Things in the library 7th Sept...

Things about play...

The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a report looking at the importance to children of play and physical activity. Recommendations for government include: putting out-of-school activity at the heart of the plan to reduce obesity; and focussing on play and activity in policy responses to challenges faced by children, including mental health issues and excessive use of technology.

Things about Looked-after children...

This report by Social Market Foundation analysed inspection data from Ofsted, which assesses local councils’ services for children in need of help and protection, looked-after children and care leavers. The analysis showed that 63% of Local Authorities in England are providing services for these children which either “require improvement” or are simply “inadequate.” The calculations based on these figures show that this means that 47,085 children – 65% of all looked-after children – are looked after in Local Authorities that are deemed to be falling short of a good standard. Of those children, 13,790 are receiving care services judged as “inadequate”, the worst possible grade.

Things about infant-feeding...

Academics at Coventry University have created a new website to help midwives and health visitors support both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding parent. iFeed aims to fill a gap in the help offered to parents due to children’s centre closures, over-stretched maternity and health visiting services, as well as to ensure parents who bottle feed receive more support. The creators were inspired to build the website following their own research into infant-feeding and the information parents told them they wanted on the subject. It is hoped that it will provide a trusted resource for health professionals.

Things to give your opinion on...
The government is seeking views on whether the sale of energy drinks to children should be stopped. This consultation closes at on 21 November 2018.
It also asks for views on:

• what products should be included in any restrictions
• what age limit a ban should apply to
• whether sales of energy drinks from vending machines should be restricted
• whether there are any changes that would be more appropriate than a ban on sales to children or that could be applied as well as a ban

Things to read...
The next book we are reading for the meeting on Wed 3rd October is Ian McEwan's book 'The Children Act' (recently released as a film starring Emma Thompson) do come and join us for a chat about it along with drinks and nibbles. We meet in the Illingworth library (F Floor Stephenson Wing) at 17:15 for about 1hour.

Things to enjoy in Sheffield...
The full program for the Sheffield's 'Off the Shelf' literary festival (6-27 October) is now available. Some events book up very quickly so do check the website - something for everyone. Writing events, children's events and authors and poets to meet.

Things to eat...

(c) Jules Clancy 

I came across this free ebook this week with some nice recipes in it for 5 ingredient dinners. A nice feature is that she also gives variations for dairy-free, vegan where possible. I rather fancy the self-saucing ginger puddings! The author of this e-cookbook is Jules Clancy who lives in Australia and writes, blogs and photographs food.

Things in the library 15th December...

Christmas greetings to all our readers

Things to eat and drink...

Blog readers (and others) can call into the library next week and enjoy a free mini chocolate roll and some non-alcoholic mulled 'wine' with us (while stocks last) - just come to the counter and ask.

Things about Marmite...
The next journal club will be Thursday 21 December, 8.00 to 9.00 in the Education and Skills Centre, F Floor, Stephenson Wing. Title: Marmite and Migraines: Should we be Recommending Riboflavin as Migraine Prophylaxis in Young People? Contact the library for the papers.

Things about the library closing hours...

Next Thursday 21 Dec the library will be closed during the day as we will be enjoying ourselves stocktaking.....dust...heavy lifting....burn a few calories before Christmas feasting... we are open again on Friday 22nd Dec. 

We are then closed from Dec 25th to Jan 1st and we re-open on Tuesday 2nd Jan at our normal hours of 8:45 to 19:00. As always a 'book returns' box is situated outside the library  when we are closed.




Things coming soon...
New Year, New Resolutions and a New Service...we are launching a new service in January...find out more in the New Year...watch this space!


Things about organ donation...

The government have launched a consultation about organ and tissue donation. They wants to know what people think about proposed changes in which people are considered willing to be an organ donor after their death, unless they have ‘opted out’. The defining issues of the new system are:

• how much say families have in their deceased relative’s decision to donate their organs
• when exemptions to ‘opt-out’ would be needed, and what safeguards would be necessary
• how a new system might affect certain groups depending on age, disability, race or faith

Things about reading...

A small study was published in Acta Paediatrica this week that compared the time spent using screen-based media or reading books on the functional connectivity of the reading-related brain regions in children aged 8-12. They found that time spent reading was positively correlated with higher functional connectivity between the seed area and left-sided language, visual and cognitive control regions. In contrast, screen time was related to lower connectivity between the seed area and regions related to language and cognitive control. They conclude that: screen time and time spent reading books showed different effects on functional connectivity between the visual word form area and language, visual and cognitive-control regions of the brain. These findings underscore the importance of children reading to support healthy brain development and literacy and limiting screen time. 

Things about breastfeeding...

Offering new mothers financial incentives may significantly increase low breastfeeding rates, new research from the University of Sheffield and the University of Dundee has found. More than 10,000 new mothers across South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire were involved in the ground breaking study which offered shopping vouchers worth up to £120 if their babies received breast milk (breastfeeding or expressed milk) at two days, 10 days and six weeks old. A further £80 of vouchers was available if their babies continued to receive breast milk up to six months. Breastfeeding levels in the UK are some of the lowest in the world – in some areas just 12 per cent of six to eight week-old babies are breastfed. The trial, funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative and Public Health England, saw an increase of six percentage points in the areas where the scheme was offered, compared with those areas where the scheme was not available. Full article in JAMA Pediatrics is available via Open Athens for SCH staff. 

Things about Medical Education...

Coaching has been employed successfully in the competitive sports, professional music, and business and corporate worlds. It is now emerging as a training modality in medical education.This paper reviews the current evidence on coaching strategies for doctors and medical students and identifies strong evidence to support coaching as a method to improve technical skills. There is great scope for further studies investigating the power of coaching in medical students and doctors.

Something Paddington would like...

I love the sound of this Nigel Slater recipe for Marmalade pears with vanilla ice cream (scroll down the page) and hope to try it out over the Festive Season....without getting too sticky! 

This is the last blog of 2017 so we look forward to presenting you with further 'things' in 2018 and hope you all have

a Happy New Year!