Tag: Young people

National Art Treasure Hunt launched – with a twist!

This year as part of our campaign to raise awareness of Cashback for Communities and how creative young Scots are, projects from all over Scotland are inviting the public to get involved in a journey of artistic discovery and to share their finds through selfies on social media.

Artwork or installations created by young people will be left in popular places in local communities across Scotland for people to discover.  Want to become an art sleuth?

You can find out more about the campaign on www.youthlinkscotland.org/CashBackCreates

Each item will have a tag attached to it explaining about CashBack funding and encouraging people to share their find on social media using #CashBackCreates.

We hope this will raise awareness of so many creative projects, and encourage other young people to get involved and create excitement about what’s going on in their local area. This guerrilla marketing style campaign has been launched today and will continue until the end of July.

So what kind of things might you be looking for? Here are some of the projects involved:

Indepen-dance create inclusive, fun and engaging workshops for young people no matter what their ability. What’s a dance without props? So for #CashBackCreates young people will be writing words they associate with the project on scarves and ribbons and they will be hung around Eastbank Academy and Newhills School in Glasgow.

Always wondered where fairies live? Wonder no more! Young people in Falkland are creating a range of fairy doors to be left in the local woods (above); this project helps to teach young people a range of artistic skills like woodwork and painting.

Spot a newspaper in the local community at Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, it might not be as it seems. Young people are creating a mock up edition of the local paper, sharing information about their project and the young people involved.

If you are in Dumfries and Galloway, keep an eye out for handmade bracelets, created by autistic young people, each bracelet spells a positive word to give you the feel good factor! Every bracelet will include a handmade bead with the logo of the project.

Passing through Galashiels Interchange? Keep an eye out for a colourful guitar sculpture, it will be playing music created by young people so you won’t be able to miss it!

In Campbeltown, young people will be creating decorative rocks and leaving them in the community for people to discover (above). Will you be one of the lucky people to discover a rock? Added bonus, discoverers who tweet their find will be entered into a competition to win cinema tickets & popcorn!

What’s Doricula we hear you ask? It’s Dracula with a Doric twist, of course! This project will see young people create a brand new show all about the history of Aberdeenshire. And they want to share their creation with the community. Look out for spooky snaps of doricula all around Peterhead with invitations to their end of season show!

The CashBack for Creativity Open Fund, administered by YouthLink Scotland through delivery partner, Creative Scotland and funded by Scottish Government has awarded a total of £324,000 to 45 community-based arts project across the country, which will reach over 4,927 young people in local communities.

The fund offers a fantastic chance for young people to access a range of high-quality arts, screen and creative industries activities. The programme targets children and young people in communities and areas where there is currently a lack of opportunity.

CashBack for Communities is a unique Scottish Government programme which takes money seized from criminals under the proceeds of crime legislation and invests them in our future – our young people.  Since 2008, £110 million has been committed to community initiatives to improve the quality of life of young people right across Scotland.

Jane Dailly, National Programmes Manager at YouthLink Scotland, The National Agency for Youth Work, said: “We know that young people are creating and involved with imaginative and fun projects and we would like to raise awareness of that across the country. 

“What better way to make someone else’s day and put a smile on their face than through the discovery of an awesome piece of locally created work.”

Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf said: “This campaign is a great way to get communities involved in the creative arts and today’s investment further demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to building a stronger, fairer and more inclusive society.

“Our Investment in the Cashback for Communities Programme has helped young people learn new skills, boost their confidence and reach their full potential in life.”

Laura Black, Arts Officer, CashBack for Creativity, Creative Scotland, commented: “The inspiring projects announced today through the CashBack for Creativity Open Fund are opening up access to a huge range of innovative and exciting projects for young people across Scotland. 

“With today’s launch of #CashBackCreates, we’re looking forward to sharing and bringing to life young people’s creative endeavours across the country.”

First Minister announces food education programme

A food education programme designed to teach children and young people about Scotland’s food industry has been launched by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The Good Food Futures programme, backed by £1 million of investment, aims to give children a greater understanding of where food comes from and the many career opportunities available in the industry.

The programme will also include support for more farm visits, healthy cooking lessons and put more locally produced healthy food on school menus.

Speaking at the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston, the First Minister said: “Scottish produce is enjoyed across the globe and Scots work in many of the world’s finest kitchens. I want people to enjoy our quality food, but I also want children and young people growing up here to benefit from it too.

“The Good Food Futures programme will help more children understand where their food comes from as well as benefit from it in their school meals. It will also encourage more young people to consider a career in the industry.

“In introducing more of our produce to children and young people, we will help farmers, food producers, manufacturers and businesses benefit in the longer term too.

“This is central to our work to become a Good Food Nation and the Royal Highland Show – with its focus on the best of Scottish produce – provides the perfect place to launch this programme.”

 The Good Food Futures food education programme is being delivered in partnership with:

  • Education Scotland and Food for Thought. The Food For Thought programme has been running for several years and provides funding to support schools in teaching teach children about growing and cooking healthy food.
  • Soil Association though the Food for Life Programme aims to stimulate more local sourcing through a holistic approach encompassing catering and supply chain work and education.

 

Chatterbooks is back at Muirhouse Library

CHATTERBOOKS IS BACK!!!

The book group with a twist is back at Muirhouse Library, with loads of fun activities, quizzes, crafts and of course, loads of awesome books to read and talk about!

Starting Tuesday 2nd July and every Tuesday after

2pm – 2.45pm during the summer holidays, 3.15pm – 4pm when schools are back!

New benefit for teenage carers to launch in autumn

Young carers in Scotland aged 16 to 18 could benefit from a new £300 social security payment.

The Young Carer Grant is the first of its kind in the UK. It will be available to 16, 17 and 18 year olds who help care for someone in receipt of a certain type of disability benefit. The payment will be introduced this autumn.

Following feedback from young carers, eligiblity is being widened to include all 18-year-olds, not just those in education.

In a further another extension of the policy, young carers will now also be able to combine the hours they spend caring for more than one eligible person in order to reach the 16 hours a week requirement.

Young carers will also be able to take respite weeks without this impacting upon their application.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We are using our new social security powers to recognise the extraordinary contribution young carers make to the lives of those they care for.

“This is the first time young carers aged 16 to 18 will be given a cash benefit to spend as they choose. We will be making these payments at what could be a pivotal stage in their lives – when they may be finishing school, looking for employment or starting further education or training.

“Young carers make an invaluable contribution to society but many have difficulty participating in the normal activities their peers can enjoy. The Young Carer Grant will help ensure they are treated with the dignity, fairness and respect they deserve.”

The Scottish Government is investing £600,000 to support nearly 2000 young carers in 2019/20.

The Young Carer Grant will open for applications in autumn this year and applications can be made online, over the phone or by post.

 

Border Force helps holidaymakers avoid summer nightmare

Young British nationals travelling to Majorca will receive tips on how to avoid exploitation as part of an annual Border Force operation designed to safeguard holiday makers. Continue reading Border Force helps holidaymakers avoid summer nightmare

Give young people a voice and a role, say researchers

Youth work which helps young people play a part in Scotland’s economic prosperity has been unrecognised and underfunded, a new study has found.

Researchers also called for the younger generation to be given a greater voice in framing the policies which govern their role in society. Continue reading Give young people a voice and a role, say researchers

Scotland ‘risks a forgotten generation’

  • Report shows children in care treated like second class citizens
  • Calls on importance of independent advocacy to be respected
  • Offers immediate solutions to halt rights infringements

The charity Who Cares? Scotland has published first of their kind statistics, revealing that young people in care across Scotland are continually having to fight for basic rights every single day. These have today been published in a report entitled, “We Don’t Have to Wait.” Continue reading Scotland ‘risks a forgotten generation’

Scottish Children’s Services Coalition: “We are failing thousands of children and young people with mental health problems”

Latest waiting time figures highlight need for fundamental shift in focus for child mental health services 

  • The NHS in Scotland failed to meet a maximum 18-week waiting time target for children and young people to receive treatment from mental health services
  • More than a quarter are waiting more than 18-weeks for treatment
  • Ten out of 14 health boards failed to meet the 18-week waiting time target:
    • NHS Fife, NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Lothian, NHS Tayside, NHS Borders, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Orkney and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley
  • 118 children and young people waited more than a year prior to being seen
  • Figures show only 0.53 per cent of NHS expenditure is spent on CAMHS, less than 7 per cent of the mental health budget
  • Coalition calls for fundamental rethink and renewed focus on prevention and early intervention, including embedding mental health within education

 

Latest waiting time figures have reinforced the call by a coalition of leading independent and third sector children and young people’s service providers for increased investment in mental health services with a much greater focus on prevention and early intervention. 

The call from the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) (see Notes to Editors for members), which campaigns to improve services for vulnerable children and young people, comes as the latest waiting time figures from the Information Services Division, part of NHS National Services Scotland, highlight that thousands of children and young people are failing to be treated within Scottish Government waiting time target. 

With an increasing number of children and young people being identified with mental health problems they also highlight a postcode lottery for mental health treatment across the country.

Covering the quarter January to March 2019, the figures highlight that 4,237 children and young people started treatment at specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in this period.

The NHS in Scotland, including ten of the 14 regional health boards, failed to meet the Scottish Government 18-week waiting time target for children and young people to receive treatment from CAMHS. This target should be delivered for at least 90 per cent of patients.

While 73.6 per cent in the NHS in Scotland are being seen within this 18-week waiting time, still in itself far too long, more than a quarter (26.4 per cent) are failing to be seen within this period.

Individual health boards failing to meet this target are: NHS Borders (target achieved for 40.0 per cent), NHS Fife (72.8 per cent), NHS Ayrshire & Arran (81.6 per cent), NHS Grampian (43.3 per cent), NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (80.6 per cent), NHS Highland (81.4 per cent), NHS Lanarkshire (76.6 per cent), NHS Lothian (69.1 per cent) and NHS Tayside (57.9 per cent)

The figures also indicate that 118 children and young people in the quarter had been waiting for more than a year prior to being seen for treatment, an increase from 108 in the previous quarter (October to December).  

It should be noted that a mere 0.53 per cent of the NHS budget is spent on specialist CAMHS, amounting to £61.074 million.  In addition to this, only 6.34 per cent of the overall mental health budget is spent on CAMHS.

These very low figures are despite the fact that mental health services are creaking at the seams due to greatly increasing demand, as evidenced by these waiting time figures. Research indicates that 10 per cent of children and young people (aged five to 16) has a clinically diagnosable mental health problem (around three in every classroom), with 50 per cent of mental health problems established by the age of 14 and 75 per cent by the age of 24.

While acknowledging the great efforts the Scottish Government is making, such as an additional £250 million of funding announced in the Programme for Government, the SCSC has called for the Scottish Government for greatly increased investment in CAMHS and for a more consistent approach to delivering these services across Scotland.

It has also called for a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention for those with mental health problem, reducing the need for referral to under-pressure specialist CAMHS.

This includes embedding mental health within education from an early age in order to strengthen knowledge and awareness of mental health, as well as reducing the stigma associated with mental health.

Emotion and resilience classes should be provided to all students from primary one to teach students how to work through their emotions in a healthy way and there should be a whole-school approach, with training for all staff involved in education and providing counselling support.

A spokesperson for the SCSC said: “These latest waiting time figures highlight that fact we are continuing to fail thousands of children and young people with mental health problems.

“The great efforts the Scottish Government is making, including an additional £250 million for mental health over the next five years announced in its recent Programme for Government, is to be welcomed, but more clearly needs to be done.

“These newly released figures highligh that the NHS in Scotland, including ten of our health boards, are failing to meet what is already a lengthy waiting time. Yet we know that three children in every classroom has a clinically diagnosable mental health problem.

“There must be a radical transformation of our mental health services, with a focus on preventing such problems arising in the first place and intervening early, especially when we know that half of all mental health problems begin before the age of 14.  This includes embedding mental health within education from an early age as well as providing training for all staff involved in education.

“With mental health and the issues associated with it representing one of the greatest public health challenges of our time, we must ensure that children and young people are able to get the care and support they need, when they need it. This includes investing in greater community support and support at school, reducing the need for referral to specialist CAMHS.”

The ISD figures released yesterday show that for the latest quarter to March 31st 2019, 85 young people in NHS Lothian waited over a year to be seen out of the 118 of young people waiting over a year across all NHS health boards in Scotland.

The number of young people waiting within the 18 week target in NHS Lothian has increased to a record 540, 69.1%, which is still below the national average of 73.6% seen within the 18 week target for the last quarter.

In NHS Lothian more young people are being seen within the 18 week target, however the 85 young people waiting over a year to be seen still makes up 72% of all young people waiting over a year to be seen in Scotland for the same quarter.

The CAMHS Workforce Report states that “NHS Grampian and NHS Lothian’s child & adolescent populations are projected to increase the most by over 6.0% each” (page 8), which means that NHS Lothian CAMHS will need extra funding to meet future demand.

Scotland’s first Youth Commission on Mental Health produced a report last week that said fundamental change was needed to the way young people with mental health issues were supported. Recommendation included that mental health education be embedded within the school curriculum and for education professionals to be trained in mental health support. 

The commission’s also called for waiting times to access child and adolescent mental health services to be reduced to eight weeks.

Scottish Conservative Health Spokesperson, Miles Briggs, said: “This provision of mental health services for young people in Lothian is nowhere near where it needs be.

“Hundreds of young people are waiting over the 18 week target every quarter in NHS Lothian to be seen by a mental health professional.

“There has been a mental health crisis for young people in Lothian for many years now and the complacency of SNP Ministers means that young people are suffering without the access to support that they need.

“The SNP must start taking the necessary actions to improve mental health provision for young people in Lothian immediately.”