Thames Valley Partnership. News Update

Transcription

1 Thames Valley Partnership News Update Volume 1, Issue 1 December 2010 Special points of interest: New publication Future events Projects Inside this issue: Recent and Current Projects Transit Dance Project Experts on the Ground Phase The Thames Valley Partnership brings people and organisations together to create safer and stronger communities through sustainable solutions to the problems of crime and social exclusion. We invest in radical, innovative methods to tackle complex, seemingly intractable problems. Our strength is in collaborative working and integrated approaches across sectors, particularly linking Criminal Justice services to voluntary sector and Local Authority providers. New Publication! - The Deep End Guide If you work in the area of community safety and are confused by the range and complexity of agencies, organisations and acronyms, and how they all fit together, worry no more! The Partnership has published a practical and helpful guide which will take you through how funding works and how the various local strategies fit together. Cost only 10 plus p&p (85p per copy) For further information look at or to order contact debbie@thamesvalleypartnership.org.uk Family Matters Resource Pack 3 Future Events:- Training Opportunities Moving Forward Relative Importance Event Material 5 Preventing Child Sexual Abuse 27th January 2011 The Partnership is working with the national Stop It Now! campaign to offer an invaluable training opportunity in the Thames Valley. The one day event in January will offer a series of certificated, research based workshops exploring various aspects of child sexual abuse, and will look at preventative services and resources practitioners can employ. For further information and booking form please visit our website or contact bron@thamesvalleypartnership.org.uk

2 Transit Dance Project Transit is about raising aspirations, enhancing confidence and providing an effective pathway towards a more rewarding life for young people, based on the discipline of a professional contemporary dancer. During Spring 2010, we worked with a wide variety of referral partners to deliver a contemporary dance project based at the Wycombe Swan Theatre in High Wycombe. Fourteen young people from a diverse range of referral partners, including Buckinghamshire Youth Offending Service, Connexions, The Beaconsfield School, Wycombe Social Care and The Grange PRU, attended seven days of workshops to produce a piece which was performed on the main stage of the Wycombe Swan Theatre. The work was delivered by experienced dance artists Maria Ryan and Helen Parlor with the support of JumpStartMove ( We have produced a DVD if you would like a copy, please contact judy@thamesvalleypartnership.org.uk. A production clip can also be viewed by visiting the following link: Featured in (ai) Arts Industry Issue It s a challenge to get young people interested in coming to something new Background Thames Valley Partnership and Creative Junction working collaboratively to enhance practitioner learning Thames Valley Partnership and Creative Junction are committed to supporting the development of both artists and support workers who work with vulnerable young people. Following the success of Phase One of Experts On The Ground (five artists learning together with five youth offending team workers), we initiated a second phase and widened our offer to other organisations working with young people. The group in Phase Two consisted of seven artists and six workers from two youth offending teams and one youth service. Experts on the Ground Phase Two 2010 Aims To share expertise in a collaborative way through enquiry based projects in youth and youth offending settings. Develop new ideas and practice in partnership with artists and youth offending team workers. To create a pool of new knowledge and approaches to training for both sectors. Page 2 News Update

3 Family Matters Resource Pack We produce a comprehensive resource pack suitable for practitioners working in various settings such as Children s Centres, Probation Service, Prison Service, Schools and others who are in direct contact with prisoners and their families. The resource pack is a tool-kit to enable and encourage professionals to better support and further understand the issues prisoners families are faced with. A bespoke version of the resource pack is available for those working in educational sectors. This tailored pack includes guidelines for schools working with prisoners children and electronic resources for Behaviour Support teachers, Learning Mentors and Educational Psychologists to work through the feelings and emotions a child is faced with who has a family member in prison. Resources devised by Eileen Thompson (Lead Behavioural Support Teacher Oxfordshire) in conjunction with Thames Valley Partnership The resource packs can be purchased for a small charge in order to cover the costs of resources and production. To find out more please contact Saj on alternatively sajida.khan@thamesvalleypartnership.org.uk For list of contents please see our website. Training Opportunities A key objective of the Partnership has always been to share information and best practice - which we do rigorously through forums, seminars, conferences and training events. We recognise that we are fortunate to have in our associates base a large number of highly skilled and experienced individuals who between them offer a wealth of invaluable expertise. We are therefore pleased to announce that we will in the spring be opening up our Trainers Portfolio to the wider audience so that all our contacts will be able to benefit from this knowledge pool - further details on our website in the spring! Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 3

4 Moving Forward The Partnership has recently embarked upon a new piece of work, supported by the LankellyChase Foundation, around young people who have experience in some way of domestic abuse and may subsequently have resulting issues themselves with violence or abuse in their own relationships. The opening event in Oxfordshire on 20 th October brought together a variety of delegates (YOTS, schools, youth services etc) as potential partners on this piece of work. From these we have now identified five key groups to work with on a pilot of preventional individual and group work with young people, using in the main a variety of artistic and creative approaches. The first days developmental and training element took place on 3 rd December 2010 and a second is planned for 15 th February Updates will be posted on our website in due course:- Relative Importance - 31st March 2011 The Partnership is pleased to be organising a major South East region event on behalf of the Revolving Doors Agency, which will look at the issue of support for families of offenders an area of social policy which has long been neglected. This free event, which will be held in Buckinghamshire in March, seeks to explore effective ways to improve interagency co-ordination around services for these vulnerable families. If you are responsible for the welfare of children and families in your area (and specifically if you hold a lead role in:- children centres, extended school or behavioural support, FIP, education, Parent Commissioning or a related area of Children s Services) this event should be on your radar! For further information please contact:- bron@thamesvalleypartnership.org.uk Glorious view from the car park at Townhill Barn! Page 4 News Update

5 Supporting Young People Hurt by Crime Held at Thames Valley Police HQ on Monday 22nd November 2010 This event brought together nearly 60 key professionals, management and decision-makers, as well as front line practitioners from a variety of statutory and voluntary organisations, to explore the resources available to support young victims and witnesses. The event was organised by the Partnership on behalf of SAFE! (formerly the Oxfordshire Young Victims of Crime Project) and was introduced by Sara Thornton, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police who set the scene for the day with a very comprehensive overview of the current situation. As well as hearing from key speakers working in this area, delegates were able to participate in interactive theatre sessions and explore some of the methods and techniques outlined in the excellent Resource Pack, given out on the day. The pack is full of very useful information and ideas (and a must for any front line agency or organisations dealing with young people in need of help). For those of you who were unable to come to the event please note the pack is available to buy from Oxfordshire YOT and some of the event material is still available on our website - Family Learning Partnership: West Berks Council supported by Creative Junction: The Art of Possibilities We have recently led on a joint project between Creative Junction and West Berks Council which has aimed to use creative learning within a family setting to inspire learning development. We have worked in three Children s Centres, with artist Lizzie Burns who led a series of sessions for families on being creative and learning together as well as four training sessions for Family Support workers to encourage a sustained creative approach in the long term. When I first started I didn t think I could do anything and now I have courage. To anyone who feels that art isn t their thing I d say, give it a try first as you ve nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5

6 Thames Valley Partnership Townhill Barn Dorton Road Chilton Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP18 9NA Phone: Fax: Web: Frosty tree at Chilton! Wishing all our friends and colleagues a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!