Latest News for Parents & Carers

Last week, the government announced £4.4 million for COVID-response programmes to improve early education & health services for vulnerable families. Vicky Ford will set out plans for a “National Centre for Family Hubs” to “improve access to vital services”.

The National Children’s Bureau and the Centre for Longitudinal Studies has published a report on mental ill health at the age of 17. 16% of teenagers report high levels of psychological distress by age 17, finds a new study led by UCL researchers based on data collected in 2018-19. The findings also show 24% of young people report self-harming and 7% report self-harming with suicidal intent at age 17.

Internet Matters has launched their new inclusive digital safety hub. The hub has been created for parents and professionals caring for children who are care experienced, who have SEND or who are LGBTQ+. The hub has tailored advice, tips and research.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said frontline NHS and care staff will receive priority access to Covid-19 vaccines. Contact believes that the same priority should be given to parent carers. Unpaid carers provide thousands of hours of unpaid care every week. Without them, it’s quite possible that our NHS and care system could collapse. Unpaid carers have been hit harder than most by lockdown restrictions too. Support our call for vaccine access for unpaid carers by clicking here.

The Council for Disabled Children has developed the 0-25 Multi-agency SEND Data Dashboard, a commissioning tool to support local areas to understand their data relating to children and young people with SEND.