The National Youth Agency - Health News Summary 6 November 2008

Health News Summary 6 November 2008

7 Nov 2008
Headlines in this issue include: All pupils to get healthy lifestyle lessons; Exclusions reveal scale of underage drink problem; and Launch of Young People's Charter on SRE.

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Healthy Lifestyle

All pupils to get healthy lifestyle lessons

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has announced that Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) will become a compulsory part of the curriculum from Key Stage 1 to 4 (ages five to 16). The announcement comes in response to the principal findings of both the Review of Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in Schools and the report by the Advisory Group on Drug and Alcohol Education, which both recommended that good PSHE was vital to providing a healthy, rounded education.
DCSF press release >>
NYA response >>
DrugScope response >>

Oliver warns over unhealthy diets

TV chef Jamie Oliver has told the House of Commons Health Committee that large numbers of people simply can not cook. It means that there is a reliance on unhealthy foods as people have little ability to improvise to keep costs down. He said the situation made him concerned about the fight against obesity. He argues that councils should make it harder for fast-food outlets to open, that there is more work to be done regarding school meals and called for improved food labelling. BBC article >>

Healthy Relationships and Sex

TV shows link to teen pregnancies

Young women who watch a lot of TV shows with a high sexual content are twice as likely to become pregnant, according to a study. Young men watching similar programmes, such as Friends and Sex and the City, were also more likely to get a girl pregnant, the research in the journal 'Pediatrics' found. The study’s authors argue that limiting exposure to sexual content on TV may reduce teen pregnancies. BBC article >>

New report from Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group

The Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group (TPIAG) has published its 5th Annual Report. Though welcoming the success of a number of government initiatives around teenage pregnancy over the past year, the report expresses concern about the quality and provision of PSHE, including sex and relationships education (SRE), and a lack of ‘young people friendly’ contraceptive services in the community. The report did call for statutory PSHE as part of the national curriculum which the government has now announced (see above). TPIAG 5th Annual Report >> (PDF)

Alcohol and Substance Use

Exclusions reveal scale of underage drink problem

An analysis of school exclusions has revealed that almost 42,000 pupils have been sent home for alcohol or drug-related reasons in the past four years. The research, undertaken by the Liberal Democrats, also showed that half a million under-18s said they had been able to buy alcohol in bars, and that those who drank regularly were more likely to commit criminal offences. Guardian article >>

Boys use drink to seduce girls

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing has claimed that young men think it is acceptable to pressure their girlfriends into sex and use alcohol to get them into bed. Researchers from Sheffield University said their analysis of groups of sexually active young people showed considerable differences between the way boys and girls looked at sexual scenarios. Telegraph article >>

Mental and Emotional Wellbeing

Long-term behavioural disorders linked to rented housing - study

A study by the Office for National Statistics has found that children and young people that living in rented accommodation are more likely to have continuing mental health problems. The study tracked the emotional wellbeing of more than 7,000 children over a three-year period and found that 43 per cent of children and young people who had a behavioural disorder in 2004 also had it in 2007. ONS press release
Download report >>

Children and Young People’s Services

Children's trusts 'not effective' – report

A new report by the Audit Commission argues that children's trusts created by the government after the death of Victoria Climbie have made little difference to children's services, often lack clear direction and have made slow progress. The Audit Commission study, the first independent assessment of the trusts since they were formally created by the Children Act 2004, did not call for the trusts to be scrapped, saying they were still ‘bedding down’, but does argue that children and young people should have more say in how services are designed. BBC article >>
Audit Commission report >>

Patients to get more say in NHS services

The Department of Health (DH) has urged Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to engage better with patients and the public in developing plans and making decisions about local health services. New guidance has been published to help the public have more say in decisions made by their PCT, enabling them to shape local health services. The guidance 'Real Involvement' is being issued to help PCTs and other NHS organisations understand changes, and to offer practical advice on how to put local people at the heart of service changes. DH press release >>

Resources

Launch of Young People's Charter on SRE

As part of its 21st birthday celebrations the Sex Education Forum (SEF) has launched a young people's charter on sex and relationships education. It was written by young people in a two-day residential and captures their call for better SRE. It looks at how SRE makes a contribution to well-being and the five Every Child Matters outcomes and makes 10 recommendations for action. SEF Young People's Charter >> (PDF)

Funding

Drinkaware: new grants programme

Drinkaware, the independent charity supported by voluntary donations from across the drinks industry, is offering dedicated funding to local and national projects working to tackle alcohol misuse, promote responsible drinking and raise awareness about the negative effects of alcohol. The schemes are open to projects working primarily with under-18s in any part of the UK and encompass three levels of award:

Ideas Fund - sums up to £2,000
Drinkwise Projects - sums up to £25,000
Big Impact Award - sums up to £100,000

Funding is available for many types of alcohol awareness projects including community based work, alcohol education and peer-led education, and awareness raising work with disadvantaged people who are at risk of harm from alcohol misuse. Further information >>

Awards

2009 FRANK Awards

Drugs organisations across the country are being encouraged to share their projects and campaigns which have successfully raised awareness of drugs issues and made an impact in their community, by submitting entries for the 2009 FRANK stakeholder awards. The FRANK awards are designed to recognise and reward individuals or organisations who have used the FRANK campaign to deliver effective communications campaigns or materials. Nominations may be supported by relevant images, collateral, video footage or stills. The deadline for entries is 19 December 2008. Further information >>

Brook Awards 2009

Sexual health charity Brook is calling for nominations for the Brook Awards 2009. These awards aim to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work on sexual health that young people and professionals are doing to improve the lives of young people all over the UK. Further information >>

Events/Training

The National Youth Agency
Lifting the Lid: a first networking event for hospital based youth work practitioners
8 December 2008 Birmingham

A landmark networking event aimed at hospital based youth workers across the UK to find out the size, scope, needs and wants of the hospital based youth work sector, examine key issues in the current climate for this work and decide on a way forward. It will include networking activities and examine current policy, commissioning and funding for hospital based youth work; and how to create young people friendly services for young people in hospital settings. The event will look at the impact of this work, staff development through e-learning and look at ways forward. Further information >>

NYA Training Curricula for Health in Youth Work Project

NYA is working with the Department of Health to develop a framework and standards for including health within the professional training of youth workers. There will be two workshops and an online consultation to gain views on what these should include. The workshops will be held at NYA on Tuesday 2 December, from 10.30 - 12.30 and 1.30 - 3.30. NYA particularly wants to hear from those who have recently undergone training, are currently training and from youth workers whose role includes work on health with young people. We also want to hear from those who teach and train youth workers and from employers and health colleagues who work with youth workers.

If you would like to take part in either workshop please email Louise Atkin or telephone 01746 764080. Further information >>

Investing in Teenage Health – Policy through to Practice
15 January 2009, London

This one-day conference focuses on the health needs of young people and will explore the key messages from the Children and Young People’s Health Strategy and the implications for those who plan and commission services. Key speakers includes, David Nicholson CBE, NHS Chief Executive and Dr Sheila Shribman, National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity Further information >> (PDF)

Practice

Staying Positive - self-management workshops for young people

‘Staying Positive’ is a new initiative that has been developed for young people by the Expert Patients Programme Community Interest Company (EPP CIC). ‘Staying Positive’ is a series of three one-day workshops for young people aged 12 to 18 who are living with a long-term health condition. They are created and run by young people, for young people and aim to provide them with increased confidence to manage their condition thus reducing the burden on statutory services. Further information >>

Research

Millennium Cohort Study

The children of young, poorly educated mothers are more likely to face health and educational problems before they start school, according to a study which suggests that delaying parenthood to get qualifications and a career first gives children a better start in life. The findings are part of the Millennium Cohort Study and are based on in-depth interviews with 15,000 families whose first child was born at the turn of the 21st century. Further information >>

TellUs Survey reveals young people’s concerns

The latest Ofsted TellUs survey has revealed that young people are increasingly worried about their future. The quality of classroom teaching and careers advice also emerged as a big concern. The ‘TellUs3’ survey of 150,000 children and young people showed that a significant minority suffer from bullying, and that around 11 per cent have tried drugs by the age of 15. Further information >>

New statistical bulletin examines drug use in young people

The Home Office has published the latest edition of an annual statistical bulletin which examines the prevalence and trends of illicit drug use among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales, and has a particular focus on young people aged 16 to 24. The bulletin, ‘Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2007/08 British Crime Survey’ updates results presented in the previous year’s bulletin. New results for 2007/08 are presented along with trends over time. Download >>

Parental myths fuel children's drinking

Many parents and carers are key to facilitating and even overtly encouraging underage drinking, according to a new government report. The research, ‘Use of Alcohol among Children and Young People’ includes interviews with parents and young people about their attitudes towards young people's alcohol consumption. Other key findings include that young people felt confident they know how to drink safely and tend to dissociate themselves from the problems caused by underage drinking. DCSF press release >> (links to research report)

Consultation/Research Proposals

Guidance on the provision of contraceptive services in appropriate settings for socially disadvantaged young people (up to the age of twenty five)

The Department of Health has commissioned the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop the above guidance - the scope has been published for consultation and NICE is currently recruiting for stakeholders and members of the programme development group to be made up of national organisations professionals and experienced members of the community. The deadline for registration is 10 November. Further information >>