Children and Families – Page 187 – The NEN

Parent Club support for parents and families

Advice for parents and carers on managing the impact of Covid-19 on their child’s learning and family life is now available.

Following school closures, a new hub of information has been created on parentclub.scot covering health information, advice on how to talk about Covid-19 and ideas on helping children through this time.

In addition; councils and headteachers can also advise parents and carers on the continued provision of education and childcare for key workers.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “This is the biggest challenge of our lives and my priority is to ensure the health and wellbeing of children and young people, and as far as possible, to minimise disruption to learning.

“My message for parents and carers is clear – you are not alone and we are here to help you. We do not expect you to be teachers or set up a classroom, but there are ways you can support your child or children at home which will help their continued wellbeing and learning.

“Our Parent Club website offers valuable tips for families on managing the impact of Covid-19 and ways to support children through this uncertain period.

“I would also highlight the excellent advice already provided by many organisations like Young Scot or Children 1^st that talk directly to young people about their concerns.”

BBC unveils children’s iPlayer experience

Families and children can now easily discover a wide range of entertaining and educational shows and films, with the launch of a new children’s experience on BBC iPlayer.

Rolling out on internet-connected TVs, it brings together the best from CBBC and CBeebies, and other suitable BBC programming, all in one place.

When selecting who’s watching iPlayer, there’s now a monster shaped ‘children’ button, which opens a treasure trove of viewing – from hit shows like Hey Duggee and Bing to David Walliams classics such as The Boy In The Dress, Gangsta Granny and Mr Stink – which return to iPlayer.

Children can easily find something to watch thanks to more ‘child-friendly’ categories, that let them pick and browse between Trending, Drama, Funny and Cartoons – as well as giving easy access to the CBeebies and CBBC channels.

The children’s experience has been designed to give confidence to parents and carers that kids are watching suitable shows – with content curated from across CBeebies, CBBC and other suitable BBC programmes and brands.

To make the service even more special, it has been given a distinctive, bright and bold design – helping children understand that this is a dedicated experience just for them.

Alice Webb, Director BBC Children’s and Education, says: “Keeping children informed, educated and entertained at home during these unprecedented times is going to be even more important than ever.

“Whether it’s being a number detective with the Numberblocks, going on a global adventure with Go Jetters, or learning about the planet’s deadliest animals with Deadly 60 – this new experience gives children of all ages a place to go to do that.

“We can’t promise solving the sibling tiffs over what to watch – but we can make it even easier to bring families and kids an incredible choice of shows and films on iPlayer. Children and parents can be assured the BBC will be for them during these challenging times.”

Dan Taylor-Watt, Director of Product, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, says: “We know more and more iPlayer viewing is happening on the biggest screen in the home.

“We’re now making that experience even better for children – so they have a safe place to enjoy their favourite shows, discover new ones – and learn more, especially at the moment. And over time, this experience will get even better, with recommendations increasingly tailored to them – making sure they get the best kids experience possible.”

Make us, not break us: Ferryhill plans for life post-Coronavirus

Schools will close today for all children and staff. The Council are working on the emergency arrangements that will be put in place from Monday, 30th March 2020.

We hope to be back in school by the end of June but this will be under the direction of the Scottish Government.

Should this not be the case, we will organise an event to bring our school and community together again. The current P7 children will be invited and at that event we will celebrate their time at Ferryhill.

This will include the opportunity for the signing of the sweatshirt as well as other celebrations to give them a proper send off from Ferryhill. It may take place in an evening. We will ask parents across the school for help with this.

This situation will make us, it will not break us !

Free School Meals to continue

Council Leader Cllr Adam McVey:

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to ensure young people who receive Free School Meals will continue to be supported with this payment. We’ve also given additional funding to help support families with children receiving free school meals through the Easter Holidays.

“We’re now pulling together proposals to support the children of key workers and our most vulnerable families which we will have finalised next week. I want to reassure the people of Edinburgh that the Council will continue to do all it can to protect and support our communities.”

Working from home with kids: Coping with the pressure

As more of us turn to self-isolation, the burden of work and home schooling is becoming a scary reality. We explore some coping strategies to help home workers cope with what might be the most challenging period of life so far …

In Norway parents have been told to home school their kids for 2 months. They have a set workload to teach and submissions must be submitted each day at 2pm. It might not come to that, but how do you even begin to cope with work pressure and home-schooling deadlines like that?

“Our kids were off school yesterday both with dry coughs, therefore we are in self-isolation for the near future from today. The reality of home schooling whilst trying to keep on working is very daunting indeed”, explained Jonathan Ratcliffe of Offices.co.uk

Working from home is tough. Home schooling is very tough. So, if you must combine the two for a long period of time, how are you going to cope?

You are going to have to plan well, get organised and work to a strict timetable if you want to get everything done. Equally, you’ll need to have a proper split between work, school, fun and rest.

“The first thing you need to do is lower your expectations of what you are going to achieve, both with work and schooling. If you try to do too much the experience is going to be highly stressful”, Ratcliffe adds.

Lower your expectations of what you will achieve with work
Simplify your day into a set routine
Don’t try and achieve too much
Pause and try and appreciate moments with your kids

Here are 10 tips on how to survive:

START EARLY AT THE SAME TIME EACH DAY: Routine is important for good sleep and mental health, for both you and your kids. School starts at a set time, so make sure you are ready and stick to the timetable.

GET DRESSED PROPERLY LIKE TEACHER AND STUDENT: Getting showered and dressed is important to divide sleep and school.

CREATE SPACES FOR DIFFERENT ACTVITIES: You might set up a teaching room (kitchen), quiet room (spare bedroom) and a play area (living room)

STRUCTURE YOUR DAY LIKE A SCHOOL DAY: Teaching time, activity time, play time and lunch time – just like their normal school routine

MAKE A PLAN WITH YOUR KIDS: At the start of the day ask them what they want to do (within reason) so they feel involved

TURN OFF YOUR PHONE: How are your kids meant to feel involved if you are checking emails?

SET ASIDE BREAKS FOR TV, IPAD AND EXERCISE: Use these times to schedule work emails or calls

TAKE EXERCISE: Depending on where you live, if you have a garden or not – try and get some fresh air, this also allows you some headspace

FINISH AT A SET TIME, BEDTIME AT A SET TIME: By getting a routine drilled in early on, you can try and get the kids to sleep at a sensible time, thereby giving yourself some space to work if you need to

DON’T BE TEMPTED TO HIT THE WINE: If you can, evening time will be the only real time you can realistically work. If you drink your concentration will be poor, sleep poor and you’ll wake in a grumpy mood. Try and keep drinking to a minimum.

“We are heading into unchartered territory here and no one knows what life will look like at the end. It’s important to realise that time with your kids is a gift, don’t try and do too much – hopefully we can all stay relatively positive through this difficult time”, concludes Ratcliffe.

Coalition urges government to up it’s game

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading independent and third sector providers of children’s services, is urging the Scottish Government to ‘up its game’ in response to a new report from the Mental Welfare Commission.

The report indicates that the number of young people under the age of 18 admitted to non-specialist hospital wards – mainly adult wards – for treatment of their mental illness in Scotland in 2018-19 rose for the second year running. There were 118 admissions involving 101 young people.

This is an increase on the 2017-18 figures which were 103 admissions involving 90 young people and a further increase from 2016/17 when there were 71 admissions involving 66 young people.

Admission of a young person to an adult ward should only be acceptable in rare situations.

However, despite a greatly increased demand on mental health services, there are currently only 48 specialist hospital beds provided by the NHS in Scotland for adolescents with mental health problems.

These are located in three child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) inpatient units (Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow) and there is a further six place unit for five to 12-year olds in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow. There is no inpatient provision north of Dundee.

Given the lack of provision, many children and young people with severe mental health problems are therefore being admitted to non-specialist adult and paediatric hospital wards, settings which are in many cases inappropriate to their needs.

The coalition has urged the Scottish Government to ensure that there are adequate specialist bed numbers that can deal with the requirements and to refocus its efforts on prevention and early intervention, ensuring that issues do not escalate so that they require the provision of these specialist services. It has also called for secure impatient facilities for young people with mental health illnesses, of which there are currently none in Scotland.

Under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment (Scotland) Act 2003 Health Boards are required to provide appropriate services and accommodation for young people admitted to hospital for treatment of their mental disorder.

Given admissions to non-specialist mental health wards, it is clearly arguable whether appropriate services are being provided.

There are a number of differences between specialist units and wards designed to treat the needs of adults with serious mental illness, both in terms of staff training and the overall ward environment. Given this, there is a clear concern that the needs of a young person may not be met in comparable way when admitted to an adult mental health ward as opposed to a specialist child and adolescent unit.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition commented: “We are clearly concerned about the increasing number of those being admitted to adult mental health wards, often inappropriate to their needs, both in terms of staff training and the ward environment.

“The Scottish Government needs to up its game on this and provide adequate facilities, ensuring that there are sufficient specialist bed numbers for those requiring them. There is also currently no provision north of Dundee and this requires to be urgently addressed.

“For children and young people who require inpatient mental health care, a lack of such services means that they frequently remain at home, often until the family reaches crisis point, leaving them feeling isolated and delaying recovery.

“These are among the most vulnerable members of our society and we owe it to them to give them the adequate care and support that they need.”

Charity launches urgent appeal

Scotland’s largest children’s charity, Aberlour Child Care Trust, is appealing to the nation to come together to help the thousands of children and their families who it expects will experience significant levels of poverty as a result of the Coronavirus.

Whilst the full-scale impact of Covid-19 is yet to be fully quantified, Aberlour Child Care Trust warns many families are already at breaking point and as the situation unfolds, will struggle to put food on their tables, heat and light their homes, or even meet basic and essential needs.

Aberlour has today called on supporters and members of the public to donate some of the money they will save as a result of working at home, such as the cost of a takeaway coffee or the price of a bus fare, to its Urgent Assistance Fund.

The Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund makes cash payments to those most in need, helping them pay for a range emergency needs. The charity is expecting significant demand for money to pay for everything from food and toiletries, to household essentials, power cards and emergency clothing.

SallyAnn Kelly, Aberlour Chief Executive said: “Demand for our Urgent Assistance Fund before the Coronavirus struck was already at an unprecedented level. More than £57,000 had been given out so far this financial year and we expect this to climb sharply in the coming months.

“Covid-19 is now causing severe disruption to normal everyday life: jobs are already being cut and other businesses will take some time to recover. The result is that the people worst affected will be those on low incomes.

“Many people unable to work because they have contracted the virus will receive statutory sick pay however this is usually less than their normal wages and seldom sufficient to pay for all expenses a typical family may face.

“We know that so many people are desperate to help those less fortunate, but just don’t know how or what to do. That’s why we’re asking the public to donate some of the money they will save as a result of working from home, such as the cost of a takeaway coffee or their bus fare to work.

“If we all come together as a nation and help in a small, affordable way, it will make a huge difference to the most vulnerable in society as we help them through these unprecedented times.

“Please take this opportunity by donating to the Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund so that children, young people and families don’t suffer as a result of Coronavirus.”

You can donate to Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund here: www.aberlour.org.uk/donate/

How Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund helped Sarah and her baby

Shortly after Sarah’s baby was born, both became unwell and were rushed to intensive care for a week. After recovering, they were due to be discharged when it became apparent that Sarah had very little income and no support from family. That meant after paying her household bills and baby essentials, there wasn’t enough money left to buy warm clothing.

Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund came to the rescue for Sarah and her baby. It provided Sarah with a sum of money to enable her to have food for her cupboards and freezer, warm clothes for her and her baby to minimise any repeat visits to hospital, and money for her gas and electricity meters.

If you require urgent assistance, you can apply to receive funding from Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund.

You’ll need a health professional, Social Worker, teacher, third sector organisation, clergy or other professional to support your application.

Full details.

Schools out ’til summer?

Schools and nurseries will close to pupils from the end of this week, the First Minister announced yesterday.

The Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities to mitigate the impact on three groups as a priority:

Vulnerable pupils and those receiving free school meals
Pupils undertaking coursework and preparing for exams
Key workers including doctors, nurses and emergency service workers who have children

Later today Education Secretary John Swinney will address Parliament to explain the measures being put in place and to address key questions that parents and pupils have.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “This has been one of the hardest decisions we have faced so far as we tackle the coronavirus. SAGE – our expert scientific advisers – are examining new advice that is very likely to tell us to close schools.

“We also know more and more schools are approaching a point where they have lost too many staff to continue as normal. At this stage I cannot promise schools and nurseries will reopen after the Easter break.

“There will require to be a lot of local flexibility and we are working closely with local authorities to put those arrangements in place.

“Teachers, school staff and those in the nursery sector will have a vital role in the weeks ahead and we will work with you to minimise the impact on all our young peoples’ education, and in particular the most vulnerable groups.”

This poses a number of challenges and questions for the government:

Up to 250,000 children in Scotland live in poverty and currently receive free school meals. How will these children receive their meals?

What can parents and carers do to educated their children at home?

More parents will have to take time off work to look after their children, further affecting the economy

Students’ exam results are important in determining their future. If exams are cancelled, how will student grades be asessed and university places allocated?

Councillor Stephen McCabe, COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson, said: “We have been working closely with the Scottish Government and our local authority partners to consider the implications of the closure of schools and nurseries.

“It is vital that we support staff, parents and children and young people in these exceptional circumstances.

“We will continue this partnership work to ensure that local authorities get the right support and have the flexibility to make the decisions based on local circumstances. This will include support to the most vulnerable, our young people involved in exams and those who provide critical public services.”

Learn to Play Days Cancelled

Following the government’s announcements and the ongoing daily developments in regard to Coronavirus, the decision has been made to postpone the nationwide Learn to Play Day events that were planned for the weekend of 28th/29th March 2020.

Paul McManus, CEO of Music for All, the organisers of Learn to Play Day, said: “The safety of all event organisers and participants is of the utmost importance to us. This is a very current and fast-changing situation with the risks to people’s health likely to escalate alongside growing public concern.

“We understand that this decision comes as a disappointment, but ultimately, we all want the same thing – the health and safety of our communities. We will of course keep everyone updated as time progresses but, for now, we’d like to thank you and our partners for your understanding and patience during this difficult period.

“Despite the cancellation of Learn to Play, we do still encourage all musicians to keep playing for their own self-enjoyment and the physical and mental benefits of making music.”

Dare you do the DARED Challenge?

A unique fundraising challenge event designed by school staff to support vulnerable children across Edinburgh and the Lothians is back for 2020.

A fundraising event that inspires school staff and individuals from across Edinburgh and the Lothians to lace up their running shoes in support of a leading children’s charity is back for 2020.

The DARED Challenge – Do A Run Every Day – encourages participants to complete either a 1 mile or 5km run every day throughout the month of June in support of West Pilton-based charity, Circle.

Devised in 2018 by Broughton High maths teacher, and keen runner, Mark Fletcher, the DARED Challenge has continued to grow and last year saw more than 150 school staff from across Edinburgh and further afield raise more than £14,000 for the charity.

This year, as well as again looking to school staff from across the region to support the event, Mark and his organising team are appealing for members of the public to get involved. Circle’s patrons, David Tennant and Arabella Weir, will be joining the campaign to recruit participants in the coming months.

David Tennant’s previous video statement can be seen here.

Alongside the fundraising element, the aim of the challenge is to encourage as many people as possible to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of daily exercise, as well as spending time with colleagues away from the desk and work. The choice of different distances enables both experienced and beginner runners to feel included and challenged.

Although the premise of the event was built on getting school staff and teachers exercising regularly, organiser Mark hopes that the health benefits that arise as a result of this type of challenge will inspire anyone – not just teachers – to get involved.

He said: “Incorporating exercise into our daily lives has countless benefits to our physical and mental health. If we can do this while raising money for an extremely deserving cause, everyone’s a winner.”

Funds raised through the DARED Challenge will go directly to supporting Circle in its aim of improving the lives of children by strengthening families. The charity works at the heart of deprived communities across central Scotland, supporting the most disadvantaged children and families to improve their lives, promote their healthy development and reach their potential.

Participation in the DARED Challenge will help strengthen the charity’s family outreach work, help children and their families communicate, repair relationships and develop skills that enable them to lead more fulfilling lives.

Social inequality and poverty lead to some of the many reasons that a family may need the support of Circle including alcohol and substance misuse, imprisonment and young or lone parenting.

Many of the pupils in participating schools from previous DARED Challenges are supported by Circle.

Mark Kennedy, Chief Executive of Circle, said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who is taking part in The DARED Challenge as their dedication, passion and enthusiasm will directly enable Circle to continue our vital work supporting vulnerable children and families in Edinburgh and beyond.”

Early bird entry for the DARED Challenge is now open with participants able to choose to run one mile or 5km a day in June. Participation costs £10 per person. Participants are asked to fundraise a minimum of £50. Participants who do not wish to fundraise can pay an additional £20 to secure their position on the challenge.

Full details can be found here.