I was unable to attend the statement in the Lords yesterday. Initially the decision was to recall the commons but not the Lords. This changed on Wednesday but I was on a Scottish island visiting a neolithic tomb – no sign of riots there! My very brief thoughts on the rioting so far are that…
I’m a Crossbench Peer and have tabled a debate in the House of Lords on good early parenting and its role in preparing a child for success at school this Thursday 3 February. It’s the first time the House of Lords and the BBC have run a pilot online initiative, asking for your views ahead…
I’m a great believer in the Sure Start programme. It offers real support to parents and gives children a better start in life. Sure Start is a government flagship programme to support families on low incomes through children’s centres in (as of October 2009) 3,151 locations. The target is at least 3,500 children’s centres by…
Are we making parents unnecessarily fearful about the safety of their children? I think we are. Mega headlines about horrific child murders or brutality obviously worry people and if it does happen to your child it must be the most awful experience imaginable. But what is the real risk? A fascinating study by Professor Pritchard…
