The fastest growing reason for young people calling ChildLine is self-harm, the BBC reports. The charity says there has been a 68 per cent annual increase in contacts relating to the issue of self-harm, the majority from girls. Sue Minto, head of ChildLine, said the rise reflects how teenagers feel unable to escape the pressures in their lives and bullying. She blamed the “relentless and pervasive nature of modern technology”.
More premature babies than ever before are surviving, researchers have found. A study by EPICure, published in the British Medical Journal found that severely premature babies, born before 26 weeks, were more likely to survive in 2006 than in 1995. But the study found there was no improvement in survival rates for babies born before 24 weeks - the legal limit for abortion.
Half of mums are concerned that advice on weaning is “confusing and contradictory”. A study on child nutrition by Demos also found that three quarters of parents say they were never informed of government recommendations on vitamin supplements for babies and toddlers. Louise Bazalgette, author of the report, said: “This research shows that important public health messages about children’s nutrition just aren’t reaching enough parents. It paints a worrying picture of mums who are anxious about a lack of advice and also conflicting advice when it comes to feeding their baby or toddler healthily.”
Housing minister Mark Prisk has told Westminster City Council that placing families in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks is “unlawful and unacceptable”. In a letter to Labour’s Westminster North MP, Karen Buck, Prisk said the government has given “significant additional resources” to Westminster City Council to help them support families. Labour group leader for the borough, Paul Dimoldenberg, claims there are now 140 homeless Westminster families who have been in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks, compared to 36 in April.
The government should consider lowering the pension age of nursery staff and other people working with small children because of the physical demands of the job, an MP has suggested. Bill Esterson, Labour MP for Sefton Central who sits on the Education Committee, said working in early years care could be as physically demanding as working for the police although “not as potentially violent”. “It has been put to me by nursery staff, school staff who work with small children, nurses and other NHS staff that they have very physically demanding jobs,” he said. Esterton made the comment during a House of Commons debate on the Public Service Pensions Bill yesterday. The bill sets the pension age of police, firefighters and armed forces workers at 60, subject to regular review.
A new £10m training centre for young apprentices has opened in Basildon. The group training association (GTA) run by Prospects Learning Foundation has capacity for a total of 300 employed apprentices between the ages of 16 and 18, as well as 200 further education students. Neil Bates, chief executive of Prospects, said: “The new campus is attracting the interest of some major national employers who want to invest in the skills of young people for their highly skilled workforces. Because the GTA is led by local employers, businesses can easily appreciate the modern, industry led skills training areas on offer.”
