Measuring Child Poverty

Yesterday saw the publication of <a href="http://www.unicef.org.uk/Documents/Publications/RC10-measuring-child-poverty.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Measuring Child Poverty</i></a>, UNICEF's latest 'report card' which examines how developed nations tackle child poverty by placing them into a league table based on factors such as diet, access to books and many others. A <a href="http://www.unicef.org.uk/Documents/Publications/UNICEF_ReportCard10brief_childpoverty.pdf" target="_blank">summary version</a> is also available, while some of the most eye-catching points are covered in articles from <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/may/29/child-poverty-increase-unicef-austerity" target="_blank">the Guardian</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18235735" target="_blank">the BBC</a>.<br /><br />Don't forget that for links to further research on this topic, you can use use the 'Child Poverty' link in the 'Hot Topics' menu on the right hand side of this page.

Measuring Child Poverty

Yesterday saw the publication of Measuring Child Poverty, UNICEF's latest 'report card' which examines how developed nations tackle child poverty by placing them into a league table based on factors such as diet, access to books and many others. A summary version is also available, while some of the…

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Fostering & Adoption Processes

The NFER have just published <a href="http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/LGFR01/LGFR01.pdf" target="_blank"><i>The Experiences of Fostering and Adoption Processes</i></a>. This is a literature review which examines the views and experiences of children and young people who have been involved in these processes over the last decade, and also seeks to identify any gaps in the existing evidence.<br /><br />Adoption has been a hot topic lately, with the DfE publishing <a href="http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/a/an%20action%20plan%20for%20adoption.pdf" target="_blank"><i>An Action Plan for Adoption</i></a>, which is intended to reduce delays in current processes. The subject was also tackled in a recent Ofsted report entitled <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/right-time-exploring-delays-adoption" target="_blank"><i>Right on Time: Exploring Delays in Adoption</i></a>.<br /><br />Other links that may interest readers include the <a href="http://www.tactcare.org.uk/" target="_blank">TACT website</a> - TACT are a charity specialising in fostering and adoption issues - and their 2011 research report <a href="http://www.tactcare.org.uk/data/files/Research_n_Policy/TACT161_Aspirations6.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Aspirations Three Years On: The Views of Young People who are Fostered and their Carers</i></a>.

Fostering & Adoption Processes

The NFER have just published The Experiences of Fostering and Adoption Processes. This is a literature review which examines the views and experiences of children and young people who have been involved in these processes over the last decade, and also seeks to identify any gaps in the existing evid…

Read more »

Free Entitlement to Education for Three and Four Year Olds

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has just published <em>The Free Entitlement to Education for Three and Four Year Olds</em>, a report which examines how the entitlement to 15 hours of nursery education per week is being implemented, and how effective it is proving to be. You can read the full report by <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/documents/TSO-PDF/committee-reports/cmpubacc.1893.pdf" target="_blank">clicking here</a>, but if official House of Commons publications don't fill you with excitement (they can be rather dry...) then <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/may/22/parents-top-up-fees-nursery-mps?CMP=twt_gu" target="_blank">this article</a> should fill you in on the main points. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHb_m7sBpX-VEbX8V17gR9ANcvXesFog4DqR2mapiG6_82_oBocOMbj2FZ304rC-L1Bp96_y3L_I_gPJF1YWnDku0UWtmjeXImO58KC1cpw2UphvqgjN9elBfM-a8IKtMHOEJTNav1rA/s1600/HollyPic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHb_m7sBpX-VEbX8V17gR9ANcvXesFog4DqR2mapiG6_82_oBocOMbj2FZ304rC-L1Bp96_y3L_I_gPJF1YWnDku0UWtmjeXImO58KC1cpw2UphvqgjN9elBfM-a8IKtMHOEJTNav1rA/s200/HollyPic.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div>

Free Entitlement to Education for Three and Four Year Olds

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has just published The Free Entitlement to Education for Three and Four Year Olds, a report which examines how the entitlement to 15 hours of nursery education per week is being implemented, and how effective it is proving to be. You can read the full r…

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The Way We Are

To mark it's 50th Anniversary, the <a href="http://www.autism.org.uk/" target="_blank">National Autistic Society</a> has just published <i>The Way We Are: Autism in 2012</i>. The Society descibes the report as "the largest ever survey into autism, in order to show what life is like in the UK for people affected by the condition."<br /><br />To access the report for free, <a href="http://www.autism.org.uk/50report" target="_blank">click here</a>.

The Way We Are

To mark it's 50th Anniversary, the National Autistic Society has just published The Way We Are: Autism in 2012. The Society descibes the report as "the largest ever survey into autism, in order to show what life is like in the UK for people affected by the condition."To access the report for free, c…

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Refugee / Migrant Children

The topic of refugee / migrant children has been in the news in recent days, with two new reports. One has been published by a team at Oxford University and is entitled <a href="http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/files/Publications/Reports/NO_WAY_OUT_NO_WAY_IN_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank"><i>No Way Out, No Way In: Irregular migrant children and families in the UK</i></a>, while the Coram Children's Legal Centre have just published <a href="http://www.seekingsupport.co.uk/images/navigating_the_system_final.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Navigating the System: Advice Provision for Young Refugees and Migrants</i></a>.<br /><br />For further reading, you may be interested in an article that's just appeared on the Guardian website - <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-care-network/social-life-blog/2012/may/18/providing-support-young-asylum-seekers" target="_blank"><i>Providing the Right Support for Young Asylum Seekers</i></a>. Or if you're doing nothing else this weekend (!), then take a look at <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/davidrenfree/refugee" target="_blank">my bookmarks on this topic</a> on the Diigo site, which provide links to 20 reports from various organisations.

Refugee / Migrant Children

The topic of refugee / migrant children has been in the news in recent days, with two new reports. One has been published by a team at Oxford University and is entitled No Way Out, No Way In: Irregular migrant children and families in the UK, while the Coram Children's Legal Centre have just publish…

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The State of Social Work 2012

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has just published <i>The State of Social Work 2012</i>. This is an in-depth report investigating how practitioners feel about their profession, and while the claim that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18033540" target="_blank">service cuts may risk children's lives</a> has attracted headlines, other topics including caseloads, staff morale, and bullying are covered too.<br /><br />You can read the full text of the report by <a href="http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_23651-3.pdf" target="_blank">clicking here</a>. Readers may also be interested in <a href="http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_23750-6.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Voices from the Frontline</i></a>, a supplementary publication which includes thousands of comments from social workers which were made during the compiling of the report.

The State of Social Work 2012

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has just published The State of Social Work 2012. This is an in-depth report investigating how practitioners feel about their profession, and while the claim that service cuts may risk children's lives has attracted headlines, other topics including c…

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Learning to Live

Below is a charming short film from 1941 entitled <i>Learning to Live</i>. The film explores the experiences of 3 children from the same family, who attend a nursery, a junior and a senior school, and the principles behind their education. How do you think these ideas compare to the schools of today?<br /><br />The clip is courtesy of the <a href="http://film.britishcouncil.org/" target="_blank">British Council film website</a>. You can find a free collection of other vintage films on various topics by <a href="http://film.britishcouncil.org/british-council-film-collection" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/38858465?title=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe>

Learning to Live

Below is a charming short film from 1941 entitled Learning to Live. The film explores the experiences of 3 children from the same family, who attend a nursery, a junior and a senior school, and the principles behind their education. How do you think these ideas compare to the schools of today?The cl…

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British Social Attitudes

Following a recent enquiry about various social issues, maybe it's worth flagging the <i>British Social Attitudes</i> survey. This is an annual project carried out by the <a href="http://www.natcen.ac.uk/" target="_blank">National Centre for Social Research</a>, and aims to provide a snapshot of people's lives and their views on different matters. Over 3000 interviews are carried out each year to compile the final results.<br /><br />You can access the most recent edition of the survey (28th edition, published December 2011) by <a href="http://ir2.flife.de/data/natcen-social-research/igb_html/index.php?bericht_id=1000001&index=&lang=ENG" target="_blank">clicking here</a>. The interactive site also allows you to download individual chapters from the report - among the sections that may interest readers of this site are chapters on school choice, childhood and child po

British Social Attitudes

Following a recent enquiry about various social issues, maybe it's worth flagging the British Social Attitudes survey. This is an annual project carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, and aims to provide a snapshot of people's lives and their views on different matters. Over 3000 in…

Read more »

HighScope Visit

I have the privilege this week of attending the HighScope International Conference in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I have wanted to learn more about HighScope and understand their concepts at a deeper level. It is a wonderful experience. Although I have always been a supporter of HighScope, it has been delightful to see it in action and to meet teachers that run programs using the HighScope's child-centered philosophy. I was excited to visit the High Scope Demonstration Preschool yesterday and see HighScope's Key Developmental Indicators in action. What a joy to see a classroom where children are encouraged to explore and develop critical and creative thinking skills. I left the school wishing many more children could have the experience this small group of children was enjoying. They truly were thriving and it was inspirational to watch that experience.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqc6mp6Xz1PNde5Pn4FdgGxdFB-sZ6PX2-mL0i14iUEaOmo6nWDJMsTlHb5VLwz582oJWIQXEAfrRvS1cN_yWYw3s-MRMOckcaS_5j3qEH5f3U4bjKN-_U7DSI2lY1gTAWHkCUG4MEYPg/s1600/Perry+School+1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqc6mp6Xz1PNde5Pn4FdgGxdFB-sZ6PX2-mL0i14iUEaOmo6nWDJMsTlHb5VLwz582oJWIQXEAfrRvS1cN_yWYw3s-MRMOckcaS_5j3qEH5f3U4bjKN-_U7DSI2lY1gTAWHkCUG4MEYPg/s200/Perry+School+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I always come away from classroom visits with lots of ideas. It makes me wish that I still had my own classroom. However, I will use the information to support the classrooms that I visit with my student teachers. There are so many things to learn about teaching and supporting children. I can't get enough!

HighScope Visit

I have the privilege this week of attending the HighScope International Conference in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I have wanted to learn more about HighScope and understand their concepts at a deeper level. It is a wonderful experience. Although I have always been a supporter of HighScope, it has been deli…

Read more »