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| South Forum e-Newsletter 7th March 2008
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the South Forum e-newsletter. What's featured in this edition:
If you would like to announce anything or have a feature you would like included in future e-newsletters, please contact Sue Lowe on 0191 5228447 or e-mail on sue.lowe@sunderlandcommunitynetwork.org.uk
Our Annual Event this year will be held at Portland School, Doxford Park on Saturday 12th July from 11am till 3pm. If you would like further information, contact Anthony Gonzalez on 0191 522 8447 or anthony.gonzalez@sunderlandcommunitynetwork.org.uk
The two Animal Antics sessions organised by the Jubilee Centre during the half-term week were a huge success. More than 70 adults and children attended and, although the children enjoyed touching and holding the animals, the adults were a bit wary of some of the creatures, which included lizards, snakes and various other reptiles. The animals were under the careful supervision of staff from Party Animals, an organisation based in Newcastle. www.partyanimalsncl.co.uk You can contact them by email party-animals@hotmail.co.uk or call 0191 2683887
The Celebration of Learning and Skills (CoLaS) Awards are back. CoLaS 07 will be a hard act to follow but the 2008 ceremony aims to top last year’s extravaganza. This is your chance to be involved. Nominations from individuals and companies who can show commitment to learning, and who deserve to be recognised for their achievements in developing their own or other people’s skills are required. This year 12 brand new categories have been unveiled giving you or your company even more opportunities to win. All winners receive £750 and a trophy and two Outstanding Achievers will receive £1000. The winners will be announced at a spectacular 'Oscar style' event hosted by Kirsty Gallacher at The Sage Gateshead on 20 June 2008. If you would like to nominate your company, yourself or you know someone who you think should be recognised for their learning achievements, enter now by completing your entry on line at www.lsc.gov.uk/colas08. Closing date for nominations is 31 March 2008. Challenge Project Evaluation Event - Thursday 27 March 12.00 noon until 3.00pm Tyne Metropolitan College, Coast Road Campus We hope you will be able to attend and celebrate the Project's successes and take part in the dissemination of their evaluation report. For further information contact Sue Hawley on 0191 2900746 sue.hawley@tynemet.ac.u k or Victoria Woodall on 0191 2900669 victoria.woodall@tynemet.ac.u k Beamish Museum have arranged for retired members of the mining industry to visit children in schools, bringing together generations and developing an increased sense of pride in our local heritage. If you are interested, then come along to the review meeting being held at The Mining Institute Library on Thursday 13th March from 10am-12.30pm - lunch is included, to find out more about the project and how you could get involved. For further information and to book a place contact:
Alan Jones, Beamish Museum: 0191 370 4067
A sponsored walk through Doxford Park in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness has been arranged by St Wilfrid's Church. The walk will commence at 10am from The Cottage in the Park.
Organised by your Labour Councillor and the Jubilee Centre, the Children's Easter Fancy Dress Competition will be held on Friday 21st March at Farringdon Social Club. The doors open at 11.00am and the competition will start at 11.30am.
Tuesday 1st April 2008 SAFC Foundation Family Learning courses are delivered in Sunderland, South Tyneside, Easington, Durham and Dublin, working with adults ranging from 18 – 83, male and female and their children over a 10 week period for 2.15 hours per week. The courses are Family Learning Through Football and Coaching, Family Learning Through Football Fitness and Family Learning Through Football Basics. Family Learning Through Football and Coaching is their flagship course that aims to educate adults on various aspects of parenting and how their child develops emotionally, socially and physically. The coaching aspect of the course provides practical knowledge on leadership and working with children in a sporting setting; it allows the adult to recognise the transferable skills used in coaching and parenting. On Tuesday 1st April (9.30am-1pm) they will be holding their presentation at the Stadium of Light, where all the families they have worked with in Sunderland and South Tyneside attend. The presentation is a celebration of the successes of each family who attended the family learning courses in the previous term. The day consists of families receiving their certificates, free tickets and tours of the stadium as well as enjoying various fun activities.
If you feel that you could provide exit routes for the learners to signpost them on to various education/employment opportunities that you may be involved with, through the presentation day via advice points, information stalls or simply discussing options with target groups, or if you have any advice, suggestions or ideas about conveying opportunities to the learners or any queries about the day please don’t hesitate to contact Katy Mclean, Family Learning Officer on 0191 551 5067 or family.learning@safc.com The annual cycle ride to York has been arranged for 21st June. If you would be interested in taking part or would like further information, please contact Dave Willcock on dave.willcock@ntlworld.com
PNE has just finalised their ‘Implementing Best Practice’ programme which offers a variety of ways for your organisation to identify and implement best practice to ensure better performance, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. The workshops include a range of learning and development opportunities covering a variety of topics such as Planning, Funding and Finance, Leadership, Governance, Management of Staff and Volunteers, Quality, Policy and Procedures, Employment Law and lots more. Each workshop will cover a topic in an interactive and practical way, helping you to develop your skills and introduce best practice into your organisation. Please click on the link for information on the One Day Workshops Greenhouse Music are currently offering free workshops to anyone over the age of 19. Introduction to DJ Skills is a programme designed for total beginners and will cover areas such as: equipment & health and safety, controlling sound levels, beat matching, mixing techniques, preparing a set list and performing a set. This course will be held at the Bunnyhill Centre, Downhill, Sunderland on a Tuesday evening between 6-8pm. Free Guitar Tuition is a 10 week course, which starts in March, designed for total beginners and will cover tuning a guitar, basic major and minor chords, understanding tablature and chord progressions. Free Music Technology is a 10 week course held at Bunnyhill Centre on Tuesdays between 2-4pm. The course which is an introduction to music technology is designed for total beginners and will cover music production, editing and sampling. Computers for Total Beginners is a 10 week total beginners computer course which will cover switching on and loading a pc, how to create documents such as letters and CVs, how to set up an email account, using the internet, and internet safety. This programme will be held at the Bunnyhill Centre on Thursday between 6pm-8pm. To enrol or for further information please contact Greenhouse Music on 0191-5678700 Presentation Skills Training - 18th & 19th March - 9:30am – 4:00pm Both courses will be held at Sunderland CVS, Riverview House, West Wear Street, Sunderland, SR1 1XD and lunch will be provided throughout. Sunderland Community Network members can attend the courses for FREE, however, places will be offered to other people from the voluntary and community sector at a nominal charge. Sign up now for one of the courses on offer by calling either Rob Charlton or Niki Mackay on 0191 565 1566 
Bridging The Gap Through Technology offers a simple but innovative course aimed at the 50 plus community. Working alongside the local Job Centre Plus, Make it Work The Sunderland Way and other employment agencies, the course follows a comprehensive programme which will build employability skills and confidence, increase motivation and offer support to clients in their return to work. The course will cover a wide range of ITC skills, including word processing, Publisher, design, layout and the use of "state of the art" recording equipment which will be used to produce a client profile DVD. The course will culminate in participants being given the opportunity to network and showcase their skills to local and national employers. For further information contact Christine Vickers on 0191 5166411 or email educationbusiness@hotmail.com Go Forward offers pre-employment training for the contact centre industry, training that is supported by your chosen employer. Go Forward has done all the preparation for you, by working with the region's top employers, the Go Forward programme is able to provide you with the exact skills that they are looking for from their new recruits. The training programme will include how a contact centre works, communication skills - both listening and speaking, how to deliver excellent customer service and the importance of team work. Their experienced tutors will be on hand to give you all the support you need to get you started in your new career. Go Forward is part-time, free of charge and will even help with travel and childcare costs. For further information contact North East Contact Centre Academy on 0191 5116800 or email goforward@citysun.ac.uk
£17,510 full-time : part-time pro rata Full-time Development Worker (35 hours per week) and a Part-time Development Worker (28 hours per week). Experience of community development work within a voluntary or community sector setting is desirable. The successful applicants will be expected to support and advise carers, provide a listening ear and accompany carers to relevant meetings e.g. assessments or reviews. Applicants must also be able to develop and work with groups of carers and the ability to grasp policy and practice issues in the fields which affect carers. For further details and an application pack please contact: 0191 567 3232 Closing date for returned application forms: 16 March 2008 Part Time Administrator For an application form please contact Ruth Petrie on 0191 5677414.
European Commission – Youth in Action 2007-2013 (UK / Europe) Youth in Action is the EU programme to support young people’s involvement in European citizenship; it runs from January 2007 until December 2013, with a total budget of 885 million euros. The aim of the programme is to provide young people with opportunities for formal and informal learning with a European dimension. The programme is open to all young people aged 13 to 30, although certain types of projects may have different age restrictions. It aims to encourage the involvement of young people regardless of their level of education or social and cultural background, and particularly encourages the participation of young people with fewer opportunities (such as young people with disabilities, or those from a less-privileged educational or socio-economic background). The programme supports five Actions, or types of projects and involvement: Youth for Europe: supporting exchanges and youth initiatives and encouraging young people’s participation in democratic life; European Voluntary Service: encouraging young people to take part in a voluntary activity abroad that benefits the general public; Youth in the World: encouraging co-operation in partnership with other countries by building networks, promoting the exchange of information and assisting with cross-border activities; Youth Support Systems: for organisations promoting exchange, training and information schemes for young people and European Co-operation in the Field of Youth: contributing to the development of policy co-operation between organisations. Grants are available for individual projects or for the operating budget of organisations. Only one grant can be awarded per project, and organisations can receive only one operating grant per financial year. Grants cannot cover the full costs of a project. A full programme guide and application forms are available to download from:
Since the launch last year of the Feet For Purpose Campaign to improve access to foot services Age Concern in Sunderland have been doing their bit.
From February 29th a Foot Health Practitioner, Lynn Ward, has been at the ActivAge Studio each Friday from 9am-1pm offering foot care. Appointments must be made through Age Concern Sunderland's General Office on 0191 5141131. The cost for an appointment will be £15. The ‘Skill Up Project’ is a new and innovative service introduced by Job Linkage, offering support and aftercare to Sunderland residents moving into employment. The project aims to enhance training and employment opportunities by encouraging people to stay in work and develop skills to progress within the workforce. The focus and aim of the service is to assist newly recruited individuals to continue with their skills development and provide them with support while in employment, to improve sustainability levels. The project also aims to increase self confidence in the individual, provide them with more development opportunities, give them job satisfaction and boost morale. A team of Job Linkage Skill Up Workforce Mentors have now been recruited and are keen to work with both local people and employers. The team have a diverse mix of skills and knowledge and all have a proven track record and expertise in Advice and Guidance, Training, Recruitment, Learning and Education and Mentoring. Support is personal and confidential and can include help to overcome problems, barriers or concerns local residents may have in relation to starting work - especially in the first few months of employment. Employers benefit from practical help with skills assessments, training information, recruitment advice and funding available for workforce development. To be eligible for this service, you must been newly recruited to employment (from December 2007), be a resident of Sunderland and aged between 18 and 65. The types of support provided includes: funding for training and qualifications, analysis of individual training needs, mediation between client and employer, motivation and confidence building and essential skills assessment. If you think the team could help or would like more information contact
Mark Ratcliff on 0191 5675092 or Please feel free to distribute to your friends, family and colleague with their permission.
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The South Forum Annual Event - Saturday 12th July 2008 
Animal Antics - Huge Hit at the Jubilee Centre
Children's Easter Fancy Dress Competition - Now in its 28th Year
The Princess Royal Trust Sunderland Carers Centre
The next deadlines for the European Commission’s Youth in Action programme are 1 April 2008 for projects starting between 1 July and 30 November 2008) and 
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