The information, opinions and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants
 in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect any official view, opinions or viewpoints of the South West Regional Centre.

Success stories – Feeling Good, Working Well

The Big Network on the 4^th March for the voluntary sector provided a fascinating insight into the well-being of Children and Young People in the 21^st Century. With Kathryn Busby from The Equality Trust talking about why equality is better for everyone, referencing the book ‘The Spirit Level’  (see slides on their website), an update from Jonathan Rogers, (GOSW Early years, Childhood and Play Policy Lead), a ‘Tell your story’ session where people gave inspiring stories about young people who have improved their lives and those around them through VCS work, and comprehensive advice on the Extended Disadvantage Subsidy from Jane Collins and the ESDS team with a focus on Children and Young People’s Well-being.
Video stories, resources and news from this event will shortly be posted on our website under ‘Well-Being’ and also in our ‘Learning Tuesday’ newsletter.    

What is Community Cohesion?

“By community cohesion, we mean working towards a society in which there is a common vision and sense of belonging by all communities; a society in which the diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and valued; a society in which similar life opportunities are available to all; and a society in which strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in schools and in the wider community” Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, speaking in Parliament on 2 November 2006.

See the Ofsted report  Community Cohesion Guidance report - Inspecting maintained schools’ duty to promote community cohesion (Guidance for Inspectors)

Share Street

Share Street is a new online community for the children and young people’s workforce created by CWDC. It makes it easier for everyone who works and volunteers with children, young people and their families to connect, be inspired, discuss ideas and share resources. Join Share Street, strengthen the sense of community across our workforce and help to improve outcomes for children and young people. www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/sharestreet

Mind The Gap - 23^rd March – Taunton Rugby Club

There are many initiatives aimed at children, young people and families – particularly for those children and families that have least access to services and resource. This event is designed to close the gap between the different activities and create coherent collaboration. Attendees include Subsidy Leads, Parent Support Advisers, Extended Services Regional Advisers, Voluntary sector and Personal Tutors - filling the gap between people, strategy and resources. The day will aim to share practice and successes  across programs, whole community thinking, being ambitious for young people. For information about this event please download flyer.

Impact and Evaluation – Why should attend?

This free event will help change the way you work as an individual and as a team. Take time out to think about your project’s impact, find out how to get support from TDA with these projects, gain skills in negotiating, and scrutinising external evaluators, structure thinking on how to measure and evaluate the impact of your projects within a team. Event is on 18^th March in Taunton.
Please see invitation and if you are interested in attending please e-mail Piers Hudson at piers.hudson@tda.gov.uk.

How’s it looking? A Guide to the education landscape for 2010

Download the ‘Guide to the Education Landscape’.

The Pupil Parent Guarantee

“The Pupil and Parent Guarantees are at the heart of our drive to deliver the best education for every child – including those children who face difficulties in learning, such as those with SEN, those who are looked after by local authorities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Defining the Guarantees in terms of what pupils and parents can expect is an important reform which shifts the focus onto meeting the needs of parents and pupils, prioritising results rather than processes.” View the full DCSF Pupil and Parent Guarantee.

Workforce Reforms in Schools: Has it made a difference?
An evaluation of changes to the school workforce 2003-2009 produced by Ofsted

Apprenticeship Grants
Through funding provided by DCSF, the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) have provided up to 200 Apprenticeship Grants for Public Sector Employers of apprentices in schools and the children’s workforce. This funding comes to an end on the 31^st March 2010.Further information on the Grants can be found on the National Apprenticeship Service website: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers/Public-Sector.aspx

Please see the Briefing Note - DCSF Incentive - School Children's Workforce  and Core brief.doc - Employing apprentices in schools.pdf     
Contact Freya Jones Freya.jones@tda.gov.uk for more details.

Extended Services Disadvantage Subsidy

To support regional teams in the delivery of the subsidy, the DCSF has issued a message related to funding beyond the current CSR period. This message is for Local Authorities that enquire about funding.  In addition, The PR campaign to promote the disadvantage subsidy has started and a number of providers will be getting in touch with delivery teams. There is a useful ‘draft response letter’ which regional and central teams can use as they see fit.  Any queries that are received centrally will receive this response and the subsidy champion for each region will be copied in.

Personal Tutoring
For new guidance, case studies and the Personal Tutoring Resource kit, please go to  the Personal Tutoring section of the TDA website.
Also download the thumbnail sketches from lead schools.

Spring Term Data Collection

Each regional delivery team will receive an email with a template confirming the questions for the Spring Term 2010 together with the agreed process for each region in submitting the data, by Friday 19^th March. If you have any questions please contact Theresa.mackay@tda.gov.uk.

VCS and Stakeholder Event – 10^th May – Plymouth

This event will celebrate and promote the success of Plymouth’s Voluntary and Community Sector in supporting Plymouths children and young people; whilst informing attendees of new opportunities. The programme will include information on the exciting work being undertaken by The Children’s Trust, VCS Engage and The Training & Development Agency for Schools (including the new Allsortz funding programme).  Alongside exhibitions of work being undertaken within the city; performances from young people; interactive workshops;  and surgeries for smaller groups (funding, support etc), success stories  from providers and many more activities. Contact Sarahflay@yahoo.co.uk  for more information. Location - Tamar Science Park.

ESRA Forum – 9^th March

Location: Taunton Rugby Club Contact Vicky@southwest-rc.co.uk

Head Teachers Conference – 11^th March

Location: South Gloucestershire

Tackling serious youth crime event - 11^th March 1010
Invitation and registration details Contact: ytfyouthcrime@livegroup.co.uk

Best Practice Regional Meeting – 16^th March

Location: Taunton Rugby Club - Contact vicky@southwest-rc.co.uk

TDA - Evaluating the standards of teaching and PM 
The TDA would welcome colleagues to attend one of two focus groups being held in Manchester and London (see events), The dates planned are Thursday 11 March in Manchester and Wednesday 17 March in London. Contact Steve Roberts Steve.roberts@tda.gov.uk  07969 244483.

Regional Development Meeting – 16^th March
Taunton Rugby Club, Contact the Regional Centre or  Dave Hobbs

Impact and Evaluation Model Training – 18^th March

Location: Taunton   Contact piers.hudson@tda.gov.uk.

Mind The Gap – 23^rd March
PSA, ESRA,VCS and Personal Tutors and Subsidy Leads Sharing Day. Contact vicky@southwest-rc.co.uk

School Workforce Leads Forum – 25^th March

Contact the SW Regional Centre  or Sue Mogg.

Induction Co-ordinators – National Spring Conference 2010

Anti-Bullying Regional Network Meeting – 23^rd June

The focus of the meeting will be ‘Preparing for OFSTED: Measuring the effectiveness of the school anti-bullying policy and practice and accessing support from Regional partners’. Contact: Hayley_Lazarus@learning-southwest.org.uk