Pricey nativity costumes

According to a leading department store there has been a increase in the number of parents spending £150 or more on items to ensure their child is the best dressed in their school nativity.

In what the shop has dubbed "manger chic", panicked mums and dads have apparently been snapping up brand new ivory white bridesmaid dresses, at a cool £40, to transform their little girls into angels, £60 faux fur throws for children lucky enough to be given the role of "sheep", and grey fleecy hooded duffle coats at £14.

When ears are added to the latter it is said to make the perfect "donkey" costume.

The department store who spotted the trend two weeks ago at the start of nativity play rehearsals, puts it down to parents' obsession with getting their children into the best schools.

For full report please read article on following link http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2009/dec/03/manger-chic-nativity-plays

Nursery and Childcare Exhibition

'If you're looking to discover new ways to deliver childcare; exciting activities and products to take back to your setting and the latest updates regarding the sector then you must not miss this year's Childcare Expo show.

With educational seminars, inspiring workshops and feature areas as well as new and exciting products, Childcare Expo 2012 creates a stimulating and inspiring environment for all decision makers and professionals within the early years, childcare and nursery sector.

If you are a nursery chain executive, nursery owner, manager, childminder or an early years professional then you should visit the Childcare Show at Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

The show is an ideal occasion to meet with your business partners, staff or other childcare professionals and take a trip to a quality nursery show.'

This year we will be exhibiting on stand D35 and look forward to saying hello to some of our existing clients who are attending and all new visitors who may be interested in utilising the services of Bamboo Childcare in the future.  Please stop and say hello and grab some chocolate  from us!

Look forward to seeing you there.

For more details on whats on and how to get there see link  below 

http://www.childcareexpo.co.uk/home.htm

 

Have your say on Childcare

It is not too late to give your thoughts on childcare. 

The Government is calling on early years and childcare providers, parents and others to put forward their ideas about how to make childcare more affordable and accessible.

The Childcare Commission, set up by the Prime Minister, is looking at how to reduce the cost of childcare for working families, without cutting the safety or quality of provision.

The call for evidence runs until the end of August and the commission will report in the autumn.

Please see following link to find out how to put your views forward.

http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/a00211918/childcare-commission

Nurseries are recruiting - Current vacancies

There are vacancies within the childcare sector, due to increases in demand for nursery places in some areas. We have a number of current vacancies:

Oxford - Nursery Manager - salary £20 – 28K+ Candidates must be Dynamic and passionate about childcare and managing a nursery setting. Three years experience at a managerial level is required plus Level 3 in childcare and preferably Level 4.


Teddington, Middlesex - Nursery Manager - Salary £20 - £28K+,Candidates must have two years experience as a Nursery manager, excellent administration and communication skills are essential. A level 3 in childcare is a requirement, however a level 4 or above would be ideal.

Bolton – Deputy Manager – salary £15k minimum. Level 3 and management experience required

Dorking - Nursery Music Teacher – salary £17 - £23K degree in music required and preferably but not essential EYP, QTS or PGCE, with experience of working with under 5s in neither a nursery or school and knowledge of the EYFS.
West Hampstead, London – Deputy Nursery Manager (Vice principal) - salary £20 - £26K. Level 3 in childcare essential and extensive experience of working as a Deputy manager.

Crouch End, London, Room leader - Salary £17 - £18.5K. Level 3 in childcare and experience of working as a Room leader is essential.

Kingston London, Room leader - Salary £17 - £18.5K. Candidates must be able to demonstrate that they have a level 3 in childcare and have experience of working as a Room leader is essential.

Chineham, Basingstoke, Room Leader – salary £7.15 Candidates must be able to demonstrate that they have a level 3 in childcare and have experience of working as a Room leader is essential.

Chineham, Basingstoke, Nursery Nurse, Level 3 – Salary £6.50. Candidates must have a level 3 in childcare and be able to demonstrate an understanding of the EYFS.

Sunderland, Deputy Nursery Manager - Salary £16 - 19K, Strong experienced deputy required. Level 3 in childcare as a minimum.

Dunfermline, Scotland, Nursery Manager – salary £21 - £26K. Our client is looking for a strong and experienced deputy manager to work with this well established nursery, this role has become vacant as the current deputy is moving within the company. The role requires a person with strong managerial and organisational skills.

Wembley, London, Third in charge/Room Leader – salary £14k circa. We are recruiting for a small setting based in Wembley.. Candidates must be able to demonstrate that they have a level 3 in childcare and have experience of working as a Room leader.

Please contact us enquiries@bamboochildcare.co.uk, 08448225727 if you would like to be put forward for any of the above positions.

National Childcare week July 2nd to 9th

National Childcare Week

Have you organised your Big Breakfast Bonanza?

It is not too late to organise your event in support of national childcare week from 2nd to 9th of July. Daycare Trust are in the 15th year of celebrating National childcare week which is sponsored by  www.goodcareguide.co.uk and care.com

This year's theme is Families in Focus. Throughout the week we are promoting the benefits of engaging the whole family, including dads and grandparents, in your childcare morning meal. Hold a breakfast party and invite as many dads, mums and grandparents as possible. This will be an opportunity for them to not only help set up and enjoy a breakfast with you, but for you to highlight all the fantastic stuff your setting does with the children. The Big Breakfast Bonanza can also be an opportunity for you to get more parents to sign up for future events or sessions, and perhaps help out more frequently.

Organise your breakfast and help Daycare trust to promote the importance of childcare, extended schools, and early years provision for children which helps to strengthen children's play and learning to provide a good foundation for their future. 

Government setting up a commission to review childcare options

The Government is setting up a commission to ascertain how childcare  can be made more accessible and affordable:

Recommendations are  that schools across the UK will provide 'wrap around care' in some cases until 8pm. Nannies and childminders will have less 'paperwork to complete and may be able to care for more children than current legislation allows.

The aim is to provide more affordable childcare to reduce the financial pressure on working parents that often spend a third of their income on childcare.

The debate is whether this is a positive or negative opportunity for parents. Will it enable families to enjoy the benefits of a higher family income and a better standard of living? or are we are becoming a nation where our children are cared for outside the family home and is does this negatively  impact children and the family unit?

Children's minister launches £500,000 scholarship scheme for SEN support staff

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1127647/Childrens-minister-launches-500000-scholarship-scheme-SEN-support-staff/

Catherine Gaunt, 18 April 2012, 1:23pm

A new Government scholarship scheme for teaching assistants who work with children with special educational needs and disabilities will pay up to £2,000 towards the costs of taking a degree-level qualification.


The £500,000 SEN Support Scholarship programme aims to boost the skills of hundreds of teaching assistants and school staff by funding 50 per cent of the costs of a range of degree-level courses and qualifications focussing on specific needs such as autism and dyslexia.

Applicants must be qualified to 'A' level or equivalent or hold Higher Level Teaching Assistant status.

Launching the programme, children’s minister Sarah Teather said, ‘This is about getting the best from school staff. These scholarships identify and train talented professionals, with the potential to develop their specialist knowledge further and pursue a teaching career in the future of they want.’
She added, ‘We know that support staff can make a real difference to the achievement of pupils with SEN and disabilities. They are never a substitute for a qualified teacher – but we know that when used effectively, they are vital to giving the most vulnerable pupils the support they need to get the most out of school.’

Applications open on 30 May and close on 17 May with the first scholarships awarded later this year.
Scholarships will be awarded to the highest scoring applicants whose applications meet the criteria. Applications will be scrutinised and scored by the Teaching Agency and Department for Education, and assessment will be externally verified.

Ms Teather also confirmed funding in 2012/13 to train 100 new special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOS) though the masters-level National Award for SEN co-ordination.

The scheme has been extended following the recent review into alternative provision by Government expert on behaviour Charlie Taylor to include qualified teachers working in pupil referral units.
The Government is shortly to publish its response and next steps to the consultation on last year’s SEN Green Paper which put forward proposals to raise the quality of SEN education and support.

The education union Voice, commenting on the programme, said there was a need for specialised training for all teaching assistants working with children with SEN and disabilities.

General Secretary Philip Parkin said, 'Although better late than never, this is too little too late and rather limited in scope.

'The scheme targets only the elite – or "talented" as the DfE describes them – those teaching assistants (TAs) who are already well-qualified, with "A" levels or equivalent qualifications or who hold higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) status.

'There remains a real need for the majority of TAs involved in special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) work – those employed at levels one or two, many of whom will be minimally qualified – to gain access to appropriate specialised training. Regrettably, this initiative does nothing for them.

Big Toddle - Big Fun!!

http://www.barnardos.org.uk/bigtoddle.htm

The UK’s biggest charity event for under 5s!


The Big Toddle is a short sponsored walk for toddlers that helps the UK’s most disadvantaged under 5s.

Whether you're a nursery, a parent or a childminder, you can organise your own Toddle any time of the year. Join the Big Toddle 2012.

Around half a million children get ready to Toddle each year, and this year it’s Superhero-themed so why not power up and join in the super fun?

Go to the link today - my little boy is registered to complete the big toddle - will be a great family day out!!

Regisiter today to help disadvataged children under the age of 5.

Tonight 7.30pm -: Are your kids contagious?

http://www.itv.com/news/2012-04-12/are-your-kids-contagious/

With millions of tourists set to visit Britain this summer for the Queen’s Jubilee and Olympic Games, ITV1s Tonight programme examines the fears of health officials that we could be facing a widespread outbreak of Measles.


One part of the country already reporting a tenfold increase in cases.

“The increase in measles is one of the most serious events in this decade - if we look at all the infectious diseases this is the most prominent increase, so I’m very concerned.

– Marc Sprenger, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Other contagious childhood illnesses, like Whooping Cough and Mumps, are also on the rise.

Yet doctors say these diseases couldhave been all-but confined to history – were it not for the fact that millions of children aren’t being fully immunised.

In an exclusive Netmums survey of 2000 people Tonight found that 45% of people don’t consider vaccines to be completely safe.

Tonight investigates the effect Dr Andrew Wakefield’s report linking Autism to the triple MMR vaccine had on immunization rates and speaks to parents who have chosen to opt out of all vaccinations.

Mum Nicola Adolphe told us:

“If I give a vaccine and something went wrong, I might never be able to get that back… that's not a risk I’d like to take. I believe that things like breastfeeding, good food, good diet, exercise sunshine fresh air and hygiene are much more vital to health.

But the Health Protection Agency warn that by choosing not to immunise you not only put your child at risk but other children.

“If for whatever reason your children aren’t vaccinated you are not only putting your children at risk your children could potentially expose other individuals their friends other members of the family.

I think any parent would feel dreadful if your child exposed another child who then suffered some serious complications from vaccine preventable disease.

– Dr Mary Ramsey, Health Protection Agency

Tonight speaks to parents Dawn and Dave Benson whose five week-old daughter Eliza May died of whooping cough last December.


Babies are routinely vaccinated against this highly contagious airborne disease at 8 weeks – Eliza Mae was too young to be vaccinated.

Her parents believe the drop in immunization rates is the reason why their little girl came into contact with the disease and became infected.

Mr Benson told us:

“The message that needs to go out to other parents... it’s not just getting their children vaccinated - it’s about the whole of the country and looking after everybody else in the country.

Millions affected as tax and benefit changes come in....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17619212

Tax and benefit changes announced over the past 18 months will come into force on Friday, affecting millions.

 

The amount of income that is tax free is to rise by £630 to £8,105. The value of some benefits will rise by 5.2%, linked to inflation last September.

 

But the time couples with children will have to work to qualify for working tax credits will rise from 16 to 24 hours.
Labour said it would "clobber" families but the government said there would be 15 times as many winners as losers.

 

The beginning of the tax year on 6 April will see a significant number of changes to tax and benefits - affecting personal and family finances.

 

Measures which were announced by the government in the 2011 Budget, as well as last year's autumn statement, are only now taking effect.

 

They range from increasing the first chunk of income that is tax free - known as the personal allowance - to the annual upgrading of benefits, as well as specific spending cuts.

 

Among the most important changes are:

 

 

 

Benefits such as jobseeker's allowance, income support, disability benefits, maternity benefits and incapacity benefit are rising by 5.2% - in line with the CPI measure of inflation last September (announced in November 2011)

Other than a few exceptions, couples with children will have to work for 24 hours a week between them, not 16, in order to qualify for working tax credit. One member of the couple will have to work for at least 16 hours a week (announced in November 2011.

The child element of child tax credits is to rise by £135 but the couple and lone-parent elements of working tax credit are being frozen (announced in November 2011)

The tax-free personal allowance for those under 65 will rise by £630 to £8,105 (announced in March 2011)

 For 65- to 74-year-olds, the personal allowance rises from £9,940 to £10,500 (announced in March 2011)

 Tax experts have urged Revenue and Customs to write to all those affected to alert them about the changes.

 

 Labour said updated figures obtained from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) showed families with children would, on average, be £511 a year worse off as a result.

 

 

 

'Broken promise'

 

 The opposition's own figures suggest 212,000 families earning less than £17,000 a year will lose their working tax credits if they cannot increase their total hours to 24 a week while 850,000 households will lose their child tax credit as a result in a reduction in the income limit for one-child families.

 

 Continue reading the main story

 

“Start Quote

 

Families on middle and low incomes are facing a tax credits bombshell ”

 

End Quote

 

Ed Balls

 

Shadow chancellor

 

The changes in full

 

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "For all the government's talk about increasing the personal allowance, these independent figures show that while they may be giving one with one hand, they are taking much more away with the other hand."

 

These changes plus announcements in last month's Budget, such as the cut in the top rate of tax on earnings over £150,000 from 50p to 45p in 2013 and the freezing of personal allowances for the over-65s next year, show the government have the wrong priorities, Labour argue.

 

"There do need to be tough decisions on tax, spending and pay," Mr Balls added. "But why are people earning £150,000 soon to get a £3bn tax cut from this out-of-touch government while parents on middle and modest incomes are being clobbered?"

 

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander blamed the previous Labour government for leaving the country's finances in a "catastrophic mess".

 

 He said overall the richest 20% of the population were bearing the heaviest burden of tax and spending changes but it would still be difficult for people on lower incomes.

 

 But he added: "I think it is right to say, in a situation where you ask a single parent, for example, to work 16 hours a week before they can receive working tax credits, that you ask more of two people.

 

 "If you are going to ask a single parent to work two days a week before they can receive working tax credit, I think asking a couple to work three days a week between them is a reasonable position."

 

 The government says 24 million people will be £6.50 a week better off from Friday, something Mr Alexander described as "a fair position which encourages and incentivises work".

 

Ministers also point to the fact that the basic state pension is to rise by £5.30 to £107.45 a week on Monday.

 

According to the IFS, pensioner households will be £119 a year better off as a result of the changes this month while working age households without children will be £156 worse off - figures which exclude measures targeting the "very rich".

 

 

 

New Ofsted chief proposes creation of team to identify failing academies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/dec/28/new-ofsted-chief-failing-academies

A team of local commissioners should be employed to identify institutions that should lose their academy status and find headteachers who should be replaced, the incoming head of Ofsted has said.


As more schools become independent academies, Sir Michael Wilshaw called for the creation of the network of commissioners who would report back on the performance of schools in their area.

Wilshaw, who will take up his post as England's new chief education inspector next month, also suggested in an interview with the Times that some school governors should be paid in a bid to improve their performance and that scruffy teachers could be reprimanded.

"If we turned up at the doctor's surgery or the lawyer's offices … we would expect them to look professional, it's the same with teachers," he said.

He said that the local commissioners would be needed to help with the task of identifying problems as more schools became academies.

"I speak as someone who believes in autonomy and who believes in independence and as a great supporter of the academy programme, but we know there will be some academies that won't do well," Wilshaw said.

"It is no good just relying on Ofsted to give the judgment. By that time, it is too late. We need some sort of intermediary bodies which can detect when things aren't going well, look at the data and have their ear very close to the ground to determine when there is a certain issue."

He added: "These people would be non-political, in other words they would not be like LEAs responsible to a council, they would be people who would report directly to the secretary of state."

"The job of the commissioner would be to meet the managing directors, the chief executives of those clusters, report to him or her on the performance of the group. And the commissioner would then make a judgment on whether a school needs to be improved, report to the secretary of state and then bring in other agencies to improve those schools or not."

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "We welcome Sir Michael Wilshaw's thoughts on how we can continue to drive up standards in schools."

"We have already established the Office of the Schools Commissioner and will take action to deal with any failing school or academy. We have also published more information than ever before about how schools are performing, including their spending and results, so they can be held to account and parents really know what is going on in schools, including academies."

Stephen Twigg, Labour's shadow education secretary, said the party will give "serious consideration" to the suggestion in its policy review.

He said: "We have been looking at the idea of local schools' commissioners to raise standards and deal with poorly performing schools, whilst protecting autonomy and local accountability."

"But the Tory-led government must answer serious questions before bringing in any changes. Will the new posts be accountable to local parents and communities? Will the new superintendents be qualified professionals?"

Parents believe nursery have more influence on childrens reading than them

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1120219/Parents-believe-nursery-influence-childrens-reading-do-survey-suggests/

Michael Glenister, 02 March 2012, 10:43am

Many parents consider early years settings to be more important than the home environment when it comes to children's communication and literacy skills, according to research published by the charity National Literacy Trust (NLT)

Almost a third of parents said they did not consider themselves to be the main influence on children’s communication and language skills, with 15 per cent citing school and nursery teachers as the primary influence on children’s communication skills.


As a result, 14 per cent of parents shun the opportunity to read to their children at home, as shown by the poll of 1,000 parents of 0-16-year-olds, carried out as part of the launch of the NLT’s Words for Life campaign.

Clare Bolton, campaign manager at Words for Life, encouraged nurseries to work in conjunction with parents to improve literacy standards. 'It’s about getting parents involved as much as possible in what is happening in the nursery,' she said.

'Reinforcing messages from the nursery environment is really important and nurseries can help by doing things like sending reading lists home with children and celebrating World Book Day in order to get families talking about reading.'

The Words for Life campaign encourages parents to aid the development of children’s reading and communication skills and provides tips and guidance for parents on their website.

Advice for reading with three- to five-year-olds includes hints such as voicing different characters to bring children’s books to life. The site also includes resources such as worksheets and puzzles relating to popular children’s books.

Ms Bolton also encourages nurseries to use the resources as well in order to promote literacy among children.

'If nurseries can use the resources and encourage children and parents to utilise those resources at home and create continuity between the two environments then that is fantastic,' she said.

Bestselling author James Patterson is also supporting the campaign. He encouraged parents to set an example to children by reading at home themselves.

'Let's face it, most of us don't realise it, but we are failing our kids as reading role models,' he said.

'The best role models are in the home: brothers, fathers, grandfathers, mothers, sisters, grandmothers. Mums and dads, it's important that your kids see you reading. Not just books – reading the newspaper is good too.'


The research did find that 91 per cent of parents wanted to spend more time reading with children.

Activities in Encouraging Speech and Language in your Toddler - Birth to 2 years

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/Parent-stim-Activities/

I am going through this myself at the moment with my 19month son, he is coming along well with his speech and understanding more and more each day. It is such good fun having conversations with him and teaching him the meaning of different words. I found this site and it gave some helpful tips, i hope it helps you to.

Activities:

■Encourage your baby to make vowel-like and consonant-vowel sounds such as "ma," "da," and "ba."


■Reinforce attempts by maintaining eye contact, responding with speech, and imitating vocalizations using different patterns and emphasis. For example, raise the pitch of your voice to indicate a question.

■Imitate your baby's laughter and facial expressions.

■Teach your baby to imitate your actions, including clapping you hands, throwing kisses, and playing finger games such as pat-a-cake, peek-a-boo, and the itsy-bitsy-spider.

■Talk as you bathe, feed, and dress your baby. Talk about what you are doing, where you are going, what you will do when you arrive, and who and what you will see.

■Identify colors.

■Count items.

■Use gestures such as waving goodbye to help convey meaning.

■Introduce animal sounds to associate a sound with a specific meaning: "The doggie says woof-woof."

■Acknowledge the attempt to communicate.

■Expand on single words your baby uses: "Here is Mama. Mama loves you. Where is baby? Here is baby."

■Read to your child. Sometimes "reading" is simply describing the pictures in a book without following the written words. Choose books that are sturdy and have large colorful pictures that are not too detailed. Ask your child, "What's this?" and encourage naming and pointing to familiar objects in the book.

Manchester's children's centres to stay open, but council daycare to go

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1115677/Manchesters-childrens-centres-stay-open-council-daycare-go/

Catherine Gaunt, 06 February 2012, 12:54pm

The council says that there is enough good quality and affordable childcare run by the private, voluntary and independent sector.

The plans will be put before the children and young people’s scrutiny committee tomorrow and will be considered by the council’s executive on 15 February.

Sure Start children’s centres will become community hubs offering a wider range of services to people of all ages, including early years, and a new citywide outreach service will be introduced.
The service will expand pilot outreach schemes already in place. Outreach workers will aim to visit every child in their own home in their first three years, by working closely with GPs, midwives and health visitors.

The proposals follow a three-month consultation that involved more than 8,000 meetings with parents and attracted more than 4,000 written responses with parents, schools, health staff and others.

The council has to cut £22m from its budget of £29m for early years provision.
The council said that it would ensure that there were enough high-quality, affordable childcare places available for families before withdrawing council-run nurseries.

Mike Livingstone, the council’s director of children’s services, said, ‘Our analysis shows there is already enough good quality and affordable daycare provision across the city being provided by the private, voluntary and independent sector, so over time we will no longer need to provide it ourselves.

‘What we do need to do, however, is to ensure that the right kind of quality daycare is available in the right places, so we’re going to spend the next two years making sure this happens.

‘We will only stop providing daycare in different parts of the city when we are satisfied that there is enough high quality alternative provision to meet the needs of local families.’

The impact of these changes will be assessed on a case by case basis and for families that would be worse off in work than out of work, additional support will be given through the Manchester Investment Fund.

The council says that the changes will lead to more families using Sure Start services and that this will improve outcomes for children and families.
Councillor Afzal Khan, executive member children’s services, said, ‘At the heart of our proposals is the need to ensure that Manchester parents are ready to parent, that children are ready for school, and that we do what we can to support more of our families into work.

Child Benefit cuts 'looked at for Fairness'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16539428

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the government is looking at ways to make controversial plans to cut child benefit "fairer".

He spoke as David Cameron also hinted moves to scrap the benefit for families with one parent earning more than about £44,000 a year could be amended.


The PM acknowledged there was an issue with the threshold - amid criticism it unfairly hits single earner families.
But Treasury sources said there had been no change in policy.

Critics say the proposals would mean that some parents will lose thousands of pounds if their income rises above the 40% tax threshold - currently about £44,000, but due to fall to about £42,000 in 2013.

'Unfairness'


A couple with three children could lose around £2,500 if one parent earned just a few pounds over the threshold - even if the other was unemployed.

But a couple who both earn just under £44,000 a year each, and enjoy a total household income of more than £80,000, would keep all their benefit.

In an interview with Parliament's House Magazine, Mr Cameron suggested he did have some concerns over how the proposed changes were structured.


"Some people say that's the unfairness of it, that you lose the child benefit if you have a higher-rate taxpayer in the family (but) two people below the level keep the benefit," he said.

"So, there's a threshold, a cliff-edge issue. We always said we would look at the steepness of the curve, we always said we would look at the way it's implemented and that remains the case.

"But again, I don't want to impinge on the chancellor's Budget."

'Fairness issue'


BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said the so-called "cliff-edge" could be replaced with some sort of tapering of benefits, but any kind of rowing back on the cuts would cost the government money.

In an interview with BBC Radio Surrey's Breakfast programme, Culture Secretary Mr Hunt said: "We are looking at ways to make it fairer.

"Particularly, there's this sort of 'cliff-edge effect', that if someone gets over the top-rate limit they lose child benefit, but there could be two people who are just under the limit in a household and have a combined income of much, much more than that who continue to claim it.


"So we just want to look at the fairness issue there and see if there's anything we can do to improve it."

And Education Secretary Michael Gove told the BBC: "The policy was right, but you need to make sure that when you implement it, that you deal with any rough edges."
Chancellor George Osborne will deliver his third Budget - where tax and spending changes are traditionally announced - in March.

Mr Osborne has defended the child benefit cut - which could save up to £1bn a year - as tough but necessary, saying those on higher incomes must contribute their share to helping cut the budget deficit.

Labour have criticised the proposals, saying they have caused "huge anxiety" and that all families need support in tough times.

Shadow Treasury minister Chris Leslie said his party had "repeatedly warned that the government's current plans to cut child benefit are unfair and highly bureaucratic".

"These ill-thought-through plans are due to hit families in less than 12 months' time, so David Cameron and George Osborne urgently need to come up with some new proposals," he said.