Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
HEFCE: Government guidance for higher & further education institutions on dealing with swine flu, published on 14 September 2009.
FSA: A new online training course about vacuum packing and modified atmosphere packing of food has been developed by the Food Standards Agency. The course aims to give local authority food law enforcement officers, who are responsible for food hygiene, an enhanced understanding of the vacuum packing processes, and the importance of microbiological safety in their use.
Vacuum packing techniques are used to increase the shelf-life of chilled foods by taking the air out of the packaging surrounding the food. Because there is no air in the packet, most bacteria stop growing, which helps keep the food fresher for longer.
However, some types of bacteria can still grow without any air – Clostridium botulinum is one of these. This type of bacteria produces a very harmful toxin that causes severe food poisoning. It is therefore important that appropriate controls are in place to keep the food safe.
Press release ~ Agency Chief Scientist Dr Andrew Wadge's blog posting on vacuum packing ~ Vacuum packing online training ~ Food bugs ~ Intelligent Food Packaging Research ~ Report published following inquiry into 2005 outbreak of E.coli in Wales ~ FSA: Training and funding ~ Chartered Institute of Environmental Health conference: 21 – 23 September
HO: A project aimed to offer good practice counter terrorism advice to hotel staff, to enable them to deal with the threat of a terrorist attack, has been launched by the Home Office. Project Argus Hotels helps hotels to not only prevent terrorist attacks, but also to handle their response should it happen and recover from it afterwards.
A spokesperson in the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) said: “The initiative encourages hotels to develop their own bespoke counter terrorism security plan. Argus uses a multimedia simulation of a terrorist attack to prompt discussions in syndicate groups with expert good practice advice on hand so each hotel can think about what response is right for them”.
Developed by the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO), Project Argus already exists for retail and the night-time economy. This is the latest package aimed at crowded places business sectors and follows work to assess the implications of attacks in Mumbai last year. Project Argus is also currently in development for the health & education sectors.
Press release ~ Project Argus ~ Crowded Places - Hotels and Restaurants ~ Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) ~ National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) ~ Responding to a terrorist incident
Ofsted: Two valuable new aids for teachers of music have been launched as part of the Year of Music by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The booklets, Making more of music: improving the quality of music teaching in primary/secondary schools, highlight the aspects of effective teaching and present them in a chart which describes the satisfactory, good & outstanding features seen in Ofsted’s music inspections.
The booklets also feature best practice examples from the 2008/9 academic year and from the Ofsted music report - Making more of music - which was published in February and led to development of these resources.
The music report found that school music has the potential to improve pupils’ development, personally as well as musically, yet all too often this powerful tool isn’t properly harnessed. It also revealed that the main weaknesses in music provision all related strongly to the quality of teaching.
Press release ~ Making more of music - improving the quality of music teaching (primary) ~ Making more of music - improving the quality of music teaching (secondary) ~ ‘Sing up’ programme ~ In Harmony programme ~ Music Partnerships ~ National Year of Music ~ Music Manifesto ~ Making more of music ~ Teachernet - Music
DCSF: Schools Minister Vernon Coaker has launched a DVD for pupils and a new resource pack for schools to help them prevent & tackle bullying of young people with special educational needs (SEN) & disabilities.
The DVD ‘Make Them Go Away’ is aimed at children from 7 to 14 to raise awareness of their peers with SEN & disabilities. The support package for teachers will help them stimulate classroom discussions so that pupils understand the damaging impact of bullying on their disabled peers.
Press release ~ Make Them Go Away (plus link to download resource pack) ~
CLG: Following the most comprehensive review of operational guidance for the Fire & Rescue Service for 10 years, the first 2 of over 40 topic guides are now available from the new Fire & Rescue Service Operational Guidance: Generic Risk Assessments (GRA) They offer guidance on:
* Turning out & arriving at the scene of an incident
* Flashover & backdraught fires
The revised GRA guidance reflects modern good practice and changes in health & safety legislation, as well as occupational health and welfare management.
Press release ~ Generic Risk Assessments: Introduction and first 2 guides ~ Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser ~ Fire and Rescue Service Operational Guidance National Co-ordination and Advisory Framework
WAG: The Welsh Assembly Government has published new planning guidance on how local planning authorities can allow for continued development while protecting the natural heritage of Wales. Technical Advice Notice 5 (TAN 5) gives revised guidance on the conservation of internationally & nationally designated sites & habitats.
It also:
* addresses the conservation of protected species
* sets out the key principles of positive planning for nature conservation, including the relevant legal requirements and their impact within the land use planning system
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