Policy Statements and Initiatives

Sport England: Over 250 people gathered at the City of Manchester Stadium last week for the launch of 'Be Inspired' - the North West Legacy Framework for the 2012 Games.  Sport England and all the partners at this key event welcomed Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to the region.

The Framework sets out how the North West will use the inspiration of the 2012 Games to increase levels of sports participation, improve recognition of volunteers, drive up standards in the NW's tourism industry, build on the region's vibrant & engaging cultural life and increase the competitiveness of the region's businesses.
Press release ~ 'Be Inspired' - the North West Legacy Framework for the 2012 Games ~ London 2012~ London 2012 Sustainability Policy ~ Sport England

MoJ: Speaking at the recent Lawyer Diversity Conference, Bridget Prentice said women lawyers and those from ethnic minorities were sometimes shunted into family & immigration work respectively, which might not be where their strength or preference lay. Bridget Prentice also renewed her challenge to law firms to publish their diversity figures showing their commitment to opening up the profession to people from all backgrounds.


Barriers that women face in pursuing a legal career & suggested ways of overcoming them include:


Press release ~ Increasing Diversity in the Legal professions ~ Ministry of Justice ~ Diversity in the legal professions: working group report  ~ Routes into the legal profession ~ Judicial Diversity Strategy

DfES: Schools Minister Andrew Adonis and Kate Griggs, founder of the charity Xtraordinary People, have recently launched 'No to Failure', a new project that aims to ensure children with dyslexia get the support they need at school.

This unique project, part of a wider new programme of support for children with dyslexia and their teachers, identifies 'trailblazer' schools and local authorities leading the way in meeting the needs of dyslexic pupils.
Press release ~ No to failure  ~ Xtraordinary People ~ British Dyslexic Association ~ Dyslexia Action ~ Key Facts ~ Dyslexia Parents Resource ~ Schools and Tuition ~ Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) ~ SEN Code of Practice

DfES: Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, has invited every maintained secondary school in England to choose 20 free books for their library as part of a £600,000 initiative to encourage more teenage boys to read for pleasure.

Schools will be able to select the books from a new ‘Boys Into Books’ list commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills and created by the School Library Association (SLA), which has put together a collection that incorporates classic novels with action, adventure, fantasy, crime, horror and sports titles, as well as fact-based books, history and humour.

The initiative is designed to encourage 11 to 14 year old boys to re-ignite their passion for reading and it follows research indicating that, while many boys read for pleasure at primary school, this good habit tends to fade after the age of 11, resulting in a significant "reading gap" between boys and girls in their early teens.
Press release ~ SLA – Boys into Books ~ National Literacy Trust ~ Research - school libraries ~ Reading Agency ~ What the top writers say every child should read - Guardian Unlimited

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