1:  Young Peoples Drug Services are changing – Find Out More
From the 1^st November 2008 young people’s Drug and Alcohol Services are changing. Over the past 5 months Surrey Drug & Alcohol Action Team have been re-tendering the young people’s provision for Surrey, and can now announce that Rainer Surrey Services, continuing on from their successful DAYS (Drug & Alcohol Youth Support) Service were successful in winning this tender.

From Monday 3^rd November 2008 current young people’s drug and alcohol services, namely Surrey Young Peoples Services (SYPS) and Omni Outreach will close. Rainer will be taking over all provisions from this date (excluding the Youth Justice Substance Misuse Service).

Rainer are currently consulting with young people about the name of the new Service and as soon as this decided upon Rainer will update key stakeholders and promote the new referral process.

Several staff from SYPS are transferring to Rainer, and we hope to keep the disruption to young people to a minimum, eg wherever possible young people currently engaged with previous service providers will be able to keep their worker if they wish.

The new Service will provide both early intervention and structured treatment services, and work with young people aged 11 – 19 across the spectrum of drug and alcohol misuse, providing a comprehensive range of services and information for young people, parents and carers, and professionals.

More information will be available shortly about the Service, structure and referral processes, however if you have any pressing enquiries please contact Rainer on 01372 832 888.

2:  Use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for referrals to Children's Services
Please be advised that from 13th October use of the Surrey Inter-agency Referral Form (IARF) will cease. As from 13th October referrals for Children’s Service Social Care should be submitted on a CAF Form + Common Referral Form. This will replace the Inter-Agency Referral Form currently in use.

Attached are guidance details for circulation throughout your respective agencies.  Also attached are copies of the CAF Five Step Process and a ‘Referring Social Care Concerns’ leaftet. 

Your cooperation in progressing implementation of the Common Assessment Framework is appreciated.
Many thanks
Jim Leivers
Acting Head of Children's Service
Services for Families, Fairmount House, Bull Hill, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7AH
01372 833400  jim.leivers@surreycc.gov.uk

3:  Surrey Safeguarding Children Training Available

We still have places available on the following courses. Please complete application form at the back of the training programme attached: 

*  Adult Substance Misuse and Impact on Children 17 November   Princess Alice, Esher (10 places)

*  Effective Interagency Assessment  24 November Quadrant Court, Woking (15 places)

*  Understanding and working with Sexual Abuse 13th Jan  Princess Alice, Esher (12 places)

*  Harmful Sexual Behaviour  Quadrant Court, Woking (2 places)

*  Adult Substance Misuse and Impact on Children   21 January  Princess Alice, Esher (17 places)

Please circulate to colleagues

Angie Tregoning

Training and Development Manager

Surrey Safeguarding Children Board

01372 833318

07968 834947

www.surreycc.gov.uk/safeguarding

4:  School Theatre Tours - Update

ImpAct theatre group are in the midst of taking bookings for the School Theatre Tours aimed at Years 10 and 11 in schools. These are due to start in November and run for 4 weeks until the middle of December 08. 

 
The performances will present the importance of staying in learning, choices at year 10 and 11 (6th form, FE College, Apprenticeships) and other initiatives such as Entry to Employment (e2e) and Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

Key messages that will be included:

•        All options

•        Connexions – linking with PAs

•        Apprenticeships having equal status to other post 16 options

•        Entry to Employment

•        Education Maintenance Allowance

Can I ask that you pass this information onto your teams and if its not too much trouble, would the relevant colleague kindly encourage the schools in their area to sign up please? See attached list for those schools already signed up.   The session is only 45 mins long (1 lesson time) and past feedback has shown that all schools have found these performances extremely helpful. There is also an optional workshop that is held after the performance which encourages more discussion about any issues raised.

All schools have received a covering letter and booking form about these performances and ImpAct are chasing up those that haven’t responded but some encouragement from colleagues in Connexions/Local authorities would be really appreciated.  Connexions PA’s are mentioned a lot in the performances for the Years 10 and 11 to obtain more information and if possible, we’d like to make sure that the Connexions PA is present at the performance.

The preview of the show will take place on 7th November at the Reading office from 10:00am - 12:00 noon and if you would like to attend please email me by Thursday 23^rd October 08 stating you would like to attend the School Theatre Tour preview show. There are limited places as the meeting room here can only accommodate 40-50 people in theatre style so I will be taking requests on a first come first served basis and I also need to know numbers to book car park spaces.

Thanks

Mandip

Miss Mandip Bilkhu
Marketing Advisor for South East Region
Learning and Skills Council Berks 
T: 0118 908 2164  E: Mandip.Bilkhu@lsc.gov.uk    www.lsc.gov.uk 

5:  Guidance and Education - the iCeGS 11th Annual Lecture
Tuesday 16^th December 2008, 2.00pm to 4.30pm
What makes a successful guidance service in a fractured community? In times of turbulent change it is good to learn from international practice. Professor Ronald Sultana is a renowned international figure in the world of guidance and education. We are delighted that he will present the 11^th iCeGS Annual Lecture and also take part in an ‘Audience with iCeGS’. Professor Sultana is currently investigating and supporting the development of guidance services in Palestine and Lebanon. His experience is invaluable and will help to inform guidance policy makers and practitioners of ways that effective guidance services can be constructed and developed in the UK and elsewhere. The popular Annual Lecture is hosted by the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) and takes place at the University of Derby.  

Tuesday 16^th December 2008 iCeGS 11th Annual Lecture:

Career Guidance Policies: Global dynamics, local resonances.

Professor Ronald Sultana, Professor in Educational Sociology and Comparative Education at the University of Malta will give this keynote presentation, hosted by -

Professor John Coyne, Vice-Chancellor, University of Derby.

This will be followed by:

An audience with iCeGS: Guidance and effective communities

This will give audience members the chance to question and debate with a panel of distinguished experts.

Marie Brett, Adult Services Manager, Connexions Tyne and Wear and iCeGS Practitioner Fellow

Steve Stewart OBE, Chief Executive of Coventry Solihull & Warwickshire Partnerships Ltd, and iCeGS Practitioner Fellow

Professor Ronald Sultana

Professor Tony Watts, Visiting Professor, iCeGS, University of Derby

There is no charge for attending this event, however places are limited and you should book your place as early as possible. More information on the Annual Lecture, the Audience with iCeGS and a booking form is available at: http://www.derby.ac.uk/icegs/career-guidance-week  

We also welcome your questions for the panel in advance of the Audience with iCeGS. Please send your questions to icegsenquiry@derby.ac.uk Information on iCeGS and examples of previous Annual Lecture occasional papers can be found at: http://www.derby.ac.uk/icegs/publications/annual-lecture-occasional-papers-1998-present_

If you are interested in attending the Annual Lecture and Audience with iCeGS, please contact Jennifer Dean at iCeGS  j.dean1@derby.ac.uk  tel: 01332 591267.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Christopoulos

CPD Co-ordinator, International Centre for Guidance Studies

6:  Connexions Direct Moderated Chat Room - next session 15 October

As some of you may be aware we have just launched a Moderated Chat Room on Connexions Direct and we’re really keen to raise awareness amongst the audience as much as possible.  We are writing out to all of our contacts in the hope that people will be kind enough to let people (young people, PA’s etc) know about this fantastic initiative.   Using the service is really easy, young people just need to log on to www.connexions-direct.com/ , click on the chat room icon then fill out a registration form.   When we open the room, they can chat away to each other and a CXD expert on the topic of the day.

Our next chat room opens at 5pm on Wednesday (15 Oct) and runs for 1 hour.  The topic is part time work.

Future topics (subject to change) are currently planned as attached.

Any help you can give will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Sara

Sara Brasington

Business Integration Officer

The essentiagroup

0191 269 5254

07917 655 815

Connexions Direct:  Web: www.connnexions-direct.com  Tel: 080 800 13 2 19  Text: 07766 4 13 2 19

7: NEET UPDATE– How well are we doing?
Click here for the September 2008 graphs on NEET, Unknowns and NEET by Borough Breakdown.

Job Vacancies for Young People
Did you know that there are a wide range of job vacancies, vacant college places and training courses all over the county waiting to be filled? As the majority don’t have particularly demanding entry requirements, they are an ideal choice for many NEET youngsters.

Our Centres produce regular listings of local opportunities. Vacancy Bulletins are now listed on the Connexions website Job search page and you can also pick up copies from your local Centre to share with the young people you are currently working with.

NEET Activities Flyer  - Oct - Dec 2008   

Please find attached a document highlighting a range of NEET activities taking place for young people around the County from October until the end of December 2008.  The aim of the document is to give you an indication of the types of activities/programmes that are available or are currently being undertaken.

The next edition of the flyer will cover the period Jan - March 2009 and ideally I would like to distribute it to you all week commencing 15th December which would allow you some time to speak with your NEET young people and potentially get them signed up onto a course/programme that may be starting within this period.

If you are involved in any NEET (16-18 year old) activities or know of any activities for NEET young people that are taking place between January and the end of March 2009 then please let me have the following details by 24th November and I will include the programme in the next flyer:

1. Course title
2. Brief description, to include, number of weeks, core content, referral process etc
3. Agency/provider
4. Dates
5. Time
6. Costs if any incurred by young person
7. Contact name
8. Contact details i.e. telephone number and email address

Chloe Burningham