22 November 2006
Thanks to all those who sent in questions for the children’s minister Beverley Hughes. You can read the transcript below.
Our next webchat will be about anti-social behaviour with the Respect co-ordinator Louise Casey.
Read the transcript of the webchat
Beverley says: Hi, this is Bev Hughes, Minister for Children and Young People - looking forward to answering your questions today.
S Sorhaindo: In view of the crisis situation causing family breakdown. where children are so out of control, why are there only 77 experts allocated by the government to assist with parenting? would’t it be more beneficial to fund more family projects at local level to bring back traditional family values?
Beverley replies: The people we are talking about are not really super nannies. They are experienced practitioners, used to working with parents and they also will be working with schools, social workers, health staff and other people supporting families. In local areas it will be joined up.
shaun walmsley: i am pleased about the goverments initiative involing “supernannys”,i think there is alot of goodwill from the goverment involving antI-social behaviour. what ideas do you have about schools,things to do in spare time for kids(partically on inner city deprived councill estates)etc
Beverley replies: Thanks Shaun. We really think that support for parents is very important in helping them to help their children to get the best out of school and get on in life. Schools and having good things for kids to do in their spare time are also important. So good behaviour in school and having facilities in the local area are key to helping kids develop.
John Wilkinson: Will the new ‘’supernannies” be locally employed or a central government service?
Beverley replies: John, the people working with parents - so called super nannies - will be employed locally and they will also work with local schools and services to support parents.
miss margaret allan: just down the road from where i live a my sons school they are introducing contraception that would be available to girls i.e the morning after pill, and to top it all they do not have to tell parents which i think is wrong. what we should be teaching all young people aged between i suppose 12 and 25 that there is such a word as “NO TO SEX” not encouraging them to have it by giving the girls the right to have the morning after pill it does not make sense.
Beverley replies: Margaret, we know that many young people say that they regret having sex very young, so our first message to young people is to think very hard about when they start to have sex and that saying no is ok. But when a young person is having sex, we also need to make sure that they are protected both from pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. One of the best things young people can do, which we encourage, is to talk to their parents.
Tony Stead: Young girls don’t need to work hard in full-time employment. They don’t need to worry about finding time to look after children. Mortgage worries don’t exist. Teenage mothers have the support of the government. Please do something to stop the ‘professional mother’ culture.
Beverley replies: Tony, you are quite wrong about what the government is trying to encourage for all young people whether girls or boys. We want them to achieve as much as they can whilst at school and go on to further education, training or a decent job that helps them make the most of themselves. Early parenthood makes this much more difficult and we don’t encourage it.
nick: Does the minister think ASBO’s are working well? Does she not realise that young people have no one where else to go, as the labour government is not providing funding for youth clubs and youth workers to pen 7 days a week? Can she really blame young people for her governments failures to put them at the heart of her policy’s?
Beverley replies: Nick, first of all, we have put young people at the heart of our policy. I don’t know if you have read our discussion document, “Youth Matters”, if not, have a look. It sets out what we want to achieve for young people. On ASBOs, most anti-social behaviour is committed by adults. Where young people are engaging in this kind of behaviour which is a problem for themselves as well as other people, then we just have to challenge it. But I agree, we also have to follow that challenge with support that will help them deal with their problems and change their behaviour.
You can read the Youth Matters Green Paper on the Every Child Matters website:
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthmatters/
stephen justice: Do you not agree that ASBO’s are a reward given to bad parenting and unruly children and that until your human rights are amended which allows more discipline to be given by teachers and parents to children, then any child will obtain behaviour problems. I am not envisaging the return of the cane but a slap on some occasions is good discipline towards a childs misbehaviour.
Beverley replies: Stephen, in fact we have just included in the Education and Inspection Act, new measures for discipline by teachers both inside and outside of school. However, I don’t think that a licence to slap by teachers and other workers is the right response. We as adults have to be seen to be behaving properly and I don’t think that that is a good role model for young people. But there are acceptable ways of being tough when young people are behaving badly. For example, we have a police presence in many schools called “Safer School Partnerships” and these are proving very successful in bringing about an acceptable behaviour culture.
Ann Weir: Why does the government allow young people to be to be referred to as YOBS. It damages the image of children and young people and creates a stereotypical image that promotes fear and hostility from other age groups. This leads to silly accusations and allows bullying to occur by society in general towards a group that is already vulnerable simply because they are children. It’s not a crime to be young and inexperienced
Beverley replies: Ann, I have a lot of sympathy with this point of view and do not use this term myself. However, the government cannot censor other people. I think what we have to try to do is to present a balanced picture as young people as a whole - most are law-abiding and make a positive contribution to their communities. For example, we have got a youth challenge competition going on at athe moment and will be rewarding young people with the best ideas for good developments in their local areas.
David Whewell: Firstly, a really big thank you for the trust you’ve placed in young people in providing them with decision-making power over the youth opportunity and youth capital fund. Do you envisage other Ministers following your positive example, by, for example, enabling young people to fully participate in Governing Bodies of schools?
Beverley replies: Thanks David. We have been really impressed by the way in which young people have grasped this opportunity and come up with some great ideas in their local areas. We are encouraging participation by young people in all kinds of ways, including in schools. Youth Councils are often the best way for young people to have a real say in what is going on in their school and to link up with the governing body.
Cath Bibby: We are a group of young people in the north east. We think that sex education and health education (about smoking, drugs and alcohol) should be taught more in schools, what can the government do to make sure this happens?
Beverley replies: Cath, you probably know that Personal, Social and Health Education is part of the school curriculum although schools have a lot of discretion as to how that is taught. If you would like to see more, or a different emphasis in your school, you and your friends could raise this with your teachers. We have also got the Healthy School Programme which should include some of these issues that you are raising about how young people can live a healthy lifestyle, and avoid the risks from things like drugs and alcohol. It is good to hear that you and your friends are talking about these issues because you can learn a lot from each other, and collectively you could argue for real improvements in your school.
Lilly: In my opinon i think that education in some schools is rubbish. At least once a week we have a supply teacher that cant control the class and cant teach! I think its funny when teachers have a go at us about our attendance and then give us a teacher who doesnt give us the education we need. What do you think?????
Beverley replies: Lilly, sometimes it is necessary for a school to have a supply teacher in, but that shouldn’t mean that you feel the education is poor and the class control weak. If this is a big problem in your school, you really should feel able to raise it either through your school council or a teacher. I hope you feel able to do so.
Brian Boag: Dear Minster as a governor in a florishing primary school in East London, what can be done to support further the needs of children whose parents do not have english as a first language at home. We have found that these childrens development can be limited by their parents inabailtiiy to communicate at a complex level. Should we be responsible for improving parental education and if so can there be funding and support from governement to do so?
Beverley replies: Brian, this is an important issue. You probably know that we are providing the resources for schools to offer extended activities around the school day, both for children and families. Some schools are linking with the Learning and Skills Council, to provide family learning, including English as a second language on school sites. It sounds like this could be something your school could usefully explore. Best of luck.
Sarah Hayes: Why does Britain still condone the hitting of children when adults are protected by law from all forms of assault, including hitting?
Beverley replies: Sarah, we don’t condone the hitting of children and the law does protect children from assault by adults.
Dr Ute Navidi - London Play: Play is a fundamental part of a good childhood, but many professionals have littel or no training in playwork. Will the new strategy include playwork training? It would make a great difference and ensure a holistic approach.
Beverley replies: Dr Navidi, play is very important, especially for young children and there are many good play workers making a fantastic contribution in our children centres and early years learning. We have got a lot of work going on to look at the needs across the whole of the children’s workforce on our Children’s Workforce Development Council and playworkers are represented on the children’s workforce network that is supporting these developments.
helen scull: Re the new childrens register -
What details are you planning to include? Will you have adequate staff numbers to keep it accurate and up to date ?
How will you keep it secure?
Will parents be able to see all the data held on their children?
Will you have an adequate workforce to chase up referrals?
Beverley replies: Helen, what we propose is simply a list of children, with very basic details such as their parents, addresses and the names of any professionals working with them, for example their GP. There will be no personal case information at all, because this is simply a means by which different professionals can contact each other if they are concerned about a particular child. It is not a database for storing information about children themselves. Security is very important and access to and control of the system will be very robust.
Linzi Perrins: Ms Huges what do you think of the new Code of Practice and the terrible affects it will have on private nursery schools? when these nurseries are forced to pull out of funding and possibly shut down will “Ever Child Matter” ? Where will these poor children go?
Beverley replies: Linzi, there is not a new code of practice, we have simply restated and clarified what has always been our position, namely that the free nursery provision for 3 and 4 year olds must be just that. It must be free to all parents, and nurseries are not able to make it conditional on the payment of top-up fees. I am listening carefully to nurseries at the moment and talking to them about their concerns.
Kimberley McCartney: Do you think it fair that at the ages of 16 & 17, a young person is liable for tax on their earnings, but they have no say in how that tax is spent until they are 18 or older?
Beverley replies: Kimberley, you raise a fair point and put like that it is hard to argue against your logic. However, I would say two things. First, I would hope as many young people as possible would stay in education and training until they are 18 because this is the best way of equipping themselves for the future. And secondly, participation in electins is already worryingly low and I think if we were to consider lowering the voting age to 16 we would have to think very hard about how to encourage young people actually to participate in elections.
Kate: Hello.
i am writting concerning EMA.
Basically, i am a sixteen year old student studying at sixth form,and i do not qualify for EMA.
But i would like to say that i think EMA is not fair on the students who dont get it. Their parents may earn more than others, but that doesnt Necessarily mean that they get given money.I have to go out and earn my money working on a saturday for 9 hours.where as the EMA money getters get money for absoloutly nothing other than going to college.I think this is making everything to easy for them, and they should learn they have to make money by themselfs and get a job.Instead of living off benefits and goverment funding all of their life.I think the EMA should be for either everyone or no one. its just not fair at all.
I would highly respect a reply.
thank you
Katie Ramsier
Beverley replies: Kate, it’s really good you have been able to stay on at school without getting the EMA but for many young people it is the EMA that makes the difference. Without it, they couldn’t stay on at all and the EMA has increased the staying on rate amongst young people from familiies on very low incomes. It is always hard to know where to draw the line but in this case I do think it is right to help those young people whose families are in the worst circumstances.
jonathan cox: Do you think it is right that we detain the children of asylum seekers? Whatever you think of their parents’ asylum claim, surely no child deserves to be locked up in what is a glorified prison?
Beverley replies: Jonathan, this does raise some difficult dilemmas. The problem is that some families do need to be returned to the country they came from and yet are very reluctant to go. Where it is necessary to detain a family, I think it is better for the children to be with their parents rather than separated and possibly put into care, and to keep any period of detention to the shortest time possible.
Mrs Lynn Watson: What were the themes of “My UK” that came up from the little ones? Are you more or less optimistic about the future now that you’ve seen what children think about our once-great country?
Beverley replies: Lynn, there were some fantastic entries especially from the youngest children. The main themes I can recall were the importance of their families, a strong sense of identification and belonging with their town or city, celebrating the diversity of different people around them, and a tremendous optimism about the futrue. I think these themes bode very well in terms of what they say about our children.
rolvenden: why is it, that although there is a lot of information around for not getting pregnant, within schools, youth clubs, etc, there is hardly any or no information available for gay teenagers?
Beverley replies: Rolvenden, I think you are right that there isn’t a lot of printed information for gay teenagers but there are some very good voluntary organisations with websites and also information available through youth workers, connexions advisers and others working directly with young people.
John McGough: There has been much press interest toward bullying in schools as of late. The government seems to want to combat bullying and it’s effects. In the days when I was in school bullying was quite a problem. More often than not it was the same repeat offenders, bullying the same people over and over. Parents getting involved was not enough. What will it take for schools to take a hardline against persistence bullies?
So can you tell me what firm government backed (and financed) initiatives there are planned?
Beverley replies: John, I agree and it is the government’s policy that every school should be completely clear that bullying will not be tolerated. That means every school having a written policy, and putting it into practice. We are now in anti-bullying week and we have announced some more money to develop peer mentoring in schools to help those children who experience bullying, as well as action on schools that are weak, to help them strengthen their response.
Kate Williams: What plans does the Minister have to make sure that all families with disabled children get the services and support they need, wherever they live?
Beverley replies: Kate, we are aware that not all disabled families in every local area are getting the support that they need and we want to improve that position. There is a lot going on to focus on the needs of disabled families at the moment, including the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign, and work that my department is doing with the Treasury to examine how, in our next spending round, we can encourage better local provision.
Aaron Slade: The minister has given an answer as to the government’s policy and its reason for not lowering the voring age to 16, personally I thought it a poor excuse. The general election was held when I was 17, and I really would have liked to vote, I had strong views, a sound mind, and yet still I was unable to vote. I question the minister’s reason, being that election turn out is already low, and ask why she would presume it would go lower. Granted a proprtion, and a large one at that, of 16 year olds may not vote, however surely it would be the best way of getting them involved in politics. Surely a person that is liable to be taxed, has the law given right to buy cigarettes and poison their lungs, has the law given right to have intercourse, the very consequence of which could result in a child, surely this person who HM Government gives so much freedom, who is likely to have some passionate views, surely this person should be able to vote, thank you.
Beverley replies: Aaron, I have already acknowledged the logic of the argument and I have some sympathies with the points you make. But there are a range of views on this question, not least amongst young people themselves. Some whom I have talked to wouldn’t agree with you and wouldn’t put voting as top of their list of priorities. It would be quite a big step for us to take and I think we need to continue having the debate.
stephen justice: Do you not agree that the government should do more to alleviate single parent families which will then give children parent influence within the home from birth which will install discipline and responsibility to the children.
Beverley replies: Stephen, we recognise in a number of different ways the extra stresses that being a single parent can bring to a family. That’s why there is extra financial support for single parents as well as specific help for getting into work. In addition the children’s centres that we are setting up in every community - there’s a 1000 so far - also focus on giving help and support to single parents, especially on developing parenting skills.
Lloyd Abberton: We need to get back to basics with respect, as respect has been lost.
There are an increasing number of youngsters that carry knives and guns in this country.
I believe that we need to get hard on crime, longer sentences, seriously high fines and parents need to be accounted for, we should have National Service installed for the youth which would help with our society and install ethics into our youth culture.
Curfews should be installed to get kids off the streets, as the streets are not a nice place to be in the Country after hours.
Beverley replies: Lloyd, I agree that where there are communities in which crime, anti-social behaviour and harrassment is affecting the people that live there then the police and local services should take action. But I don’t think that it would be right to apply to all young people conditions and restrictions that only a minority require in order to control their behaviour. As a matter of interest, the majority of anti-social behaviour orders are imposed on adults.
Rachel: Hello Minister. Will you give consideration to make Personal, Social and Health Education a statutory foundation subject please? Countries that have these kind of programmes in place have much lower rates of pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse among their young people.
Beverley replies: Rachel, I do agree that the quality of Personal, Social and Health Education in schools can make an important contribution to helping young people avoid the kind of risky behaviour that leads to serious problems. And as you know, PHSE is part of the curriculum in schools, although we leave it to them to make their own decisions about how it is taught. Other factors are also important - parents, the media, what friends think and we need to take these all into account.
Reg Fraser: Dear Minister, Beverly Hughes,
My I respectfully suggest that if money is to be made available for children that it is spent on the older teenager’s in giving them an interest in social affairs such as leaning a skill which will stand them in good stesd all their lifes. My wife and I have bought up two children, who now have 3 children each and take an active interst in what they are up to. talking to them my self and their friends I constanley hear the word i am bored, when questioning them further they say thre are no clubs in their immediate area and when they go outside their own area that is when they my meet hostility. Lack of interest in our youth is causing resentment. Yours sincerely Reg Fraser
Beverley replies: Reg, what you have said in your question reveals the most important factor in determining how young people develop and behave and that is the interest of their parents. You were clearly interested in your children as they are now in their own children. But you are also right that having available positive activities for young people to get involved in is also an important part of their development and can make a big contribution, especially for more disadvantaged children. We are working now through funds we are providing to every local authority both to develop more positive activities and to involve young people themselves in decisions about what activities and facilities they would like available in their local areas. We find that the ability of young people to participate in these decisions is not only important in ensuring the right facilities are provided but also encourages young people’s ownership and sense of responsibility.
Beverley says: Thanks very much for these questions - they were all interesting and very informed about live issues concerning young people.
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