Stress levels among teachers in England's classrooms are soaring, a BBC investigation has found. Unions are blaming workload for large numbers of staff taking time off work or leaving the profession. Insurance industry data suggest stress is the biggest cause of staff absence save for maternity. The Department for Education insists it is working ‘to tackle the issue of unnecessary workload which we know can lead to stress’. The BBC has also seen a survey of 3,500 members of the NASUWT teaching union which shows more than two-thirds of respondents considered quitting the profession in the past year. Workload was the top concern, with 89% citing this as a problem, followed by pay (45%), inspection (44%), curriculum reform (42%) and pupil behaviour (40%). In addition: NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates described the results as ‘frightening’. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has expressed her concerns over excessive working hours.
Faith leaders across the UK have signed a statement calling on nuclear weapons states to join with other states to implement new approaches to eliminate nuclear arsenals. Ahead of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference meeting from 27 April to 22 May 2015, senior representatives from eight faiths in the UK, including Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist, have given their backing to a statement calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The faith leaders argue that nuclear arsenals ‘violate the principle of dignity for every human being that is common to each of our faith traditions’. The statement urges nuclear weapons states to ‘develop a robust plan of action that will lead us to a nuclear weapon free world’ but in recent years, the UK government has strongly resisted proposals for negotiation of a new treaty that would lead to the elimination of such weapons.
A report by the Health Select Committee found that acute and community care for people reaching the end of their lives varies around the UK, and has called for long-term sustainable funding for hospices. Report author Dr Sarah Wollaston MP said: ‘There are unacceptable levels of variation in the care that people receive and this needs to be addressed so that high quality end of life care is available to everyone regardless of their age, medical condition or where they live. We must make sure that specialist palliative care expertise is accessible within hospitals and community settings as well as within our hospices.’ Hospice director Dr Ros Taylor, who is also national director of Hospice UK, explained that some patients still get lost within the NHS system and people die waiting to leave hospital. End of life care should be made available free of charge, MPs have concluded
Research published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that the most deprived areas of England have seen the largest cuts in funding since 2010. There is still scope for many councils to save money by redesigning the way services are run but the current pace of the cuts risks making this more difficult. Many local authorities will struggle to invest in and remodel services to lower costs in the medium term, while still meeting residents’ needs and balancing their budgets. Analysis of local government expenditure data reveals that the poorest English authorities have seen reductions of £182 more per head than the most affluent, this breaks the historic link between the amount a local authority spends per head and local deprivation levels. In 2010/11, the most deprived councils had an extra 45 per cent of expenditure per head to cope with additional needs. By 2014/15, this had been reduced to 17 per cent.
Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh made a passionate defence of faith schools in the face of what he said was an attack on their basic ethos by the ‘forces of intolerance’. Leigh proposed the motion that ‘this House believes that Ofsted should respect the ability of faith schools to teach their core beliefs in the context of respect and toleration for others’. He was particularly critical of Ofsted because of what he said was its inappropriate treatment of Christian schools such as Grindon Hall and the Durham Free School, which is fighting closure after an adverse report. He said: ‘Ofsted appears to be guilty of trying to enforce a kind of state-imposed orthodoxy on certain moral and religious questions.’ He said: ‘The Minister should remind Ofsted that the law prioritises the teaching of the Christian faith in RE and school assemblies because we are a Christian nation with a Christian heritage.’
The Mothers' Union is calling on its thousands of members up and down the country to pray that the families of election candidates ‘will not be affected by criticism or physical threats’. The organisation, which has 140 years experience of working with families, says in its pre-election advice that people should also ‘thank God’ that anyone is actually willing to stand for public office. ‘Pray for energy and stamina for the candidates as they campaign,’ the union adds. It urges people to take seriously their involvement in the coming general election, and even consider organising hustings. Other things they should pray for include ‘positive not negative campaigning’ and ‘true and honest manifestos’ as well as mutual respect between the parties. The union is also calling for an increase in paternity leave and for new policies to prevent violence against women and girls. It urges prayers for the winners as well as the losers.
Immigration stories horrify parliamentary group
14 Mar 2015
A new parliamentary inquiry has called for a 28-day cap on the time that anyone can be held in immigration detention in the UK, to end the indefinite detention of migrants and asylum-seekers. The All Party Inquiry into the Use of Immigration Detention in the UK said that current Home Office guidance - which said that detention should be used sparingly - was ineffective, and was not being followed. The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather, who chaired the inquiry, said: ‘We believe the problems that beset our immigration occur quite simply because we detain far too many people unnecessarily, and for far too long. The current system is expensive, ineffective, and unjust.’ A new parliamentary inquiry has called for a 28-day cap on the time that anyone can be held in immigration detention in the UK, to end the indefinite holding of migrants and asylum-seekers.
Massive rise in church volunteering
14 Mar 2015
Volunteering through UK churches has increased by nearly 17% over the past two years, according to the third biennial National Church and Social Action Survey. Figures indicate that 1.1 to 1.4 million volunteers participated in church-based social action in the UK in 2014, benefiting 'millions' of people through various initiatives. The survey’s revealed that UK churches have increased the average number of volunteer hours on social action to 114.8m per annum. This is an increase of 16.8% compared with two years earlier and 59.4% compared with four years ago. The research found UK churches have also increased the average number of staff hours on social action by 18.8% in two years. In addition to volunteering, church members also finance the vast majority of initiatives, according to the study, with UK churches increasing their spending on social action to approximately £393m in 2014