Monthly Archives: June 2014

‘An absolutely electric energy’ at the Young Carers Festival

Posted 27 June 2014,

The 15th annual festival for young carers begins today

This weekend’s Young Carers Festival is the biggest national festival for young carers. Some 1600 young carers are expected to be at the event, which we organise in partnership with the YMCA Fairthorne Group.

The festival’s goal is to give young carers a chance to have fun, meet fellow young carers, share their experiences with friends and policymakers, and enjoy a break from their caring responsibilities. This is the fourteenth annual Young Carers Festival.

Accessibility should be part of everyday arts practice

The English National Ballet’s My First Coppélia makes use of symbol resources, which supports the inclusion of people with a communication difficulties. Photograph: ENB

For many children and young people, particularly those with learning difficulties, attending a theatre performance can be a confusing and stressful experience. Sara Ryan from the University of Warwick has described the experience of many parents taking their children into such public places as being “contingent, unsatisfactory and incomplete”.

Plan to force elderly to use internet to access Government services is a breach of ‘OAP human rights’

 Do you believe one-off computer courses would be enough for you to feel comfortable accessing services online?

By Grimsby Telegraph  |  Posted: June 24, 2014

LEARNING: Do you believe one-off computer courses would be enough for you to feel comfortable accessing services online?

 A PENSIONER from Grimsby says it is “disgusting” that many Government services will soon only be available online.

Barbara Cowper, 79, says cabinet office minister Francis Maude’s opinion that older people must start using the internet to access public services is a breach of “OAP human rights”.

The Government says millions of pounds can be saved by moving services so that they are solely online and that getting to grips with the interest is a “better thing for people’s lives”.

But Mrs Cowper, who is a retired secretary and knows how to use a computer, disagrees.

She said: “It is infuriating that older people are being given no say over whether they actually want to use the internet or not.