CCCF Autumn 2008 Newsletter

EDITORIAL

Hello and welcome to the first edition of the CCCF Email newsletter which contains a mixture of news and comment on a range of issues that may be of interest to CCCF members.  Any selection made from the welter of news stories about child care and the Christian faith is bound to be somewhat random and personal and so this first selection makes no pretence of being impartial or in any way definitive.  These are a few of the snippets of news that have flowed through my inbox at home and I am sharing them in the hope that they will stimulate thought, discussion and prayerful reflection.  CCCF trustees have commissioned me to do some editing work for the Forum and the intention is that this newsletter will become a regular feature, replacing the paper version and being sent out via Email on a termly basis.  Many of the items will contain a hyperlink to the original source or to another website where further information is available.

The newsletter will contain regular reminders about the forthcoming annual Forum- CCCF’s 2009 Forum will be held on Tuesday 28th April 2009 so put the date down in your next year’s diary!- and other events sponsored by member organizations.  If you would like details of your events to be publicized in this way please send them, preferably some time well in advance, to info@christianchildcareforum.org.uk so that I can incorporate an alert into the relevant edition of this newsletter and post an item on our newly spring cleaned ‘news and events’ space on the website.  For a member organization like CCCF the quality, usefulness and timeliness of the information we send out depends to a great extent on the information we receive from members.

You will probably have noticed, if you have visited our website recently, that the website too has been revamped with the same end in mind.  In parallel with this newsletter a new piece of writing has been posted on the thinking space entitled “Policy overload”.  This article contains some personal reflections designed to provoke a response (you don’t have to agree!) and there is a space for you to add your comments if you wish, or to enter into a dialogue about the questions raised.  The intention is that the featured article in the thinking space will be changed on a regular basis and so will serve to facilitate discussion and debate among CCCF members.  If you have any ideas about subjects for the thinking space or, better still, if you can write an article for this purpose please contact me via the above Email address.

During the summer a major report, called “Moral, without a compass”, was published by the Church of England.  The report was produced by a respected Christian thinktank (the Von Hugel Institute) based at Cambridge University and it addressed, in very broad terms, the role of faith in public life.  The report was highly critical of government, arguing that there was a deep “religious illiteracy” on the part of the government and suggesting that current approaches towards the church as a provider of social welfare services are based on inadequate research and effectively discriminate against the church in favour of other faiths.  The final edition of Faithworks magazine (Autumn 2008) features interviews with three politicians on the question of whether the government is, in fact, moral but without a compass.  The interviews make for fascinating reading; see http://www.faithworks.info/SubSection.asp?id=8562

Some of you may have seen the recent ITV programme featuring Esther Ranzen http://www.itv.com/News/tonight/episodes/EsthervsthePCbrigade/default.html
on the subject of child protection.  CCCF trustee David Pearson was interviewed in a church setting where children were enjoying fun activities with trusted adults in a safe and child friendly environment.  However, the main burden of what Esther Ranzen was saying in the programme was that fears around children’s safety are in danger of paralyzing adults and preventing healthy and spontaneous interactions between adults and children.  A simple experiment was conducted in a busy shopping centre where two small child actors were left looking lost and forlorn and without a carer within range.  Busy shoppers hurried past, barely daring to risk eye contact with a lost child, whilst hidden cameras filmed.    The disturbing results of the experiment revealed that a total of 1,817 people walked past the children - yet only five did something to try and help seven-year-old Holly and nine-year-old Josh.  The programme made a powerful case, in my view, for the rediscovery of loving concern for children to be demonstrated by unrelated adults (male as well as female) in the public arena without shame, fear or stigma.  This was the theme of the seminar on love and safeguarding in this year’s CCCF Forum, a written version of which will be posted in the ‘thinking space’ of the website as soon as it becomes available.

Bill Stone, October 2008

SENTAMU SLAMS GOVERNMENT ‘FAITH-INTOLERANCE’
The Archbishop of York has accused ministers and councils of ‘intolerance’ for refusing funding to faith groups who provide community and education services. Speaking at a Youth for Christ meeting at Westminster Central Hall, Dr John Sentamu said ‘We must resist any trend in national or local government’ where the decision is based ‘upon the intolerance that sees a project motivated by faith as being tainted and unsuitable for funding’. The Archbishop said there are 22,000 religious charities in England and Wales working ‘at the coalface of pastoral care and social practice’. Politicians and grant makers who failed to acknowledge this are ignoring the fact that churches are based in the community, rather than professionals who ‘drive in … in the morning and leave before the lights go down’.
Source: Daily Telegraph (12/9)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/majornews/2799500/Christian-groups-seen-as-tainted-by-Government-warns-Archbishop.html

THE RISE OF RELIGION AT BRITISH PARTY CONFERENCES
‘God talk’ is a rising phenomenon in the annual conference speeches of Britain’s party political leaders, a new survey shows. While religious beliefs play a much smaller part in UK electioneering than in the USA, an analysis by the Theos think tank reveals a steady rise in religious references over the last decade. Researchers found that Labour leaders led the way, making 98 religious references, compared with 65 for the Conservatives and 23 for the Liberal Democrats. Last year, while referring to ‘the sermons my father preached’, Gordon Brown made 14 religious references while rallying the party faithful. Theos director Paul Woolley said the increase reflects an awareness that ‘Faith groups represent a growing constituency in society’. However, ‘Talking God is not the same as “doing God”’ in terms of ‘governing with justice and mercy,’ he said.
Sources: The Times (14/9); Church Times (19/9)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4752609.ece

NORTH-WEST BACKS ‘SOCIAL GLUE’ OF CHURCHES
Churches play a vital part as ‘social glue’ in community life, a survey for the North West Regional Development Agency (NWRDA) has shown. In recognition of this, the Agency is to give £300,000 to a charity campaign to raise millions of pounds for churches who need to repair or adapt their buildings. ‘The picture that has emerged is one of faith communities often playing a multi-dimensional role in their neighbourhoods that touches people far beyond their own numbers,’ the research found. NWRDA chairman Brian Gray said that support for churches was important for communities to flourish and develop as tourist destinations.
Source: Sunday Telegraph (28/9)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3089397/Churches-offered-millions-of-pounds-in-new-grants-for-repairs-and-adapting-buildings.html

KELLY ATTACKS WESTMINSTER SECULARISM
Ruth Kelly, who announced her resignation from the Cabinet last week, has bemoaned the way politicians with a faith are seen at Parliament. ‘It is difficult to be a Christian in politics these days,’ she said. ‘The public debate has become more secular and believers are portrayed as a bit odd.’ This ‘doesn’t reflect the reality in communities where churchgoing and belief is considered normal,’ she added. The Catholic Herald noted that Miss Kelly originally resigned in May when her opposition to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill put her at odds with the Prime Minister. However, Mr Brown had asked her to wait until the next Cabinet reshuffle. Parliament is expected to debate this Bill further this month and the Archbishop of Cardiff, Most Revd Peter Smith, urged its opponents to keep writing to their MPs ‘who are very often influenced by the size of their postbag’.
Sources: Catholic Herald (3/10); The Universe (5/10)
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/articles/a0000384.shtml
http://www.totalcatholic.com/tc/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=285:mp-ruth-kelly-to-stand-down-at-next-election&catid=14:uk-and-ireland&Itemid=34

CHILDREN OF PRISONERS
The Social Care Institute for Excellence has published three e-learning resources on children of prisoners. The resources provide an introduction to the significant, but unknown, number of children who are affected by the loss of a parent or carer to prison.
Further information is available at
http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/elearning/cop/index.asp

AS LONG AS IT TAKES
Action for Children, formerly NCH, has published an overview of child policy development over the last 21 years. The report, As Long As It Takes: a New Politics for Children, shows that during the lifetime of a 21 year old there has been 400 major government announcements relating to children and young people, 98 separate acts of parliament across the UK, 82 different strategies, 77 initiatives and over 50 new funding streams. The report also analyses four key policy areas: the care system, family support, disabled children and youth support.
Further information is available at
http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/aslongasittakes

PLAY UPDATES
The National Children’s Bureau has published a monthly newsletter for the play sector with a round-up of news, policy, information and events related to children’s play. It is produced by the Children’s Play Information Service (CPIS), in coordination with Play England.
Further information is available at
http://www.ncb.org.uk/Page.asp?originx_827jv_17691024844947r27b_20071011

CHILD POVERTY HITS ALMOST 100% IN SOME AREAS OF UK
By Alison Bennett
Children & Young People Now
1 October 2008
Some areas of the UK have nearly all children either living in poverty or on the brink of it, according to the Campaign to End Child Poverty.  Figures released by the pressure group yesterday (30 September) show an estimated 98 per cent of children living in two areas of Glasgow are either living in poverty or in families struggling to get by. The study also found more than 170 constituencies across the UK have 50 per cent or more children on the brink of poverty. The statistics are based on the number of families claiming tax credits and cover the 646 parliamentary constituencies.
Child poverty is defined as households living below 60 per cent of median income. Hilary Fisher, campaign director, said: “We want everyone who feels this injustice should be changed to join us in demanding Gordon Brown does something about it.” The campaign will stage a rally in Trafalgar Square, London, on Saturday (4 October). The event will call on the government to keep its promise to halve child poverty by 2010.

CATHOLIC SAFEGUARDING ADVISORY SERVICE
The Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service (CSAS) has taken over responsibility from the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children & Vulnerable Adults (COPCA) as the national agency for safeguarding within the Catholic Church in England and Wales. A separate body - the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission - will develop policy and monitor how it is being implemented.
Further information:   Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service http://www.csas.uk.net/

ENGAGING HARD TO REACH GROUPS
VCS Engage has published findings from an evaluation of the impact of engaging BME and faith based organisations in Every Child Matters and commissioning training. Many respondents felt that funders and key organisations prefer to consult and work with larger (therefore more visible) organisations and that they were not as ‘hard to reach’ as is generally thought. Although smaller organisations are encouraged to collaborate on tenders, many felt ideas and projects were being plagiarised and that partnerships were often unequal.
Further information is available  http://www.vcsengage.org.uk/news/engaging%20hard%20to%20reach%20group.aspx

MENTORING
The Centre for Policy Studies has published a report claiming there is no evidence that youth mentoring works. The report - Youth Mentoring: a Good Thing? - claims there is a gulf between political enthusiasm for mentoring and the research evidence to support it. The report states that high-quality mentoring can be an effective tool for some specific groups of young people but stressed that it needed to be more tightly focused on those young people for whom it can work, more rigorously controlled and more carefully monitored. The report urges the government to review the selection criteria for mentors so that only those with the necessary skills are able to become approved mentors.  Further information is available at http://www.cps.org.uk/newsarchive/news/?pressreleaseid=103

BULLYING
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has announced that he intends to introduce a statutory duty on schools to record all incidents of bullying. Further Information: http://www.labour.org.uk/a_fair_chance_in_life_for_every_child_ed_balls

OFSTED: REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED
This factsheet explains the types of childcare that do not require registration with Ofsted. The Childcare Act 2006 defines childcare as any form of care for a child including education or any other supervised activity.
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk:80/portal/site/Internet/

SURVEY ON SERVICES FOR DISABLED CHILDREN
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has published a report on the development of a survey on services for disabled children. The report sets out a feasible and effective methodology for a survey to measure a disabled children’s services national indicator and an approach to its calculation and reporting.  The research was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research and involved focus groups comprising government policy leads, disability lobby groups and parents of disabled children.
Further information is available at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectId=15553&type=5&resultspage=1

UN DELIVERS DAMNING VERDICT ON CHILDRENS RIGHTS
By Joe Lepper
Children & Young People Now
3 October 2008
The United Nation’s Committee on the Rights of the Child has delivered a damning verdict on the UK government’s progress in recognising children’s rights. In its concluding report into the UK’s record on safeguarding children’s rights it highlights concern over continued use of corporal punishment, treatment of asylum seeker and refugee children and juvenile justice.
Among practices in the UK singled out for criticism was the use of taser guns against children.
Measures to combat anti-social behaviour, such as mosquito devices and dispersal zones, were found to restrict children and young people’s freedom of movement and peaceful assembly.
Many of these concerns were highlighted by the four UK Children’s Commissioners, when they presented more than 100 recommendations for change to the UN committee in June.
Speaking on behalf of the four Commissioners, Kathleen Marshall, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, described this latest report as, an important roadmap that government and devolved administrations can follow to make sure all our children and young people can enjoy better protection and better services which are embodied in a clear set of rights.

LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has launched a
series of initiatives supporting learning outside the classroom, including the Out and About package comprising resources and training to support learning outside the classroom opportunities. The Quality Badge scheme, which is currently being piloted, will go live in early 2009.
The new Council for the Learning Outside the Classroom will act as the awarding body, assessing each organisation against quality and safety criteria. Expressions of interest can now be made online.
Further information is available at
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0219

SMACKING BAN
The House of Commons will debate a cross-party amendment to the children and young persons bill on Wednesday 8 October, which would give children the same protection against physical assault as adults. An alliance of children’s charities said a clear majority of MPs would support the abolition of smacking in a free vote. A total ban would bring England and Wales in line with 18 European countries such as Germany and most recently Spain. The law on hitting children was recently amended with the Children Act. However, the new law continues to give parents a legal
defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ for some minor forms.
Further information is available at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/oct/08/child.protection.smacking

SUBSTANCE MISUSE SURVEY
The drug and alcohol charity Addaction has published a survey on substance misuse which finds that one in five children and young people believe their parents have taken drugs and one in ten say they think their parents still take drugs. Overwhelmingly young people describe themselves as being ‘against’ drugs (90 per cent) and only one in ten (13 per cent) think celebrities make taking drugs seem ‘cool’. The Addaction YouGov and Dubit surveys, which questioned almost 2000 adults
and 500 young people selected at random in England and Scotland about their attitudes towards drugs and alcohol, reveals signs that the generation gap is closing between parents and their children on drugs.
Further information is available at
http://www.addaction.org.uk/?page_id=1290

KEY STAGE 3 TESTING TO BE SCRAPPED
By Lauren Higgs
Children & Young People Now
14 October 2008
Schools secretary Ed Balls has today announced that testing for 14 year olds at Key Stage 3 is to be abolished with immediate effect.  End of year SATs tests are to be replaced with teacher assessment and increased reporting to parents in the first three years of secondary school.  Parents will receive new school report cards, designed to provide parents with clear information about schools’ performance.  But Balls stopped short of extending reforms to key stage two and described end of primary school SATs as “critically important”.  Despite this he said single level tests could potentially replace the current Key Stage 2 model of testing.  He said: “These reforms will provide more regular and more comprehensive information to parents about their children’s progress, support heads and teachers to make sure that every child can succeed, and strengthen our ability to hold all schools to account, as well as the public’s ability to hold government to account.”
Further information available at
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/853733/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin

TWO THIRDS OF PARENTS BACK FAITH SCHOOLS
By Lauren Higgs
Children & Young People Now
14 October 2008
More than two thirds of parents believe faith-based state schools should be available to all children, according to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Business.  The research, which questioned more than one thousand parents, found church schools are perceived to offer a broad and balanced curriculum, while promoting good behaviour.  However almost half of respondents claimed children from wealthy backgrounds were more likely to get into church schools than their counterparts from disadvantaged families.  The Reverend Jan Ainsworth, the Church of England’s chief education officer, denied that church schools operate unfair admissions processes.  She said: “The Church of England has consistently supported the ban on interviews or the seeking of other information about the family during the admissions process. Church attendance is the only measure our schools use when allocating places on the basis of faith, and churches are open to anyone, irrespective of background or income.”  “However, governing bodies and the wider sector need to be crystal clear in the way that admissions policies are implemented and communicated.”