The latest edition of Family Matters, the quarterly newsletter for Warwickshire families with children and young people aged 0-20 is now available.
The publication may be of interest to some of the families you work with so please direct them to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fis where they can read, this issue, past issues and obtain lots useful information and advice from the Family Information Service.
To read the latest Family Matters click on the image below:
A host of information that could assist in tackling Child Poverty is available in the latest issue of North Talk, produced by North Warwickshire Borough Council.
Included in the latest issue are articles on managing debt, keeping warm and well, the BOB bus project and taking care to avoid flu, to name just a few of the articles.
To read the latest issue, click on the image below:
Young people are now using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, over phone conversations and texting, and almost as much as chatting in person to their friends, according to a new study.
A major consultation by Warwickshire County Council involving 303 young people from around the county, has discussed how they like to communicate with each other, and how they’d like to be communicated with.
Many of the questions were open to all ages, but some were restricted to those aged 14+ where discussing social media only permitted to this age group.
When asked ‘When you are catching up with your interests and want to know about new things how do you get the information?’ the survey found that face to face talking is the highest at 128 young people, but social media is a close second at 113, compared to just 38 reading magazines or 18 chatting on the phone.
Another question asked about communication with friends ‘When chatting what do you use?’ and found that again face to face was highest at 162, but closely followed by social media at 132, ahead of texting each other at 86, phone 93, and email just 22.
The Warwickshire County Council study also asked ‘When we’ve got urgent news how would you like us to contact you?’ and the vast majority opted for Facebook (107), followed by text (88), and email (56).
When questioned about access to the internet, the growth of smartphones, such as iPhones, HTC and Samsung, became apparent with only 30 of the respondents saying they did not have a smartphone, making it possible for young people to access social media and the internet from wherever they are.
The widespread use of social media has prompted Warwickshire County Council to remind young people and parents about keeping safe when updating Facebook or posting tweets.
Cllr Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families, said: “Social media is the fastest growing phenomena on the internet. It provides a brilliant way to stay in touch with friends and share photographs, comments or even play online applications, but if used carelessly can expose you and your children to identity theft and online predators.
“I’m not intending to scaremonger, but parents and young people need to be aware of the risks, and there are a few simple things you can do to make the whole process safer.”
Simple social media rules:
Facebook Privacy information can be found here
The safest way for your Facebook profile to be set-up is for it to be as private as possible, for example only allowing your ‘Friends’ to have access to your information and pictures. It is therefore advisable that you only have ‘real’ friends as contacts on Facebook and other Social Networking sites.
See the image below of the ideal set-up for a Facebook profile. You can find this by following these steps:
1) Click on Account in the top right hand corner of your Facebook page.
2) Choose the Privacy Settings option.
3) You will then see the page below and you can edit the settings to ensure that Friends only have access to your profile and its information.
More information is also available here or here
The most important safety message of all about any contact through social media or the internet is to ‘Never go alone to meet someone you have met online’ and to ‘Never reveal any personal contact details’.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is a government backed agency dedicated to keeping children safe on the internet. To find out more, visit: www.ceop.gov.uk
CEOP’s Top Tips for Staying Safe Online are:
Young people and parents are advised to visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk to find out the latest information on sites to visit, mobiles and new technologies.
See the links below for full details and advice from Warwickshire County Council on using the internet and social media safely.
An e-safety information booklet for parents, children and young people
As a supplement to the Quality of Life in Warwickshire 2011/12 Report, the Warwickshire Observatory has also produced a stand-alone presentation that will take you through the key messages. It is a highly visual way of presenting a synopsis of the report, created in Prezi, and takes about ten minutes to view. Click here to visit the Observatory blog and view the presentation.
The Warwickshire Association of Youth Clubs (WAYC) has been successfully awarded just over £190,000 from the Big Lottery Fund, Reaching Communities programme, to work with young people in the localBrunswickarea of Leamington Spa.
Following consultation with the young people who helped to formulate the project activities, the ‘SAFE’ youth project will offer training, development and leisure activities during the day, evening and school holidays for those aged 11 – 25 year olds. The Lottery funding will ensure the project runs for three years based out of WAYC’s Westbury Centre in Leamington Spa.
The funding is very timely as youth services across Warwickshire have reduced considerably – this includes the County Council’s detached youth service. Added to this the County Council has said that it will no longer provide leisure services for young people. The Lottery funding will ensure young people have access to activities such as sport and dance, along with career guidance. In addition, the ‘Safe’ project will enable youth workers to address specific issues that have already been identified with local young people, including well being, mental health, sexual health and housing problems.
William Clemmey, the Chief Executive at WAYC said: “This is fantastic news for WAYC and the young people ofBrunswickward. The Lottery funding will enable us to offer targeted activities and regular support. At a time when many youth services are being reduced across Warwickshire, we are keen to offer a holistic approach that will help young people work through the many issues they face. With the help of our trained youth workers we believe positive outcomes can be achieved enabling them to secure better chances in life.”
Warwickshire Association of Youth Clubs:
- Now in its 57th year, WAYC aims to inspire young people by improving the quality of their lives, with the provision of imaginative, inspirational and quality youth work programmes. WAYC also develops and delivers training programmes to improve the quality of services for young people, along with capacity building and resources for the youth sector.
WAYC is an Association of 140 youth clubs, reaching over 10,300 young people in Warwickshire, Solihull andCoventry, meeting the needs of youth organisations, working with young people up to the age of 25.
The Warwickshire Observatory has just published some research examining the variable affordability of privately rented housing across the county.
This sector is increasingly important; rents are rising due to high demand from people who are unable to buy a home and are being forced to rent instead. In many cases, buying a home is now cheaper on a monthly basis but the deposit requirements often force people into renting instead.
The analysis illustrates the variability in affordability across the county. For example, the average rent level in Rugby Borough costs around one fifth of the average earnings, while in Stratford-on-Avon District the proportion is edging up towards one third of earnings. The figures also demonstrate the much closer relationship the housing markets in Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick Districts have with the south of England than with the West Midlands Region.
See the analysis here.
As a carer for someone else, it can be easy to overlook your own health and wellbeing.
The NHS in Coventry and Warwickshire is reminding carers that flu is a risk and that they are important too.
Maureen Fletcher aged 74 from Styvechale in Coventry only knows too well the importance of having a flu vaccination, she said: “I care for my husband who is elderly, frail and suffers from vascular parkinsons disease – if he caught the flu it would make him extremely ill – I don’t want to take the risk and that’s why I’m having my flu vaccine. As a carer I want to do whatever I can to help protect myself and my loved ones and encourage all carers to do the same.”
John Forde, Acting Director of Public Health at NHS Coventry and Coventry City Council, said: “People with long term conditions are being encouraged to visit their local GP surgery now to have their flu jab, so we want to remind carers to book an appointment for themselves as well to get protected.
“It’s not just about protecting the carer from getting flu, but also preventing them from passing the virus onto the vulnerable person they are caring for. Getting flu when you already have a long term condition can lead to serious complications and tragically in some cases death, but these can be prevented by having the free vaccine.”
John Linnane, Director of Public Health at NHS Warwickshire, said: “Unlike other medication for long term conditions, the flu jab is an annual one-off vaccine. There is no live virus in the flu vaccine and it cannot give you the flu. It is a new vaccine each year to fight the flu virus which also changes every year. So please take the time to look after yourself as well as your loved one and get the free jab at your local GP surgery and help protect yourself.”
There are additional ways people can protect themselves and those around them. Good hand hygiene – the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ technique – reduces the spread of germs. This means carrying tissues, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, disposing of the tissue after one use, and cleaning hands as soon as possible with soap and water or an alcohol hand gel.
The NHS in Coventry and Warwickshire is encouraging people at risk of flu to get protected and have the vaccine. There are four groups of people most at risk from flu – pregnant women; people with long term conditions; carers and people over 65 years.
The Coventry Carers Centre offer help and support for people who look after a relative, partner or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems. If you wish to contact the service, call 024 7663 2972, email contactus@coventrycarers.org.uk or visit www.coventrycarers.org.uk
In Warwickshire Guideposts has been commissioned by Warwickshire County Council to provide information, help, advice and support for carers and professionals. Contact the service on 0845 600 9980 or visit www.guidepoststrust.org.uk
Government, Age UK and Met Office launch plans to keep people warm and healthy in the cold weather. A new plan to keep people warm and healthy throughout the cold winter months was launched today by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.
The schemes focus on helping the most vulnerable people by launching a Cold Weather Plan - which will be jointly run with the Met Office and Health Protection Agency - to advise people how to stay healthy thus relieving the pressures on the NHS which winter always brings.
Severe cold weather can be dangerous for vulnerable groups such as older people and those with serious illnesses. It’s important for people to look after their health as the winter months can mean:
Met Office figures show that December 2010 was the coldest December in the UK since 1910 and the winter before was the coldest since 1978. While many associate cold weather with hypothermia, deaths directly caused by this represent only a small proportion.
Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, said, ”We want everyone to get ready for winter and be prepared before temperatures drop. Older people and those with long term illnesses are particularly vulnerable to the cold and we need to be aware – within families, in communities and across the NHS – of how we can help others when the winter temperatures drop. Every year, there is a 20 per cent increase in deaths in the winter in England. By working together, this coordinated plan will help protect those most in need, we are determined to do all we can to achieve this.”
The Cold Weather Plan is supported by a Met Office cold weather alert service that will run from 1 November 2011 to 31 March 2012. The Cold Weather alert service has four levels that depend on the severity of conditions. Together the plan and alerts aim to prepare, alert and prevent the effects of winter weather on people’s health by helping keep people well.
The four levels are:
The ‘big freeze’ at the end of last year would have been classified as level 3. Further details of the action needed at each level can be found at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/coldweatheralert/
John Hirst, Chief Executive of the Met Office, said, “The Met Office is proud to be able to support the Department of Health, the Health Protection Agency and Age UK with their winter preparedness. These alerts will put everyone in a better position to respond to forecasts of severe weather, inform those who are most at risk from winter weather and what they can do to keep well.”
Please see here for the 2012 meeting dates for the Children’s Trust Executive Board, Area Partnership meetings and Joint Commissioning Board. Also included are the Headteachers meetings/training events.