Government launches
consultation on helping children and young people to stay safe
DEPARTMENT FOR
CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2007/0132) issued by
The Government News Network on 18 July 2007
The Government
wants to support parents in striking the right balance between
protecting their children and allowing them to learn and explore
safely, according to a new consultation published today by
Children's Minister Ed Balls.
The Government is publishing Staying Safe to promote discussion
on how best to keep children safe. The strategy also looks at how
to best protect vulnerable children and young people and how to
respond when children and young people have been harmed.
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said:
"Childhood has changed. Children's lives today are
different from those of the previous generation, just as our
childhood was different from that of our parents. Some of those
changes are for the better, bringing new opportunities and
experiences. Others present challenges and sometimes different risks.
"We rightly have high expectations for our children today.
We want them to be protected from any sort of harm and abuse. But
this does not mean that we should wrap our children in cotton
wool. Childhood is a time for learning and exploring. Through
playing and doing positive activities, children and young people
can learn to better understand the opportunities and challenges in
the world around them, and how to be safe. I want parents to be
able to strike the right balance between protecting their children
and at the same time allowing them to learn and explore new
situations safely.
"We want everyone in society to take responsibility for
helping children and young people to stay safe. This does not mean
interfering in other people's lives but does mean accepting a
collective responsibility for children's safety and welfare
so that every child and young person can make the most of new
opportunities and develop their potential to the full."
Staying Safe includes proposals to:
* Launch a public education campaign to improve the public's
ability to identify and report concerns about children's
safety, and raise awareness of the need to take responsibility for
safeguarding children and young people;
* Launch a new communications campaign to encourage parents to
let their children play outside in safe environments and take part
safely in positive activities;
* Launch a new national safeguarding awards scheme to celebrate
success and highlight individual contributions to improving
children and young people's safety;
* Carry out a research study into the best Personal Social and
Heath Education materials for teaching about safety, helping
teachers to identify which resources will be most helpful for
their particular school; and
* Extend anti-bullying policies and training used in schools to
other settings, including children's homes, extended school
services, further education colleges, youth groups.
Since the 1990s, deaths or serious injuries caused by road
traffic accidents have reduced by over 50 per cent. UNICEF rates
us as second among OECD countries for deaths by accidents and
injuries. Many childhood diseases can now be prevented or cured.
And children today enjoy opportunities that would have been
unimaginable to their parents and grandparents.
But there are still significant challenges. Children of parents
who have never worked or are long term unemployed are 13 times
more likely to die from unintentional injury and 37 times more
likely to die as a result of exposure to smoke, fire and flames
than children of parents in higher managerial or professional occupations.
Children in the 10 per cent most deprived wards are three times
more likely to be hit by a car than children in the 10 per cent
least deprived wards.
The strategy also includes proposals to
* provide information for parents about risks of harm faced by
children and through Sure Start Children's Centres ensure
information is given to families of young children; and
* to launch communications targeted at parents in high risk
households, advising them about the causes of accidents, and how
to prevent them.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The consultation period for Staying Safe runs until on 31
October 2007. A cross-Government action plan will be published in
response to the consultation.
2. Full details of the consultation can be found on http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/stayingsafe
or by emailing the consultation team on staying.safe@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
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