Youth services to benefit from a ground-breaking partnership

A ground-breaking partnership between Partnership for Young London, BT and the youth services of four London boroughs - Croydon, Richmond, Tower Hamlets and Westminster – has resulted in more flexible, accessible, efficient and cost-effective ways of delivering workforce development materials.

Known as the Ypower programme, this partnership enables each local authority to share in a managed learning service, delivering personalised learning for workers in areas including safeguarding, Common Assessment Framework (CAF), and health & safety. Ypower allows managers to record individuals’ training requirements; deliver against these requirements, and track the training that has been provided.

"Ypower offers much better use of learners’ time, with essential information being delivered online, allowing classroom delivery to focus on more practical applications of learning," explained Roger King, Deputy Head of Youth Service in Croydon.

According to Helen Hibbert, Strategic Director, Partnership for Young London: "We are confident that Ypower will deliver a better trained, more efficient workforce for youth services right across the capital and maybe even the nation. That’s why we backed it in the first place!"

The ‘Ypower partnership’ has commissioned both generic courses – such as a basic introduction to health & safety and risk assessment – and two youth service specific packages: Safeguarding Children and Young People, and Common Assessment Framework training.

These e-learning programmes have been produced by the global e-learning producer, Tata Interactive Systems (TIS). BT and TIS believe that the Ypower programmes – which can be customised to each council or department - provide an accurate, up-to-date message that is easily accessible and widely available as and when required.

"Ultimately, the Ypower partnership looks to create a comprehensive portfolio of online and classroom courses and make them widely available to youth services and youth organisations across the country," said Viren Lall, of BT which, with Partnership for Young London, manages the Ypower programme.

Croydon’s Roger King revealed that discussions are being held currently with the Children’s Workforce Development Council to explore the potential contribution of Ypower to the development of Children’s Services nationwide.

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Notes for editors

About the Children Act 2004

The Children Act of 2004 – which is an extension of the Children Act 1989 – sets out a framework of duties and accountabilities that will help in the development of quality services relating to the needs of children. In addition, a national services framework for children, young people and maternity services has been developed which sets standards for children’s health and social services, and the interface of those services with education.

These initiatives have also led to the definition of a ‘common core of skills and knowledge for the children’s workforce’. This covers effective communication and management; child and young person development; safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child; supporting transitions; multi-agency working, and sharing information.

About Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)

Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), a global leader in e-learning, is a part of the $22bn Tata Group. Truly international, TIS has a presence across the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Japan, India, and mainland Europe. TIS offers corporations, universities, schools, publishers, and government institutions a diversified and innovative bouquet of learning and training solutions including Simulation-based Learning Objects (SimBLs™), Story-based Learning Objects (StoBLs™), courseware and curriculum design, special-needs education, assessments, electronic performance support systems (EPSS), mobile learning, along with other corporate training and consultancy services. Our multi-disciplinary expertise and 16 years’ experience across domains helps us design e-learning programmes that are unique to clients’ requirements and specifically crafted to boost knowledge retention and application.

Apart from holding ISO 9001 certification, TIS is the only e-learning organisation in the world to be assessed at Level 5 in both the SEI-CMM and P-CMM frameworks. TIS’s quest for excellence is reflected in numerous prestigious industry awards, including a Silver Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award 2005 and 2004, APEX Award of Excellence in 2005 and 2006, BETT Awards in 2004 and 2006, and two Business World–NID Design Excellence awards.

For more information log on to www.tatainteractive.com

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2006, BT Group plc’s revenue was £19,514 million with profit before taxation of £2,040 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt. BT images are available for download via the image library at www.vismedia.co.uk

Further information from:
Alan Samuel, Tata Interactive Systems, 020 7905 0156, www.tatainteractive.com
Justine Manche, BT Global Services, 0207 356 5371, www.bt.com
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405, www.boblittlepr.com