Covid restrictions have left young children lacking social skills

  • An Ofsted report has found babies and toddlers struggling to crawl and communicate, low in confidence and with speech and language difficulties, as a result of pandemic learning loss.
  • Inspectors found children at nurseries are struggling to make friends and use the toilet independently.
  • Delays in development mean more children are unlikely to be ready for school by the age of four.
  • You can read the full story on the Telegraph’s website.

UK to ban gambling ads featuring sports and reality TV stars

  • Gambling and betting companies will be banned from using advertising with sports personalities, reality TV or social media stars.
  • Under current rules, an advert is only banned if it appeals to an under 18-year-old more than an adult.
  • Under new rules, the ad will be banned if it is likely to ‘be of strong appeal to young people, by reflecting or being associated with youth culture’.
  • You can read the full story on The Guardian’s website.

UK Treasury to regulate some cryptocurrencies

  • The Treasury will regulate certain cryptocurrencies as part of a wider plan to make the UK a hub for digital payment companies.
  • Stablecoins will become recognised forms of payment to give people confidence in using digital currencies.
  • So called “Stablecoins” have stable value like traditional currencies.
  • Cryptocurrencies can pose a risk to children and young people, firstly due to its volatile nature and value to cash and secondly because of the risk of scamming.
  • You can read the full story on the BBC’s website.

Suicide prevention is everyone’s concern

  • Samaritans NI, alongside Start360, will host 8 political parties and leading mental health professionals in an event which aims to ensure suicide prevention is kept high in the agenda for the next Assembly mandate.
  • Samaritans state that suicide is a major public health concern for NI and should be seen as preventable, rather than inevitable, following the loss of 209 people to suicide in 2019.
  • They are asking politicians to drive three key priorities: prevention, early intervention, and reduction.
  • You can read the full story on the Samaritans website.