (IAP) works with some of Scotland’s most talented and innovative artists and theatre makers to develop, produce and tour a programme of productions, arts projects, events, and opportunities for people across Scotland and beyond.
Shō and the Demons of the Deep is supported by Creative Scotland’s Touring Fund and Federation of Scottish Theatre. Development has been supported by Imaginate and Playwrights’ Studio Scotland.
Touring in 2024 to Platform, Easterhouse, Glasgow (Fri 12 & Sat 13 April); Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (Wed 17 April); Mareel, Shetland (Wed 24 April ); Mull Theatre (Tue 30 April); Dunoon Burgh Hall (Fri 3 May); Birnam Arts Dunkeld (Wed 8 May); Melrose Corn Exchange (Sat 11 May); Lyth Arts Centre, Wick (Fri 17 May) The Bridge, Dumfries (Tue 21 & Wed 22 May); Edinburgh International Children’s Festival (Mon 27 May – Thurs 30 May); Eden Court Theatre, Inverness (Mon 3 June) and Byre Theatre, St Andrews (Wed 5 June).
Opening Performance on Friday 12 September at Platform, Easterhouse, Glasgow
Tour information and full cast and creative biogs and access info here.
QUEEN Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, has developed a series of resources for use in educational settings to help enhance disability literacy.
The University will launch its new Toy Box Diversity Lab website of resources on 9th May 2024, which will help guide discussions between educators and their primary school learners about disability equality and representation in the school curriculum, as well as encouraging them to think about accessibility in their own environments.
Funded by the QMU Innovation Fellowship, the educational assets include an activities pack, instructional videos and a directory of other resources to encourage positive discussions in schools.
The University will also be launching an online short course on Disability Confidence for Educational Practitioners, running from September 2024.
Dr Clare Uytman and Dr Siân Jones, senior lecturers in the Division of Psychology, Sociology and Education at QMU, have led the three-year long project, establishing their own research group to do so.
The lecturers have tested their resources with almost 550 children in England and Scotland, as well as running focus groups to create the final products in collaboration with teachers, disabled adults and parents of disabled children.
Dr. Uytman, said: “Positive understanding, representation and discussion around disability is so important for achieving a more inclusive learning environment through imagination and play, which will help children understand the importance of these topics from an early age.
“It is so rewarding to see three years of hard work and thorough research come together with the creation of these highly beneficial resources which we hope will be of real value to the teaching profession and enhance disability literacy.”
As well as the website, the QMU lecturers have also been working in collaboration with activist not-for-profit organisation, ToyLikeMe, to ensure better representation of disabilities in children’s media, including toys, books and television programmes.
Dr. Jones, said: “There is growing evidence that toys representing disability give non-disabled children windows into the worlds of disabled children.
“We are building on this evidence base, using images of adapted toy prototypes, such as Barbie with a missing limb, or Olaf the snowman from Disney’s Frozen with a cochlear implant, and showcasing these to children through pop-up exhibitions and activities we have been trialing at schools to help them think and speak positively about disability.”
Scottish primary school teacher, Mhairi Ritchie, welcomed one of these pop-up exhibitions so that she, and her pupils, could sample the resources. She said: “Involvement in the project was a fantastic way to explore disability. The children learned new vocabulary and developed a new perspective around what it means to be disabled.
“The accompanying resources were highly engaging and thoughtfully designed, enabling an interdisciplinary approach to the learning. The great thing is that we can use the resources again in the future and we look forward to doing so!”
An event will be taking place both online and in the Halle Lecture Theatre on campus at QMU to coincide with the official launch of the website on 9th May.
The launch event will take place between 4pm and 5.30pm at which attendees can learn more about the evidence-based research that has been conducted for this project, as well as more details on the resources on offer.
Teen cancer survivor and advocate Molly Cuddihy and Natalie Don MSP join impressive line-up for Children in Scotland Annual Conference 2024
Children in Scotland has today revealed two more speakers for its Annual Conference 2024, with teen cancer survivor and advocate Molly Cuddihy, and Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise, Natalie Don MSP, joining the packed lineup of expert voices.
Held on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 May at Murrayfield Stadium, the flagship event will bring together delegates, partners and supporters from across the children’s sector, providing opportunities to exchange ideas, network and learn.
Addressing the conference with a keynote speech on day one, Molly Cuddihy is a passionate advocate for the rights of children and young adults, particularly those living with and progressing from cancer and other serious illness, having been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer when she was just 15 years old.
Currently a Youth Ambassador for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, Molly has a wealth of experience to share with the conference. As co-founder of the charity Every Thank You Counts, and co-ordinator for the acclaimed Radio Therapy podcast, which covers themes including mental health, body image and mortality, the inspiring teen will provide fresh perspectives on topics close to her heart.
Speaking on day two of the conference, Natalie Don MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise, will discuss a range of issues relevant to children and young people, and the wider sector, providing valuable insights.
Natalie Don MSP said: “I’m really looking forward to what is set to be another amazing event run by Children in Scotland.
“I was lucky enough to be invited to their 30th Anniversary Networking event last year where I had the pleasure of meeting a number of past and present staff members, and engaged with the amazing members of the Changing our World children and young people’s advisory group.
“As this inspirational group has been heavily involved with the development, planning, and workshop selection for the upcoming conference, I know it will be a very interesting and thought-provoking event where experts in a wide variety of areas can get together to discuss issues impacting children.”
Alongside powerful keynote speeches, informative panel discussions, and engaging workshops, children and young people’s voices will be central to both days of the Annual Conference, with representatives from Changing our World (CoW) co-chairing the programme.
Ensuring attendees hear directly from the young Scots they work with and for every day has been a key goal for Children in Scotland when planning the Annual Conference 2024, and further highlights of the programme include co-designed workshops and interactive sessions, covering everything from supporting neurodivergent children to suicide prevention, Artificial Intelligence, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, learning through play, youth homelessness, and many more topics.
Over £500m in Child Disability Payment paid to families
Parents of disabled children are being urged to make sure they’re not missing out on vital financial support from the Scottish Government.
Child Disability Payment is money to help families cover the extra costs of looking after a child or young person who is disabled, has a long-term health condition or is terminally ill.
Since being introduced in 2021, over 78,000 children and young people have received the payment, with more than £500 million being paid out in total.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville met parents and children at Carrongrange High School in Grangemouth to hear about their experiences of applying for and receiving the benefit and to urge other parents to apply.
Child Disability Payment, paid by Social Security Scotland, has replaced Disability Living Allowance for Children from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The devolved benefit, designed in partnership with parents of disabled children and charities, was designed to be as straightforward and stress free as possible.
Light touch reviews were introduced for children whose condition has not changed since the original application was made. This means children with lifelong disabilities do not need to face ongoing lengthy reviews to continue getting financial support.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Children and young people with a disability, long-term health condition or terminal illness often have additional needs and the costs for families can add up.
“Far too many families found the previous DWP scheme complicated and stigmatising. We were determined to change that and hearing from parents shows that we have.
“The Scottish Government’s social security systems is built on encouraging people to apply, supporting them in the process and getting the decision right first time.”
“I’m pleased Child Disability Payment is there to support families who need extra help and I urge anyone whose child is eligible to apply.
“It’s money they’re entitled to and could help make life a bit easier.”
Catherine Sneddon, 37, Grangemouth, whose son receives Child Disability Payment said:“Louis has been on Disability Living Allowance since he was diagnosed in 2013. Back then I didn’t know if he’d be able to claim and it was a constant battle with the DWP.
“It’s only recently that he’s transferred over to Child Disability Payment. It was much more plain sailing than I anticipated. I expected a fight and what I got was a questionnaire through the post. The level of care he gets has been the same for three years so I ticked the box saying, ‘he’s stable.’ And that was it.
“With the DWP I would have had to get a letter from his neurologist to prove he still needed Disability Living Allowance. For them your child is what they see on the form. They don’t know how hard it is to care for a child with a disability at home, at school and in the community.
Janine Proudlock, Headteacher at Carrongrange High School in Grangemouth said:“For me the Child Disability Payment supports families to ensure they have the right resources, at the right to time to do the right work to allow the whole family to flourish.
“Whether it’s caring support or specialised resources to meet their child’s needs, this is essential money to improve the lives of the young people and their family.”
