"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."  King Whitney Jr.

It's been a whole year in post - and what a year it's been!

At the end of my first year in this varied job, I thought it may be useful to recreate one of those tacky end of year award ceremonies.  As I'm not paid enough to present golden trophies, this month I shall simply recap on some of the changes the extended services partnership have undergone in East Fareham over the past year.  This anniversary point should be used as a useful time for reflection before the New Year brings us into our final stages of building sustainability into our extended services.  

Therefore I would like to welcome you to the East Fareham's

 '2008 Extended Services Plenary Celebration'

Now the award for the most transformed building during the past year must go to Portchester Community Centre.  If you have not had a chance to visit the refurbished building, the first thing you will notice as you enter the building is that Andy Pandy Pre-School has now up-sticks and moved to the ground floor.  The brand new toilets are functional (so long as patrons are frugal with the toilet roll), the walls still have a slight hint of the aroma of new paint, and the new carpeted and extended reception area is almost complete.  I can't forget to mention the new Children's Centre receptionist Katie, who offers a warm welcoming smile to local families accessing:

Keepsake Children's Centre

Yes, I'm proud to announce that at long last Portchester Community and Children's Centre now has a name!  We hope to have a logo for the Children's Centre in the very near future with the 'Castle Keep' theme (with the kind assistance from Portchester Community School's GCSE Art Students).  Then we shall plan a full celebratory launch for the Children's Centre in springtime 2009.  Please take a chance to visit to the new Portchester Community and Children's Centre web site to see what has been happening recently and keep your eye out for lots more exciting projects for local families starting over the next few months.

It goes without saying that Children's Centres are key players in our extended services area plan so we have celebrated not only the transformation of Portchester Community Centre, but the miracle of Merryfields being literally 'dropped' onto the Neville Lovett school site during the past year.  For families in Fareham Town Centre & South of the Quay Street Roundabout this Children's Centre is a welcome addition to early years support.  There is increasing partnership work taking place between Merryfields Children's Centre, local pre-schools and Harrison Primary school.  We now look forward with bated breath to the "living nativity" on the 12th December 2008 - with a special (and possibly unpredictable) appearance of live animals.  Please ensure you obtain a ticket for this excellent example of a school community event.  Many thanks to Harrison Primary for hosting this ambitious event and I hope that the animals supply ample manure for the school gardens.

Coming in close second for transformation of our buildings in East Fareham - it's got to be Odyssey Young Persons' Centre on the Portchester school site.  Despite a few delays, we eagerly await the unveiling of the new fully accessible kitchen area, and possibly further transformation taking place over the following year to include rehearsal/music space for our local young people.  On a slightly smaller scale, in Fareham town centre the X-Perience Young People's Centre is also receiving a mini-makeover.  The old, broken furniture is now sitting in a skip in the car park and our team of volunteers are planning to don their overalls and give the place a lick of paint before Christmas.

The third prize for amazing building transformations is sadly still in the scaffolding stage.  However the staff of Fareham Community Action look forward to moving into our new offices on the former Moda Pub site, at the corner of Trinity Street in the early part of 2009.  I shall miss the Friday afternoon weddings from my office window; but I'm sure that I will not miss the draft from the old window or the temperamental heating at 5 Osborn Road South.  I shall issue my apologies in advance if services are a little disrupted in the New Year as I  predict that I will be trying and locate missing files and meeting notes in packing boxes.  It amazes me how much I've accumulated in just a year!

As for projects that are taking shape over the past year.   How can we not celebrate the successful start of D-Day, Discos and Downloads community play?  What an superb result from the Heritage Lottery bid!  Work is already taking place at Portchester Community School and Odyssey Young People's Centre to set up the workshops to select our core research group of year 10 pupils.  I hope to be working with some young 'v' volunteers to film the journey these young people take to record the skills, self-confidence and team-work they develop over the coming months.  Look out for lots more partnership work between the Youth Team and Portchester Community School in the New Year at the school with the start of the Trailblazers project and an enriched PHSE curriculum.

I have recently received some really positive feedback from the fabulous Halloween Family Fun Day at Keepsake Children's Centre.  From the consultation carried out  with the 80 parents and carers who attended this event, family learning sessions in cycling and craft have started this month.  Many thanks must go to Wicor school for opening up their school at the weekend for family cycle training.   Many more family learning projects will begin over the following year and I am pleased to announce that Julia Gahaghan and her Hampshire team will facilitate a workshop to help our partnership identify our target learners and understand how to engage them in learning opportunities.  Invites shall be issued in the very near future to all of our stakeholders to this event.

We have also welcomed many new members of staff over the past year who now form a network of support for children, young people and their families.  Many of my past blog entries have listed a whole host of new staff and I'm pleased to announce that this shall soon include our new Parent Support Advisor (PSA).  We look forward to welcoming the successful applicant at Red Barn Primary School on behalf of the East Fareham schools' partnership.  Along with the PSA, another new member of staff, our Safer School Partnership Police Officer shall hopefully be joining our East Fareham schools in the New Year.

Reflecting back over the year at some of the projects I have been involved in, I realise what a diverse (and often strange) job this can be.  For instance: I've been muddy at Marwell, led a procession of pre-schoolers dressed as a witch, erected family-size gazebos at Play Day, screamed on the Cobra at Paulton's Park, modelled balloons in a tie-dye T-shirt at the Gala and even constructed a rather strange looking edible mouse.  However, over the past year I have met some of the most amazing people, doing such an incredible job in the interest of the children, young people and their families in our community, so I couldn't end this Plenary Celebration without saying how much I have appreciated all of your help and support over the past year. 

I also seem to have eaten more than my fair share of chocolate biscuits too!

Joking aside, it has struck me over the year that we all share the same vision and purpose... to meet the needs of every child in our community.  With this in mind and in view of the tragic events that have taken place in the past month in Haringey, it is perhaps timely that at the end of my first year I am attending a consultation event to discuss Hampshire's Children and Young People's Plan for 2009-12.  The guiding principle of the plan is that every child in Hampshire really does matter.  It represents a shared commitment to keeping our children safe, unlocking the potential of every child and young person and providing support that ensures success in their adult lives. This new plan will be launched in 2009, so I would urge all of our partners to take an opportunity to read the plan.   It is quite a hefty document so please feel free to order a hard copy.  Please follow the link below and offer your feedback so that we can shape the plan to the needs of our local community at: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/cypp.

The web site above also links to an online consultation for children and young people to tell us what they think is important.  I would strongly urge organisations in contact with children to utilise the opportunity to give our children and young people 'a voice' so that services can be shaped to meet their needs.  Another new document for practitioners to distribute to children and young people is also available to download below:

A Young Person's Guide to Safeguarding 2008

(For the full 2008 Safeguarding Children Report please take a visit to: http://www.safeguardingchildren.org.uk/Safeguarding-Children/2008-report)

Of the five outcomes for children and young people, ensuring that children and young people 'stay safe' has to be our number one priority.   It saddens me to report this month that although The Children's Act was borne out of the tragic death of Victoria Climbié in Haringey; eight years after later the processes created to stop this happening again failed to prevent a similar tragedy.    It certainly doesn't make easy reading, but the Guardian Newspaper recently reported the following: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/11/childprotection-ukcrime. 

In response to this terrible tragedy, John Coughlan (Director of Children's Services in Hampshire) has been asked to oversee that proper procedures for safeguarding children are in place and being followed in Haringey.   To read the statement given by Ed Balls (Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families) on the horrific case of Baby P and how John Coughlan is assisting, please follow the link to the DCSF web site at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0271.

There is still a lot of work to do!

...and this is where I need your help

I am now in the consideration stages (i.e. what on earth do I include) of writing our new Fareham East Extended Services Area Plan for 2009/10.  Please could I ask our partners to take a quick look at the following bullet points.  I would kindly request your help with clearing away the fog and collectively deciding upon our key priorities for the year ahead. 

If any of our school and community partners wish to include any additional priorities, or think some of the points above are inappropriate, then please could you contact me by the end of 2008...and before I start drafting our new Area Plan (2009-10).  

I'd also be more than happy to hear from you if you have any fabulous, innovative ideas.  Please also be aware that funding may be available for certain projects that support our area plan in agreement from our newly formed Joint Partnership Group.

...and it's not every day you get offered money!

I shall be back in December with more partnership news; but I shall leave you this month with this final thought:

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection.

From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action" 

James Levin

As an ex-teaching course colleague of mine stated....there's 'nowt wrong with a bit of belly button gazing!