Alcohol & Substance Abuse

I've tried to gather some relevant resources here, for those of you writing on this topic. As a starting point, the World Health Organization's website has a dedicated page containing a range of resources, which include publications including:

• The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use
• Community management of opioid overdose
• Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol
• This article explores the impact that alcohol consumption can have on young people. 

Numerous Government publications have been produced, here are the most current. There are several organisations that regularly publish research in this area: the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) provide current overviews of drug problems in Europe - the United Kingdom Drug Situation report is a publication submitted to the EMCDDA annually; Public Health England provides a list of articles, publications and statistics; the ONS have datasets on drug misuse and drinking habits in Great Britain; statistics have also been made available by the HSCIC on drugs misuse and alcohol abuse. 

The following related books are available in the library:

• Substance misuse : the implications of research, policy and practice - 362.29 BAR
• A-Z of substance misuse & drug addiction - 362.29 MAC 
• Understanding & working with substance misusers - 362.29 PYC 
• Drugs - 362.290941 ACR (Available in E-Resources: Isssues Online)
• Motivational interviewing and stages of change : integrating best practices for substance abuse professionals - 362.291 TOM 
• Getting wise to drugs - 372.37044 EMM 
• Emerging perspectives on substance misuse - 616.86 MIS 
• Applied cognitive and behavioural approaches to the treatment of addiction - 616.86 MIT 
• Theory of addiction - 616.86 WES 

In E-Resources (portal), try individual searches in CareKnowledge, SocIndex and Issues Online.

Hope this helps! If you do require anything further information, please contact 

Manjeet Dhillon.

Child Neglect

Research, Policy and Planning, the Journal of the Social Services Research Group, have published a special issue on child neglect; it is freely available online, articles are listed here:

• Research, policy and practice across a devolved United Kingdom – an overview of the field. 

• Noticing and helping neglected children in Scotland: ‘... sometimes it’s just too hard to talk...’. 

• Tackling child neglect: key developments in Wales. 

• Child neglect: policy, response and developments in England.

• Childhood neglect – the Northern Ireland experience.

Poverty in the UK

A new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation entitled, 'UK poverty: Causes, costs and solutions' aims to define what poverty is and its causes, highlighting trends and projections in UK poverty; recommendations are given for tackling:

• the high costs driving poverty, including housing
• poverty in childhood
• poverty in working age
• poverty in later life
• poverty for people with complex needs.

It echoes the findings of a report released earlier this year: 'Living Standards, Poverty and Inequality in the UK, which uses modelling techniques to paint a picture of how things are likely to evolve in the coming years, specifically, labour market trends and the impact of policy changes on household incomes, up to 2020–21.

Literacy Trust

The National Literacy Trust works to improve the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the UK's most disadvantaged communities, where up to 40 per cent of people have literacy problems. 

Their website offers a wealth of information on literacy; they have recently revamped their Resources page, which contains links to nine new pages focusing on different key literacy areas

Destitution in the UK

Much media attention has been given to the increased use of food banks as an indicator of the prevalence of extreme hardship, painting a picture of increasing destitution in the UK. Evidence to support this, however, is scarce. This new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation sets out to address this issue by defining destitution in the UK, looking at how many people are affected, who they are, and the main pathways in and out of destitution. It also looks at the impact and experience of those people directly affected. 

Reading Ambassadors needed....

The Publishers Association (PA) are calling on members of the public to share their love of reading by volunteering in their local communities; they will be asked to undertake a range of activities to promote more reading for pleasure and to help boost literacy - their website provides numerous ideas on how to get involved. A series of road shows across the UK will aim to to recruit 10,000 Reading Ambassadors by 2020.  

What's making children unhappy?

The Good Childhood Report by the Children's Society found that 10 to 12 year olds in England ranked 14th out of 15 nations for happiness, behind Germany, Spain and South Africa; the UK has also come far down similar global lists drawn up by UNICEF. Modern stress could be to blame for increasing child depression in the the UK; more teenagers are now turning to counselling to help them cope with the pressures of social media - research has also linked Facebook with depression in young adults and children. Bullying, including cyber-bullying and self harm, was reported as the main issues of concern by ChildLine last year. Overall, 35,244 of the counselling sessions held by the service in 2014/15 were related to low self-esteem and unhappiness.

Prof. Mark Williams at Oxford University, confirmed that "technostress" was growing. "Every generation thinks it is more stressed than the last. It's usually not true but this time it looks [as if] it is. That's because this is the first generation that is constantly flitting between the actual, real world and the virtual world of the internet. It's not multitasking, it's multi-switching - and there are switching costs, mainly distraction, exhaustion, irritability and mood swings."

British nine and ten-year-olds are also getting the least sleep, the main reason appearing to be the use of electronic devices in the bedroom. This was found to be a common phenomenon in affluent countries, where we are more likely to buy children electronic devices and allow them in their bedrooms. Today, children are likely to own more toys and gadgets than ever before, yet the Unicef global report on child well-being found that children are not getting happier the more they own, instead, British parents could be trapping their children in a cycle of "compulsive consumerism". As children spend more time online, social media addiction is also becoming a problem - this website offers advice to parents on how to protect their children.

Be Inspired...

"I love the challenges and I love my teaching life. 

I hope to convey to young people considering teaching - that it is a privilege.” 

 Nancie Atwell, Global Teacher Prize 2015 Winner

The annual Global Teacher Prize, which will be awarded next March, was set up by the Varkey Foundation. Last year, there was one UK entrant but this year, three UK teachers have been shortlisted; their achievements are inspiring - the judges certainly have a difficult task ahead! 

We wish all entrants the very best of luck.

Report: State of the Nation and Impact

The National Literacy Trust (NLT) have published their 'State of the Nation and Impact' 2014/15 report, which provides a snapshot of literacy in the UK and showcases the impact that their work has had on children and families in the UK at key moments of literacy development; details are also provided of the various campaigns and reading initiatives that have been launched, to encourage reading in schools and across communities.

Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has launched a six month partnership with NSPCC's ChildLine as part of its commitment to listen to and act on young people's experiences of health and social care. This latest 'tell us about your care' partnership is one of seven CQC projects currently running with national organisations that are in a unique position to reach and be reached, by people who may choose to discuss concerns about the way they are receiving health and adult social care or to identify examples of best practice.

Established in 2009, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health, which aims to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. 

The CQC website offers a variety of resources for both providers and the public. Various handbooks and publications cover aspects of care such as child safeguarding, end of life, mental health and neonatal care.

Religious Education

This briefing introduces the rules around RE in state-funded schools; it addressess concerns that have been raised about the quality of RE teaching, including the number of RE teachers with qualifications relevant to the subject. It also provides information on other related issues, such as the parental right of withdrawal from RE, and the rules on collective worship in schools.

A separate report 'Collective Worship and Religious Observance in Schools' has been published recently; it recommends that Governments in the UK should reappraise the duties on schools to organise acts of collective worship (England, Northern Ireland, Wales) or religious observance (Scotland) for their pupils. It also includes recommendations with respect to the current implementation of the law and policy surrounding collective worship and religious observance.

The 'Westminster Faith Debates' bring together leading academic and public figures to debate the latest research on religion and values. A debate in June entitled: 'A New Settlement: Religion and Belief in Schools' has been documented online.

Related links:

National Association of Teachers of Religious Education

Religious Education Council of England and Wales

Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

Faith Makes a Difference

Time for Wellbeing

Figures show that more than half of UK teachers are thinking about leaving the classroom within the next two years, largely as a result of stress, heavy workloads and low morale. To help address this issue and the wellbeing of pupils, Nuffield Health will be launching a pilot project at Wood Green School in Oxfordshire by sponsoring a head of wellbeing for two years.

Some of the tasks for the jobholder will be to look at the link between student wellbeing and attainment, to investigate new ways to use classroom time to increase wellbeing and campaigning to improve mental and physical health, with a focus on exercise and nutrition  The wellbeing of the staff will also be a primary concern; as part of this pilot, teachers will receive a health MOT, which will highlight healthy changes they can make to their routines. The role will also involve engagement with the local community, in particular parents.

On the subject of wellbeing, many UK schools have introduced yoga and are seeing the benefits to their staff and pupils. The Yoga At School website offers a range of articles, case studies and resources for teachers.

No Fall Back for Body Clocks...

The extra hour in bed as the clocks turn back is always welcomed and a sure sign that Autumn has arrived. On the topic of sleep, a study has shown that the body clocks of those aged between 10 and 55 are not compatible with rising early - it's not natural, hence the reason for using alarm clocks. This has led to a generally sleep deprived society, particularly tough for those aged between 14 and 24. Dr Kelley, who has led the research, has suggested that school days should start at 10am and university at 11am, to better match the circadian rhythms of adolescents and young adults. Teensleep, a project involving randomised trials have been carried out at schools across the UK to look at the outcomes of later starts for pupils - findings will be published in 2018.

A number of schools, including Hampton Court House, have already changed to later start times. The benefits may mean better GCSE grades by improving learning, performance and attainment.

Child Health Profiles

Public Health England have published this year's Child Health Profile, providing analysis and key findings for each top level local authority in England. Updated annually, these provide a snapshot of performance against 32 selected indicators compared with the rest of England. The profiles are designed to help local authorities and health services improve the health and well-being of children and to tackle health inequalities. 

Nurseries influence reading ability

The Read On. Get On. campaign have highlighted that half of independent nurseries currently do not employ a qualified early years teacher, failing disadvantaged children in need of skilled support. They are asking for the next Government to ensure all nurseries are led by a qualified early years graduate and as an incentive, to increase the early years pupil premium for those nurseries that do. Their report, 'The Power of Reading', details how early years investment and the quality of staff in nurseries must be prioritised, or the gap in reading ability between England’s poorest and better off children will remain one of the worst in Europe. 

The recommendations come as research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) links the value of strong reading skills in school-age children to future earnings as an adult.

Child Poverty

You will probably be aware that the Budget was announced today and many were eagerly waiting to hear what the Chancellor would have to say about child poverty. His statement on the subject, was that levels of child poverty have come down; this, however, contradicts a recent report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, forecasting that the Chancellor’s tax and benefit decisions will lead to child poverty rising by 400,000 over this parliament and by 700,000 overall by 2020. The report also takes a look over the past decade and estimates the impact that the current government's reforms have had on poverty .

While on the topic, other resources include a study by Young Lives, considers how poverty has been measured and conceptualised in the universal childhood experience and, in particular, the risks faced by children living in chronic poverty. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has commissioned a project that explores the relationship between parenting and poverty. If you are looking for useful statistics, policies, campaigns and related publications, take a look at the Child Poverty Action Group website.

Although now out of print, two influential works have been made available online and are well worth mentioning here; the first is 'Poverty in the United Kingdom', by sociologist, Peter Townsend, who pioneered a relative deprivation approach to poverty that covered a wide range of aspects of living standards, both material and social. The other book is 'Poor Britain' by Mack and Lansley who introduced the concept of ‘socially perceived necessities’.