E-news March 19 2008

ContinYou – continuing to support you

We are delighted to confirm the announcement made by Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP at our conference this week that we have won the tender to provide support for the development of extended schools with a particular focus on study support. This will enable us to carry on working with you for the next three years from April 2008. We are already planning new offers which will be available to every local authority in England, but we retain our key focus on working with cluster coordinators/managers, supporting governors, elected members (councillors) and schools. This means that the core of our support will continue to be funded by DCSF but we will also, as at present, provide you with a menu of other training opportunities which will enable you to access the much wider range of ContinYou expertise and services and may incur a charge to cover the costs of delivery. We look forward to working with you and to supporting every school in providing excellent extended services by 2010

ContinYou Conference:

What a fantastic event!  The annual UK-wide conference has just finished and we’ve had immensely positive feedback from so many who attended.  If you missed it, we’ll be putting some of the summary inputs on our website and uploading links to some of the video clips put together by Radio Waves during the two days. So many people commented that ContinYou events get even better year by year – that’s a challenge we will accept for next year, so keep an eye on our website for the details of the 2009 event to make sure of your place!

ContinYou: Catalogue

ContinYou's 2008 publications catalogue is available to download from the ContinYou website.  It includes new books to support the various areas of our projects and your work. If you have unspent budget at the end of the financial year then go quickly to:
http://www.continyou.org.uk/shop.

Voluntary Childcare Register:

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), together with Ofsted, have produced an A5 sized information leaflet about the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register entitled “Look after children for a living or as a volunteer?”  There is also a poster to accompany the leaflet.  Both are available free from DCSF publications, either by ordering on line from www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications or by telephoning 0845 60 222 60 and quoting codes: 00997-2007BKT-EN and VOCR-POST-2008

Conference on ‘Closing the achievement gap in schools’

Tuesday 8 April 2008, Manchester.
This national event, organized by our partners, the Children’s Services Network (CSN), will focus on closing the achievement gap between poor and disadvantaged pupils and others.  Experts will present data available on underachievement and there will be presentations and discussions on how local authorities, schools and partners are closing the gap and how other services can support the achievement agenda. The conference will be of interest to senior officers and elected members responsible for children’s services and related services, senior staff in schools and governors, and people working with children in the voluntary sector. Full details and a booking form are available from the CSN website:
http://www.csn.info

Everyone's a winner - using the sport specialism to impact on Every Child Matters

This publication from our partners, Youth Sport Trust, details a number of individual case studies to illustrate how the sport specialism is contributing to the outcomes of Every Child Matters. It shows varying strategies that schools use to impact on the outcomes both as a universal service & also when necessary to target & impact on the specific needs of young people. Copies have been distributed to all Sports Colleges but it is also available to purchase through YST direct: http://www.ystdirect.org/

Know the Score 2008

This report, compiled by our partners, the Youth Sport Trust, is intended to provide a snapshot of the ways in which Sports Colleges are using the specialism to make an impact. It is the second in a series of reports; the first produced in January 2007 at a time when the Specialist Sports College status had reached a milestone decade in existence. Over 2006 to 2007, Sports Colleges achieved the largest annual increase in their GCSE 5+A*-C attainment when compared to all specialist schools (to stand at 58%). With 448 Sports Colleges now operational, this report demonstrates the range & depth of work being undertaken & makes use of some of the most up to date research that exists to examine the impact of the sport specialism. Download the report from:
http://ssx.youthsporttrust.org/page/introduction-new/index.htm

Community information leaflets

The FRILLS leaflet service supplies a ready-made collection of 30 leaflets and booklets selected for extended schools to provide to parents. The booklets are published by major charities and government. All are free in multiple copies. They cover health, welfare rights, education, childcare, safety and family.  FRILLS, part of London Borough of Camden Libraries, automatically sends you new editions as they are updated and tell you how to order extra copies. For subscription details contact: frills@camden.gov.uk or 020 7974 2182 or http://frills.camden.gov.uk/frills/login.aspx and login as a guest.

Extending Inclusion – national conference and report launch

22nd April 2008, Regents College, London
The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) has undertaken a project commissioned by Sure Start and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and in which ContinYou staff were involved, to identify effective practice in including disabled children and young people in extended schools and children’s centres. This conference launches the report from this work and explores issues and solutions for including disabled children and young people in children’s centres and extended services. This national conference will be relevant to all staff who are involved in the strategic and operational planning, development and delivery of extended services and in the work of children’s centres. Places are free for this event. For a booking form please contact: NCB Conferences and Training, 8 Wakley St, London EC1V 7QE; fax: 020 7843 6039; e-mail: esmith@ncb.org.uk; tel: 020 7843 6042/6441