children

Exeter City Football Club Supporters’ Trust is pleased to announce that, following the success of last year's event, a T20 (20 overs) cricket match is scheduled to take place between Tis and the players and an Invitational XI of City supporters and sponsors. The match will take place on Wednesday 10 July at Topsham St James (Topsham rugby club, not to be confused with the University cricket field) at 5.30 pm.

Proceeds from the evening will be split between ‘Football in the Community’ and the Youth Academy – two excellent causes. If you would like to get involved as a player, places...

Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park is offering families the chance to treat Dads to a free day out at the award-winning attraction, this Father’s Day on Sunday 16 June 2013.

What better way to say thank you and celebrate with Dads than a day out together as a family!

Race him to the top of the Vortex to ride the triple tube water coaster and climb aboard the Flying Dutchman Swinging Galleon. Once you’ve tired him out, explore the Adventure Zone while he relaxes in the Sandcastle Beach Bar.

Chris Down, Chief Executive of Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park said, “We...

Angie Lunn, from Exeter, talks about her experience volunteering for WESC Foundation and why she wishes she had done it years ago.

What led you to volunteer for WESC Foundation?

I had been toying with the idea of volunteering for about four years before I took action to make it happen.

I was talking to a friend about her son who has attended WESC Foundation for the past ten years and met him on a sponsored walk and had such a lovely time in his company that I decided to enquire whether I could use some of my spare time and skills to help at WESC.

I was...

A right old royal knees up is set to take place in Silverton as the village celebrates Her Majesty’s Coronation and new community facilities.

This Sunday, 2 June, will see a host of events and activities taking place on the mid-Devon village’s Big Recreation Ground and all are welcome to join in.

The day will also mark Silverton Parish Council officially opening the village’s new playground and skate park. A newly designed Jubilee garden will also be dedicated in the park to celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.

Activities in the afternoon include a giant...

Devon County Council leaders issued a swift response to a report finding its child protection services inadequate.

They said they were already taking steps to deal with a number of issues set to be highlighted by Ofsted inspectors in a report next week.

They declared that the safety of children in Devon was an absolute priority.

They pointed out that the inspectors had not reported on a single child who was at risk of immediate harm.

And they said the inspectors noted staff were following child protection procedures correctly.

Devon’s new Cabinet...

Devon and Cornwall Police take DNA samples from 19 children every week, figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal today (20 May 2013).

New research by the charity has found that Devon and Cornwall officers took swabs from 1,009 boys and girls aged 17 or under during 2011.

They included 18 primary school-age children – five 10-year-olds and 13 11-year-olds.

Across England and Wales, police took swabs from almost 54,000 boys and girls aged 17 or under during 2011.

They included at least 368 10-year-olds and 1,030 11-year-olds, meaning that...

Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park, the South West’s No 1 Multi Award Winning Family Attraction is offering an exclusive 30% online discount off admission prices for this Saturday 11 May! The discount, which is available to pre-book online now, offers fun for all the family with plenty of all-weather attractions! What’s more, guests can also enjoy seven days of fun for the price of one with this exclusive online offer!

With over 60 rides and attractions including the latest theme park rides, the friendliest animals and exciting indoor and outdoor play areas, there’s no shortage of...

Thousands more young people in Devon are to benefit from the sporting legacy after Sport England announced an extra £24 million to expand and extend its successful Sportivate programme.

The National Lottery funding means Sportivate can continue helping 14- to 25-year-olds to get involved in sports from judo and tennis to wakeboarding and parkour until 2017.

The initiative is run in Devon by County Sport Partnership, Active Devon. New figures shows that 3,521 teenagers and young adults in the county have already benefitted from free or discounted six-to-eight week sports...

Children in care would be found a home with adoptive parents more quickly under new plans to reform the adoption system.

In a joint submission to Government, councillors, chief executives and directors of children's services have set out proposals to significantly increase the number of adopters recruited and speed up the process of finding new homes for children in care.

Under the reforms, councils would work more closely together to help match suitable adopters with children in other parts of the country.

Targeted support work would focus on speeding up the...

Teachers in schools across the globe are turning to a new philosophy to help improve the behaviour and well-being of students. Mindfulness, a form of meditation, has been shown to help with a wide range of mental health conditions and improve well-being in adults. However, few trials have evaluated its effectiveness in children.

Professor Willem Kuyken from the Mood Disorders Centre at the University of Exeter is presenting new research findings from a feasibility trial which show how the mindfulness technique is also effective in improving well-being in young people. Speaking at...