Main content

Women bishops; Schools and mental health; Parks; Social kissing

Women bishops, schools and mental health and social kissing.

Next Monday the current General Synod grasps its last chance to vote on whether to accept women bishops into the Church of England. It 's been ordaining women priests since 1994 so for many its continuing refusal to allow women bishops is both illogical and unacceptable. How great a chance the General Synod finally votes 'Yes' , how great the fallout should it decide 'No'?

The Government has produced new guidance to help teachers to spot pupils with mental health problems, but many teachers are concerned about taking on this responsibility as they are not medical experts and they fear a lack of support from external agencies because of cutbacks.

As the wedding season hits full swing, how comfortable are you with the social kiss? Is any opportunity for a peck on the cheek surely welcome or have things possibly gone a 'Mwah!' too far ?

Available now

58 minutes

Clip

Chapters

  • Women Bishops

    Should women bishops be accepted into the Church of England?

    Duration: 08:57

  • Mental Health in Schools

    New guidelines to help teachers identify mental health problems in young people

    Duration: 14:23

  • Parks

    Children today are spending less time outdoors.

    Duration: 07:08

  • Social Kissing

    the social kiss is becoming the standard greeting even on first introduction

    Duration: 09:20

Women Bishops

Next Monday the current General Synod grasps its last chance to vote on whether to accept women bishops in to the Church of England. The consecration of women bishops will only be passed if there is a two thirds majority vote in each of the three houses making up the General Synod:  The House of Clergy, the House of Bishops and the House of Laity. The last time it was put to the vote in November 2012 it failed only in the House of Laity by just six votes.  After decades of campaigning  will women bishops finally get through  this time and what are the consequences for the Church of England if not?  Jenni asks Ruth Gledhill, former religious correspondent on The Times, now writer for The Tablet, who has covered the campaign for over thirty years.

Mental Health in Schools

New guidance has been published by the government which they say will help teachers better identify underlying mental health problems in young people, meaning fewer pupils will wrongly be labelled as trouble-makers. They believe it will help ensure pupils with unmet mental health needs will get the support they require at an earlier stage. A 2012 Centre for Mental Health report estimates around 15% of pupils aged 5 to 16 have mental health problems that put them at increased risk of developing more serious issues in the future. However concerns have been expressed by many teachers about the new guidance. They welcome it but say it comes at a time of big cuts to school and support services budgets. They also believe there is a risk of overloading teachers who are not mental health experts, and who already have an excessive work load. Jenni talks to Sophie, a teenager who has had serious mental issues at school. She discusses the new guidance with Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teaching union, and to Charles Walker, the MP for Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health.

Parks

The National Trust has said that most children today spend less than an hour outdoors, a third of the time their grandparents did. They are calling for parents to take their children outside more. The University of Manchester did a study looking at children’s behaviour in parks in Manchester, London and West Yorkshire… parks which were built during the 1800s to give people in towns and cities access to clean air. They concluded that Victorian children were every bit as unruly as today’s. Geoff Bird met up with Ken Shone, chair of the friends of in Manchester and project leader Professor Sian Jones from the .

Social Kissing

As the wedding season hits full swing, increasingly it seems the social kiss is becoming the standard greeting even on first introduction. But how many of us are truly comfortable with it? Jenni asks Kate Fox, anthropologist and author of ‘Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour’ and Lars Tharp, presenter for Â鶹Éç Antiques Roadshow … Have things gone a ‘Mwah!’ too far?

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jenni Murray
Producer Bernadette McConnell

Broadcast

  • Fri 11 Jul 2014 10:00

Follow us on Instagram

Get all the pictures, videos, behind the scenes and more from Woman’s Hour

Podcast