0-25 VCS Forum Newsletter -17th April 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 General Meetings
* Tuesday 30th April 2024 - Join us to find out about the new funding held by each LAG - this follows on from the success of last years successful programme which saw at total of £100,000 awarded. This is also an opportunity to meet our new Chair, Emma, and to hear updates from our VCS Reps sitting on the LAG boards, and from Mike who attends a multitude of meetings to raise the voice of the 0-25 VCS in Dorset including the Strategic Alliance - join us to ask your questions, feed into these local meetings and have your voice heard - Book your place now - https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DJJE
*** Dates for your diary! ***
* Wednesday 15th May - Dragonfly Training - what is abuse? why is it hard to leave? the effects of domestic violence, legal definitions, how you can help. The workshops are perfect for anyone wanting to learn more about domestic violence and how they can help - this will be held online from 10-1 - full booking information will be sent out soon.
** Tuesday 11th June - face to face training (Dorchester) STOP LOAN SHARKS with Lin Fisher, Leads in Awareness, Intelligence, Support & Education – south region, England Illegal Money Lending Team - full booking information will be sent out soon
* Monday 15th July 2024
* Tuesday 15th October 2024 (n.b. this date replaces the 8th October as previously noted)
* Monday 10th February 2025
** Dorset Youth are looking for some furniture for our meeting space at the main office. We are on the look out for a small 2 seater sofa and small coffee table. Please get in touch if know of anything or if you have anything that you wouldn't mind donating, get in via [email protected]
** The Dorset Innovation Hub’s Summit takes place on Tuesday 18 June 2024 at the Dorset Museum, Dorchester. The event is for anyone seeking to adopt and spread proven innovation in health and care; including voluntary & community sector, charities, health and care professionals, decision makers and influencers of NHS & social care services, academia, local authority staff, and industry. Participate in a range of interactive workshops, explore stands and network with colleagues who are working to improve the adoption of proven innovation. Find out more and book here: Dorset Innovation Hub Summit June 2024 Tickets, Tue 18 Jun 2024 at 09:30 | Eventbrite
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)
** Dorset Council are currently trying to raise awareness of the importance and legal obligation for young people between the ages of 13 and 16 years to have a Child Work Permit in place for all employment. To legally employ children within this age range Employers, need to have a Child Work Permit for them. Child work permits are required for all young people up until the last Friday in June when they are in year 11.
They may be employed in light work :-
- that is not likely to be harmful to the safety, health or development of the young person
- that does not have a negative impact on their attendance and wellbeing at school
Our main role, when assessing applications from Employers is primarily to safeguard the child. When an application is received, we carry out a safeguarding check, the employer is required to produce a full Risk Assessment for the role and approval is sought from the Child’s Parent and current School. This process as a whole determines whether the employment is safe for the child.
The employer MUST have a work permit, even if the young person is working as a volunteer. Young people do not need a work permit for work experience arranged by the school.
The employment of children of compulsory school age is controlled by legislation which governs the age at which a child may be employed, the type of work they may do and the hours which they may work. Our role is to ensure that the employment remains within the confines of the law, and thus safe for the child. Further information regarding this can be found via the following link: Child employment: Restrictions on child employment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Employers who employ children without work permits risk prosecution and may also find that their Employers Liability Insurance is void.
We are asking anyone who is aware of a young person being employed within a valid work permit in place to please get in touch.
Should you have any further queries feel free to get in touch - Kaye Whittle, Performance Licensing Team, 01305 224324
** Dorset’s neurodiversity information hub is now live! http://www.nhsdorset.nhs.uk/neurodiversity We hope it will be a valuable resource for our neurodivergent community in Dorset. We’ve produced an information article and supporting resources (including digital/printable posters + social media graphics) to support the launch.
** 🌈👀April 2024 new look Space Youth Project newsletter (mailchi.mp)
** The Children’s Charities Coalition has published a news story about the number of child cruelty offences against babies and young children in the UK, as part of their Children at the Table campaign. The story cites a 16% increase in police recorded crimes in England of cruelty, assault and neglect against children aged five and under in 2022/23, compared to 2019/20. It also includes data from the NSPCC Helpline. The Coalition, consisting of Action for Children, Barnardo’s, The Children’s Society, National Children’s Bureau and the NSPCC, are calling for a cross-government strategy to drive improvements for babies, children and young people and for the next Government to prioritise investment in children’s social care and early intervention services. Continuing rise in cruelty crimes against babies and young children sees charities raise alarm ahead of General Election
** NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode exploring pre-birth assessments. The podcast features practitioners working in children’s social care discussing: what pre-birth assessments are; risk factors and identifying when an assessment is needed; and how tools such as the Graded Care Profile 2 Antenatal (GCP2A) assessment tool can help. Listen to the podcast: Podcast: Understanding pre-birth assessments Listen on YouTube: Understanding pre-birth assessments
** Parent-infant relationships: starting conversations (practitioner guide) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
** The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) has published a new podcast episode on adolescent mental health. The podcast discusses a recent research paper on cognitive and affective control, associations with depressive symptoms and implications for interventions for adolescent mental health. You can listen here: The relationship between cognitive and affective control and adolescent mental health
** Tesco Stronger Starts funds grants for healthy food and activities for children across the UK. We have partnered with The Sun to power their Footie for All campaign with our Tesco Stronger Starts programme to create a Footie for All Fund. We will be providing £150k in grants to grassroots football clubs across the UK as well as raising awareness of the importance of children having opportunities to thrive through opportunities for more physical and mental wellbeing. The Footie for All grants will support grassroots clubs in providing more spaces, better equipment and new kits – anything they need to help support children in their local communities - Footie for All (tescostrongerstarts.org.uk) - application deadline 30th April 2024 (midnight)
** The Henry Smith Charity Holiday Grants for Children - Grants of between £500 and £2,750 are available for UK youth clubs, charities, not-for-profit groups and schools to provide recreational trips or holidays for children aged 13 years and younger who live in an area of high deprivation and are experiencing disability or disadvantage. Coming application deadline Monday 22nd July 2024 but please see more detail and a further application deadline in the text below. Application deadline: MONDAY 22nd JULY 2024 for trips taking place between Wednesday 1st May and Saturday 31st August 2024
** The Ironmongers Trust Company - revenue grants averaging £5000 available to UK registered charities that are providing opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people aged 25 and under to help them fulfil their potential - deadline 31st July 20274
** The Asda Foundation Cost-of-Living Grants - Grants of between £500 and £2,000 are available to local community organisations across the UK to cover core running costs, food for people struggling with the cost-of-living and Warm Banks, providing a comfortable place for people to go who are unable to heat their homes. Application deadline - Friday 24th May
** Mind Brain & Body CIC (MBB) and Rural Mental Health Matters (RMHM), have been successful in obtaining funding to deliver a fantastic new outreach project, to support young people and families living in rural North Dorset.
The pilot, called Holistically Rural Outreach Youth Project, will run from February until August 2024.
Briefly, the aim of the project is to create a safe space for children and young people in rural areas as an early intervention for the maintenance of their mental health and overall wellbeing through the use of holistic approaches, while creating opportunities for their development in various aspects of their life. Please see flyer attached and feel free to share!
We are just making an enquiry as to the possibility of hosting some events if possible, in the north Dorset area, at places/venues you already use, or have use of? Also, whether you would like to work with us, and support the pilot. We want to work with as many organisations as possible to maximise the opportunities for young people and families, living in the North Dorset area, to benefit from the activities we will be offering.
As both MBB and RMHM are not for profit organisations, we are looking for venues that are available at no cost, or very low cost.
Please kindly email: [email protected] with the following information:
Venue:
What is the cost, if any, for hiring any venue/space, that you currently use (in north Dorset) for - 2 hour, 3 hour and 6 hour sessions? (please state if space/venue is available at no cost).
Please kindly state the cost, or free use, with a breakdown showing the days/times that are currently available in February, March, April, May, June, July and August.
Support
Want to be a part of this exciting pilot project? If so please let us know how you'd like to help. We are looking to work with as many organisations as possible. However, as we anticipate a lot of you will want to be a part of this, this will be on a first come first served basis ~ so do get in touch to register your interest!
We would very much appreciate a response at your earliest convenience, as this is a time limited project: [email protected].
We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Melanie
Melanie Costas
Hakuna Matata,
Holistically Rural Outreach Youth Project team'
😎
www.mindbrainbodycic.org/holisticruralyouth
**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 in Dorset are available
**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 - [email protected]
Vacancies & Voluntary Opportunities (dorsetyouth.com)
YOUTH CLUB SUPPORT
**Sturminster Marshall youth Club- is looking for a pool table, board games and some big cushions or beans bags to create a chill area at the youth club. If you have anything you could donate Please get in touch via [email protected]
**NYA- Last month we launched our new manifesto for 2024. The six-point manifesto calls on national government to ensure all young people have access to the youth provision they need, to create opportunities for young people where they live, to support local authorities to fulfil their Statutory Duty through new legislation and to rebuild the youth work workforce. Click the link to read the full 2024 manifesto https://www.nya.org.uk/manifes...
** The publication of the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance by the Department on Education was a pivotal moment in the elevation of the status of youth workers, who now feature more prominently in the guidance, with specific responsibilities and duties detailed.
Read the blog by Xyna Prasad, National Safeguarding and Risk Lead, NYA to better understand the involvement of youth workers in developing effective safeguarding interventions to bring about better outcomes. To read the blog click here Working Together to Safeguarding Children – a pivotal moment for youth work – NYA. You can also find out more about the implications of the guidance by joining our Working Together webinar, delivered in association with the Department of Education on the 6 June 2024 at 11am. To find out more click here Webinar Registration - Zoom
**
YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES
🚨 NEW CAMPAIGN ALERT 🚨Did you know that a third of young people aren’t registered to vote?
We are a YOUTH movement from across the country, LED by young people FOR young people. And, we are on a mission to get every single young person REGISTERED TO VOTE. Founded by My Life My Say, Shape History and the #iwill Movement, we’re working with leading brands, universities and youth organisations, as well as local, national and social media outlets to make sure that you know when to register to vote, how to register to vote, and of course, when to vote.
Join our movement by visiting this link 🔗 www.giveanx.org
** Young Leaders programme- we are looking for youth clubs in the Weymouth, Portland & Dorchester area who have a few young people aged 13+ who would like to take part in the young leaders programme during the May half term (exact dates will be confirmed once numbers have been confirmed). This will include 2 days of fun training learning leadership skills and how to help out and support their youth club. They can then gain certificates for the voluntary hours they complete over the year. If you club is interested please get in touch via [email protected]
**MyBnk- have recently created an app for young people where they can ask money questions and get a response in seconds, watch short videos about money topics find out more here https://get.moneyready.org/
**In2action in partnership with NCS are offering some fantastic free , live, on-line sessions for young people, they will cover Interview Skills and Presentation Skills. These will run from March to September. To sign up all you need to do is book via the links below or download the poster with the QR codes to put up in your youth club.
https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/be-on-a-10-interview-skills-3136349
https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/make-your-mark-presentation-skills-3136479
Poster