PREPARING THE 1999 PLAN

Work is well underway on the 1999 Plan which has to be submitted by 1 Feb 99 for the three years from April 1999, in line with DfEE guidance manual (ring 0845 602 2260 if you need a copy).

The Partnership will be represented at the DfEE seminar on the Guidance on 24 November – and is in turn hosting two open explanatory meetings at 4.30pm on Monday 30 Nov to explain the Guidance at the Council House, College Green. This will be repeated at 6.00pm on Tuesday 8 December at the Bristol Education Centre, Sheridan Road, Horfield (note revised date).

Initial progress on the Plan includes:-

Contact Patricia 940-2571 if you can help.

The Plan will be considered at the Partnership meeting on 21 January (4.30pm at Southville Centre) and then by Council on 27 January. Note there will then be an extra meeting of the Partnership at 4.30pm on Thursday 25 February 99 at the Southville Centre.

As well as the KEY ISSUES paper there are two other schedules which list out the work to be done:-

We are still seeking suggestions as to how we can make the Newsletter work.

The Chair has met the following to develop their input to the Plan:

The LGMB survey (Private sector to date) and PLEIAD survey of existing qualifications & training are also now available. LGMB has also set out Guidance on relevant qualifications (Tel Tony Smith on 0171 296 6600 or 01954 230052). These will need to be considered with HERA 2 interim report in developing a Training strategy.

The Qualifications & Curriculum Authority has made available the notes of their Under 5’s conferences (0171 509 5555). QCA is currently undertaking two key tasks:-

This scheme for the under 3’s has just been launched and we are working with the Health Authority to submit a pilot. Overall there is £452m for the 3 years of the scheme in England. Bids of between £100k and £1m a year are envisaged to grow outwards from doctors surgeries to serve all families in deprived areas. They have to be located in areas of greatest need.

They are likely to include:-

Guidance is due by end of year, s there is likely to be a meeting to co-ordinate in the near future- so contact Jill or Linda on 903 7736 or 903 7989 if you are interested.

This was very useful in clarifying a number of issues. In particular the need for the Partnership to clarify its relationship to City Council. Thanks to Jean Erskine from VOSCUR (we are thinking of whether we create a sort of "critical mentor" relationship).

Information about the Partnership is now available over the Internet. To get to the web site you need to type the following "address" in your "browser":-

http://freespace.virgin.net/dave.sutton/

Sorry this is a rather complicated address, but Dave and APN are looking into more obvious "domain names", as well as whether the City Council or Digital Bristol can host the site.

If you don’t have a computer then you either need to find a wired up friend or try from one of the on-line terminals in the libraries (or shortly your local school). The site provides links to DfEE, Ofsted and QCA documents, as well as other early years & childcare research reports.

The site will be regularly updated by Dave over the coming busy months – both with information on the emerging 1999 Plan, as well as having the backlog of key documents added (it now includes the 1998 Plan).

If you want to have information added then either eMail the document as an attachment to dave.sutton@virgin.net or send a disc in the post to Dave at 23 Vivian Street, Bristol BS3 4LW – sorry I don’t yet have a scanner and I’m not prepared to retype everything.

If you want to get on-line yourself then you are probably talking up to £1,000 capital costs and around £10/ month for on-line service (exc VAT, telephone costs and 2^nd line if needed). Let Dave or Jenny at APN know if you are thinking of doing so – as it may help negotiate better deals.

The Partnership and Avon Parents Network (APN) will also be working with the DfEE initiative to get the information service on-line – though this is timetabled for "April 99". It seeks to build on DSS Lone Parent Information System. We are also looking at how IT can help improve response time and capacity of the Registration & Inspection Unit as part of the Childcare Audit.

Draft application guidance is available from 0171- 222 3084 .Comments are needed by 21 December 1998. This covers both lottery funding for out of school hours childcare and out of school learning activities. A copy will hopefully be appended to this newsletter.

The 600 odd responses to the Childcare Challenge document have now been summarised. Ring 0845 602 2260 (Quote MCCSRA4) for a copy. Some interesting insights.

The DfEE has also sent out the Interim Assessment of the HERA 2 Project. This involved a national survey to map all training and qualifications available to childcare workers, and the difficulties of access. A joint PLEIAD/ HERA 2 seminar is being held in Taunton on 20 Jan 99 – details from 01242 543 555. Contact 01473 583451 if you want a copy of HERA 2 project..

The Audit Commission has just issued "A Fruitful Partnership – Effective Partnership Working" – ring 0800 502030 for a copy. Interesting to consider after the Awayday. Please let Dave have any thoughts on future organisation. T:966 9929 or F: 908 3878.

The National Child Minding Association has also produced various documents on Childminding Networks and Childcare Partnerships. Ring Jane on 902 1121 for details.

Social Services’s Child & Family Support Services is being re-organised as from 1 Jan 99. Contact Annie Hudson on 903 7790 for details.

OSCA continues to receive funding for new training courses. They are proving very popular. Contact Claire or Joe on 929 0101 for details.

DfEE announced a package of smaller schemes to support an SEN Action Programme on 5 November. This is geared to various access initiatives and training. Contact the LEA of Dave if you want more info.

Money has also been allocated for the improved education of Travellers children. Locally a bid for an extra nursery worker is being sought.

This provides Standards Fund money for their development, which will then be topped up by NOF lottery money. The LEA is well advanced with developments. They will need to be considered alongside After School Club proposals in local area strategies.

A group is working to bring the Reggio Emilia exhibition to Bristol . A pre-meeting is being held on 1pm 27 November at Leigh Court. Contact Sue Danvers on 955 6380 or Margaret Boushel at SAUS for details.

We are sorting out a way to improve consultation on Planning applications & started talking to planners about producing a supplementary Planning Guidance note.

The Data Working Group have been working on this – trying to build on good examples and the differing needs of different settings. A draft is expected to be available for consultation during December. Meanwhile September returns are being analysed – showing some a 4660 headcount of four year olds. The population data is now updated from 91 census thanks to Health Authority data.