Family Life

How to protect your familial inheritance without losing its value

Preserving the value of a familial inheritance needs great planning and strategic decision-making. With inheritance tax receipts reaching record levels and estates becoming more complex to manage, protecting your family's wealth demands a proactive approach.

Understanding Probate Loans

The probate process can create some financial pressure for beneficiaries and executors. During this period, assets remain locked within the estate whilst essential expenses continue to mount. Probate loans provide crucial access to funds before probate completes , allowing families to...

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NSPCC calls for equal protection as survey shows more than two thirds of adults in the South West believe it is unacceptable to physically punish a child

More than two thirds (69%) of adults in the South West believe it is now unacceptable for parents or carers to physically punish their child, the NSPCC can reveal.

Nationally, a YouGov poll of almost 3,000 over 18s, of which 364 respondents were in the South West, commissioned by the charity, showed 68% of respondents think physically disciplining a child, for example by smacking, is not acceptable.

On the day (March 21) the “reasonable chastisement” defence is abolished in Wales almost two thirds (64%) of the people who expressed an opinion said it is time to change the...

Adoption charity encourages LGBT+ community to come forward to adopt vulnerable childre

LGBT+ people across the South West are being urged to explore adoption as a potential parenting route as a part of a national campaign launching today (7 March).

With over 80,000 children in care in 2021 in England alone, LGBT+ Adoption & Fostering Week brings together local adoption agencies and potential new LGBT+ adoptive families. The campaign is led by LGBT+ focused agency New Family Social, with support from local adoption charity Families for Children. #BeTheChange – the theme for 2022 – asks LGBT+ people to think about the range of vulnerable children they could...

Childline launches mental health campaign aimed at boys

Childline has found boys are five times less likely to talk with the service’s trained counsellors about their mental health than girls, and even less likely to come to them when they have suicidal thoughts.

New statistics from the NSPCC-run service show in 2020/21 they carried out 31,899 counselling sessions with girls about mental health issues compared to 5,622 with boys.

When it came to counselling sessions about suicidal thoughts and feelings, they delivered 11,719 with girls but just 1,592 with boys.

Despite fewer boys talking to Childline about feeling...

Major new study will show how widening inequalities in education and employment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will impact children’s life prospects

A major new study will show how widening inequalities in education and employment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will impact children’s life prospects.

Experts hope their work – which includes a comparison of the life chances for today’s young people with those who started jobs during the 2008 recession - will help UK governments and policymakers to develop long term recovery plans to improve outcomes for all children.

The study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is led by Professor Lee Elliot Major, from the University of Exeter and Professor Stephen Machin and Andrew...

Free webinars to help parents and carers of teenagers or pre-teens

An online series of webinars starting next month aim to help parents and carers understand and support their teenagers to navigate the challenges they might face as they grow up in today’s world .

‘Let’s Talk Teenagers’ is a three part webinar for parents and carers of teenagers or pre-teens. The sessions cover different subject areas starting with communities and family life (March 8) and followed by respectful relationships (March 15) and building stronger families (March 22), all at 7pm.

It’s the result of a Devon partnership of professionals and local networks that...

Charity says number of couples in conflict soared during the pandemic, despite drop in divorce rates

National Family Mediation (NFM), a charity which helps families to sort arrangements for children, property, finance and other important matters, says that nosediving divorce statistics is not a true representation of the number of families in conflict.

According to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the number of divorces completed in 2020 was 103,592. A 4.5% drop on the previous year.

However, while the data suggests more people are working through their problems and choosing to stay together, experts say that isn’t the case.

Jane...

The importance of parent and child fostering

When you think of fostering, you’ll likely think of taking in a child or teenager and looking after them until the time is right for them to move on to a permanent home. However, in some cases, parent and child fostering is needed. This means that not only will the child come to live with you, but so too will at least one of their parents.

Most parent and child fostering placements last from between 12 and 26 weeks, and it’s a chance for a new parent to understand more about how to take care of their baby and what it means to be a parent. These services are hugely important, but...

The Outdoors Group to open next forest school at Escot

There’s a new opportunity for children in Exeter and East Devon to enjoy outdoor learning and play as The Outdoors Group launches its latest forest school at Escot Estate.

Opening just after February half term ‘The Forest School at Escot’ is located in a section of Black Aller Woods, a stunning plot of mixed woodland with an ever-changing setting including carpets of bluebells throughout Spring.

Head of Forest Schools, Nick Murphy explains how the new site came about. “We’d been looking for a suitable plot of woodland for a while and when we walked into Black Aller we knew...

Discover the leader of the pack at The Donkey Sanctuary

This February half term, head to The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth and find out which adoption donkey has the loudest bray, the longest ears, or who is the most playful, in the Adoption Donkey Top Trumps Trail.

Follow the trail around the sanctuary to find the giant Top Trumps cards and discover which adoption donkey comes out on top in each round. This exciting family activity is a great way to explore the sanctuary, combining fun, exercise and brainpower.

Set in the heart of the rolling East Devon countryside, The Donkey Sanctuary has something to keep everyone...

Don’t miss out on up to £2,000 towards childcare costs

Thousands of working families in the South West could be missing out on an opportunity to get up to £2,000 a year to help with the cost of childcare, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding parents, ahead of February half term.

Tax-Free Childcare – the 20% childcare top-up – provides eligible working families with up to £500 every three months (or £1,000 if their child is disabled) towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other accredited childcare schemes.

More than 26,600 working families used the scheme in...

Family Life

How to protect your familial inheritance without losing its value

NSPCC calls for equal protection as survey shows more than two thirds of adults in the South West believe it is unacceptable to physically punish a child

Adoption charity encourages LGBT+ community to come forward to adopt vulnerable childre

Childline launches mental health campaign aimed at boys

Major new study will show how widening inequalities in education and employment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will impact children’s life prospects

Free webinars to help parents and carers of teenagers or pre-teens

Charity says number of couples in conflict soared during the pandemic, despite drop in divorce rates

The importance of parent and child fostering

The Outdoors Group to open next forest school at Escot

Discover the leader of the pack at The Donkey Sanctuary

Don’t miss out on up to £2,000 towards childcare costs

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