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“There are laws to protect children in the real world. We need our laws to protect children in the digital world too.” – UK Information Commissioner

The ICO has published its final Age Appropriate Design Code – a set of 15 standards that online services should meet to protect children’s privacy.

The code sets out the standards expected of those responsible for designing, developing or providing online services like apps, connected toys, social media platforms, online games, educational websites and streaming services.  It covers services likely to be accessed by children and which process their data.

The code will require digital services to automatically provide children with a built-in baseline of data protection whenever they download a new app, game or visit a website.

That means privacy settings should be set to high by default and nudge techniques should not be used to encourage children to weaken their settings.  Location settings that allow the world to see where a child is should also be switched off by default.  Data collection & sharing should be minimised and profiling that can allow children to be served up targeted content should be switched off by default too.

The code says that the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration when designing & developing online services. And it gives practical guidance on data protection safeguards that ensure online services are appropriate for use by children.

The standards of the code are rooted in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the code was introduced by the Data Protection Act 2018.  The ICO submitted the code to the Secretary of State in November and it must complete a statutory process before it is laid in Parliament for approval.  After that, organisations will have 12 months to update their practices before the code comes into full effect.  The ICO expects this to be by autumn 2021.

Statement from the Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, on Wuhan novel coronavirus.

“COBR met today (Friday) to discuss the situation in Wuhan, China, and elsewhere in Asia.  I updated on the current situation, the preparedness of the NHS, and possible next steps.

I am working closely with the other UK Chief Medical Officers. We all agree that the risk to the UK public remains low, but there may well be cases in the UK at some stage.  We have tried and tested measures in place to respond. The UK is well prepared for these types of incidents, with excellent readiness against infectious diseases. …… There are no confirmed cases in the UK to date. ……..  A public health hub will be set up in Heathrow from today (Friday)”

A ncfe Blog posted by Stephen Mordue; Tips for Teachers – managing your own mental health

In the workplace, poor mental health can often be a consequence of work-related stress.  The effective management of stress has been high on the agenda in schools for over a decade and stress has been identified as the most common health and safety problem in the UK.  Historically, teaching has been identified as one of the most stressful occupations with 67% of teachers stating that their job has adversely affected their mental health.  If you are yourself a teacher, you can probably relate to this either using your own experience or the experience of colleagues.

The care & education sectors certainly have their reputation for having employees that are susceptible to high levels of stress, huge workloads and targets upon which the wellbeing of others seems to rely.  As a social worker by profession, I can relate to the struggle that my colleagues and, similarly, teachers face on a daily basis.  Both professions are fundamentally human acts.  Working with a range of individuals, we are also required to work with other people’s emotions.  As we invest in the problems of others, it can, unfortunately, have a detrimental effect on our own psychological ‘capital’.  With more young people than ever before suffering with or now recognising their own poor mental health, capacity is being spread more thinly.  The demanding nature of our roles can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed, which fuels stress and leads to burnout.

The question is, what can be done?

NICE; Care matters – Working together to get support right for adult carers.

Dame Philippa Russell, Vice-President of Carers UK and Topic Adviser for the NICE guideline on Supporting Adult Carers.

Recently, I received a medal (a rather squashed chocolate medal) from my neighbour’s four-year old nephew Henry.  Henry heard me talking about the Carers UK event where I suddenly realised that I was a ‘veteran’ carer with 50 years of caring – for my mother with dementia, my husband with cancer, heart failure and dementia and a son with learning disabilities.

Impressed, Henry asked if I had been in any big battles, did I have a sword and was I still a soldier? His interest faded when I explained that I was part of the growing army of carers (an estimated 8.8m) but brightened when I told him that we family carers were estimated to save the government £132bn per annum.  ‘You’re worth a lot’ he said admiringly, ‘I should have given you a bigger medal.’

As a ‘veteran’ carer, I have been privileged to work with NICE to develop the guideline on ‘support for adult carers’.  During my caring life, I have seen major developments in what we expect of carers.  The 2014 Care Act transformed the legal & policy framework for carers.  For the first time we were given the same recognition, respect and ‘parity of esteem’ as those we support.  Now we had a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to be valued as partners in care rather than veterans in survival mode.

The Care Act 2014 encouraged a sea change in supporting carers to lead ordinary lives.  But the rhetoric did not always match the reality.  We know that 3m carers juggle the complexities of paid work & care – and as we look towards demographic change and the ‘100 year life’, we know that caring will become everybody’s business as we age and live with more complex disabilities and long-term conditions.  The Care Act (and the guideline which clarifies it) are about more than survival.  They are about wellbeing and quality of life.

Importantly, the guideline emphasises the importance of collaborative care. Good care and support for carers means families, professionals, providers and commissioners working together to improve lives.  In the future, I hope that with the guideline, we won’t need swords (or chocolate medals) but can use it to transform support for carers and drive a better understanding and optimism amongst those who support them.

The Association for Project Management highlights the four biggest people management mistakes on transformation projects.

Alistair Sergeant, chief executive officer of Equantiis (formerly known as Purple Consultancy), is used to delivering transformation projects.  One of their successes was a project with Manchester Metropolitan (Met) University, helping them to transform the student experience using the latest technologies.

The Manchester Met project was a shining example of how to effectively manage a transformation project, says Sergeant.  Many run into difficulties or fall flat on their faces at some stage during the process – almost all due to people and culture issues.

“It's about aligning people up for a change within the organisation. There is a lot of fear that happens when you do a change project,” he says. “I'm a big believer that people don't hate change, it's just when change is forced upon them and they're not on the journey, is where we end up having problems.”

So, if the challenge with transformation projects is getting the people on board, what are some mistakes that project managers can avoid?

• Not allocating the right resource
• Not being clear about why you’re doing it
• You don’t know who it’s for

NAO:  High Speed Two - A progress update

The report (High Speed Two: A progress update) from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the High Speed Two railway is over budget and behind schedule because the Department for Transport (DfT), HS2 Ltd and wider government have underestimated its complexity and risk.  Significant challenges to completing the programme and delivering value for taxpayers and passengers remain.

DfT’s latest estimate of the cost of HS2 is between £65bn and £88bn (2015 prices), between 17% and 58% over available funding. The programme is still at an early stage, and costs are uncertain and could change.  Full services on the entire network are now forecast to start between 2036 and 2040, between 3 and 7 years later than originally planned.

The NAO makes a series of recommendations to government, DfT and HS2 Ltd covering the robustness of cost and schedule estimates, the capabilities needed to manage a programme of this scale and the oversight arrangements required for the remaining phases.