The Fostering Network has launched a campaign urging government to change the law so that all fostered young people can stay with their carers after they turn 18, if both parties agree. The Network has been working with Paul Goggins MP to table an amendment to the Children and Families Bill that would extend local authority support for fostered children until they reach 21. In support of the campaign, 38 MPs have recorded video messages highlighting their own experiences of leaving home and addressing the issue of inadequate support for care leavers.
GCSEs will be replaced by a new qualification called “I levels” from September 2015, which will see the current A* to G grades scrapped in favour of numerical marks. Under plans put forward by Ofqual, the exams regulator, the highest grade will be an 8 and the lowest will be a 1. The aim of the I level - or Intermediate level - exams is to provide harder content for the pupils sitting them and greater differentiation among the highest-performing teenagers, The Times reports.
The danger to children of breathing in second-hand smoke is being highlighted by a government advertising campaign. The TV and online adverts in England will outline the risk to children of people lighting up in cars and homes. According to the BBC, research suggests the effects of passive smoking on children costs the NHS £23m a year by causing 300,000 GP visits and 9,500 hospital admissions.
Charity CSV has received additional funding from the Department of Education to extend its Volunteers Supporting Families initiative over the next two years. The grant will enable CSV to train 780 volunteers to provide mentoring and befriending support for 620 families with complex needs or where children are at risk of significant harm through neglect. The funding will build on existing work with Volunteers in Child Protection and its sister project, Parent Mentoring, which was originally awarded almost £1.2 million in 2011.
Services at children's centres in Portsmouth will be reduced as part of a plan to save £1m from the budget. The BBC reports that Portsmouth City Council approved the proposals on Monday despite opposition from residents and parents. The move will see staff teams merged from 16 to nine resulting in 21 posts lost, with reduced spending on services such as new play equipment and an increase in the use of volunteers.
A public attitudes survey conducted by Queen’s University and the University of Ulster shows that four out of five people are aware of autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome. The survey of 1,204 adults across Northern Ireland, found that three quarters of respondents agreed that behavioural interventions are effective in supporting people with autism. The survey also found that 26 per cent of respondents thought autism an educational issue, 33 per cent a health issue, and 28 per cent an issue for both services.
