Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

HEFCE: The government has published guidance for higher & further education institutions on dealing with swine flu.
Press release ~ Swine Flu: Information and Advice for Higher & Further Education Institutions – 31/07/09
 
CRC: The National Indicator (NI) Set is designed to offer government & partners a common framework for assessment of conditions, and change in those conditions, across England.  The NIs relate to government’s priorities and have been developed around quantitative data which is both available and can be consistently applied at local authority level across the country.
 
Local Area Agreements (LAAs) cover large areas and use of indicators at this scale can mask great variation in policy needs & outcomes.  Working with communities and in neighbourhoods requires intelligence at a finer spatial level.  A fully searchable version of the tables will be available on  IDeA's LAA online Knowledge forum shortly.
Press release ~ 'Locality Reporting: Spatial disaggregation of the National Indicator Set' ~ National Indicator (NI) Set ~ Local Area Agreements (LAAs) ~ Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) ~ IDeA's LAA online Knowledge forum ~ Tables ~ Leaflet:  'A truly local view: locality reporting against the national indicator set'
 
WAG: A CD-Rom resource pack to help schools promote healthy eating as part of the Appetite for Life Action Plan was sent to all 22 local authorities across Wales.  Appetite for Life was launched by the Welsh Assembly Government in November 2007 and sets out the actions needed to improve the nutritional standards of food and drink provided throughout the school day.  
 
Promotional work and activities with schools to support Appetite for Life needs to be planned & co-ordinated at a local level and WAG are providing the Appetite for Life contact and the Healthy Schools co-ordinator in each authority with five copies each of the CD Rom.  They will to work together to determine how best to use and distribute their resources to maximise the local Appetite for Life marketing campaign within their area.
Press release ~ Appetite for Life ~ Climbing Higher - creating an active Wales ~ WAG – Health and social care ~ Mind, Exercise, Nutrition... Do It! or MEND for short ~ NICE guidelines on overweight and obesity ~ Healthy and Active Lifestyles in Wales ~ WAG – Sport and recreation ~ WAG – Health improvement ~ A healthy future for Wales ~ Sports Council for Wales ~ Wales Active ~ NICE - Promoting physical activity for children and young people ~ 'Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives toolkit: A Toolkit for Developing Local Strategies' ~ Healthy Eating in Schools: A Guide to Implementing the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 ~ Healthy Eating, Active Living: An action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity (2008-2011) ~ ScotGov – School Meals ~ Hungry for Success initiative ~ The Real Meals cookbook ~ Teachernet - Guidance on procuring school meals ~ Food in schools: encouraging healthier eating ~ BRC – Government Standard for School Food ~ A guide to the Government’s new food-based standards for school lunches ~ Guidance for caterers to school lunch standards ~ DH Food in schools
 
Newswire - IDeA: A new framework to help chief executives get the very best out of their staff has been launched.  The ‘Getting the best out of your people’ organisational productivity framework has been developed by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs), in consultation with chief executives, and by looking at best practice in other sectors.
 
Characteristics shared by successful authorities include having the right organisational structure with clear priorities focusing on the things that matter most to residents; having services delivered by well motivated staff who have the right skills; and incorporating continuous improvement into all departments. The importance of engaging with staff was repeatedly emphasised by the 12 chief executives interviewed for the framework’s development.
Press release ~ IDeA: Getting the best out of your people’ organisational productivity framework ~ Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs)
 
Directgov: With the impending GCSE & A Level exam results and 300,000 students graduating this summer, Directgov is launching What’s Next – a new resource for education leavers and their parents. It is a central source of easy-to-understand information & guidance on a range of topics relevant to young people looking at their options after finishing education.  The website covers higher & further education, training, financial support as well as practical advice for those looking for jobs.
Press release ~ What’s Next
Facing the Future...find out more