SUMMER SCHOOL

at

The Lorraine George School of Dancing

……………..and Performing Arts

305 Mile End Road, Colchester, CO4 5EE

Tel: 07769 945793

School years 1-6

No experience necessary, just a smile, a pair of feet & loads of energy!

Explore the world of the wonderful Ocean in Dance, Song, Drama & Street Dance.  Become one of the Synchronised Swimmers, or indeed a Red Herring!  Meet the Great White Sharks and the sociable Dolphins, and lots more besides.

19^th /20^th /21^st /22^nd August 2008

Session 1: 9.30am-12.30pm

Session 2: 1.30pm-4.30pm 

£50 for 4 half days or £95 for 4 full days

Course fee includes 2 tickets per child for the Finale Show, and a Summer School  T-shirt to keep!

FINALE SHOW

Friday 22^nd August 2008 at 7.30pm

St. Botolph’s Church

Click on the word logo to download a booking form

Or Contact Lorraine on 07769 945793

Domestic Violence May 2008 Newsletter

North Essex Parent Support Forum

Colchester Parenting Platform

Groups Update East Essex Area

April 08 onwards

Responding to Child Deaths

Time Out Parenting Course offered by Colchester Mind is run by two very experienced mental health practitioners.

For more information click on the link below:

http://www.child-first.org.uk/uploads/TimeOutParentingCourseMind.pdf

Or for further details contact 01206 760362

The Introductory session is scheduled for Wednesday 20^thFebruary 2008.

A FREE course for Parents, Grandparents, Carers of children of all ages at:    Shrub End Community & Sports Centre, Boadicea Way.

Make the story come to life.

Learn new skills to help your children with their reading.

Make a Story Sack

Improve your own Literacy Skills

Adults and children will spend some time together

at

6 WEEK COURSE - Starting Friday 11^th January 2008

(excluding 15^th Feb.)

From 12.45pm – 2.45 p.m.

For more information click on the word logo below for a leaflet or contact Sue or Michelle on 01206 244289.

Click above to download a leaflet

North Essex Parent Support Forum - Colchester Parenting Platform

Please find attached information of Group updates for the East Essex Area

CLick on word logo to download information

Welcome to the OCTOBER edition of the Child First Newsletter.  

Quality Childcare – On site or through local providers

Do you need cash for your breakfast club?

If so, enter the 2007-08 Breakfast Club Plus Awards, and you could win £1,500.

To thank you for setting up a Breakfast Club and to celebrate your good work running it, the 2007-2008 Breakfast  Club Plus Awards will offer five clubs the chance to  win £1,500. 

Two runners up in each of the five awards categories will recieve £650. 

Two highly-commended clubs in each category will receive a years's subscription to ContinYou's School ETC - a magazine for everyone involved in extending services across the UK. 

There are five award categories, celebrating Breakfast Clubs that demonstrate excellence in:

• Community involvement

• Nutrition

• Achieving sustainability

• Added-value activities

• Improving emotional health & well-being.

An application form will be available from www.breakfastclubplus.org.uk from 1/10/07.

To find out more, email bcplus@continyou.org.uk or call 020 8709 9900.

Varied Menu of Activities – including study support

Child First Christmas Card Competition

We shall be running a Child First Christmas Card Competition, asking children in your schools to produce a winning Child First design for us to use.

If your school is interested in participating, please email us.

Black History Month – Colchester Bicentenary

A wide range of events celebrating Black History Month and marking the bicentenary of the parliamentary abolition of the transatlantic slave trade has been arranged.

Family learning activities are offered and include Under 5’s Storytelling and a Cultural Day offered at Shrub End Community Sports Centre with music from Junior Mix, drumming workshops, film, hip hop dance workshop, indigo dipping and much more. 

For further information www.colchesterblackhistorymonth.com

Calling Essex out to Play - Free inclusion Conference

1^st November 2007 at Hylands House, Chelmsford

Who is the conference for?

The conference is designed for people who work in play or play related sectors. 

Such as:

·          Play practitioners working with 5 - 13 year olds

·          Managers, employers and trustees of children's services

·          Development workers

·          TASCC managers

·          Children's centres staff

·          Commissioners of play or play related activities

·          Community development staff

Why attend the conference?

Inclusion needn’t be complicated; it’s about relating to others as equals and responding proactively to all their needs.

In practice this means being flexible in the way you provide services and listening carefully to what people need.

Calling Essex out to Play Inclusively aims to share best practice in inclusive play and to provide an opportunity for continued professional development on inclusive play issues for a wide range of practitioners.

If you are interested and would like a copy of the conference programme/and or a booking form please contact us and we can email it to you.

Parenting support including family & adult learning

·         Funding – The Neighbourhood Fund

We have received details of The Neighbourhood Fund 2007-2008 which may be of interest to those schools with EPPA groups set up or close links with voluntary sector agencies.

The Neighbourhood Fund is the name of the Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities (NLDC) fund in Essex.

The purpose of the NLDC Fund is to: “Support local Voluntary and Community Sector organisations to develop their capacity to deliver learning opportunities for residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. 

For 2007/08 the LSC is encouraging up to 75% of the available funding to be aligned with, and therefore to support, the LSC “Skills for Jobs” initiative”.

Who is it for?

The Neighbourhood Fund is available from October 2007 - July 2008.  It is for adults aged 19+.  Funding is to support programmes which target groups of new learners, particularly those who are not currently in employment, but who want to work and includes adults who are not yet qualified to Level 2 (5 GSCE’s A-C grades or NVQ level 2). This is in line with the Learning Skills Council Essex priority groups:

• people who are not currently in employment

• low skilled and unskilled workers

• people with basic skills needs

• people who are disadvantaged or in a group under-represented in learning.

The closing date for applications is Friday 12^th October (we have only just received the details).  If you are interested in finding out more, please contact us and we will email all information to you.

Swift & Easy Referral

• Social Care Direct

Attached information sheet produced by Social Care Direct – the Social Care Advice, Assessment, Information and Referral Service for Essex.

• Facilitation Skills Training

Behaviour Support is offering a 5-day training course to professionals who are committed to developing group work within their own agency. 

Aims:    To raise awareness of the group process and allow each individual

            to experience this progression.

Outcomes: By the end of the course members will be competent and

                confident to deal with most of the many issues that arise during

                group training.

Dates:     31^st October, 1^st, 2^nd, 8^th and 9th November 2007

Venue:    Moulsham Junior School, Chelmsford

Cost:      £275 for school staff

             £475 for other professionals

Further details contact:  Liz Burgess – CMLD Behaviour Support, Block B, Park Road, Colchester.  01206 711188.

Additional Information

• Essex Schools Information

The new electronic version of the Schools List is now available on the staff intranet.

You can access the list by clicking on "Services" followed by "Schools, Children & Families" and "Essex Schools".

Please note that the paper-based version (A5 blue ring binder) formerly distributed, is no longer produced.

This list will be updated at the beginning of each school term.

Moving to Higher Education – supporting students with disabilities

Aimhigher Essex and Connexions have been working on a guide to assist students with disabilities in entering Higher Education.

This guide can be found at:  www.estconnexions.co.uk/page/25751

Contact Details

Debbie Bird: Child First South/ECCUP Coordinator - 07747841051

Diane Thompson: Child First North Coordinator - 07738207066

Sarah Smith: Extended Schools Administrator and Research Assistant

                                                                    admincfc@msn.com

Office Number: 01206 547911 ext 267

Quality Childcare – On site or through local providers

National Childminding Association

Rachel Belgrove, the Colchester contact, has changed her name to Rachel Rogers.  The new email address, should you wish to contact her is rachel.rogers@ncma.org.uk

Varied Menu of Activities – including study support

Child First Summer Holiday activities

The programme was a great success.  Across Child First we provided 1,000+ school holiday activity places for children, young people and families.  These activities were arranged to provide the opportunity to introduce these children, young people and families to new experiences and opportunities.  The cost of these activities was heavily subsidised to ensure they were accessible to as many children as possible.  Free places were offered where cost prevented access.  The feedback from all involved was excellent and with the funding received from the CYPSP commissioning bid a similar programme will be arranged for the Summer Holidays 2008!

Comic Strip Project

A second and once again successful after school comic strip project took place just before the Summer break at Langenhoe Primary School with positive feedback from the Head Teacher, children and parents.   

As you know, this was possible due to a funding grant from Awards for All. 

Despite the success of both projects, the encouragement given to all schools to take up this opportunity bringing an additional after school project, only two schools participated, Old Heath and Langenhoe. 

I was asked to submit the end of year report to Awards for All and due to the funding underspend, I have been asked to return £1300 to Awards for All – which is very disappointing indeed.

Museum to Go / Museum on Wheels!

Colchester’s history has taken to the streets! 

..a fun, innovative, exciting FREE resource that seeks to engage non-museum users with a surprising experience of their past, designed to shatter preconceptions.”

The Museum to Go van will bring your history to wherever you are!  Discover, touch, smell, play, create, listen and look to find out about the people who lived here before us.

On board the museum will be objects that showcase the environment, life and people of Essex, telling their stories from the prehistoric to modern period. The museum will be supported by lots of activities and things to touch, see, smell, play, discover and question.

The museum will focus around the pod or discovery unit, staffed with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable member of museum staff!

Discovery pods have four main themes: Life, Meals and Medicine, Rubbish, People, and a fifth, smaller theme will be reminiscence boxes for use with the elderly.

Activities include a height chart, timeline game, dial-a-hat, dressing up, magnetic gallery, historic games (such as skittles) a wormery to explore layers of history, a skeleton interactive to explore how evidence survives and art activities. There will be a ‘dig deeper’ corner where more in depth information will be available for those who want it and a laptop which will also provide other info as well as the chance to explore ‘Virtual Colchester’ or take on the Romans in the game ‘Rome-Total War!’

The Museum will work with you to provide specific activities to meet needs, whether art activities, more formal talks or more specific requirements. The museum is fully flexible and can be booked for a minimum of two hours up to a whole day and can visit at weekends and evenings.

To discuss your needs or to book:

Call the team on 01206 507846

Email museumtogo@colchester.gov.uk

Parenting support including family & adult learning

Facilitation training offered by Behaviour Support

We have received details of Facilitation Training being offered by Behaviour Support and the details are below.

It will be held at Moulsham Junior School.  The duration of the course is five days, delivered as followed:  31^st October, 1^st & 2^nd November, 8^th & 9^th November.

There is a cost of £275 for school staff.

Essex Parent Partnership Service

The Essex Parent Partnership Service provides information and support for parents and carers of children with special educational needs by working with parents and carers, voluntary organisations and support groups, local authority and school staff and other agencies, such as health and social services.

A copy of the Autumn 2007 newsletter has been forwarded to us and a copy can be found on the Child First Website

Effective Partnerships with Parents

Further training will be available to schools wishing to join the EPPA network in February 2008 (details and booking form available via www.e-gfl.org)

The usual cost of £135 per school will apply, but in the case of EPPA training, there will be a FREE place for one parent to accompany the staff member and a FREE resource pack.  (a parent is required to attend the training)

This training is aimed at Head Teachers, or senior members of staff.

Once a school has registered as an EPPA school, they will be allocated an EPPA Mentor, who will visit the school each term, there is also an online support forum for schools and parents to share their experiences and receive support.

In addition to the training, once a school has formed an EPPA action team and started its first Project, there will be a grant provided to support that first venture.  For existing EPPA schools who have already committed to a project, this grant is also available.  Please contact Diane Thompson or your EPPA Mentor for further details.

Should we wish to train as a cluster, the cost would be £535 for the trainer and packs and we would need to provide our own venue and refreshments.  We would be able to accommodate roughly 30 – 40 people at such a training event.  Please let Diane know if you would be interest in this.

Further details of EPPA and of Essex’s success are available on www.mosaic-ed.com

Swift & Easy Referral

TASCC Teams – Contact Details

The Colchester North East TASCC Team Manager is Caroline MacGregor.  The TASCC team is located at Willow Brook Primary School.  The contact number is: 01206 867954.

The Colchester South East TASCC Team Manager is Anna Rickards.  The TASCC team is located at Thomas Lord Audley School.  Their contact number is 01206 710240.

Training Day – The effects of domestic violence on children and young people – organised by Colchester Inter-Agency Domestic Violence Forum

Friday 23^rd November -9.00am until 3.30pm, Moot Hall, Colchester Town Hall.

£25 statutory agency / £15 voluntary agency

Fee includes: information pack, lunch, refreshments and access to recognised domestic violence specialists.

Objectives of the day

To understand and have confidence in identifying and dealing with domestic violence issues involving children and young people.

Outcomes of the day

Awareness and confidence in identifying and dealing with incidents involving children and domestic violence in the home and the community.

To book: 01206 717818/717819 or email to:

sonia.swallow@colchester.gov.uk

Additional Information

Healthy fasting during Ramadan

A booklet has been produced, its aims to help understand the health issues related to fasting, to help people make more informed choices, minimise complications and maximise the benefit of the fast.  The booklet gives a guide through physiological changes that occur during fasting, gives examples of beneficial and harmful foods, discusses potential medical problems and remedies and responds to frequently asked questions about fasting in general.   If you would like a copy, please contact Child First.

Funding

Grants for Schools – If you would like a copy of the Grants for Schools Newsletter forwarded to you please email admincfc@msn.com.  A copy of this newsletter is also available to download from the Child First Website.

In the latest edition:

• CABE Announces lunch of its Education Grant Scheme.
• Clore Duffield Performing Arts Awards (UK)
• BIG makes available £100m to improve local environments.
• Child Trust Funds (CTF) to be used as a Tool to Teach Maths in Schools
• Small Changes – Big Difference Bursaries
• Funding for individual/small groups to improve their local communities.
• Community and education small grants scheme
• HBOS Foundation – Community Action Programme
• Development Awareness Fund – Mini Grants Scheme
• Grants for international youth activities
• Switched on communities.

Contact Details

Debbie Bird: Child First South/ECCUP Coordinator - 07747841051

                                                                        dbirdcfc@msn.com

Diane Thompson: Child First North Coordinator - 07738207066

                                                                     dthompsoncfc@msn.com

Sarah Smith: Extended Schools Administrator and Research Assistant

                                                                     admincfc@msn.com

Welcome to the May edition of the Child First Newsletter.

Quality Childcare – On site or through local providers

• National Childminding Association

The Childminding Services Coordinator for Colchester is Rachel Belgrove.  Rachel can be contacted on 01245 440001.

The core purpose of NCMA is to promote quality home-based childcare for the benefit of children, families and communities.  The NCMA works to support childminders and parents, promoting quality of care.

• Childminding for Essex – Teenage Parents Project

The Teenage Parents Project gives young parents, living in Essex, the chance to continue their studies in school or at college, whilst their child is being cared for by a registered childminder. 

Benefits of the Project

• Free childcare near to students home, college or school.
• Flexible childcare to fit in with college/school hours.
• Care for babies as well as toddlers and older children.
• Friendly and supportive local childminders.

For more information call Rachel Belgrove on 01245 440001

Varied Menu of Activities – including study support

• Introducing Playwork

Introducing Playwork is a 3-day course for people who work or want to work with children aged between 4-16 years old.

The course would be beneficial to those who have just left school or are leaving school or college; or those returning to work after a career break, volunteers and those who would like a career change.

Funded by European Social Funding. For further details contact Sandra Bretherton on 01245 445003.  

• Summer Holiday Activities

CHUMS – Children’s Holidays at the University of Essex Multi-activity Sports have published their programme for the Summer Holiday.  Open to children between the ages of 8-14.  For more information visit www.essex.ac.uk/sport.  If you would like a small supply of leaflets to copy and distribute, please contact us.

Parenting Support 

• The Impact of Parental Involvement

DfES research highlights that parental involvement in a child’s schooling between the ages of 7 and 16 is a more powerful force than family background, size of family and level of parental education.

In a study designed to test whether parents influenced the educational performance of children, the research found that children were disadvantaged not by social class, but rather by lack of parents’ interest.  In particular, a father’s interest in a child’s schooling is strongly linked to educational outcomes for the child.

The research also reports that 72% of all parents agreed they wanted more involvement in their children’s education.  The DfES leaflet The Impact of Parental Involvement on Children’s Education can be accessed at dfes@prolog.uk.com

Swift & Easy Referral 

• Youth Offending Service - Early Intervention Programme for Colchester

The Essex Youth Offending Service Early Intervention Programme is aimed at 8-13 year olds who are exhibiting anti-social behaviors and who are likely to offend in the future but who have not formally entered the Criminal Justice System.
The programme provides support to children, young people and their families in a variety of ways; examples include, but are not limited to: direct intervention and support, mentoring and befriending, parenting support programme, encouraging and enabling children to identify activities that might be of interest to them and then linking them into structured community activities – new challenges, new friends.    

Abigail Todd is the Project Worker for Colchester – 07920 467138 and is happy to provide further information.

•  Governors Services Learning & Development 

Each LDG Governors Training Cluster will be entitled to choose three training sessions, or to choose two sessions from the list and commission an additional one to meet their own needs.  All Governors from a subscribing governing body will be able to attend LDG training and training from the annual programme free of charge.  Each Governing Body can also have a development session specifically to meet the needs of their own school and circumstances.

Remaining governors training scheduled for this year:

Places should be booked through governor services gov.services@essexcc.gov.uk 

• Evidence & Evaluation : Good Practice Tips

The Ofsted inspect framework includes evaluation of the effectiveness of Extended Schools Services.  Details on the evaluation process, different types of evidence and responses to frequently asked questions are detailed in a leaflet produced by DfES and accessed at www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/extendedschools/practicalknowhow

Good practice tips in collecting evidence and evaluating the impact of Extended Schools Projects are detailed and include: 

• Links made between the Extended School Activities and whole school strategy.
• Where feasible, baseline quantitative evidence is established before the project or service begins.
• The main aims and objectives of the project are clear.
• Well-planned monitoring mechanisms are built into the earliest stages of the work.
• There are clear indicators from which progress can be measured, including short and long-term measures.

Click on word logo to open letter from Carey Bennet

• Somewhere to Go, Something to Do

Children’s Fund Essex has allocated a sum of money to help make children & young people’s ideas a reality.  Using the Youth Opportunities Fund model, children will have the opportunity to bid for up to £4,000 to develop projects or buy equipment that will benefit themselves and other children in their community.  The fund is open to children aged 5-13.  Closing date for entries 11th June 2007

Debbie Bird: Child First South/ECCUP Coordinator

07747841051                  dbirdcfc@msn.com

Diane Thompson: Child First North Coordinator

07738207066                 dthompsoncfc@msn.com

Sarah Smith: Extended Schools Administrator and Research Assistant            admincfc@msn.com

For 12 days this summer, 40,000 youngsters from nearly every country in the world will be coming together the World Scout Jamboree. 

During the Jamboree, all the participants will spend one day undertaking a community service project.

This programme, called “Starburst”, will undertake a variety of community action projects in and around Essex.  

If your parish, school or charity has suitable community service projects in the county that could use a coachload of 14 to 18 year old scouts , then click on the scout for more information.

Sue Fisher - 01206 244289

Laura Hardisty - 01206 244291

• Two members of the Educational Psychologist team will attend the first part of the meeting to share with schools in the Child First Cluster their proposals for use of additional EP community time

There will be:

• Feedback outcomes of consultation on TASCC Teams and structure of Child First
• Work in new LDG cluster groups to establish structure/terms of reference etc.

Quality Childcare - One site or through local providers

A number of Child First Schools have started new Breakfast Clubs using an outside provider.

Child First can help you to undertake an audit to see whether there is a need for a Breakfast Club at your school.

Funding is available to suppport start up costs.

Kellogg's Breakfast Club Programme

As part of their 2006/2007 programme, Kellogg's are funding master class sessions for 100 new Breakfast Clubs across the UK

To be eligible for the master class you must be a school or community group who have been thinking about setting up a club but are not yet open.

The next master class session runs in April 2007, and will be held in the North East of England.  If you would like access to this free training along with £350 of funding from Kellogg's please contact Michelle Mead on
020 8709 9915 or email michelle.mead@continyou.org.uk

Tackling Childhood Obesity - Shrub End Projects

 

Working in partnership with ECCUP, Colchester United Community Sports Trust and SD School of Martial Arts, and the Alderman Blaxill Family of Schools, supported by funding from the Essex County Council Scrutiny Review, two school holiday projects are to be set up looking at lifestyles, focusing on healthy eating and exercise.

 

Comic Strip Competition

 

We have received our first entries to the Comic Strip competition from pupils at Old Heath Primary School.  The quality of the entries will make it very difficult for our student panel of judges from Sir Charles Lucas Arts College to pick the winning entry.  The winning design will be developed by Nick Turner, resident artist at the College together with the pupils from Old Heath Primary School and printed for display in their school.

 

We have funding to work with 9 Child First Schools in this way - if you'd like an entry pack please let us know.

 

Playing for Success

 

Jennette East, Centre Manager for Playing for Success has written to LDG Chairs in Colchester and Tendring North to invite Primary and Secondary Schools to participate in 'Playing for Success' during the Summer Term.

 

The project began in September and has been running successfully; with students from TLA, Sir Charles Lucas, Alderman Blaxill, Kingsford,

Willow Brook and Monkwick Juniors participating weekly since then.

 

'Playing for Success' is a DfES project run in partnership with the LA and CUCST.  It is planned & delivered by a qualified teacher, support by mentors - designed to provide study support for students from KS2 & KS3 focussing on delivering literacy, numeracy & ICT through the medium of sport.  In general, students attend for 2 hours per week, on a regular afternoon for 6 - 10 weeks (dependant on the term).

 

• Learning Events

The roll-out of learning about the Common Assessment Framework for Colchester begins on 26th February 2007.

Just 200 places have initially been provided at various sessions to inform key people - limited to one person per organisation.  Schools are expected to send their Headteacher or SENCO/Student Support Manager in the first instance.  Following this training this member of school staff would be expected to cascade the information to their school staff.

  Click on word logo to download CAF Training Dates

  Click on word logo to download CAF Training and  
          Booking Form 

• Establishment of the TASCCs
• Links with the Police Service
• Health participation in our Children's Trust Arrangements
• Building Schools for the Future: Secondary and Primary
• Engaging Parents in Strategic Commissioning
• The National Primary Review
• Local Government Settlement 2007-08
• Essex Schools Funding Formula
• First meeting of the Gatekeeping Reference Group

Click on word logo to download document

Fantasy Factory Art Project

    Pupils having fun making models