1) Lib Dem conference: Schools told to cut uniform cost
School uniforms can take up a large part of a family's school budgets
Schools in England will be told to take action to cut the cost of school uniforms to help hard-pressed parents.
Education minister David Laws is to issue new guidance to end the practice of using a single uniform supplier, enabling parents to shop around.
He told BBC Breakfast he wanted to stop profit-sharing schemes that existed between some schools and shops.
But the biggest teaching union said schools could merely ignore the "weak" orders, adding legislation was needed.
The Local Government Association has blamed soaring uniform costs on schools rebranding as academies with new logos.
Mr Laws, who will make the announcement at the Lib Dem conference in Glasgow, said the cost of uniforms was often "unnecessarily high" at a time when family budgets were being squeezed.
'Profit from the business'
He said: "The fact for example that it is too easy for schools to have these single supplier arrangements where parents can end up paying more than they need to.
"And there are also things that we feel we should get rid of.
"For example, it's possible at the moment to have cash back arrangements where schools can have these arrangements with single suppliers and in return get some of the profit from the business."
School uniforms, he added, could be an important sign of identity and pride but, at a time when many family budgets were squeezed, parents should not be forced to spend more than they needed to.
Mr Laws said: "We will send a strong signal to schools that it is vital to secure value for money for parents before changing or introducing new school uniforms. Parents need to be able to shop around to find the best deal."
David Laws: "We want to make it as as easy as possible for parents to buy uniforms at a sensible cost"
3) Webpage: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofSociologySocialPolicySocialWork/Staff/AcademicStaff/JohnDevaney/
4) 12 Οκτωβρίου 2013 ημερίδα με θέμα: «Ημέρα Ψυχικής Υγείας».
Στα πλαίσια του εορτασμού της Παγκόσμιας Ημέρας Ψυχικής Υγείας της 10ης Οκτωβρίου, το Ε.Ψ.Μ. διοργανώνει το Σάββατο στις 12 Οκτωβρίου 2013 ημερίδα με θέμα: «Ημέρα Ψυχικής Υγείας».Κατά τη διάρκεια της ημερίδας θα παρουσιαστούν ειδικά θέματα που αφορούν την Ψυχολογία και τη Συμβουλευτική από μέλη και συνεργάτες του Ε.Ψ.Μ.. Επίσης θα πραγματοποιηθεί παρουσίαση της δράσης του Εργαστηρίου Ψυχοκοινωνικών Μελετών στην Αλεξανδρούπολη και τη Βόρεια Ελλάδα τα τελευταία 6 χρόνια, όπως και των εκπαιδευτικών προγραμμάτων που διοργανώνονται από το κέντρο. Η ημερίδα θα ολοκληρωθεί με την τελετή απονομής των Πιστοποιητικών στους αποφοίτους της προηγούμενης ακαδημαϊκής περιόδου. Θα ακολουθήσει σύντομη δεξίωση. Σας περιμένουμε όλους!
Τα μέλη, οι συνεργάτες, οι εκπαιδευόμενοι και οι απόφοιτοι του Ε.Ψ.Μ. μπορούν να παρουσιάσουν στην ημερίδα εργασίες σχετικές με θέματα ψυχικής υγείας δικών τους ενδιαφερόντων.
Παρακαλείται ο κάθε ενδιαφερόμενος για παρουσίαση να ενημερώσει άμεσα το κέντρο για την καλύτερη οργάνωση της ημερίδας.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Εργαστήρι Ψυχοκοινωνικών Μελετών
• Β.Ελλάδα: Χαρ. Τρικούπη 5, Αλεξανδρούπολη, Τ. Κ.: 68 100 τηλ.:25510-83782 Φαξ: 25510-83782,
• Αθήνα: Απόλλωνος 5, Σύνταγμα, Τ.Κ. 105 57, 211-7109053
• Κρήτη: Σφακίων 36, Χανιά 28210-45055
5) public conference concerning those unheard voices in the Family Legal System - the children - on Wednesday 4th September at The Old Barn Hotel, Toll Bar Road, Marston, Lincolnshire NG32 2HT. The conference commences at 0900 and runs through 1800 with several breaks. The official timetable for speakers follows:
0900 to 0920 Andy Peacher Welcome Speech Lunch Break Refreshments Raffle Physic Healing/Readings Bracelets Car Stickers Safety Medical First Aiders.
0920 am to 0940 am Jayne Johns Mums Legal battle
0940 am to 10am Paul Manning Dad & Campaigner
10 am to 10 30am MP John Hemming
1030 am to 1040 am Phil Thompson Grandfather & Great Grandfather
1040 am to 1050am Lyn Saddington
1050 am to 1120 am Charles Pragnel Independent social worker Australia
1120 am to 1130 am Brian Paed
1130 am to 12 noon Maggie Tuttle Children Screaming To Be Heard
12 noon to 1300 David Gale KidsforCashUK.org
1300 to 1400 Lunch Break
1400 to 1430 Ian joseph forced adoptions
1430 to 1500 Belinda McKenzie Justice for Hollies Grieg
1500 to 1520 Jan Loxley-Blount
1520 to 1550 Richard Roper Pain
1550 to 1610 Kellie Cottam Campaigner
1610 to 1630 Florence Bellone Journalist
1630 to 1650 Sarah Godley Counsellor
1650 to 1710 James Moore
1710 to 1730 Charles J Stecker Jr Usa Child Abuse Prevention Task force
1730 to 1750 Anne Marie Cope
1750 pm to 1810 Robert Honecker
I will not only be filming the conference, for the benefit of those not able to attend I will also be running a live video stream, details of which shall be published on the Facebook event page "Children screaming to be heard the silent witness conference" on or just prior to the conference day.
https://www.facebook.com/events/146042885571608/
For those intending to travel, there is a carpool network running on the event page, and a nearby hotel is offering discounted rates for conference attendees.
There will be a presence of current and former advocates and McKenzie Friends to offer help and advice.
You may also have noticed that I've been drafted to give a twenty minute talk on ~something~. I have sort of an idea what to talk about (that being collection and collation of evidence against children services and their co-conspirators), but I would welcome any ideas as to what else I could use to fill a twenty minute window, 'cos I'm sure I'd be able to cover that in about ten.
Here's hoping for a good attendance, a successful conference, and that everybody walks away with a feeling of having achieved or learned something.
Rgds, JM.
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΠΡΩΤΟ:
He denied new laws were needed and was confident schools would follow government guidance.
Schools in England will be urged to stop using exclusive single supplier contracts, unless regular tendering processes are run to ensure firms provide value for money.
The guidelines will also say schools should not enter into 'cash-back' agreements with shops and compulsory items of uniform should be available relatively cheaply.
Branding should also be kept "to a minimum", the guidelines will say, and schools will be urged to avoid changing specifications frequently.
An Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation last year suggested 75% of UK state schools placed restrictions on where uniforms could be bought.
'Weak advice'
Such a move typically added £5 to the price tag for each item, leaving parents an estimated £52m a year worse off, the OFT said.
The announcement follows a Labour Party campaign to highlight the cost of school uniforms.
David Cameron has twice responded to calls for action on school uniform prices by Labour MPs at prime minister's questions, accusing them of wanting to undermine the government's flagship free schools programme.
He told the MPs schools should be free to set their own "tough and robust" uniform policies.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT - the largest teachers' union - said the coalition had scrapped rules forcing schools to restrict costs.
"Parents are now paying the price of the excessive freedoms this coalition has given to schools.
"This announcement largely repeats the guidance the Office of Fair Trading gave in a letter it sent to all schools last year, which many of them ignored.
"If the Liberal Democrats are serious about this issue they need to commit to issuing statutory guidance rather than weak advice."
But Russell Hobby, general secretary of National Association of Head Teachers, said: "Many schools go to great lengths to make their uniforms both smart and affordable; helping out where they can those families who struggle to afford them."
Last month, the Local Government Association said schools had a "moral duty" to keep costs down for parents.
It said schools which decided to alter their uniform - for example a newly-converted academy that decides to change its emblem - should restrict changes to one or two items or to sew-on logos.
Hi,
I thought you might be interested in reading this article on Bleacher Report:
"Tony Stewart Press Conference Transcript"
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/36614-tony-stewart-press-conference-transcript
(If clicking the link does not work, you can also try copying and pasting the URL into your browser.)
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