Hampshire County Council Early Education and Childcare Unit invites organisations to tender for the county wide delivery of training courses in Hampshire.  Organisations must have a proven track record of training provision to the sector and the necessary capability with regards to its economic standing and the quality of its tutors and courses.  The organisation must also be able to offer an online booking service.  Deadline for written expressions of interest is 22 September 2008.  Expressions of interest will generate a pre-qualification questionnaire which must be returned by 7 October.  Further details on Hantsweb.

This report, commissioned by the Children's Workforce Development Council, is based on a survey of middle managers working across the children's workforce.

Four main barriers to leadership development in middle management were found by the survey.  These were strategic planning for leadership development, access to joint training, funding and making time for professional development.

Medact

The ‘Reaching Out’ Project aims to improve access to maternity services for highly marginalised Black and minority ethnic women, including refugees, asylum seekers, women with little or no English and women with insecure immigration status. Medact has 20000 copies of the Maternity Access and Advocacy pack to distribute free of charge.  Boxes of 40 copies are available on request to statutory and voluntary organisations who can distribute to community organisations in their area.

The Office of Government Commerce has produced a short guidance document which provides some useful information on Framework Agreements, including examples and flow charts.  OGC Guidance on Framework Agreements

Hampshire County Council Children's Services Department has placed advertisements inviting applications from providers wishing to tender for the above services, predominantly but not exclusively for children with disabilities.  This invitation relates to existing contracts due to  end in April 2009.  Organisations will be invited to tender following assessment of pre-tender information.  In order to receive a pre-qualification questionnaire, providers must express an interest, in writing, by 4 September 2008.  Further details are available on Hantsweb

Support from Southampton City Primary Care Trust's health and wellbeing fund will enable young people in Southampton to try out street sports.

Sunday 31 August.

This year the organisers we will be attempting to race a quarter of a million plastic ducks down a 1 kilometre stretch of the River Thames near Hampton Court and in the process raise in excess of £100,000 for UK charities. 

It is £2 to adopt a duck*. There are 30 top prizes, first prize being £10,000. (*your £2 includes a donation to the 3 lead charities, WaterAid, The Down's Syndrome Association and NSPCC.  Additional donations can be made to support your own chosen charity).