News

We are recruiting Development Officers
Sex offenders banned from working in schools
Early signs of meningitis found
Sex offender offered teaching job
Anti-junk food push 'a success'

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
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31 January 2006 - We are recruiting Development Officers

Following the award of three new and exciting development contracts for Northamptonshire and Rutland County Councils, we are seeking two Development Officers.

Positions are available for up to 37 hours per week, pert-time, flexible hours available. We offer a pension scheme, 30 days annual leave and training and development opportunities.

The new positions will join our team of 19 based in Leicester, working on a range of development work including quality assurance mentoring, support for voluntary management committees, out of school development work, children's centres and extended services.

Salary range £18,000 - £23,000.

Deadline for applications: 24th February 2006. PLease contact us for an application form.

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19 January 2006 - Sex offenders banned from working in schools

Anyone convicted or cautioned for a sex offence against a child will be banned from teaching, Ruth Kelly has told MPs. The education secretary said she "deeply regretted" concerns caused to parents by recent revelations of sex offenders working in schools.

An independent panel will now take over ministers' role of deciding who can work with children, she promised. Some 88 sex offenders have not been banned since 1997 but ministers say they have confidence in the system.

Ms Kelly told the Commons she was "determined" to reduce parents' concerns and "overhaul" the system, but there "must be no witch-hunts against hard-working teachers".

Those cautioned or convicted in future for sexual offences against children would be banned, she said.

KEY MEASURES
· School ban for all people cautioned or convicted of child sex offences.
· Single banning list for people working with children.
· Central unit to assess cases, not ministers.
· Compulsory criminal Records Bureau checks for new school staff and supply teachers used by agencies.
· School ban for those who commit 'serious' sexual offences against adults.
· Panel to review past cases of 'partial' restrictions placed on staff.

Recent controversy has centred on whether current lists of banned staff offer sufficient protection for children. Ms Kelly said a review had found 10 cases where ministers had not put registered sex offenders on List 99 - which shows who is banned from working in schools or with children - since 1997.

In each case experts had said the individuals were not a threat. Forty-six other cases, mostly "very old offences", have been found where people had not been banned - police say there is no cause for concern yet but 13 of them are still being checked to see if the people work in schools.

And initial checks suggest there may be 32 registered sex offenders in schools in England and Wales who had a potential connection with education, but which had not been referred to the education department.

Of the 46, there is 'no evidence' of 32 working in education; 13 are still being checked but no reason for concern yet; and one is working in education but not at a school. Police are looking at 32 more people on the sex offenders' list who have a 'potential connection' with education but have not been referred to the Department for Education

In future, the former chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's, Sir Roger Singleton, would oversee the panel on staff suitability to work with children, Ms Kelly said.

The education secretary has been under pressure since it emerged a teacher had been allowed to teach at a Norfolk school, despite being cautioned for paying to download child porn from the internet.

It was later revealed that another man with a conviction for child abuse had been cleared to work as a supply teacher in Dorset.

Ms Kelly is ending the system where ministers are able to rule that some people on the sex offenders' register are not blacklisted from teaching.

Education minister Lord Adonis told the BBC: "Provided that schools do as they are supposed to do in terms of conducting the Criminal Records Bureau checks, we believe parents can have confidence."

The Conservatives accused ministers of being too slow to act on the recommendations of an inquiry by Sir Michael Bichard following the Soham murders.

Shadow education secretary David Willetts said it was up to Ms Kelly's conscience whether she was capable of regaining the confidence of parents and teachers after 10 days of uncertainty.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news

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11 January 2006 - Early signs of meningitis found

Cold hands, severe leg pain and very pale skin can all be early warning signs of bacterial meningitis, parents are being advised. A team of experts in Oxford set out to see if the potentially fatal condition could be detected before the characteristic rash appears.

This is often seen just a couple of hours before the child becomes critically ill. In the Lancet, the experts said GPs should be aware of the early signs. In developed countries such as the UK, bacterial meningitis is the leading infectious cause of death in children.

At least four in 100,000 British children will become ill with meningococcal disease - which also includes septicaemia, or blood poisoning, and 10% of those infected die. In many cases, children are only admitted to hospital after their condition is initially misdiagnosed.

The Oxford University researchers looked at the cases of 448 children with meningococcal disease, using questionnaires given to parents, and medical records. Greater awareness of these early signs of the disease among primary care clinicians can save lives and prevent long-term disability in children

Of the total number of children, all aged 16 and younger, 103 died and 345 survived. Only half the children were sent to hospital after the first time they were seen by a doctor. Often children were seen by a local GP who had never encountered a case of meningitis before outside hospital.

Most of the children showed only non-specific symptoms in the first four to six hours, but were close to death 24 hours after infection. The 'classic' symptoms - headache, stiff neck, sensitivity to light and impaired consciousness as well as rash - developed late, between 13 to 22 hours on average. But 72% of the children developed identifiable early symptoms in around eight hours.

EARLY WARNING SIGNS
Severe leg pain - which prevents the child walking or standing
Cold hands or feet - when the child has a high temperature
Looking very pale, blue or dusky around the lips

Denise Vaughan, chief executive of the Meningitis Research Foundation, which funded the study, said: "This important research has not only identified the early symptoms of septicaemia but the need for doctors to systematically look for those symptoms in sick children.

"We hope this will change the model of how meningitis and septicaemia are looked for in primary care and save lives."

Dr George Kassianos, spokesman for the Royal College of GPs, said: "Parental education about the early signs of meningococcal meningitis is very important.

"And greater awareness of these early signs of the disease among primary care clinicians can save lives and prevent long-term disability in children."

Source www.bbc.co.uk/news

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10 January 2006 - Sex offender offered teaching job

A registered sex offender given clearance by Education Secretary Ruth Kelly to work as a teacher landed a job in a high school, it has emerged. But he resigned after teaching for only a few days when police protested.

Ms Kelly had decided not to ban him because she apparently believed evidence he had accessed paedophile websites was inconclusive. The teacher, who is on the sex offenders register, was given a job at Hewett School in Norwich last month.

The Department for Education (DfES) wrote to Norfolk County Council saying that she had "considered all aspects of the case, including sex offender registration, and decided that the risks of the teacher being allowed to continue teaching were acceptable".

The department's Safeguarding Children Unit said Ms Kelly did not believe he belonged on list 99, the national list of people barred from working with children.

But police reportedly followed strict Home Office guidelines in placing him on the sex offenders register, and have privately expressed deep reservations about her decision. Norfolk police spokesperson Simon Morgan said: "Swift action was taken as soon as this matter came to our attention.

"We convened an urgent meeting with all relevant partner agencies and individuals, including the head teacher, to review the situation and determine the most appropriate course of action."

Lisa Christensen of Norfolk Social Services said: "This case highlights a serious policy contradiction that we are keen the DfES addresses as a matter of urgency - namely, that it is possible for a teacher to have their name on the sex offender register, but not on list 99."

The school's head, Tom Samain, and governors' chairman, Marion Wright, voiced concern in a joint statement.

But after Norfolk Police expressed their concerns and reservations they decided to suspend the teacher and he subsequently resigned.

"The person concerned is no longer employed, and there will be a full examination of the process in this case," they said.

"This is the first time we have had such a case and received such a notification from the DfES.

"We are concerned at the policy contradictions it throws up, and have raised our concerns with the DfES."

The Department for Education insisted in a statement its first priority was the protection of children.

"Stringent measures are put into action where there is evidence of a threat to children," it said.

The department said it could not comment on individual cases.

However, it said it would review this case to see whether it raised any policy issues: "If there is further action needed to close any loopholes, we will not hesitate in taking it.

Source: bbc.co.uk/news

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03 January 2006 - Anti-junk food push 'a success'

Moves to encourage young primary pupils to eat more healthily are proving fruitful, ministers have insisted. Primary one and two children are given free fruit three times per week. Ministers claimed a study by the Scottish Centre for Social Research showed 90% of those questioned said eating habits had improved.

Researchers quizzed a quarter of primary schools and all of Scotland's local authorities to find out what they thought of the anti-junk food drive. As many as 60% of them said youngsters were eating more fresh fruit and vegetables at lunchtime because of the scheme.

It is part of the Hungry for Success effort, aimed at increasing the nutritional content of school meals and encouraging more balanced diets.

Health minister Andy Kerr said of the fruit campaign: "We have embarked upon a mission to improve our health as a nation and it is now working. But we need to continue our efforts and ensure that everyone, particularly parents, play their role."

Education Minister Peter Peacock said young people were now enjoying healthier school meals, fresh fruit and water as part of their daily routine. "By introducing these healthy tastes at an early age we can encourage them to follow active, healthy lifestyles that will benefit them for the rest of their lives".

Source www.bbc.co.uk/news

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