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Amrit Virdi

Editorial Graduate @ Music Teacher Magazine and Children & Young People Now

Gold Standard Level 5 NCTJ-Accredited Journalist

Bylines @ Stylist, Clash, OK!, DIY, Women's Health, London Runway, LeftLion etc

Podcast Producer @ CYP Now and Former Formula One Podcast Host

CYP Now •

Girlguiding launches plan to reduce environmental anxieties among children

Girlguiding has launched a new environmental strategy designed to reduce environment-based anxieties facing children.

The strategy involves building awareness among staff and young members and offering more eco-guiding activities by 2028 and lobbying ministers to half carbon emissions by 2040.

According to Girlguiding, young women and girls are more likely to have environmental concerns and related negative emotions than young men and boys, with 84% of Girlguiding’s young members saying it’s i
CYP Now •

DfE to repurpose unused school spaces for childcare

The Department for Education has revealed plans to pilot the use of surplus school spaces to offer childcare provision as part of its expansion of funded hours.

The pilot, beginning this summer, will explore how unused school space can be repurposed to support childcare settings and offer more places.

It comes as part of the rollout of the government's funded childcare expansion which allows all eligible two-year-olds of working parents to access 15 hours of funded care per week, increasing to
CYP Now •

Hundreds of young people to reveal lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry will hear from hundreds of young people about the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic to form legal evidence for future recommendations.

The Children and Young People Voices project, announced in January, is set to collect data from several hundred nine- to 22-year-olds. The project is a collaboration between the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and Verian.

Children from a range of ethnicities, genders, socio-economic backgrounds, various geographical regions and those identify
CYP Now •

Sadiq Khan reveals plans for youth investment ahead of mayoral election

Sadiq Khan has pledged to provide 250,000 more positive opportunities for young Londoners in youth clubs, including mentoring and youth worker investment, in the lead up to next month's mayoral election.

In his manifesto, published before Londoners take to the polls on 2 May, pledges on 2 May, the current Mayor of London has said he will focus investment on “youth clubs, schools, pupil referral units, custody centres and major A&Es” to “tackle the complex causes of crime”.

After school activit
CYP Now •

Childcare leaders question DfE claims of successful rollout of expanded entitlement

Early years bodies have questioned government assertions that the rollout of the funded childcare expansion is going to plan and claim that latest data fails to show a complete picture of the reality on the ground.

The Department for Education has claimed 195,355 children are benefitting from the government-funded childcare expansion launched in April.

The expansion allows all eligible two-year-olds of working parents to access 15 hours of funded care per week, increasing to 30 hours per week
Music Teacher •

Surrey Hills Young Composer Competition prizewinners announced

Borimir Ivanov, 16, takes first prize at the Surrey Hills International Music Festival's competition for young composers

The Surrey Hills International Music Festival (SHIMF) has announced the prizewinners of the 2024 Young Composer Competition.

Borimir Ivanov, 16, from Tiffin School (Kingston upon Thames), was awarded first prize for his piano duo Festival of the Hills, described by the competition jury as 'lively, joyful, and rhythmically exciting — a perfect way to celebrate the Festival’s
CYP Now •

Children with SEND disproportionately excluded from primary school, research finds

Almost all primary school aged children who experience exclusions have a special educational need or disability (SEND), research has found.

Chance UK’s latest research highlights that children with special needs or from poorer backgrounds are disproportionately affected by exclusion and suspension.

Some 70% of pupils excluded or suspended from primary schools were eligible free school meals, with 60% identified as a 'child in need’ by social services. Some 97% are classed as having SEND, accor
CYP Now •

MPs back plans to tackle youth vaping

MPs have backed major plans to tackle youth vaping and smoking including a ban on the marketing of vaping products aimed at children.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been passed through to the next stage in Parliament following a vote in the House of Commons last night (16 April).

If successful, the Bill will restrict how vapes are marketed to children and lead to fines of up to £2,500 for people who sell non-nicotine vaping products to under 18s.

Packaging, contents and flavouring of vapes ac
CYP Now •

Councils face £300 million shortfall in youth homelessness funding

English local authorities are facing an annual shortfall of £332 million in youth homelessness funding, economists have warned.

Newham Council, in London, was found to need as much as £32mn, with Liverpool, Hammersmith and Fulham, Cornwall, London boroughs of Ealing and Bexley needing in excess of £10mn, according to research published by youth homelessness charity Centrepoint.

Rising costs to meet obligations under the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA) were found to be a key factor behind the
CYP Now •

Falling school rolls spark fears of £1bn funding drop

State-funded primary and secondary schools in England are set to lose out on £1 billion worth of funding by 2030 driven by a projected 1% drop in pupils numbers each year over the same period, researchers warn.

A report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) on the effects of falling school rolls has found that all regions will experience a decrease in primary school funding between 2023/24 and 2029/30, with the North East projected to experience the largest decrease of 9%.

The East of Englan
The Rodeo Magazine •

English Teacher captivates listeners with theatrical debut

Leeds-based four piece English Teacher make a theatrical and unique mark on the British-indie scene with their strong debut, This Could Be Texas, which emphasises the band’s lyrical talent alongside their stellar experimental sound.

The highly anticipated album follows the band’s 2022 debut EP Polyawkward – and pre-released singles from the LP, such as ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’, have already amassed over one million (well-deserved) listens.

What has always made English Teacher unique a
CYP Now •

Scouts wins £129,000 DfE contract to boost teacher recruitment

Scouts has been handed a £129,000 government contract to promote teaching as a career pathway to its young members.

The Get into Teaching Candidate Pipeline Strategy aims to tackle teacher sufficiency by increasing the recruitment of young people who may not have considered it as a career.

The strategy focuses on promoting teaching through partnerships to a younger audience, with a focus on areas where recruitment is most challenging, including: science, technology, engineering, and mathematic
CYP Now •

Merseyside young people develop career skills through literary self-expression

Marginalised young people are empowered to express themselves by writing books about their lived experiences.

Comics Youth CIC, an organisation helping young people to publish comics, launched the Marginal Publishing House in Merseyside to give young people who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity a chance to share their stories.

The youth-led organisation publishes solely marginalised authors under the age of 25. Originally funded by the National Lottery and set up as a coaching and mentor
Music Teacher •

Liverpool’s ‘In Harmony’ programme promotes resilience in children and families, study shows

University of Liverpool publishes research demonstrating the benefits of a local programme introducing orchestral music-making to disadvantaged communities.

In Harmony Liverpool, launched by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in 2009, has benefitted over 4,000 young people. Children and young people make music every week free of charge as part of the orchestral programme, learning an instrument, composing, singing, and performing a wide range of music in schools and venues throughout North Liverp
CYP Now •

Tackling decline in London pupil numbers

A fall in children attending London schools is putting pressure on budgets and experts warn it could impact wider community support.

Latest analysis of school capacity data by London Councils has highlighted a drop in demand for secondary school places in London, which children’s services leaders fear could have a devastating impact on wider support services.

Analysis by the umbrella body for the capital’s 32 boroughs, projects there will be a 4.4 per cent decline in reception pupils and 4.3 p
CYP Now •

Charity highlights importance of specialist roles to support neurodiverse children

Safer London has said its expert caseworker roles to support neurodiverse children are vital at a time where there’s a “lack of money for services”.

The two caseworker roles were introduced in August 2023, with the specialists having training and advanced knowledge in working with neurodiverse children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Safer London say 26% of young people they worked with last year were neurodiverse.
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