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Induction Support Materials from Coventry (Nov 07)
Anthony Cox has kindly provided us with downloadable examples of support materials developed in Coventry to facilitate the use of CWDC induction standards with staff following the CWDC induction training programme. The materials are described and are downloadable here. Our thanks, again to Anthony and his team.
Tender Opportunities (22/11/07)
New tender opportunities have been added within our new tenders page, which can be accessed from the main menue to the left, or viewed here.
There are three projects to consider: CWDC Induction Training Delivery Models, Learning Mentors and the Common Assessment Framework and Learning Mentors working across Learning, Development and Support Services...
Learning Mentor Co-ordination Letter, October 2007
An action from the last Core Network meeting in (27th September, Birmingham) was to send a letter outlining the importance of the co-ordination role post March 2008 to EiC and Ex Cluster Co-ordinators, the existing LM database, CWDC Regional Managers, TDA Regional Advisers and workforce leads in each authority.
This has been done. The letter will support local discussions about provision post March 2008 and can be viewed here.
Extracts from new Ofsted publication
Ofsted published the findings from their consideration of workforce reform in schools in October 2007. We've added two sets of summary extracts from the document to the site at the bottom of the evaluation page. They are:
Extracts relating to Learning Mentor provision, which is downloadable here:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/learningmentors/downloads
/ofstedLM.doc
Extracts relating to emerging roles, which is downloadable here:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/learningmentors
/downloads/ofstedemerging.doc
The full report can be viewed here:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/Internet
/menuitem.eace3f09a603f6d9c3172a8a08c08a0c/
?vgnextoid=431d8d522a6b4110VgnVCM1000003507640aRCRD
Colleagues may find the report and extracts useful in promoting learning mentor and related roles.
The Children's Workforce Development Council are looking for children and young people to help design their new website by completing an online questionnaire. See www.cwdcyouth.org.uk for more. To thank you for your time, we will enter every completed questionnaire into a prize draw to win a Nintendo Wii - Deadline for entry - December 10th. Hard copies of the questionnaire can be sent if this is more convenient - please contact us (details below).
Who are the Children's Workforce Development Council?
The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) helps support the people who work with children and young people, their parents, families and carers to their jobs well.
CWDC believe that if the people working with children and young people are better qualified and supported, then they will be able to make things better for YOU.
Who do we mean by the people who work with children, young people and their families?
- Those working in nurseries and children's centres
- Childminders and nannies
- Foster carers
- Children and families social workers
- Those working in children's homes and family centres
- Learning Mentors
- Connexions Personal Advisers
- Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) family court advisers
What does CWDC do?
- makes sure that the people working with children, yougn people, parents families and carers have the right training and qualifications to do their jobs
- helps them talk to each other and share good ideas
- works with the government to make things better for children and young people.
Asking Children and young people what they think
The decisions and plans we make at CWDC impact on the lives of children and young people. Children and young people have the right to be involved in decisions that affect them and have their views taken into account. (Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). We want to know what children and young people think those working with them need to do to help meet their needs and to help overcome any challenges faced.
Please do not hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions.
Alex Brookes
Participation Co-ordinator
Children's Workforce Development Council
Address: 3rd Floor, Friends Provident House
13 - 14 South Parade
Leeds
LS1 5QS
Telephone: 0113 390 7796
Reception: 0113 244 6311
Mobile: 07875 071319
Fax: 0113 390 7744
Email: alex.brookes@cwdcouncil.org.uk
Website: www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
CWDC Induction Training Learning Log
Please see the Induction Training Materials Download page for the newly posted learning log. This log has been created in order for trainees of the 'CWDC Induction Training programme for level 3/4 children's workforce practitioners' to provide evidence of their learning from the programme and to link it more effectively to their developing practice. This will provide an indication of how they are, and intend to, apply their learning, and how it links to the knowledge and understanding required in the Every Child
Matters Common Core of Skills and Knowledge.
Competition
1. CWDC will be running a competition for Learning Mentors and their mentees to design the front of two postcards designed to raise the profile of the role of the Learning Mentor both regionally and nationally. These postcards will complement other documents used by CWDC at regional and national events.
This attachment gives clear guidelines for entries. At both regional and national level, the competition will focus on two categories: 7 -11 years and 12 -16 years and three entries will be selected from each category by regions, to go forward into the national competition to select two designs (one from each category), which will appear on the front of the two CWDC postcards.
Regions are required to ensure that the three selected from each category arrive at CWDC by 14th December 07.
Entries for the national competition will be judged by Mike Leadbetter, Chair of CWDC and Jane Hayward CEO
CWDC.
The overall winner of each category will be presented at school with an iPod and resources for the Learning Mentor to use in school to the value of £1000.
The finalists who aren't successful will receive a certificate and a framed copy of their design for their school, plus resources for the Learning Mentor to use in school to the value of £100.00.
Please see the Induction Training Materials Download page for the newly posted learning log. The log has been created in order for trainees of the 'CWDC Induction Training programme for level 3/4 children's workforce practitioners' to provide evidence of their learning from the programme and to link it to more effectively to their developing practice. This will provide an indication of how they are, and intend to, apply their learning, and how it links to the knowledge and understanding required in the Every Child Matters Common Core of Skills and Knowledge.
Website Task Group
2. Each region should select a colleague who would like to be part of the "Website" Task Group, which will be tasked with reviewing the exisiting site and making recommendations / proposals for the new website once it becomes part of the new CWDC website (not "school's web" as originally planned). The existing CWDC website is currently too small to house the current Learning Mentor website, however the decision to completely refurbish and upgrade CWDC's site, will ensure ample space and a good opportunity to update, improve and restructure the design and content of http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/learningmentors/. The group will meet two or three times (standard travel costs will be re-imbursed for all attendees) and will also engage in e-mail dialogue between November and the end of February. If anyone is interested in being involved with this piece of work then please contact either myself or Anna Milburn as soon as possible.
Future Funding to Schools and its Relationship to Learning Mentor and Related Provision
Those of you who were able to attend this year’s national conference in Stoke at the end of June will remember the concern expressed at the current lack of information regarding future funding to schools and its relationship to Learning Mentor and related provision. Our communications with you over the last year or so have indicated that decisions related to the comprehensive spending review are likely to be shared in the autumn, but there is concern that staff will drift away from this work if funding issues are not clarified soon.
Most of you will be aware that direct funding for Learning Mentor provision in EiC/Excellence Cluster areas is currently provided to schools through the School Development Grant. This broad fund is provided to all areas/maintained schools, and has absorbed a range of special or initiative funding into a mainstream grant, without ring fencing. Decisions regarding ring fencing allocations for particular areas of provision and central support are currently taken at area level through the various partnership arrangements which exist at school/LA levels.
This concern, largely related to the implications of future funding uncertainty on the workforce and pupils receiving support, was expressed strongly at the conference. Paul Harper, CWDC National Development Manager, with support from the central Peer Support Team, was committed to following this up for us.
The good news received is that the new Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has confirmed the School Development Grant (SDG) for 08-09 at current levels, so we will see no change in funding levels. They are also happy for us to share this information publicly.
With this knowledge, we would suggest that co-ordinators make this known to the schools and partnerships with which they work and encourage the discussion and agreement of arrangements in relation to resource allocation at local level, with the aim of clarifying approaches for the use of this funding as soon as is possible.
As ever, when we receive further information we will share it with you.
For any queries relating to this statement, please contact Julia Tortise at julia.tortise@cwdcouncil.org.uk or on 07969 014570.
Training Needs Analysis document for training
We have added this document to the Induction Training Materials Downloads page. It is to be used in the conjunction with the delivering of the training.
Core Network Meeting 18th April 2007
We had a lovely trip to South Shields for the Core Network Meeting. The minutes for the meeting are available to view here.
Training Materials
All new training materials are now available to download from this website. Please see the training pages, in particular the Induction Training Materials Download page and the CWDC Induction Training 2007 page (scroll down to the bottom).
Hard Copies - To order hard copies of the training materials from our supplier Impress Print (minimum of 16 at £10 each), please click here. If you need help with the ordering process, click the help button in the top right hand corner. This gives you a step-by-step guide to ordering materials.
Learning Mentor Practice Guide
The new Learning Mentor Practice Guide (2007) is also now available to download from this website. Please refer to the Support for Programmes page, Learning Mentor Practice Guide. You can order hard copies of the document again from Impress Print.
LEP Contractual Obligations
This letter explains the LEP's role in outstanding portfolio moderation.
CWDC Learning Mentor Splash Page
We now have a learning mentor page on the CWDC website, giving a link to this website. This site will be moved across to Schoolsweb, but the link for the splash page in the CWDC website will remain constant.
Request for Information
Anna Milburn did a review of the Learning Mentor website and something that cropped up was the lack of downloadable resources i.e. case studies, practice examples, examples of LM's career paths and how LMs have got where they are today. Also addressed, was a need for interactive facilities like discussion forums or notice boards and in particular statements from young people with photographs etc.
When we move across to Schoolsweb, we will also give the site a general makeover and it will be more streamlined and user friendly.
Could I please put a call out for people to provide examples as I have noted above? Please send your suggestions to lmprogramme@cwdcouncil.org.uk with the subject 'information for website'.
Line Managers Briefing Bradford
For your information, here is a link to a presentation for line managers that was delivered by Anne Houlihan (National Development Manager/Regional/Local Delivery, CWDC) in Bradford. Here also, is the flyer that was used to advertise the presentation.
Regional Development Managers, CWDC
Please see this link to the page listing the names and contact details of the Regional Development Managers at the CWDC.
Thank you/Information letter from Liverpool Excellence Partnership (LEP)
Please see here a letter from Pat Mullins, LEP, thanking everyone for their support to the LEP in the six years they have looked after the National Training for Learning Mentors. She also provides information about the LEP's future involvement.
Core Network Meeting Minutes 18th January 2007
The core network meeting minutes are now available to download from the core network page.
Call to Learning Mentors! - Policy and Practice Documents
We're interested in gathering examples of policy and practice documents being used by Learning Mentors across the country covering secondary and primary sectors. Please send copies of any you’re happy to share, to lmprogramme@cwdcouncil.org.uk. Sharing such as this will help new areas in setting up their programmes and will contribute to a central resource of examples. Thank you in advance!
CWDC endorsed Induction Training for level 3 / 4 Children's Workforce Practitioners (CWDC footprint)
Information relating to the briefing events for Learning Mentor trainers and the booking form are available here. The events are aimed at members of the LM Strand Co-ordinator Network and the wider footprint of the Children's Workforce Development Council. The briefings are aimed at those with responsibility for organising induction training for Learning Mentors and other childrten's services support staff operating around level 3/4.
Core Network Meeting 18th January 2007
The Core Network meeting of 18th January 2007, was hosted by colleagues from Knowsley at Liverpool's Aldelphi Hotel. The terrible weather meant that not all regional groups were able to attend, but we had good discussions around training, conferences, Children's Workforce Development Council's (CWDC) support proposals for 2007/8 and changes within the CWDC team. Minutes will follow soon and will be posted on the websites Core Network page which is viewable here.
We also agreed to send out the current Learning Mentor programme school audit tool. It is available to download here. This tool helps in reviewing and developing Learning Mentor provision at school level.
Changes to central support team
The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) are responsible for standards, training and support for Learning Mentor provision. They picked up this responsibility formally in April 2006. Adjustments to central support provision are now in place.
Julia Tortise is now the main support link within CWDC, supported by Chris Davison in his capacity as programme consultant. Anna Milburn now operates as the programme's information officer, based in CWDC's head office in Leeds. Pat Whitby continues to provide support to co-ordinators and networks as members of the Peer Support Team. Hilary Ellam (National Development Manager for Integrated Working) continues to hold strategic responsibility for the work. Leora Cruddas has returned to work full time with Waltham Forest in a senior strategic role. We all wish her well, and offer our sincerest thanks for her support over the years, and in particular for her major role in constructing the new Learning Mentor Practice Guide.
The email address for queries related to Learning Mentor provision remains as learning.mentors@cwdcouncil.org.uk .
Revised School Audit Tool - interim version
A revised version of the school audit tool is now available for download - just click here to download. It is offered as a tool to support the self assessment and development of school/college based LM provision. Local contexting and adjustment is encouraged.
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