What's new in KEEP?

Final evaluation report and mentor guide now available

10 November 2005

The KEEP Action 3 independent evaluation report is now available on this site.

In addition, a piece of research conducted during Action 3 by one of the KEEP partners, Beech Tree Total care is also available. This research looked into the development of the workplace mentor learning model in the Social Care sector as a way of creating learning and employment opportunities and supporting people with learning disadvantages to progress through learning.

For either of the above documents, please visit the documents and resources section.

New free guides to accreditation and "Lunchtakers" published

14 April 2005

As part of Action 3 of KEEP, guides to the development of two KEEP activities have now been published on this site. The first is a "how to" guide to accreditation published by Simon Simpson of Kenward Trust which details the process for the recognition of skills and achievement for disadvantaged groups and how this information can be captured to form an accredited assessment process with certification for participants in the training process.

The second guide is on "Lunchtakers", a highly successful training scheme piloted in the Shepway West ward of Maidstone during Action 2 of KEEP and now taking place in many additional deprived wards of Kent.

Both of these guides are available in the documents and resources section of this site.

FREE DDA seminar and lunch- 16th November 2004

A FREE seminar for local employers, explaining the new provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act and the business benefits of employing people with disabilities is being held on 16th November between 11 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. in the Stade Court Hotel, West Parade, Hythe.

The seminar programme and booking form can be dowloaded here or for further details, please contact pam.robinson@shepwaybc.co.uk or tel her at 01303 270022.

KEEP Evaluation reports published on website

17 September 2004

The evaluation reports on domestic and transnational activities of the KEEP project during the Action 2 phase (May 2002-04) are now available on this site. To view the documents, please visit the documents and resources page.

Consultation on delivering equality for disabled people

9th August 2004

Minister for Disabled People Maria Eagle today called on the public sector to deliver a programme of real change to make the rights of disabled people a top priority.

The consultation document sets out what the Government expects to require public authorities to include within their Disability Equality Scheme - which is the plan they will be required to publish and implement.

The document explains how the Government expects two key measures in the draft Disability Discrimination Bill to work in practice, the extension of the DDA to cover public functions; and the introduction of the duty to promote equality.

These include:

- a list of the actions the authority intends to take to promote equality;
- a list of the measures the authority intends to monitor in order to assess whether it is making progress towards equality of opportunity for disabled people.

The measures are closely related to the reforms introduced by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, which implemented the recommendations of the Macpherson inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence.

Before the new duties are implemented, the Disability Rights Commission will publish guidance to public authorities to help them comply with the duty. The information gathered in this consultation will enable the Disability Rights Commission to ensure that their guidance meets the needs of public authorities.

Members of the public, people working in the public sector, and anyone else with an interest can comment on the proposals either in writing, or at a series of public events.

The consultation period ends on 21st October 2004

Details of remaining events, which will take place in other major cities, will appear on www.disability.gov.uk or can be obtained from events-disability@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

The Draft Disability Discrimination Bill was published on 3rd December 2003. The draft bill has been through pre legislative scrutiny and the Government's response to the Report of the Joint Committee can be found at
www.disability.gov.uk/legislation/ddb/response.asp

The Government intends to enact the Bill within this Parliament

The consultation document Delivering Equality for Disabled People can be obtained from the DWP website.

Thematic reports from transnational partnership

2 July 2004

Two joint reports from the work of the Employment transnational partnership between KEEP, FOCUS and IN ACTION Equal projects have now been published. These reports give information on comparisons between the three countries in terms of the development of local employment plans and ways of working with employers to encourage them to recruit disadvantaged people. A third report on accreditation of skills will be avialable shortly.

Copies of both reports are accessible from the documents and resources page. For further information, please contact Ben Gladstone at EISS.

MCCH evaluation report published on impact of KEEP Employment Development Workers on existing services

15 June 2004

As part of the Action 3 activities of KEEP, Helen Lockett, a independent consultant was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of the impact of the KEEP Employment Development Workers on the existing services to support those with learning disabilities and mental health issues.

A copy of this report can be downloaded (read only) from the documents and resources page of this site.

For further information on the report, please contact Marion Periton at MCCH.

Publication of DWP research report no. 204: ' Making the transition: addressing barriers in services for disabled people'

20th May 2004

A new report published today by the Department for Work and Pensions presents findings from research examining how and why disabled people experience discontinuity in service provision when making structural transitions in their lives, and how barriers to making smooth transitions might be addressed. The report is based on qualitative research with service users making different types of transition, and with local service providers and central government policymakers responsible for providing services to disabled people in a range of sectors, including health, social services, education, employment, transport and housing.

For further information, you can visit the DWP website at:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2004/may/iad200405-rr-no204.asp

You can also download a copy of the report at:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2003-2004/rport204/Main.pdf

Disability in the workplace: Employers' and service providers' responses to the Disability Discrimination Act in 2003 and preparation for 2004 changes

DWP has recently published - "Disability in the workplace: Employers' and service providers' responses to the Disability Discrimination Act in 2003 and preparation for 2004 changes"

A copy of the summary in .pdf format can be downloaded here .

The full report is available on the DWP website at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2003-2004/rrep202.asp

Social exclusion and the onset of disability

Just published on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website is 'Social
exclusion and the onset of disability'. This study examines who is most
at risk of becoming disabled, how it affects their income and the impact
on the rest of the family.

Read it at: http://www.jrf.org.uk/redirect.asp?url=findings/socialpolicy/n23

KEEP transnational double bill

Visitors from Kenward Trust show their appreciation for the hospitality of the 'locals' in Reggio Calabria!

KEEP visitors from FOCUS to Work Trust and KCA taking time out from a busy programme in Athens, Greece

Several KEEP partners have just taken part in transnational visits to both of the partners projects in Greece and Italy. Staff and beneficiaries from Kenward Trust, KCA and FOCUS to Work Trust took part in visits to drug and alcohol rehabilitation projects and social enterpises in the two countries and were very impressed with what they saw. They will shortly be feeding back to the KEEP partnership at a "transnational reflections" event on the morning of Thursday, 22nd January 2004. Further details of this event can be found in the events and activities section of this site.

For information on the visits, please contact either Jean Park (Kenward Trust) or Steve Ralf (FOCUS).

New policy leaflet demonstrates the success of KEEP

A new leaflet promoting the key messages of the KEEP project for policy makers and featuring four people who have been helped by the project partners is hot of the press!

The leaflet illustrates the way in which KEEP links to key policies at a local, regional, national and European level e.g. Kent County Council Supporting Independence Programme as well as the various pathways that people can take towards independence and employment through the use of services provided by the KEEP partnership.

For a copy of the leaflet, you can either contact the KEEP Project Support Team at keep@kent.ac.uk or to download an electronic copy in pdf format, visit the documents and resources page of this site.

Just published on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website

A new report 'Supporting disabled adults in their parenting role' was published on the JRF website today (24 September 2003). This work reports on the findings of the JRF Task Force on Supporting Disabled Adults in their Parenting Role. You can read it at:

http://www.jrf.org.uk/redirect.asp?url=knowledge/findings/socialcare/963

You can also send us comments on this piece of work using the feedback
icon on the Findings page.

How disabled people manage in the workplace- a new report published by Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Research on disabled people and employment has previously focused on the barriers to getting and keeping work, the connection between work and benefits, or policy analysis of rehabilitation, workplace disability management and retaining people in work. Little attention has been paid to how disabled people who are in employment manage to survive or indeed thrive in the workplace. This study by Alan Roulstone, Lorraine Gradwell, Jeni Price and Lesley Child explored the strategies used by disabled workers to get by in the workplace, and looked at the nature and role of support received by disabled workers.

This study explored how disabled people get by in the workplace and looked at the nature of the support they require and receive. The report can be accessed at http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialcare/793.asp

Articles needed for next edition of Equal News

In the next edition of Equal News (due out late September) the main article will based on the Employment and Race Directives that were adopted under Article 13 of the EC Treaty by the UK and other member states in 2000. The Race Directive came into force on 19th July 2003 and is based on promoting equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial and ethnic origin and the Employment Directive lays down similar anti discrimination practices including sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability and age, this one has to be implemented by 2 December 2003 and by 2006 in relation to disability and age.

ECOTEC would welcome any work you are involved in that is relevant to these directives and would like to hear about any relevant work you have been involved in.

Also in every edition Equal News includes information about new websites and publications, therefore any new sources would also be welcome.

Please send any contributions to Ruth Santos at the GB Equal Support Unit.

Vital employment support for disabled people extended to 2006

The current programme of Job Brokers delivering the New Deal for Disabled People will be extended for a further two years to March 2006.

The network of Job Brokers across Britain forms a vital part in ensuring that disabled people get the support they need to prepare for and move into employment.

All existing Job Brokers will have the opportunity to participate in the extended programme, providing that they are able meet new standards of performance and service.

Key changes include:

• Job Brokers will receive an initial £300 payment when they register new customers, providing that they have appropriate 'back to work' plans in place to support people wanting to move into work.
• A reduction in the qualifying period for claiming payment for sustained job outcomes from 26 weeks to 13 weeks.
• Job Brokers will still be expected to provide ongoing support for a minimum of six months after someone has moved into work.
  

The extension of the programme coupled with the new performance and design standards will ensure that thousands of disabled people will continue to get the support they need when moving into employment.

Further information is available from the website of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Government representative visits "Lunchtakers"

Members of staff and beneficiaries of the "Lunchtakers" programme with Neil Witney from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

On 10th June 2003, the "Lunchtakers" programme received a visit from Neil Witney, from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He was given a tour of the facilities at Oldborough Manor School, including a refurbishment centre for computers run by the Vines Centre Trust. He also had a chance to meet some of the beneficiaries of "Lunchtakers" at the local church in the Mangravet area of Maidstone. The project has been highly successful and has gained the attention of national Government as it works within deprived wards within relatively prosperous areas.

For more information about the "Lunchtakers" programme, please contact Gordon Brown or John Foster or tel 07712 648538.

Government announces important changes to benefit rules

Subject: Pathways to Work: Helping people into employment - The
Government's response and action plan

The above briefing was published 10.06.03 by Department for Work and Pensions:

Pathways to Work makes changes to the way the Government supports people moving on to incapacity benefits to help fulfill the aspirations most have to find work. The new measures to be tested in the pilot areas, starting in October, will include:

• Early support from skilled personal advisers, including work-focused interviews and action plans;
• Access to a range of specialist programmes, including new rehabilitation services provided jointly by Jobcentre Plus and the NHS;
• Greater financial incentives to work, including a Return to Work
• Credit of £40 a week for 52 weeks for those finding a job that pays less than £15,000 per year and access to a discretionary fund of up to £300 to help find a job.
• More support for people with health problems who move from an incapacity benefit to JSA.
  

The briefing paper is at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2003/pathways2work.pdf and the press release at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2003/june/fram1007-ibcons.asp

KEEP Development Day goes interactive

Johnathan Ward (KAB) demonstrates with Tracey Ward (Job Centre Plus) how to lead someone who is blind/visually impaired.

Over forty people attended the KEEP partnership Development Day on 6th June and a overwhelming number agreed that the day was both highly enjoyable and informative.

Representatives from all KEEP partners, as well as KEEP beneficiaries took part in a variety of interactive workshops, as well as hearing news and views from many of the organisations working with KEEP.

Delegates were able to learn about opportunities for learning and work from the Kent Guidance Consortium, hear about the accreditation of skills from the Kenward Trust, and explore what it is like to be a person with visual impairment and the opportunities to use IT for blind and visually impaired people, with help from the staff of Kent Association for the Blind.

Presentations were made by several people who had recently returned from Greece on a transnational visit. The day concluded with a look at the future of KEEP and the potential of further funding under the next round of Equal.

Greek trip is a great success

Simon Simpson from Kenward Trust hard at work with Marilena at the University of Thessaly.

Several KEEP partners recently visited Greece as part of the transnational programme between KEEP and two other Equal projects in Greece and Italy.

All three countries worked together for a week on several key themes of activity, in order to exchange information on working practices, and gain valuable experiences. Some members of the party have already reported back at the recent KEEP Development Day on 6th June. They will also be reporting back to the partnership by means of written reports at a debriefing session on 20th June.

In the week commencing 15th September, 2003, KEEP will be hosting both Greek and Italian partners in Kent and a programme of activities will be devised by the thematic groups.

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