WIREDGOV

Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

DfES: Minister for Further and Higher Education Bill Rammell has published the Race Equality Impact Assessment (REIA) on the:

- changes to the eligibility for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses and

- changes to the eligibility to FE funding for asylum seekers

He also announced a range of new measures intended to address the concerns raised around the changes to ESOL, including £4.6m in 2007-08 to support vulnerable learners through the Learner Support Hardship Fund.
Press release ~ ESOL impact statement and new funding guidance for 2007 - 2008 ~ LSC Learner Eligibility guidance for 2007-2008 ~ Learner Support Hardship Fund ~ Race Equality Impact Assessment (REIA) ~ English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses ~ FE funding for asylum seekers ~ Learning and Skills Council (LSC)

NICE: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued new national standards calling for anyone who works with young people to identify those who are vulnerable to drug problems and intervene at the earliest opportunity - before they start using drugs at all or before they get into worse problems if they are already misusing drugs.

The guidance gives advice on stepping in & helping young people access the right support & services, and outlines effective individual, family and group-based support which can improve motivation, family interaction and parenting skills.
Press release ~ Substance Misuse Guidance ~ Targeted youth support toolkit - Every Child Matters ~ Common Assessment Framework - Every Child Matters ~ NTA: Unit costs for substance misuse ~ NTA: National Drug Treatment Monitoring System ~ NTA: Assessing young people ~ Lets talk about it - A review of healthcare in the community for young people who offend ~ Healthcare Commission - Improvement review of substance misuse 2006/2007~ Drug Interventions Programme ~ Drug Strategy ~ Race and Diversity strategy ~ Drug Action Teams ~ DH Substance Abuse website ~ Treatment Works website ~ RCGP UK - Toolkit

DH: Clinicians on new PCT professional executive committees (PECs) will gain greater control over local NHS priorities, policies and investment plans under new guidance designed to ensure that clinicians from a multi-professional background are firmly part of primary care trusts' (PCTs) decision making process.

The new guidance for PECs advises that all PEC members should be appointed on the basis of their skills, competencies & ability to lead and that clinicians must also be in the majority on the committees. Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) will oversee the new arrangements to ensure that PCTs are effectively engaging their clinicians and using their PECs to design & deliver local services. PCTs are expected to implement the new guidance by 1 October 2007.
Press release ~ Guidance for the PCT Professional Executive Committee (PEC) ~ DH - 'Fit to Lead, a Review of the PEC' consultation ~ DH - PECs ~ NHS Networks - Resources for PEC Chairs and PEC Members ~ NHS Networks – PEC Chairs ~ NHS Alliance

CEL: The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) have designed a range of programmes aimed at supporting school and college leaders within the 145 consortia chosen to deliver the new Diplomas from September 2008. The range of tailored programmes includes:

• lone-to-one and group-based coaching for leaders
• workshops and seminars tailored to local and regional needs
• leadership exchange activities
• consultancy support in managing structural and cultural change
• access to a virtual learning environment that includes, for example, learning modules on collaborative leadership and diversity competence
• building and sharing research on leadership good practice
• consultancy, support and guidance following the Gateway process.

DCLG: The government has published new guidance on street design which aims to breathe new life into communities by creating safe & sustainable environments for residents. Manual for Streets emphasises the importance of residential streets in the creation of places in which people want to live.

In aims to reduce the impact of vehicles on residential streets by asking practitioners to plan street design intelligently & proactively and gives a priority to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport.

Press release ~ Manual for Streets ~ PPS3 Housing ~ Sustrans Liveable Neighbourhoods ~ English Heritage – Streets for all ~ Edinbur gh Standards for Streets

DCLG: The Government has launched a modernisation of the Building Control system with the publication of a paper detailing its vision for how the system can be improved. 'The Future for Building Control' sets out a package of options that the Government is minded to develop further and invites interested parties to provide suggestions on how reform should proceed.

Also published was study document Achieving Building Standards, which has fed into the Government's analysis of the current system. A full consultation document will be published in due course.
Press release ~ 'Building the Future Paper' ~ 'Achieving Building Standards' ~ 2006 Roundtable ~ DCLG – Building Regulations ~ Local Authority Building Control - LABC ~ Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC)

DfES: Details of a system - Framework for Excellence - to give learners & employers clearer assessment of college and learning provider performance have been published. It will be trialled using a balanced set of scorecard indicators to measure effectiveness and achievement. It will be fully operational by summer 2008.

The framework will provide a transparent basis for employer & learner choice that takes into account all the main aspects of college and provider activity. It will also be a management tool for providers' self-improvement.

For the first time, seven key performance areas, including responsiveness to employers and financial health, will contribute to the providers' overall rating. Key areas have been grouped into three dimensions: effectiveness, responsiveness and finance.
Press release ~ Framework for Excellence: Raising Standards and Informing Choice ~ Implementing New Measures of Success ~ QIA Improvement Strategy