Archbishop calls for ban on ads and a reduction in testing

The archibishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has joined the debate on the state of childhood in the UK by calling for a ban on advertising aimed at children.

'We're talking about one in 10 young people with measurable, identifiable mental health problems including self harm and clinical depression,' Dr Rowan said, 'now that's a very disturbing position. The whole thing about pester power for children, which of course advertising colludes with so often, needs challenging.'

The Archbishop also called for testing in schools to be reduced; ' The levels of testing, the relentlessness of it, the fact that teenagers don't any longer even have a year that's free of some major public tests, makes the whole educational system anxiety driven.'.

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