Kellogg's Give A Child A Breakfast Campaign

Have you noticed something recently, on the telly, or your morning cereal?  Kellogg's have launched their Give a Child a Breakfast campaign.   And they want you to get involved.

Shockingly, an average of 2.4 children in every class go to school each day without having had breakfast, which is over 10% of the average class size.  That can impact on their concentration, their energy levels, and ultimately, their educational achievements.  I know if I haven't had breakfast, I'm sleepy, dopey, and grumpy until I get something to eat (never mind the other 4 dwarves!).  Imagine how that feels when you don't have the option of hitting the coffee machine & office biscuit tin.  That's why breakfast clubs exist.  They give children the chance to have a healthy, balanced breakfast, in the company of their school friends, free of charge.  Arriving to school hungry means a child loses the equivalent of an hour's learning a day!

For some families, that means that they can afford maybe to keep the heating on a little later in the evening, some fresh veg to go with their tea, the cash to join in with a school trip.  For others, it means that their child is safe and supervised if parents start work early in the morning.  That may be all the difference between a parent being able to work, and not.  It improves the chances of the whole family.  Did you ever think a box of cornflakes could do so much?

Squeaky's school has a breakfast club, and when she's in the morning group at the nursery class, I hope that she'll be joining her friends and other children at the club.  I honestly believe that it'll help her learn about a balanced diet, and provide her with a great start to the day.

If you follow this link you can donate breakfasts free of charge, just by using the social sharing buttons, or watching the video.  Kellogg's are aiming to donate 2 million breakfasts to breakfast clubs across the UK through this campaign, as part of a wider aim to donate 15 million breakfasts in the UK by the end of 2016 through breakfast clubs and donations to foodbanks (a cause I've blogged about before), and an incredible half a billion breakfasts worldwide to people in need.

Watch out soon for another opportunity to help out your local breakfast club.

Disclosure: I have not received payment for this post. I will be hosting a further post in relation to this topic shortly.

Information in this post has been obtained from "A Lost Education: The reality of hunger in the classroom" published by Kellogg's, with answers arising from a YouGov survey of 762 teachers in June and July 2013.

Life Story - Barnardo's

You might have seen an advert earlier this year, called Life Story, for Barnardo's.  It followed the story of Michael, a vulnerable child, whose life was turned around by Barnardo's workers, showing that a life doesn't have to end up the way it began.  The advert showed some of the range of services that Barnardo's offers to children, young people, and families, and won a 2 Gold and 2 Silver Awards at the British Arrows advertising awards.

Well, Michael was a fictional character, but there are plenty of "real Michaels" out there.  For one week from today (26/11/12), Barnardo's will be turning their facebook and twitter channels over to Jenny, Kirsten, Laura and Caitlin, four young women who are real Barnardo's service users, who want to tell their Life Stories about how Barnardo's helped turn their lives around.  They're stories to inspire, to amaze, and to make you think.

I haven't read their stories yet, any more than you have right now, but I'll be watching with interest all week.  Barnardo's does a whole lot more than people think.  They haven't run children's homes since the 1970's, despite popular belief, but they do work with vulnerable children & young people across the UK, in all sorts of settings.  From young carers to asylum seekers, fostering & education to substance misuse & family support, and campaigns to raise awareness of issues such as child sexual exploitation and youth criminal justice, there's a lot more to Barnardo's than you'd think.  And with over 800 projects across the UK, there's probably one close to you as well.  (Not to mention over 500 charity shops!)

The aim is to spread these four Barnardo's Real Life Stories as far across the web as possible.  You can follow the stories on facebook & twitter, with the hashtag #lifestory.  Can a tweet change a life? I think so, so join me in following the #lifestory all week.

This is not a sponsored post. I have not been told what to write. I am sharing this post because it is a charity I believe in.  Links are provided for convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Fingerspellathon with the National Deaf Children's Society

We moved house last month, if you follow me on twitter you'll have seen me go through the emotional highs & lows (lots of lows) of the whole house move saga.  Well, moving tends to mean clearing out a lot of old stuff.  Amongst the "stuff" I found was a set of OHP sheets and handouts I created as part of a "train the trainer" course I did in my last job, quite a few years ago.  We had to deliver a 20 minute training session on any subject, to our fellow course students, and I chose to teach fingerspelling.

I've blogged a little bit before about my deafness, and that was a motivating factor in choosing to teach the other students to spell their names using fingerspelling.  At the time, I'd had a few lessons in BSL, but dropped out because of other commitments, but I'd learned fingerspelling long before that, in fact long before I even lost my own hearing.  I remember finding the fingerspelling alphabet in an activity pack from a hotel, airline or something, when I was about 7, and being fascinated by this whole way of being able to communicate without speaking.  I tried to interest my friends in learning so we could talk in class without being told off, but they weren't quite as keen as me to learn something that involved spelling. Ho hum.

Since I delivered that course, I went on to complete 3 years of BSL, and I've got an Intermediate Level 2 certificate, which I'm quite proud of.  I'm probably a little bit rusty today, but given time & practise, who knows?  I wanted to go back and learn properly when I had the time & money to commit to it, as I don't know what the future holds for my hearing, but the thought of not being able to communicate scares me silly.

The National Deaf Children's Society want to encourage primary school children to, well, be a bit geeky like me.  They're organising their fifth annual Fingerspellathon in October 2012, aimed at teaching primary school children the BSL Fingerspelling alphabet, and breaking down the communication barriers between d/Deaf* and hearing children, while raising money to help NDCS's work.

As well as promoting understanding between d/Deaf and hearing children, the Fingerspellathon is a great way to encourage children's spelling abilities, in an interactive way.  It just strikes a chord with some children, as it did me.  d/Deafness can be incredibly isolating, NCDS recently published a study showing that 77% of hearing children didn't know how to communicate with their d/Deaf classmates.  Learning just one way to communicate can break down those barriers, open up friendships, and make school a slightly less lonely place.

Teachers who sign up to take part in the Fingerspellathon receive a resource pack containing posters, activities, lesson plans & worksheets.  And a warm fuzzy feeling.  Some of the ideas that have been used in the past include:

• Fingerspelling children's names during morning registration
• Eye Spy: fingerspelling clues & guesses
• Simon Says: fingerspelling instructions
• Level Challenges: Learning new words throughout the month, with increasing difficulty.

My students only had 20 minutes to learn, but they all managed to spell their names by the end of the session.  Children are far better at learning than adults, think how much they could learn in a month, and what a difference that could make to their d/Deaf classmate.

Teachers wanting to sign up can do so online at http://www.ndcs.org.uk/help_us/schools_fundraising/fingerspellathon/

Free fingerspelling chart courtesy of www.british-sign.co.uk

Oh, and if you're wondering, Justin Fletcher & Mr Tumble use Makaton, a variation of BSL designed for use  by those with other impairments to their communication abilities, such as cognitive impairments, Downs Syndrome, autism & multi-sensory impairments.  It shares a number of signs, but is not the same language.  You might recognise some of the above letters though.


*d/Deaf is a way of describing both those who were born without hearing, and those who lost hearing later in life. Deaf indicates a hearing loss from birth, and deaf indicates a later hearing loss.  These are terms that are recognised and accepted throughout the d/Deaf community, as there are different experiences and issues faced by each group.  As NDCS aims to help both groups, I am using this term to include all.

Debt - a Four Letter Word

When I was approached recently regarding linking up with the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, the UK's leading debt charity, I knew it was something I wanted to write about.  I don't talk about my work on here, but I'm a debt & benefit advisor for a major children's charity.  Yes, you've heard of us, even if you've been living in a cave.  I don't talk about work because, apart from the fact that I try to keep home & work separate, it's important to maintain my clients' confidentiality.

But when CCCS got in touch, and wanted bloggers to help raise awareness of the work they do, and how debt affects families, I thought hard about how I could do this.  I tried to write a "day in the life" type post, but it's really hard to fictionalise, and I wouldn't want people to think they could identify someone.  But instead, I want to tell you a little about the kind of people I work with.

• I work mostly with families with children, because I work for a children's charity.  I also work with young people who have experienced homelessness, or are care leavers. Often they've got themselves into debt because they haven't got the family support networks to fall back on, but want the same choices as everyone else.
• Many of my clients are in relationships. Some are lone parents, but by no means the majority.
• Many of my clients are working.  Often for long hours and low pay, with little stability, which can be what puts them at risk of falling behind with payments.

We're in a hotbed for what MP Stella Creasy called "legal loan sharks", and many of my clients have debts to coin-op tv lenders, high-street hire-purchase companies, doorstep lenders, and payday loan companies, all with extortionate rates of interest.  They can quickly fall into a spiral of debt, as the repayments fast outstrip the loan amount, with no clear repayment date in sight.  (I am not linking to examples of any of the above types of lenders. They do not deserve the benefit of my traffic, and in no way do I encourage you to use them.)

Where clients have just a few debts and they ask me to do so, I negotiate with them and the creditors directly, to establish a repayment plan.  But in many cases, the debts are too large, across too many creditors, and in those cases, I refer clients to a Debt Management agency.  There's a lot of companies that offer this service, you'll see them advertise on tv.  But those companies make a profit out of the debt, which isn't really the point.  There are charities, of which CCCS is one, who offer this service for free.  Depending on the clients' preference, we choose which charity they want to be referred to, and I act as a liaison, introducing clients to charities, making sure everything is going OK, and that the clients are happy with the situation, are keeping within their agreed budget, and making the payments that are then distributed to their creditors.

Really, I wanted to write this post to make my readers aware that there is help available.  And that help can come in at any stage, but the earlier you start, the easier it is to get debts back under control.  Debt can happen to anyone, and no-one will judge you for asking for help.  If anything in this post rings true, please don't hesitate.

CCCS have put together a video, featuring one of their clients, explaining a bit more about what they do, and how they can help.  Take a look.



This is not a sponsored post. I have not been told what to write. While I was approached to write a post, I agreed to do so as this is a subject I feel strongly about. I have not received any compensation or incentive for posting it. Links are provided for your convenience only.

Help Dora Help with Nick Jr

It's that time of year again, Dora the Explorer needs your help to bring exploring to life in pre-schools and nurseries across the UK!  I've already seen the adverts on Nick Jr, and it looks such an exciting idea, I've got to have a word in the ear of Squeaky's nursery.  Do you know a nursery or pre-school that would like to get involved too?

Any nursery or pre-school in the UK can apply to take part, with the chance to win an amazing £20,000!  Each application receives a free pack with 6 activity session plans, following the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, and fitting with this year's themes of cooking, sports day, fairy tales, animals, seaside and music, fitting in with Dora's adventures.  Nurseries can then work through the sessions, and have until the 22nd of July to put together their application for the main award.  This can be spent on anything to help children explore and learn within their nursery - a series of trips out, a wildlife garden, play equipment, as far as your (or their) imaginations can take you.

The judging panel includes Nick Jr's Wake Up World presenter Helena Dowling, along with representatives from The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, who are supporting the campaign, Dora Magazine, and Chad Valley, who are providing a range of equipment to the five projects chosen as finalists.  These five projects will also receive a visit from Dora herself!  One of the finalists last year was only about 10 miles from my house, but Squeaky & I sadly missed out on the chance to go & meet Dora.  I'm not sure who would have been the bigger fangirl, probably me to tell the truth!  The five finalists will have their entries shown on Nick Jr, for viewers to vote for their favourites later in the year.

If you know a nursery or pre-school that would like to get involved, or you'd like to encourage your own child's nursery to take part, you can get more information, and apply online, via the Nick Jr website http://www.nickjr.co.uk/shows/dora/helpdorahelp/.  

I wonder if I could persuade our bilingual English/Welsh Meithrin to go Trilingual? Hmmmm, even if I say por favor nicely?  (2 years of lessons & a GCSE in Spanish, and that's about as good as I can get!)

Monkey Music - The Day Is Here

Monkey Music, the baby & pre-school music classes, have been busy!  And you can join them even if, like us, you're too far away to attend a group.

To celebrate what should be an amazing summer of sport - Wimbledon, London 2012, Euro 2012, as well as the World Snooker Championships (yes, I do have to keep mentioning it for another few weeks!) - Monkey Music have recorded a charity single to raise money for Nordoff Robbins, which is available to buy online from today, as well as forming part of their classes.

Nordoff Robbins are an amazing charity, specialising in music therapy, and deliver sessions to children and adults with a range of physical and mental challenges, such as autism, dementia, learning difficulties, stroke, depression, brain injury, mental health problems, and terminal illness.

The song has been recorded by a group of children aged 7-9 years (two of whom are called Melody - how appropriate is that?), and tells the story of an exciting running race, just perfect for our sporty summer, and just the kind of song Squeaky enjoys at the moment.

Angie Coates, Founder of Monkey Music, said;

“Both Monkey Music and Nordoff Robbins offer children fresh opportunities and life changing experiences through music. We believe that by working together we can raise awareness of the benefits of music for everyone. It’s lovely to use 2012 and the summer of sport to engage the very youngest of children in the excitement of sport and the joy of music.”

Jo Carter, Director of Fundraising & Communications Nordoff Robbins said:

“We are delighted to be working with Monkey Music, to be sharing our mutual belief in the power of music and to help raise funds to continue transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults across the UK. As a charity we rely entirely on voluntary donations, so the Monkey Music song released this summer is a great way to raise funds and awareness.”

For more information about the song, check out Monkey Music's News Page.

You can buy your copy online from Monkey Music's webshop for £2.99.  The single is on sale now, and all proceeds go to Nordoff Robbins.

Marine Conservation Society Big Beach Clean-Up

What a busy, busy old day. (I'm writing this sat on a train, to publish when I find a wi-fi signal that lets me get into blogger & publish it). Squeaky, her Gran, and I spent the morning at Sand Bay, near Weston-super-Mare, taking part in the Marine Conservation Society'sBig Beach Clean Up.

We joined about 100 people, including some folk from the local radio station, and the Mayor, in cleaning up litter from the beach, while a group carried out a survey of the amount and types of litter found in a 100metre area as part of a scientific study. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised at how clean the beach was, more seaweed and driftwood than litter. This made the litter collecting quite difficult, there was a clear tide-line of natural debris, but once you moved the seaweed slightly, there was quite a bit of litter, mostly small pieces broken up by the sea.

No valuable treasures turned up on my patch, nor any particularly exciting any unusual items, but a lot of what I initially took for lollysticks, but looking closer, were actually cotton buds that had been flushed down the toilet, That's the reality of them, the cotton wool breaks down, but the plastic remains and washes up on our beaches. This is why I don't flush anything that's not meant for the toilet. I also found quite a few bottle tops, both plastic pop bottles and metal ones from wine bottles (the brand name was a giveaway), about 20 foot of fishing line, some bits of fabric, broken up polystyrene cups and sweet wrappers. We were cautioned to look out for dog poo (which we weren't obliged to pick up), but thankfully I didn't find any.

We were lucky enough to have a chat with the local mayor, who told us about the work that has already been done to restore the beach to its current state, removing invading grasses which threatened the beach, and placing restrictions on tourism development. He's a local born & bred, and his passion for the area and commitment to the local community was clear. Squeaky was very taken with his chains of office, I think she's making plans for a future career in local politics!

As well as the clean-up event, School of Fish were running a children's CSI WSM activity with items to look for & identify in 4 “crime scene” areas set out on the beach, and a couple of local schools came down for the children to learn more about the coastal environment, how they can make a difference, and why it's so important to protect our coastline. I did hope Squeaky would be able to join in with this, but she was a bit too young, and feeling clingy. The weather stayed dry, but the wind was cold, so she stayed close by and helped us by collecting shells. I now have about 2 dozen tiny shells in my coat pocket, and will have completely forgotten about them by the next time I put my hands in the pockets.

To be honest, Squeaky had a lot more fun before we got onto the beach.  The car park where we all met & were briefed was, shall we say, slightly waterlogged.  Add a Peppa Pig obsessed 2 year old in wellies, and what do you get?  Anyone who said "Jumping up and down in muddy puddles" gets a prize.  The prize being muddy jeans.

Unfortunately, due to a bit of bad scheduling between myself and HM Courts & Tribunals Service, we couldn't stick around for the whole event, and made our departures before the nice folk from Marks & Spencers (who were sponsoring the event) got their barbecue started, so we missed out on some great sounding burgers, which they were laying on for all the volunteers after the actual clean up.

We had a really good & interesting morning, I only wish we'd been able to stay a bit longer, though the wind was so cold that Squeaky had had enough when we had to leave anyway. A sunnier day, and some better diary management, and we'd've had a great day out.

It was a strange feeling.  I remember going to Sand Bay as a child, but haven't been back in probably 20 years, so seeing places I remember from childhood through an adult's eyes is a weird sensation.  It's like when you visit your old school and are amazed how small it all is.  It's important to me though, that Squeaky gets to see the places I grew up, even though I know that it's not going to be the same for her and she'll develop her own memories.

The Marine ConservationSociety's Big Beach Clean-Up is taking place on around 150 beaches across the UK over this weekend, with different activities going on in each (I can't promise you all an M&S BBQ, sorry)

I've entered this post to Coombe Mill's Country Kids linky  

How Clean Is Your... Beach?

No, I haven't caught a dose of the Kim & Aggies, don't panic. I'm still me.

With the financial climate not looking like it's going to get a great deal healthier at the moment, more & more people are likely to be staying within the UK for their holidays this year.  It's like the 1970's all over again.  We're actually really lucky in the UK, blessed with around 11,000 miles of coastline, according to Ordnance Survey (the map people).  OK, not all of that is accessible, and even that which is, it's not all the white sandy beaches of our dreams, but they're ours, and need our help.  I was lucky enough to grow up on the coast, and spent many happy hours on the beaches nearby, swimming, climbing, collecting shells, and generally being a kid.  I'd like Squeaky to have the same privilege.

My parents still live by the seaside (I moved, boooooo), but in a fortnight's time, Squeaky & I will be off to one of my childhood haunts, Sand Bay, near Weston-super-Mare, to join in with the Marine Conservation Society and their Big Beach Clean Up event, sponsored by Marks & Spencer.  There are Beach Clean Ups going on across the UK over the weekend of 11-13 May 2012, so there's bound to be one near you.  We were already planning to visit my parents, so we're going to their local event, rather than one closer to home (in case you were worried that my carbon footprint would be bigger than the impact of my beach cleaning).

It's been a good while since I've been to Sand Bay, I'm interested to see how time has treated the area, as well as seeing what interesting items we might find on the beach.  Apparently, during a similar clean up event, Marine Conservation Society volunteers found all sorts of things, including a plastic skeleton & a portable toilet!  Not to mention the cans, bottles, and plastic bags you'd expect.

The Marine Conservation Society are making quite a day of it, with children's activities and a barbecue for volunteers at our location, but each location varies.  Take a look at the map and see if there's a beach clean up going on near you (nowhere in the UK is more than 70 miles from the coast, so you stand a chance), and join Squeaky & I in cleaning up our beaches.  If the weather's nice, we'll get an added dose of vitamin D, if not, I'll just introduce her to the delights of a British seaside holiday!

Oh, and I've had confirmation that equipment will be provided on the day, just bring suitably outdoor clothing - wellies/boots, coats & clothes you don't mind getting a bit mucky!

If you can't make it, or you can, but your children can't, why not visit School Of Fish, the children's website for the event? There's games, downloads, "codcasts" (I love that!), and all sorts of info so you and your family can get involved even if you can't make it to the beach.  See you there!

Smoke-free for Squeaky & Me

I've taken the pledge.  No.  I'm not signing off my love of Mr Pinot & Mr Grigio, that's for another day.  I've taken the pledge to protect Squeaky, and any other children that travel with me, by making sure my car is a smoke-free environment.  I don't smoke, my family don't smoke, but I have friends who do, and I ask that they respect my wishes and the health of my family by not smoking when we're in the car.

Shocking results from a recent British Lung Foundation survey show that over half of children surveyed had been in a car with someone smoking¹, which is surprising when only 21% of the UK adult population smoke². The research also found that 24% of children have been too embarrassed to ask someone to stop smoking in the car, and 9% too frightened to ask³.

Neither of my parents smoked, but I remember being about 6, and saying to my parents "When I grow up, I'm going to smoke, just like Grandad."  I'm shocked just thinking about that now, and while I'm not certain, I have a feeling that sentence was fairly instrumental in my Grandad's decision to give up smoking shortly afterwards.

Since the smoking ban came into force in the UK, it's been illegal to smoke in a work's vehicle, or a personal vehicle while carrying another person for work, in order to protect the health of other adults.  Surely our children's health, and wishes, are equally as important?  That's why I've signed the pledge at Lung UK and why I'm asking you to do so too.

Your children can join the campaign as well, there's a letter template on Lung UK's young campaigners page which they can send to your local MP asking them to join in supporting the pledge.

I don't often get all political on this blog, you're more likely to find me talking about nailpolish, charity shops & kids tv, but this is an issue that's really important to me, and I'd love it if you'd join me.

1. http://www.lunguk.org/campaigns/childrens-charter 
2. http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/smoking/statistics-on-smoking-england-2011-%5Bns%5D  
3. http://www.lunguk.org/campaigns/childrens-charter/young-campaigners-have-your-say  

All Babies Count

New Year, new start.  Every baby deserves a chance in life, and you can help to make that a reality by supporting the NSPCC's All Babies Count campaign.  The NSPCC work to prevent child abuse and neglect, and to support children and families at risk.


Sudocrem, the  http://www.sudocrem.co.uk/page/en/nappy-rash-en/4" title="nappy rash">nappy rash experts are supporting the NSPCC's campaign, and have pledged to donate £25,000 as part of their 80 years celebrations.  You can do your part by liking Sudocrem's facebook page http://www.facebook.com/Sudocrem - for each liker, they will donate 50p to the campaign.  They're already on their way to their target, but your like, and those of your friends and family can make a real difference.  It's not even costing you a penny.  What's a click take?  Your click could make all the difference to a baby's life.

It's heartbreaking to think of babies being abused or neglected, let's do our bit to try and make 2012 a better year for those at risk.  One click, one share, let's make a difference.

A little reminder of what the NSPCC are trying to achieve and why.