Local safeguarding children boards
Submitted by cedric on 4 December 2006 - 10:16am. safetyThe Department for Education and Skills is to launch a major investigation into the effectiveness of local safeguarding children boards.
Local Area Agreements.
Submitted by cedric on 4 December 2006 - 9:47am.If there was any doubt about the significance of Local Area Agreements it has been blown away by the latest local government white paper.
In the words of the government web site -
"The aim of this White Paper is to give local people and local communities more influence and power to improve their lives. It is about creating strong, prosperous communities and delivering better public services through a rebalancing of the relationship between central government, local government and local people."
Connexions Grants for the Voluntary and Community Sector 2007-2008
Submitted by cedric on 1 December 2006 - 2:06pm. fundingConnexions have  allocated £300,000 in 2007-8 to voluntary and community sector projects that explicitly target young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
This will be split into two separate streams -  £250,000 will be available for projects and £50,000 will fund £1000 grants at local level.Each local authority area will receive an allocation – see attached paper for details.Timetable -
Free security
Submitted by cedric on 1 December 2006 - 1:16pm. technology
PC owners will spend £3 billion on anti-virus software next year and many small business and home users pay their annual subscriptions without checking the dozens of free alternatives available. Four freebies lead the pack and most reviewers agree that they provide adequate protection. In order of popularity, they are: AVG (from Grisoft); BitDefender; Avast 4 Home and a relative newcomer: Avira from Germany.
Pod casting
Submitted by cedric on 1 December 2006 - 1:10pm. technologyPodcasting is a new phenomenon to most of us, but it became popular with some enthusiasts as early as 2004. Early adopters regarded Podcasting as a democratising technology, allowing anyone to create and publish radio programmes without the need for a broadcasting infrastructure. You may have decided that you should give this new medium a try, but where do you begin? The Data Doctors have some suggestions.
New web site for Youth Options Hants and IoW
Submitted by cedric on 1 December 2006 - 12:43pm. technologyNice clear new web site for HCVYS members Youth Options has just been launched - http://www.youth-options.org/
Making user involvement work
Submitted by cedric on 1 December 2006 - 9:31am. participationA new ‘Findings' publication from Joseph Rowntree Foundation, ‘Making user involvement work: supporting service user networking and knowledge', highlights major barriers and ways service users see of overcoming these.
Charities criticise government’s lack of progress on children’s rights
Submitted by cedric on 1 December 2006 - 9:23am. rights of ypA report by a coalition of over 100 children’s charities has found the government has failed to make progress on 80 per cent of the recommendations on children’s rights made by the UN four years ago. In its annual report, the Children’s Rights Alliance criticised the government for failing to make "significant progress" on 66 of the 78 recommendations made by the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child in 2002.
