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Prevent window blind cord danger
Blocking the Sparklebox website
FREE packs help to prevent window blind cord danger
Trading Standards is committed to raising awareness of the dangers of children becoming fatally entangled in window blind cords following four tragic strangulations of toddlers in the UK.
The team has put together information packs containing cord tidy devices for parents and carers to fit and have 2000 to give away free. For free packs please ring Consumer Direct on 0845 404 0506. If you want to help raise awareness in your place of work or elsewhere, you can download a poster from http://www3.hants.gov.uk/tradingstandards-windowblindposter.pdf.
NSPCC calls on nurseries in Hampshire to join its Pedal Push
The NSPCC is calling on nurseries in Hampshire to join them in their annual Pedal Push.
Pedal Push is a sponsored ride around a fun course, where children get on their bikes and trikes to make a real difference for other children. Now in its fourteenth year, children have enjoyed getting active and having fun whilst raising funds for other children in this popular event.
It is easy to organise and can be held at any time of the year. Register today to receive your special Pedal Push pack, including lots of activities and top tips to download.
The money raised from Pedal Push will go to the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal. Through the Child’s Voice Appeal, the charity aims to transform its helplines – ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline, for adults concerned about a child – so that no child’s cry goes unheard.
Joanna Winsborough, community fundraising manager, said: “Pedal Push has been a hugely successful event for many years. It is fantastic to see underfives having a great time, getting active and joining together to help the NSPCC raise funds to support children when they need us. If you work at a nursery, or your child attends one, we hope they can join us this year in making a very real difference to the lives of vulnerable children.”
To find out more and register now visit www.nspcc.org.uk/pedalpush, call 0800 10 1996 or email pedalpush@nspcc.org.uk.
For further information contact Dawn Bailey at the NSPCC press office on 01293 651841 or email dawn.bailey@nspcc.org.uk.
Dawn Bailey
NSPCC Communications Officer
Get more out of libraries in Hampshire with Bookstart+
Bookstart is a national programme that encourages parents and carers to enjoy books with children from as early an age as possible by giving them free books.
There are three Bookstart packs. In Hampshire the first pack, Bookstart Baby, is gifted by Health Visitors at a home visit, health check or clinic before the child is a year old whilst the third, My Bookstart Treasure Chest, is given out by Infant and Primary schools as part of the induction process for admission to Year R.
The second pack, Bookstart+, is a brightly coloured satchel containing two carefully selected books, a drawing book with crayons and a number frieze to aid early number recognition. It also contains leaflets to support parents/ carers in sharing books with their young children and can be collected from any Hampshire library. We recognise that, despite the range of free events offered for pre-school children, not all parents are library users and so may not be aware of Bookstart+. To help ensure that children don’t miss out on their free books, we have a range of leaflets, flyers and posters (such as the one included with this edition of Horizons) which are available to any partner organisation who would like to help promote Bookstart to their families. The Bookstart Co-ordinator, Library Early Years Co-ordinators and Children’s Librarians attend a variety of family-oriented activities and organise community gifting events to promote book sharing in families and distribute Bookstart+ packs to children who might otherwise miss out.
As well as the three main packs, Bookstart can offer dual language books and support materials in more than 25 languages, special packs for children with hearing and visual impairment and guides to finding inclusive books and books to suit different needs.
More information about Bookstart in Hampshire can be found on our web pages www3.hants.gov.uk/library/bookstart.htm. Alternatively, please contact Kim Howard, Bookstart Co-ordinator for Hampshire County Council, on 07793 758692 or email bookstart@hants.gov.uk.
Kim Howard
Bookstart Co-ordinator
Blocking the Sparklebox website
Following recent e-safety concerns, Hampshire has decided to temporarily block Sparklebox. co.uk and Sparklebox2.co.uk. We are currently investigating these concerns and following up the issue with various agencies including BECTa and will keep you informed. We do apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.
Following queries concerning the website sparklebox.co.uk over the past couple of months, CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, Internet Safety) have investigated the website and its management. It should be noted that Sparklebox’s primary aim is to provide resources for schools (in particular teachers) but that there are opportunities for pictures of young people to be sent in and be published online. Until recently there was a live blog. Sparklebox state that all staff have been through relevant checks however CEOP can support the recent SWGfL statement, an extract of which is below: “It is understood that a person who is on the record as an owner and director of Sparklebox Teacher Resources Limited (which appears to claim ownership of the SparkleBox web site and children’s learning materials) is a registered sex offender who has recently admitted a second offence, is on remand in prison and is awaiting sentence in January.”
CEOP are also aware that a number of RBC’s and Local Authorities have blocked sparklebox.co.uk until they are satisfied that suitable safeguarding arrangements are in place. CEOP supports this stance and would recommend that any schools that choose to overrule their central filtering lists give due consideration to a website specific school risk analysis and risk management plan.
Failure to block this site may place schools and or Hampshire County Council in a difficult position regarding duty of care. Should staff wish to continue using the website there is nothing to stop its use from home.
For a alternative option please consider the following site http://primaryschoolteaching.co.uk/.
For more information please contact Glyn Paton, Broadband Services for Schools, on 01962 846363 or email glyn.paton@hants.gov.uk.