Wednesday 13 October 2004

Few mainstream schools cope well with special needs,
says Ofsted

Children who are merely struggling in class are being written
off by teachers as special needs pupils, Ofsted said on 12
October.
In a highly critical report, the inspection service said that only
a minority of mainstream schools provided well for pupils with
special educational needs (SEN).

Source: The Times, 13 October 2004, page 6

No charge for care of elderly relatives

Relatives are expected to take care of elderly members of their
family out of their own finances, even though ethnic minority
groups can qualify for public funds, a High Court Judge ruled on
October 12.
Mr Justice Keith, sitting in London, rejected a claim by a disabled
woman that the council should reimburse the money she pays to her
daughter for looking after her.

He rejected accusations by lawyers for Evelyn Stephenson, 78,
that the council’s “family member rule” enforced
by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council unlawfully and unfairly
discriminated in favour of ethnic minorities.

Source: The Times, 13 October 2004, page 9

Confined and hated: 72 hours with the youngest social
outcast in Britain

Can an antisocial behaviour order help a desperate mother and
her illiterate out-of-control son?

Source: The Times, 13 October 2004, page 11

Travellers using council cite terrorised the
locals.

So they were paid £600,000 to go away. Twelve families who
held licences to live on an official site, in Wood Green, north
London, were given the money by Haringey Council.

Source: The Daily Mail, 13 October 2004, page 4

How dare the doctors play God and let my son
die?

Following the Charlotte Wyatt ruling, a second mother is
preparing to fight doctors through the High Court in an effort to
keep her desperately ill baby alive.
Ruth Winston-Jones’s nine-month-old son was diagnosed with a
rare genetic disorder when he was born and given just days to
live.

Source: The Daily Mail, 13 October 2004, page 31

£4.25m payout for botched delivery

Parents have been awarded £4.25m by the High Court in
Birmingham because of a blunder at a hospital that left their
little girl with Cerebral Palsy.
Amanda and Gary Bond’s second child Millie was starved of
oxygen at birth at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton.

Source:- The Independent, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 18

Muslim sacked over row over beard

A Muslim customer service assistant was sacked by Virgin Trains
after refusing to shave off his beard, an employment tribunal
heard.
Mohsin Mohmed claims racial and religious discrimination and
harassment against Virgin West Coast.

Source: The Independent, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 18

Morality teacher at mosque is jailed for beating
boy

Mohammed Abdullah was jailed for four months for beating one of
his 11-year-old pupils with a stick. Abdullah flew into a rage when
he found a picture of a caveman in the boy’s exercise book on
which somebody had pencilled in a penis. He was found guilty of
common assault by Peterborough Magistrates Court.

Source: The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 9

Economic benefits of better care

Longer parental leave and better childcare facilities could
increase economic growth adding up to £24bn to national
output, reveals a PricewaterhouseCoopers report.
The report, commissioned by the Daycare Trust and the Social Market
Foundation, is the first attempt at a cost-benefit analysis of
adopting a childcare regime similar to that in Sweden and
Denmark.

Source: The Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004, page
12

Hidden pleasures

Disabled people want intimate relationships like everyone else.
So why does society appear so anxious to ignore, deny or stereotype
their sexuality?

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 2

Keeping faith with trust

Zenna Atkins is a rare independent spirit in the NHS. She tells
John Carvel a few home truths about battling bureaucracy,
mediocrity and management ‘muppets’.

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 6

Changing the game

A Barnardo’s scheme aims to catch youngsters at risk of
prostitution, exploitation and abuse.

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 7

Wringing the changes

A grassroots rebellion is threatening to tear the
Alzheimer’s Society apart. Annie Kelly talks to volunteers
who fear a ‘top down’ shake up will divorce the charity
from its founding principles.

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 10

The equaliser

Whitehall’s newly appointed adviser on diversity aims to
make the civil service more representative of the communities it
serves.

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 14

Charity Awards 2004

Human face of tragedy

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 16

What else can I do?

The suggestion that housing associations, may merge has forced
Jeff, a tenancy management officer, to rethink his position.

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 104

Can we find room for our most needy?

Is there a clear path to meeting housing needs? Centrepoint asks
John Prescott what’s in store for homeless young people.

Source: Society Guardian, Moving On, Wednesday 13
October 2004, page 2

Falling through the cracks

Homelessness is the only option for some of Britain’s most
vulnerable young people, research from York University tells us.
But as Rebecca Coombes discovers, nobody really knows how many are
in need.

Source: Society Guardian, Moving On, Wednesday 13
October 2004, page 4

Relief by the wayside

Despite decades of helping homeless young people off the
streets, Centrepoint’s work has only just begun.

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 6

It’s all in a day’s work

London’s young homeless community is being given the
chance of a lifetime thanks to the dedication of Centrepoint and
its staff. We look behind the scenes.

Source: Society Guardian, Wednesday 13 October 2004,
page 8

All cards on the round table…

What does it mean to be independent? The question lies at the
heart of the Treasury’s review of financial support for young
people. Leading experts and youth workers come together to discuss
strategies to help those in crisis.

Source: Society Guardian, Moving On, Wednesday 13
October 2004, page 10

Scotland Newspapers

Free care for our old: will our new policy turn into a
costly mistake?

Free personal care for the elderly has been hailed by the
Executive as one of the serious success stories of devolution but
the controversy surrounding its long-term cost is growing like
Jack’s beanstalk. More than 48,000 Scots now receive free
personal care. This year has seen a 74 per cent rise in those
receiving care in their own homes.

Source: Scotsman, Wednesday 13 October 2004

Men who had sex with girl, 12, jailed

Three men who had sex with a missing 12-year-old schoolgirl as
police searched for her were today beginning jail terms totaling
more than 10 years. A court heard the girl disappeared after her
mother dropped her off at an evening class. The girl, who cannot be
identified for legal reasons, was found days later, distressed and
dazed, by an off-duty policeman.

Source: Scotsman, Wednesday 13 October 2004

Welsh Newspapers

Our baby faces death sentence’

Health chiefs in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in
Liverpool are considering whether to apply to the High Court for a
ruling on whether they must continue to treat a seriously ill
baby.
Nine-month-old Luke Winston-Jones from Holyhead has the genetic
disorder Edwards syndrome and was only expected to live for
days.
His parents say that a death sentence has been left hanging over
their son.

Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 13 October, page
10

‘This carer forgot that her job was too
care’

A carer has been accused of mistreating two mentally ill men she
was meant to be looking after.
Mary Violet Doreen Williams, 53, denied two counts of ill-treating
patients under the Mental Health Act at Mold Crown Court.
It is alleged that Williams, of Lluest Las, Llangurig in Powys
bullied and verbally abused the men at a private home in the
village of Llawr y Glyn near Newton between January 1, 2002 and
September 2003.

Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 13 October, page
12

Travellers leave airport site

A group of travellers have left a former airfield site in
Pembrokeshire where they camped for three months.
They left the former St David’s airfield site before court
action could be enforced by the Pembrokeshire National Park
Authority.

Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 13 October, page
12

Disabled children are almost four times more likely to be abused
than able bodied children. Jenny Rees talks to Tanni Grey-Thompson
about her own experiences and why she feels every child should have
someone to talk to

Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 13 October, page
20