0-25 VCS Forum Newsletter -28th February 2024
If you work with children, young people and families within Dorset, we have all the latest news and updates for you.
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0-25 VCS Forum - we are now planning our events for April 2024 - March 2025 - if there is anything you would like us to focus on or include, or training you would like to see - please let me know, thanks Lynne
** Dorset Council are holding a Partnership workforce event to focus on working together for children, families and communities and this is being held on the 21 March 10:00-12:30 at the George Albert Hotel, near Dorchester. All professionals working in the Dorset Council area are welcome to attend. To book on this event click here
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** The Dorchester Science Festival is taking place from 8th-17th March, with many activities being offered for free. Unfortunately tickets for the Family Day are all booked, but there are plenty of other family friendly activities taking place. To find out more visit the DSF Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DorchesterScienceFestival
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Treads Young People’s Advice and Information Centre are excited to be running their Easter Holiday Club for age 5-13year olds, again this year and are inviting everyone to come along on the following dates: Tuesday 2 April, Thursday 4 April, Monday 8 April, Tuesday 9 April and Thursday 11 April 2024 from 10.00 till 2.00 at: The Blandford Youth Club, Milldown Road, Blandford Forum, DT11 7DB. The venue is free for all children that receive free school meals, you will need to obtain your HAF code number from the Dorset Council https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/haf-programme For all other children it will be £25 per head. We will be delivering arts, crafts, games, sports, a hot meal and loads of fun!!! We advise you to book early as places get filled very quickly and we are limited to 25 children! For more information contact Libby Lloyd, Senior Youth Leader – youthsupport@treads.org.uk
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For information and updates from the Dorset Council Children's Services Local Alliance Groups follow this link: 0-25 VCS Forum Meetings & Minutes (dorsetyouth.com)
** The 0-25 VCS Forum has a new Chair! We would like to announce that Emma Letchford, from The Horse Course, has successfully been elected into the role of Chair for the 0-25 VCS Forum - we would like to pass on our sincere thanks to Emma for putting herself forward and to everyone who took the time to vote - we are looking forward to working with Emma and bringing something different to the Forum over the coming months.
** Statutory Guidance - Working Together to Safeguard Children - Statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help protect and promote the welfare of children - Working together to safeguard children - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The NSPCC have produced a summary of the changes which you can read here: Working together to safeguard children 2023 | Summary of changes | NSPCC Learning
** The recordings from the PDSCP's Annual Conference, which took place on the 18 October 2023, are available here
** The Department for Education have initiated a consultation in relation to non-statutory guidance on how to support gender-questioning children and young people in schools and colleges across England, and you can view the draft guidance here. The consultation is open until 12 March and you can submit your views on this here.
** The BCP place-based part of the PDSCP has published a 7 minute practice briefing on Home Safety following two rapid reviews, that took place last year, identifying learning after two children fell out of windows in their homes. Please take some time to review the briefing for the key learning for you to consider in your own practice.
** Dorset Council Parent carer survey update
We appreciate your patience over the last year whilst waiting for an update on the SEND survey. Thank you once again to all who participated. You can now read the full report by clicking here - SEND_parent_carer_survey_23_report.pdf (mcusercontent.com)
Some key findings are: • 49% have confidence in support for special educational needs. • 43% feel their child's needs are identified on time. • 24% believe there is effective collaboration between parents and practitioners in Dorset. • 66% feel involved in EHCP discussions. • 62% know who to contact about their child's EHC Plan. • 54% are confident in describing education needs in EHCP review. We want to reassure you that we have heard your views, and really appreciate all of your insights. We will shortly be hosting an event, to share our future plans based on the results and to allow you to ask any questions you may have. We will be in touch with more details about the event soon.
** Your input is requested by Sophie Barton from the Dorset Council Best Start in Life Project - It is that time of year again and the Dorset Families Matter team want to hear all about the fabulous work you do with families. This information will feed into our annual submission of the Early Help system review.
- How involved are children, young people and families in shaping and running your service?
- How positive is your relationship with Dorset Council children’s services?
- How well are you connected to the local community?
And more………….. 5 minutes of your time, have your say!
Survey live: 1st – 29th March.
Link: 0-25 VCS Forum - Annual Early Help System Review - Have you say!
** Families First for Children Pathfinder
Dorset has been selected as one of three local authority
areas to lead the Families First for Children Pathfinder by the Department for
Education. This is a once in generation opportunity to change the way that
social care is provided to families and to influence a way of working that puts
families at the centre of everything we do.
Representatives from health and Dorset Police are working with colleagues in Dorset Council Children’s Services to carry out this work across four workstreams: Family Help, Family Networks, Child Protection and Safeguarding.
It is important that Dorset Council, health and the police
come together in this programme of work as the three current statutory
safeguarding partners for children and young people. Work will take place in
the programme to look at adding education as the fourth statutory safeguarding
partner.
Family Help
A time and motion exercise has been carried out for Dorset Council’s ‘front door’ (the first point of contact for families who need help) where colleagues from CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) have been based with colleagues from children's services to understand what each other does, what systems colleagues use and to really understand how important integration is to the work which everyone does.
They are also continuing our work on getting a single e contact/referral form finalised for the software recording system.
Family Networks
Dorset Council is setting up an internal service for Family Group Conferences (FGC, which is a family-led meeting in which the family and friends network come together to make a plan for a child) and has drafted guidance for practitioners on how they will carry them out. This will be used for more complex cases and in particular for families who are may be about to go into legal proceedings.
They will also be using Family
Network Meetings (FNM) as another form of family group decision making.
Dorset has been selected by the
Family Rights Group as their partner in a pilot to reimagine pre-proceedings.
We will be working with them, and with our families, to look at where we have
strengths and where our challenges are in this work so that we can make changes
that improve this process for our families.
Some of the funding that we have
been allocated to use through the Families First for Children Pathfinder has to
be used for Family Network Support Packages (FNSP). This is money that can be
used to fund things that might help family members (but not birth parents)
better support children to avoid other interventions. Dorset Council has
drafted guidance which is going through an approval route.
Child Protection
Pathfinder provides an exciting opportunity to develop and
a test a new way of carrying out child protection conferences which places
families at the heart of decision making and planning. Over recent months
colleagues from health, police and children’s social care have been working
together to shape the model based on Pathfinder guidelines and feedback from
our children, young people and parents.
We've been looking at how we can make the places where we
hold child protection conferences more welcoming and working on information
packs to help parents.
We've been firming up places for
Dorchester and West locality to hold child protection conferences as this will
be the pilot area to try our new way of holding child protection conferences
from 01 March.
The team is also creating a
phased project plan this week for Safeguarding Families Together to enable the
pilot to continue to be rolled out in other areas (following on from the Pilot
in the Chesil locality) and to embed it in the launch areas. Safeguarding
Families Together enables adult practitioners in substance misuse, domestic
abuse and mental health to work alongside children’s social workers for the
benefit of the whole family.
Safeguarding
We are starting to make good progress in talking to partners about making education our fourth safeguarding partner (with the other three being Dorset Council as the local authority, health and the police). We expect there to be lots of activity over the coming month.
Recruitment
Recruitment for the new roles continues at pace and new vacancies are being advertised each week. You can keep up to date with the latest vacancies on the Dorset Council website Dorset jobs Dorset Recruitment - Jobs and careers . Please make sure you share this information with your friends and family!
There was a great
article in Community Care which gave an overview
of what it is like to work in Children’s Services at Dorset Council.
Got a question?
If you have any questions about the programme, please email FamilesFirstPathfinder@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
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** Grants of £500 are available for youth-led projects that celebrate UK native wildflowers, plants and fungi in exciting and engaging ways. For more information and to make an application go to: Funding Available for Youth-led Nature Projects - Community 360
** The Lord Lieutenant Fund for Young and Talented – opens midday Mon 26th Feb – closes midday 5th April. Administered by the Dorset Community Foundation, Grants of up to £2000 are available to young people age 14 - 21 who have an exceptional sporting talent but are struggling to meet the costs of progression. They can support with kit/clothing, competition fees, coaching, travel costs and accommodation (not an exhaustive list). Applicants need to send a completed application, a recent bank statement and 2 letters of support (one ideally from a representative of the National Governing Body of their sport) For more information, please CLICK HERE
** The Children's Alliance CIO (The Water Babies Foundation) grant of up to £15,000 are available to not-for-profit organisations across the UK, including Community Interest Companies and schools, for projects that involve swimming and water and give children and young people aged 18 and under a better start in life. Applications may be made at any time via the application form available on the Alliances website
** The Jordan Sinnott Foundation Trust - Grants of up to £5,000 are available for UK clubs and projects which will enable disadvantaged children and young people aged 5-21 to participate in sport. Applications can be made at any time.
** The Clara E Burgess Charity - A limited number of grants are available to registered charities in England and Wales that are supporting the education, health and wellbeing of children and young people, and in particular children aged 10 and under who have lost either or both parents. Applications can be made in writing at any time.
** THE POSTCODE LOCAL TRUST FOR THE WEST OF ENGLAND – Grants of between (a) £500 and £2,500, and (b) £500 to £25,000 are available to charitable organisations in the West of England (includes Dorset) working in the areas of the arts, physical activity, biodiversity, environmental sustainability, green spaces, improving community access to outdoor space, mental health and wellbeing, the relief of poverty and support for marginalised groups.
Application deadline: Round 1 closes to applications on FRIDAY 1st MARCH 2024. Further application windows for 2024 are provided in the main article. Please note that the application form is only made available when each round opens which is a week before the closing date.
** The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Youth-Led Creativity Funding - Revenue grants of up to £120,000 are available for up to 3 years for UK projects led by and for young people aged 14-30 who have less access to creative programmes or who are underrepresented in the arts and culture. Application deadline: FRIDAY 15th MARCH 2024 at 5pm for Expressions of Interest – see more here: Youth-Led Creativity funding | Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (esmeefairbairn.org.uk)
** The Pixel Fund - Project grants of between £2,500 and £5,000 are available for UK-based registered charities and Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) for projects that promote the mental health and wellbeing of children and young adults aged 25 and under. Application deadline: none - applications may be made at any time, initially by completing an Eligibility Checklist - The Pixel Fund - UK Mental Health Grants for Charities
** The KFC Youth Foundation Community Grants – grants of between £200 and £2,500 are available for UK grassroots organisations providing safe social spaces, mentoring, work, or social skills for young people aged 11 to 25 in areas where KFC outlets are located. Application deadline: SUNDAY 17th MARCH 2024 at 23:59 for Expressions of Interest. Please note that the Foundation's website states that the scheme is closed, but it has in fact been accepting applications for its Spring 2024 funding round since Wednesday 14th February - The KFC Foundation Community Grants
** The Hedley Foundation Limited - One-off grants of up to £5,000 (but averaging £2,500) are available to smaller UK registered charities working with the elderly, people with a mental or physical disability, those who are terminally ill, young people and social welfare projects, including those that benefit carers, the homeless and ex-offenders. Application deadline: WEDNESDAY 13th MARCH 2024 - The Hedley Foundation - A Grant Giving Charity
** Warburtons Family Matters Community Grants Programme - Micro-grants up to £400 are available for not-for-profit organisations in England, Scotland and Wales for projects that benefit children and families. Application deadline: TUESDAY 7th MAY 2024 - Financial Giving | Community | Charity Donations | Warburtons
** The Stan Vidler Memorial Charitable Trust - Small grants are available for registered charities working with children and young people disadvantaged by disability or economic circumstances, and to help relieve financial hardship and poor health among older people. Application deadline: none – applications may be mad at any time in writing - The Stan Vidler Memorial Charitable Trust | AV Trinity (IFA)
** £1 Million Fund to Help Mental Health Charities Improve their Services (UK) The Prudence Trust is making £1 million in funding available to improve the services of registered charities and CICs offering mental health support to young people aged 11-25 across the UK. The aim of this funding is to support charities to better understand how their service works and how it can be improved.
** £20 Million in Funding Available to Support Vulnerable Energy Consumers (England, Scotland & Wales). The Energy Redress Scheme is now open for its seventh funding round. A total of £20 million is available for charities and community energy groups to apply for grants through four funding streams
** Funding for Projects that Support the Education and Development of Children and Young People (England). Schools, colleges and community groups in England can apply for grants to support the education and development of children and young people through educational, cultural, sporting and other projects
** Equipment Grants for Disabled and Disadvantaged Young People (UK). Schools, charities and not for profit organisations in the UK can apply for funding for equipment that helps mentally, physical and socially disadvantaged children
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Pan-Dorset Safeguarding Children Partnership - Face to Face Training:
PDSCP - Communicating with children where there are concerns that they may have been sexually abused, 26 February 2024, 09.30-12.30
PDSCP - Practitioners Well Being and Working with Sexual Abuse, 26 February 2024, 13.30-16.30
PDSCP – Working with non-abusing parents and carers where there have been concerns about CSA, 4 March 2024, 09.30-12.30
PDSCP - Working with Children and Adolescents who display Harmful Sexual Behaviour, 8 March 2024, 09.30-16.30
PDSCP - Working with Children and Adolescents who display Harmful Sexual Behaviour, 25 March 2024, 09.30-16.30
PDSCP - FREE - Suicide First Aid Lite with Young People, 21 March 2024, 09.30-13.00
PDSCP – FREE – Gender Identity/Trans Awareness, 27 March 2024, 10.00-13.00
Volunteer Centre Dorset FREE online Training
The Volunteer Centre Dorset are able to offer a range of FREE online courses, which can be completed at a time and date to suit, but you do need to book in by early March to be eligible. Courses do not need to be completed in one go. Online courses are offered via Virtual College with a certificate of completion provided. To see the full list of courses visit Online Courses (volunteeringdorset.org.uk).
**The 0-25 Knowledge Hub is part of our 0-25 VCS Forum and highlights our wonderful voluntary and community sector. It is for anyone working with and for children, young people and their families in Dorset. Check out the site here and make sure your organisation and service is included 0-25 Knowledge Hub Homepage (dorsetyouth.com) if you are not listed, contact us to ensure details of your service is Dorset are available
** The first edition of the Preparing for Adulthood Guide produced in collaboration with Dorset Council, NHS Dorset and Dorset Parent Carer Council was published August 2023. It was sent out to all parents and carers of young people aged 14-23 who have an education, health and care plan - Preparing for Adulthood Guide - Dorset Council
** NSPCC CASPAR - current awareness for policy, practice and research - this edition is focussed on child sexual abuse and includes a podcast exploring recommendations made in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), and a blog discussing the language we use to talk to people who sexually abuse children, plus articles on sexuality and gender identity and much more - read here: CASPAR weekly update (nspcc.org.uk)
** Problem Solving, Your Way Do you work for a community organisation? Daybreak would love to hear from you! They are asking organisations how those they work with cope with challenging situations. Their 5 min #ProblemSolvingYourWay survey aims to help them better shape their services to people’s needs. You can complete it here: https://forms.office.com/e/PgYTjZbdS They are also asking the general public to complete the survey. If you can share further, members of the public can complete a survey here: Community Survey direct link Both surveys close on 29 February 2024. Thank you!
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**If you are working within the VCS in Dorset with or for children, young people and families and would like to your job vacancies and volunteering opportunities, email the details and we will add them here free - 0-25vcs@dorsetyouth.com
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Vacancies & Voluntary Opportunities (dorsetyouth.com)
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YOUTH CLUB SUPPORT
**Youth Work Training Day- We are looking forward to seeing 40+ youth workers at the Dorset Youth & Dorset Council Training day this Saturday at Lytchett Minster School.
**Core Offer Training for Youth Workers- Keep your eyes peeled as we will be releasing the new dates for the L2 Safeguarding with Online Safety and Introduction to Youth work training days soon!
**Session idea for Youth Clubs with #NatureRecoveryDorset- This Thursday 29th February Dorset are coming together to share what we are all doing to help nature recover across Dorset.
Collective action in 2 simple steps:
1. Share a nature-related post on your social media on Thursday 29th Feb
2. Use the hashtags #LeapIntoNature and #NatureRecoveryDorset
If your organisation has a communications team/officer – please ask them to follow these 2 steps on your behalf.
Useful hints on what to share
#LeapIntoNature #NatureRecoveryDorset is all about showcasing what different organisations, businesses, farmers, fishermen, community groups, schools and individuals are doing to help nature across Dorset.
Here are a just a few examples of what you could share:
- How your day-to-day work helps nature.
- A nature-related project in Dorset – promoting videos you may already have
- If you are part of a farm cluster or a landscape recovery project – shout about the work you are doing
- Show off the places you’ve set aside for more nature e.g. a school nature area, a cemetery etc
- A meeting you’ve attended recently about nature recovery and what your involvement is
- Be part of the solution by working together to help nature