Quiz of the Year 2012

1 Before becoming childcare minister, Elizabeth Truss called for an overhaul of childminding, based on which country’s approach?
A Denmark
B Netherlands
C Norway

2 “Troubled families” are classified as those with five out of seven problems. Which of the following is NOT among the seven?
A No parent has any qualifications
B At least one parent has a substance abuse problem
C The family has low income (below 60 per cent of the median)


3 Which Scottish council reversed its controversial ban on nine-year-old Martha Payne’s school meals blog?
A Argyll & Bute
B Dumfries and Galloway
C Perth & Kinross


4 The Department for Education’s “zero-based” review resulted in a target to cut how many jobs by 2015?
A 500
B 1,000
C 2,000


5 Which local authority won a High Court battle in May against the Department for Education over a £10m cut to its early years funding?
A Cornwall
B Essex
C Kent


6 Which major charity chief executive has announced
they would be stepping down next March?
A Action for Children’s Dame Clare Tickell
B Barnardo’s Anne Marie Carrie
C NSPCC’s Andrew Flanagan


7 “No, they don’t put their children behind bars …. they put them in secure mental hospitals. They drug them, they restrain them and they lock them up.” Where was Maggie Atkinson referring to?
A Italy
B Spain
C Sweden


8 Which parliamentary constituency has the highest level of child poverty according to statistics released by the Campaign to End Child Poverty?
A Bethnal Green and Bow
B Manchester Central
C Poplar and Canning Town


9 Devon outsourced its children’s health and social care services to which provider?
A A4E
B Serco
C Virgin


10 What did members of the UK Youth Parliament vote to be their campaign for the coming year?
A Cheaper, more accessible public transport
B Curriculum to include life skills
C Equal minimum wage for young people


11 Who was appointed permanent secretary at the Department for Education in March?
A Tom Jeffery
B Andrew McCully
C Chris Wormald


12 Which 15-year-old Paralympic swimmer was the youngest British gold medallist at London 2012?
A Jessica-Jane Applegate
B Josef Craif
C Ellie Simmonds


13 The BBC’s Protecting Our Children documentary followed children’s social workers in which council?
A Barking and Dagenham
B Brighton & Hove
C Bristol


14 “Following on from an editorial in Children & Young People Now, I have asked a series of questions about the wisdom of pursuing this”. To what was Michael Gove referring in April?
A Changes to families’ entitlement to “passported benefits” such as dental care and prescriptions
B Home Office pilot scheme using dental X-rays to
assess the age of asylum-seeking children
C Treasury proposals to cut £10bn from the welfare bill


15 “We in television, in his world, in some way colluded with him as a child abuser”. Who said this about the Jimmy Savile revelations?
A Esther Rantzen
B Angela Rippon
C Janet Street-Porter


16 Which pledge did the Labour Party NOT make this year?
A Entitle every two-year-old to free childcare
B Make youth services statutory
C Renew commitment to the Every Child Matters agenda


17 The local government ombudsman ordered Kent and Dover councils to pay £10,100 to a 16-year-old boy for “inexcusable errors”. Why?
A He had been unfairly refused asylum
B He spent nine months homeless living in a tent
C He was sent a care plan in the post that was intended for his father


18 Who called for an end to the presumption that it is in adopted siblings’ best interests to stay together?
A Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner
B Anthony Douglas, chief executive of Cafcass
C Martin Narey, government adoption adviser


19 Which organisation announced it will rebrand as the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years from January?
A National Childminding Association
B National Day Nurseries Association
C Pre-school Learning Alliance


20 Who tweeted on 10 September: “V worrying to see that children & young people brief downgraded to just 1 minister at DfE now and Dept net loss of 2 Minister of State ranks”?
A Ed Balls
B Tim Loughton
C Lisa Nandy


21 Which international charity launched its first domestic fundraising appeal to address UK
child poverty?
A Save the Children
B Unicef
C World Vision


22 Bob Ashford quit as a police commissioner candidate in August due to what criminal conviction acquired aged 14?
A Burglary and causing grievous bodily harm
B Trespassing and possession of an offensive weapon
C Vandalism and theft of public property


23 Which council removed children from a foster couple who are members of UKIP?
A Richmond
B Rochdale
C Rotherham


24 In the government’s “adoption scorecards”, what is the threshold for councils to match a child to an adoptive family once the court has decided adoption is the best option?
A 7 months
B 8 months
C 9 months


25 Derek Twine announced he is to step down from the helm of which organisation?
A Kidscape
B The Prince’s Trust
C The Scout Association


26 Who was appointed the minister for youth justice in the September reshuffle?
A James Brokenshire
B Damian Green
C Jeremy Wright


27 Children’s Minister Edward Timpson was born on Boxing Day 1973. What was number one in the UK single charts?
A Benny Hill – Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)
B Little Jimmy Osmond – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool
C Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody


28 The government is currently reviewing the eligibility criteria of what for 16- and 17-year olds?
A Jobseekers Allowance
B The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund
C The Youth Contract


29 How much is the government holding back from the early intervention grant in 2013/14 and again in 2014/15 “for future use”?
A £50m
B £100m
C £150m


30 To whom did Michael Gove publicly apologise in October?
A Boris Johnson, for leading him to believe that “ping-pong” was invented in Aberdeenshire
B His French teacher, for his “pathetic showing off” as a “clever-dick” 15-year-old
C His Times-columnist wife, after admitting to be “the worst driver in England, possibly the Western World”