NCVYS STRATEGIC INFORMATION SERVICE BULLETIN NO. 440
22 May 2009
New ECM website
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has launched the new Every Child Matters website which incorporates the three former sites: Every Child Matters, Local Authorities and Sure Start. The site provides a single channel for information aimed at professionals within the children's workforce.
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/
National College appoints new strategic director for children's services
The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) has appointed Catherine Fitt as its new strategic director for children's services. Catherine was previously executive director of children's services at Newcastle City Council and will now be responsible for establishing the new leadership programme for all directors of children's services (DCS).
http://www.ncsl.org.uk/news-index.htm?id=32333
Developing the DCS leadership programme - free consultation events
To help shape the new leadership programme for Directors of Children's Services (DCS), improve the understanding of the voluntary sector and develop effective partnerships for the benefit of young people, NCVYS is urging all members to sign up to the FREE consultation events on 5 June in Leeds and 18 June in London. Travel expenses will be reimbursed.
http://www.ncvys.org.uk/event_calendar.php
Tackling educational disengagement report
Think tank Demos has published a new report entitled A Stitch in Time giving an overview of trends and policies on educational disengagement. With 10% of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training, the report looks at how to promote engagement with learning earlier on in the school system and highlights the effective work of the voluntary and community organisations in working with young people. It signals the need to reconcile the Every Child Matters outcomes with the standards agenda.
http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/a-stitch-in-time-tackling-educational-disengagement
Social Cohesion and Inclusion of Young People
The Council of Europe's Directorate of Youth and Sport has launched a two-year training project on Access to Social Rights for Young People from Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods. The project is aimed at developing youth work and policy responses to exclusion, discrimination and violence affecting young people in multicultural disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It's aimed at local youth workers active at grassroots level and other educators working with young people with fewer opportunities to participate. The deadline for applications is 15 June 2009 and expenses will be covered.
http://courses.opencontent.it/Access-to-Social-Rights-for-Young-People-from-Disadvantaged-Neighbourhoods-Long-term-Training-Course
Charities and Elections guidance
The Charity Commission has highlighted guidance available to charities during the period between the announcement of an election, and the date on which an election is held. It applies to both national and local elections, to aid charities in deciding what actions are and are not appropriate in the run-up to an election, including during the campaign itself.
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/supportingcharities/elect.asp
Reoffending data from MoJ
The Ministry of Justice has published statistics on adult and young people's reoffending in 2007. Data shows a 7.5% fall in the number of reoffences committed by children and young people from 2005 to 2007; and between 2000 and 2007, the frequency of reoffending fell by 23.6%.
http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease210509a.htm
Education of young offenders
According to interim findings from Lancaster University, looking at ways in which the criminal justice system interrupts the educational progress of young offenders, teenage criminals are rarely the illiterate educational dropouts that stereotypes suggest. Many are forced to abandon courses when they go into prison, and the system does little to support their return to their studies when they are released.
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6013987
DCMS Third Sector Strategy
NCVYS has produced a briefing paper on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) Third Sector Strategy published last week. The paper highlights key issues for the voluntary and community youth sector including the development of social enterprises and the Dormant Bank and Building Societies Account Bill which has young people and youth facilities as priority recipients of unclaimed assets. Opportunities for third sector and voluntary engagement around the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics are also featured.
http://www.ncvys.org.uk/index.php?page=361
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre annual review
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has published its annual review covering statistics in safeguarding. The review shows how technology is increasingly being used by offenders to target young victims and mask behaviour. In 2008, the most significant trend affecting child sexual abuse online was that of convergence such as social networking sites with instant messaging and photo and video sharing. Also offenders are increasingly using peer-to-peer networks and newsgroups rather than commercial pay-per-view sites in order to share images of sexual abuse.
http://www.ceop.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2009/ceop_20052009.asp
Post Office report on the state of the economy
According to a survey of 1,500 adults by the Post Office, a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed said it will take at least ten years before living standards recovered from the current economic downturn, with a further third predicting that recovery is more than five years away. In contrast, 5% of respondents aged between 45 and 54 thought the recession would last longer than a decade.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5izzUIR3tjeD_8yW877bgy8e1rlxQ
Abortion statistics released
The Department of Health has published figures on the number of women that underwent abortions in 2008. The findings show that the abortion rate was highest at 36 per 1,000, for women age 19, the same as in 2007. The under-16 abortion rate was 4.2 and the under-18 rate was 18.9 per 1,000 women, both lower than in 2007.
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=401881&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False
Report on drugs policy
The Centre for Policy Studies has published a report on UK drugs policy entitled: The Phoney War on Drugs. The report criticises the Government's efforts to combat drug abuse saying its harm-reduction approach has failed. Recommendations include developing treatment support aimed at abstinence and rehabilitation; and a far tougher, better-funded enforcement
programme to reduce the supply of drugs.
http://www.cps.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=cpsarticle&id=155&Itemid=17
National schools recruitment service
The DCSF has announced that the contract for delivering the new Schools Recruitment Service has been awarded to Tribal. The service, to be launched in the autumn, aims to provide a faster, more efficient and standardised application system to recruit all permanent teaching and support staff in England by building up a ‘talent pool', where schools and local authorities can choose to contact suitable candidates directly.
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0100
Compact Awards launched
Nominations are now open for the 2009 Compact Awards. These annual awards demonstrate the Compact in action, recognising and celebrating the excellent partnership working taking place between government and the voluntary and community sector on a local and national level. The closing date for entries is Friday 21 August 2009.
http://www.compactawards.org.uk/
Free advertising for volunteering vacancies in London
The Greater London Authority is urging all voluntary and community organisations providing opportunities in London to advertise their vacancies free-of-charge on the Volunteering London website. The site has been active since last September and will be officially launched during the 25th annual Volunteers Week (1-7 June 2009). The website is powered by 'do-it.org.uk' database and to register your volunteering opportunities please contact your local Volunteer Centre. http://www.do-it.org.uk/wanttovolunteer/aboutvolunteering/vcfinder
http://www.london.gov.uk/volunteer/
Survey on positive activities for young people
YouthNet has launched a survey around positive activities for young people and what they do in their free time, entitled Time on your hands. NCVYS is asking members to forward this to the young people they work with. YouthNet is particularly keen to hear about disabled young people's experiences.
http://survey.youthnet.org/mrIWeb/mrIWeb.dll?I.Project=POSITIVEACTIVITI
THIS WEEK IN PARLIAMENT
Statutory support for young homeless people
A House of Lords Judgment has confirmed that local authorities have a duty to assess the wider needs of 16 and 17-year-olds who become homeless, not just accommodation. The case involved a 17 year old who was thrown out of his mother's home in Southwark, London and was assessed as needing only bed and breakfast accommodation through the housing services. The Law Lords ruled that councils should accommodate and support young people through their children's services rather than passing them to housing authorities to take into account other needs like health and education.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldjudgmt/jd090520/appg-1.htm
Funding for offending prevention
Following a question by Dominic Grieve (Con, Beaconsfield) on how much funding the Youth Justice Board allocated to preventive programmes in each year since 1999, Minister for Justice, Jack Straw responded with figures showing that funding for programmes that prevent offending and antisocial behaviour were cut by £2 million from 2007/08 to £36 million in 2008/09. Programmes covered by the figures include youth inclusion and support panels, youth inclusion programmes, safer schools partnerships and parenting support initiatives.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090520/text/90520w0016.htm#09052054001498
Children: Abuse
Following another question by Mr Grieve, the Justice Minister also provided information on how many people aged 21 years and over, with a previous conviction, have been convicted for offences relating to child abuse in each year since 1997.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090520/text/90520w0013.htm#09052054000026
Selecting pilot LAs for young people's voluntary work
In response to a question by Tony Baldry (Con, Banbury), Minister for Schools and Learners, Sarah McCarthy-Fry detailed the criteria used to select the local authority sites that will pilot projects to increase the proportion of young people participating in community service. These will include: evidence that schools are keen to take part, evidence of the existing level of community service among 14 to 16-year-olds and the prospects for building on that to create a universal expectation and credible plans for involving young people in designing the local arrangements for community service.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090520/text/90520w0017.htm#09052058000014
Rise in sexually transmitted infections in under-16s
Following a question from Norman Lamb (Lib Dem, North Norfolk) on how many children under-16 years old were diagnosed with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) in the last five years, Minister for Public Health, Dawn Primarolo gave data which revealed that sexually transmitted infections overall had increased by 58% since 2003. The biggest increase was in cases of chlamydia, the most common sexually transmitted infection, which rose by 90%.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090515/text/90515w0015.htm#09051566004198 |
