Children and Young People's

Children and Young People’s Action Plan for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 2015-2017

Draft June 2015

Alternative Formats

This document is available to read and download from our website. Go to www.dardni.gov.uk/consultations

Other Formats On request, we can provide these documents in other formats such as:  Hard copy  Large Print  Audio CD / MP3  Braille  Computer Disk  Other languages

Contact us: Equality Branch Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) Room 516c, Dundonald House Ballymiscaw Upper Newtownards Road Belfast BT4 3SB

 telephone: 028 9052 4435  text relay: If you have a hearing difficulty you can contact the Department via Text Relay. Making a call from a textphone dial 18001 028 9052 4435 Making a call from a telephone dial 18002 +028 9052 4435

@ email: [email protected]

 web: www.dardni.gov.uk/index/equality.htm

Index Page

Introduction 4

Why we have an Action Plan 4

Our 5 Strategic Goals 6

Our work – how it impacts on children and young people 8

Engaging with children and young people 9

Annual Reporting and Reviewing Progress 11

Action Plan 13

Introduction

DARD’s Strategic Plan1 2012 – 2020 sets out Department’s vision for “a thriving and sustainable rural economy, community and environment”.

With over 169,000 children and young people making up over 25.3% of the rural population, it is vitally important that future generations are supported to achieve their full potential so that the rural community and environment that they will inherit can continue to thrive and flourish.

Why have an Action Plan?

DARD has a shared responsibility to deliver on the UK government’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child2, with its four General Principles of; non-discrimination, survival and development, the best interests of the child; and participation. The importance of participation and our engagement with children and young people, is also highlighted through their inclusion in Section 75 of the NI Act 19983, within the age category.

NI Executive’s over-arching 10-Year Strategy for Children and Young People4 also outlines obligations for us. We are committed to playing our part in realising the Strategy’s vision “that all children and young people living in the north of Ireland will thrive and look forward with confidence to the future”. We have contributed to its Action Plan5 and continue to work closely with others in taking this work forward.

In early 2014, the NI Executive consulted on its proposed ‘Delivering Social Change for Children and Young People’ strategy which brings together the work by Departments to deliver on the obligations of the

1 DARD Strategic Plan 2012-2020 available to read at http://www.dardni.gov.uk/index/about-dard/finance-and- strategy.htm

2 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty that grants all children and young people (aged 17 and under) a comprehensive set of rights. It came into force in January 1992.

3 Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities to increase user involvement and engagement in policy development and to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity

4 Our Children and Young People – Our Pledge: A Ten Year Strategy for Children and Young People in Northern Ireland 2006-2016. The strategy sets out six outcomes-healthy; enjoying, learning and achieving; living in safety and with stability; experiencing economic and environmental well-being; contributing positively to community and society; living in a society which respects their rights. 5 Current Action Plan ‘Our Children and Young People – Our Pledge’ 2008-2011 is available to read at http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/children-and-young-people-strategy.

UNCRC, the agreed actions to help reduce child poverty, and to achieve better outcomes.

In its 2011 Child Poverty Strategy6 the NI Executive outlined its commitment to work with the other UK jurisdictions towards reducing child poverty and eradicating it by 2020. In it, DARD committed to delivering a £13 million package across NI to help tackle rural poverty, and social and economic isolation.

This is our second Action Plan. It is for a 3-year period (2015-2017) and it builds on the work started in our first plan.

The first Action Plan (2011-2013) and the report on progress towards its targets can be found at www.dardni.gov.uk/index/equality/children-and- young-people.htm

We are grateful for the on-going support of organisations who represent the interests and views of children and young people and also for the helpful engagement we have had with groups of young people too.

Where appropriate we have set out some specific targets. However, given the diverse nature of the Department’s work some actions are more general in nature.

The Financial Climate

As a Department we are facing unprecedented cuts in our budgets and it will be necessary for us to take difficult decisions that will impact on the services that we will be able to deliver in the future. In meeting these challenges, we remain committed to considering the equality impacts of our decisions and to meeting our statutory equality obligations.

6 Improving Children’s Life Chances, the NI Child Poverty Strategy’ (March 2011). Available at www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/childpoverty 5

Our 5 Strategic Goals –

DARD has 5 main goals, and each of these will have an impact on the well-being and future lives of children and young people. The Department’s Strategic Plan 2012-2020 sets out the actions we will take to help us meet each of these goals. http://www.dardni.gov.uk/index/about-dard/finance-and-strategy.htm

GOAL What we will do What it will mean for our Children & Young People 1 To help the agri- We will work with This goal will help food industry others to encourage increase opportunities prepare for future and support the for rural young people market development of rural who choose to live and opportunities and businesses work within their local economic communities. challenges 2 To improve the We will make sure that This goal will help lives of farmers equality and good increase opportunities and other rural relations are at the for young people to dwellers targeting heart of policy and have their voice heard resources where decision-making and to benefit from they are needed processes; we will various funding most work to tackle programmes inequalities and under –representation and will target our resources to achieve the best outcomes. 3 To enhance We are working This goal will help animal, fish and towards a reduction in develop a more stable plant health and animal diseases; and and sustainable rural animal welfare on towards free economy providing an all Ireland basis movement of animals greater security for within the island children and young people as they grow up. 4 To help deliver We will plant more This goal will help to improved trees and forests, create a more sustainable encourage stimulating environment environmental improvements to for children and young outcomes farming and fishing people to visit and

methods to help enjoy, learn about and conservation; and to appreciate. work to reduce the impact of flooding along our coasts and rivers. 5 To manage our We aim to provide This goal will help rural business and accessible and children and young deliver services to equitable standards of people as they progress our customers in a services for all; and to with their education and cost-effective way ensure that our staff career choices, have the right skills to employment and future assist our customers to lifestyle. access their services with ease

Our Work & Children and Young People:

Our work covers a range of areas that can positively impact on the lives of children and young people in a number of ways.

. As visitors and users of local forest parks and the recreational opportunities on offer such as walking trails, eco-trails, caravan and camping, and cycling;

. As nature lovers – enjoying wildlife and woodland walks;

. As visitors to the countryside – for tourism, sports, education, leisure activities etc;

. As pet owners;

. As consumers of locally produced meat, vegetables and other food products;

. As students at our College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE);

. As users of local rivers and coastal waters for swimming, fishing, canoeing etc;

. As children of families working in farming and the fisheries or food industries;

. As children of families who will benefit through the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Framework; and

. As young people involved in local community activities, and various cultural, learning and leisure projects supported by the Rural Development Programme.

Listening to Children & Young People

As a large government department, DARD has a responsibility to listen to the views and concerns of all its customers. While we regularly ensure that the views and concerns of adults; whether as customers, stakeholders, staff, or representatives of rural interest groups are heard, we also realise that we need to do more to encourage the voice of children and young people to be heard too.

DARD has endorsed the NICCY Participation Policy of Intent published in 2009 and has continued to engage with local sectoral organisations representing the views and interests of children and young people. We have developed this Action Plan with assistance in the early stages from key organisations representing the interests and views of children and young people including the NI Youth Forum and NICCY.

Children and Young People - Age Bands This Action Plan sets out a range of actions that we plan to take forward. While we aim to be as flexible as possible in order to meet the specific needs of particular groups, some of our action points are targeted more at those under 18 years of age (such as pre-school, primary, post primary ages etc) while others are focused more towards the needs of young adults over 18 years of age.

How have we done so far?

Key results from our 1st Children and Young People’s Action Plan. Below, we have set out the headline results from our first action plan.

 Rural Development Programme (2007-2013) targets 5% Axis 3 spend directly on projects benefitting Children and Young People. Below are some details of some of the individual “good news” projects. These have included:- o Day care/pre & after school clubs o Outdoor play and multi use recreational areas o Suicide and self harm awareness training

 Rural Challenge Programmes 2009 and 2012 benefitted 1890 and 2720 children and young people respectively in the 0 – 24 age bands. The Programmes provided support to community-led voluntary organisations across the north to deliver a wide range of projects benefitting children and young people up to the age of 24. Many projects involved providing coaches to deliver sporting and recreational activities, tutors to deliver music, arts, crafts and drama classes as well as improving outdoor play facilities at several locations. A number of projects funded through the Programmes also provided support to vulnerable children and young people in relation to suicide prevention and awareness training.

 Rural childcare programme – 851 places created for young children between the ages of 0 and 12 years. The places were created in various locations throughout Northern Ireland. This programme closed in March 2011.

 BOOST – 1355 participants aged between 16 and 24 completed the Boost Programme. The Programme, which is now complete, had as its core aim to reduce economic inactivity among unemployed rural young people by helping them to gain the core skills needed for employment by addressing barriers to unemployment, such as the

lack of skills/qualifications, lack of self-confidence and lack of employment support.

 Rural Youth Entrepreneurship (RYE) – to date 714 participants aged between 16 and 30 have completed the RYE Programme. This programme, which is ongoing, aims to contribute to rural economic growth by developing business creation potential among vulnerable young people in Northern Ireland. Through upskilling, networking, mentoring and sharing ideas, RYE aims to create the foundations for the development of future rural businesses. As a result of the current RYE initiative, to date nine new businesses have been started by rural young people who have participated in the programme.

 Other initiatives for school age children included o trail@greenmount – during 2014/15 educational tours provided for over 2500 primary and secondary school children – this provided an opportunity to experience and learn about nature and food. o ‘Feed your mind’ initiative at Loughry College. This is an annual event which takes place in June each year at Loughry Campus. It aims to promote careers in the food industry to Year 11 pupils and their teachers. o Forest Service – A regional playpark for primary and older school children has been constructed in Slieve Gullion Forest Park working in partnership with Newry and Mourne District Council. o A number of walking trails have been opened in forests in west Fermanagh in partnership with Fermanagh District Council. This has facilitated environmental education visits by both primary and secondary schoolchildren. o Over 100 kms of mountain bike trails have been opened in Rostrevor forest, Castlewellan Forest Park and Davagh forest in partnership with Newry and Mourne District Council, Down District Council and Cookstown District Council o A multi-use trails network was developed at Castleward in partnership with National Trust.

o A new changing places toilet was constructed in Tollymore Forest Park in 2014.

DARD provided some funding to the Young Farmer’s Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) for the period 2011-14. The YFCU developed and delivered a cross community schools outreach programme. This initiative targeted Key Stage 3-level children and aimed to bring them together to learn about local foodand farming through fun activities. A total of 1400 children took part in this programme during the 3 years.

The ‘Field to Fork’ programme taught young people where food comes from and tied in well with the Learn Life and Work Curriculum, also Home Economics and Employability.

Some of the schools that participated were; Drumragh College, Omagh Tandragee HS Cross & Passion, Ballycastle Castlederg HS Our Lady of Lourdes, Ballymena St Mary’s Limavady Clounagh HS Parkhall Integrated College, Antrim Aughnacloy College St Paul’s, Kilrea

Evaluation has shown that 54% did not know anything about YFCU before the session, 80% learned something new about the “Field to fork” process, 47% said they would now consider a career in the agri-food industry, 88% said they would be able to identify local produce after the session. 1428 children from a range of community backgrounds learned about the agri-food industry.

Annual Reporting on Progress We will publish annual reports on our website and will also make it available to our consultees too.

How we will Review Progress We will review and update this Plan at intervals, and will continue to engage with children and young people and their representative organisations and seek their feedback on our progress. Updates will also be incorporated into equality reports to the Departmental Board, and at the quarterly meetings of our Equality Steering Group (ESG).

Proposed Action Measures In our new plan we are keen to build on our successes to date and have added a number of new actions which we feel can enhance the lives of children and young people through the work we do.

We wish to thank all those who helped us as we worked to meet the targets in our previous Action Plan and we look forward to continued working with children & young people and their representative organisations as we begin work on our 2nd Action Plan.

How to respond

We would be grateful if you could take the time to consider our plan and welcome your comments by telephone, email or post to the address below by Wednesday 30th September 2015. We will fully consider all comments received, and will revise our Plan as needed.

Any comments on the draft Plan should be sent to:-

Equality Branch Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) Room 516c, Dundonald House Ballymiscaw Upper Newtownards Road Belfast BT4 3SB

Alternatively responses can be sent to [email protected]

Or Telephone: 028 9052 4435

Text relay: If you have a hearing difficulty you can contact the Department via Text Relay. Making a call from a textphone dial 18001 028 9052 4435

Making a call from a telephone dial 18002 +028 9052 4435

@ email: [email protected]

web: www.dardni.gov.uk/index/equality

We look forward to hearing from you.

DARD Children and Young People’s Action Plan 2015 – 2017 Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

Participation - meet and listen to the views of young ALL – will pro-actively seek to hear the views / involve young Continuous and people and their representatives on issues people and their organisations in key consultations, forums, group Involvement likely to be of interest to them ; eg during discussions etc consultations, to inform policymaking and planning of future services CAFRE - Student reps will have at least two annual opportunities Twice to meet college management teams and to provide views, raise annually - involve young people in shaping key concerns, offer feedback on courses, timetables etc. policies, being part of review groups, pilot projects, forums etc Routine meetings will be held at least once per semester with the Once per Staff Student Consultative Committees (SSCC) across each of semester the CAFRE campuses. Students participate in staff student consultations on the progress, direction, and quality of their learning experience.

Students will also meet with the College Advisory Group (CAG) at Annually least once per year. The Group has approx 12 members who represent various agri-food sectors relevant to CAFRE’s work

From September 2015 the CAFRE Education Management Team From Sept (EMT) will pilot the inclusion of two members of the CAFRE 2015 Student Representative Council (SRC) to at least one EMT meeting. Here they will get the opportunity to discuss education delivery and quality management issues with senior education management.

Forest Service – will meet and involve young people on an Ongoing ongoing basis and their representative organisations such as scouting organisations to capture their views as part of its forest

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

planning review process.

Rural Dev – will engage with young people and their Throughout organisations to encourage greater take-up of funding the lifetime opportunities under the new NIRDP (2014-2020), improved of the RDP representation on forums, LAGs, decision-making teams etc. We 2014-20 will do this through thematic funding workshops specifically targeted at young people by forming a Young People Thematic sub-group within the Local Action Group (LAG). The timing of these workshops will be considered by the LAGs once they are established. The outgoing network within their animation activity did undertake one specific event on 16 December 2014 targeted at young people to encourage them to engage in LAG activity. Participation We will increase opportunities to collaborate CAFRE- The Student Representative Council (SRC) at each Monthly and and work in partnership with others to campus will meet monthly throughout the academic year to plan Involvement develop service provision eg with councils, and organise student clubs, societies and events. The SRC other Depts, groups president and committee will represent students at student-staff meetings.

Two members of the CAFRE SRC will attend Greenmount As and Association meetings and will be involved in organisation of when events. Students will be involved in association meetings as well meetings as planning events. are held

Forest Service- will seek opportunities to work in partnership with organisations such as councils, the National Trust, outdoor Ongoing education centres, charitable organisations and schools to provide recreational, educational and leisure activities in forests agreeing memoranda of understandings for forest recreation development with at least 3 of the new councils.

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

Sustainable Rural Communities Branch are working alongside OFMDFM and the Health and Social Care Trust to explore Ongoing options and a possible pilot for childcare provision in rural areas as the issue is not one of availability of rural childminding places but rather affordability. SCRB are still working to develop a suitable pilot so no further information is available at this time as this work is still policy in development.

SDG- Through direct funding and periodical reviews of the Young March 2016 Farmers Clubs’ we will ensure that key actions are taken forward that promote outreach and future involvement with those groups of young people currently under-represented within the YFCU membership. YFCU staff will communicate with individual members and clubs to promote participation. This effort can be supported through email publications, press releases and articles featured in the Rural Dispatch Newsletter.

Developing We want to support young people to gain ALL – we will consider ways for young people to take up Ongoing Young useful knowledge, skills and experience that shadowing, mentoring and workplace training opportunities; and People could help them to gain future education also to gain practical skills such as chairing meetings and taking training and employment opportunities. part in boards, committees etc

CAFRE – will organise Careers Forums across its three Annually campuses to provide an opportunity for students to meet with industry representatives and also potential future employers to discuss job opportunities, work placements and how they can enhance their employment prospects. Industry representatives are also present with exhibits promoting job opportunities within

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

their organisations. Career Days take place annually at each of the CAFRE campuses.

Annually, CAFRE offer some thirty £1000 bursaries to Higher Annually Education (HE) students in conjunction with different sponsors. Each campus receives bursaries from companies trading in their specialism e.g. Food, Agriculture, Equine and Horticulture and students compete for these highly coveted awards in September the Bursaries are awarded in December of each academic year.

Enterprise Management/Technology Student Learning Projects Higher Education students participate in five Enterprise Annually Management / technology Student Learning Projects. Each project has its own management board comprising CAFRE staff and industry representatives. The Boards meet twice per year (Autumn and Spring) and students give presentations and discuss their project during these meetings. These Boards are for students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the Enterprise and develop their presentational skills. It also provides an opportunity for students to learn from the experience and the advice offered by the Industry representatives.

Opportunities will be provided for students on all courses to meet Throughout with industry representatives through industry visits to agriculture, the year by food, equine and horticulture businesses. Visits are made mutual throughout each academic year by arrangement with the agreement company.

The majority of CAFRE HE programmes will have a work

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

placement, some lasting 48 weeks, with agri-food and equine businesses.

Students will be encouraged and facilitated to attend meetings of Throughout industry bodies by arrangement through Course co-ordinators. the Students on industrial placements attend meetings relevant to the academic nature of their placement. CAFRE will provide a wide range of year extracurricular opportunities to develop students. These include a wide variety of sports, trips and inter-campus events. A full list is available at www.cafre.ac.uk/student-life/clubs-societies/

SDG – through the YFCU will continue to encourage activities By March and challenges that develop the confidence and leadership skills 2016 of rural young people. The Schools Programme will further develop the Key Stage 3’field to fork’ initiative in order to raise awareness of the Agri food sector and the job opportunities it presents.

RDD (TRPSI) – Where appropriate, we will continue to provide By March support to help young people in rural areas gain skills required to 2016 enhance employment opportunities and to develop business potential.

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

Reducing The NI Executive is committed to the UK Rural Development – Tackling Rural Poverty and Social March 2016 Poverty and target of ending child poverty by 2020. Isolation Exclusion Our Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation framework DARD is taking forward a range of (2011-2015) has been developed to provide opportunities for programmes and actions in partnership with people of all ages in rural areas to benefit from tackling poverty other Departments to help reduce poverty, and social isolation funding and schemes. especially where it impacts on children and young people. We will continue to fund a range of initiatives through our March 2016 Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme which will impact of the lives of children and Young people. The Rural Youth Employability (RYE) programme will continue to provide opportunities for young people to gain various business and entrepreneurial skills. Funding towards the implementation of Broadband services in rural areas along with the continued funding of Rural Community Development work will provide young people with opportunities to develop their educational and social skills.

We will continue to support a Maximising access to services, March 2016 grants and benefits (MARA) project, a Farm Families Health Checks Programme, an Assisted Rural Travel Scheme and a Micro Capital Grant Programme for rural community groups all of which will benefit directly or indirectly Children and Young People living in rural areas. SCRB – DARD will continue to work with OFMDFM in the Ongoing development of the Executive’s Childcare Strategy looking at childcare needs in a rural setting. DARD is working with Health and Social Care Board on an evidence base to identify suitable pilot projects.

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

Rural Dev – we will make sure that at least 5% of the funding Throughout of the various measures of the Rural Development Programme lifetime of the (2014-2020) is spent on projects that will specifically benefit RDP 2014-20 children and young people in rural areas (i.e. under 25 years).

CAFRE -In addition to student loan and student support Case-by-case systems, CAFRE may also provide Hardship funding to basis students who find themselves in financial hardship throughout the academic year and provides help for students on a lower income who may need extra financial support for their course and to stay in further education. Approximately 90 students received support from the hardship fund in 2014/15. A bid for 2015-16 has been submitted.

Leisure, Play We will meet the Executive’s commitments Forest Service (FS)– will seek opportunities to work in Dec 2017 and Culture set out in the NI Play and Leisure Policy and partnership with others to provide recreational, educational and to the child’s right to play’ enshrined in the leisure activities in forests. These are projects developed by ‘children’s convention’ UNCRC. partners principally councils which FS facilitate in line with the FS recreations strategy.

FS are currently agreeing licensing arrangements with partner organisations to increase play and leisure provision as follows; Playpark at Drum Manor forest in partnership with Cookstown DC,  Play area at Pomeroy forest in partnership with Cookstown DC,  Forest Adventure activity area at Donard forest in partnership with YMCA  Play sculpture project at Gortin Glen Forest Park in 21

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

partnership with Omagh DC  Fisherman’s path at Slievedoo forest in partnership with Strabane DC  Play area at Davagh forest in partnership with Cookstown DC  Giants Lair project in Slieve Gullion forest in partnership with Newry and Mourne DC  Improved cycling trails at Castle Archdale forest in partnership with Fermanagh DC

CAFRE- we will continue to provide a range of varied recreation facilities to meet the main interests of students. We will also engage with students on the future development of Throughout facilities. Loughry has developed a student recreation centre to the academic include a multi-gym. Greenmount currently have nine unique year clubs and societies. All CAFRE campuses run at least two outings per week with regard to student recreation e.g. trips to cinema, ice skating, bowling etc. In addition CAFRE engages with children & young people through ongoing delivery of its education programmes and also through Curriculum Support Examples of Community Education events and summer education programmes including the Ulster Youth Orchestra summer school and UFU Open Farm weekends annually in June. Accessible We will work closely with young people and ALL – the Department will continue to provide an Easyread Ongoing Information their representative organisations to ensure version to accompany those published reports that run to 30 and Services that we provide our information and services pages or more. in ways that meet their specific needs. We will continue to review our websites to make sure that the Annually

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

We aim to provide our key information in sites are appealing and accessible and that our on-line Plain English and / or Easyreads to suit the services suit the needs of our customer groups, including a specific needs of key groups too younger audience and those who may have a disability.

CAFRE - CAFRE will continually review the content of its Annually communication methods to ensure that it is appropriate for its target markets, including young people.

With regard to communication methods targeted at young Annually people, CAFRE will consult with current students as they are a good representation of CAFRE’s target market for those products.

All CAFRE information will be reviewed by the staff responsible Sept 2015 for the publication plus the Marketing Team on an annual basis to ensure that it is useful and interesting. Feedback will be sought from current students as they have the benefit of not only being the target market but also knowing CAFRE well enough to know to give detailed feedback on our content.

In September 2015 CAFRE will pilot an on-line accommodation Review registration form. This will be reviewed by a focus group made annually up of Student Representative Council members.

Forest Service – we will review and ensure that the customer Annually information on our web pages is accessible for young people; that it is easy to navigate and to understand.

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

Good health and safety precautions on CAFRE / SDG - We recognise that we have an important role farms are extremely important particularly to to play in supporting the HSENI and others to help raise protect children and young people. awareness of the dangers on farms with rural young people.

We will pro-actively seek opportunities to do so through our Ongoing farm visits, advisory sessions, CAFRE training and throughout development activities. academic semesters

Through the YFCU, will deliver a Farm Safety Programme Ongoing engaging with partners such as the Farm Safety Partnership throughout and HSENI in order to increase farm safety and first aid academic awareness/skills amongst its members and the rural semesters community.

CAFRE - Health and Safety training is and will continue to be As necessary incorporated in agriculture education programmes and students are made aware of statutory requirements.

CAFRE staff will raise the awareness of health and safety on Continuous farms with all customers, including young people. HSENI will be given the opportunity to speak to course participants at student induction and wherever appropriate throughout the duration of courses.

HSENI and DARD are currently working together on health and As safety initiatives e.g. Stop and Think SAFE, Working Safely opportunities With Slurry arise

Key Areas: What we want to happen: Actions we will take: By when:

We have a range of policies in place to DHR - We will pro-actively seek opportunities to raise As support our staff and their families; such as awareness of these policies with our staff through a range of opportunities parental leave, flexible, part-time and term- internal communications. arise time working arrangements and special leave. DHR - Information about support available for carers and the Ongoing availability of local childcare facilities and summer schemes is available on the intranet for our staff to access. We will continue to review and update this information and ensure it is brought to the attention of our staff.