The National Youth Agency - Youth Issues News

Youth Issues News

Each weekday The NYA monitors the national press, government press releases, Hansard, parliamentary websites and specialist publications for news and information about young people and youth policy.

This intelligence feeds the work of the Policy, Information and Research team. National press scanned include the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Times, Independent, Times Educational Supplement, and Voice. Comments and feedback welcome - email: Jo Poultney

2009
2008
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The contraceptive pill without prescription may not reduce unwanted pregnancies: 24 Dec 2008Making the contraceptive pill available without a prescription will not reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, Dr Sarah Jarvis, from the Royal College of GPs has said.

£9 million to encourage young social entrepreneurs: 24 Dec 2008Children and Young People’s Minister Beverley Hughes has unveiled £9 million for a new scheme to help young people to deliver ideas for positive activities, helping them at the same time to become young social entrepreneurs.

Police get 7,000 calls to tackle school violence: 23 Dec 2008Police were called to deal with violence in schools more that 7,000 times in the last year, according to figures released by the Conservatives.

Academies are 'damaging standards' in state school: 22 Dec 2008Research commissioned by the Sutton Trust, the educational charity, claims that academies can have a detrimental effect on standards in neighbouring schools.

NYA works with DCSF on Recording Positive Activities: 19 Dec 2008The National Youth Agency has developed two guides for Connexions staff to support the recording of young people’s participation in positive activities (National Indicator 110).

A better life shouldn't have to mean leaving your peers: 19 Dec 2008Comment piece on the Cabinet Office plans on raising aspirations among young people living in deprived areas.

Big increase in councils failing to protect young: 18 Dec 2008The number of councils in England judged inadequate at keeping children safe has doubled in a year, according to Ofsted's annual performance assessments (APAs).

More help to get young people talking: 18 Dec 2008The government has launched a £12 million action plan to improve services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.

Youth Sector Development Fund - Second funding round results: 18 Dec 2008Thirteen third sector organisations (TSOs) have been selected to receive a total of £23m following the conclusion of the YSDF second funding round.

YSDF Third round funding Announcement: 18 Dec 2008On 11 December 2008, a third round of funding was announced.

Leading from the front: 17 Dec 2008Interview with Bob Holman, Christian socialist and long-term Labour party member who worked for many years on deprived housing estates in Glasgow.

Unemployment rises for under 25s: 17 Dec 2008Labour Market statistics have revealed a sharp rise in the number of people who are unemployed.

Obesity has almost doubled in 14 years: 17 Dec 2008Data from the annual Health Survey for England has revealed that obesity has nearly doubled in the last 14 years.

'Aspiration gap' for white poor: 16 Dec 2008A Cabinet Office study published today into the aspirations of young people has found that more needs to be done to raise the aspirations of young people, especially boys from isolated white working class communities.

Self-harmers 'include boys too': 16 Dec 2008A survey carried out by the mental health charity Sane has suggested that the idea that self-harm is almost exclusively a problem among girls and young women is wrong, as more than 10 per cent of respondents with a history of self- harm were male.

Independent review calls for changes in the restraint of young people: 15 Dec 2008The report, Independent Review of Restraint in Juvenile Secure Settings is published today.

Government plan to raise aspirations of millions of children: 15 Dec 2008Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne is to publish research this week into aspiration and social mobility as part of the forthcoming white paper on social mobility to be published in the spring.

The Children's Plan - one year on: 12 Dec 2008To coincide with the first anniversary of the publication of the Children's Plan, the Secretary of State Ed Balls has announced a series of new initiatives to improve child welfare.

White boys on free school meals fall further behind in GCSEs: 12 Dec 2008White working class boys fell further behind their classmates in GCSE results this year, according to figures released yesterday by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

NYA completes Annual Monitoring process - 2006-07: 12 Dec 2008As part of the process for ensuring good practice within JNC validated higher education programmes for Youth and Community work, the National Youth Agency Workforce development team, carry out annual monitoring of all validated programmes.

The NYA supports lowering the voting age to 16: 12 Dec 2008The National Youth Agency welcomes the Youth Citizenship Commission’s consultation and fully supports lowering the voting age to 16 in all UK elections.

Planning play for the future: 11 Dec 2008The government has launched a national plan to improve play areas.

Government steps up fight against extremism: 11 Dec 2008Home secretary Jacqui Smith told the second annual conference on the government's programme to prevent violent extremism that the strategy had to expand to challenging non-violent groups that are targeting mosques and community centres where young Muslims were suffering threats, intimidation and general abuse.

Knife-carrying down in 'hotspots': 11 Dec 2008The ten police forces that have specifically targeted knife crime as part of the government's Tackling Knives Action Plan have reported that the number of young people caught carrying knives in their areas has fallen in the six months since the launch of the Home Office campaign.

New plans to curb smoking among young people: 10 Dec 2008Health secretary Alan Johnson has outlined plans to remove cigarette displays in shops and prevent underage access to vending machines in order to curb smoking among young people.

Hundreds of children missing from care homes: 10 Dec 2008Research undertaken by the Care Leavers' Association has claimed that hundreds of children have disappeared from council care homes without a trace during the past 10 years.

YMCA England presents new findings on youth homelessness: 10 Dec 2008Research from the YMCA, which involved interviews with the parents of homeless or formerly homeless young people, has concluded that parents would like more support for families when problems first arise to help prevent homelessness among young people.

Poverty puts children at higher risk of accidents: 10 Dec 2008Research published by the World Health Organisation claims that children from poorer families are far more likely to die or be harmed than their better-off counterparts.

Millions across england to enjoy free swimming: 9 Dec 2008The government has announced that 82 per cent of councils have signed up its £140 million free swimming initiative that targets both young and older people.

The 21st century school: a transformation in education: 9 Dec 2008The Department for Children, Schools and Families has revealed more details of the School Report Card, which will give parents a clearer picture of school performance.

Teenage fanclub: 9 Dec 2008The forthcoming education and skills bill anounced in last weeks' Queen Speech will give sixth-form colleges separate legal status for the first time in their four-decade history.

Health message 'needs more power': 9 Dec 2008A new report from the King's Fund has claimed that the NHS needs to use more sophisticated marketing techniques to convince people of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Increase in apprenticeship places: 8 Dec 2008The government has announced that employers and the public sector have made a commitment to create up to 10,000 apprenticeship places as the bill which launched the National Apprenticeship Service was announced last week.

Police DNA database violates children's privacy rights says European Court: 8 Dec 2008The European Court of Human Rights has given a landmark ruling on the UK police retention of fingerprints and DNA samples.

Faith schools 'should not select on religion': 8 Dec 2008A report by the Runnymede Trust charity had concluded that many faith schools selection polices are too selective and argues that they should lose their right to select pupils according to faith or lose their state funding.

On target for the September guarantee: 8 Dec 2008Government figures have revealed that more 16- and 17-year-olds have a chance to carry on in education or training.

New citizenship classes for mosque schools: 4 Dec 2008New citizenship lessons challenging the notion that there is any conflict between being a good Muslim and a good citizen are to be taught in after school madrassahs or mosque supplementary schools across the country as part of efforts to emphasise shared values.

New advertising campaign to highlight the risks of taking cocaine: 4 Dec 2008The government has launched a new £1 million TV and online FRANK advertising campaign which shows the dangers of cocaine use.

A quarter of 14-year-olds forced into sex, says survey: 4 Dec 2008An online survey of young people by teen magazine Bliss and Women's Aid has found that almost a quarter of 14-year-olds have been forced to have sex or do something sexual they did not want to, and one in four 16-year-olds have been hit or hurt by someone they were dating.

Taken as read: 3 Dec 2008Article describes the 'living library' phenomenon, a social initiative being piloted in local libraries which allows people to 'borrow' a person or 'living book' to explore their experiences or interests and to understand other backgrounds and cultures.

Fair rules for strong communities: 3 Dec 2008A cross government report produced by Communities and Local Government and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, has outlined the government's 'fair rules' agenda and sets out a wide range of policy initiatives designed to support strong communities.

One in 10 children suffer abuse, say experts: 3 Dec 2008A series of papers published in the Lancet medical journal claims that one in 10 children suffers physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect, and that most maltreated children are not even referred to the authorities.

Care gaps affect mentally ill children: 3 Dec 2008A report by New Philanthropy Capital claims that the charity sector for children and young people with mental health problems is 'small and under-resourced' relative to the scale of the problem and, despite charities filling gaps in statutory provision, 40 per cent of those with a mental disorder do not get any treatment.

Devastating report reveals Baby P failings: 2 Dec 2008A report into the failings of Haringey council following the death of Baby P has recommended that Ofsted carry out annual unannounced inspections of children's services in England to ensure that they are properly safeguarding vulnerable children and young people.

Teenagers targeted by the government in pre-Christmas safe sex campaign: 2 Dec 2008The government is to launch a TV campaign to encourage young people to use condoms to combat the rise in teen pregnancies that occurs during the Christmas party season.

Business education lessons need to be more ‘inspiring’: 2 Dec 2008A new Ofsted report looking at young people's business education has found that although young people are eager to learn about business and economics, their keenness is not always matched by the quality of teaching they receive, which too often is ‘thorough but uninspiring’ and fails to bring a real sense of excitement to learning.

First wave of world class places for young people to go: 2 Dec 2008The government has announced that almost £62m of fast track funding will be awarded to 21 successful bidders across the country as part of the myplace initiative to create exciting and safe places for young people to go and take part in a range of activities.

Mosquito dispersal devices now a nuisance for all: 2 Dec 2008A device designed to move on would-be criminals has been updated so as not to discriminate against the young.

Offenders to wear community vests: 1 Dec 2008Offenders in England and Wales are to wear high visibility vests while doing community service.

Call to end abuse cycle: 1 Dec 2008The Guardian has published a letter from a coalition of politicians, child experts and family welfare organisations calling on the government to launch a long- term, cross-party inquiry into how to prevent children growing up to become abusive parents in the wake of the Baby P case and as the government is about to receive a report into the state of child protection in Haringey.

Britain, casual sex capital of the West: 1 Dec 2008An international index compiled from 14,000 people in 48 countries has revealed that British men and women are the most promiscuous of any major Western nation.