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End the use of isolation units as a sanction in educationVulnerable children with complex needs are being placed in small and restrictive isolation booths for long periods of time - sometimes the whole day and even full school weeks. This is often for trivial offences such as uniform issues. Parents are sometimes not told or informed euphemistically that their children are in the ‘ inclusion unit’ This is damaging the mental health of young people and the potential long term effects need to be properly researched. We need to have a debate in parliament about this dubious practice.278 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Jessica Timmis
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Keep Herefordshire libraries safe. No to outsourcingWe deeply regret that, despite strong arguments against it, you and your Cabinet colleagues decided on 28th June to press ahead with a tendering exercise to outsource the County’s library service. Given recent national experience, we are convinced that this is misguided. There is no material evidence that outsourcing libraries in Herefordshire would be cheaper or deliver a better service – we know of no contractor with a successful track record of running a library service in a rural setting comparable to Herefordshire. The current management and staff of Herefordshire libraries are doing a fine job under strained circumstances.1,534 of 2,000 SignaturesCreated by Tom Harvey
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Access to free period products for all women in ScotlandThe 1st Musselburgh Senior Section want to end period poverty. We’re calling for free period products for everyone who needs them. We’ve been working on Girlguiding Scotland’s Citizen Girl challenge badge in our unit – which is all about exploring why our voices matter and how we can speak out on the issues that matter to us. This got us thinking about some of the barriers girls our age face and we decided to campaign to end period poverty after seeing how condoms are provided for free at our school but how girls currently have to pay for period supplies like tampons and pads. It’s not fair that girls have to pay for something they have no choice in! We’re really encouraged to see free period products will now be available in Scottish schools but think more needs to be done to end period poverty once and for all. That’s why we’re calling for free products in other public places like Community Centres, Sport Centres and Libraries and for a system to make sure these products are easily accessible and freely available to anyone who needs them. We also want to tackle the stigma around periods and period poverty – so girls and women know this isn’t something they have to hide or be ashamed of. Women worldwide, are incapacitated by an inevitable biological process, not one of their own making. Many women cannot afford this basic necessity, which impacts so heavily on their lives. We would like to ask that Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, and Shona Robinson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, to help end the stigma around periods and make sure period products are freely and easily accessible to anyone who needs them, not just while we’re at school but throughout our lives.178 of 200 SignaturesCreated by 1st Musselburgh Senior Section
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Move school summer holiday 1 week forward to start mid-July: Friday 17 July - Tuesday 1 Sept in 2020It's July, it's 7 pm and it's hot, incredibly hot. The sun is shining bright and high still at this time of day. Sadly, July means school, homework and 7:30 pm bedtimes. Even more sadly, the heat and long daylight of July is not a feature of late August/September nights when the kids are still on holiday (why?!!). They simply miss the best part of the British summer because they have to be at school so late into it! Why should we shorten the summer term to finish by 15th July? 1) The warm, long, light evenings make school-night bedtimes a nightmare for kids and parents. 8pm easily becomes 10pm. 2) Children get less sleep at this time of year and it greatly affects their learning and behaviour 3) The academic learning objectives and targets for the year will have been largely reached and it’s just a waiting game for everyone before the end of term. Late August / September are much more productive in terms of learning, NOT hot July! 4) The hot, sunny weather makes it difficult for the children to learn at school / do homework, making the teacher's job more difficult. 5) At the moment, the children cannot enjoy the long July summer nights… because they are school nights. That means heading home early from parks, pools and beaches and missing out on a lot of physical exercise. Late August and September do not offer the same outdoor opportunities in the evenings as people go indoors when evenings are dark and cold. Also, you are unlikely to make a long drive for a swim in the sea in September, but July would be ideal (but it's a school night, so we can't) 6) In our fight against the dramatic rise in childhood obesity, we need to enable everyone to be physcially active by giving them opportunties do so (long daylight, evenings in the park) 6) For those who do not go abroad, mid-July is really the best time for camping to make the most of the weather and the light evenings. 7) It is likely to reduce school absences as the motivation dwindles in hot weather at the end of the academic year. To enable the legally required 190 school days per academic year, we propose starting the autumn term a little bit earlier when the lesser daylight and lower temperatures at night are more conducive to studying. Although this will make the autumn term slightly longer, this time of year is more productive for both children and parents. It’s a small price to pay to be on holiday at a more suitable time in mid-July. Alternatively, the Easter break could be shortened or all training days could be shifted to the end of the summer term. This year, some schools are having their training days at the end of term, thereby letting the children go on holiday on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 July. It would also be very considerate to family holiday planning if all schools could finish the summer term on a Friday. Being able to finish the summer term by th 15th of July or earlier would make a huge, huge difference to the many families. Please let school children enjoy the best time of the British summer.402 of 500 SignaturesCreated by Tina Bollerslev James
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Lets Make Public Health a Priority in Newham40 percent of premature deaths and the burden of disease is attributed to "behaviours" such as diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol. In Newham, with a high population of South Asian backgrounds, the focus on public health is even more important as diabetes is up to 6 times more likely in this population. The obesity and diabetes epidemic particularly affect Newham and we urgently need lifestyle changes programmes at community level, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. In 2013, the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt and the Chief Executive of Public Health England wrote to all the Chief Executives of Local Authorities to ask them to put people's health and wellbeing at the heart of everything they do. However, this has not taken place in Newham and we request it to change. Our local community with Food Academy and with funding from Diabetes UK, British Heart Foundation and Tesco has been able to deliver 400 fun holiday lunch clubs in the last 2 years, involving 700 mothers and more than 1400 children. We have supported a public health prevention agenda with hands-on cooking and fun physical activities targeting obesity and diabetes in adults and children. However, this type of public health work now requires promotion and funding from the local government and the local NHS for the benefit of our families.404 of 500 SignaturesCreated by Sandeep Channa
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Save Victoria Road SchoolThe brave, hard working fishermen of Torry gifted money to the City Council to build a school for their children to ensure they would receive an education.259 of 300 SignaturesCreated by David Fryer
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Please help my son be in same school as his brother and my daughter keep her nursery placeIt's impossible to be in two places at same time both schools opposite directions never going to work!437 of 500 SignaturesCreated by Donna Machon
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Introduce Payment Plans for Young Person's Travel Passes in KentSince 2013, the price of a Young Person's Travel Pass in Kent has risen by 480%. A family with two children at secondary school are looking at spending £580 per year and many more families are struggling to meet this cost. We call on Kent County Council to introduce more flexible payment opportunities to help students and parents budget around these price rises. We are also asking Kent County Council to review the cost of travel for those students in full-time education between the ages of 16 and 19. The cost of travel can put many off furthering their studies and we call on KCC to review all travel pass costs for those in education in the county.215 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Charlotte Cornell
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Give adopted children an equal chance at schoolAdoption UK's members have contacted us in their thousands to tell us about their children's struggles at school. Almost 70% of adoptive parents say their child's progress is hindered by their poor emotional state at school. Nearly 80% of adopted children say they are routinely confused and worried at school, and two thirds of secondary aged children say they are being bullied at school because they are adopted. And it's not just adopted children who face these challenges - we know that this is the daily reality for up to half the children in every classroom who have had traumatic experiences - from living in care to family breakdown to bereavement. This is bad news for children, for their families, for teachers and for school results. If we re-think the way we’re educating adopted children, we can vastly improve their life chances. And even better: the changes we make can benefit every child in school. We want an equal chance for adopted children at school - and for all children who have suffered traumatic experiences in their early years. Add your name to support the call for an #equal chance. The louder we are, the more likely we will be heard.7,595 of 8,000 SignaturesCreated by Adoption UK
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To make sure Somerset produce EHCPs that comply with the lawChildren with Special Needs in Somerset need to know that Somerset complying with the law when they write their EHCPs, so that they know that they will go to the schools that are right for them178 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Simon Bishop
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SAVE EAGLESTONE PRESCHOOLIt is important to keep this preschool open for the children, lots of children have been to this preschool and lots more are wanting to come. I myself have had 2 children go to the preschool and one currently in there now, I have a baby who I will be sending to this setting as well when he is old enough. My children that have been to the setting have had amazing experiences and absolutely loved being there with the staff and the other children. I have spoken to other parents of past and present children that have attended or do attend the setting and have heard all good things about it, the children love being there, enjoy their learning and have great relationships with the staff. I feel if this setting is closed there will be lots of people that are going to be affected. Children not old enough to attend a school based nursery can attend the preschool setting from the age of 2 and stay with the setting until they are old enough to attend reception year at school, I found with my children having that time at preschool helped them get ready and prepare for school life and they have excelled because of this, my daughter had speech issues but due to attending Eaglestone preschool started talking better and better, her amazing keyworker did a huge amount of work with her to get her where she needed to be ready for reception year at school. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND SAVE EAGLESTONE PRESCHOOL207 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Kelly Coates
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End Period Poverty in Blackburn and DarwenMore families in the UK have been reaching out to food banks for sanitary products, as they just can’t afford the ‘luxury’ of buying them. Sanitary towels and tampons aren’t cheap, but they are an essential part of a women’s life. This has resulted in women and girls using toilet paper, old socks, pieces of cloth, newspaper, and other unhygienic items and this could cause serious threats to their health. Without the sufficient and proper protection, which every girl and women deserves, girls have been routinely missing school. Shocking statistics from planUK.org said ‘49 per cent of girls have missed an entire day of school because of their period, of which 59 per cent have made up a lie or an alternate excuse’. A girl’s, and every young persons, education is such a vital and important part of their lives, they should not have to compromise this because of their periods. Blackburn is a deprived area, and looking at the demographics, and the statistics from plan UK, Blackburn could be at a higher risk than the statistic already shown.221 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Rianna Rumball
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