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The Department for Communities and Local Government recently launched a competition to discover and support organisations that can deliver community-based English language programmes in the following identified areas of the North West
Bradford, Kirklees, Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Oldham, Manchester, Rochdale, Pendle
This competition is open to all organisations and further information can be found at:
This week, LSEN hosted a meeting about Community Learning in Manchester. It was the third such meeting, and took place in the impressive and inspiring surroundings of Gorton Monastery. Over 30 people attended from a wide variety of sectors and organisations around Manchester.
Walt Crowson gave a background to this series of community learning meetings, and updated on ongoing work in the key...
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Hello Everyone,
I’m sure some of you will have heard that I will be leaving Macc at the end of this week. I’m off to pastures new (and cold) where I will be completing my Applied Psychologist training for children and young people in Glasgow. I’m very much looking forward to the new challenges this will bring.
I have really enjoyed the last three years at Macc working in a sector that is constantly evolving and striving to improve outcomes for children, young people and families in a difficult and challenging environment.
I would like to thank all the...
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In LSEN, we're quite excited at the moment about Open Badges as a means of promoting and strengthening informal and learner-led learning.
Open Badges are a way of accrediting learning, skills and achievements - both big and small. They also allow accreditation to be granted outside of traditional institutional pathways. Virtually any organisation or individual can issue a badge, about virtually anything.
Learners fulfil...
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Yesterday morning I went to the briefing where the City Council announced their budget plans for the next 2 years. The key message is bleak: beyond the £170m cut from the Council’s annual budget in 2011, they now have to cut a further £80m per year. Manchester, it was said, has been hit hardest out of all the boroughs in Greater Manchester and out of all the major cities outside London.
I don’t envy any of the Councillors or officers who had to do all the work to pull the proposals together. Never mind the brain-mashing complexity of local government financial models, cutting back...
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Neglect
Recently I attended a neglect summit organised by Manchester Safeguarding Children Board. A summit seems like a heady title but felt fitting for the task at hand. The summit was facilitated by Professor Jan Howarth who is working with several LSCB’s around issues of neglect and has led several research projects and written books on multi-agency approaches to neglect.
Neglect remains the highest category of child abuse in Manchester with well over half of all children subject to a child protection plan falling into this category. Neglect consistently arises as an area of...
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So, it’s out. The specification for Youth Fund 2013-15 (R3) is now out there; if you’ve not seen it yet then go to: www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/manchester-youth-fund-and-play-fund-2..., where you will find all the documentation and how to get support.
There’s lots of ways in which Youth Fund Round 3 is an evolution from previous rounds. The Council has demonstrated a willingness not just to listen, by way of the July Consultation, and the VCFS Reference Group in November, but...
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REMINDER : JSNA Deadline
This is a reminder from Neil Bendel (Public Health Manchester) The deadline for submitting suggested topic themes for the refreshed Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is Friday December 7th.
There are additional areas tabled for consideration from the Director of Public Health :
- TB in children
- Transport/Active travel
- Early detection/prevention of cancer
- Alcohol
- Diabetes
- End of Life Care
- The JSNA team are also putting together proposals on sensory health issues.
...
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Recently, Walt and I participated in the Annual Conference and AGM of the Educational Centres Association (ECA), held in Leicester. The ECA supports LSEN in our work, and is a key educational organisation at a national and European level, which has been putting the learner at the centre of education for very-nearly 100 years.
York educational settlement, circa 1938 (I didn't take any photos of the recent meeting...
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Esther Rantzen, Chair of the Silver Line Trustees, together with officers from the Manchester City Council, today launched the Helpline for older people in Manchester. The telephone number is:
0800 328 8888 for advice, information and friendship.
The concerns raised in our previous blog were partly answered:
The trained volunteers based in the Midlands will be dealing with the 'befriending' side of the service and not the information and advice. There are trained volunteers based in Greater Manchester and yes, the pilot is now covering Greater Manchester....
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