Competitive sport is set to be revived in England’s schools with the launch of a national competition based around the Olympics, ministers say.

The initiative is to be announced by the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Education Secretary Michael Gove at the City of London Academy on Monday.

They will say the aim is to ensure the 2012 London Olympics leaves a lasting sporting legacy.

The schools competition will be funded by cash from the National Lottery.

Events will involve a wide range of sports including football, rugby, netball, golf, cricket, tennis, athletics, judo, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, cycling and volleyball.

Source: BBC Family News

Take a look at this weird video and see what happens when a kid called Colin gets well and truly Tango’d!

A bullying prevention charity has called for more official data on child suicide and research into its causes.

Beatbullying found that up to 44% of suicides among 10- to 14-year-olds may be bullying-related.

The charity said 26 out of the 59 cases reported in the national media were linked to intimidating behaviour.

Beatbullying said the Office of National Statistics had recorded 176 cases of suicides of 10- to 14-year-olds between 2000 and 2008 in England, Scotland and Wales.

It then searched national press reports on the issue and said at least 14% (26 of 176) were clearly linked by the press to bullying.

However, the press covered only 59 cases and the charity thinks up to 78 of the total could have been related to bullying.

It also said nearly every bullying-related suicide identified the school as the main source of the bullying.

Source: BBC Family News

Forget Sweden or Finland: how many English parents know that in Wales young children are following a play-based curriculum up until the age of 7?

“At the beginning there was a bit of distrust from the parents,” says Sarah Owen, a mother of three (and former teacher) from Welshpool. “We all knew that play was important, but a lot of us were wondering how our children would learn to read if they were playing all the time. After all, it is drilled into us that the sooner you learn to read, the better.”

Sarah Owen’s views are relevant as they come in the middle of a heated debate about the value of early schooling and particularly when children should be taught to read. New research published this week was interpreted in startlingly different ways. Some claimed it showed that early teaching had no impact on children at the age of 5 – others said quite the opposite.

However, David Richardson, co-author of the new study, says that it does show that children who attend pre-school before the age of 3 do better – both educationally and socially – at age 5.

There is a lot of evidence that if you don’t learn to read, you become demotivated later on but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of having fun. You can play with letter sounds, sing songs and nursery rhymes, at home and at pre-school. This is not about formal teaching behind desks.

In reality, the way schools teach their youngest pupils in England has changed in recent years from the rigid approach that was in fashion ten years ago. Today there is much more of a stress on play. Widespread use of phonics has also made a real difference, and despite the sense of gloom and doom around literacy, England still performs well in international studies.

Source: Times Online

An independent review of child protection and social work in England has been ordered by the Government.

Prof Eileen Munro, from the London School of Economics, will examine ways of cutting bureaucracy to give social workers more time with children.

She will also consider ways of improving links between social workers and other agencies like the police.

The review has been prompted by several high-profile abuse cases, including the death of Baby Peter in 2007.

Source: BBC Family News

Parents in Wales have been warned that under-15′s should not drink alcohol – even under supervision.

Issuing new guidance, chief medical officer Dr Tony Jewell said alcohol harmed a child’s physical development. “The younger people start drinking, the greater the impact on their health,” he said.

The new guidance, You, Your Children and Alcohol, aims to help protect children and young people from the risks linked to alcohol consumption.

The Welsh Assembly Government quotes research which shows that 40% of Welsh 15-year-olds drink alcohol on a weekly basis, with 20% having been drunk for the first time at 13 or under.

A spokesman said a public awareness campaign would begin in July and a video booth was available on the assembly government’s stand at the Urdd Eisteddfod to gauge young people’s views on alcohol. The views gathered would help with the development of campaigns to tackle alcohol misuse in young people.

Dr Jewell said he was “not trying to preach” to people with the new guidance.”I aim to simply set out the facts to help parents and young people make informed choices,” he said. “Ultimately, it is a matter for individuals if they take this advice on board.”

He said evidence showed that the younger people started drinking, the greater the impact on their health and well-being in the long term. “Not only is there a clear immediate and long-term impact on health of alcohol misuse, there is the potential for young people to be at risk of being involved in anti-social behaviour, crime, unwanted pregnancies or drugs,” he said.

Dr Jewell said the cost to the NHS in Wales of treating alcohol-related health problems currently stood at between £70-£85m a year. He warned: “If we do not tackle this problem, the financial cost in the future will be significantly higher.”

Source: BBC Family News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth