PARENTING Parenting is now a major buzzword, a near-academic discipline, and teaching parents to parent is a central plank in the government’s ‘Respect’ agenda. Official literature promises us “a wide ranging programme to address poor parenting, and additional investment to fund parenting programmes across the country. There’s to be a National Academy for Parenting Practitioners – due to be operational from this autumn.
Libby Purves discusses the plans with Beverley Hughes, Minister for Children, Young People and Families; and speaks to Lynette Robinson, Parenting lead practitioner at Wakefield District Youth Offending Team.
PE & SCHOOL SPORT The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ campaign Volunteer for School Sport is being launched alongside the Radio 4 series Roger Black’s Olympic Challenge.
Roger Black has said that PE & School sport is not just about Olympic medals; it’s about health. Almost a third of secondary school children are overweight.
The Prime Minister has said that the arrival of the Olympics will get millions more young people in Britain and across the world, participating in sport and improving their lives. Meanwhile – with 80% of schools doing only two hours of formal exercise a week - the ambition is to increase that to four hours by 2010.
Reporter, Sara Parker, visits Canterbury High School in Kent, which was designated a specialist sports college four years ago. The school is a gold standard example, many of the children there have three hours of sports a week and from Keystage 4 they can opt to have up to 6 or 7 hours a week.
To discuss the issues surrounding PE and School Sport, Libby Purves is joined by Professor Craig Williams, Associate Director of the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre at the University of Exeter; and Steve Grainger, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust – a registered charity that plays a central role in supporting the Government in the delivery of the National PE, School Sport and Club Links strategy.
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