Mental health support for under-fives overlooked according to report
- The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for more support to prevent babies and young children developing mental health problems in later life.
- The government has said the mental health of children and parents is paramount.
- NHS data has shown that around 5% of two to four-year-olds struggle with anxiety, behavioural disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD.
- The report by the Royal College of Paediatrics suggests half of mental health conditions come to light by the age of 14, and many start to develop in the first years of life, making early action “vital”.
- The report puts forward a number of recommendations including more research on the best ways to help young children and new specialist services across the UK for under-fives, their parents and carers.
- Please see here for the full report.
- For more on this story, please visit the BBC News website.
The following stories may be regionalised:
UK government keeping files on teaching assistants’ and librarians’ internet activity
- Teachers and support staff said they were “gobsmacked” and angry after discovering that the Department for Education (DfE) had files on them.
- Many educators have submitted subject access requests (SARs) compelling the DfE to release any information it holds under their name, after discovering files up to 60 pages long about their tweets and comments challenging government policy or Ofsted.
- When asked if they were monitoring the social media of teaching staff, the department said it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases and that it was standard practice to carry out due diligence before engaging external experts.
- For more, please visit The Guardian website.
BSL: Parents of deaf children in Wales urge free signing lessons
- More than 2,600 people have signed a petition calling for free British Sign Language (BSL) lessons for parents of deaf children in Wales.
- It is estimated there are at least 2,329 deaf children in Wales, with 90% of them being born to hearing parents.
- The Welsh government reported that BSL provision for adults was based on demand across Wales, and while it provides funding to further education colleges, the colleges decide what curriculum they offer and learner fees.
- Sarah Lawrence, a deaf businesswoman from Caerphilly, played a role in introducing BSL into the curriculum in Wales.
- She reported the benefits, stating it will help “deaf education, their confidence and their identity” as well as the societal need: “children who have future work as a doctor, police officer, nurse – they will have BSL as a usable language” meaning “deaf people will be able to access more services because people can use sign language with them.”
- For more, please visit the BBC News website.
