Agenda item

Verbal reports will be given on the 2009/10 SIWG projects led by the following groups:

·        York Older People’s Assembly (YOPA)

·        York Racial Equality Network (YREN)

·        Children and Inclusion (CANDI)

The Group were updated on the 2009/10 SIWG projects:

(i)                 Children and Inclusion (CANDI)

Representatives from CANDI updated the group on the work that they were carrying out.  CANDI was a forum that sought to improve services for disabled children by working in partnership with the local authority and the health service. 

Details were given of the training that they provided to staff who worked with children and young people who were disabled. They had put together a fifteen-minute web based introductory training package that could be accessed on www.disabilitytrainingyork.org as well as delivering group training sessions to teams and services.  The next step was to train all providers of activities to Schools Out. 

CANDI had been allocated funding of £500 from the SIWG budget and this had enabled them to involve parents in delivering the training that they offered to organisations by meeting their travel and childcare costs.  A paper was circulated that included details of the training that had been delivered and comments that had been received from participants.  The comments included statements made regarding the benefits that having a parent as a presenter had contributed to the training.

The CANDI representatives were asked how they would fund the training once the SIWG funding came to an end.  They explained that the finance was not yet in place but that the training would continue.  Discussions were ongoing regarding the possibility of the CANDI training forming part of the YorOK induction training programme.  Rita Sanderson offered to meet with the CANDI representatives to advise them on possible funding streams.

Members of the group commented that travel and care costs were a major barrier that prevented people from being active in the community.  This was a longstanding issue that had to be addressed.

SIWG members congratulated CANDI on the work that they were carrying out and thanked them for their attendance at the meeting.

(ii)               SIWG Diversity Days

Sue Lister tabled a report which gave feedback on the SIWG diversity days (Minute Annex C).  Details were given of the Food and Drink Festival that had taken place in Parliament Square on Tuesday 22 September 2009 and of the Bridging the Gap event held at the start of the 50+ Festival on Saturday 26 September 2009.  A paper detailing income and expenditure was also tabled (Minute Annex D).  Sue was thanked for her report and for the work that she had carried out in respect of the diversity days.

(iii)             Display Boards

Rita Sanderson updated the Group on how funding had been used to purchase six display boards which would be used to promote the equality strands.  Details were given of how the boards had been assigned to particular organisations for storage and insurance purposes.  One board (gender) remained unassigned and volunteers were sought to take responsibility for storing it.  There was still some funding remaining which could be used for photographs and printing to populate the boards.  It was suggested some of the board assigned for gender issues could include information relating to International Women’s Week that was due to take place in March.