We are very excited about our Cherry Blossom Picnic this Sunday 26th April from 2 – 4pm. The blossom is incredible at the moment.
The Edinburgh Brass Band will be playing.
Our volunteers will be serving tea, coffee and cakes Children’s activities, Japanese writing, plant sale and many more stalls!
Please remember to bring your picnic blanket and picnic.
Donations of home baking labelled welcome. See you all on Sunday!
As Scotland marks the National Year of Reading, the Edinburgh International Book Festival will launch its 2026 Schools Programme (running Monday 24 – Friday 28 August 2026) with a week of author events, creative activity and classroom resources designed to support teachers, school librarians and home educators at the start of the academic year.
The timing is pointed. New research from the National Literacy Trust (published January 2026, based on a survey of 7,739 children and young people aged 8-18 across 61 Scottish schools) reports that 30.3% of children and young people in Scotland say they enjoy reading in their free time, and only 1 in six read daily – a sharp reminder of how much reading cultures need practical, confidence‑building support.
The 2026 Schools Programme offers multiple routes for participation: schools can visit in person, join selected events via livestream (with on‑demand access afterwards), and draw on a bank of Learning Resources intended for standalone lessons or to expand a Book Festival visit. Digital participation options are explicitly free.
For in‑person visits, pupils will be able to see writers and illustrators live, take part in event Q&As, and, on Wednesday 26 August and Thursday 27 August, explore the Discovery Zone(drop‑in activities 10:00–14:00, located on Level 2) delivered with partner organisations including Edinburgh Libraries, Super Power Agency, and Kids in Cyber.
Across the programme, the Book Festival’s emphasis is on access: every pupil receives a free book, thanks to the support of Claire and Mark Urquhart, and schools can apply for free tickets for pupils who might otherwise miss out, as well as support from a transport fund. Tickets are priced at £4 per pupil, with one free adult ticket per ten pupil tickets (with flexibility where higher ratios are needed for access reasons).
Author highlights (2026)
The programme features a wide range of writers and illustrators for primary and secondary years, including Jacqueline Wilson, Paterson Joseph, Patrick Ness, Katherine Rundell, Manjeet Mann, and others across the week, with themed days including a Primary School Gala Day (Wed 26 Aug) and Secondary School Teen Takeover Day (Thu 27 Aug).
We are excited to share with you all our fresh programme of events for 2026-27!
We look forward to welcoming you to this year’s programme full of community connection, wellbeing in the wild, and mindful moments. 
Pop-in to say hi and pick up a copy of the programme or you can view our programme in full here.
As always, if you’ve any questions or would like to find out more, get in touch with us
hello@pchp.org.uk
0131 551 1671
BANK OF SCOTLAND FUNDING SECURES PYCP’s FUTURE
We are delighted to share that we have received a five year unrestricted grant totalling £250,000 through Bank of Scotland Foundation’s Empower programme!
This kind of support helps us strengthen our work and grow our impact over the long term. Thank you!
Thousands of children each year end up in hospital through accidental poisoning. But in Take Action Today areas, emergency admissions for under-fives have dropped by almost 50% since 2013.
Take Action Today helps parents keep their young children safe from accidental poisoning through free safety resources, checklists and fact sheets.
Join the 1 million families who have benefited from Take Action Today – access free safety resources at www.rospa.com/home-safety/household-cleaning-products
CARERS TRUST are proud to be supporting #CarersWeek 2026!
This year’s theme is Building Carer Friendly Communities and from 8-14 June we’ll explore how to build communities that make a real and lasting difference to the lives of carers.
A new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) study Maternal RSV vaccination and reduced risk of hospitalisation for babies in England 2024/25, clearly shows the maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme is providing over 80% protection for newborn infants, including those born prematurely.
The study found vaccination at least 2 weeks before the birth gave 81.3% protection. A narrow range of statistical uncertainty, 78.9% to 83.4%, means there is high confidence in the protective effect of the vaccine.
The study, which analysed data from the first year of vaccine roll out (24/25), is believed to be the largest study in the world evaluating the effect of maternal RSV vaccination in preventing infants being hospitalised for RSV chest infection.
RSV causes bronchiolitis (infection and inflammation of the small airways of the lung) and is a major cause of hospital admission in infants.
The maternal vaccination programme is offered to women from 28 weeks of pregnancy to protect newborns.
The study followed nearly 300,000 babies born between September 2024 and March 2025, representing around 90% of all births in England during this period. Using routinely collected electronic health records, UKHSA researchers assessed the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing hospital admissions. More than 4,500 hospitalisations occurred in this cohort, the vast majority in infants whose mothers had not been vaccinated.
Getting the vaccine on time was best (in week 28 or soon after that), as babies born at least 4 weeks after their mother was vaccinated had nearly 85% protection. But importantly, even vaccination later in pregnancy still gives some protection, with vaccination as close as 10 to 13 days before birth reducing hospital admissions by 50%.
The study, which will be presented today (18 Apri)l at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) global conference, also found that premature babies, who are particularly vulnerable to RSV, can be well protected, provided there is at least 2 weeks between vaccination and birth.
Matt Wilson, Epidemiologist at UKHSA, presenter and lead author, said: “Our evaluation of the first season of the programme in England gives important confirmation that maternal RSV vaccination is highly protective for newborn infants, over 80%, and that effectiveness reached nearly 85% when vaccination occurred at least 4 weeks before birth.
“These findings are also particularly important for preterm infants, who are among the most vulnerable to severe RSV infection. With sufficient time between vaccination and birth, we saw good levels of protection in these babies.
“Giving the vaccination early in the third trimester, as recommended by the World Health Organization, could protect most preterm infants, so it’s important that midwives and other healthcare workers offer vaccination on time with the schedule – and that pregnant women promptly take it up.”
Maternal RSV vaccine uptake in England continues to climb, reaching 55% during the study period and the latest data showing uptake rising to 64.1% for women who gave birth in November 2025.
Dr Conall Watson, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, one of the senior authors and national programme lead for RSV, said: “RSV can cause life-threatening chest infections for babies. Half of newborns will have caught RSV before they are a year old. As an expectant parent you have no idea if they are going to be severely ill or not.
“Our analysis of the RSV vaccination programme in England is important confirmation of the results from the clinical trial, but this study is 40 times bigger and clearly shows the hugely beneficial effect on reducing hospital admission.
“Getting vaccinated in week 28 of pregnancy or soon after gives excellent protection to both term and preterm babies when they are tiny and most vulnerable to severe RSV. The RSV vaccine gives a brilliant boost to the pregnant woman’s immune system so it can pass antibodies through the placenta and protect the baby from the day they are born.”
CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
Join us for our Japan Sakura @ Lauriston Castle – a festival spanning 2 weekends (Sat 18/Sun 19 & Sat 25/Sun 26 April), celebrating the blossom at Lauriston Castle.
Full details of #Japanese#cultural events here: https://cultureedinburgh.com/…/japan-sakura-at…
Free and drop in. #Edinburgh#Scotland
The Prime Minister will say “looking the other way is not an option” as he brings senior leaders of major social media companies – Meta, Snap, Google (YouTube), TikTok and X – to Downing Street today to press for progress on one of the most urgent issues affecting children today.
For parents, the stakes could not be higher – this is about whether children grow up supported and safe online or exposed to harm with no one taking responsibility. When it comes to keeping young people safe online, the Prime Minister has been clear this is not a question of if the government will act, but how.
Throughout the government’s consultation, he has heard first hand from parents on the worries they have about the growing grip of social media on their children’s lives and the need for greater support.
The Prime Minister has said his government will not sit on its hands after the consultation, but instead has acted swiftly to take the legislative powers needed to move quickly once it has concluded to deliver change within months, not years.
Some social media companies have already stepped up by putting in place protections like disabling autoplay for children by default and giving parents greater control over screen time and introducing curfews. But the Prime Minister has argued we must go further to protect children and meet the moment.
During today’s meeting, the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary will set out the government’s principles and values when it comes to protecting children, and press for answers from companies on what they are doing to keep children safe online and responding to families’ concerns.
Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Social media shapes how children see themselves, their friendships and the world around them. When that comes with real risks, looking the other way is not an option.
“Parents rightly expect action and fast. That’s why we’ve already taken the powers needed to move quickly once our consultation ends.
“I will take whatever steps necessary to keep children safe online. Today is about making sure social media companies step up and take responsibility.
“The consequences of failing to act are stark. We owe it to parents, and to the next generation, to put children’s safety first – because they won’t forgive us if we don’t.”
The meeting comes halfway through the government’s consultation, Growing Up in the Online World, which has so far received more than 45,000 responses to proposals aimed at protecting children’s wellbeing online.
With around six weeks left before the consultation closes on 26 May, the government is urging parents and children to get involved and help shape the next steps.
The consultation is the most ambitious of its kind in the world. It explores key questions including whether to introduce a minimum age for social media, limits on addictive design features, and stronger safeguards around AI chatbots for young people.
Almost 6,000 young people have already taken part, and more than 80 organisations – including schools, charities and community groups – have participated in engagement sessions with ministers and officials in recent months.
Take part in the national consultation: https://gov.uk/growing-up-online
A leading coalition of children’s services providers has challenged political parties to “stop talking and start delivering” after a dramatic surge in additional support needs (ASN) conditions among Scotland’s pupils.
New analysis of Scottish Government data reveals a sharp rise in complex needs over the past decade. Between 2015 and 2025:
Overall, the number of pupils identified with ASN has almost doubled—from 153,143 to 299,445—now accounting for 43% of all pupils, experiencing an increased complexity of need.
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education for vulnerable children and young people, has warned that rising need is being met with falling support.
Despite the sharp increase in demand:
The SCSC notes that the gap between need and provision is being driven by a combination of improved diagnosis, the lasting impact of Covid-19, social media pressures, and the cost-of-living crisis.
Associated with this, we are witnessing increasing levels of classroom disruption, a key cause of this being the increase in the number of those with ASN, who are not receiving the support they are entitled to.
The SCSC has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of mainstreaming—where pupils are educated in mainstream classrooms unless exceptional circumstances apply—warning that without adequate support, it is failing many children.
An SCSC spokesperson said: “Scotland’s politicians must stop talking and start delivering. The scale of this increase in need is staggering—but the support simply isn’t keeping pace.
“Too many children with ASN are being left without the help they are entitled to. That is failing them, their classmates, their teachers and support staff.
“Mainstreaming can work—but not without the resources to back it up. Right now, that support just isn’t there, and we are seeing the consequences in rising classroom disruption and unmet need.
“The next Scottish Government must act decisively, providing adequate support for children and young people with ASN, who disproportionately come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Reasons for support for pupils with ASN (pupils may have more than one reason for additional support).
| Reason for support | 2025 | 2015 | % change on 2015 | ||||
| Total | Total | ||||||
| Dyslexia | 39,036 | 17,034 | 129 | ||||
| Other specific learning difficulty (e.g. numeric) | 30,720 | 17,552 | 75 | ||||
| Other moderate learning difficulty | 30,484 | 23,228 | 31 | ||||
| Visual impairment | 5,739 | 3,839 | 49.5 | ||||
| Hearing impairment | 4,376 | 2,738 | 59 | ||||
| Deaf blind | 64 | 47 | 42.5 | ||||
| Physical or motor impairment | 8,618 | 7,528 | 14.5 | ||||
| Language or speech disorder | 20,758 | 14,704 | 41 | ||||
| Autistic spectrum disorder | 41,285 | 11,722 | 252 | ||||
| Social, emotional and behavioural difficulty | 77,405 | 31,684 | 144 | ||||
| Physical health problem | 21,961 | 9,059 | 142 | ||||
| Mental health problem | 14,638 | 2,338 | 526 | ||||
| Interrupted learning | 15,931 | 2,669 | 497 | ||||
| English as an additional language | 61,107 | 21,997 | 178 | ||||
| Looked after | 10,673 | 7,530 | 42 | ||||
| More able pupil | 3,075 | 3,123 | -1.5 | ||||
| Communication Support Needs | 19,374 | 4,894 | 296 | ||||
| Young Carer | 10,302 | 1,653 | 523 | ||||
| Bereavement | 7,261 | 1,304 | 457 | ||||
| Substance Misuse | 762 | 221 | 245 | ||||
| Family Issues | 31,865 | 9,700 | 228.5 | ||||
| Risk of Exclusion | 2,610 | 925 | 182 | ||||
| Learning disability | 12,241 | 15,324 | -20 | ||||
| Other | 25,406 | 14,156 | 79.5 |
