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Sunday 30 March 2014
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Struggling to get Contact with your Children ?
Are you struggling to establish direct contact due to a hostile partner? Article by family lawyer David Parkes.
I have represented many parents seeking contact with their children. Stereotypically this means representing the father and in most cases that is correct. Sadly and like all family solicitors I have also had cases when the parent seeking contact (and I have acted on both sides) has not secured direct contact. This has usually been in a case where the parent with care is regarded as ‘implacably hostile’ to contact and not because of any wrong doing or risk posed by the parent seeking contact. This often results in the parent seeking contact being unable to see their children. I now wonder whether this should ever be able to happen in a case, particularly considering recent judgements such as of A (A Child) [2013] EWCA Civ 1104 and M (Children) EWCA Civ 1147.
In A (A Child) [2013] there had been no fewer than 82 Court Orders and the proceedings had been ongoing for approximately 12 years. There had been allegations of sexual abuse followed by a five day hearing at which the father was cleared of any wrongdoing by the court. Despite this the mother remained hostile to contact and it seems that her opinions had rubbed off on the child. There had been 7 judges and 10 Cafcass Officers involved. For those of you who have been fortunate enough to have avoided the family justice system you might find this hard to believe however those who have had dealings with them might be thinking this sounds rather familiar. That said my own experience is that litigation over that period of time is rather unusual and thankfully for those involved the case finally made its way to the Court of Appeal and before Lord Justice McFarlane.
So what does this case tell us? Well it is a helpful case for any father who finds themselves having to seek court orders because of a mother who is ‘hostile’. Firstly this case confirms that an order that would refuse direct contact with a parent will engage Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 8 is the right to respect for private and family life. Secondly is the issue of enforcing Contact Orders. Those who have attempted in the past will know the uphill struggle you often face. This case may go some way to change this. The reason I say this is because at paragraph 60 of his Judgment Lord Justice McFarlane states: “The first time that a judge should give serious consideration to whether or not he or she will, if called upon, be prepared to enforce a contact order should be before the order is made and not only after a breach has occurred”. Previous cases are also quoted confirming that“orders of the court are made to be obeyed”. I will certainly have a copy of Lord Justice McFarlane’s Judgment with me when I next apply for an Enforcement Order.
Perhaps most importantly Lord Justice McFarlane felt that despite the lengthy history of the case, the age of the child, the child’s wishes and feelings (no doubt influenced by mum in this particular case) and all the resources that had been exhausted felt that consideration should be given to the instruction of a multi-disciplinary team of experts. This to me represents the ‘no stone unturned’ approach that ought to be followed in all cases concerning children. In another case - M (Children) EWCA Civ 1147 - Lord Justice Macur commented that in order to reach the conclusion that there should be no contact, the court must consider and discard all reasonable and available avenues which may otherwise promote the children's rights to respect for family life, including, if in the interests of promoting their welfare during minority, contact with their discredited father.
In my experience some magistrates or judges (together with professionals) are too quick to turn the lights out on applications for direct contact simply because of the mother’s hostility or the child’s wishes and feelings. The big question is with cuts across Cafcass, Social Services and Legal Aid who will pay for ‘multi-disciplinary’ teams of experts.
Is a Contact Order worth the paper it is written on?
The short answer is yes. As I have quoted above “orders of the court are made to be obeyed”.
Hints/Tips
The following is a list of hints/tips that should be considered by any father experiencing difficulty in securing contact:
1. Consider what is best for your child. This is what any Judge will do so start your case with the same focus.
2. If possible/appropriate try to speak/reason with the mother. Even if this means ‘losing face’ ultimately the possible prize is worth it.
3. If the above does not work take early advice and act on it.
4. Consider referral to a family mediation service. Any solicitor who specialises in Children Law should be able to provide you with details and make the referral.
5. If mediation/negotiation does not work don’t be scared to issue court proceedings.
6. Get your house in order at an early stage. What I mean by this is that if you have any evidence that will support your application (making sure it is relevant) then ensure this is made available.
7. Don’t dismiss the possibility of a second go at mediation. It is amazing how a court application can focus the mind and change the other parents view on mediation.
8. Remember you are more likely to be frustrated at the timescales rather than the end result. There is no two ways about it, the Family Justice System can at times be a slow process. Stay patient and focused on what you want to achieve.
9. Remain dignified and measured.
Author Bio
David Parkes is a specialist Family Law Solicitor and member of the Law Society Children Panel. He is also a Partner at Bakers Solicitors. David has two young daughters of his own and as a male solicitor specialising in family he is often instructed by fathers who are struggling to establish contact with their children.
You can contact David on 01457 859123 or by email; dparkes@bakers-solicitors.com
This article is from DadzClub
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How to get Your Baby to Sleep
Need help to get your baby to sleep? Read these great tips to help your baby sleep better.
Getting enough sleep is vital to maintaining a happy and relaxed family environment. Naturally this can be a little tricky when a baby arrives so here are a few tips to help your baby sleep that I used as a nanny many moons ago.
How does it work?
Awake window
When your baby is very little, he or she can only really stay awake for one and a half hours, before he or she is overtired and struggles to go to sleep. As baby gets older, the awake period stretches to 2 hours and when baby is close to a year, you may find that there is even a 3 – 4 hour stretch between sleeps. Every baby is different, so try not to worry about what the ‘books or experts’ say your baby should be doing, there will be a way that works for you and your baby.
Sleep cycles
A baby has a 45 minute sleep cycle which is a lot shorter than adults. As your baby comes into light sleep more frequently, baby will wake if he or she is too hot, too cold, has a tummy pain or is already overtired.
Overtiredness
When your baby doesn’t get enough sleep, baby will produce chemicals to stay awakes, much like the adrenaline you produce when you start working 16 hour days to get a project finished. When this over production becomes your baby’s norm, it is hard to settle, relax and go to sleep. Where possible, try to avoid your baby becoming overtired in the first place. Sleep deprivation is accumulative, so your baby needs to catch up on sleep lost before he or she is on a level playing field. It is not wise to ‘keep your baby awake when he or she is tired’. This unsettles your baby’s natural sleep pattern and will set you up for a dependency on ‘expert’ help as you will need each stage assessed and tweaked.
Sleep and feeding
Feeding can really throw a spanner in the works as you want to be sure that your baby is getting enough food. Sometimes this can affect baby’s sleep pattern adversely, so a good way to think of feeding and sleep is to create a credit account for each which you try to balance. If you deposit feeding time into the feeding account, you want to deposit sleep into the sleep account. If your baby feeds a lot in the morning, allow him or her to sleep more in the afternoon. If your baby sleeps all morning, expect him or her to feed all afternoon. If your baby sleeps all night, expect him or her to feed more during the day.
Do routines work?
Yes they do. Routines give you some idea of when you should think about getting your baby to sleep – if you keep missing the sleep or feeding cues your baby gives you. There is nothing wrong with having a routine. The negative association is more in line with leaving a baby to cry for hours on end, alone in their crib when every fibre in your body tells you to go in soothe and calm your baby. Control crying is unnecessary as you can achieve the same results in gentler ways.
Some babies however, will just cry for 5 to 10 minutes before they go to sleep, regardless of whether you are rocking them, soothing them in their crib or leaving them alone to work it out for themselves. Love nor money seems to make any difference to these little friends, so if this is what your baby does, know that this is just normal for them.
Routines provide your baby with a recognisable structure to their day. This can be a huge relief for them as they can’t always successfully communicate their needs to you. If you are struggling to get your baby to sleep, start with a little structure, then build it up during the day if your baby is still young. If your little one is older, you may find that it is better to have a blanket routine throughout the day.
Newborns to 12 weeks generally sleep after each feed
3 months to 6 months you may see that sleeps become shorter, especially if baby is sleeping well at night.
6 months to 12 months you may find that baby does one big sleep and maybe 2 short sleeps
12 months plus you may find that baby does one big sleep but the time of that sleep changes depending on your days activity.
Create your own routine
To start creating your own routine, pop your baby into bed 1.5 – 2 hours from when he or she wakes. If your baby seems sleepy before this time – get them into bed, especially if they have not been sleeping well. The more your baby sleeps, the better your baby will sleep moving forward as less stimulating chemicals are produced. Once you have done this for a couple of days, you will get a better idea of whether your baby is a morning sleeper or afternoon sleeper – sleep is not always evenly spread over the course of the day.
Find a pattern
You may find that your baby is easier to settle after morning feeds and harder to settle in the afternoon. This may be due to milk supply, available to your baby or it can be that baby is overtire by the afternoon and just can’t think straight – try feeding lying down or settling sooner than the 1.5 - 2 hours.
You may find that the evening is a nightmare. Start a wind down routine from 5pm – 6pm with a feed, nappy off time, bath and then feed again in a darkened room. Don’t worry about putting your baby to sleep early if you can see that he or she is tired. The better rested your baby is, the easier baby will go to sleep.
Keep tweaking until you find what works for your baby
Once you have your timings and an idea of your baby’s sleep pattern, keep tweaking the timings until you get it right. If you put your baby down and she cries for 30 minutes on and off without going to sleep – put her down 15 minutes earlier. If your baby chats in his or her crib for 40 minutes before going to sleep, pop baby down 15 minutes later. You are your baby’s expert. Lovely people like Jo Tantum can help, based on their years of experience, to find a routine that works for you by recognising patterns and signs your baby gives.
Quick case study
I remember one baby in particular, her name was Lola – the cutest little thing with jet black spiky hair, the worst reflux ever (cried 24/7) and who was a difficult little friend to coax to sleep. She cried for 10 mins before she would just drop off and go to sleep which was heart-breaking. I tried tweaking the times, rocking, soothing, spaced soothing where you go in to baby - soothe – leave and repeat every minute to 2 minutes until baby starts calming then you stretch the time before going back in. One night she just looked tired. She had woken and fed at 4pm but by 5pm she was crying. I did a quick top and tail, changed her into her jim jams, swaddled her and put her to bed. She slept for 8 hours, woke fed and then slept for another 5. It was the best sleep she had ever had and from there, sleeping became a lot easier. She still cried her little heart out, bless her, but she did go to sleep and was happy and well rested when she was awake.
Geraldine Miskin Founder of The Miskin method and Breastfeeding Experience app
This article is taken from DadzClub
We think this news story will be of interest to our visitors. However, please note it is from another source and does not necessarily represent the views of Oxondads. If you would like to comment on this article please click on the "No Comments" below or alternatively E-Mail info@oxondads.co.uk
We think this news story will be of interest to our visitors. However, please note it is from another source and does not necessarily represent the views of Oxondads. If you would like to comment on this article please click on the "No Comments" below or alternatively E-Mail info@oxondads.co.uk
The Rise in the Number of "Stay at Home" Dads
I'm a stay-home dad because it makes sense for my family
Fathers who stay at home with their children instead of working do so not because they can't afford childcare, but because they want to, says Neil Sinclair
This week the government announced its plans to subsidise childcare for children up to the age of 12. For what’s it’s worth, I think it is a great idea. I’ve been a childminder and know firsthand the juggling act many working parents have to perform, and how important it is for them to find reliable, affordable childcare.
However, I found the debate completely one-sided. In all the interviews I saw with parents, not a single one said that they were choosing to stay at home to look after their children, and not return to work. Instead, the coverage seemed to imply that parents who stay at home with their children only do so because they can’t afford childcare. Apparently, staying at home with children is the ultimate parenting booby prize.
That’s simply not true. I know many parents, me included, who made a conscious decision to stay at home with their children. We don’t do it because we can’t get jobs, or because we can’t afford childcare. We do it because we think it is the right decision for our family. And it inevitably does mean sacrifices – not only the loss of a wage with all that entails, but also, for some, the possible impact on future employment prospects.
But if I could go back and change a single day, I wouldn’t. I believe that life is what you make it, and I still consider being a stay-at-home dad as my best adventure yet. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to stay at home and be there for all my troopers’ ups and downs.
I’m not saying that the traditional idea of one parent staying at home is the Holy Grail and that anything else just won’t do. Far from it. My parents both worked full time my wife grew up in a single parent family, and her dad worked round the clock to support his three children. Instead, I believe that families have to do what works for them and their individual lives, whether that means a parent staying at home, or both parents out working full-time, or parents sharing childcare and working part-time, or in a job share, or shifts – or any number of combinations. In the UK we have a myriad of different ways that parents raise their children, yet it seems to me as if the voice of the stay-at-home parent is seldom heard.
It’s not that we don’t have an opinion. On this topic for example, a stay-at-home parent might have asked what additional help and support was going to be available for the parents who are at home with their children. Or perhaps asked why there seems to be a continual erosion of support for families where one parent stays at home.
In my experience, parents do want to be at home with their small children – both dads and mums (interestingly, the number of stay-at-home dads is rising while stay-at-home mums are falling). I have been supply teaching in the last few months, working alongside parents who are balancing working with childcare. Without exception they have told me that, if they could afford to, they would spend more time at home.
In my opinion, the best thing you can give a parent is not subsidised childcare. It’s choice. The choice to work or to take time out of the workplace to look after their own children.
This article is taken from The Telegraph
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How to get your Children to LIsten
Psychotherapist Liza Finlay shares five simple yet effective tips to help you get your kids to listen.
Why won’t they listen? I hear this lament a lot. In fact, just recently, at a workshop I was leading, I asked the parents attending to name their beefs, and almost every one complained, “My kids just don’t listen.”
So, how do you get your kids to listen to you? It’s this simple…
1. Stop talking
You’ve heard me say this before, but it’s worth repeating—we talk too much. One expert clocked the number of corrections (hang up your coat, clear your plate) a child is given daily, at 200. How many of those do they actually retain? Only about 25 percent. Now, 25 percent doesn’t sound like a good batting average, but in fact, what it means is that they’re absorbing about 50 directives a day. Not bad. So make them count.
2. Allow natural consequences to unfold
It’s time for less talk and more action. Essentially, I want you to put some teeth on idle threats. If your kids won’t put their lunch bags away no matter how many times you tell them, allow them to face a stinky, yogurt-smeared lunch bag tomorrow. If the Lego doesn’t get picked up no matter how many times you tell them, pack the Lego into a box and put it in the garage for a while.
3. Model active listening
Children learn most from observing and, let’s face it, many of us aren’t good listeners either. Oh, sure, we hear something of what others are saying, but we’ve got one ear cocked for an incoming text, our eyes on the road and, quite possibly, our head in the clouds. Active listening involves more than the ears—it puts our entire body in service (and that includes our heart). Active listening requires us to hear more than mere words; it’s about hearing the (sometimes hidden) meaning behind the words and responding to it. How often can you say you do that?
Read more: How to talk so your partner will listen>
4. Love, love, love
Sometimes, kids don’t listen in order to send us a message, They tune us out to make a point: “You can’t make me, and I’m tired of you bossing me around.” It’s time to restore goodwill. You’ve got to put some deposits in the love bank. So, even though you feel like strangling them, hug them instead.
And, if you’ve tried all of that and they still won’t listen…
5. Whisper
As our frustration levels rise, so do our voices. Kids end up feeling yelled at—perpetually. Lowering your voice to a whisper is exactly the opposite of what they’re expecting, and that may result in a surprising new outcome for you. Besides (and this trick works with everyone, spouses and bosses included), when you speak sotto voce, people are forced to lean in. And don’t we want our kids closer?
This article is taken from TodaysParent
We think this news story will be of interest to our visitors. However, please note it is from another source and does not necessarily represent the views of Oxondads. If you would like to comment on this article please click on the "No Comments" below or alternatively E-Mail info@oxondads.co.uk
We think this news story will be of interest to our visitors. However, please note it is from another source and does not necessarily represent the views of Oxondads. If you would like to comment on this article please click on the "No Comments" below or alternatively E-Mail info@oxondads.co.uk
Ten Top Tips for Mother's Day
Jonathan Hamblin has compiled his top tips to enable you to make the mum in your life's dozing dream a reality. He doesn't mean for you to cram them all into one morning but pick a few to make mum's day a restful happy treat.
1) The gift of a lie-in and some rest
Here are some ideas if you’re struggling with what to let the kids give their mother this Mother's Day. Presents and flowers are lovely but sometimes the greatest gift for mums is a lie-in and a bit of time off 'Mummy duties'.
Jonathan Hamblin has compiled his top tips to enable you to make the mum in your life's dozing dream a reality. He doesn't mean for you to cram them all into one morning but pick a few to make mum's day a restful happy treat.
2) Take control!
As soon as you hear the kids are up and about, you need to be ready to move.The secret to giving your partner a good lie-in is not necessarily being quiet (though that helps) - it's making her feel like everything is under control and that she doesn't have to step in.
3) Dragon's den
Keeping the kids occupied is all about doing activities together and making a den is a great way to start. There are a million ways to make a den - from chucking a bedsheet over a couple of chairs to something more elaborate involving pegs and flaps, drawbridges and knobs. Let the kids decide and be the architect of their fun - you're just the bricklayer.
4) Board, not bored
Now you're all huddled in your bed-sheet castle, it's time to have some fun. Simple board games and puzzles can be a really absorbing way to spend some time. Your aim is to be supportive and positive throughout, not to rub it in their faces when you win (or sulk if you lose)!
5) Toy stories
Books are not just for bedtime y'know. Reading stories can be much more fun in the morning when the kids are alert.
Or you can grab a bunch of toys and make something up. Remember, it doesn't have to be a work of Shakespearean drama - just have some fun and be silly. Oh, and make sure you give all the characters different voices.
6) Chore leaders
Kids love doing grown-up things so give them the opportunity to get involved with some of your chores. Whether it's tidying up or letting them pair up socks and 'fold' t-shirts while you sort out the clean washing.
You don't need to be Mary Poppins to find ways to make helping fun. Don't get carried away and start stuffing them up chimneys though!
7) Walk hard
Bundling the kids out the house can be a great way to let mum have some time alone. Why not head out to the park or the woods?
It might be fun to take some pictures to show mum when you get home or pick up some leaves or flowers to use in a picture when you get home.
8) Supermarket sweep
The supermarket can be a good place to keep kids occupied - and it sorts out a meal too. Let them find food, count tims or if they are younger give them 'important' items to find and look after for you. You can use this trip out as an ideal chance to buy ingredients for a breakfast in bed for mum (or a nice easy lunch).
9) Making bacon
Mum is sure to love breakfast in bed. Make something like scrambled eggs on toast, or simply put croissants or a toasted bagel on a plate with a steaming mug of tea and a glass of cold juice. A flower in a vase on the tray will make her feel really special.
Get the kids involved in making up a breakfast tray as a special treat.
WARNING - DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS BEFORE 11am!
10) Tidying up!
Finally - whatever you've done, make sure you tidy up. Mum's not going to appreciate a lie-in if the house looks like a dad-bomb's hit it when she gets up. Put away everything you've used and clean the kids up before she gets up. That way she'll be genuinely pleased and relaxed all day.
And remember - lie-ins are for life and not just for Mother's Day. Try to give her a break more than once a year, eh lads?
This article was taken from NetMums
We think this news story will be of interest to our visitors. However, please note it is from another source and does not necessarily represent the views of Oxondads. If you would like to comment on this article please click on the "No Comments" below or alternatively E-Mail info@oxondads.co.uk
The New Children and Families Act 2014
The new Children and Families Act – given Royal Assent on 13 March 2014 – will mean changes to the law to give greater protection to vulnerable children, better support for children whose parents are separating, a new system to help children with Special Educational Needs and disabilities, and help for parents to balance work and family life.
The Act also ensures vital changes to the adoption system can be put into practice, meaning more children who need loving homes are placed faster. Reforms for children in care can be implemented including giving them the choice to stay with their foster families until their 21st birthday.
Children and Families Minister Edward Timpson said:
“The Children and Families Act is all about reforming services for vulnerable children - reflecting this government’s deep determination to give every child, whatever their start in life, an equal chance to make the best of themselves.
“Our adoption reforms will help the 6000 children who need loving homes to be adopted. Our reforms to Special Educational Needs will see a system introduced which is designed around the needs of children and will support them up to the age of 25.
“For children coming into the care system, the new 26 week time limit for care proceedings will reduce unnecessary delays. Virtual School Heads will champion their education; children in residential care will live in safer, better quality homes and care leavers will have the option to stay with their foster families until they turn 21.
“The Act will also make it easier for families to access more flexible childcare, and give young carers’ greater support.”
The Act includes a number of new measures to protect the welfare of children, including:
· Changes to the law to give children in care the choice to stay with their foster families until they turn 21;
· A new legal duty on schools to support children at school with medical conditions better;
· Making young carers’ and parent carers’ rights to support from councils much clearer;
· Reforms to children’s residential care to make sure homes are safe and secure, and to improve the quality of care vulnerable children receive;
· A requirement on all state-funded schools – including Academies – to provide free school lunches on request for all pupils in reception, year one and year two;
· Amendments to the law to protect children in cars from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
The Act will also help people to better balance their work and home life with the following measures:
- From April 2015, mothers, fathers and adopters can opt to share parental leave around their child’s birth or placement. This gives families more choice over taking leave in the first year – dads and mothers’ partners can take up to a year, or parents can take several months at the same time;
- From 1 October 2014, prospective fathers or a mother’s partner can take time off to attend up to two antenatal appointments;
- Adoption leave and pay will reflect entitlements available to birth parents from April 2015 – no qualifying period for leave; enhanced pay to 90% of salary for the first 6 weeks; and time off to attend introductory appointments. Intended parents in surrogacy and “foster to adopt” arrangements will also qualify for adoption leave and pay;
- Extending the right to request flexible working to all employees from 30 June 2014;
- Replacing the current statutory procedure, through which employers consider flexible working requests, with a duty on employers to consider requests in a ‘reasonable’ manner.
Employment Relations Minister Jenny Willott said:
“Current workplace arrangements have not kept up with the times. The Children and Families Act will bring the way new parents balance their working and home lives into the 21st century.
"By enabling any employee to request to work flexibly, we want to remove any cultural assumption that flexible working is only for women, or just for parents and carers. We want these reforms to bring about a culture change in Britain's workplaces, allowing everyone to better balance work with their personal life in ways that work for them.
“The new system is good for business as it will create a more motivated and flexible, talented workforce. Employers will be able to attract and retain women – from the boardroom to the shop floor - and prevent them from dropping out of the world of work once they start a family. Flexible working will also help widen the pool of talent in the labour market, helping to drive growth.”
The Act will also create a more efficient and effective family justice system which improves the experiences of children and families who go to court.
Family Justice and Civil Liberties Minister Simon Hughes said:
“We are making sure the welfare of children is at the heart of the family justice system.
“We want to keep families away from the negative effects that going to court can have and to use alternative solutions when they are suitable. This is why we have changed the law to make sure that separating couples always consider mediation as an alternative to a courtroom battle.
“When cases go to court we want them to happen in the least damaging way. So we are improving processes, reducing excessive delays, and we have also changed the law so that care cases must be completed within 26 weeks.”
The Family Justice measures in the Act include:
- Making it a requirement to attend a family mediation, information and assessment meeting to find out about and consider mediation before applying for certain types of court order unless an exemption applies;
- Sending a clear signal to separated parents that courts will take account of the principle that both should continue to be involved in their children’s lives where that is safe and consistent with the child’s welfare;
- Ensuring that expert evidence in family proceedings concerning children is permitted only when necessary to resolve the case justly, taking account of factors including the impact on the welfare of the child;
- Introducing a maximum 26 week time limit for completing care and supervision proceedings, with the possibility of extending the time limit in a particular case for up to eight weeks at a time, should that be necessary to resolve the proceedings justly.
Over the coming months the measures made law today will come into force. The government is currently consulting on a series of regulation changes on adoption and new guidance for social workers on how to navigate the new system, and we will issue the final SEN Code of Practice shortly ahead of reforms coming into force in September. By the summer the majority of councils will have Virtual Schools Heads in post - helping improve educational outcomes for children in care.
The majority of the family justice provisions in the Children and Families Act will come into force on 22 April, at the same time as the launch of the new single Family Court.
Further roll out of today’s legal changes will be announced in due course.
Notes
The Children and Families Act 2014 takes forward the Coalition Government’s commitment to improve services for vulnerable children and support strong families. It reinforces wider reforms to ensure that all children and young people can succeed, no matter what their background.
The Act will reform the systems for adoption, looked after children, family justice and special educational needs. It will introduce changes to support the welfare of children. It will encourage growth in the childcare sector, introduce a new system ofshared parental leave and ensure children in England have a strong advocate for their rights.
The provisions in the Act span the responsibilities of the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department of Health.
An overview of the Children and Families Act is available here
Watch ‘Children and Families Bill: A look back’ here
The full Act is available on http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
Annexe – The Children and Families Act 2014
· Adoption: we want more children being adopted by loving families with less delay. Part 1 of the Act contains provisions to give effect to proposals set out in An Action Plan for Adoption: Tackling Delay and Further Action on Adoption: Finding More Loving Homes.
· Family Justice: Part 2 improves the operation of the family justice system, as recommended by the independent Family Justice Review. It will lead to a swifter system, with children’s best interests are at the heart of decision making.
· Special Educational Needs: We will reform the system for children and young people with SEN, including those who are disabled, giving children, young people and their parents greater control and choice up to 25. Part 3 of the Act contains provisions following the Green Paper Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability published by the Department for Education on 18 March 2011 and the follow up Progress and Next Steps published 15 May 2012.
· Childcare reform: Part 4 of the Act contains various provisions relating to childcare, giving childminders more flexibility to work in agencies if they want to and making it easier for schools to offer more flexibility.
· Welfare of Children: Part 5 of the Act contains various provisions relating to the welfare of children, including giving children in care the choice to stay with their foster families until they turn 21, making young carers’ and parent carers’ rights to support from councils much clearer, reforming children’s residential care to make sure homes are safe and secure and a requirement on all state-funded schools – including Academies – to provide free school lunches on request for all pupils in reception, year one and year two
· Children’s Commissioner: Part 6 reinforces the role of the Children’s Commissioner with a remit to ‘protect and promote children’s rights’.
· Statutory rights to leave and pay: Part 7 of the Act delivers the legislative commitments made in the Government Response to the Modern Workplacesconsultation (November 2012). The provisions create a new employment right to shared parental leave and statutory shared parental pay for eligible working parents. All employed women continue to be eligible for maternity leave and statutory maternity pay or allowance in the same way as previously. If they choose to bring their leave and pay or allowance to an early end, eligible working parents can share the balance of the remaining leave and pay as shared parental leave and pay up to a total of 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay. Eligible adopters can use the new system for shared parental leave and pay. Adoption leave and pay include prospective parents in the “Fostering for Adoption” system, and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement who are eligible, and intend to apply for, a parental order.
· Time off work: Ante-natal care etc: Part 8 creates a new right for employees and qualifying agency workers to take unpaid time off work to attend up to two ante-natal appointments with a pregnant woman. The right is available to the pregnant woman’s husband, civil partner or partner (including same sex partners), the father or parent of the pregnant woman’s child, and intended parents in a surrogacy situation who meet specified conditions. Provision is made for paid and unpaid time off work for adopters to attend meetings in advance of a child being placed with them for adoption.
· Right to request flexible working: Part 9 provides for the expansion of the right to request flexible working from employees who are parents or carers to all employees, and the removal of the statutory process that employers must currently follow when considering requests for flexible working. The Government’s policy reforms for the right to request flexible working are set out in its paper Modern Workplaces – Government Response on Flexible Working (published in November 2012). This Part sets out the statutory provisions to support those reforms.
The Government's economic policy objective is to achieve 'strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.' It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
· To create the most competitive tax system in the G20
· To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
· To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
· To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
Work is underway across Government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the Government wants the economy to travel.
This article is taken from DadzClub
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