Tag: Children and Families

Nearly half of Scottish parents are struggling to maintain a work-life balance during cost of living crisis

  • The Balancing Act: Nearly half of Scottish parents (42%) admit their job prevents them maintaining a healthy work-life balance when it comes to their children, with 78% further admitting they feel trapped in their current career due to external factors
  • The Need for Change: Self-employment ranked as most attractive (27%) amongst Scottish parents looking for a new career to allow them a better work-parenting balance
  • New Career Aspirations: AA Driving School research reveals under pressure parents seek working-life changes

New research from AA Driving School shows that nearly half (42% and 51% across the UK) of Scottish parents find their job prevents them from finding a healthy work-life balance, due to childcare and cost of living pressures.

Increases to the cost of childcare have driven Scottish parents to work either additional hours in their current job (19%) or even take another job (12%) to financially support their family.

The Balancing Act

Data found that 22% of Glaswegians experience parent guilt every day (compared to 18% nationally), the top cause being the need to work additional hours which in Scotland was 50% to support their family financially.

More than half (52%) of UK parents agree that childcare costs influence their career decisions, with the age-old dilemma of ‘having it all’ truly impacting parents as nearly 3 in 5 (59%) feel guilty for working long hours instead of spending time with their children.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of Scottish parents admit they have missed their child’s sports day, parents evening (19%) and even their first steps (10%) due to work commitments.

The Need for Change

Against this backdrop, half of UK parents (49%) are ready to take the plunge and will look to explore a new career path this year to improve their work-life balance. With 60% of people in Edinburgh valuing flexible hours the most when seeking new career benefits, compared to the national average of 50%.

Among UK parents considering a change of employment, nearly third (34% and 27% across Scotland) would prefer self-employment if they were to change careers – ahead of retail (14%), healthcare (13%), education (19%) or other office work such as HR, IT and customer services (16%).

AA Driving School is encouraging Brits who are unhappy with their work-life balance to consider more flexible employment by becoming their own boss as an AA driving instructor.

Camilla Benitz, Managing Director at AA Driving School comments: “Inflexible 9-5 working models make it difficult for many parents to balance work and family life.

“Our research shows there is a greater need for workplace flexibility to assist UK parents balance financial, career and parenting needs. Many AA Driving School instructors have chosen this career to allow them flexibility around their families as well as having a long-term, rewarding career.”

Darren Churchill, an AA Driving School instructor since 2021 shares how being able to work flexibly and choose his  own hours has improved his work-life balance: “It was being put on furlough during the first lockdown that first got me thinking about a career change.

“I really valued the extra time I had with my children and I realised I didn’t want to give that up by going back to a 9 to 5 job. Having worked as a front of house manager for Ford previously, I was keen to stay within the motoring industry and becoming a driving instructor really appealed.

“It’s the best decision I’ve made as the flexibility it gives me with my children and family life is invaluable.”

For more information on how to become an AA Driving Instructor, please visit: Driving Instructor Training Courses | AA Driving School (theaa.com)

Coalition calls for political consensus as more than 460 children wait more than a year for mental health treatment

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, is calling on all Scotland’s political parties to come together and make mental health a key focus.

The call comes as new waiting time figures out yesterday (6th June), highlight that 469 children and young people had been languishing on waiting lists for more than a year for treatment from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) at the quarter ending March 2023.1

Indeed, just 74.2 per cent of patients with mental health problems were seen within 18 weeks of referral to CAMHS, with more than a quarter waiting longer than this time. This is short of the Scottish Government’s waiting time target of 90 per cent being seen within 18 weeks. 1

The new figures indicate that it has failed to deliver a key pledge to clear waiting lists by March 2023, as outlined in the NHS Recovery Plan.2

Figures also show that as many as 7,701 children and young people were still stuck on waiting lists to start treatment at the end of the quarter ending March 2023, an increase of 138 on the previous quarter ending December 2022.

The new figures are set against the backdrop of a mental health emergency, which is set to worsen given the cost-of-living crisis and services already at breaking point.

The SCSC is calling on a cross party approach to prioritise spending on mental health, avoiding a potential lost generation of children and young people with mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and self-harm.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, cases of poor mental health in children and young people were at unprecedented levels, with under-resourced services struggling to keep pace with growing demand, leaving an increasing number of vulnerable individuals unable to access support. Children and young people are still battling with the long shadow of lockdown, and the rising cost of living is adding to the pressure.

A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “The latest figures highlighting that more than 460 of our children and young people have been languishing on waiting lists for treatment more than a year is extremely alarming.

“Disturbingly, this means that the Scottish Government has totally failed to achieve its pledge to clear waiting lists by March 2023, leaving many thousands of children and young people waiting for treatment.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic demand for already overstretched and under-resourced mental health services was increasing. The mental health of our children and young people has deteriorated markedly over the past decade, and both the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis are making matters even worse, creating a potential lost generation of vulnerable children and young people.

“We are facing a mental health emergency and many of our children and young people are at breaking point, with stress and anxiety reaching alarming levels as they battle with the long shadow of lockdown and the rising cost of living.

“We must make the delivery of adequately resourced mental health services for our children and young people an absolute priority and would urge all of Scotland’s political parties to come together and make this a reality.” 

1 Public Health Scotland, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Waiting Times in Scotland, Quarter Ending December 2022, 7th March 2023. Dashboard. Available at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs-waiting-times/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs-waiting-times-quarter-ending-december-2022/

2 Scottish Government, NHS Recovery Plan, 25th August 2021. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan/pages/9/ (accessed 2nd September 2021).

Audiology scandal: We must not fail these children twice, deaf charity warns

The National Deaf Children’s Society has backed calls in the Scottish Parliament for more support for deaf children affected by the NHS Lothian audiology scandal.

A motion proposed by Jeremy Balfour, Conservative MSP for Lothians, on the current lack of support, has received cross party backing and will be debated in Parliament tomorrow (Thursday 8th June).

The debate follows a roundtable which Mr Balfour organised with families whose children were affected by the scandal earlier in the year. 

The debate – S6M-08219 Ensuring that Lothian Late-diagnosed Deaf Children Get the Support That They Need – will be held at 12:30pm, before First Minsters Question Time. It will conclude with a Scottish Government Minster responding to points raised by concerned MSPs.

The motion highlights that the failure of NHS Lothian to identify children’s deafness early will mean some children permanently miss out on opportunities to develop language and communication.

An independent report published in 2021, found that NHS Lothian was identifying children’s deafness when they were on average 4.5 years old, while the average age of identification as deaf in England was three months. The report was commissioned after the National Deaf Children’s Society raised concerns about the quality of children’s audiology at NHS Lothian.

Mark Ballard, Head of Policy for Scotland for the National Deaf Children’s Society, welcomed the debate saying: “It’s vital that NHS Lothian and local authorities work together to ensure every child affected by the failings of NHS Lothian’s paediatric audiology service get the support that they need to thrive.

“We must not fail these children twice – first by failing to identify their deafness and then by failing to give them the support they need, especially as their needs may be more complex due to late identification.”

The National Deaf Children’s Society is calling for a specialist resource provision to be set up within a school in Lothian and the Borders, similar to those in Glasgow, Falkirk and Dundee.

The charity wants NHS Lothian and local authorities to work together on an individual plan for support for every deaf child involved.

The National Deaf Children’s Society also calls for the recruitment of additional specialist staff to address the more complex language and communications needs of children whose deafness was missed in the early years, who may struggle to catch up with their hearing classmates.

Every Moment Counts: Deaf children in Scotland need better support in early years

The National Deaf Children’s Society has launched a new five-year strategy, Every Moment Counts, which aims to ensure all deaf children across Scotland receive the support they need during their early years (0-5), or as soon as their deafness is identified.  

The charity is shifting the focus of its campaigning to early years as it strongly believes that families need first class support during this crucial period, so they feel empowered to make informed decisions and champion their deaf child.  

For all children the early years is a crucial time, but the National Deaf Children’s Society says this is even more so for deaf children, given the impact deafness can have on language development, communication, and social skills.   

Missed opportunities to spot deafness and provide the support deaf children need can lead to lifelong impacts, according to the charity. 

It says a deaf child without good language and communication development in the early years, be it spoken, sign, or a mixture of both, can experience ongoing challenges. They may struggle to listen and follow instructions in the classroom, or miss conversations with their peers, leading to feelings of isolation and a sense of ‘missing out’.

Kirsten Abioye’s son was not diagnosed as deaf until he was almost three due to failures at their local heath board’s paediatric audiology service.

Kirsten said: “Our experience of early years was really hard. The audiology department was unhelpful and dismissed me as an anxious mum. We experienced delays and a general lack of communication which left us in a difficult position. We knew something was going on with our son but did not know how to support him. His diagnosis brought overwhelming relief.”

Teachers of the Deaf can help bridge this gap, by providing specialist support to deaf children of all ages once their deafness is identified. They play a vital role in deaf children’s lives, particularly during the critical early years – helping to reduce their chances of them falling behind developmentally, socially and educationally.  

But a report published by the Consortium for Research into Deaf Education (CRIDE), shows Teachers of the Deaf numbers across Scotland have fallen by 40% in a decade and almost half (45%) are due to retire in the next 10 years. The fall in numbers is twice that of other parts of the UK.  

This means thousands of deaf children across Scotland are not getting the support they need in school. Deaf young people in Scotland are already twice as likely as their hearing classmates to leave school with no qualifications and half as likely to go on to university.  

Against this backdrop it comes as no surprise that some parents of deaf children in Scotland are concerned that their deaf child does not have enough support from health and education services. Having access to information and advice is crucial in helping families make tricky decisions about how their child will communicate, which technology they’ll use and what type of school they’ll attend.  

Kirsten describes her family’s Teacher of the Deaf as an “advocate, support system, teacher, encourager, source of information – all in one woman!”

She said: “Her support has been a lifeline, and she works closely with our son’s nursery who also provide excellent support.”  

But even with a great Teacher of the Deaf and nursery, Kirsten’s family still struggled, as the specialist support their family urgently required was simply not available to them.  

Kirsten continued: “It was a very isolating, stressful time because we just wanted to be able to support our child. I contacted the National Deaf Children’s Society and had a chat with a member of staff, who was really understanding. She listened and understood my panic that we had missed the opportunity for language learning and were really behind.  

“She helped me fill in an application for a family learning course, funded and run by the charity, which kick started our British Sign Language (BSL) learning. She’s been with us through various different parts of life since, most recently our difficulty finding accessible swimming lessons.” 

The National Deaf Children’s Society warns that unless action is taken urgently things will only get worse. It is calling on local authorities across Scotland to commit to returning qualified Teacher of the Deaf numbers to 2011 levels over the next decade. 

At their annual congress in May, The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA), Scotland’s second largest teaching union, unanimously agreed a motion backing the charity’s call on the Scottish Government to address the dramatic drop in the number of qualified Teachers of the Deaf, as “matter of urgency”.  

The charity also calls on the Scottish Government to develop and deliver a Scotland-wide workforce strategy for Teachers of the Deaf, and to ensure they are properly paid for the extra responsibilities they take on, in recognition that their specialist expertise is valued. 

Mark Ballard, Head of Policy and Influencing for Scotland with the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Deaf children are just as capable as their peers when they have right support in place, ideally from the very beginning. But many families in Scotland are struggling to access this support.   

“It means that deaf children just aren’t being given the opportunity to thrive in those crucial formative years. Once they fall behind, it can be incredibly hard to catch up and this can have a lasting impact that affects them throughout their lives.

“Every moment counts, from the time a child’s deafness is identified, to their first day at school and beyond. We owe it to deaf children to give them the best start in life.”

For more information about Every Moment counts, visit:

ndcs.org.uk/everymomentcounts

To learn more about the support available for deaf children in their early years visit the National Deaf Children’s Society website. 

Scottish Parliament creche reopens

This week the doors reopened to Holyrood’s crèche facility.

The crèche offers pre-school childcare provision for MSPs and staff who work in the building. It is also available to people with childcare responsibilities who are engaging with parliamentary business or with their MSPs, or who are visiting Holyrood, giving them the opportunity to have their children looked after in a safe and fun environment.

The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, visited the crèche to meet staff and children.

The Presiding Officer said: “The Scottish Parliament was one of the first parliaments in Europe to offer childcare facilities of this kind for young children and I’m delighted that we’re once again able to offer this.

“The crèche is there to provide childcare to MSPs carrying out their duties, to all staff working in the Parliament, and to visitors giving evidence to our committees, touring the building or meeting their MSP.

“It’s important that the Parliament challenges itself to do all that we can to enable those with childcare responsibilities to work in, engage with and visit the Parliament.”

Dangers this Child Safety Week

With Child Safety Week just around the corner, NICEIC – the UK’s leading body for certified electrical businesses – is reminding parents about the importance of having sufficient measures in place to ensure electrical safety in the home for the whole family.

Child Safety Week takes place from Monday 5 to Sunday 11 June 2023, with this year’s theme being, ‘Safety Made Simple’. ‘Safety Made Simple’ provides parents with the simple changes they can make to stop the scariest of accidents happening within the home. Offering easy solutions that can fit into busy routines, the theme acknowledges the dangers that youngsters face both inside and outside of the home. 

In support, NICEIC says that there will be a proportion of the nation’s families who are unaware of the electrical dangers that can exist around the home; whilst for others, they may be aware but too busy to keep up with simple maintenance and vital periodic checks. 

Ahead of Child Safety Week, Paul Collins, Technical Director at NICEIC, has provided some simple advice for families to stay safe within the home.

Paul says: “It’s no secret that electrical devices such as tablets and video games are becoming the chosen choice of entertainment for many children. As a result, many tech-savvy kids are unknowingly leaving themselves open to serious electrical dangers.

“Should devices such as these be handled incorrectly, especially by children, the consequences are frightening. That’s why we want to encourage parents to take on some simple checks and measures in order to safeguard their family in and around the home.

“All of these devices need to be plugged in at some point in the home and parents should not overlook the potential risks surrounding these. It’s vital that the socket-outlet is not overloaded, as this can increase the risk of a fire in the home. 

“Other simple precautions that parents can take include keeping electrical cords out of reach, checking cables for damage, keeping appliances off when not in use and never leaving younger children unattended when using a device still connected to the mains.

“The charity Electrical Safety First has also done some fantastic work around highlighting the sale of dangerous goods via online marketplaces. We support in their message and urge parents to shop safely online and only buy goods from reputable retailers.”

With summer just around the corner, parents must not overlook the potential hazards playing in the garden may bring. The garden poses particular electrical safety risks due to the added potential for water and electricity to mix – especially with children dipping in and out of paddling pools. 

Paul continues: “When using electrical equipment outside, it’s important to make sure all electrical appliances are using a residual current device (RCD). An RCD is a safety device that automatically turns off electricity if a fault has been discovered. 

“Another important tip that may be surprising to parents is to not rely on plastic plug in socket covers. Regular sockets, that comply with British safety standards, have a built-in protection mechanism already and socket covers will not prevent electric shock if the installation is not safe.”

Crucially, NICEIC recommends that any electrical work in the home should be conducted by a certified business, such as those listed with the NICEIC, as even the seemingly simplest of jobs can be incredibly dangerous if not installed properly.

Discussing the importance of child safety at home, Rory Carroll from the UK’s leading charity Electrical Safety First comments: “In the UK, online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay and Wish are not obliged to obey by the same laws as traditional retailers. So large numbers of dangerous electrical products are being sold to unknowing customers.

“As these possibly contain sub-standard or non-compliant parts, they can pose a serious risk of fire or electric shock. We want to ensure everyone stays safe within the home and urge you to only purchase from reputable retailers.

“If you are unsure about any areas of electrical safety inside or outside, we have various resources available on our Safety Around the Home hub and more information is available at www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk.” 

For further information or to search for your nearest NICEIC Certified business visit www.niceic.com.

Tomorrow: Granton Summer Festival

The weather forecast is looking good for the Summer Festival tomorrow at Granton Parish Church from 10am – 4pm.

Food all day from breakfast rolls in the morning, soup at lunchtime and finishing off with a burger BBQ at 3pm. Music from Granton Youth and Ukranian folk singers

Food available all day breakfast rolls in the morning, soup at lunchtime and finishing off with a burger BBQ at 3pm.

• LIVE MUSIC FROM GRANTON YOUTH MUSIC & UKRANIAN MUSIC GROUP

• Children’s crafts

• games and activities

• Craft stalls

• sewing workshop

• Quiet spaces to chill out

• FUN for the whole family

Last few tickets remain for Book Festival’s Schools Programme

We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible response to this year’s Baillie Gifford Schools Programme: our packed programme of FREE book events for schools.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for in-person tickets so far, we can’t wait to welcome you and your pupils to the Edinburgh College of Art for some inspiring author events this August.

We have limitied availability remaining but if you would still like to attend in-person please get in touch with our Schools Booking Coordinator directly asap to check availability by emailing schools@edbookfest.co.uk.

And don’t forget, if your class is unable to make it along in-person, selected events will also be livestreamed for schools to watch in the classroom live, or on-demand. Events will be visable on edbookfest.co.uk from Wednesday 14 June and you can book your place any time from then until just before the event starts.

Two Edinburgh charities are in the running to win share of £25,000

Two Edinburgh based charities – along with a third good cause group in Fife – have been shortlisted to receive a share of a £25,000 funding pot, thanks to Scotmid’s Community Connect award scheme.

The awards will be announced this October, following a vote by Scotmid Members.

Edinburgh Young Carers is a voluntary organisation that provides respite and support to young people between the ages of five and 25 who care for somebody at home. It aims to improve the lives and wellbeing of young carers by raising awareness of the challenges they face and by offering emotional and practical support.

The Junction works with young people aged 12-21 across Leith and the North East of Edinburgh, offering access to a wide range of health-related services, education and information by providing a safe and welcoming environment. The charity encourages social and economic inclusion and promotes long term health and wellbeing.

Margaret Murphy, Chief Executive at Edinburgh Young Carers, said: “We are thrilled to be shortlisted for a Scotmid Community Connect Award.

“Young carers in Edinburgh face several challenges looking after loved ones and this funding will offer new opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. We are pleased to provide young carers in Edinburgh with a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities as well as a chance to build their confidence and learn new skills.”

The other good cause shortlisted in the East of Scotland is Fairway Fife.

Keen to support local good causes? Pop into your local Scotmid and pay £1 to become a member.

ARISE!

A ‘LOAF-CHANGING’ EXPERIENCE at GRANTON COMMUNITY GARDEN!

Something a bit different: a STORYTELLING SHOW at the garden on Sunday 4th June.

About BREAD! A subject close to our hearts!

This show is FREE, and open to all ages, though older children and adults will likely get the most out of it.

Dress for the weather, we’ll have gazebos up if it’s wet.

To reserve seats, please email: tom@grantoncommunitygardeners.org