Children's manifesto
Senior Labour figures have launched a range of policies to reinforce children's welfare.
Education secretary Ruth Kelly said a third term Labour government would support moves to make school meals healthier, ensure children were not "bombarded" with adverts for unhealthy food, and further punish shopkeepers who sell cigarettes to children.
Party Response: Conservative
Tim Collins shadow education said: "Labour’s four education secretaries have had eight years to make a difference on truancy, child protection and school meals.
"But instead of cutting truancy by one third - as they promised – the number of children skipping school is up by a third. Thousands of children are now robbed for their mobile phone, iPod or lunch money - over a third (35 per cent) of young people aged 10 to 15 have been the victim of crime in the last 12 months. And in answer to the growing problem of malnutrition and junk school food, the government offers another committee.
"Conservatives believe parents and teachers have had enough of this all talk agenda and want action. The election cannot come soon enough."
Stakeholder Response: 4Children
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said: "Parents and children face huge and often complex challenges in this country every day. Any party manifesto which places the spotlight firmly on services and opportunities for children is to be applauded. Children Forward Not Back’s particular strength is in viewing the needs of children as a whole, acknowledging that support for health, education and childcare are all crucial.
"4Children especially welcomes the manifesto for its focus on parental support with plans to provide children’s centres and extended schools in every area. These will be crucial to support families to escape the poverty trap and bring up their children to the best of their potential. We all need to see it as our responsibility to enable parents to do the best job in raising a family.
"One area where we hope the government will make firmer commitments is around extending positive opportunities for young people, with places to go and things to do in the community so that support continues throughout their childhood."
Stakeholder Response: Institute of Education
Dr Pamela Storey, research officer in the
"Over the past eight years numerous reports have highlighted both the need for more commitment to improving the nutrition of the nation’s children and examples of LEAs and schools that have worked hard to produce good quality meals.
"Whilst training for kitchen staff is welcome, ensuring more financial support for meals would be even more appreciated. With delegated funding, schools that offered pupils quality meals often had to be prepared to subsidise them from the general budget and involve school governors in extra unpaid work developing meal provision. School governors and parents will welcome ‘Nanny’s’ new interest in school meals, but only if ‘Nanny’ is prepared to get out her chequebook."
Stakeholder Response: Professional Association of Teachers
Jean Gemmell,PAT general secretary, said: "We welcome this wide-ranging initiative which recognises that children and families should be at the heart of this country's social and education policies.
"We are particularly pleased by news of the proposed School Food Trust and government plans to invest in school meals and kitchens and to curb the advertising of junk food on TV.
"A good diet and good health go hand in hand. Schools can play an important part in encouraging pupils to eat more healthily, but the government must increase the amount schools can spend on school meals if these reforms are to work.
"PAT has already backed Jamie Oliver's 'Feed Me Better' campaign, joining the 50,000 plus signatories supporting the campaign to improve the standard of school meals.
"We hope that the government will indeed do more to get parents involved in school meals and to encourage healthy eating at home. Children eat a lot more meals at home and elsewhere than they do at school.
"Exercise plays a key role too. Over the past 20 years, the proportion of children travelling to school by car has almost doubled and the proportion of pupils walking or cycling has decreased significantly, so it is not surprising that levels of childhood obesity have increased.
"Obviously many children live too far from school to walk or cycle, especially in rural areas, but this is an issue which should be addressed. Statistics show that in urban areas at
"The amount of time dedicated to school sports and PE has also declined in recent years because of the pressures of the curriculum and the government's standards and testing agenda."
"PAT would also welcome greater protection for children using the Internet."
PAT has welcomed the introduction by the The Teaching Awards of a category for Healthy Schools: http://www.teachingawards.com/background/Categories.asp
Stakeholder Response: Secondary Heads Association
Dr
"I agree with the government that more must be done to improve students’ diet. However, to have any real impact, schools must be given extra funding and resources. With the many other pressures on budgets, schools do not have money available to transfer to school meals. Schools shouldn’t be forced to choose between new computers or fresh vegetables.
"Schools are not the whole solution to improving children’s diet. The government must also put pressure on the food industry to advertise more responsibly and on parents to improve their children’s diet at home.
"Unfortunately, in too many instances, parents are part of the problem rather than the solution. Until children have a better diet at home, schools will have no more than a marginal affect on improving nutrition."
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