BY HANNAH BARR The Girl Scouts of America caused quite the media storm this week when they posted the article ‘Reminder: She Doesn’t Owe Anyone a Hug. Not Even at the Holidays.’ The article, designed to illustrate the importance of teaching young girls about consent, has caused a debate between what constitutes awareness of consent and […]
Tag: UK
Fearfully and wonderfully made
BY HANNAH BARR Anti-Bullying Week (13-17 November) is organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance – a group of charities, education trusts, county councils and other organisations committed to seeing an end to bullying and supporting those who have been bullied. This year’s theme for the week is ‘All Different, All Equal.’ Coinciding with Anti-Bullying Week, the […]
Four questions to ask before reaching out to families
Resource cuts in the UK mean there are fewer statutory support services for families going through difficulties. Teachers struggle to know where to signpost families for help, when, for example, they see children turning up to school not having had breakfast. In response, our Oxford-based network, Doorsteps, is piloting H2O (Here to Help Oxford), a […]
You are loved, you have hope, you are not alone
BY HANNAH BARR YOU ARE LOVED Outside of my work for Viva I help lead the youth work at my church in Oxford and last month I took some teenagers to the Christian festival, Soul Survivor, which involved camping for five days. Now, I hate camping. It is not something I consider fun and even […]
Light shines in darkness
BY HANNAH BARR The news yesterday that 18 people were found guilty of involvement in a sex grooming network in Newcastle sent shockwaves through the country. It comes shortly after the BBC’s drama Three Girls, detailing some of what happened in Rochdale, where nine men were convicted for their role in working to secure underage […]
Four tips to encourage your church to work with others
Services for vulnerable families in the UK are being squeezed at a time of unprecedented demand. Churches are particularly well placed to offer meaningful support but there are, of course, significant barriers to growing this work, such as lack of volunteers, finances and in-depth understanding. Both the scale of need in the community and the […]
Conference sows seeds for future families’ work in Oxfordshire
As several council-run children’s and families services in Oxfordshire face cuts, more than 100 people attended a conference last Saturday (5 November) to pledge to work together more effectively to meet the needs of vulnerable people in their communities.
Oxfordshire churches to fill void left by Council cuts
Oxfordshire churches and Christian organisations want to fill the gaping void left by the County Council’s decision to shut children’s centres across the region.
The vision: a home for good for every child
Every day more than 50 children need to be taken into care in the UK. They are likely to have come from chaotic, neglectful, abusive or desperate situations and will have suffered trauma. Some will need a home for a few nights, some for a few years, and some will need a permanent home for […]
Turkey sandwiches, balloon antlers and fairy lights: Christmas comes early in Grove
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in July, so why could the strains of ‘Jingle Bells’ be heard drifting across the field? Even more bizarrely, why were people lounging around on picnic blankets and humming along to ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ whilst eating turkey and cranberry sandwiches and mince pies?