Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service

Following the recent Launch of the Neath Port Talbot Adult Learner of the Year Awards, Please find attached a Nomination Form in both English and Welsh. The Nomination Form can be completed electronically. However, the form has to be signed by the Learner(s) and returned by mail to the address stated on the form. You may e-mail the form to l.grey1@neath-porttalbot.gov.uk but a hard copy with signature will need to follow. Nominations close on the 26 February 2010. Any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Lynette Grey on (01639)898581.

Date for the Diary

The Awards Presentation will take place on Thursday evening, 20 May 2010 at the Margam Orangery, Port Talbot.

Sponsorship

Please contact Lynette for further details.

Researching the needs of the Adult and Community Learning (ACL) Sector

The Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) has commissioned a research project to review the needs of the ACL sector in Wales and identify the possibilities for effective support networks. These will support and promote the embedding of ESDGC into the delivery of learning and also at an organisational/institutional level. There are strategic and operational questions – please answer or skip over as appropriate. Deadline is Friday 22nd January.

Anonymity and confidentiality are guaranteed. It is an inclusive study and your participation is important. The work will contribute to future developments in ESDGC. Please take 5—10 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

A major new education Measure has been agreed by the National Assembly for Wales giving children and young people with special education needs (SEN) unprecedented rights of appeal with regard to their education. Source: Welsh Assembly Government Website

‘How To Make Information Accessible – A Guide To Producing Easy Read Documents’, by CHANGE. This document examines in detail how to make accessible documents including pictures, colours and good writing practice. It is free to download from the Change website.

The Adult Community Learning Service, part of the Local Authority’s Lifelong Learning Service, will be motivating people to take up new learning opportunities during week commencing 7 September.

The Team will be at the following locations from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm:

• Tuesday 8 September – The Quays, Briton Ferry and Aberafan Shopping Centre, Port Talbot
• Wednesday 9 September – Neath Civic Centre and Focus DIY, Pontardawe
• Thursday 10 September – Port Talbot Civic Centre and Neath Port Talbot Hospital Atrium

If you would like to have a copy of the Prospectus, please contact (01639) 898581 or go to http://www.npt.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=2852

If you want to have your voice heard about things that matter to you, you need to know how to talk to the right people about the right things in the right way. These three half-day training events will help you to find your way around Welsh political structures and processes, understand different ways to influence the National Assembly for Wales, and introduce the principles of campaigning and lobbying.

All courses will be held at Neath Port Talbot CVS and are free of charge.  The flyer and booking slip is available to download for further information and to book your place.

Please fill in your personal details and indicate which course/courses you would like to attend and return the form to Neath Port Talbot CVS, Tŷ Margaret Thorne, 17-19 Alfred Street, Neath, SA11 1EF or email maryc@nptcvs.org.uk.

Alternatively, you can call CVS on 01639 631387 and complete your booking over the telephone.

This presents proposals for the strategic development of adult community learning in Wales.  It includes the introduction of a new approach to planning, commissioning and delivery. 

Closing date for responses is 31st December 2008.

This document is a new skills and employment strategy and action Plan which builds upon and replaces the Skills and Employment Action Plan 2005. The strategy provides a response to the Leitch Review of Skills in the UK and the independent review of the mission and purpose of Further Education (Promise and Performance). This strategy describes the ‘One Wales’ ambition for a highly educated, skilled and high employment Wales. It builds on previous strategies and action plans including The Learning Country: Vision into Action, Wales: A Vibrant Economy, the Skills and Employment Action Plan of 2005, and Words Talk – Numbers Count, our Basic Skills Strategy (2005).

The strategy and action plan include: new approaches to funding; a more demand responsive skills and business support service; integrated skills and employment services delivered through partnership between the Assembly Government and Department of Work and Pensions; and the transformation of the learning network.

As the Webb Review noted, we must make best use of public funds and secure good value for money for our investment in ACL. In September 2008 we (Welsh Assembly Government) will publish for consultation a draft policy on ACL, to improve the way we plan, fund and deliver this type of learning, so that it better reflects local priorities. Neath Port Talbot CVS will provide details of the proposed consultation when it becomes available.

You can download a copy of the report.