Judith Turbyne appointed as new Chief Executive of Children in Scotland

22 June 2021

MEDIA RELEASE

Dr Judith Turbyne is to be the new Chief Executive of national charity Children in Scotland.

Currently a senior manager at the Scottish Charity Regulator, she will start in the post on 30 August 2021.

Judith said: “I am delighted and excited to be taking up this wonderful appointment. I am passionate about challenging inequality and working for a more just society, and I will bring this passion to the role of Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive.

“It is a key moment for positive policy change for Scotland’s children and Children in Scotland is in a great position to play a very significant part in this over the coming years.

“I look forward to meeting and working with the staff, Board, members, partners and children that are so integral to the success of the organisation.”

Judith brings substantial experience of the charity sector to the role. Much of her professional life has focused on international development, working with charities challenging global poverty and inequality.

She worked in Latin America and the Caribbean, in local frontline organisations and with multinational funders, before moving to Dublin to become CEO of the international development organisation Progressio Ireland.

Judith joined the Scottish Charity Regulator as Head of Engagement in 2013 and is currently Deputy Chair of the Corra Foundation.

Welcoming her appointment, Maureen McGinn CBE, Convener of Children in Scotland’s Board, said:

"The Board of Directors of Children in Scotland is looking forward to welcoming Judith shortly into her new role. She brings us experience, clear vision and commitment to social justice.

"We are confident Judith will apply all her skills and talent to improve the lives of children and young people by listening to their voices and making sure these are heard, and working determinedly with our members, staff and stakeholders."

Judith will be Children in Scotland’s third Chief Executive, following Jackie Brock who held the post from 2012 until earlier this year, and Bronwen Cohen who led the charity for 19 years from its formation in 1993.

Media contact:
Chris Small, csmall@childreninscotland.org.uk

About Dr Turbyne

Judith is currently a senior manager at the Scottish Charity Regulator

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Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock to step down from role

3 March 2021

Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive Jackie Brock will be stepping down from her post in the spring.

Announcing her decision, Jackie said:

“After more than eight very happy years as Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive, I am moving on to explore new opportunities and interests. It has been my privilege to work for Children in Scotland and its members.

“I am particularly proud that we have weathered this past year brilliantly. We are in an excellent position to plan now for new leadership to develop our long-term, sustainable future.

“I will remain as Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive until May when I am pleased to say that I will be taking a short-term role with The Promise team as their Chief Operations Officer with oversight of the transition to a new legal entity.

“My sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone I have had the pleasure of working with during my time as Chief Executive, with particular thanks to the wonderful individuals who make up our staff team and Board of Directors, past and present.

"I hope that we can and will continue to work closely together in the future.”

The Convener of the Children in Scotland Board of Directors, Maureen McGinn CBE, added:

"Jackie has been an outstanding leader of Children in Scotland but we respect that the time is right for her to move on and for us to develop and progress with a new Chief Executive.

"We will announce open recruitment arrangements for the Chief Executive role in a few weeks."

Arrangements, which have been approved by Children in Scotland’s Board, will be put in place to cover the period following Jackie’s departure, with responsibilities shared by three department heads in the charity’s Leadership Team.

Sally Cavers, Head of Inclusion; Simon Massey, Head of Engagement and Learning; and Amy Woodhouse, Head of Policy, Projects and Participation, will assume the roles of Joint Acting Chief Executives from 1 May until a new Chief Executive is in post.

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Child protection procedures ‘should be standardised’ across all Scottish hospitals

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock has today called for standardised child protection procedures across all Scottish hospitals in order to prevent more child deaths.

She also suggested that Fife Council conduct a thorough and independent review of its child protection service.

Her call follows the sentencing today of Gordon McKay for the culpable homicide of five-month-old Hayley Davidson in Fife.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Ms Brock said:

“What really concerned me is that Hayley was seen and had significant bruising and injuries to her body that weren’t picked up.

“When you have a child as young as Hayley who can’t express or articulate injury and pain, you have to be looking at the evidence. You have to be thoroughly x-raying her body to ensure it is safe for her to go home.”

Welcoming the change of protocol in Fife, instigated following a number of child deaths in the area, Ms Brock called for more thorough child protection measures to be standard in every Scottish hospital.

“We welcome Fife’s changed protocol but this shouldn’t be decided individually by each hospital. It should be standard procedure in every hospital,” she said, urging the sharing of resources and expertise across the country if required.

In the wake of Hayley’s death, Ms Brock also said it may be time for an official review of Fife’s child protection services.

“I would suggest the time is right for Fife to call in the inspectors and ask for a thorough overview of what is happening with their child protections services. Liam Fee, Hayley and the others deserve no less.”

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A chance to flourish

20 Sep 2017

We’ve changed our voice and look to better reflect our ambitions to improve children’s lives, writes Jackie Brock

Making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up. Sometimes that feels unachievable, but it’s an ambition that all of us in Children in Scotland, our members and partners, are passionately committed to.

The challenge for the children’s sector is to identify how best we can support goals such as eradicating child poverty and addressing inequality. What role can we play as individuals, as organisations, and as a collective force?

I believe collaboration is the only chance we have of meeting these challenges. That means partnerships at every level – locally with young people and families, and at national level across the sector. We need to share knowledge and work together. A single service approach to tackling any of the challenges facing us will fail.

So, how does Children in Scotland fit in? We want to lead on finding solutions that can give all children in Scotland an equal chance to flourish. As part of this, over the past 18 months we’ve asked some searching questions about our role within a thriving third sector in Scotland. The end result is a change to our voice, look and profile, and a re-articulation of our core beliefs.

Children in Scotland is in a unique position. Our audience encompasses adults working in the sector and children and young people themselves. As an organisation, we bridge the gap between them.

Our membership, which informs our policy positions and decisions about where to focus our work, is truly multidisciplinary. But we also actively seek the input of children and young people.

This breadth is our greatest strength. It allows us to cultivate strong values and base policy positions on evidence, expertise, and lived experience.

Knowledge exchange is enabled through the delivery of our continuous professional development programme. This means experts sharing their practice to strengthen skills among those who work with or for children and families – and children and families then feeling the benefit.

We can also lay claim to substantial knowledge in areas such as child protection, additional support for learning and children’s rights within our staff team. This, along with the expertise of our members, means we can comment on child policy issues with real authority – and always backed by evidence.

We are excited to be increasing our focus on working with our local networks at community level, with children and families.

From June to August 2017, we were again partners in delivering Food, Families, Futures (FFF), working with schools, local authorities, communities and businesses to offer holiday clubs and free meals over the summer holidays. With almost 4,000 places taken up, the response was extraordinary – and we are looking at extending FFF to other areas during further holiday periods.

We are also working with a range of families and community partners on a BIG Lottery funded-project about childcare. Childcare and Nurture, Glasgow East (CHANGE) will identify the current childcare provision in the North-East of Glasgow, engaging with parents and families to identify models that would better suit their needs. We hope this will ultimately improve provision and eventually serve as a model for other parts of the country.

Our in-house services, Enquire and Resolve, continue to offer advice and help to children and families on additional support for learning. Their ability to provide successful resolutions is a source of genuine pride for us.

Underlying all this activity is the message of partnership. We want to be leading and facilitating these partnerships as much as possible. We believe that as a sector we are greater than the sum of our parts. But if we are to succeed in influencing change we need to continue to work together, drawing on shared beliefs and ensuring appropriate support.

From this autumn we’re giving greater emphasis to the voices of our membership, and putting extra effort into amplifying the work of our wider network. We’re stepping into a new era and we hope you’ll come with us.

Jackie Brock is Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive

This is an edited version of a comment piece published in Children in Scotland Magazine, issue 182 (October – November 2017)

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Stop excluding children from Brexit dialogue, children's sector groups and Commissioner tell UK parliamentarians

13 September 2017

Children must be heard and their views sought on Brexit, representatives from Scotland’s children’s sector and the Children & Young People’s Commissioner will tell parliamentarians at a special
event at Westminster today (13 September).

The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Bruce Adamson, Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights), Juliet Harris, and Children in Scotland’s Head of Policy, Amy Woodhouse, will be attending a House of Commons event, Children’s Rights Following Brexit, with Amy Woodhouse speaking at a rally outside Parliament beforehand.

The group, which is coordinating to raise the profile of children’s rights and Brexit at UK-level, is making the following key calls:

Despite inheriting the full impact of Brexit as they grow up, children have been excluded from discussions about it, both in the run-up to the referendum and since. A coherent structure now needs to be put in place to ensure they are involved and kept informed.
Children and young people have benefited significantly from EU membership and are disproportionately affected by the issues raised pre-Brexit and by withdrawal.
Politicians at the forefront of the Brexit debate need to acknowledge and better understand these issues and give children’s views the platform they deserve now.

Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, said:

“Children and young people in Scotland, and across the UK, have the right to contribute their views to the Brexit negotiations and should be given meaningful opportunities to do so. Information on how Brexit could affect their lives should be provided in a child-friendly format and then their views sought in both formal and informal ways.

“The EU has enacted a significant number of legal instruments which give direct entitlement for children in areas including child migration, asylum, child protection and paediatric medicine.

“Legislation that keeps children safe covers child trafficking, child abduction and child sexual exploitation. Much of this has been transposed into domestic law and this has to continue post Brexit. But what is often forgotten is the cross-border EU activity that supports all of this.

“One example is the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) which provides a fast track expedition procedure across EU Member States. This ensures those who commit crimes against children are arrested and returned to their country to answer charges. Scotland also needs to be able to continue to access EU data, intelligence sharing and security infrastructure.”

Juliet Harris, Director of Together, said:

“We're only just beginning to understand the full impact that leaving the European Union could have on children and young people. From family law and child protection through to tackling child trafficking and poverty, the European Union provides children and young people with fundamental rights and protections that are now at risk. In representing the children’s sector at today’s event, we hope parliamentarians begin to recognise and understand the importance of ensuring children and young people’s rights are at the heart of every decision made from now on.

Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive, Jackie Brock, said:

“According toYouGov, 71% of 18-24 year-olds in the UK voted to Remain in last year’s referendum. The voices of this generation, 16- and 17-year-olds who were disenfranchised from voting in the referendum, and younger children, are being sidelined in the Brexit debate. Yet it’s they who will most feel the impact of our withdrawal from the EU.”

“There is a clear democratic deficit being reflected in the Brexit negotiations. We need our politicians to take notice, demonstrate awareness, and bring children’s voices into the heart of this debate.”

Prior to the House of Commons event Amy Woodhouse will be speaking at a rally outside Parliament organised by the3million, a support network campaigning to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK.

She said:

“We want to use this opportunity to articulate the grave concerns we have and why we think Brexit will have a disproportionate impact on children compared to the rest of the UK population.”

The event will discuss the possible implications of Brexit for children across the UK, including plans for child-related EU law within the EU Withdrawal Bill, and the social and economic rights of EU migrant and non-EU nationality children in the UK.

Media contact:

Chris Small

0131 313 8824

csmall@childreninscotland.org.uk

Notes for Editors:

This was a joint press release between the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights) and Children in Scotland

For further information on the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland visit the website at www.cypcs.org.uk. The Commissioner’s remit is to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people, with particular emphasis on the rights set out in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. He also monitors the law, policy and practice for effectiveness in relation to the rights of children and young people and promotes best practice by service providers working with children

Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) is an alliance of over 360 children’s organisations, academics and interested professionals. Its vision is that the rights of all children in Scotland are protected, respected and fulfilled, as enshrined in the UNCRC and other human rights conventions. To achieve this, it works with its membership, stakeholders and duty bearers to progress and achieve the realisation of children’s rights in all areas of society. www.togetherscotland.org.uk

Children in Scotland is the collective voice for children, young people and families in Scotland, and organisations and businesses that have a significant impact on children’s lives in Scotland. It is an influencing and membership organisation, comprised of representatives from across the voluntary, public and private sectors. www.childreninscotland.org.uk

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Family voices ‘should shape policy' on food, learning and holidays

In a letter published in the Herald newspaper today, our Chief Executive Jackie Brock responded to a call by the Scottish Conservatives that schools should stay open as “community hubs” during the summer holidays, drawing on Children in Scotland’s learning from our Food, Families, Futures partnership project.

This is an edited extract from her letter:

The Scottish Conservatives’ proposal to keep schools open as “community hubs” throughout the summer raises further questions in an already complex policy debate about the best ways of challenging poverty’s impact on education and health.

Children in Scotland’s FFF project was sparked by headteachers telling us about children and parents in their communities potentially going hungry, missing out on meals because they simply couldn't afford food. This was exacerbated in holiday periods when the schools’ free meal provision ended. They were also worried about the children not getting the chance to have a holiday.

Our experience of the project thus far tells us that, when large-scale business (for example, food distribution company Brakes) and small-scale community organisations take action together to fight these problems, it can have a transformational effect. Families have reported to us their enjoyment of learning more about making food, taking part in activities, and simply being together. But this success has been down to a highly localised approach, where families lead the experience, and partner organisations operate from a deep understanding of each community’s differing characteristics and needs.

At the other end of the spectrum are more macro policy solutions. A Westminster Bill being proposed by Frank Field MP would, if enacted, mandate local authorities in England to facilitate delivery of programmes providing free meals and activities for children during school holidays. There may be pressure for equivalent legislation here.

We think a balance should be struck between learning from a bespoke community-level support and a ‘top down’ national approach that, while well-intentioned, might lose sight of important local realities.

For any policy approach to be effective, it must be sensitive to a multitude of issues. We need to respect school staff’s rights to holidays, and the rights of families not to be bound to their local school outside of term time. We should be wary of thinking that suggests keeping schools open through the summer is a catch-all solution to Scotland’s attainment problem. And we need to be mindful of labeling families as ‘poor’ and communities as ‘deprived’ in a way that doesn’t help them and doesn’t reflect the vitality and fun we saw in Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire over the past two months.

FFF is currently being evaluated by academics at Northumbria University who are looking at whether it has contributed to mitigating learning loss. In developing a policy approach that works we need to be drawing on evidence of this kind ‘in the round’, alongside clear-eyed testimony from children and families about what works for them. They deserve our support and their voices need to be heard as we keep this vital issue on the national agenda.

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Food, Families, Futures project sees summer take-up rise to almost 4,000

14 August 2017

Almost 4,000 places were taken up by children, parents and guardians attending school and community clubs as part of Children in Scotland’s Food, Families, Futures (FFF) project during the summer holidays.

FFF was launched last year after schools told Children in Scotland that many families in their communities were facing difficulties during the holiday periods when free school meal entitlement ends.

Working with food distribution company Brakes through its Meals & More programme alongside local councils and partner organisations, FFF was established to ensure families can be together, prepare healthy food, eat a free lunch, and take part in fun activities using schools as community hubs over the summer holiday period.

This summer the clubs ran in 26 schools across Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire from Wednesday 28 June – Friday 11 August.

The number of places taken up represents a significant increase and expansion of the project. Successful FFF pilots ran last summer at Ibrox and Dalmarnock Primaries, when a total of 140 children registered to attend the clubs.

Councillor Chris Cunningham, Glasgow City Convener for Education, Skills & Early Years said: “Another success for this very important project and I want to congratulate and say thank you to everyone who has been involved again this year.

“Glasgow is very proud to be a partner and we will continue to do all that we can to help, support and align services to families across the city. I have enjoyed following all the tweets from schools and partners across the city – the activities have been wide-ranging and looked such fun for all involved.”

Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive Jackie Brock said: “We are delighted by the impact FFF has made over the summer. But we are also aware that the demand for places highlights the real problems many families continue to face – and the urgent need for support and outreach to be strengthened.
“Partners groups such as PEEK and the Jeely Piece Club supported the clubs in each local area and were fundamental to the project’s success.”

“I want to thank them, our partner Brakes, Glasgow City Council, and the participating schools, but most particularly the families who took part in FFF. We hope that the project made a difference to them over the summer.”

FFF ensured that parents can be directly involved in preparing and cooking healthy meals, supported by community chefs attached to the schools.

Pem Hulusi, Brakes’ Meals & More Programme Manager, said: “We're proud to support children's wellbeing with our Meals & More programme, even as we highlight the needs of those without free school meals in the holidays. In visiting the clubs this summer, it was fantastic to see the difference compared to last year with the increase in provision.

“Seeing the kitchens packed with chefs from the communities, serving delicious meals for families, was a real highlight. It is terrible that there are families in the UK suffering from food poverty, but they do – and we're proud to work with Children in Scotland to tackle this issue."

Academic evaluation of summer holiday clubs across the UK, including those run under the FFF banner, is currently being led by Professor Greta Defeyter, Director of Healthy Living at Northumbria University.

Professor Defeyter said: “Research from Northumbria University has shown that holiday clubs afford a number of benefits to families and children. For example, holiday clubs help to reduce social isolation, provide a structure for family engagement in physical and social activities, provide free, healthy food, and bring communities together.
“We know that many children suffer from educational learning loss across the summer and we are currently investigating whether holiday clubs help to attenuate this loss."

The number of places has been calculated by multiplying the number of children attending each setting on each day across all projects, from 28 June to 11 August. The figure is an estimate based on information supplied to Children in Scotland by schools who took part.

Media contact

Chris Small

csmall@childreninscotland.org.uk

Notes for Editors

Children in Scotland is the collective voice for children, young people and families in Scotland, and organisations and businesses that have a significant impact on children’s lives in Scotland. It is an influencing and membership organisation, comprised of representatives from the voluntary, public and private sectors.

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Messages around healthy eating “muddled”, says Scots Masterchef

The public health messages around healthy living are “muddled”, and learning to cook should be recognised as an important life lesson, award-winning chef Gary Maclean has said.

Learning to cook is just as important as learning core academic subjects such as Maths and English, Masterchef winner Mr Maclean said as he paid a visit to one of the schools participating in Children in Scotland’s Food, Families, Futures partnership programme.

Speaking at Dalmarnock Primary School in Glasgow yesterday, he said:

“Sometimes I think the message for healthy eating is really muddled. Every day there is a different message: you need to eat five a day, 10 a day, you have to do this, you have to do that. I think for people, especially on a budget, it’s just too difficult to take in, so you don't take any of it in.”

“Kids should be getting taught to cook”, he added. “It is as important as Maths, English and PE. There is a big deal about physical education, which is great, but if they are doing an hour of physical education then going to the chippy for lunch, it doesn’t matter. Young people need to understand that what they eat is as important as what they do.”

Community chef, Donna Borrokinni, who has been working with parents and volunteers at the four-week summer club, agrees about the importance of teaching nutrition, food handling and planning, and the emphasis on parents.

“Initiatives like this show what can be done in a small space of time and engaging with parents is definitely the way forward”, she said.

With her assistance, parents who attend the club are working towards achieving a qualification in food handling and preparation.

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock, who also visited Dalmarnock primary yesterday, commented on both the short and long-term benefits of the summer programme:

“Through the FFF partnership programme we are working with schools, communities and families to encourage family time, activity and healthy eating over the long summer break.

“With the help of the wonderful charity PEEK, children are being kept active, playing, creating and seeing friends, whilst parents are learning new skills in the kitchen and taking home recipes for easy, healthy, recipes to make with their children thanks to food suppliers Brakes.”

Mr Maclean won the 2016 series of Masterchef: The Professionals.

He visited Dalmarnock Primary School on Tuesday 18 July as part of the Food, Families, Futures partnership to share cooking tips and raise awareness of how it can be possible for families to eat well, even on a tight budget.

His visit was organised by food distribution company Brakes as part of its Meals & More programme.

The summer club at Dalmarnock started on 3^rd July and runs until Friday 28 July.

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Project challenging food poverty expands to 26 schools across Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire

3 July 2017

From today, 26 schools in the west of Scotland will be taking part in Children in Scotland’s expanded Food, Families, Futures partnership.

In partnership with local groups and food distribution company Brakes’ Meals & More programme, Food, Families, Futures (FFF) aims to ensure that families finding themselves in need when term-time free school meals end can access meals and support.

Through the project children and families will enjoy meals and fun activities, with community chefs on site at four schools to prepare healthy fresh food.

Participating primaries include Dalmarnock, Ibrox, Highpark, Langfaulds and Miller, and a joint club for Oakwood and St Benedict’s pupils.

Also part of the FFF summer schedule are three Gorbals community projects, Bridging the Gap, Task Childcare and Gorbals Youth Café, which will be open to children and families from Blackfriars and St Francis primaries.

Summer 2017 sees the FFF programme increasing from two to 26 schools in a year. The project launched last July at Dalmarnock and Ibrox primaries in Glasgow. A total of 80 children registered to attend the club at Dalmarnock, while this year more than 100 per day are due to take part.

Councillor Chris Cunningham, Glasgow City Council’s City Convener for Education, Skills & Early Years, welcomed the expansion. He said: “This is such an excellent initiative – and very effective as the outcomes from last year proved.

“I'm delighted that the council is helping to fund the expansion this year and that many more of our families in need across the city will benefit.

"The beginning of the school holidays is a joy to so many but creates additional, unwanted pressure to people experiencing food poverty. This worthy project will help, in some small way, to reduce some of this stress for families across Glasgow."

Lorraine Booth, head teacher of Glasgow’s Miller Primary, whose project started on Wednesday 28 June, said: ”We’ve had a really positive response from our families and it’s been a great couple of days already. I know that the impact of the summer club will be amazing and our school is very grateful to be a part of the programme.”

The FFF programme will also run in West Dunbartonshire, with Vale of Leven Academy and Clydebank High Schools open from 3 – 14 July to welcome pupils from 19 local primaries.

Councillor Karen Conaghan, Convener of Educational Services at West Dunbartonshire, said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Children in Scotland on this project which will provide really positive support to families and young people. This two-week programme will provide activities for young people and bring families together to prepare and enjoy healthy meals. It complements the summer holidays camps which we have organised in schools to support pupils from areas of higher deprivation.”

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock said: “We’re proud to be working with schools in Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire over the summer as part of this growing project. FFF demonstrates the fantastic assets our local communities possess, and how they can draw on their strengths to improve experiences for children and families over the summer holiday period – a time that we know can bring real difficulties.”

Growth of the FFF programme follows the successful pilots in Dalmarnock and Ibrox and ongoing academic evaluation of summer holiday clubs across the UK led by Professor Greta Defeyter of Northumbria University.

Early findings from Professor Defeyter’s evaluation, presented at a recent Children in Scotland conference, suggested that FFF increased reading gain amongst the children who took part.

FFF is supported by Brakes as part of the company’s UK-wide Meals & More programme. Pem Hulusi, Programme Manager for Meals & More, said:

“We are delighted to support Children in Scotland in the fight against holiday hunger. Now into our second year in Scotland, we have 122 clubs up and running across the UK to bring holiday provision to nearly 4,000 children. With an industry forum at the House of Commons this year and our number of clubs ever-growing, we'll continue to build the movement and fight against UK child poverty."

During the past year the FFF project has worked with two schools in Eastern Perthshire and Irvine in North Ayrshire – also areas experiencing significant levels of child poverty.

The FFF summer programme runs from today until 9 August.

Media contact:

Chris Small, Communications Manager, Children in Scotland

csmall@childreninscotland.org.uk

0751 998 2748

Notes for Editors

Find out more about Food, Families, Futures here.

Read more about Brakes’ Meals & More programme here.

From today, 26 schools in the west of Scotland will be taking part in Children in Scotland’s expanded Food, Families, Futures partnership.

Through the project children and families will enjoy meals and fun activities, with community chefs on site at four schools to prepare healthy fresh food.

Participating primaries include Dalmarnock, Ibrox, Highpark, Langfaulds and Miller, and a joint club for Oakwood and St Benedict’s pupils.

Councillor Chris Cunningham, Glasgow City Council’s City Convener for Education, Skills & Early Years, welcomed the expansion. He said: “This is such an excellent initiative – and very effective as the outcomes from last year proved.

“I'm delighted that the council is helping to fund the expansion this year and that many more of our families in need across the city will benefit.

"The beginning of the school holidays is a joy to so many but creates additional, unwanted pressure to people experiencing food poverty. This worthy project will help, in some small way, to reduce some of this stress for families across Glasgow."

Lorraine Booth, head teacher of Glasgow’s Miller Primary, whose project started on Wednesday 28 June, said: ”We’ve had a really positive response from our families and it’s been a great couple of days already. I know that the impact of the summer club will be amazing and our school is very grateful to be a part of the programme.”

The FFF programme will also run in West Dunbartonshire, with Vale of Leven Academy and Clydebank High Schools open from 3 – 14 July to welcome pupils from 19 local primaries.

Councillor Karen Conaghan, Convener of Educational Services at West Dunbartonshire, said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Children in Scotland on this project which will provide really positive support to families and young people. This two-week programme will provide activities for young people and bring families together to prepare and enjoy healthy meals. It complements the summer holidays camps which we have organised in schools to support pupils from areas of higher deprivation.”

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock said: “We’re proud to be working with schools in Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire over the summer as part of this growing project. FFF demonstrates the fantastic assets our local communities possess, and how they can draw on their strengths to improve experiences for children and families over the summer holiday period – a time that we know can bring real difficulties.”

Early findings from Professor Defeyter’s evaluation, presented at a recent Children in Scotland conference, suggested that FFF increased reading gain amongst the children who took part.

FFF is supported by Brakes as part of the company’s UK-wide Meals & More programme. Pem Hulusi, Programme Manager for Meals & More, said:

“We are delighted to support Children in Scotland in the fight against holiday hunger. Now into our second year in Scotland, we have 122 clubs up and running across the UK to bring holiday provision to nearly 4,000 children. With an industry forum at the House of Commons this year and our number of clubs ever-growing, we'll continue to build the movement and fight against UK child poverty."

During the past year the FFF project has worked with two schools in Eastern Perthshire and Irvine in North Ayrshire – also areas experiencing significant levels of child poverty.

The FFF summer programme runs from today until 9 August.

Media contact:

Chris Small, Communications Manager, Children in Scotland

csmall@childreninscotland.org.uk

0751 998 2748

Notes for Editors

Find out more about Food, Families, Futures here.

Read more about Brakes’ Meals & More programme here.

Membership

Becoming a Children in Scotland member means adding your voice to an ever-growing network

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Celebrate young voters' impact - and listen to them on Brexit

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock made the following statement reflecting on the result of the 2017 UK General Election:

"As an organisation that has always championed young people’s participation, today we celebrate the fact that an estimated 72% of 18-24 year olds turned out to vote in the UK General Election.

Whichever party they voted for, young people’s involvement on this scale is a massively positive statement about the contribution they can make to our political process, in Scotland and across the UK.

One of the many beneficial side effects of this powerful youth vote, which looks to have increased from 43% in 2015, is that in coming elections parties should no longer be able take young people for granted, patronise them or ignore their priorities. They must instead design policies that are relevant and harness their energy at grassroots level.

While we need to wait until a fuller picture emerges, and other important factors will have shaped young people’s choices, it seems likely that the surge in young voters partly represents a rebuke to Theresa May’s stance on Brexit. As I have previously argued, 71% of 18-24 year-olds in the UK voted to Remain in last year’s referendum on EU membership.

In this context the new political settlement is an opportunity to strengthen young people’s participation and hear what they have to say about Brexit – a debate from which they have thus far been marginalised.

We therefore call on the new government to ensure that the process of leaving the EU does not negatively impact on children’s rights. We also urge all parties to consider the voices and priorities of children throughout the upcoming negotiations.

Over the next five years, with our members, Scottish civil society organisations and partner networks across the UK and Europe, we will work to ensure that children’s rights are protected and their voices heard – and that the implications of Brexit for our children and families is at the top of the political agenda.

Related to this is the issue of how young people can be enfranchised so that their voices always count in decisions that impact their future. We believe 16 and 17-year-olds must be given the opportunity to vote in all elections.

Under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), children and young people have the right to be heard in decisions that affect them. Realising this will require genuine political courage and a belief in the principles of participation.

The current approach to voting rights across the UK – where young people can cast their ballots in Scottish and local government elections but not take part in polls at UK level – is incoherent and completely at odds with what participation in a modern democratic society should mean.

During the campaign the Prime Minister ruled out lowering the voting age to 16, saying that being able to participate in elections is not necessary to become ‘engaged’ in politics. This was a specious argument.

Alongside concerted efforts across the UK to involve children and young people in developing policy and legislation, we want voting reform to be taken seriously. Scotland’s and the rest of the UK’s 16 and 17 year olds deserve a say in how we create a fairer society.

We know that young people’s participation can be stifled by poverty, and this can lead to disengagement from the political process. Poverty negatively affects every aspect of children and young people’s lives, from their home environment to health and education.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has forecast that UK child poverty will rise to 30.3% in 2021-22, meaning an additional one million children living in poverty. The IFS, which is politically independent, also states that ‘this increase is entirely explained by the impact of tax and benefit reforms over this [2015-17] parliament’.

In light of this, we are calling for Child Benefit to be increased and the Benefit Cap removed. If left in place, the cap will have a hugely negative impact on the lives of children, young people and their families.

Children in Scotland has consistently called for a £5 Child Benefit top-up in Scotland, which evidence from Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland suggests will contribute to a 14% reduction in child poverty.

We urge the new UK Government to acknowledge this research and implement this benefit increase across the UK."