bowling

bowling

Sunday 30 November 2014

The death of Willie McRae

"Willie McRae was said to have discovered child abuse by cabinet ministers and other leading members of the establishment on both sides of the Border. Shortly before his death he was seen photocopying a dossier of names in case something should happen to him."

"The copies are understood to have been posted to a number of close associates. Despite a lengthy inquiry, the Sunday Express has been unable to establish whether any copies of the alleged dossier are still in existence."

"McRae never went public with his allegations as he was found shot dead in his car off a remote road in Wester Ross on April 6, 1985."

"Some maintain he was murdered by the security services over his opposition to plans to dump nuclear waste in Scotland, while others have said he was silenced by drug smugglers. Significantly, however, his death also fits the timeline of recent claims about Westminster perverts and a massive police cover-up of child abuse and murder in the early 1980s."

"Fionna Borders, whose late husband James was a barrister involved in a number of child abuse cases, said she was convinced that McRae was on the verge of "shaking the establishment" to the core when he lost his life."

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/541793/SNP-activist-killed-over-child-sex-files

Saturday 29 November 2014

John Hemming House of Commons 27 Nov 2014: Mark and Kerry McDougall



At 2.37

"England has many more problems than Scotland, although there are cases such as that of Mark and Kerry McDougall, who lived happily with their two children in Ireland, but were on the receiving end of vindictive proceedings that saw their children removed when they returned to Scotland. Sadly, they have had to return to Ireland as mum is pregnant, and we will see where that goes." - John Hemming MP addressing the House of Commons.

Since their two children were taken, Mark and Kerry McDougall have been gagged from speaking out about their situation for many months.  John Hemming`s remarks in Parliament have provided a window of opportunity for them to again speak about their case.

See http://alicemooreuk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/children-removed-from-kerry-and-mark.html

Update 30.11.2014

The Mark and Kerry McDougall child protection case has also been reported in the Telegraph:

"Five years ago, Mark and Kerry McDougall made headlines in Scotland when, two days before their marriage by a bishop in their local cathedral, Fife social workers intervened to halt the wedding – on the grounds that Kerry, who had mild learning difficulties, was "unfit" to be a mother. The couple escaped to Ireland where they married, built a new life and had two sons, fully supported by friendly Irish social workers, who found Kerry to be a perfectly capable mother. This year, however, they wanted to move back to be near their Scottish families."

"As John Hemming MP said in Parliament last week, no sooner had they returned than the social workers moved to seize the children, and a lengthy court battle ensued."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11262102/Parents-flee-again-after-vindictive-proceedings.html

Friday 28 November 2014

The `no to named person` roadshow

 

SHANARRI WELLBEING INDICATORS (These are the categories to be measured)

Safe
Protected from abuse, neglect or harm.

Healthy
High standards of physical and mental health; support to make healthy, safe choices.

Achieving
Support and guidance in learning - boosting skills, confidence & self-esteem.

Nurtured
Having a nurturing and stimulating place to live and grow.

Active
Opportunities to take part in a wide range of activities.

Respected
Given a voice, and involved in the decisions that affect their well-being.

Responsible
Taking an active role within their schools and communities.

Included
Getting help and guidance to overcome inequalities; full members of the communities in which they live and learn.

See Wellbeing: a guide to measuring meaningful outcomes:

Couple challenge local authority

"A couple say a local authority set out to adopt their grandson even though they wanted to care for him and his brother who already lived with them."

"A judge said Mr Swaby, fellow social worker Rachel Olley and another colleague were "biased" against them."

"But Unison said it was "unacceptable" social workers should "carry the can".

"The union that represents council social workers said Ms Olley had been made a scapegoat in the case."

"Speaking to the Today programme, the couple said they challenged the authority when it decided to put the three-year-old boy up for adoption after his mother died."

"They said they asked Mr Swaby: "Who do you think you are - God?"

"They said he replied: "In this situation, yes. Get used to it, your grandson will go for adoption."

"In a ruling published on Tuesday, the judge criticised evidence given by Mr Swaby, Ms Olley and a third social worker."

"Ruling in favour of the couple, he said Mr Swaby had been "very begrudging" in his evidence."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-30234549

Wednesday 26 November 2014

East Renfrewshire Council document

What is happening in Scotland with children was reported on live at UK Column. Before the programme disappears here`s a rough and ready transcript.

Brian Gerrish: "Would you trust this government to look after the health and wellbeing of children - because this is the same government who cannot protect children from establishment abuse and it`s also the same Scottish government where people (worked) in the law system to change the law to make it easier for men to physically and sexually abuse young boys."

"So against that background it`s fascinating that social services now in East Renfrewshire have produced a document The multi-agency summary guidance for practitioners and managers to deal with fabricated or induced illness. And in this incredible document it is saying effectively that if you claim that your child is ill and it is subsequently proved that they were not as ill as you said, then the child can be taken away and parents can be accused of child abuse. This is not fiction - it`s laid down in the document."

"And with that we`ll go across to David Scott. "

David Scott: "It`s amazing what you find out when you start asking questions. This little document which is an appalling thing was following an inquiry up here, looking into the Robert Green and Hollie Greig case. And I put a question to the Down`s Syndrome Association about the prevalence of child abuse in children who suffer from Down`s syndrome. .. They didn`t actually address the question at all, but simply referred to a lot of government documents."

"As we started to explore those we came across this one from East Renfrewshire Council. .. It`s really dreadful. If we can maybe just go through it. "

"The introduction goes as follows: Fabricated and Induced Illness FII: A well child being presented with a more significant health problem than he or she has in reality and suffering harm as a result. This is a relatively rare form of child abuse. Where there are concerns about FII a multi-agency response is essential at an early stage to ensure the sharing and collation of information to ensure that the child is appropriately protected."

"So, if your child is ill but appears to be more ill than the medics think is justified by their understanding of the child,  this seems to be saying that you are automatically suspected of child abuse.  And that seems to be a pretty dreadful conclusion to reach."

"And this is, of course, a repackaging of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy allegations which were quite prevalent some years ago but seem to have fallen into disrepute."

Brian Gerrish points to a section in the document which suggests that the child protection work is so stressful in these cases that practitioners may themselves need counselling !

Back to David Scott: "The document talks about falsifying hospital records but then it has a very vague term about the nature of the harm that may be done and how the illness may be induced. And one of the ways it might be induced might be some psychological means which doesn`t leave any evidence trace which could be investigated. .. So what the practitioners should do is look for indicators of harm...There are eleven in the document."

"My family has some experience with neurological ME.  If a child has neurological ME then of those eleven indicators of harm they`re going to show positive on nine. The medical profession will not agree with the parents about how sick the child is. The parents will be more concerned than the medics think they should be. It`s not just ME - it`s many other illnesses... A conflict makes you as a parent an abuser by not agreeing with a medical adviser."

"Just to confirm that ME does result in problems with false allegations of child abuse I have here a peer reviewed paper from the Tyme`s Trust, an ME charity. It reports that the all party parliamentary report on ME expressed concern that some children and their families are caught up in unnecessary damaging child protection care proceedings because there`s a misunderstanding about ME amongst teachers, social workers, doctors and other professionals And it goes on to say that there is no cure for ME but the perception that there is continues to haunt families. For many, state intrusion has impacted negatively ... Families have experienced intimidation and coercion into treatment regimes that they believe can be harmful to their children."

"With documents like that from East Renfrewshire Council, the situation is likely to get worse. It is very noticeable that the first action to be taken on fabricated and induced illness is to inform the police to share information and determine the next steps." [I recognise this language. It`s part of the learner`s journey in Curriculum for Excellence ! ]

"So the first thing the doctor does is phone the police and it also goes on in this document to state that they will not tell the parent about this. This will be kept a secret. Police, social services will investigate and keep it a secret, sharing information about the child and family, until such time as they decide whether or not the child is at risk. "

"This is lunacy."

Brian Gerrish: "This is very sinister indeed because it`s giving the mechanism for the state to take away children."

"Any sign of a child abuse inquiry?"

David Scott:  "There`s been a change of cabinet so those who should have been dealing with it are no longer in post.  Kenny MacAskill was apparently a major blockage to any sort of inquiry and wasn`t doing anything apart from making excuses. He`s gone and he`s been replaced by a Mr Matheson. Now Mr Matheson is on record as saying in 2003 ... `Keeping in mind that cabinet papers are classified for thirty years, Dunblane papers for 100 years, I`m sure that we`ll all agree that to break open the case and Hollie`s case and many other cases in Scotland, to reveal the truth of Scotland`s cover-up, how they are interrelated to a huge paedophile ring that I`m sure stretches from Scotland all the way down to Westminster.` Now that was 2003. He was remarkably well informed in 2003. So he seems to be a different sort of chap to Mr MacAskill."

"The chap responsible for the child abuse inquiry, or lack of one, was Mike Russell.who has also been replaced."

Brian Gerrish: "So what we have is the Scottish government unable to get an investigation into real dark horrible child abuse, but what it can do is produce the legislation to now start to brand parents who simply say my child is ill into parents who are child abusers. That is a pretty incredible state of affairs."

David Scott: "We have the named person legislation in Scotland. Now this is the wonderful idea that every child in Scotland has a state guardian - universal state supervision of parenting. And the Scottish government has assured us that this is not East German or totalitarian at all. And there`s nothing to worry about if you`ve nothing to hide. But we need to have universal surveillance because otherwise children will fall down the cracks. This is how it`s explained. To prevent child abuse we need to watch everybody to risk assess every child because otherwise how do we know which child to protect? It`s being challenged in the courts - a judicial review which is equivalent to going to the House of Lords."

Brian Gerrish. "It does seem to us that the template is being fully implemented in Scotland. One police force, no separation of powers and now here they come not only to take your children but to have every child with a prescribed person along side them from birth. "

There follows a short report on the Linda Lewis case - a woman falsely accused of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy whose very ill daughter was removed from hospital in the USA at gunpoint and who has still not been returned to her mother 16 years later.

http://www.ukcolumn.org/

See also the case of a mother imprisoned for taking her child abroad for treatment: http://alicemooreuk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/mother-imprisoned-after-obtaining.html

and article in UK Column
http://www.ukcolumn.org/article/hand-over-your-children-state-emerging-reality-child-protection

A couple nearly lost their five children


"A couple were told that their five children could be taken away by social services – because the father left their two-year-old alone in a car for just five minutes. Julie and Tim Haines came within a 'hair's breadth' of losing their children after he left their daughter while he popped in to buy Calpol at a chemist's."

"Mr Haines, 50, returned to be confronted by two police officers who told him he should not have left his toddler in the car. The family law advocate was subsequently charged with child neglect and his five children placed on a protection register. His wife Julie lost her job as head of music at a private school in Worcester as a result of the proceedings."

"And the couple spent a year fighting to lift the threat of having the children removed by social services – in what they now describe as a 'life-changing and horrible experience'. "

"Mrs Haines said: 'We won, but we came within a hair's breadth of losing our children."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2846183/Father-left-sick-toddler-daughter-car-outside-chemist-ran-buy-Calpol-charged-NEGLECT-spend-year-trying-clear-name.html#ixzz3KCFBsVyJ

An open letter to Keith Vaz


An open letter from Andrew Watt to Keith Vaz: 

"It seems to me that you have three undeclared personal interests relating to the matters that a credible child abuse inquiry might consider:"


"Your employment as a solicitor by Richmond Council
Your employment as a senior solicitor by Islington Council
Your attempt to change the Law to suppress child abuse allegations."

"The change in the Law that you sought to make would predictably protect the guilty, in my estimation."


"How could you fairly refer to those making future allegations of child abuse by important persons as "unscrupulous people?"

"It seems to me that you were prejudging the character of any victims of child abuse who might have the courage to express their traumas in the already intimidating atmosphere of a Court of Law."


Read more http://ukchildabuseinquiry.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/keith-vaz-must-make-public-statement-on.html

Children`s home boss found guilty


"John Allen ran 11 homes in the Wrexham area."

"A former children's homes boss has been found guilty of 26 charges of sexually abusing youngsters in Wrexham."

"John Allen, 73, of Needham Market, Suffolk, denied 40 counts of sexual abuse against 19 boys and one girl in the late 1960s up to the early 1990s."

"The jury in his trial at Mold Crown Court started their deliberations last Wednesday. The trial began in October."

"Allen has been found not guilty of two charges. The jury is still deliberating on 12 charges."

"The case was adjourned for the rest of Wednesday."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-30209106

Update 2.12.2014
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2855875/Children-s-home-boss-supplied-boys-Westminster-paedophile-parties-jailed-life-string-child-sex-attacks.html

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Global legacy award goes to Tony Blair

Tony Blair at the Save the Children Illumination Gala in New York City
Tony Blair at the Save the Children Illumination Gala in New York City.Photograph: Getty Images
"The international charity Save the Children has been engulfed by a furious backlash from staff after it presented Tony Blair with a “global legacy award” in New York last week – despite privately acknowledging that he is a controversial and divisive figure..."

"An internal letter, which gathered almost 200 signatures – including senior regional staff – in the first six hours of dissemination, said the award was not only “morally reprehensible, but also endangers our credibility globally”, and called for it to be withdrawn. It said that staff wished to distance themselves from the award and demanded a review of the charity’s decision-making process."

"Blair was presented with the award by the US arm of the charity at a glittering “Illumination Gala” at the Plaza Hotel in New York on 19 November, in recognition of his “leadership on international development”."

"In an introduction to his blog on STC’s website, Forsyth writes: “In 2004, I was recruited to No 10 by Tony Blair, where I led efforts on poverty and climate change and was one of the driving forces behind the Make Poverty History campaign.”

"Protesters swiftly took to social media, led by MP and anti-war campaigner George Galloway, who tweeted: “Following the grotesque award to child-killer @TheBlairDoc Tony Blair by Save the Children all right thinking people should withdraw support.” He also demanded STC rescind the award."

"Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, tweeted a picture of Blair with the words: “As this man defends any dictator who’ll pay him, @SaveTheChildrenUK inexplicably gives him award.” Roth later corrected this to STC US."

"An online petition calling for STC to revoke the award said many saw Blair “as the cause of the deaths of countless children in the Middle East”. It had gathered more than 81,000 signatures by 1pm on Tuesday."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/25/save-the-children-furious-charity-global-legacy-tony-blair


Always in the pockets of the globalists, we can also thank Tony Blair for Every Child Matters and Getting it Right for Every Child. (GIRFEC)

Monday 24 November 2014

Theresa May: Child sex abuse Only tip of Iceberg.



Published on 24 Nov 2014
Home Secretary Theresa May has blamed institutions protecting children’s rights for not fulfilling their duties. She noted that the UK should get to the truth of pedophilia at the heart of government. Her statements come after allegations that records of child sexual abuse by politicians were deliberately removed or destroyed by the Home Office. Among the latest allegations are that police may have helped cover up the murder of an eight-year-old boy by a Westminster pedophile ring.

Education for the future


Rafranz Davis, an education blogger and SMART Exemplary Educator (SEE), was invited to speak at the Future Ready conference at the White House.  Future Ready is a "detailed plan to get all schools connected with high speed internet access and devices for student learning."  According to them, connected learning gives students previously unimaginable learning experiences.

http://edcompassblog.smarttech.com/archives/18845?
 
Marketplace.org hints at an alternative view about what connected learning is really about: the sale of private student information. Personalised learning is first used to justify the collection of information on students which includes information about social and emotional learning, attitudes, values and behaviours, as well as test scores. Since education systems are being engineered to comply to a one world standard, this is the future for everybody.
In the classroom, teachers gather data on routine things like attendance, tardiness, test scores and grades. The kinds of records that used to be kept on paper.  In most states, the data are fed into a giant database, known as a statewide longitudinal data system." Different states collect different elements of personal student data.
In the last decade, the federal government has handed states more than $600 million to help them create these databases.
"One of the biggest players in the field is Knewton. It analyzes student data that it collects by keeping track of nearly every click and keystroke a child makes during digital lessons. Knewton claims to gather millions of data points on millions of children each day. Ferreira calls education `the world’s most data-mineable industry by far.`"
The promise is that all that data can be used to tailor lessons to individual kids, to their strengths and weaknesses. "They will become better learners, and that will lead to higher grades and better graduation rates."

Ferreira imagines a day when "you tell us what you had for breakfast every morning at the beginning of the semester, by the end of the semester, we should be able to tell you what you had for breakfast. Because you always did better on the days you had scrambled eggs."

A study released last year by Fordham Law professor Joel Reidenberg found that very few school districts explicitly restrict the sale or marketing of student information in contracts with service providers.

The larger concern, he says, is that connecting all those dots can create a profile of a student that can follow him from kindergarten through college. Maybe even into the workforce.

It’s the prospect of that permanent data trail, say privacy advocates, that makes it so important that schools, teachers and parents wrestle with student data issues now.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/education/learningcurve/day-life-data-mined-kid


See also http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/?cat=1 

Sunday 23 November 2014

Vaccine injured child is now a ward of court


"On November 4, 2014, the website Medical Kidnap told the tragic story of four month-old Kathryn Hughes, who was stolen by Child Protective Services (CPS) after she suffered an adverse reaction to a vaccine."

"Kathryn was a fragile baby, suffering from a wide range of complex medical needs. Born with Pierre Robin Sequence, a condition in which an infant has a smaller-than-normal lower jaw, a tongue that falls back in the throat and breathing difficulties, Kathryn certainly has had her fair share of problems."

"Despite her daughter’s problems, Lorie, her mother, had always trusted the doctors and tried to do the best that she could for her daughter."

"Due to her own problems with vaccinations, Lorie requested when Kathryn was born that her daughter would only receive the vitamin K injection. Sadly, her requests were ignored and Kathryn was vaccinated with the hepatitis B vaccine. A few weeks later, Kathryn began suffering seizures, a common side effect of the vaccine. "

"Sadly, Kathryn is now a ward of court and that doctors have asked the judge in her case to grant permission to vaccinate her fully, against her parents’ wishes, which, as we understand, also includes participation in an experimental ebola vaccine trial."

http://vactruth.com/2014/11/22/vaccine-injured-child-stolen/
 

'Data mining children' in USA



Parents are being encouraged to opt out their children. See below.

http://unitedoptout.com/2014/11/16/urgent-national-update-opt-out-of-all-online-testing-and-online-curriculum-for-under-age-13/

Saturday 22 November 2014

Smartcard technology motivates children to walk or ride bicycles to school

"Primary schools in Melbourne have begun using myki-style smartcard technology to get more children to ride or walk to school instead of being driven. Students are being given a small smartcard fob called an ActiveTag, which they "touch on" when they get to school in the morning, earning points if they have cycled or walked."

"The mix of technology and peer pressure has produced stark results at Malvern Valley Primary, the first school to join the program...Malvern Valley Primary principal Gaylene Fehlberg said the big swing to active transport among students had not yet produced an equal reduction in motorised trips to school. Some parents "kerb crawl" in their cars behind their cycling children, she said."

"The electronic tagging system, which uses radio-frequency identification, is part of Bicycle Network's $2.8 million Ride2School program. Funding for the program is due to expire in June next year."

"Bicycle Network general manager of behaviour change Tess Allaway said Ride2School had increased cycling and walking rates from 20 per cent to more than 50 per cent at the 1400 schools involved.  "The Ride2School program has received strong support from both sides of government since its inception back in 2006 – because the program works," she said."

Read more:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/schools-use-smartcard-technology-to-get-more-students-to-ride-to-school-20141120-11qj5e.html#ixzz3JqOWMqNm

Update 23.11.2014

See Smart Tech Education http://smarttech.com/gb/Solutions/Education+Solutions

Whenever we see the word smart we should think surveillance and control. Think stupid.

Smart cards, smart phones, smart education, smart meters, smart cities, smart Glasgow etc.

Cheshire Police Knock 16 y/o Girl Out.


Friday 21 November 2014

Student rally in London


Brian Gerrish: British Government is trying to cover-up Westminster link...


Thursday 20 November 2014

Making a complaint about a named person ?

Aileen Campbell MSP
Apart from the potential incompatabilities with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Data Protection Act, the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 fails to safeguard parents and children against the overzealous, incompetent or malicious actions of named persons.

As reported in ForArgyll.com: "According to Part 4 Section 30 of the Act, every single one of the following matters – for which there is no current statutory provision – is to be resolved at some unspecified future time, by order, by Scottish Ministers."
(a) matters which may, or may not, be the subject of a complaint;
(b) who may make a complaint;
(c) how a complaint may be made;
(d) time limits for making complaints;
(e) steps which require to be taken before a complaint may be made;
(f) who is to consider a complaint;
(g) the procedure for the consideration of a complaint;
(h) the obtaining of information for the purpose of considering a complaint;
(i) the keeping of records in relation to complaints or their consideration;
(j) the making of findings, and reporting, following the consideration of a complaint.
"ForArgyll has been unable to discover the existence of any Statutory Guidance for Part 4 of the act [on the problematic Provision of Named Persons]."

"This means that, with the permission of the Scottish Government [against assurances it had given], this provision was speedily implemented by local authorities, potentially giving rise to complaints – with no Statutory Guidance to this part of the Act available to the responsible authorities or to the Judiciary."

To read about other anomalies see below:
 
http://forargyll.com/2014/11/full-of-holes-named-person-provision-in-children-and-young-people-scotland-act-2014/
 
The lack of provision to resist disproportionate state interference by Named Persons is surely also a breach of Article 6 of the Human Rights Act given that by June 2014 there were five local health authorities who had Named Persons in place: Angus, Aryshire, Edinburgh, Highland and Stirlingshire.

http://forargyll.com/2014/06/salmond-jibs-at-darling-dictator-jibe-as-government-allows-5-local-health-authorities-premature-naming-of-state-guardians-for-children/

Possible murders linked to Elm Guest House


"The father of an eight-year-old boy murdered in the 1980s claims that his son may have died at the hands of a Westminster paedophile ring - and that Scotland Yard helped "cover up" the crime. "

"Vishambar Mehrotra, a retired magistrate, recorded a male prostitute saying in a telephone call that his son may have been abducted and taken to a now notorious guesthouse in 1981."

"He took the recording to police at the time but claims they refused to investigate an allegation implicating "judges and politicians". Mr Mehrotra said it had been a "huge cover-up".

"The Metropolitan Police announced last week that they were investigating possible murders linked to the Elm Guest House in Barnes, south-west London. The new inquiry began when an alleged victim came forward claiming to have witnessed three boys being killed, including one allegedly strangled by a Conservative MP during a depraved sex game. "

"He claimed that high-profile paedophiles abused children at locations in London in the 1970s and 1980s. "


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11239535/Father-claims-Scotland-Yard-covered-up-sons-murder-by-Westminster-paedophiles.html?WT.mc_id=e_3694061&WT.tsrc=email&etype=frontpage&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Edi_FAM_New_2014_11_19&utm_campaign=3694061

 

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Named person case continues

"PLANS to give every child in Scotland a named person to look after their welfare and promote their wellbeing have been branded incompatible with every fundamental right..."

"Aidan O'Neill, QC, counsel for a Christian coalition, which is challenging the plans, told the Court of Session in Edinburgh: "What this legislation purports to authorise is the named person is being appointed to every child in Scotland without the consent of parents and without it being needed."

"He said the issue was so important it had to be discussed and decided upon without further delay. He accused ministers of meddling in the right of parents to bring up their children themselves."

"Mr O'Neill added: "The child is safe, healthy, nurtured and included. "All these things which we can expect that parents will be doing for their child with love and respect in the context of the family home, then there is no need for a 'named person', but nonetheless a 'named person' is going to be appointed."

"He said it was for the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, representing the Scottish Ministers in the Government's defence of the legislation, to show its legitimate aim."

However, Mr O'Neill maintained he had failed to do that..."

"The case continues."

Read more http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/named-person-law-clashes-with-human-rights.25881368

Game-based learning

Computer game based learning is being used and developed in Scottish classrooms because, according to Scottish Education, research is beginning to suggest that computer games can help motivate learners and produce a successful learning environment.

"Game based learning resonates with today`s learners because games are a key aspect of their digital culture. " Yes, that may be true for many learners but is it a justification for introducing computer games into schools as part of their learning?  
 
Anthony Salcito, Global Vice-President for Education at Microsoft, (in the video above) definitely thinks so, but he would, wouldn`t he?

According to Mark Prensky (founder and CEO of Games2Train) today`s young people become native in understanding ICT-based consumables. Worryingly, Mark Prensky believes that amongst other things, learners develop a preference for graphics before text. In a curriculum like Curriculum for Excellence which purports to encourage literacy across all areas, that seems to be a bit self defeating and could be an argument against game based learning.

Other potential problems include the fact that students who play games thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards; and are less interested in `serious` work. They can also be highly addictive. So there would have to be some very good reasons for introducing games into the classroom.
PDF file: Marc Prensky Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (2001)

Here`s Education Scotland:

"The huge global trends in learning, away from one size fits all towards personalisation, away from age phases towards ‘no age limits’, away from simple notational assessments towards new media-based e-portfolios, and away from individual towards collaborative, opens up a wide embrace to cerebral learning games. Education and games are literally starting to speak the same language." http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/usingglowandict/gamesbasedlearning

Now what kind of language would that be ?

Returning to Anthony Salcito:  The fundamental role of a teacher is no longer to deliver information. .. the teacher fundamentally is now changing the way in which the students are learning...learning skills redefine how we assess learners ....from a content-based subject based world - to assess the learning process. (And to assess the personalised learner, of course !)

The language being used is progressive:

self directed
active learning
personalised
problem solving
critical thinking
collaborative
motivating
creative learning experience
social constructivism. (The learner creates their own meaning)

Toby Young, author of `Prisoners of the Blob: why most education experts are wrong about nearly everything` makes a good case against progressive education.

Progressive education sounds modern but it is a belief system with a 200 year old history dating back to the Romantics: "After three decades of research, cognitive scientists have concluded that abilities like critical thinking and problem solving cannot be taught to children as stand-alone, abstract `skills`. They can only be taught alongside subject knowledge." The reason for that is the very limited capacity of working memory.

"A child who knows a lot about video games can think critically about video games, but not another subject that he or she knows little about. To imagine that children can learn the ‘skill’ of critical thinking in one subject and then apply it to another, regardless of how scant their knowledge is of that subject – or to believe that it can be taught as a stand-alone abstract discipline – is simply wrong. Broad comprehension – being able to think critically about a wide range of subjects, ... requires a broad base of knowledge." 
http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/PrisonersofTheBlob.pdf

The cynical view is that these modern ideas, which are not modern at all, are about getting rid of that knowledge base. When the aim is to control the global population it is best that they are unable to figure out what their intended global leaders are about.

Neglect: the perennial issue for social workers

Here comes the moral panic:
Neglect is a perennial issue for social workers, but the recent serious case review of Abigail, a three year old girl with severe developmental delay, has reinforced just how difficult it is for social workers to deal with.
Abigail was never put onto a child protection plan. She was admitted to hospital in November 2012 with malnutrition, anaemia and weak bones, as well as severe nappy rash and head lice. At nearly three years old she was unable to walk. Both her parents were convicted of criminal neglect earlier this year.
Gary Walker, a solicitor specialising in child abuse claims points out Abigail’s case was characterised by an incident-led approach. Because each incident alone wasn’t severe enough to reach child protection thresholds, this created "systemic paralysis, not allowing social workers to go any further in seeking help from other professionals." 

In the same CommunityCare article, here comes the solution:
"Social workers are not the only people in communities who can help families- it has to come from schools and education and welfare officers."
Children’s teams are now having to rely on agencies like schools, which have contact with the child no matter what, to hold the ring on neglect...
"Teaching assistants are just doing this and getting on with it, but it needs to be shared and recorded."
Hollows says a clear and agreed communication strategy between all agencies would help, but the reality is the responsibility for recognising signs of neglect cannot fall to social workers alone.

Now, if social workers have a problem identifying sustained physical neglect of children, why would the Westminster government introduce the Cinderella Law to make emotional neglect a criminal offence - unless, of course, it is the sharing and recording of information, and the communication strategy which is the important factor? Think about how much more intimate the questioning and recording will be once the integrated services start looking for emotional neglect.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27693587

Meanwhile social services are in a shambles due to the recession.
It’s all good in theory, and hard to object to when it is being presented so persuasively, but the reality is that we have been working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team for years, and the ‘new ways of working’ don’t feel new at all. It’s more about rebranding, than a fundamentally new approach.
The new targets being set are so excessively high that it seems people have confused collaborative working with magic!

Monday 17 November 2014

Cumbria County Council tried to suppress information about death of Poppi Worthington

"Facts about the death of a 13-month-old girl should be kept a secret because of the risk of embarrassment to social workers or police officers, a council demanded in court."

"Lawyers for Cumbria County Council tried to suppress all information about the death of Poppi Worthington on the grounds it would be unfair to reveal shortcomings of public agencies, it was revealed yesterday."

"Details of how the local authority pressed for the death to be hushed up to protect its own staff were made public as High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson ruled that the facts must still remain secret, nearly two years after Poppi died."

"The judge said this was to prevent interference with any future criminal trial and to avoid identification of Poppi’s five siblings. However, the information blackout demanded by lawyers for Cumbria went much further and was aimed at protecting its own staff from criticism, according to the papers highlighted by the judge yesterday."

"In its call for secrecy in July, the council wanted to keep all facts about the death and the name of the child from public knowledge for 15 years..."

"Cumbria County Council said it was ‘unable to comment at this time’."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2810262/How-council-tried-baby-s-death-secret-protect-social-workers.html#ixzz3JHZNMEvI

Sunday 16 November 2014

Mother imprisoned after obtaining treatment abroad for her ill daughter

"When British mother Mary Kidson took her seriously ill daughter to a world-renowned doctor in Belgium in the hope of finding a cure, she could never have imagined the extraordinary events that were to follow."

"When she returned to the UK, Ms Kidson, an expert in the field of special educational needs, was astounded to find herself imprisoned and prosecuted – accused of trying to poison her daughter."

"Then, to her horror, the child was taken from her and was subsequently placed in psychiatric care. Now Ms Kidson is free again, following the collapse of the case against her at Worcester Crown Court last week, and is relieved to have her name cleared."

"But, speaking for the first time about her ordeal, the 55-year-old says she is furious that charges were brought in the first place, and devastated she has yet to be reunited with her 16-year-old daughter.
In particular she blames the NHS for operating rigid rules about treatment that allowed the prosecution to take place – but also her former husband, Michael Guilding, who she believes needlessly reported her to the police."

"‘It’s unbelievable what I’ve been through,’ she says of a case that has echoes of Ashya King, whose parents fled abroad to seek proton treatment for his cancer and ended up in prison in Spain...."

"‘I’m very angry with the way the Crown Prosecution Service, social services and the police all dealt with this. They formed an opinion of me without even meeting me."

"‘The whole case raises the question of a parent’s right to find treatment outside the NHS for their child. Adults have total freedom to go wherever we want in the world for our health care but if you’re a child it seems only the NHS can treat you.’"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2817084/Poison-daughter-No-trying-CURE-Mother-jailed-child-cruelty-rejecting-NHS-care-seek-treatment-foreign-clinic-teenager-s-hormone-therapy.html#ixzz3JEkeQF8H

Saturday 15 November 2014

Elm guest house abuse and possible murder

Scotland Yard investigate claims of widespread paedophile ring. Getty
"Scotland Yard detectives investigating claims of a historic Westminster paedophile ring with links all the way to Number 10 have uncovered new evidence of a possible murder."

"Investigators looking into claims raised by MP Tom Watson of a sex abuse gang with links to government that operated 30 years ago have also been made aware of alleged non-sexual abuse as well as a possible murder."

"The Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement: "Over the past month, detectives working on Operation Fairbank within the Met's Specialist Crime and Operations unit have been made aware of allegations concerning serious non recent sexual abuse, said to have occurred over 30 years ago."

"Our inquiries into this, over subsequent weeks, have revealed further information regarding possible homicide. "Based on our current knowledge, this is the first time that this specific information has been passed to the Met."

"The reputed homicide emerged after Watson used parliamentary privilege to allege that evidence used to convict child protection expert Peter Righton of importing child pornography in 1992 contained "clear intelligence" of a paedophile ring."

"In an interview with the BBC, one of the alleged victims, now in his forties, claimed that "senior military and political figures" had been involved in the abuse of youngsters in the 1970s and 1980s homed at the Elm Guest House in Barnes, south west London."

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/westminster-murder-police-investigating-sex-abuse-gang-linked-no-10-uncover-possible-murder-1474892

See also http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-watched-tory-mp-murder-4636497

 

Friday 14 November 2014

British parents speak out against forced adoptions

"Britain’s social services are "unique" in the European Union for "threatening and bullying" parents who speak out against the forced adoption or "snatching" of their children, MEPs have said."

"The comments were made after a group of British parents who lost their children to social workers or forced adoption took their plight to the European Parliament’s petition committee on Tuesday, which makes representations to the European Commission. "

"One man from south east England, who cannot be named due to court injunctions, told The Telegraph that he was threatened with arrest if he complained to the Brussels assembly’s about his son being forcibly put into care. "

"These authorities are like the modern Nazis," he said. "I was told I could be arrested for protesting over my son being forcibly placed in care."

"The parliament’s committee condemned "unacceptable" moves to pressure people from giving evidence to MEPs at a time when most complaints about forced adoption or the unjust loss of children to social services are coming from Britain."

"In my experience, the UK is unique in Europe for the secrecy of its family courts and for the threats and bullying by authorities of parents who want to speak out about their treatment," said Tatjana Zdanoka, a Latvian MEP."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/11225026/Parents-fight-British-social-services-gag-to-petition-European-Parliament.html

Thursday 13 November 2014

Challenge to state guardian legislation


"A legal fight in Scotland’s highest civil court starts today to block an SNP plan to assign every child a state guardian over claims it rides roughshod over parents’ rights to raise their children how they see fit. "

"Judge Lord Pentland is to examine the lawfulness of the measure, contained in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, which assigns a "named" person such as a teacher or health visitor to anyone aged under 18."

"The No To Named Persons (NO2NP) campaign group has brought the action, arguing that SNP ministers exceeded their powers and breached both data protection laws and the European Convention on Human Rights. "

"Aidan O'Neill, a senior human rights lawyer, is expected to argue during the four-day judicial review at the Court of Session that the legislation represents an "unjustified interference" into private and family life. "

"The campaign warned last night that the standard of proof for intervention had been reduced to the extent that the state could gain "unbridled access to every living room in the land" and warned parents’ role could be reduced to that of "assistant" to the state."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11221902/Legal-fight-starts-over-SNP-state-guardian-for-every-child.html

A lot of upset people making comments !

Observing behaviour in school

Mr Russell, Scottish Education Secretary, is on the record as saying that he wants to drive forward a culture change in Scottish education to ensure new technologies can be embedded into learning. He was particularly interested in ipads and androids at the time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-18081005

A more recent article in the Huffington Post by Sarah Wike Loyola pours scorn on traditional methods of teaching. "Historically, the teacher has been the omniscient presence in just about every classroom in the world. They were the only ones who possessed the all-mighty knowledge which was passed on to their yearning students." She goes over the oft repeated criticism that pupils cram facts into their short term memories to pass the exam and then quickly forget.

Ms Loyola continues: "Okay class, let's review. For thousands of years, there have generally only been two sources of knowledge in a classroom: 1) the teacher; and 2) the text book."  She suggests these sources of knowledge are going to decline in a few years because a more powerful tool for learning has arrived: the internet. Teachers will soon become facilitators -  `guides on the side`. "The hard truth is that the tech-savvy students of today do not want to be lectured to about facts they can instantly find with the click of a button on their smart phones."

All of this is supposed to lead to students who can address the big global questions like: "What is the greatest challenge facing our planet and how can we solve it?" They do this by researching the internet, thinking critically and using their creativity - which does seem a bit of a stretch.

Ms Loyola finishes off by saying: "For teachers, the hardest part is letting go of control in their classrooms."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-wike-loyola/the-most-powerful-tool-in_b_6012136.html

The Sutton Trust has recently produced a report: `What Makes Great Teaching` which casts some doubt on the views expressed by Ms Loyola. The Trust reviewed over 200 pieces of research to identify the elements of teaching with the strongest evidence of improving attainment.

The two factors with the strongest evidence of improving pupil attainment were

"teachers` content knowledge, including their ability to understand how students think about a subject and identify common misconceptions."

"quality of instruction, which includes using strategies like effective questioning and the use of assessment."

Common practices which were not supported by evidence include:

"allowing learners to discover key ideas by themselves."

http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/great-teaching/

Ms Loyola is also confused about the role of memory in learning. According to cognitive scientist, Daniel T Willingham, `memory is the residue of thought` and we actually can remember more than we realise. Implying that acquiring knowledge is a waste of time and pupils have no inner life worth enriching, is highly suspect.

http://www.aft.org//sites/default/files/periodicals/willingham_0.pdf

There is an even darker side to the imposition of technology into the classroom and that is that pupil activity can be monitored and recorded like never before. I believe it is that aspect of technology which Mr Russell and his like are really excited about. See an example below:

 

http://images.pearsonclinical.com/images/Assets/BOSS/BOSS-Webinar-Handout-10-2013.pdf

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Wanless & Whittam HASC 11th November 2014



The 114 missing files have not been found and the Wanless and Whittam report could not reach any conclusions about a possible Home Office cover-up.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said: "It is important that it says that there wasn't a cover-up. Some of the people who've been looking for conspiracy theories will have to look elsewhere..."

But that is not what the Wanless and Whittam report says.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mr Wanless has said that Cameron was wrong to dismiss a cover-up based on the limited investigation that took place...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/will-black/child-abuse-wanless-review_b_6143070.html

 

See also https://twitter.com/ciabaudo

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Global citizenship

 
From the World Economic Forum:

"Launched in November 2014, the Think Tank Leaders Forum is a community comprising 25 of the leading policy and research institutes from across the globe. It features thought leaders with expertise in issues that include geopolitics, global governance, economics, science & technology, the environment, and society & human development."

"The aim of the community is to facilitate analysis and discussion of important global issues by thought-leaders from the policy/research community. It also aims to give these leaders and institutions access to leading policy-makers, and help them to shape policy on issues that are critical to peace and growth."

"In 2011, the World Economic Forum started a global network of people between the ages of 20 and 30 who have shown great potential for future leadership roles in society ..."

"As of 21 October 2014 there are 358 Hubs with more than 4,300 Shapers."

From Wikipedia:

"Professor Emeritus at MIT Noam Chomsky, an American linguist and outspoken intellectual, has characterized the term "globalization" as propaganda when used in connection with trade policies advanced by the World Economic Forum:"
"Take the World Social Forum, called 'anti-globalization' in the propaganda system—. The WSF is a paradigm example of globalization. It is a gathering of huge numbers of people from all over the world, from just about every corner of life one can think of, apart from the extremely narrow highly privileged elites who meet at the competing World Economic Forum, and are called 'pro-globalization' by the propaganda system. An observer watching this farce from Mars would collapse in hysterical laughter at the antics of the educated classes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum 
Let us hope that those who push global citizenship in Curriculum for Excellence are paying attention.

Monday 10 November 2014

BeatBullying business model collapses

"The charity BeatBullying has gone into voluntary liquidation after talks with potential buyers failed, the trustees have confirmed. In a statement on the charity’s website on Friday evening, the trustees said that they had not been able to reach an agreement with any potential buyers. "[Potential buyers of a charity ?]

"They said: "For the past two months, with the support of our legal and financial advisers, we have engaged in intensive discussions with a number of interested parties with the hope that we would secure the future of BeatBullying Group’s services and fulfil our commitment to staff and creditors." [How about their commitment to the young people who were their clients ?]

"BeatBullying gained charitable status in 2003 and went on to win a number of awards for its anti-bullying work with young people. It delivered a range of programmes and workshops in schools and provided counselling and advice to young people who had experienced bullying. The charity also set up MindFull, an online service that provided information and advice about mental health and emotional wellbeing for young people." [Did that not include advice about resilience ? Oh dear ! ]

"But the charity has experienced financial difficulties in recent years and last year made a number of redundancies, sources have told Third Sector. [Too many other charities in this lucrative business perhaps ?]... Its latest accounts for the year ending 2013 are currently overdue, according to a spokeswoman for Charity Commission."

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/beatbullying-goes-voluntary-liquidation-failing-attract-buyers/finance/article/1321058

I have to reflect back on an earlier post:
 

The BB Group have received backing from the Venture Philanthropy Foundation whose thing is to "facilitate growth and maximise social impact." They have also received support from the UK Cabinet Office: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
Over the last 3 years, the Cabinet Office has continued to invest in the transition of the charity from a single programme to a group structure. Grants, loans and investments have allowed us to scale our impact, diversify our provision, re-structure our services, expand the reach and success of our social enterprises and seed-fund and invest in our technology build. Critically, when others paused the Cabinet Office investment allowed us to continue to develop our digital social action and volunteering model. [Look at the business-speak] The BB Group also tell us that: Through the DAPHNE III Fund the EU is funding the expansion of BeatBullying into 8 countries across Europe. Working in close partnership with excellent organisations on the ground in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Romania we are rolling out the BeatBullying model. Over the next two years we aim together to reach over a million european young people. So behind the MindFull website there are some very big players: banking globalists, the Cabinet Office, the European Union and others. They have big ambitions about how to sweep their ideas across charities and towards millions of children, particularly in those countries which are now in serious trouble due to austerity after the global banking fiascos.

MindFull is not an independent charity and it is not innocent.
http://alicemooreuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/mindfull.html

And neither is Beat Bullying !

18.11.2014 -  See http://4liberty.org.uk/2014/11/17/fake-charities-the-great-rip-off/