4 minute read
Quotes from the media
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said the only way to counteract gang culture is to create ‘a sense of belonging’ for young people… Speaking at an ecumenical rally against knife crime and youth violence held in Trafalgar Square in London… the cardinal said that young people need to belong to something ‘positive, creative and attractive to them’… He explained that, in his youth, several Catholic parishes in Liverpool had had boxing clubs because they ‘taught discipline and the right use of strength’.
The cardinal said the clubs were an ‘alternative to gang culture’.
‘This is the kind of reaction we need to involve young people in a way that calls out their commitment and helps them to build discipline and self-control in their lives, and that’s the best counter to some of the worst influences today,’ he said. The Tablet
WHITECHAPEL MISSION IN RAIL INITIATIVE TO TACKLE BEGGING In a new venture, the Whitechapel Mission is working with the London Overground rail network to discourage passengers from giving to people begging for money on the network’s walk-through trains, but instead to make a donation to the work of the mission. Posters on the stations and notices in all the carriages say: ‘To help someone you see begging on London Overground, donate to the “Whitechapel Mission”. Any donations will be used carefully and your generosity will be welcomed.’ London Overground, part of Transport for London (TfL) network... has been concerned about the rise in the number of people asking for money on its trains… Whitechapel Mission… provides breakfast for around 250 homeless men and women a day, together with other essential advice services. Methodist Recorder
NEW HOUSING ON CHURCH LAND TO TACKLE CRISIS The Church of England is to build affordable homes on thousands of acres of its land, as the Archbishop of Canterbury pledged ‘radical’ action to tackle the housing crisis. The Most Rev Justin Welby has launched a commission to identify how the church can use its ‘extraordinary’ resources to tackle the housing shortage and promote community spirit. A church report, produced to coincide with the launch... urged the commission to consider ‘using surplus church land for affordable housing’, citing examples where vicarages and disused church halls have been demolished to make way for new homes. The report said 6,600 acres of land owned by the Church Commissioners had been earmarked for housing, with planning permission secured or sought by the church for 9,000 homes, including 2,500 affordable homes. The Bishop of Barking, the Right Rev Rob Wickham, said the church must ‘put our money and resources where our mouth is’. The Times
TIRED, HUNGRY AND SHAMED: PUPIL POVERTY ‘STOPS LEARNING’
Teachers have reported worsening signs of child poverty in their classrooms with pupils coming to school tired, hungry, angry and confused. Many children are wearing dirty and ill-fitting uniforms and suffering from anxiety and behaviour issues that affect their learning. This alarming picture is revealed in a survey, by the National Education Union (NEU), of 8,600 school leaders, teachers and support staff. Nine out of ten who took part agreed that poverty and low income were having a detrimental effect on their pupils’ education. Half felt that the situation had worsened over the last three years, particularly in primary schools.
The picture is even more depressing if independent education providers are discounted, with 97 per cent of respondents in maintained schools, academies, free schools and further education colleges reporting concern that poverty affected their students’ learning. Over half (52 per cent) said that the effect was large. The Guardian
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