Month: December 2020

Public Health

Current Awareness

Staying mentally well: winter plan 2020 to 2021 Gov.uk. 23rd November 2020

(This plan sets out the support that will be in place in the immediate term to help support individuals to stay well during the second wave of Covid-19 and the winter months ahead.)

Learning from local authorities with downward trends in childhood obesity Public Health England

(This report, a set of practice examples researched by University College London and an executive summary by Public Health England, identifies common approaches being implemented by local authorities that had a small but significant 10-year downward trend in childhood obesity. The findings show the value of engagement with and integration of the National Child Measurement Programme and the importance of addressing health inequalities, with 76 per cent of local authorities having a focus on deprivation.) To view the summary click here.

How are the lives of families with young children changing? The changing face of early childhood in the UK Nuffield Foundation

(This evidence review reveals the extent of changes to family life in the UK over the past 20 years and highlights how these changes are experienced unequally across the population. The report argues that, without understanding family life today, the policies and initiatives that seek to address other key areas of society – education, the economy, physical health and mental health – will falter.)

National Child Measurement Programme: childhood obesity.
Public Health England (PHE); 2020.

(Research by University College London shares learning from local authorities that have a downward trend in childhood obesity, including practice examples.)

COVID-19: suggested principles of safer singing.
Public Health England (PHE); 2020.

(Outlining the available evidence on virus transmission associated with singing and suggested actions to reduce the risk of transmission while singing.)

The state of ageing in 2020.
Centre for Ageing Better; 2020.

(This online, interactive report captures a snapshot of how people in the UK are ageing today, while looking at past trends and our prospects if action isn’t taken. It warns that the Covid-19 pandemic risks setting people in mid-life on a path to poverty and ill health in old age.)

Meet The Author

Jason Beresford

Jason Beresford is the author of ‘The Fabulous Four Fish Fingers’, ‘Frozen Fish Fingers’ and ‘Fish Fingers vs Nuggets’, three laugh-out-loud books about a gang of superhero kids. He is also, at times, a teacher, bad ukulele player and a man who speaks Japanese with a Coventry accent. Jason is the first author to feature in our Meet the Author Project. He has kindly answered a few questions about books and his work as an author and would like to use this opportunity to say thank you to NHS staff.

Read the interview here.

Before Jason became a children’s author, he worked in television for over 20 years. This included a long stint as a reporter for the Japanese TV company TV Asahi where he helped cover Nelson Mandela’s election as President in South Africa, the Rwandan refugee crisis, conflicts in Syria, Israel and across Europe. Jason also worked for the BBC in Coventry and Newcastle and for Tyne Tees TV where he was sent to join the army, he abseiled off Durham cathedral and he was attacked by a jackdaw that thought it was a dog.

Jason went on to direct two of Britain’s best loved soaps (Emmerdale and Coronation Street) and he produced many other TV shows. His memorable moments include reuniting the last surviving Oompah Loompas, crossing Britain on a lawn mower with John Sergeant and filming the party of the year at David Beckham’s house (even though he spent the whole night stuck in the kitchen.)

Jason lives in Leeds and has two daughters who both think he is quite funny at the moment but he knows this won’t last much longer.

Read here for more information about Jason and his work.

Jason Beresford