In the News

Hi readers, It’s Kerry and William here today, talking about things we have heard in the news this week.

I, William, heard that lots of schools have not opened at the start of term, because they have been built with a type of concrete which could could collapse at any point. The government said, only last week before children go back after the summer holidays, that these schools must be closed. It’s up to local councils now to make them safe, which must be very hard for them to do in a few days!

All this means it will be difficult for many children, who want to go back and see their friends, plus parents who suddenly have to juggle their work while children are still at home. For some, that will create lots of problems.

The news I, Kerry, heard was about Tesco stores introducing more steps to try and reduce assaults on its staff, as these have increased by over 30% in the last year. We wonder if this is because people are struggling more because of the cost-of-living crisis, also other things like it being hard to get help for mental health problems or addictions, making people less able to cope?

Tesco are offering bodycams to staff in the hope it will reduce attacks on staff as people will less likely to be abusive if they know they are being recorded, which will make it easier for them to be prosecuted as there is clear evidence. I think this is a good thing to help keep people working in shops like Tesco safe.

We also wonder if smaller shops would benefit but may struggle to afford bodycams. Have we really come to a society where staff in shops need to wear bodycams to keep safe?

The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff.