Doctor claims he was dismissed for emailing prayer to colleagues; Gove backs 50pc limit on faith school admissions; 1 in 4 children live with ‘addict’ parents; The five-year-old girl forced into marriage; Legislation to protect children from porn; First the ‘pasty tax’ now church bells toll challenge for George Osborne; UK ‘must end’ overseas aid target
Doctor claims he was dismissed for emailing prayer to colleagues
Telegraph – A Christian doctor who claims he was sacked for emailing a prayer to colleagues in a bid to raise their spirits is suing a hospital for unfair dismissal.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9171982/Doctor-claims-he-was-dismissed-for-emailing-prayer-to-colleagues.html
Gove backs 50pc limit on faith school admissions
Telegraph – Ministers were embroiled in a fresh row over faith schools today after suggesting they should reserve just half of places for children from religious families.
Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said a decision to cap the number of believers admitted to a new Roman Catholic comprehensive in London “seems very sensible”.
In a leaked letter, he welcomed moves to turn 50 per cent of places at the school over to children of other faiths and none.
The comments were immediately seized upon by campaigners who said it sent out a “powerful message that such religious discrimination is increasingly viewed as an outmoded and unwelcome practice on its way out”.
But it is likely to anger religious groups who have opposed previous suggestions of limiting the number of believers admitted to faith schools.
Last year, the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Reverend John Pritchard, was heavily criticised after calling on head teachers to reserve no more than one-in-10 places at Church of England schools to practicing Anglicans.
Greg Pope, deputy director of the Catholic Education Service, told the BBC: “We would not seek to open a new voluntary-aided school unless there was demand to fill it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9176923/Gove-backs-50pc-limit-on-faith-school-admissions.html
Year-long study reveals that 1 in 4 children live with ‘addict’ parents
Mailonline – A quarter of children have parents with drug or alcohol problems, a year-long study shows.
The 3.6million youngsters were found to be seven times more likely to develop similar problems themselves.
Researchers found that 2.6million children live with a ‘hazardous’ drinker and 705,000 with a ‘dependent’ drinker. A further 350,000 live with a parent with a drug problem.
The study by the drugs charity Addaction said: ‘Parental substance misuse is an important issue which needs tackling for the health of the parent as well as for the health and future of their children.’
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2012/03/31/year-long-study-reveals-that-1-in-4-children-live-with-addict-parents/
Society’s shame: The five-year-old girl forced into marriage
Independent – A girl aged five and an 87-year-old woman were among almost 1,500 forced marriage victims helped by the Forced Marriage Unit in 2011, new figures reveal.
The figures emerge as the Government considers whether to criminalise forced marriage or focus its efforts on protecting potential victims through the civil courts. A three-month consultation, which ends today, has exposed huge divisions among professionals, community workers, campaigners and victims about the risks and benefits of criminalising a practice that many believe to be an abuse of human rights.
Supporters of criminalisation point to Denmark where three members of the same family have been arrested for forcing a young female relative to marry – the first since forced marriage became a crime in 2008.
But critics say that criminalising an already hidden problem will drive it further underground, increase the risk of retaliation and result in more British victims being abandoned overseas. Pointing to the fact that there has never been a prosecution since Female Genital mutilation was outlawed in 2003, they want scarce resources targeted at education, training and prevention.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/societys-shame-the-fiveyearold-girl-forced-into-marriage-7604140.html
Early childhood education by parents determines a student’s potential later on
Independent – PRE-SCHOOLERS whose parents provide a stimulating home life are still reaping the benefits at the age of 14, research suggests. A study by the Institute of Education (IoE) has found that the quality of learning during a child’s early years has a strong impact on achievement in secondary school. It reveals that children whose parents focused on their learning at a young age are generally one national curriculum level ahead in English and science, and 1.3 levels ahead in maths.
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/latest-news/early-childhood-education-by-parents-determines-a-students-potential-later-on-3065108.html
Legislation to protect children from porn
CARE – Baroness Howe of Idlicote introduced her ‘Online Safety’ Private Members Bill to the House of Lordson March 28. It requires those companies that supply internet services – whether at home or on a mobile device – to filter pornographic content, unless an adult user specifically asks for access to such content. This mechanism is called an ‘opt-in’ system. The measure is intended to help parents bring up their children in an internet-enabled age without them being able to access, whether purposefully or by accident, such content. It would also allow those adults who do not want to access pornography, to surf the net more safely.
Because the internet is notoriously hard to police, due in part to issues related to where legislative boundaries begin and end, CARE believes that, at the very least, Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) and Mobile Phone Operators (MPOs) should provide a service which empowers their adult customers to make decisions about what sort of content they don’t want on their home broadband or their children’s mobile phones. It should be offered to all adults, whether or not they are new customers or existing customers and should be promoted as a responsible mechanism to help children grow to maturity while enjoying the good that the internet can bring.
http://www.care.org.uk/news/online-environment-to-be-made-safer-under-new-proposals-in-private-members-bill
Christian Today –
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/legislation.to.protect.children.from.porn/29571.htm
First the ‘pasty tax’ now church bells toll challenge for George Osborne
Telegraph – Church bells could be under threat from tax rules contained in the fine print of last week’s budget, it has emerged.
Already facing a growing backlash over the so-called “pasty tax”, the Chancellor is now on a collision course with the Church of England over plans to impose VAT on restoration work on historic buildings.
The change could cost the Church of England, which has 12,500 listed buildings up to £20 million a year.
Last week the Bishop of London wrote to the Chancellor warning that the move could be a major “blow” to alterations designed to open up churches more widely to their local communities.
But the Church also fears that the tax would apply to projects to restore or replace historic bells and build pipe organs, both of which are highly specialised crafts.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/9176873/First-the-pasty-tax-now-church-bells-toll-challenge-for-George-Osborne.html
UK ‘must end’ overseas aid target
BBC – The government should end its commitment to spend 0.7% of national income in overseas aid by next year, a parliamentary committee says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17539816