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Working together for change with Professionals and advisers
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Annual Review 2006/07
Signposter
Signposter is our unique online database of national and local agencies that provide information, advice and practical support on the wide-ranging issues that parents face. Signposter underpins the work of our Lone Parent Helpline, and is also available on a subscription basis to organisations working with and advising parents, whether from a voluntary organisation or as an employer, to give them the tools they need to provide parents with specialist services that best serve their needs.
Thanks to continued funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, our remit for this year is to keep Signposter, which contains over 10,000 records, up to date.
Pregnant Teenagers and Young Parents Resource Pack 2006/07
One Parent Families was delighted to publish during this year its first edition of the popular Pregnant Teenagers and Young Parents Resource Pack, previously produced by the Maternity Alliance. Thanks to generous funding from the Teenage Pregnancy Unit, we were able to publish a fully updated version for the 2006/07 year and reach the many professionals working with young parents who value the product so much. - 'I could not do my job without this resource ... It is clear, concise, simple to use and, most importantly, "jargon free".'
Connexions personal adviser
In March 2007 we also began running training courses which complement and extend the information in the pack, giving an in-depth introduction to benefits and entitlements, as well as employment rights during and after pregnancy. With the continued support of the trainers and authors who delivered these products at Maternity Alliance, we plan for them to become core elements of One Parent Families' highly respected resources for professionals and advisers.
Resources and training for practitioners and advisers
Delivery of training to professionals, including advice workers and public servants, on lone parent issues is an important part of the way in which we seek to improve the lives of lone parent families. It also provides income for the charity, helping to diversify and stabilise our funding streams. In 2006/07 we trained over 1,000 advisers in the voluntary and statutory sector who support lone parents.
Lone parent awareness training
The expertise of One Parent Families is recognised by organisations delivering services to our client group and practitioner training is an important part of influencing the quality of service provision by a wide range of statutory, voluntary and community sector organisations. We have worked in partnership with other key charities such as Gingerbread, One Parent Families Scotland and Daycare Trust to ensure that lone parents' needs are properly understood by those delivering services to them.
NDLP training
We agreed a further contract with Jobcentre Plus to deliver awareness training in lone parent issues to New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) advisers and were also commissioned by Working Links to deliver a pilot adviser training programme for their specialist staff in Employment Zone areas.
Tax credits & Child Trust Fund training
We secured a further year's funding from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to deliver training in tax credits to voluntary and community sector advisers working with lone parents. We delivered 30 courses to 400 participants. Following the course, we continued to provide periodic updates to participants through our tax credit e-bulletins. In addition we delivered four courses commissioned by local authorities for community workers.
HMRC also funded a new training course for advisers to raise awareness of the Child Trust Fund and provide an overview of maternity rights. We delivered 34 half-day courses to almost 400 participants.
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