Dudley's Community Safety Partnership and Connexions are offering free drugs training.

To find out more download the brochure [PDF, 90KB] and the booking form [PDF, 27KB] to book a place.

The Dudley Youth and Community Team are holding free training opportunities throughout 2008.

To find out more download the Training Flyer [PDF, 84KB] and the Training Form [PDF, 104KB] to book a place.

If you are interested in any of the courses please contact Harjinder Kaur on 01384 815182 to book a place.  Please ensure the booking form is returned to Harjinder.

ContactPoint will be a record of all children (aged up to 18) resident in England. It will contain only basic identifying information for a child, and contact details of their parent/carer and practitioners and services involved with a child.

The sole purpose of ContactPoint is to support practitioners working with children to co-operate to improve well-being, and to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in England.

Specifically, ContactPoint will enable practitioners to:
• verify the identity of a child or young person who comes to their attention;
• assess whether that child is receiving universal services (education, primary health care);
• identify any other practitioners who are involved with that child or young person; and
• make contact with other practitioners who are involved with the child or young person, in order to plan and deliver the most appropriate response to their needs and circumstances.

Only authorised professionals will be granted access (once they have received training and are in receipt of an enhanced CRB check).

It is optional for Voluntary organisations to engage with the project, unless they are providing statutory services on behalf of the local authority in which case they are required to cooperate, but it is hoped that many will. Nationally Barnados, KIDS, NCH, CEOPS, CAFCAS, The Children’s Society and the NSPCC have all committed to working with ContactPoint as designated ‘National Partners’.

In the Dudley area ContactPoint is due to start being available from May next year and at this time there is the need to gauge the number of users who may want to use ContactPoint. Only specifically authorised users will have access to ContactPoint and so it is important to get an idea of the numbers from Voluntary organisations who are interested in having access. With over 12 months to go it is possible to drop out but it is important to ensure the necessary funding that best estimates are provided by the end of May - 2008 to ensure funding.

If you would like to know more please visit the Every Child Matters web site or I would be happy to come out and discuss ContactPoint with any organisation or groups, or send out further information. My contact details are below or alternatively I can be contacted through Arnie Troxler and Kevin Priest at the DCVS.

John McHale
ContactPoint Manager
Children’s Services DMBC
01384 812997
john.mchale@dudley.gov.uk

The Retreat Cafe is a new Community Cafe. The outreach service from the cafe offers healthy cooking sessions for young people. To find out more download the information sheet. [PDF, 18.5KB]

Please click here [47KB] for more information on this one day conference in Dudley.

For more information about apprenticeships and jobs with training for young people please click here [392KB]

If you go to the link [271KB] for the January edition of the Safer [the Newsletter of Dudley Safeguarding Children Board] there is some excellent guidance on Safer Working Practices for Adults Who Work with Children and Young People. The guidance is written in clear and concise way, is jargon free and has useful information for all voluntary and community organisations. This guidance would be a useful addition to your organisations child protection policy. If you do need any support in updating or developing your organisations child protection policy please contact Arnie or Kevin.

In 2008 there are a number of meetings taking place with the Network representatives. These meetings are also open to anyone involved with a voluntary or community organisation working with children or young people. So please feel free to come along.

To find out more about the Children, Young People and Families Network representatives on the Trust and the role they play in supporting the voluntary and community sector  download the representative briefing paper [PDF, 116KB]. If you wish to find out more about the work of the Network please contact Arnie.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has now announced the Phase 3 Children’s Centres programme. This phase will complete Children’s Centre developments for Dudley and will provide coverage for the remaining areas of the Borough.

Further information [PDF, 405KB] about developments in Dudley

Map of Developments [PDF, 52KB] in Dudley

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) will be statutory from September 2008. It brings together principles and effective practice from Birth to Three Matters and the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage together with elements of the National Standards for Under 8’s Day Care and Childminding. 

The EYFS ensures that there is consistency in provision for
children aged birth to five, wherever they are – with a childminder, at a day nursery or school. From September 2008 all registered settings, including childminders, must comply with the learning and development and welfare requirements and have regard to the rest of the EYFS
guidance.

For more information look at this information sheet [PDF, 203KB].

Dudley CVS has received funding from the Children's Workforce Development Council to develop a workforce quality mark for voluntary and community organisations working with children and young people. We would like to involve all voluntary and community organisations as much as possible in this project.

To help in the first stage in the consultation process Dudley CVS has produced a short discussion document [PDF, 439KB] that gives some background to the project and an outline on future proposals.

If you require a paper copy or have any comments, thoughts or questions please contact Arnie by email or on 01384 267424.

In addition, Dudley CVS has also been successful in accessing a small amount of funding from the Children's Workforce Development Council to provide training to support the workforce development of voluntary and community organisations. There is only a very limited amount of funding and we want to focus on training to meet your needs. From your organisation's perspective is there any specific training which would benefit your organisations and/or your paid staff and volunteers?

Suggestions so far have included: equal opportunities, diversity, health and safety, supervision, recruitment, Hear by Right (involving children and young people), child protection, dealing with confrontation and risk assessment.

If you have any suggestions please contact Arnie.

Dudley MBC and Dudley CVS have worked in partnership to produce an information sheet [PDF,136KB] on Every Child Matters. The sheet explains some of the reasoning behind Every Child Matters and details the next steps.

G:up brings together voluntary organisations from the children, young people, families and play sectors to develop the West Midlands as a region that respects and acts upon the needs, interests and aspirations of children and young people, and the voluntary and community organisations that work with them.

For further information and details of the next Learning Cluster meeting download their information sheet. [213KB]