Children suffering 'bad parenting'

2003-08-31
Parents are raising their children badly, leaving them ill prepared for school, the head of schools watchdog Ofsted has warned.
Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, said that many youngsters face a "disrupted and dishevelled" upbringing, without proper discipline or stimulation.
He said that communication and behavioural skills among five-year-olds are now at an all-time low, with some not even able to speak properly when they start school.
Mr Bell said: "For many young people school is the most stable part of what can be quite disrupted and dishevelled lives.
"This should worry us because if children don't all start at broadly the same point, we should not be surprised if the gap widens as they go through the education system."
He said parents fail to impose proper discipline in the home and simply put children in front of the television rather than talk and play with them.
Mr Bell warned it leads to poor behaviour in class and the picture in primary schools around the country was that children were less well prepared than ever.
While classroom standards are rising, parents are doing little to support the work of teachers and that can lead to lasting problems, he added.
"Primary schools can motivate and contain youngsters, but if those youngsters do not have the proper basic literacy and numeracy skills when they go to secondary school, they will drift off the rails," he said.
Primary headteacher Monica Galt, from Manchester, told the newspaper some children do not even know how to use a knife and fork when they start school.
David Hart, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the lack of parental support put too much pressure on teachers and parents are giving their children a "raw deal".

Courtesy NTL

CHILD PORN WEBSITES DOUBLE

Child porn websites have more than doubled in the past year and Internet paedophiles are devising ever more cunning ways to avoid detection, police have reported.

More than half of child porn sites are hosted in the US while the number based in Russia has doubled, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) said in its annual report.

The Internet has led to a huge growth in child sex offences, with computer-based images of young children, even babies, now largely replacing printed material.

The number of websites containing images of child abuse rose by 64 per cent in 2002 from the previous year, the NCIS said in its report based on intelligence from around the world.

Child porn sites may be hosted in one country and managed from elsewhere, making it difficult for police to trace the offenders and identify victims.

"One of the things the Internet has done is to internationalise the child pornography business," said a NCIS spokesman. "This has made it easier for offenders to escape law enforcement agencies across borders."

But British police scored a success last week when a trainee teacher was jailed for 18 months for trying to buy a nine-year-old Lithuanian girl for sex over the Internet

NCIS warned that online sex offenders were becoming much more sophisticated in their attempts to avoid detection.

"Protecting themselves against law enforcement is a key concern and some online child sex offenders openly discuss methods for keeping their activities from the police," the report said.

If an offender puts members of a network at risk, for example through unauthorised passing on of illegal images, he is likely to have his computer targeted with viruses.

Other methods to avoid detection include specialist systems to debrief people who have been arrested to learn more about the monitoring techniques used by police and Internet watchdogs.

Online guides to all aspects of child sex are available, with links to chatrooms and the passwords needed for access to illegal images.

Even though most sex offenders act alone, the report said that organised gangs had been tempted into the trade by the profits involved.

Last year, one of the largest investigations into child porn on the Internet, Operation Ore, resulted in over 1,000 arrests in Britain after US authorities passed on a list of more than 7,000 British men suspected of using their credit cards to access sites containing abusive images of children.

ntl news

Children can sue over abuse claims

Children who are wrongly diagnosed as suffering from child abuse can sue doctors and social workers, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

However the judges ruled that the parents of those children have no right to sue.

The case was brought by three families who say they suffered serious psychological distress when they were falsely accused of abuse.

Both sides in the case are now hoping to go to the Lords.

As the law stands, doctors and social workers are under an obligation to report suspected cases of child abuse to the authorities.

If they get it wrong though, those accused cannot generally sue them for the damage caused.

Compensation

But in the landmark case, the three couples wanted to change that.

In each case, the parents had been suspected of abusing their children.

Only later, and in one case after the child was taken into care, were the allegations found to be groundless.

They wanted to be able to sue health care workers for negligence.

Campaigners believe it is vital that those falsely labelled abusers should be able to seek compensation.

But some doctors fear any such move could hinder child protection.
BBC News

Concerns for young workers

Most Lincolnshire school children with part time jobs are working illegally, according to new research.

Of the 50% of pupils who have jobs while at school, just 2% have a work permit.

It is a legal requirement for school children aged between 13 and 16 and officials are concerned that children who do not have a permit could be exploited.
BBC News

Happy meals over for BBC

The Tweenies are very popular worldwide
The BBC has said it has no further plans for fast food sponsorship deals after its Tweenies promotion at McDonald's restaurants recently ended.
BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, was criticised by the Food Commission for using the popular children's TV characters to promote food which it says is high in either salt, sugar or fat.

Parents complained via the independent watchdog, which campaigns for healthier, safer food in the UK.

One mother from London complained on the Food Commission website: "Surely the BBC could target more healthy products for the Tweenies to promote, as being 'cool' for kids to consume."

A BBC Worldwide spokeswoman said there would be no more fast food promotions involving children's TV characters.

"The Tweenies joint promotion with McDonalds ended on 4 July and we have no plans for further joint promotions with fast food restaurants for BBC children's programmes to which BBC Worldwide owns the rights," she said.

"BBC Worldwide recognises the concern over health issues surrounding children's food items and we are currently undertaking a general review of our food licensing policy."

McDonald's had a recent 11% jump in sales But some "treat foods" would still be branded with BBC children's programmes, she added.

"BBC children's characters are not only about learning but are also about fun and entertainment.

"We work with nutritionists to provide a wide range of items that contribute to a child's diet, ranging from healthy options such as yoghurt, dried fruit, and organic pasta to items which are intended to be occasional treats."

She added BBC Worldwide was always looking for ways of making food used in joint promotions more healthy and its food policy is constantly assessed in the light of nutritional guidelines.

The recipe of Tweenies, Fimbles and Teletubbies Pasta Shapes is being redeveloped to reduce the salt content.

A spokesperson for McDonald's was unavailable for comment.

The fast food chain recently introduced healthier options to its menu, including salads.

Tweenies, which chronicles the adventures of Bella, Milo, Fizz and Jake, has been sold to nearly 50 countries, including the USA, and has been translated into 30 languages.

It has become a huge money-spinner for BBC Worldwide since the show began in 1999. BBC News

Call to close child traffic loophole


Child trafficking should be made a criminal offence in the UK, closing a legal loophole, says Unicef.
The UN agency says thousands of children are being trafficked to Britain each year and human trafficking is the fastest growing business of organised crime.

The children are being drawn from a growing number of countries - mainly from West Africa, but also from other African countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and even Jamaica.

The issue hit the headlines on Tuesday when 21 people were arrested in the case of 'Adam', the Nigerian boy whose torso was found in the river Thames in 2001.

Police believe a ring of people trafficked the boy into Britain before he was ritually killed.

We've uncovered what we believe is a criminal network concentrating on people trafficking

Trafficking is often being masked by the West African cultural practice of sending children to live with extended family or friends to be educated or to find work, said Unicef.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 children are being privately fostered in the UK, it said - many from West Africa.

This was often for the child's benefit, but "many of these children could be being abused or exploited, without anyone even knowing they are in the country," it said.

Another West African child, Victoria Climbie from Ivory Coast, was tortured to death in 2000 by a London-based great-aunt who used her to claim child benefits.

Towns and cities

Children are now being taken not only to London and other UK capitals, but to smaller towns and cities nationwide where the authorites may be less aware of the problem, said Unicef.

"In some cities such as Nottingham and Newcastle, cases have only started coming to light since late 2002, indicating that the traffickers are widening their operations and trying new places," it said.

Unicef said the children were controlled and intimidated in a number of ways - with Albanian gangs using rape, violence and threats against relatives, and West African traffickers threatening voodoo and curses, for instance.

"It's a huge concern for us, not least because of the terrible, appalling suffering which the victims go through," said Unicef UK's executive director David Bull.

"You can imagine almost nothing worse than being forced or tricked away from your family to a foreign country where you're abused and beaten and sexually sold almost on a daily basis."

WHAT IS CHILD TRAFFICKING?
Trafficking means transporting and exploiting unwilling or unknowing victims
Child victims often used for sex work
May also be used as domestic servants, drug mules, in sweatshops and restaurants, or as beggars or pickpockets

The Sexual Offences Bill, currently in the House of Commons, will make it illegal to traffic people into the UK for commercial sexual exploitation.

But children trafficked for other reasons will remain unprotected.

Unicef called on the government to criminalise trafficking for all purposes.

It also urged the government to provide funding for specialist care - including safe house accommodation and counselling for the victims, and training for immigration officers and social workers.
BBC News