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If you are busy and find that this article is too long. Copy and paste it into a word document and print out for a time when you are less busy and are able to sit and read through. This article contains dates and times of workshops and things for young carers to do. It is interesting to read so bear with it.
Hampshire County Council Children’s Services Department has commissioned Welcome to the first edition of Hampshire Young Carers Initiative e-bulletin.
Hampshire County Council Children’s Services Department has commissioned The Children’s Society Young Carers Initiative (YCI) to undertake development work for Young Carers and their families throughout Hampshire.
Additionally, The Children’s Fund is funding YCI to develop countywide information for young carers, their families and for organisations and agencies working with them.
Hampshire Young Carers Initiative
January 2008
This Issue…
Include Project
About Hampshire Young Cares Initiative
The Work includes:
• Producing information leaflets and packs for use in schools, health and both adult and children’s social care.
• An education pack designed for use within schools
• Training Packages are also offered in response to individual agencies training needs
• Multi-agency working
• Promoting and sharing best practice when delivering Whole Family Working
For more information about resources and events, or to be added to our mailing list, please contact the Hampshire Development Team at YCI:
Jenny Hine - Senior Project Worker
Gunhild Chifunda - Education
Christine Slatcher - Adult Services and Health
Lois Hutchinson - Children’s Services
• Taking Responsibility - an inter-agency policy for supporting young carers
• Supporting pupils with substance misusing parents - Information for teachers and school staff
• Supporting pupils who are young carers - Information for teachers and school staff, supported by Hampshire Children's Fund
• Young carers in Hampshire School/Community Notice Board Pack, Containing an inforamtion leaflet and a school's notice board poster to inform young carers of their local resources and the Hampshire Resources list giving useful websites and resources to add to and update the School's notice board.
• Supporting children and young people when a loved one has died - Information for teachers and school staff.
• Supporting young carers and their families - Information for health care professionals.
• NEW: An information pack has been produced to raise awareness of young carers and suggest ways of offering support for GP Surgeries in Hampshire. This includes the leaflet ‘Supporting young carers and their families: Information for health care professionals’, a ‘quick checklist for supporting and signposting young carers in Hampshire’, a poster for the waiting room and a poster for the staff room. It also includes details of the local young carers projects. It has been sent out to ten surgeries across Hampshire to pilot in January. This will be available for use across Hampshire after it has been evaluated.
These resources are avaliable on our website resources pages (www.youngcarer.com) or you can contact the Include Project to request paper copies.
Resources
Joint Working Protocol: Safeguarding children whose parents/carers use drugs/alcohol or have mental health problems
Commissioned by Hampshire DAAT, YCI has been consulting with practitioners and service users during the review and up-date of the above policy to ensure a universal pan Hampshire protocol that links into Local Safeguarding Children structures and Every Child Matters. This document will then reflect the views and needs of service users and practitioners. The document is currently in its draft form and will be seen by the Hampshire Safeguarding Children’s Board in February. We will update you on this in our next e-bulletin.
For further details contact: Jenny Hine, Senior Project Worker
A presentation was given on identifying and supporting young carers and their families to the safeguarding leads from wards and departments at Winchester Hospital. Information from the presentation was sent out to those who were unable to attend. The plan is for this to be followed up with a newsletter with suggestions on good practice later in the year.
A leaflet ‘Supporting young carers who have a parent with a mental illness’ is in draft form. This is aimed at professionals and includes suggestions for good practice and resources for further training.
- Work has also started to produce a leaflet for adult social care to raise awareness of young carers and provide suggestions for good practice including the Key Principles of Practice for Young Carers and their Families.
For further information about Health and Adult services or to request a training session you can contact Christine Slatcher, Hampshire Development Worker for Health and Adult Service
Achievements so far:
Work with Connexions:
• Raising awareness of young carers in schools
• Marking carers week in schools though lunch time displays and promotions
Hampshire Young Carers Initiative News
Education
Health and Adults Services
Mental Health and Substance Use/Misuse
Many teams have identified leads for young carers who will hold and disseminate information and resource updates from YCI.
All Hampshire Connexions offices will be represented at a training morning that YCI are facilitating in February.
Work with Hampshire Youth Service:
• Several Youth Service teams are developing further their work with young carers
• YCI are able to teams to develop links with adult services to enable a multi agency approach to supporting the whole family
Young carers voices heard on the anti-bullying strategy:
• I attend regular Anti-Bullying Strategy meetings to ensure that young carers and their families are included
YCI delivered presentations to the Primary Heads Standing Committee for Children and Families in October 2007 and to the Secondary Head Teacher’s Conference in December 2007. The aims of the presentations were to:
• raise awareness of the needs of young carers and their families
• raise awareness of the possible ways of supporting young carers and their families in schools in order to raise the level of support for young carers and their families, to meet the fourth principle of practice endorsed by the DoH and the DCSF “Young carers will have the same access to education and career choices as their peers”
• raise the awareness of resources and materials available to schools
I have also maintained contacts with Healthy Schools and attend conferences, to raise awareness of the needs of young carers and their families.
Current work:
I am contacting and meeting with extended services coordinators to share good practice when considering how young carers and their families can be included in services across the county.
My work with schools will be focusing on the positive outcomes that having a named teacher for young carers in school has on pupils. I will also be following the outcomes of the presentations made to the Head Teacher’s conferences and monitoring the dissemination of this information to schools.
I will again this year attend Healthy Schools Emotional Health and Wellbeing Conference in April to ensure that the voice of young carers is heard.
I will also have the opportunity to deliver workshops to around 250 pupils on ‘Supporting young carers in schools’ at the annual Hampshire Peer Mentoring Conference in April.
For further information please contact:
Gunhild Riis Chifunda, Hampshire County Development Worker for Education
The Hampshire team has been addressing the needs of young carers with Youth Offending Teams in Hampshire and at a meeting with Steve Crocker, Wessex Youth Offending Team Manager and his team in September 2007, it was positive to see that Young Carers are on the agenda.
Following visits to the Southampton and South West Hampshire YOT team and to the Basingstoke YISP, both of these teams have addressed the need for a young carers link person and one is now established with in the teams.
A leaflet called ‘Working with Children and Young People in Trouble with the Law’ has been produced and is currently in the review stage. The team has received some positive feedback on the draft leaflet.
“This is a very welcome document. I cannot improve it! It is informative and helpful and raises awareness” – YOT Manager
The Leaflet will be available later in the New Year, for more information about Hampshire’s work with Young Carers in Trouble with the Law and their Families please contact Lois Hutchinson
This piece of work is now receiving interest at a National Level. The information coming back into the project from national research is reflecting the same findings as the Hampshire Pilot Study.
Select committees
Three new parliamentary select committees have been established to reflect the machinery of government changes which took place earlier this year. The new committees are:
• Children, Families and Schools Committee
• Justice Committee
• Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee
Further information is available at http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees.cfm
The Children's Plan: Building brighter futures
The Children’s Plan sets out the department's plans for the next ten years under each of its strategic objectives. It aims to strengthen support for all families, take the next steps in achieving world-class schools, bring about change in parents' involvement in their child’s learning and make sure that young people have exciting things to do outside of school, and more places for children to play. This gives links to the plan, a summary and equality impact statement For more information visit: http://www.info4local.gov.uk/documents/related-links/594620
Legislation and Guidance
Young Carers in Trouble with the Law and their Families
Delivering improved outcomes for children, young people and their families: The crucial role of the new local performance framework
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has consulted widely on the content of the Children's Plan, and local authorities have been fully involved in these discussions. The plan is built around four principles: that all children have the potential to succeed and should go as far as their talents will take them, with no child left to fall behind; that the biggest influence on a child's life is its family, and then the community in which it grows up; that it is always better to prevent failure than to tackle the crisis later; and that services need to be shaped by and responsive to the children, young people and families who use them.
The purpose of this document is to support communities in making the most of the new local performance framework and signpost key guidance and other documents that have recently been published.
It is available to order or download on the communities and local government website
A Report on the Assessment of Childcare needs for families of children with additional needs
Janet Hoff – Strategic Manager, Early Education & Childcare Unit (Vulnerable Children)
Over recent years, support for children in early years settings within Hampshire has developed and is successful in delivering services for children with additional needs. Support that is available includes:
- the Area Inclusion Co-ordinator (InCo) service which provides support advice and training
- additional SEN funding for individual children
- provision of specialist equipment, e.g. seating, to enable children with disabilities access to the curriculum
- a wide range of specialist training.
This paper aims to report on the findings of a recent consultation undertaken with parents/carers of children with additional needs and their experiences in relation to childcare, including the actions to be taken to address issues raised.
14-19 Diploma programme
A new publication says that the success of the new diplomas depends on what happens to A Levels. In particular, the Government has to be clearer about whether A Levels and GCSEs are to be included in the Diploma framework or whether they will be run parallel to it.
Research / Reviews
The Diplomas are the focus of a new paper by the Nuffield Review. The Review, led by Professor Richard Pring from the University of Oxford Department of Education and a Directorate including Dr Ann Hodgson and Dr Ken Spours from the Institute of Education, University of London, has produced the first in a series of Issues Papers to be published on key educational topics over the coming months.
The Review says the original 14 Diplomas (which are derived from vocational sectors) can be seen as the latest in a long line of broad vocational qualifications, occupying the ground between academic qualifications and the apprenticeship route. Such middle-track qualifications have in the past been regarded as an alternative for the less academically able and the Review predicts that teachers will view Diplomas in the same way - with A levels and G.C.S.Es remaining as the more prestigious qualifications. It says it is unfortunate that the three new Diploma lines in Science, Languages and the Humanities will be developed later than their vocational counterparts, as this means the Diploma brand will have to forge its identity as a broad vocational qualification.
Another criticism made in the paper is the lack of genuine involvement of qualifications experts, practitioners and awarding bodies, the very people that have experience in delivering the curriculum and who will be responsible for implementing the new Diploma framework. The Review argues they have the necessary experience to find possible design faults in the Diploma courses before they are introduced into the classroom.
Further information is available at www.nuffield14-19review.org.uk <http://www.nuffield14-19review.org.uk>
Parents in Hospital: how mental health services can best promote family contact when a parent is in hospital
Following a review of contact arrangements between parents in mental health settings and their children, the need to improve support systems and visiting facilities has been identified. The review was carried out by a partnership of organisations - CSIP, the Mental Health Act Commission, Barnardo’s and the Family Welfare Association. It was funded jointly by the Department of Health CAMHS programme and CSIP’s National Social Inclusion Programme, signaling a shared interest in promoting the health and resilience of children and parents affected by parental mental distress.
The findings make compelling reading and draw on data from The Mental Health Act Commission announced visits, interviews with hospital staff and, crucially, parents and children themselves.
If you would like a copy of the report or to find out more about this project and related work contact Clare Mahoney (clare.mahoney@csip.org.uk) or Barbara Robinson (barbara.robinson@barnardos.org.uk). Electronic copies of the report are downloadable from http://www.barnardos.org.uk/parentsinhospital
Children’s Mental Health: A guide. Fundamental Health.
The Children’s Services Network have produced a guide to aid those working with children and it intends to make children’s mental health ‘everyone’s business’
The guide aims to shine a light on the mental health of children and it discusses what influences mental health problems in different age groups and those most at risk. The guide also contains signposting to other information and service providers.
‘Appreciating the impact of all the choices we make and the way we behave on children’s well-being is vital. Children and Young People will shape the future and we all contribute – positively or negatively – to their development.’
The guide is available to order online at: http://www.csn.info/csn/publication-detail.jsp?&id=166&md=0
“Who cares about me?” Young Carers Mental Health and Well Being needs.
Manchester Carers Forum (MCF) and Young Carers Research Group (YCRG)
Funded by Manchester CAMHS this two year project commenced in September 2007 and it aims to produce recommendations for services that are specifically and appropriately targeted at the identification of mental health and well being needs of young carers in Manchester.
The recommendations will be presented to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services commissioner in Manchester and will inform Mental Health commissioning.
The report will also include a literary review of young carer research to date and a review of services currently available to promote and sustain the mental health and well being of young carers in Manchester and Nationally.
For more information about this piece of work and other research undertaken at the Loughborough Young Carers Resource Group you can visit their website.
Young Adults Learning Partnership – Briefing Paper No. 1 May 2007
Young Adults – Facts and Figures by Emma Tierney
This is the first in a series of briefing sheets, it presents a range of facts and figures about young adults and it structures around the five outcomes of Every Child Matters
It contains current facts and figures around young carers and condenses some of the basic statistics. It is available online at: http://www.niace.org.uk/Research/YALP/Documents/facts-figures.pdf
Young caregivers in the context of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa – Robson, E; Ansell, N; Huber, U.S; Gould, W.T,S. and Young L.
This paper provides both quantitative and qualitative evidence for the existence of a largely neglected group of young people with increased responsibility for caregiving. From three studies across Southern and Eastern Africa some young
people are found to devote considerable time and energy to caring for sick members in there households.
Examination of the tasks carried out by these youngsters finds them to be burdened beyond the usual familial and societal expectations of children’s ‘normal’ contributions to the reproduction of households via domestic chores and suchlike.
Young people present three studies to illuminate different aspects of caregiving. First, the range of caring tasks young caregivers perform in terms of care for the care recipient including intimate care is identified using qualitative data from Lesotho. Second the impact caregiving responsibilities have on children’s primary school attendance is examined using survey data from Tanzania. Third, the wider negative and positive impacts of caregiving for young caers and their households are explored with in-depth qualitative individual cases from Zimbabwe.
Suggestions are also made for further research directions to deepen understandings of the geographies of caring within the context of the population geographies of the HIV/AIDS pandemics in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
This study was published in ‘Population, Space and Place 12(2) 93-111 and is available on the Brunel University webpage.
Drug use and related problems among very young people - European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
This study discusses the prevalence and patterns of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use among very young people (under 15’s) in Europe and among other thing finds that illicit drug use among very young peopleis rare in Europe. Regular drug use among the under-15s is even rarer and is largely found among specific groups of the population where drug use occurs in combination with other psychological and social disorders.
The study then goes on to discuss high-risk groups, the prevelance of under-15s entering treatment for drug use and other problems and the legislation and regulations around drug use in the very young.
EMCDDA then outline the responses targeted at child drug users which range from universal prevention approaches (e.g. schools, communities) to early interventions (e.g. counselling) when substance use is already suspected. Mid-way between these are prevention responses tailored to high-risk groups (e.g. families at risk) delivered largely through social or health services.
To read the full report visit the EMCDDA’s website.
Like Any Other Child: Children and families in the asylum process – Barnardo’s
Barnado’s has published a new report on the conditions faced by asylum seeker children in the UK. The report estimates that 100,000 vulnerable children are:
living in families with incomes significantly below, already modest, normal benefit levels; living in damp and unsafe housing; often suffering aggressive racial abuse and frequently having to change schools. Some children face deportation to countries they can’t remember or might never have lived in.
The report calls on the Home Office to re-address the current UK asylum process, focussing on the needs of the children.
You can download the report at: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/like_any_other_child_asylum_report08_summary.pdf
Genetic and environmental influences on victims, bullies and bully-victims in childhood – Royal College of Psychiatrists
This study is looking at genes and the environmental effects on the role of bullying and victimisation, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, based at King's College London, have found there are strong genetic influences on being a victim, a bully, and being a bully-victim (a victim and a bully).
The researchers examined a nationally-representative cohort of 2,116 twins aged 9-10 years to understand the genetic and environmental influences on children’s risk of being a victim of bullying, being a bully, or being both a victim and a bully (referred to as bully-victims). In their sample, 12% of children had been severely bullied by others between the age of 9 and 10 years, 13% had frequently bullied others and 2.5% were both severely victimised and frequently bullied others (bully-victims). Knowing more about the factors that influence children’s risk of being involved in bullying is important because victims, bullies and especially bully-victims have elevated emotional and behavioural problems.
The research paper: "Genetic and environmental influences on victims, bullies and bully-victims in childhood" is published in the January issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Volume 49, Issue 1 (January 2008)
The full report is available at http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/news/?id=177
Misspent Youth – New Philanthropy Capital
Children who truant or are excluded from school waste their potential, and this is a tragedy. Truancy and exclusion also waste huge quantities of taxpayers' money. Misspent youth is a new type of report from New Philanthropy Capital. In it they calculate the cost of truancy and exclusion, and compare this with charities' proven efforts to keep children in the classroom. This demonstrates the high returns on offer. The report finds that:
- Failure to tackle truancy is costing the UK economy £800m each year, and the average cost of a persistent truant is £44,468 across his or her lifetime.
- The total bill could be cut by a quarter or more, if projects run by charities like School-Home Support were available right across the UK.
- Every £1 spent by The Learning Challenge, a small charity based in the North East, produces £11.60 in savings
For more information or to download the report Click here. (Back to the Top)
Ipsos Mori Complete National Drug Strategy Consultation
The formal Government drugs consultation took place between June and October 2007. Ipsos Mori, the independent consultants who carried out the consultation are currently in the process of collating all the responses and drawing up their final report. In total 1001 formal written responses were received [Home Office, UK]
http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-events/latest-news/yoursayupdate
‘Time to Talk’ – Department for Children Schools and Families Consultation
The DCSF Consultation, Time to Talk has released the report detailing the findings from the community consultation activities. This strand of the consultation includes:
- Paper survey (adults and children/young people)
- Online survey (adults and children/young people)
- Online survey via GMTV website (primarily adults)
- Toolkits for people to run their own listening workshops with adults or children/young people
- Video diaries (young people)
The findings in the executive summary incorporate both adult and young people’s responses, broadly grouped under the headings of the questions they were asked and including some thematic analysis. To read the report click here.
The Children's Rights Investigation
The Get ready for Geneva children's rights investigation is now coming to a close. This month, is the final online survey - on play and free time. Please encourage all the children and young people you are working with to take this chance to express their views. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. It can be found at http://www.getreadyforgeneva.org.uk/your_say/survey. Young people can also have a final say on family and friends, health, and crime. These surveys can be found at http://www.getreadyforgeneva.org.uk/news/article/last_chance_to_fill_in_the_surveys/. The closing date for all the surveys is Friday 8 February 2008. It is important that as many children and young people as possible contribute their views to the research, to enable a comprehensive picture to be put before the UN of how far children and young people in England are able to enjoy their rights.
Over the next three months, the data gathered from the investigation will be analysed, and children and young people leading the Get ready for Geneva project will decide how they should present their evidence to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Consultations
Resources
Department of Health publications on-line: drug and alcohol leaflets/ posters
You can now order many Department of Health publications on-line at your convenience. To do this, visit the site at: www.orderline.dh.gov.uk follow the registration process and your account will be active within 24 hours. Alternatively for immediate activation, you can call the Publications Order line (08701 455 555).
'The Truth About Booze' - a new young people's website
A new website to help educate young people "on their own terms" about the dangers of drinking has been devised with input from teenagers themselves. http://www.truthaboutbooze.com
The National Drug Strategy - a guide for local partnerships
Sara McGrail makes a useful drug strategy available on-line http://drugeducationforum.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/the-national-drug-strategy-a-guide-for-local-partnerships/
Scoping of NICE guidance on SRE and alcohol education
NICE have published their final scope for the guidance they are going to develop on school, college and community-based personal, social and health education focusing on sex and relationships and alcohol education. They have also put into the public domain the responses they got to the consultation - which included our thoughts.
Write Enough – Effective Recording in Children’s Services
Write Enough is an interactive training pack commissioned by the Children's Services Division, Department of Health (now Department of Education and Skills), to support good practice in recording. It is suitable for all practitioners working in children's services who are required to keep records.
Write Enough is available in two ways: through the Internet as a web site and as a CD ROM. The CD ROM version contains a series of video clips and additional exercises, which for technical reasons are not available through the web.
To order or for more information you can visit the Write Enough website.
Every Child Matters and The National Health Service
This webpage gives information about the NHS, the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, and how they fit in with the Every Child Matters programme.
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/health/nhs/
MAD Academy
MAD Academy is a small business in Basingstoke aimed at pre-school children and their parents/carers that is being launched this month. It is essentially music and dance classes for the children, for more information you can visit the website www.madacademy.com or contact Cathy Agozzino on 01256 325464
Free training for Hampshire voluntary, independent and private sector organisations on Safeguarding These one-day workshops will cover Child Protection, Safer Recruitment and the Common Assessment Framework. For more information visit the website below http://www.hants-alliance.org.uk/web/node/10
Hampshire Parent Development Team Coordinating parent education and development across Hampshire. Include a range for free courses including: Confident Parents, Confident Kids (Under 8s); Supporting Parents of Teenagers (Teenagers); Special Children, Special Parents (All ages)
For more information and schedules visits:
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/families/parentdevelopment.htm
National Road Show: ‘Improving Support for Young Carers and their Families’
The Children’s Society Include Project and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers in conjunction with the University of Nottingham’s Young Carers Research Team, is pleased to announce a series of National Road shows that will deliver information and best practice examples to agencies in England.
Training / Development Opportunities
Community Film Makers
LaunchPad Productions is an interactive film company based in Hampshire with a strong community focus. The company aims to establish project work that is of benefit to both local and wider communities.
The company is run by Steve Manley and Laura Jones, both drama and film graduates with extensive experience in community film, drama and facilitation. Working alongside groups, organisations and individuals, LaunchPad Productions develop, facilitate and produce films that benefit specific communities. These films approach a range of subjects in exciting, stimulating and often challenging ways. We believe in a fun and creative approach so drama is frequently used to help explore and stimulate ideas.
LaunchPad specialise in working with hard to reach groups such as young carers, young offenders and prisoners, young parents and the Gypsy and traveller community and clients have ranged from Hampshire County Council, The Children’s Society, HMP Winchester, Children’s Fund and the Youth Service.
We are always interested in new community film projects so please contact us for a free consultation meeting.
Email : info@launchpadproductions.co.uk
Web : www.launchpadproductions.btik.com
Office : 02380 760091
Using practice and guidance standards written for the department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and helping agencies to deliver Every Child Matters outcomes for this vulnerable group, the Road shows aim to ensure that young carers get a more responsive, whole family and needs-led service.
The first Road show is to be held at The University of Nottingham and is aimed at the Greater London, Eastern, South West, South East and East Midland Regions, although it is open to anyone who wishes to attend. Two further Road Shows will be held in the coming two years in Brighton and Manchester.
Date: 7th April 2008
Cost: £40 (including lunch)
Venue: Law and Social Sciences Building, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
Booking: To request a booking form e-mail Toni-Marie Smith or phone 01962 711511 ext 20
Back to the Top
Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards: National winners announced
An outreach drug worker Vicky Ward, who works with the Turning Point Adult Treatment Service in Sheffield, and the Essex Young People's Drug and Alcohol Service Team were selected from among 400 nominees to each receive a 'Tackling Drugs Changing Lives' National Award at a ceremony held in London [Home Office, UK] http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-events/latest-news/awards-2007
Global Fellowships
The Prime Minister has announced a new Global Fellowship for young people. It has been developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, along with the British Council, the programme will enable 100 school and college leavers each year to visit some of the major countries of the new global economy, starting in the summer of 2008 with China, India and Brazil.
The six-week programme will include:
• Cultural and language immersion.
• Work in a school or college where they can contribute as a language-teaching assistant.
• Time spent with a global company, being introduced to business operations and local community impact programmes.
Further information is available at www.dcsf.gov.uk
Opportunities for Young People
Award Nomination
Speaking Out - community video competition.
The Speaking Out project, run by National Council of Voluntary Childcare Organisations (NCVCCO) and National Council of Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) is hosting a joint conference with YMCA and the Foyer Federation to give children and young people the opportunity to influence how they will be able to help shape their local communities and create a place where they can belong, contribute and thrive in their communities.
They are therefore inviting proposals from NCVCCO members for a number of short-videos by children and young people about where they live and what they want from these places. Each selected video proposal will be awarded a budget up to a maximum of £1000. Applications should be made by 1st February 2008.
Children and young people who have taken part in creating the videos will be invited to the conference, due to be held in summer 2008, to talk about where they live, about their videos, what they want from their local area and how children and young people can participate in deciding what their area will be like.
For further information, including an entry form, you can visit the website - http://www.ncvcco.org/index.php?page=312 or email mubeen@ncvcco.org
Informed and Influential
CRAE (Children’s Rights Alliance for England) is running another Informed and Influential training course on Thursday 21 February 2008 in London. Children and young people aged 17 and under can attend - all they need to do is complete the application form, and return it to CRAE by 25 January 2008 (details can be found on the application form). Places are offered on a first come, first served basis. Tim Loughton MP will be present to talk to the participants about his work as an MP.
For more information or an application page you can visit the website
The Gap Club
An After School and Holiday Club run by Mind the Gap
Ashley Junior School, Ashley Road, New Milton. BH25 5BP
Tel. 07917 016551
Are having an open day on the 12th Feb and will be opening this half term (w/c 18th Feb)
'Play Music Week': Music Therapy sessions on Monday, A Sound Beam day on Tuesday and Drumming workshops on Wednesday, all run by therapists. Thursday and Friday will be holiday play project with a music theme. There will also be some additional after-school music therapy sessions in the run up to Easter for children/young people who miss the holiday sessions or require ongoing input.
To request to go to the open day or for more information about referring a young person to this service you can contact Julie Benton and Helen Dowling at The Gap Club on 07917 016551.
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The Children’s Society, Include Project, Unit 4, Calford House, Wessex Business Park, Wessex Way, Colden Common, Hampshire, SO21 1WP
Telephone: 01962 711 511 Fax: 01962 177 512
Charity Registration Number: 221124
If you wish to unsubscribe from this E-bulletin please contact:
include-project@childrenssociety.org.uk (YCI) to undertake development work for Young Carers and their families throughout Hampshire.
Additionally, The Children’s Fund is funding YCI to develop countywide information for young carers, their families and for organisations and agencies working with them.
Hampshire Young Carers Initiative
E-Bulletin
January 2008
This Issue…
Include Project
About Hampshire Young Cares Initiative
The Work includes:
• Producing information leaflets and packs for use in schools, health and both adult and children’s social care.
• An education pack designed for use within schools
• Training Packages are also offered in response to individual agencies training needs
• Multi-agency working
• Promoting and sharing best practice when delivering Whole Family Working
For more information about resources and events, or to be added to our mailing list, please contact the Hampshire Development Team at YCI:
Jenny Hine - Senior Project Worker
Gunhild Chifunda - Education
Christine Slatcher - Adult Services and Health
Lois Hutchinson - Children’s Services
Back to the Top
• Taking Responsibility - an inter-agency policy for supporting young carers
• Supporting pupils with substance misusing parents - Information for teachers and school staff
• Supporting pupils who are young carers - Information for teachers and school staff, supported by Hampshire Children's Fund
• Young carers in Hampshire School/Community Notice Board Pack, Containing an inforamtion leaflet and a school's notice board poster to inform young carers of their local resources and the Hampshire Resources list giving useful websites and resources to add to and update the School's notice board.
• Supporting children and young people when a loved one has died - Information for teachers and school staff.
• Supporting young carers and their families - Information for health care professionals.
• NEW: An information pack has been produced to raise awareness of young carers and suggest ways of offering support for GP Surgeries in Hampshire. This includes the leaflet ‘Supporting young carers and their families: Information for health care professionals’, a ‘quick checklist for supporting and signposting young carers in Hampshire’, a poster for the waiting room and a poster for the staff room. It also includes details of the local young carers projects. It has been sent out to ten surgeries across Hampshire to pilot in January. This will be available for use across Hampshire after it has been evaluated.
These resources are avaliable on our website resources pages (www.youngcarer.com) or you can contact the Include Project to request paper copies. Back to the Top
Resources
Joint Working Protocol: Safeguarding children whose parents/carers use drugs/alcohol or have mental health problems
Commissioned by Hampshire DAAT, YCI has been consulting with practitioners and service users during the review and up-date of the above policy to ensure a universal pan Hampshire protocol that links into Local Safeguarding Children structures and Every Child Matters. This document will then reflect the views and needs of service users and practitioners. The document is currently in its draft form and will be seen by the Hampshire Safeguarding Children’s Board in February. We will update you on this in our next e-bulletin.
For further details contact: Jenny Hine, Senior Project Worker
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A presentation was given on identifying and supporting young carers and their families to the safeguarding leads from wards and departments at Winchester Hospital. Information from the presentation was sent out to those who were unable to attend. The plan is for this to be followed up with a newsletter with suggestions on good practice later in the year.
A leaflet ‘Supporting young carers who have a parent with a mental illness’ is in draft form. This is aimed at professionals and includes suggestions for good practice and resources for further training.
- Work has also started to produce a leaflet for adult social care to raise awareness of young carers and provide suggestions for good practice including the Key Principles of Practice for Young Carers and their Families.
For further information about Health and Adult services or to request a training session you can contact Christine Slatcher, Hampshire Development Worker for Health and Adult Service
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Achievements so far:
Work with Connexions:
• Raising awareness of young carers in schools
• Marking carers week in schools though lunch time displays and promotions
Hampshire Young Carers Initiative News
Education
Health and Adults Services
Mental Health and Substance Use/Misuse
Many teams have identified leads for young carers who will hold and disseminate information and resource updates from YCI.
All Hampshire Connexions offices will be represented at a training morning that YCI are facilitating in February.
Work with Hampshire Youth Service:
• Several Youth Service teams are developing further their work with young carers
• YCI are able to teams to develop links with adult services to enable a multi agency approach to supporting the whole family
Young carers voices heard on the anti-bullying strategy:
• I attend regular Anti-Bullying Strategy meetings to ensure that young carers and their families are included
YCI delivered presentations to the Primary Heads Standing Committee for Children and Families in October 2007 and to the Secondary Head Teacher’s Conference in December 2007. The aims of the presentations were to:
• raise awareness of the needs of young carers and their families
• raise awareness of the possible ways of supporting young carers and their families in schools in order to raise the level of support for young carers and their families, to meet the fourth principle of practice endorsed by the DoH and the DCSF “Young carers will have the same access to education and career choices as their peers”
• raise the awareness of resources and materials available to schools
I have also maintained contacts with Healthy Schools and attend conferences, to raise awareness of the needs of young carers and their families.
Current work:
I am contacting and meeting with extended services coordinators to share good practice when considering how young carers and their families can be included in services across the county.
My work with schools will be focusing on the positive outcomes that having a named teacher for young carers in school has on pupils. I will also be following the outcomes of the presentations made to the Head Teacher’s conferences and monitoring the dissemination of this information to schools.
I will again this year attend Healthy Schools Emotional Health and Wellbeing Conference in April to ensure that the voice of young carers is heard.
I will also have the opportunity to deliver workshops to around 250 pupils on ‘Supporting young carers in schools’ at the annual Hampshire Peer Mentoring Conference in April.
For further information please contact:
Gunhild Riis Chifunda, Hampshire County Development Worker for Education
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The Hampshire team has been addressing the needs of young carers with Youth Offending Teams in Hampshire and at a meeting with Steve Crocker, Wessex Youth Offending Team Manager and his team in September 2007, it was positive to see that Young Carers are on the agenda.
Following visits to the Southampton and South West Hampshire YOT team and to the Basingstoke YISP, both of these teams have addressed the need for a young carers link person and one is now established with in the teams.
A leaflet called ‘Working with Children and Young People in Trouble with the Law’ has been produced and is currently in the review stage. The team has received some positive feedback on the draft leaflet.
“This is a very welcome document. I cannot improve it! It is informative and helpful and raises awareness” – YOT Manager
The Leaflet will be available later in the New Year, for more information about Hampshire’s work with Young Carers in Trouble with the Law and their Families please contact Lois Hutchinson
This piece of work is now receiving interest at a National Level. The information coming back into the project from national research is reflecting the same findings as the Hampshire Pilot Study.
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Select committees
Three new parliamentary select committees have been established to reflect the machinery of government changes which took place earlier this year. The new committees are:
• Children, Families and Schools Committee
• Justice Committee
• Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee
Further information is available at http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees.cfm
The Children's Plan: Building brighter futures
The Children’s Plan sets out the department's plans for the next ten years under each of its strategic objectives. It aims to strengthen support for all families, take the next steps in achieving world-class schools, bring about change in parents' involvement in their child’s learning and make sure that young people have exciting things to do outside of school, and more places for children to play. This gives links to the plan, a summary and equality impact statement For more information visit: http://www.info4local.gov.uk/documents/related-links/594620
Legislation and Guidance
Young Carers in Trouble with the Law and their Families
Delivering improved outcomes for children, young people and their families: The crucial role of the new local performance framework
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has consulted widely on the content of the Children's Plan, and local authorities have been fully involved in these discussions. The plan is built around four principles: that all children have the potential to succeed and should go as far as their talents will take them, with no child left to fall behind; that the biggest influence on a child's life is its family, and then the community in which it grows up; that it is always better to prevent failure than to tackle the crisis later; and that services need to be shaped by and responsive to the children, young people and families who use them.
The purpose of this document is to support communities in making the most of the new local performance framework and signpost key guidance and other documents that have recently been published.
It is available to order or download on the communities and local government website
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A Report on the Assessment of Childcare needs for families of children with additional needs
Janet Hoff – Strategic Manager, Early Education & Childcare Unit (Vulnerable Children)
Over recent years, support for children in early years settings within Hampshire has developed and is successful in delivering services for children with additional needs. Support that is available includes:
- the Area Inclusion Co-ordinator (InCo) service which provides support advice and training
- additional SEN funding for individual children
- provision of specialist equipment, e.g. seating, to enable children with disabilities access to the curriculum
- a wide range of specialist training.
This paper aims to report on the findings of a recent consultation undertaken with parents/carers of children with additional needs and their experiences in relation to childcare, including the actions to be taken to address issues raised.
14-19 Diploma programme
A new publication says that the success of the new diplomas depends on what happens to A Levels. In particular, the Government has to be clearer about whether A Levels and GCSEs are to be included in the Diploma framework or whether they will be run parallel to it.
Research / Reviews
The Diplomas are the focus of a new paper by the Nuffield Review. The Review, led by Professor Richard Pring from the University of Oxford Department of Education and a Directorate including Dr Ann Hodgson and Dr Ken Spours from the Institute of Education, University of London, has produced the first in a series of Issues Papers to be published on key educational topics over the coming months.
The Review says the original 14 Diplomas (which are derived from vocational sectors) can be seen as the latest in a long line of broad vocational qualifications, occupying the ground between academic qualifications and the apprenticeship route. Such middle-track qualifications have in the past been regarded as an alternative for the less academically able and the Review predicts that teachers will view Diplomas in the same way - with A levels and G.C.S.Es remaining as the more prestigious qualifications. It says it is unfortunate that the three new Diploma lines in Science, Languages and the Humanities will be developed later than their vocational counterparts, as this means the Diploma brand will have to forge its identity as a broad vocational qualification.
Another criticism made in the paper is the lack of genuine involvement of qualifications experts, practitioners and awarding bodies, the very people that have experience in delivering the curriculum and who will be responsible for implementing the new Diploma framework. The Review argues they have the necessary experience to find possible design faults in the Diploma courses before they are introduced into the classroom.
Further information is available at www.nuffield14-19review.org.uk <http://www.nuffield14-19review.org.uk>
Parents in Hospital: how mental health services can best promote family contact when a parent is in hospital
Following a review of contact arrangements between parents in mental health settings and their children, the need to improve support systems and visiting facilities has been identified. The review was carried out by a partnership of organisations - CSIP, the Mental Health Act Commission, Barnardo’s and the Family Welfare Association. It was funded jointly by the Department of Health CAMHS programme and CSIP’s National Social Inclusion Programme, signaling a shared interest in promoting the health and resilience of children and parents affected by parental mental distress.
The findings make compelling reading and draw on data from The Mental Health Act Commission announced visits, interviews with hospital staff and, crucially, parents and children themselves.
If you would like a copy of the report or to find out more about this project and related work contact Clare Mahoney (clare.mahoney@csip.org.uk) or Barbara Robinson (barbara.robinson@barnardos.org.uk). Electronic copies of the report are downloadable from http://www.barnardos.org.uk/parentsinhospital
Children’s Mental Health: A guide. Fundamental Health.
The Children’s Services Network have produced a guide to aid those working with children and it intends to make children’s mental health ‘everyone’s business’
The guide aims to shine a light on the mental health of children and it discusses what influences mental health problems in different age groups and those most at risk. The guide also contains signposting to other information and service providers.
‘Appreciating the impact of all the choices we make and the way we behave on children’s well-being is vital. Children and Young People will shape the future and we all contribute – positively or negatively – to their development.’
The guide is available to order online at: http://www.csn.info/csn/publication-detail.jsp?&id=166&md=0
“Who cares about me?” Young Carers Mental Health and Well Being needs.
Manchester Carers Forum (MCF) and Young Carers Research Group (YCRG)
Funded by Manchester CAMHS this two year project commenced in September 2007 and it aims to produce recommendations for services that are specifically and appropriately targeted at the identification of mental health and well being needs of young carers in Manchester.
The recommendations will be presented to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services commissioner in Manchester and will inform Mental Health commissioning.
The report will also include a literary review of young carer research to date and a review of services currently available to promote and sustain the mental health and well being of young carers in Manchester and Nationally.
For more information about this piece of work and other research undertaken at the Loughborough Young Carers Resource Group you can visit their website.
Young Adults Learning Partnership – Briefing Paper No. 1 May 2007
Young Adults – Facts and Figures by Emma Tierney
This is the first in a series of briefing sheets, it presents a range of facts and figures about young adults and it structures around the five outcomes of Every Child Matters
It contains current facts and figures around young carers and condenses some of the basic statistics. It is available online at: http://www.niace.org.uk/Research/YALP/Documents/facts-figures.pdf
Young caregivers in the context of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa – Robson, E; Ansell, N; Huber, U.S; Gould, W.T,S. and Young L.
This paper provides both quantitative and qualitative evidence for the existence of a largely neglected group of young people with increased responsibility for caregiving. From three studies across Southern and Eastern Africa some young
people are found to devote considerable time and energy to caring for sick members in there households.
Examination of the tasks carried out by these youngsters finds them to be burdened beyond the usual familial and societal expectations of children’s ‘normal’ contributions to the reproduction of households via domestic chores and suchlike.
Young people present three studies to illuminate different aspects of caregiving. First, the range of caring tasks young caregivers perform in terms of care for the care recipient including intimate care is identified using qualitative data from Lesotho. Second the impact caregiving responsibilities have on children’s primary school attendance is examined using survey data from Tanzania. Third, the wider negative and positive impacts of caregiving for young caers and their households are explored with in-depth qualitative individual cases from Zimbabwe.
Suggestions are also made for further research directions to deepen understandings of the geographies of caring within the context of the population geographies of the HIV/AIDS pandemics in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
This study was published in ‘Population, Space and Place 12(2) 93-111 and is available on the Brunel University webpage.
Drug use and related problems among very young people - European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
This study discusses the prevalence and patterns of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use among very young people (under 15’s) in Europe and among other thing finds that illicit drug use among very young peopleis rare in Europe. Regular drug use among the under-15s is even rarer and is largely found among specific groups of the population where drug use occurs in combination with other psychological and social disorders.
The study then goes on to discuss high-risk groups, the prevelance of under-15s entering treatment for drug use and other problems and the legislation and regulations around drug use in the very young.
EMCDDA then outline the responses targeted at child drug users which range from universal prevention approaches (e.g. schools, communities) to early interventions (e.g. counselling) when substance use is already suspected. Mid-way between these are prevention responses tailored to high-risk groups (e.g. families at risk) delivered largely through social or health services.
To read the full report please click here. Or visit the EMCDDA’s website.
Like Any Other Child: Children and families in the asylum process – Barnardo’s
Barnado’s has published a new report on the conditions faced by asylum seeker children in the UK. The report estimates that 100,000 vulnerable children are:
living in families with incomes significantly below, already modest, normal benefit levels; living in damp and unsafe housing; often suffering aggressive racial abuse and frequently having to change schools. Some children face deportation to countries they can’t remember or might never have lived in.
The report calls on the Home Office to re-address the current UK asylum process, focussing on the needs of the children.
You can download the report at: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/like_any_other_child_asylum_report08_summary.pdf
Genetic and environmental influences on victims, bullies and bully-victims in childhood – Royal College of Psychiatrists
This study is looking at genes and the environmental effects on the role of bullying and victimisation, researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, based at King's College London, have found there are strong genetic influences on being a victim, a bully, and being a bully-victim (a victim and a bully).
The researchers examined a nationally-representative cohort of 2,116 twins aged 9-10 years to understand the genetic and environmental influences on children’s risk of being a victim of bullying, being a bully, or being both a victim and a bully (referred to as bully-victims). In their sample, 12% of children had been severely bullied by others between the age of 9 and 10 years, 13% had frequently bullied others and 2.5% were both severely victimised and frequently bullied others (bully-victims). Knowing more about the factors that influence children’s risk of being involved in bullying is important because victims, bullies and especially bully-victims have elevated emotional and behavioural problems.
The research paper: "Genetic and environmental influences on victims, bullies and bully-victims in childhood" is published in the January issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Volume 49, Issue 1 (January 2008)
The full report is available at http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/news/?id=177
Misspent Youth – New Philanthropy Capital
Children who truant or are excluded from school waste their potential, and this is a tragedy. Truancy and exclusion also waste huge quantities of taxpayers' money. Misspent youth is a new type of report from New Philanthropy Capital. In it they calculate the cost of truancy and exclusion, and compare this with charities' proven efforts to keep children in the classroom. This demonstrates the high returns on offer. The report finds that:
- Failure to tackle truancy is costing the UK economy £800m each year, and the average cost of a persistent truant is £44,468 across his or her lifetime.
- The total bill could be cut by a quarter or more, if projects run by charities like School-Home Support were available right across the UK.
- Every £1 spent by The Learning Challenge, a small charity based in the North East, produces £11.60 in savings
For more information or to download the report Click here. (Back to the Top)
Ipsos Mori Complete National Drug Strategy Consultation
The formal Government drugs consultation took place between June and October 2007. Ipsos Mori, the independent consultants who carried out the consultation are currently in the process of collating all the responses and drawing up their final report. In total 1001 formal written responses were received [Home Office, UK]
http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-events/latest-news/yoursayupdate
‘Time to Talk’ – Department for Children Schools and Families Consultation
The DCSF Consultation, Time to Talk has released the report detailing the findings from the community consultation activities. This strand of the consultation includes:
- Paper survey (adults and children/young people)
- Online survey (adults and children/young people)
- Online survey via GMTV website (primarily adults)
- Toolkits for people to run their own listening workshops with adults or children/young people
- Video diaries (young people)
The findings in the executive summary incorporate both adult and young people’s responses, broadly grouped under the headings of the questions they were asked and including some thematic analysis. To read the report click here.
The Children's Rights Investigation
The Get ready for Geneva children's rights investigation is now coming to a close. This month, is the final online survey - on play and free time. Please encourage all the children and young people you are working with to take this chance to express their views. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. It can be found at http://www.getreadyforgeneva.org.uk/your_say/survey. Young people can also have a final say on family and friends, health, and crime. These surveys can be found at http://www.getreadyforgeneva.org.uk/news/article/last_chance_to_fill_in_the_surveys/. The closing date for all the surveys is Friday 8 February 2008. It is important that as many children and young people as possible contribute their views to the research, to enable a comprehensive picture to be put before the UN of how far children and young people in England are able to enjoy their rights. Over the next three months, the data gathered from the investigation will be analysed, and children and young people leading the Get ready for Geneva project will decide how they should present their evidence to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
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Consultations
Resources
Department of Health publications on-line: drug and alcohol leaflets/ posters
You can now order many Department of Health publications on-line at your convenience. To do this, visit the site at: www.orderline.dh.gov.uk follow the registration process and your account will be active within 24 hours. Alternatively for immediate activation, you can call the Publications Order line (08701 455 555).
'The Truth About Booze' - a new young people's website
A new website to help educate young people "on their own terms" about the dangers of drinking has been devised with input from teenagers themselves. http://www.truthaboutbooze.com
The National Drug Strategy - a guide for local partnerships
Sara McGrail makes a useful drug strategy available on-line http://drugeducationforum.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/the-national-drug-strategy-a-guide-for-local-partnerships/
Scoping of NICE guidance on SRE and alcohol education
NICE have published their final scope for the guidance they are going to develop on school, college and community-based personal, social and health education focusing on sex and relationships and alcohol education. They have also put into the public domain the responses they got to the consultation - which included our thoughts.
Write Enough – Effective Recording in Children’s Services
Write Enough is an interactive training pack commissioned by the Children's Services Division, Department of Health (now Department of Education and Skills), to support good practice in recording. It is suitable for all practitioners working in children's services who are required to keep records.
Write Enough is available in two ways: through the Internet as a web site and as a CD ROM. The CD ROM version contains a series of video clips and additional exercises, which for technical reasons are not available through the web.
To order or for more information you can visit the Write Enough website.
Every Child Matters and The National Health Service
This webpage gives information about the NHS, the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, and how they fit in with the Every Child Matters programme.
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/health/nhs/
MAD Academy
MAD Academy is a small business in Basingstoke aimed at pre-school children and their parents/carers that is being launched this month. It is essentially music and dance classes for the children, for more information you can visit the website www.madacademy.com or contact Cathy Agozzino on 01256 325464
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Free training for Hampshire voluntary, independent and private sector organisations on Safeguarding These one-day workshops will cover Child Protection, Safer Recruitment and the Common Assessment Framework. For more information visit the website below http://www.hants-alliance.org.uk/web/node/10
Hampshire Parent Development Team Coordinating parent education and development across Hampshire. Include a range for free courses including: Confident Parents, Confident Kids (Under 8s); Supporting Parents of Teenagers (Teenagers); Special Children, Special Parents (All ages)
For more information and schedules visits:
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/families/parentdevelopment.htm
National Road Show: ‘Improving Support for Young Carers and their Families’
The Children’s Society Include Project and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers in conjunction with the University of Nottingham’s Young Carers Research Team, is pleased to announce a series of National Road shows that will deliver information and best practice examples to agencies in England.
Training / Development Opportunities
Community Film Makers
LaunchPad Productions is an interactive film company based in Hampshire with a strong community focus. The company aims to establish project work that is of benefit to both local and wider communities.
The company is run by Steve Manley and Laura Jones, both drama and film graduates with extensive experience in community film, drama and facilitation. Working alongside groups, organisations and individuals, LaunchPad Productions develop, facilitate and produce films that benefit specific communities. These films approach a range of subjects in exciting, stimulating and often challenging ways. We believe in a fun and creative approach so drama is frequently used to help explore and stimulate ideas.
LaunchPad specialise in working with hard to reach groups such as young carers, young offenders and prisoners, young parents and the Gypsy and traveller community and clients have ranged from Hampshire County Council, The
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