Changes affecting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

The Children & Families Act contains changes to the legislation regarding children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, which will come into force from September 2014.

These changes will mean that statements of SEN will be replaced by a new Education, Health & Care (EHC) plan, which will be drawn up with the family and child/young person. EHC plans may continue until a young person is 25, if they continue in education.

Information about services will be more readily available through the Local Offer, and families will be able to request personal budgets.

For more information www.eastsussex.gov.uk/SENDreforms

Tackle Homophobia

For a third successive year the Tackle Homophobia Project with Sussex Clubs for Young People played host to the Sussex Round of a National 5-a-side football tournament at the Downs Leisure Centre, Seaford. 

More than 140 young people from across Sussex battled it out in various age groups in the amazing spring sunshine attempting to progress in the national competition. Tackle Homophobia Teams from Seaford and Peacehaven successfully won their groups, and will now progress to the South Regional Finals held in Basingstoke in April. The tournament was organised as part of the Tackle Homophobia Project, a partnership between Mercread Youth Centre, The Justin Campaign and Albion in the Community.

The project, now in its fourth year has engaged with over 1,000 young people, through the delivery of educational workshops and weekly football sessions. “The emphasis is on providing a supportive environment which is open and inclusive for all players whatever their background” added Tackle Homophobia Project Coach Barry Cooper. 

Regular weekly football sessions take place on a Tuesday between 5-7pm at the Downs Leisure Centre, Sutton Road, Seaford.

 
Seahaven Para Games 2014 Call for Participants

The London 2012 Paralympic Games were the most successful ever and the Seahaven Para Games has sought to continue the legacy by offering disabled residents in the community the opportunity to compete and participate on a level playing field in a range of activities.
 
There is no cost for participants for the event or for transportation as these games are funded by the Community Games initiative through Active Sussex, the Rotary Club of Seaford, Sainsbury’s (Newhaven Harbour) and the Wave Leisure Trust Inspiring Active Lifestyles Community Fund.

The programme - running from 10am until 4pm - will include five sporting activities plus a buffet lunch. The activities will include archery, new age kurling, table tennis, boccia and the wheelchair slalom.

WLT is only able take a maximum of 40 participants on the day, and would request that participants, if required, must be accompanied by a carer at all times.
Transport and transport support requirements can be booked at the time of registering.

If you are interested in entering either a team or as an individual please call 01323 493026 or email info@waveleisure.co.uk.
 

Become a school governor and make a difference

School governors are one of the largest volunteer groups in the country with more than 300,000 governors in England alone. The contribution that governors make to a school is hugely important and good governance has a considerable impact on the success of a school.

As a school governor you could be involved in overseeing the budget, the quality of teaching and the progress and outcomes for pupils, or leading on health and safety or safeguarding policies. The role of governors has become even more important because Ofsted now fully recognises the role governors play in improving schools throughout the country.

You don’t have to be a parent or a teacher to be a governor – schools are looking for people from all sorts of backgrounds who can bring expertise in finance, business, law or any skill that you think would make you a good governor.  The most important factor is an enthusiasm to help improve the education of children in your area. 

If you want to find out how you can help to improve a school near you then visit the SGOSS website and they will match your skills and expertise to the right school for you. Organisations and businesses can also become involved in school governance by encouraging their staff to become school governors. Organisations, such as East Sussex County Council, and companies, such as Lloyds Bank, BP, KPMG, and Sainsburys, already recognise the role that good governance plays in schools, the value it adds to local education and the skills their staff can gain as school governors.

If you work in a business and have staff that you feel could bring the skills and expertise that schools need today, then please encourage them to consider volunteering as a school governor. SGOSS will match you and your staff’s knowledge and experience with a school that needs a governor: http://www.sgoss.org.uk

Email: info@sgoss.org.uk  or call 020 7354 9805.

Current opportunities for you to give your views may be found here: https://consultation.eastsussex.gov.uk/advanced_consultation_finder?st=open

Training courses running in East Sussex – May & June 2014   

• Benefits for Older People - 7th May 2014
• Ways of Working with People Who Hoard - 13th May 2014
• Introduction to Project Management (Eastbourne) – 14^th May 2014
• Client Risk Assessment – 15^th May 2014
• Introduction to Management – 19^th & 20^th May 2014
• Intermediate Managing Difficult and Aggressive Situations (Hastings) – 22^nd May 2014
• Groupwork Skills – 29^th & 30^th May 2014
• Introduction to Housing Law – 3^rd June 2014
• Stress Management and Emotional Resilience for Managers – 5^th June 2014
• Stress Management and Emotional Resilience – 6^th June 2014
• Professional Boundaries – 12^th June 2014
• Equality and Diversity – 12^th June 2014
• Safeguarding Adults (Hastings) – 13^th June 2014
• Empowering Difficult to Engage Clients – 17^th June 2014
• Fire Warden – 17^th June 2014
• Managing Difficult and Aggressive Situations – 19^th June 2014
• Welfare Benefits for the More Experienced – 23^rd June 2014
• Introduction to Mental Health – 25^th June 2014

Events hosted by Jerwood Gallery

The Baron's Art School
16 May - 6.45 - 11pm

The Baron's Art School presents: 'Bringing Painting to Life'

Enter the strange and enchanting world of The Baron’s Art School, where paintings really do come to life! Join us and let The Baron take you through a sequence of realities, journeying into the paintings in an entertaining and surreal adventure.

The Baron’s Art School is the brainchild of artist performer The Baron Gilvan, aka Chris Gilvan-Cartwright , 'Bringing Painting to Life' is a unique collaboration with puppeteer Isobel Smith (Grist to the Mill).

The event will consist of a performative workshop and a series of activities throughout the gallery spaces.

'Bringing painting to Life' is a special commission for Jerwood Gallery for Museums at Night 2014.

Tickets £15. To book, please call 01424 728377.

The event will take place throughout the evening but there will be two timed entry slots to the Art School workshop at 7pm & 8.30pm. Please state which slot you would like on booking. There will be pop up activities taking place throughout the gallery spaces so visitors are advised to arrive by 7pm irrespective of the workshop slot they have booked.

Drawn to the Page 
14 June 

On Saturday 14 June, join us for 'Drawn to the Page'  a special creative writing workshop which takes inspiration from art. The workshop will involve exploring the exhibition of paintings by Ansel Krut and learning more about the art on display with artist and educator, Wendy Ann Greenhalgh as your guide.

Fun and revealing creative writing exercises in prose, poetry or autobiography will get you thinking like the artists and developing your own creative responses to the paintings and drawings on display. You’ll have 3 hours to write, discuss and get creative – and still have time for a cup of tea afterwards too.

Entrance to the exhibitions is included in the price of the workshop ticket – and all you’ll need to bring is your notepad and pen. No previous knowledge of either art or writing is necessary to enjoy these workshops. 

The workshop will take place from 2-5pm and is £30.00.

For more information about the workshop and to book please visit the New Writing South website 

 

Eastbourne’s leading business show returns in June

The region’s leading business-to-business exhibition, Let’s Do Business, returns to Eastbourne’s Winter Garden on Thursday 26 June.

Now in its seventh year, the successful one-day event will host over a hundred exhibitors and hundreds of visitors during the day and offers everyone and anyone in business, whether starting out or long established, the opportunity to source dozens of products, services, supplies and business advice from a diverse range of quality companies. Everyone, from sole traders, retailers, professional services or manufacturers up to the largest employers will benefit from a visit to the show.

“Let’s Do Business offers a really valuable day for both exhibitors and visitors and is a fantastic opportunity to make contact with hundreds of people.” says organiser Jonathan Dolding.

“The benefits of meeting people face-to-face in a friendly and vibrant environment cannot be equalled and this year we will again be hosting a range of free seminars and a professional speed networking session. Anyone running a business, or thinking of starting-up, can only benefit from attending.”

Online exhibitor bookings for the 2014 exhibition are open now, book your stand online at here.

With stands from only £205+VAT they are excellent value for money and range from 2 x 1m right up to 5 x 4m, so there should be one that fits you in size and budget.

Visiting is free and the show is open from 10am through to 4pm. Let’s Do Business Eastbourne is organised by the Let’s Do Business Group and sponsored by local signage and branding specialists Identity Signage and Printing.

Find the full information about the show at www.letsdobusiness.org/eastbourne

Are you ready for business? FREE one day start-up workshops in Eastbourne

Making the decision to start your own business or to become self-employed is very daunting, and with endless things to consider it can be tough to get your idea off the ground.

Ready For Business Eastbourne is a FREE and highly interactive workshop for anyone thinking about starting a business, or who has a business idea and wants to take it to the next stage.

The next seminar is on Wednesday 28 May at The Town Hall in Eastbourne (9.30am - 4.30pm). Come along and get ready to start your business!

For more details about the Ready For Business workshops and the other courses Let’s Do Business offer, please call Jay on 0844 415 2272 or email info@ldbgroup.co.uk. Further information can be found online at
www.letsdobusinessgroup.co.uk

 Introductory Working with Young People course

Are you in a group that wants to work with young people but you don't know where to start? Or maybe you're already working with young people but want to get new ideas and refresh your knowledge? SPARK's subsidised two-day introductory Working with Young People course will give VCS staff and volunteers the basic foundations for working with young people safely and effectively. It takes place in Eastbourne on 14 June and 5 July and is only £40 for both days. Please follow the link for more information: http://www.sparknetwork.org.uk/working-with-young-people-two-day-introductory-spark-course-for-staff-and-volunteers-only-40

 Events at Redoubt Fortress

10^th May – Redoubt Military History Series
Meeting the Enemy – The Human Face of the Great War with Richard van Emden.

A British soldier walked over to the German front line to deliver newspapers; British women married to Germans became 'enemy aliens' in their own country; a high-ranking British POW discussed his own troops' heroism with the Kaiser on the battlefield. Just three amazing stories of contact between the opposing sides in the Great War that eminent historian Richard van Emden has unearthed - incidents that show brutality, great humanity, and above all the bizarre nature of a conflict between two nations with long-standing ties of kinship and friendship. 

Meeting the Enemy reveals for the first time how contact was maintained on many levels throughout the War, and its stories, sometimes funny, often moving, give us a new perspective on the lives of ordinary men and women caught up in extraordinary events.

Tickets £12 / £10 concessions, includes FREE entry to the museum. Tea and coffee also included. 

Friends of the Redoubt receive a further £1 off.

17^th May – Redoubt Fortress presents… Some Like It Hot

Join the Redoubt as part of Museums at Night as we present to you Some Like It Hot, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. This is a unique opportunity to see the museum in a new light as you come across some curious surprises with this 1950's comedy! Guests are invited to don their best disguises – a prize will be given to the best disguise of the evening!

Doors open at 7pm for a chance to explore the museum before the screening of Some Like It Hot at 8pm. 

Tickets £5 which includes entry to the museum and to the film screening.

Refreshments will be available to purchase on the night from The Outpost Cafe. 

Future Events: June           
7^th     Military History Lecture – David Rogers 2pm    £12 / £10       
11^th    Curator’s Walk & Talk 2pm Free with admission  
14^th    Blackout Dance (Eastbourne Town Hall)  7pm  £8 (£10 on the door)       
28^th    Armed Forces Day  All day free event   
14^th June – 16^th November       Edmund Blunden – Undertones of War (exhibition)

BIG EVENT 2014 - and we mean business!

• How the sector already contributes to the local economy and growth, and what further opportunities are;
  
• What organisations need to think about to play a role in this; and
  
• How the VCS can work more closely with the public and private sectors to bring a change to the economy, job growth and development of our county.

Older People’s Partnership Board

Future Board meetings will be co-chaired by a representative from the Clinical Commissioning Groups in East Sussex and the Director of Adult Social Care.

• Healthwatch East Sussex is undertaking research on the time taken for patients to be admitted to hospital wards after arriving to hospital by ambulance. This relates to the Conquest and District General Hospitals. 
• The Better Care Fund will help to achieve greater levels of integration across health and social care to improve outcomes and deliver greater efficiency and value for money.
• Key priorities for the East Sussex Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy include: developing individual and collective knowledge, skills and awareness towards alcohol; and providing early help, interventions and support for people affected by harmful drinking.
• Case studies regarding two STEPS clients were presented. In both cases, clients were supported to secure suitable accommodation and regain their independence. Both clients also have improved health outcomes since moving to alternate accommodation.

Full minutes of all meetings can be found at: http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/community/over50s/developingservices/partnershipboard.htm
 

East Sussex Strategic Partnership Board Meetings

To view papers and minutes of previous ESSP Board mettings, see the meetings page of the ESSP website.

East Sussex Strategic Partnership

Update on East Sussex in Figures – April 2014

East Sussex in Figures (ESiF) is the local information system (LIS) for the county. It’s a website that provides access to essential data, information and analysis.

Headlines
The East Sussex population reached 531,200 in mid-2012 and is projected to grow to 553,300 by 2027: See latest briefings on 2012 mid-year population estimates and policy-based population projections

Migration remains the key driver in population growth in the county, although the number of births at 5,500 in 2012 was the highest since 1994: See latest briefing on births and deaths

New datasets – highlights
The average house price for East Sussex in the last quarter of 2013 was £246,234
There were 25,930 Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants in East Sussex in August 2013

Latest 2011 Census datasets
74,196 residents of East Sussex in employment have level 4 qualifications or above. 

Level 4 qualifications = Degree (for example BA, BSc), Higher Degree (for example MA, PhD, PGCE), NVQ Level 4-5, HNC, HND, RSA Higher Diploma, BTEC Higher level, Foundation degree (NI), Professional qualifications (for example teaching, nursing, accountancy)

98,345 residents of East Sussex age 16 and over have no qualifications

No qualifications = No academic or professional qualifications

Please contact the Research and Information team if you have any specific data or information enquiries.