Job Information Sheets - view and download the Job Information sheets for May, now available on the CLC website. Vacancies this month include a Hairdressing Apprenticeship in Baker Street, an Automotive Apprentice at the Volkswagen group in Camden and a Studio Apprentice in Thamesmead, using graphic/printing soft/hardware.

Rebuild Motor Vehicle Studies will equip young offenders in London aged 16 – 18, in custody and in the community, with Level 1 qualification in automotive skills for an average of 13 weeks each. For more information on the course or how to apply, click here.

Motorcycle Maintenance Training - KCC are offering 16 year olds+ places to those interested in working in the motorcycle fields. For more information contact Richard Huck on 020 8969 9830.

Young parents to be – The Nationwide Community Partnership have announced that young parents in the UK will have the opportunity to gain nationally recognised qualifications in parenting. The qualifications will be roughly equivalent to a GCSE and will be offered from September this year once they have been accredited by the Edexcel exam board.

Advice on drugs for young people – FRANK, the national drugs information service, has launched two new digital applications for young people across the country. The first is a text service, where young people can text for advice and information from trained professionals on any drug-related issues. The second is an online self-help guide aimed at cannabis users.

The Co-operative Young Film Makers – Each year the Co-operative encourages young people under 19 to enter their Co-operative Young Film-Makers Festival. Closing date for entries is 26 June 2009.

National survey of child safety and victimisation – The National Survey of Child Safety and Victimisation is a major national study that looks at the experiences of children, teenagers, and young adults aged between 0 and 24. The survey is run by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) on behalf of the NSPCC.

Money Works for Young People - Money Works is a new financial education programme for young people who are not in education, employment or training. Click here to find out more.

Free one day training course for children – The Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) is running a free one day training course for children on Wednesday 27 May at the CRAE office in London. The course is for children aged 17 or under. 

Free swimming  – Over a thousand swimming pools run by almost 300 local councils now offer free swimming for young people aged 16 and under.
 
Sheila McKechnie Young Campaigners Awards – Nominations for this award are now open for 2009, which provides support to new or emerging campaigners. There are four awards for young people. The closing date for nominations is 30 June 2009.

Budget 2009 for London – The Chancellor announced a package of measures, which included help for families, children and young people. This will include an additional £1.7 billion set aside to offer a guaranteed job, training or placement to 18-24 years olds who have been unemployed for 12 months. Children England have also produced a round up of how the budget will affect the youth sector. 

EMA update - Under the EMA Guarantee, learners who have been paid during the 2008/09 academic year do not need to reapply, click here to read more.

Getting IAG right for Young People - The Higher Education Minister David Lammy, stressed that IAG has to be central to a school’s mission and that the Government will publish statutory guidance on the principles underpinning the duty to deliver impartial careers education through the Education and Skills Act 2008. Urging universities to continue working on entry profiles for Diploma students. Read his full speech here.

Budget won't solve E2E course places crisis – Chancellor Alistair Darling's Budget failed to address the funding crisis facing providers of courses for disadvantaged young people, the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) has warned.

Employers are being encouraged to support the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design (MPD) - The new ‘Show Your Support’ leaflet is part of an initiative to encourage employers of all sizes to become involved with the Diploma in MPD. The leaflet includes information about the different ways of getting involved in this Diploma, which include mentoring and visits to schools, colleges and workplaces, as well as providing work experience opportunities, learning materials and resources. To ask questions or order copies of the leaflet, send an email to improve@improveltd.co.uk.

Terrence Higgins Trust’s Young Leaders Project has money to give away to young people so they can create their own Sex and Relationship Education projects. View the poster or leaflet for more information.

New strategy for a 21st century social care workforce – Fifty thousand long-term unemployed young people will be helped into social care traineeships thanks to new plans published by the Government.

National statistics on post-16 education –The latest national statistics on post-16 education have been released on the DCSF website.

NEET data – The DCSF have published statistics on the total number of 16 to 18 year olds classed as not in education, employment or training (NEETs).

Labour to make teenage community service compulsory – Young people will have to complete 50 hours of community service before they are 19 if Labour win the next election.

New protocol for child trafficking cases – The Home Office and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have introduced a new protocol for assessing and recording cases of child trafficking.

A bigger role for communities in inspiring young people – Young people will get extra encouragement to unlock their talents as part of a £10m Inspiring Communities initiative, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has announced. Read more here.

You’re welcome! – The first health services to be 'young people friendly' have been commended for their approach at a ceremony in the House of Lords.

Whistleblower hotline – Ofsted is piloting a whistleblower hotline. The hotline will enable council employees and those working with young children to report concerns about practices and procedures for the safeguarding of children and young people.

STEM Pack - April saw the launch of the STEM Careers Resource Pack for CEIAG practitioners. You can register to receive this pack and other useful resources from info@careersinstem.co.uk.

Boris to fight child poverty with the Mayor's Fund – Boris Johnson has announced his plans to help the 600,000 children living in poverty in London by launching the Mayor’s Fund, a major new charity.

Young people struggle to get proper mental health care – Research carried out among 10 to 25 year olds by the charity YoungMinds for their new mental health help site My Head Hurts, found that three quarters of young people said no support was offered while waiting for treatment.

Over 200,000 children to benefit from £10m of cycle training – Over 200,000 more school children in England will have the opportunity to have Bikeability training this year thanks to £10m of government funding.

ContactPoint not halted – The DCSF has written to all Directors of Children's Services in local authorities to clarify that, contrary to recent media reports, work on ContactPoint has not been halted. The DCSF are able to confirm this if you want to call their switchboard on 0870 000 2288.

Child Poverty Network – Local authorities and agencies in London are being encouraged to work together to tackle child poverty with the launch of a Child Poverty Network.

£5.5 million to help close the widening generation gap – a £5.5 million programme has been launched to bring older and younger generations together in their communities. The Government will use expressions of interest to select up to 12 potential sites spread across the country.

Change4Life survey says: Too many children not getting enough exercise – Results from a massive survey of Change4Life families show that almost three quarters (72 per cent) of their children are not getting 60 minutes of daily activity outside of school.

New programme revolutionises DH/Third Sector working – The Department of Health has joined forces with 11 specialist organisations in a bid to transform the way it works with third sector organisations. Read more here.

Safe from bullying in youth activities – This guidance from the DCSF is aimed at managers, staff and volunteers in youth activities, clubs and groups including local authority and third sector providers, and voluntary management committees. It outlines the possible bullying that might occur in youth activities and describes steps to prevent it and respond to it effectively.

Anti-bullying guidance published by 4Children – New guidance has been issued by 4Children as part of a multi-pronged attempt to tackle bullying.

Information Sharing – A document with guidance around information sharing by the DCSF and has been published on the Every Child Matters website.

Children, Schools and Families Committee looked-after children report – The Children, Schools and Families Committee's third report 2008-09 into looked-after children has been published. The report concluded that despite the dedication and perseverance of social workers and carers, the outcomes of 'looked after' young people remain poor.

Local Variations: A follow up study of New Arrangements for Connexions, Careers, IAG Services – This research from CfBT Education Trust examines the arrangements for Connexions/ Careers/ and IAG services in all 150 local authorities across England, since the budgetary and management responsibilities were passed over from the 1 April 2008.

Office of National Statistics (ONS) Social Trends report – The ONS has published its annual report on the latest social trends. Households, families and children are the underlying theme of this year's report. Findings include the proportion of people aged under 16 has dropped below those over state pension age and younger people spend more time in formal education. 

Youth Work Apprenticeship framework – The UKCES have now approved the revised version of the Youth Work Apprenticeship framework and sent it to funding bodies on 1 May. The new framework only insists on the key skills in Communication and Application of Number, does not ask for the extra ENTO unit on Health and Safety in the level 3 framework and asks providers to ensure that all starters do not struggle with academic work. 

National Indicators for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships: Updated National Indicator Definitions – This document from Communities and Local Government provides a summary of National Indicators that have been updated which includes NI 110 young people's participation in positive activities and NI 117 16 to 18 year olds who are NEET.

New CRB code of practice – The Criminal Records Bureau has published a revised code of practice for CRB checks which came into force in April 2009.

Redefining Risk – This is the fifth report in Girls Shout Out! series from Girl Guiding UK. The report reveals that girls across the UK are acutely aware of the concept of risk. However, over-anxious adults, exaggerated media coverage and the inconsistent application of rules supposedly designed to keep them safe have contributed to a climate of worry and misinformation.

Involving Disabled Young People in Aiming High – Mencap are currently putting together a booklet for Integrated Youth service workers looking at how they can practically identify and meaningfully include disabled young people in the various work strands arising for the Aiming High 10 year Youth Strategy. If you have any information about initiatives such as events to celebrate young people’s achievements, involvement in awarding the YOF and YOC funds or good practice, please contact Paul Smithson or call 0779 6948741.

Targeted family support – Struggling families facing difficulties, need intensive and targeted support at the earliest possible opportunity to help prevent them from reaching crisis point, according to new research launched from children’s charity Action for Children.

Health Strategy for the United Kingdom – The Health Protection Agency has published a Strategy to improve the health and well-being of children in the United Kingdom by changing the environment in which they live.

Audit of Political Engagement – The Hansard Society’s sixth annual audit has reported that just 24 per cent of young people aged 18-24 say they are 'certain to vote' at a general election.

Young people in care – Four reports published by the Children’s Rights Director for England, Roger Morgan give an insight into children and young people’s views and experiences of life in various residential settings.

Participation Toolkit – Participation Works have published a new Toolkit on Evaluating Participation Work.

Common Area Assessments – The Urban Forum has published some essential facts about the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) which came into force on 1 April 2009.

Young Voices – CSV has published a mid project report on Young Voices, a three year project which aims to encourage more young people to use libraries, to volunteer in libraries and to learn new skills.

Capital Gains: One Year On – The London Child Poverty Commission have published a progress report on the delivery of the Commission’s previous recommendations.

Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: One Year on – This document from the DCSF reviews progress on the delivery of Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives, and sets out priorities for the future.

Stay Safe: Using the views of children and young people to shape decision-making in service planning and practice – The report from the Research in Practice February Partnership Conference is now available on their website.

Integrated workforce strategy publications and case studies – The final report and case studies from the Improvement and Development Agency’s integrated workforce strategy project is now available.

Britain's professions are becoming more socially exclusive – The Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, led by Alan Milburn MP, has published a first research paper highlighting key trends and issues in access to a variety of professions.

Mayor's Payback London scheme – Payback London is a Capital-wide scheme allowing the small minority of under 18s who breach TfL's Behavioural Codes and lose their free travel privilege to earn it back by volunteering in their local community. Payback London will be an opportunity for young people to give something back to their community by completing a day’s volunteering. An advert has been placed on the GLA website to find an organisation (or a consortium) who can help put in place the volunteering opportunities. The successful grantee will then receive grant funding to oversee the scheme. If you would like any further information on Payback London, please contact Jason Lever at the GLA, or Jo Field at TfL.

 

14 - 19 Decisions & Choices - This course will be running on 20 May 2009. To view the course outline or to book your place, please visit the CLC Training site or contact CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk or 020 7938 8073.

Group Work Skills - This course will be taking place on 18 & 19 June 2009. Book your place now by visiting CLC Training site with your username or password or contact CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk or 020 7938 8073.

Motivational Strategies to support NEET YP - you can now book your place to attend this 2 day course on 8 & 9 July 2009. To view the course outline or to book you place, please visit the CLC Training site or contact CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk or 020 7938 8073.

Delivering Extended Services: 2010 – This seminar form 4Children will provide up to the minute information on progress towards achieving the extended services targets and what needs to be achieved to reach the 2010 targets. It will take place on 14 May 2009 in London.

Using restorative processes to effectively challenge anti-social behaviour – This one day training course will explore how using restorative justice principles and practices may help reduce anti-social behaviour. It will take place on 1 June 2009 and is free to attend.

Getting it right for young people’s health – The NYA are introducing a series of events across England aimed at the voluntary youth work sector, focused on young people’s health. The London event will be taking place on 16 June 2009.

Deaf parenting UK annual conference – Deaf Parenting is hosting their Deaf Parenting UK Conference 2009: Education, Education, Education which covers childcare, nursery, primary and secondary schools. The conference will take place on Friday 12 June 2009 in London.

Delivering 14-19 Provision: Mapping the Future – Delegates at this special Westminster Briefing conference will have the opportunity to consider the latest proposals as well as progress made so far and plans for the future. It will take place in London on 24 June 2009.

Beyond homophobic bullying – This conference from Stonewall is open to teachers, education professionals working in schools or local and national government as well as other organisations and individuals working to prevent and tackle homophobic bullying. It will take place in London on 1 July 2009. To indicate your interest in the conference and to receive information on the programme and how to register, send an e-mail to education@stonewall.org.uk.

 

Clearly, LGBT young people want access to universal services, too; and we should not forget that LGBT young people may also have needs across any of the other equalities strands. They shouldn’t be stereotyped into simply needing sexual health services: where they face rejection by their families, for example, they may need help with housing or personal safety. Those who are victims of bullying may need mental health support to enable them to engage actively with education or training or other aspects of their lives.

There will be a report from the conference that includes detailed information about the services that are available in London, and how they can be accessed. We will pass on the link to this report as soon as it becomes available.

More than half of the 16 to 25 year olds recently polled by The Prince’s Trust said they were worried that they would have to take a job they did not want. Around 70% also believed that having work experience would be of more benefit than their academic qualifications when it comes to finding a job.

The findings reflect growing concerns that young people leaving education this summer and looking for work will struggle as employers cut back. Martina Milburn, Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust said: “Our opinion poll suggests that people are shying away from ambition and downgrading their career plans – especially the young.”

Research by graduate recruitment website Milkround also shows that final year undergraduates fear for their job prospects. 56% are not confident about getting jobs, but a quarter continues to apply to the banking sector despite the recession.

These fears come on top of research that shows some graduates will earn little more than those getting a job straight from school or college. Students on arts and humanities courses, along with those failing to get at least an upper-second class degree, are most likely to miss out on the highest paid jobs according to the Warwick University study. The results would seem to show that not all graduates will feel the full financial benefit of a degree that the Government claims will comfortably add more than £100,000 to lifetime earnings.

Recent projections by GLA Economics (London’s Economic Outlook: Spring 2009) suggest further contractions before slow growth in 2011:

Annual employment growth in London turned negative in the fourth quarter of 2008, falling to -0.4% from 0.5% in the third quarter. Central London Connexions opportunities followed the same pattern.

Up to September 2008 it had been hard to spot the impact of the economic downturn on jobs for young people in Central London. That all changed at the end of 2008, with CLC opportunity numbers falling to less than half the total for the same period in 2007. The decline seems to have slowed slightly at the start of 2009, partly due to increased apprenticeship numbers.