5,819 York children to benefit from LibDem project

Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed the news that in total 5,819 children in York will benefit from the introduction of universal Free School Meals when term begins next week.

All reception, year 1 and year 2 pupils will now get their meals paid for under the scheme, which was first announced by the Liberal Democrats in 2013.

Although some children previously qualified for school meals, some do not take them due to the stigma, and others who don’t qualify struggle to afford them.

Research and pilot schemes in places such as Durham and Wolverhampton show that introducing universal free school meals leads to positive improvements in health, attainment and social cohesion, as well as helping families with the cost of living.

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10 Minute Shake Up comes to York

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Change4Life and Disney are partnering on a major new campaign – 10 Minute Shake Up – to help encourage the city’s children to get active this summer.

The 10 Minute Shake Up campaign uses a bit of Disney magic to inspire children to reach the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day, with fun, manageable 10 minute bursts of exercise with an aim of getting children across the country moving for an extra 100 million minutes this summer.
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York children gifted tablets

Pupils at Burton Green Primary School are boosting their learning thanks to 80 new Learn Pad tablets, which have been provided by The Little Society Charity and City of York Council.

Childrens Ipad

Access to the Learn Pads for all children from Nursery to Year 6 will improve the pupils literacy and numeracy skills by making learning more fun and interactive, as well as helping their parents practise their own skills, as part of regular pupil-parent joint learning workshops.

A ten year old at the school, said: “I enjoyed the workshop because I was able to experience the activities on the Learnpad, and because I could play games with my Mum.”
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Share the Care Week: Could you support disabled children?

Would you like to help another family? Do you like having children around? If so, then City of York Council wants to hear from you.

The authority is looking to recruit carers to help with its Short Breaks Service, which provides regular short breaks to children and young people with a permanent and substantial impairment or illness.

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Child health in York better than average.

Public Health England have released Child Health Profiles for City of York Council, which provide a snapshot of child health in the city.

The key findings from the report show that the health and wellbeing of children in York is generally better than the England average and that children and young people under the age of 20 make up 21.7% of the city’s population.

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York launches early help strategy

City of York Safeguarding Children Board have  launched a new strategy setting out how they will help and protect some of the city’s most vulnerable children.

York’s Early Help Strategy 2014-16 outlines how the authority and board can provide support during the early years of a child’s life as well as intervening as soon as possible when a child of any age needs additional support,  investing early to prevent more intrusive, and costly, later interventions. The aim is to ensure that help is provided as soon as it’s needed, not waiting until problems escalate.

York’s Early Help Strategy 2014-16 is available athttp://www.yor-ok.org.uk/

York school children urged to ‘Expect Respect’

City of York Council is supporting Women’s Aid’s work to prevent domestic and sexual violence by sharing the educational toolkit “Expect Respect” with all schools in the city.

“Expect Respect” is an online educational toolkit that includes one hour lesson plans for each year of school from reception to year 13, guidance on the links between the learning outcomes within the lesson plans and to the relevant parts of the Early Years and National Curriculum.  The toolkit also provides supporting information and resources for teachers, access to online interactive activities and an online support service giving teachers advice and guidance about the delivery of the lesson plans.

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Adoption week thanks

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Adoption chiefs are thanking everyone who came to their Adoption Information Event earlier this month, which formed part of the celebrations for National Adoption Week (4-10 November).

The information events, which are help jointly with North Yorkshire County Council and East Riding Council, provide an informal opportunity to anyone interested in adoption to find out more about what’s involved.

The next information session will be held at West Offices in York on Tuesday 10 December between 6.30 and 8.30pm. Please book in advance by calling 01904 553525 or 553508, or email adoptionandfostering@york.gov.uk

Nationally 4,000 children are waiting to find an adoptive family, but for one in four it is likely to remain only a dream.

And for every year a child waits their chances of being adopted reduce by 20 per cent.

City of York Council has historically approved around 12 new adoptive families each year, but is looking to increase this to at least 18 families in 2013/14 and 21 in 2014/15.

National Adoption Week: Find out more about adoption

York is joining in the national celebrations for National Adoption Week (4-10 November) by encouraging people to find out more about adoption.

Across the UK 4,000 children are waiting to find an adoptive family, but for one in four it is likely to remain only a dream. And for every year a child waits their chances of being adopted reduce by 20 per cent. National Adoption Week is for anyone who would like to help change this, so that every child waiting in care finds somewhere they can feel safe and loved.

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