In 2015, a total of 64 Serious Case Reviews were reported, involving approximately 40 children under five years of age.
Yet how can you take account of the Voice of the Child when the children involved are so young they might not have the vocabulary or ability to communicate effectively? It’s a challenge facing Early Years teacher and Voice of the Child advocate Judith Staff on a daily basis.
One in six men is estimated to be a victim of sexual abuse, yet there remains a reluctance by men to speak out, either due to perceived shame or embarrassment or the perception that sexual abuse is “a women’s issue”.
More than 160,000 children may be classed as young carers, a recent report by the Children’s Commissioner revealed. Yet time and again, these children are being failed by a system and falling through the cracks due to poor support and piecemeal provision.
“Seeing homeless vulnerable people in London recently on the day we had our Christmas get together at work really made us all challenge our thinking,” says SharedVision’s Nigel Boulton. “We had far too much too eat and drink and then walked past countless men and women with little or nothing.”
The stiff upper lip; a British cliché but an indication that we’re just not very good at talking about emotions. For the 41,000 children who are bereaved each year, this can mean struggling through difficult emotions with little support, trying to muddle through complex feelings and struggling to find ways to make sense of challenging circumstances.
Continue reading Beating Bereavement: tackling grief in school-age children
