News and events

VCI Free Annual Conference 14 May 2010 at the County Hall, Matlock: Supporting the Plan 

The VCI Sector Contributing to and Delivering the County Children’s and Young People’s Plan

This is an important conference for those in the voluntary, community and independent children and young people’s sector in Derbyshire as they contribute to the delivery of the County’s Children and Young People’s Plan. 

For further information and to book your place please see the flyer and booking form at the foot of this page.

SAFE Network Toolkit

The toolkit includes a number of publications and leaflets providing guidance and information around the safeguarding of children and young people.

The "Are they safe? guide" is particularly useful for development workers who may be advising community groups and organisations with regard to safeguarding procedures and policies, the toolkit also includes an "Are they safe?" DVD for use with staff, parents/carers and volunteers.

For further information on the work of the unit please visit the Safe Network (opens in a new window) website .

Family Reading Matters (FRM)

Derbyshire is one of four authorities which has been chosen by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) to pilot Family Reading Matters (FRM) a strategy to support families create homes rich in reading, writing, speaking and listening; funded by the DCSF.

This is a Derbyshire Partnership project and it will include county and district council services, health services, community safety services, services provided by the Voluntary, Community and Independent (VCI) sector and social housing services.

The aims of the pilot are:

• To map the ways in which literacy support is available to families and the take up of these services.

• To improve partnership working of agencies who either support literacy or work with families to improve the development of family reading.

• To find out how families, particularly the most disadvantaged, respond to this pilot.

• To embed support for family reading as a strategic approach in the Derbyshire Partnership.

We will be working towards the aims by:

• Widely advocating the strategic importance of a coordinated approach to family literacy as a priority for Derbyshire.

• Collecting general data through an online survey (designed and hosted by NLT) sent to all the relevant organisations/agencies.

• Interrogating documentary and statistical evidence.

• Doing research in selected areas to gather in-depth data from families and service providers, to put ‘flesh’ on the ‘bones’ of the survey.

• Developing and trialling a coordinated model of FRM signposting, cross-referral and targeted support.

For further information please contact:

Angela Packwood
Family Reading Matters Strategic Coordinator
Read On Write Away
County Hall
Matlock
Derbyshire
DE4 3AG

Tel: 01629 536438
email: angela.packwood@derbyshire.gov.uk

Latest news relating to the new ISA Vetting and Barring Scheme

The Home Office has announced a new timetable for the roll-out of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) Vetting and Barring Scheme. The major change to the implementation process is that individual applications for Scheme registration will not begin until summer 2010, rather than at the launch of the Scheme later this year.

The revised timetable now states:

From 12 October 2009:

• Two new ISA barred lists will be created

• Access to these new ISA lists will be available on request as part of an Enhanced CRB check.

• Eligibility for Enhanced CRB checks will expand to include more employment and voluntary positions.

• Standard CRB checks will no longer be available for those working with children or the vulnerable.

From July 2010:

• Individuals will be able via Registered/Umbrella Bodies, to apply to the CRB for ISA-registration if they are applying to work with children and/or vulnerable adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• Employers will be able to express an interest in a person’s ISA-registration and informed of any changes to that person’s ISA-registration status.

• The CRB will introduce a new application form to allow applications for ISA-registration and CRB checks to be made on the same form.

From November 2010:

• It will be a legal requirement for individuals to register with the ISA if they intend to work or currently work with children and/or vulnerable adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

For any further information, please contact me or visit http://www.isa-gov.org.uk/ (opens in a new window)

Ten things you need to know about the Vetting and Barring Scheme:

1. It will build a register of everyone who is allowed to work with children and or vulnerable adults.

2. The scheme will start to be phased in from 12 October 2009.

3. It will take five years to register all 11.3 million people who will be affected by the scheme.

4. There will be a £64 fee for workers to apply to the scheme, paid once by the employee, and individuals will not need to apply again if they change their jobs.

5. Subsequent employers or service providers will be able to check an individual’s status online free of charge.

6. Trustees of children’s charities must be registered with the Vetting and Barring Scheme.

7. Fees will be waived for volunteers, though if they later need to be part of the scheme for paid work they will be required to pay the fee.

8. Organisations will be under a legal obligation to check that employees and volunteers are part of the scheme and to provide any relevant information discovered about a current or past employee/volunteer.

9. The independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will be responsible for deciding who should be barred from work with children and/or vulnerable adults.

10. No distinction is made between paid and unpaid work, and all rules will apply to both volunteers and employees.

Please see below a link to the April edition of the Vetting and Barring Scheme update newsletter for stakeholders:
http://www.isa-gov.org.uk/pdf/VBS_Stakeholder_newsletter-April2009.pdf (opens in a new window) 
 
Register on the ISA website to receive future updates directly: http://www.isa-gov.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=299 (opens in a new window)

Useful links:
http://www.ambervalleycvs.org.uk/ISA%20Updates.pdf (opens in a new window) and http://www.childrenengland.org.uk/upload/why%20vetting%20and%20barring%20March%202009%20CE.pdf (opens in a new window)

Small Organisations Tender Fund

This fund is to help small third sector organisations win tenders to run public services or build their capacity to bid for contracts. The fund is a joint project of Futurebuilders England and the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning.

For further information please see the short article from the ‘Children and Young People Now’ publication in the related documents section of this page.

Voice for the Voluntary Sector in Derbyshire

A new project called Voice for the Voluntary Sector in Derbyshire has been set up to improve and increase the voluntary sector’s understanding of, and involvement in Local Strategic Partnerships and the Local Area Agreements (LAA).

The Children’s Trust forms part of the LAA but there are more partnerships that cover other issues such as Health and Wellbeing, Community Safety, Culture and Sustainable Communities, which deals with things like waste, transport, climate change and regeneration.

If you work within the voluntary sector with children, young people and families, it is highly likely that the work you are doing is also of interest to the other partnerships. It might help your organisation to know more about the LAA and the Derbyshire Partnership Forum which delivers it.

The Voice Project has a website where you can find out more information, download easy to understand factsheets and check out articles that bring you LAA news that is particularly relevant for the VCI sector.

The Project Officer also publishes a bi-monthly LAA/VCS bulletin which will bring you the latest news from the LAA and can be delivered straight to your email inbox, or letter-box.

You might feel that your staff or management committee would benefit from understanding more about the LAA and the Project Officer is happy to come to your organisation to explain more about it.

Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) also exist at district level. These are partnerships of all the key agencies working in an area. They will always include the Police, Fire Authority, the Primary Care Trust and the Local Authority but membership varies between districts depending on the issues in that area.

Usually the Chief Exec of your local infrastructure organisation (like a CVS) will sit on the Board and represent frontline groups but sometimes groups get involved themselves.

If you are working on a particular issue which is a priority of the partnership it is worth getting more involved. Knowing what is happening at a strategic level can help your organisation to plan ahead.

If you would like to know more about the LAA or LSPs please contact Claire Thornber, Voice Project Officer on 07827 243800 or by email c.thornber@drcc.org.uk or go to the website www.3Dsupport.org.uk/Voice_Project (opens in a new window).

Childrens’ workforce development

The Childrens’ Workforce Development Council (CWDC) hosted an event on 6 March 08 in to review progress of the Workforce Strategy Partners Programme (a £690k investment to get the private and third sector involved in children's workforce strategies).

Information from the event will be used to inform a national report on the programme and will be available to download from CWDC's website shortly.  For more information visit the CWDC WSPP (opens in a new window) website.

Minister for Young People announces £31 million for third sector

Kevin Brennan committed a £31m funding boost over the next 3 years, through the Children, Young People and Families Grant Programme, benefiting nearly 100 third sector organisations.

The Children, Young People and Families Grant Programme awards funding to third sector organisations whose work improves outcomes for children, young people and families and is in line with the overall strategic priorities of the Department.

The Children's Plan Published 12 December 2007

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, has launched the 'Children's Plan'.  This is a long term vision to improve schools and a step-change in the way parents and families are supported to deal with the new challenges faced by young people in the 21st century. To read the full Children's Plan or a summary to the report, visit the DCSF website The Children's Plan.

Aiming high for young people - a youth centre in every community - the Government unveils its strategy to improve youth facilities
Young people will have access to new and improved youth facilities in every community under plans unveiled on 26 July in the Government’s Ten Year Youth Strategy.

Teenagers will also have more of a say over local services, and be given the support they need to have their voice heard in measures set out in Aiming High for Young People: a Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/tenyearyouthstrategy/docs/cyp_tenyearstrategy_260707.pdf (opens in a new window)

The strategy focuses on helping all young people, and particularly those in deprived areas, to take part in enjoyable and purposeful activities in their free time, which can help them, develop new skills and raise their aspirations.

In his speech to the Labour Party Conference, The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said:
"Young people contribute an enormous amount to society, and the views of young people have had a big influence on the youth strategy we are publishing today. Now we want to hear from young people themselves."

Commitments outlined in the strategy include:

Using unclaimed assets and additional DCSF funding to provide a place for young people to go in every constituency;

The continuation of the Youth Opportunity and Capital Funds, with additional investment of £25m for teenagers living in the most disadvantaged communities;

Giving young people direct influence over an increasing proportion of local authority funding for positive activities.

The creation of a National Institute of Youth Leadership is proposed to support the development of shared skills, knowledge and behaviours for leaders and managers across all sectors working with young people.

The strategy also commits to invest in the expansion of voluntary and community sector organisations, with a proven track record of providing high quality services and activities to young people. This continues the theme of enabling young people and communities to take a greater role in responding to their own needs.

Aiming High for Young People - A Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities

The Department for Children, Schools and Families announced its commitment to invest in Third Sector Organisations in the 10 Year Youth Strategy (Aiming high for young people: a ten year strategy for positive activities). It is now advertising for a Managing Body to run the Youth Sector Development Fund, worth approximately £100m over the next three years.

The primary purpose of the YSDF is to invest in building the capacity and sustainability of third sector organisations that have developed effective approaches to working with young people. The advert is in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Youth Sector Development Fund (YSDF)

The Department for Children, Schools and Families is seeking the views of third sector organisations (TSOs) who work with young people on how the Youth Sector Development Fund (YSDF)  Managing Body (currently being appointed through open competition) could best provide comprehensive packages of funding and support to help TSOs build their capacity and to sustain and grow their provision .

The YSDF is being set up to take forward the Government's commitments within Aiming high for young people to invest in developing the capacity and sustainability of third sector organisations who have developed effective approaches to working with young people. Up to £100 million is available for this over the next three years.

If you would like to take part in this exercise, please register your interest by sending an e-mail to YSD.Fund@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk putting 'consultation' in the subject box and including the name of your organisation and relevant contact details in the e-mail. Alternatively, please contact Joanne Wheeler on 0114 259 1023.

Joint Area Reviews (JAR) of Children's Services

Over the three years from September 2005, all council services for children and young people, and the wide range of services from other agencies and organisations, will be subject to a joint area review (JAR).  Review teams are multi-disciplinary and normally have inspectors from at least four inspectorates or commissions.  Derbyshire hosted a Joint Area Review during 2007. The Joint Area Review report was published on 21 December 2007 and the full report can be read by clicking on this link Inspection of children's services

Free IT support available for VCI groups - ICT Connect bursary scheme

The ICT Connect scheme enables voluntary and community organisations to explore their ICT needs by arranging and paying for a visit to another organisation that is using ICT well or in an innovative way.  So, if you would like to learn more about ICT strategy, working with an IT volunteer, how to integrate telephone calls over the internet into your office, networking your computers, making use of open source software and more, then apply for ICT Connect.

More information, including application forms can be found at http://www.icthub.org.uk/ (opens in a new window)

The ICT Hub will pay up to £150 travel and subsistence expenses. The hosting organisation will receive £100 for a meeting of no longer than 2 hours and £150 more than 2 hours spent with your organisation for time spent.  Applications accepted throughout the year.

Charity Technology Trust

Charity Technology Trust has launched its CTX Programme, distributing donated Microsoft software and other donated technology products to UK charities. All the most popular Microsoft products are available to charities for a nominal administration fee.
The programme is available to:

charities registered with the Charity Commission.

charitable Housing Associations registered with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act and with HM Revenue & Customs confirmed charitable status.

More information at http://www.ctxchange.org.%20Applications (opens in a new window) accepted throughout the year.

Ministry of Justice Third Sector Strategy

The Ministry of Justice has launched its third sector strategy, following a consultation period which ended in February. www.justice.gov.uk/docs/third-sector-strategy.pdf (opens in a new window)

News from SPAN - new single parents website launchedThis website for single parents offers support and information from experienced parenting facilitators and a chance to swap tips and get support from other single parents. The Parenting Alone online group is run by Anna Girdlestone who helps to keep the discussions lively and interesting. There are useful articles on different aspects of parenting, links and (very soon!) blogs to read too.

Please help us to get this new site active by visiting the site (opens in a new window) and pass it on to all your single parent friends and those who work with parents. You can join in the Wednesday night natter between 8 to 9 pm if you want to chat. Discuss on our new forums: http://lists.voscur.org/forums (opens in a new window)

Delegates will be able to choose to attend a presentation in the morning and afternoon from one of the following themes: Arts and Health, Arts and Regeneration and Arts and Heritage. 

FREE Training for Voluntary, Community and other Third Sector organisations

National Childrens Bureau and  The Participation Works consortium - various locations.

Are you looking to increase children and young people participation in your organisation?

The Participation Works consortium has a range of training courses and a consultancy package, ranging from introducing a selection of training methods and tools, through to organisational change and strategic planning.

The courses are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of staff including managers and trustees as well as young people themselves and will include accredited training. £85 for statutory organisations.

To find out more and to book online please visit http://www.participationworks.org.uk/ (opens in a new window) or call the Participation Works Enquiry Line on 0845 603 6725.