September 3rd, 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11167721
A new Mini will hit the road later this month – one that has moved miles away from the marque’s roots and seems to defy much of the logic of the tiny original. At a driving event for the media this week, the new Mini Countryman was met with much head-shaking by puzzled, albeit curious, motoring journalists. The car was described as strange, competent, expensive, risky, even dull – there was no consensus view. But one thing is certain – the Countryman is different, whether compared with rivals or with Minis made in the past.
Posted in Technology | No Comments »
September 3rd, 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-11170711
Children as young as 10 face being fined £80 for dropping litter in Oxford after the proposal was approved. The city council will extend its fixed penalty notices to young people aged 10 to 17 as part of its “zero-tolerance approach” to littering. The council had only previously been able to give warnings to under-18s. Enforcement officers will work with police and the Youth Offending Service to deal with offenders. Anyone caught will be first issued with a warning and their details passed to Thames Valley Police.
Posted in Money | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11159793
One in nine primary schools is operating with at least 60% of its places unfilled, figures obtained by the BBC suggest. A leading authority on local government predicts widespread closures as councils try to cope with expected unprecedented cuts in public spending. Prof Richard Kerley, of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, said closures were “inescapable”. Typically education accounts for about 40% of a council’s entire budget.
Tags: Scotland
Posted in Education | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11164078
Scientists say they are closer to knowing why older women are more likely to produce abnormal eggs. The Newcastle University team saw a fall in levels of proteins called cohesins, essential for chromosomes to divide properly for fertilisation. Writing in Current Biology, they said understanding this process could help develop ways to prevent cohesin loss. Abnormal eggs are linked to infertility, miscarriage and conditions including Down’s Syndrome.
Posted in Conception | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/01/william-hague-wife-miscarriage
Between one in four and one in five of all pregnancies ends in miscarriage. That means that somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000 conceptions every year end that way. They involve pain, frustration, distress and fear for the women involved and their partners. A woman has about a one in five chance of having one miscarriage, a one in 25 chance of having a second, and roughly a one in 125 chance of losing a baby that way for a third time, according to Dr Justin Clark, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. William Hague revealed last night that his wife, Ffion, had had “multiple miscarriages”, including one this summer. Most miscarriages happen in the first 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. A woman’s risk of having one goes down to about one in 100 during the second trimester of her pregnancy.
Posted in Pregnancy | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11154244
School lunches can tempt fussy eaters to try new foods, a survey for the School Food Trust has suggested. Researchers found that four out of five children in England who ate school lunches had tried food at school that they had not tried at home. Half of parents questioned said their children had asked for foods they had eaten at school to be cooked at home. The survey, of about 1,000 parents, found the most popular vegetables were carrots, sweetcorn and peas. Aubergine, chickpeas and spinach were among the least popular. Of the parents questioned, 628 had children who ate school lunches.
Posted in Health | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7975373/Children-let-down-by-failing-schools-says-CBI.html
Thousands of teenagers are still being “let down” by failing schools despite record investment in education under Labour, according to business leaders. In a damning final judgment on the previous government’s education record, employers said a 120 per cent rise in the amount of money spent on schools had “not delivered the returns” needed to drive the British economy. The Confederation of British Industry warned that serious concerns still surrounded school leavers’ lack of literacy and numeracy skills combined with the relatively low number of teenagers studying vital science and maths subjects to a high standard. Too many teenagers also entered the workplace lacking basic employability skills, such as the ability to analyse evidence, communicate with colleagues and solve problems, it claimed.
Posted in Education | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-11159327
Robots which have memories and can interact with children are being developed by the University of Plymouth as part of a European project. The Now robots are being created as pets to interact and befriend children with long-term illnesses. The University is one of eight institutions across Europe working on the 8.3m Euro project over four years. The San Raffaele Hospital in Milan requested the development of the robots to comfort sick children.
Posted in Technology | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1308143/A-hug-sugar-free-way-ease-babys-pain.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Giving newborn babies sugar does not help ease the pain of injections – and a cuddle from mum would perhaps do the job better, it is claimed. Very young children are often given sugary water before they have a jab or give a blood sample. But the sweet drink has no effect on the amount of pain they feel, a study has found. The British researchers believe the sugar merely serves as a distraction, and a hug would work just as well.
Posted in Health | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/sep/02/reward-schools-poor-children
Schools would be expected to give priority to poorer children when admitting new pupils and judged on the extent to which they narrow the gap between disadvantaged youngsters and their better-off classmates under plans submitted to government by an influential charity. In proposals which are being studied closely by education secretary Michael Gove, the Sutton Trust has advised that only schools which agree to give priority to disadvantaged children should get the full benefit of the pupil premium, a new financial incentive to reward schools for accepting poorer pupils. This funding should be set at £3,000 a child if it is to have an impact, the Sutton Trust’s paper suggests.
Posted in Education | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010
Our friends over at Precious Memories have let us know about a new discount card they are involved with. Launching today, it’s called BabyGrowers, and is for new parents and for those hoping to be. It costs £14.99, but they claim you can make this money back within the first month, and also note that £1 of the purchase price goes straight to a charity of your choosing. Check it out at www.babygrowers.co.uk
They also have a blog here http://babygrowers.posterous.com which they will use to keep you updated on their latest discount partners and any other news.
Don’t forget to save £5 or more at Precious Memories using our exclusive discount code NIPP2010.
Tags: Precious Memories
Posted in Bargains | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11151559
There will be 32 schools opening this term as new-style academies in England. The number was labelled a “failure” by teachers’ unions – while the Education Secretary Michael Gove said he was “quite encouraged”. These were outstanding schools which have taken up the government’s offer to opt out of local authority control and become independent academies. Among the 32 schools, seven are primary schools, the first academies for this age group. There are a further 110 schools which will convert to academies later – including about 40 primary schools. This group of schools aiming for academy status also includes a number of grammar schools.
Posted in Education | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/aug/31/new-kind-of-sex-party
‘We’re having a sex party. We’d be delighted if you could come.” Well, that got your attention, didn’t it? But don’t be surprised if you receive just such an invitation soon, as yet another Born-in-the-USA trend looks set to sweep our impressionable nation. According to press reports in the US, sex parties are all the rage. No, not the sort we thought we’d left behind in the 1970s – if they ever truly existed – involving fruitbowls full of car keys and Dr Alex Comfort- inspired practical demonstrations. We’re talking about baby sex parties. Again, let’s clarify to avoid any further risk of confusion (and litigation): expectant couples are holding parties for friends and family so that they can reveal the sex of their baby. If that wasn’t self-indulgent and narcissistic enough for you, the twist is that the couple don’t even know themselves. The centrepiece of the party is the opening of an envelope to reveal a note written by the ultrasound operator informing the couple of their baby’s sex. A round of applause and much hugging follows, accompanied by the popping of corks and a chorus of “Ah, bless” and “It’s so much better having a [insert revealed sex here] first.”
Posted in Curiosities | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1307550/Ban-TV-protect-childs-health-psychologist-urges-European-politicians.html
TV should be banned for toddlers and severely rationed for other youngsters to protect their health and family life, a leading psychologist will tell MEPs today. Dr Aric Sigman claims that millions of children spending hours slumped in front of TVs and computers is ‘the greatest unacknowledged health scandal of our time’. He says it is linked to ills ranging from obesity and heart disease to poor grades and lack of empathy. Some British children spend as much as seven-and-a-half hours a day in front of a screen - the equivalent of a full year of 24-hour days by the age of seven. Dr Sigman, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, believes that the youngest children, whose brains are undergoing massive development, should not watch any TV at all.
Posted in Health | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010
Unfortunately, my parents weren’t as imaginative when it came to eating up (The porky pies mums tell during meal times to coax their children to eat healthily). Having been brought up during the food shortages of World War II and the 50s, their strategy was telling me how they took up whistling and smoking because they didn’t have food (my dad) and what strange things they’d used for cooking and baking because that was all they had (my mum). The conclusion was always that I was lucky to have food on my plate and had better eat up.
Simon told me his parents used the porky pie with the ice-cream van on him, and we tend to go for ‘eat it or leave it’ with our own kids. What did your parents tell you and what do you tell your kids?
Posted in Opinion | 1 Comment »
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