Liverpool John Moore's University, Faculty of Health and Applied Social Sciences - News and Events http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/health/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 2 Apr 2012 10:40:58 +0000 Tue, 2 Apr 2012 10:42:00 +0000 Hand Hacked XML with Notepad Every student who graduated with a DipHE Paramedic Practice in 2011 gained employment with the North West Ambulance Service. Elli McKecknie, DipHE Paramedic Practice graduate, says of her new job:“The job is going really well. I feel so fortunate in this economic climate to not only have a job, but to have a job that I love. I don’t know what challenges the day will throw my way, each day brings something new and there aren’t many jobs like that”. “Of course there are the hard days” explains James, DipHE Paramedic Practice graduate. “The times when you have to tell someone that their loved one has died or to witness a cardiac arrest but to be able to save or change someone’s life, or help be a part of bringing a new life into the world, that’s a real privilege”. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/122851.htm 223CD3C6-25AE-49E4-A307-EE268C503193 Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:45:41 +0000 Rebekah Weaver, a nursing student from the Faculty, is working in the busiest trauma hospital in the world. Territorial Army soldier Corporal Rebekah Weaver, 22, has taken a year out of her course to deploy as a healthcare assistant at the British Military Hospital in Camp Bastion. The student is a soldier serving with 208 Field Hospital (Volunteers) which have taken command of the hospital over the past few months. Rebekah has been working on the wards in the intensive treatment unit. Of the experience, Rebekah said: "I'm looking forward to meeting the challenges and think it will be a positive life changing experience." 208 Field Hospital is one of 11 TA field hospitals in the British Army. It has centres in Liverpool, Blackpool, Ellesmere Port and Lancaster. Its Commanding Officer, Colonel Peter Jackson, said: "This is the second time in four years that Liverpool based 208 Field Hospital has been awarded the privilege of running the hospital at Camp Bastion. This time we will be managing a multi-national medical team which includes American and Danish medics. All of my key clinical departments will be run by Territorial Army clinicians who normally work in a like-for-like job in local NHS hospitals. It is a partnership which works well for both the Army and the NHS and we are extremely grateful for the public's continued support." http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/122852.htm 223CD3C6-25FE-49E5-B317-EE188C503192 Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:45:41 +0000 Liverpool John Moores University nursing student and student mentor, Adam Reilly, has been shortlisted for a prestigious nursing scholarship award offered by the UK’s leading charity for nurses. Adam, a second year nursing student, was selected from dozens of hopefuls from around the UK who applied for the recently-launched Cavell Nurses’ Trust Scholarship Awards. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/122182.htm 223CD3C6-25AE-49E4-A307-EE188C503192 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:52:41 +0000 The Faculty recently featured in the Royal College of Nursing publication, the Nursing Standard. The article focused on the student mentoring service (SMS) which was established in September 2007 in the Faculty. The service involves Level 5 and 6 undergraduate students undertaking training so they may provide appropriate support to Level 4 students. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/122183.htm 223CD3C6-2781-49E4-A407-EF188C973191 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:52:31 +0000 The Ghana Ministry of Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LJMU at a ceremony held at the Ghana Ministry of Health in the country’s capital Accra on 23 September 2011. The MoU will see the Faculty of Health and Applied Social Sciences facilitate the training and development of nurses and midwives in Ghana. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/121060.htm 255C22E7-DC3E-43E6-AB5D-75E91F94A90F Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:59:33 +0100 The Royal College of Nursing’s student and acting education advisor Gill Robertson said universities had significantly improved their support of students. There will and always should be a bit of attrition in nursing courses. There will be some people who get out there and realise it’s not for them, she said. But in many universities there has been an emphasis on how to lessen attrition, whether it’s more academic support and tutorials or pastoral care of students. Students have sometimes found it difficult to contact their tutors when out on placements - but universities have started to address this issue. Ms Robertson pointed out that a rule change allowing students to continue their studies after returning from maternity leave might have helped improve the attrition rate. She cited Glamorgan, Huddersfield and Liverpool John Moores as universities with particularly good pastoral care. To read the full article visit www.nursingtimes.net/whats-new-in-nursing/news-topics/nursing-education/huge-fall-in-nurses-dropping-out-of-nursing-courses/5035504.article http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120937.htm 1EEB9DC9-2516-417A-A51F-28C5F21DF829 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:51 +0100 The Learn Together partnership has recently awarded the Faculty with a contract to run the ‘Step up to Social Work’ programme, which is funded by the Children’s workforce development council. The course, which will commence with a cohort of approximately 20 students in February next year, provides trainees with a masters in social work, alongside intensive hands on experience and enables coursework and practical experience to happen simultaneously. It has been specifically designed as a new way for career changers to train to become qualified social workers. The challenging course is designed to be completed within an 18 month period as opposed to the usual 24 months so the level of commitment expected is high. A lot will be expected of candidates but they will be fully supported throughout with one-to-one support within the workplace as well as having access to tutors in the Faculty. In addition, trainees receive at least £15,000 a year to support them through their training. The programme does not follow a traditional route into the social work profession in that students are work-based rather than campus based throughout the period of their training. On successful completion of the programme trainees qualify as a social worker and are awarded a masters degree. Dave Hicks, Professional Lead for Social Work, said:‘ We’re delighted to be selected to deliver this programme and we’re particularly looking forward to working in partnership with Local Authorities.’ http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120909.htm 75468226-D0C5-47A8-A239-22A5D7E22A8C Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:51 +0100 Alice visited various hospitals on her visit and worked in villages that don’t have access to hospitals by conducting observations on individuals based in the chief of the village’s house. She also got to watch theatre- an eye opening experience without keyhole surgery and when patients have to hold their own drips. Dehydration and malnutrition were the main conditions I came across, along with rashes that I had not seen before because they are only found in tropical climates, explained Alice One 7 year old I conducted observations on weighed only 15kg and had a high temperature, she was taken to hospital on a motorbike only to find out she was 477th in a queue of other needy patients .Fortunately she was treated at one of the Children’s hospitals which functions thanks to aid received after many of the country’s hospitals had been destroyed during the Khmer Rouge period. It’s strange to think that the job I am training for doesn’t even exist in Cambodia. The ambulance is essentially a bus with limited medicine on it. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120911.htm D4E790E1-D14A-48FA-9904-FB2D5B4094E2 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:50 +0100 October sees the launch of a new Core Skills Framework across NHS organisations in the region. The Faculty were appointed to provide educational consultancy for this important partnership project that will have such a positive impact. NHS organisations recognise the need to standardise statutory and mandatory training. The Cheshire and Merseyside Teaching Primary Care Trust Collaborative, together with the strategic support of NHS North West and the Skills for Health Academy, produced and adopted a Core Skills Framework to address this. In order to achieve consistent, universally recognised training, the framework determines a standard set of learning outcomes and delivery standards for 9 core skills required by organisations. These skills are recognised throughout the healthcare sector and include, for example, infection prevention & control, fire safety and conflict resolution. Rationalising standards in this way will reduce training duplication and facilitate easier movement of staff within the NHS, thus promoting greater workforce flexibility, whilst freeing up capacity of Learning and Development functions within organisations. The Faculty were selected by the partnership to provide educational consultancy advice, guidance and expertise in curriculum planning and educational design in order to ensure educational quality and support the practical delivery of the framework. Upon appointment, the Faculty facilitated workshops to ensure that the materials produced reflected the needs of the organisations involved. The packages are, therefore, based on a core consensus reached by working closely with specific subject experts from across NHS organisations in the North West. The sharing of best practice in this way has resulted in an end product that meets required learning outcomes, whilst still providing enough flexibility in delivery to address the differences within organisations. “The success of this project is undoubtedly down to the collaborative approach taken,” says Menna Harland, Academic Lead, Practice Learning “it’s resulted in a package that is flexible enough to work within our varied organisations, whilst still assuring quality and standards of training to meet the needs of employers”. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120912.htm F60B800B-453B-4A38-8DF1-4DA4B7E0D4C2 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:49 +0100 The Faculty has been undertaking a new approach to nurse training in the area of learning disabilities by setting up and involving a Learning Disability Collaborative group in Faculty teaching. The group, which was set up by Anita Maestri Banks, the Faculty’s Learning Disability Co-ordinator, has helped to inform and provide nursing students with a curriculum that has been designed by individuals with learning difficulties who use care services. Anita set the group up by approaching a variety of local community groups who work with individuals with learning difficulties, these included MOWLL, People First and PACTT. By involving individuals with learning disabilities in this way we ensure we are training our nurses to provide the type of care that these individuals expect and deserve, explained Anita. The group aims to inform current teaching, improve and enhance curriculum design and communicate the importance of individualised care. While knowledge and understanding of some different learning disabilities is important it is crucial that we don’t lose sight of caring for the individual and their own specific needs, rather than labelling someone with certain learning disabilities and making assumptions of the care they require. Individuals from the group run workshops for second and third year nursing students and undertake role-play scenarios to demonstrate effective and ineffective interventions. Anita is currently in the process of rolling this type of informed teaching out to the other disciplines as part of her Faculty role. Individuals or organisations who would like to get involved in this valuable work can contact Anita at A.M.Maestri-banks@ljmu.ac.uk or visit the Faculty website at www.ljmu.ac.uk/health to find out more. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120916.htm 3824BEDA-86F9-49D0-BAE2-1445BB71E2CD Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:48 +0100 With the government announcing its commitment to recruiting 4,200 additional health visitors by 2015 and subsequent NHS North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) commissions for new health visitors, the Faculty has developed a unique new training option that will help play a part in achieving this challenging aim. The announcement to recruit more health visitors was made by Minister for Public Health, Anne Milton, at a nursing conference early in 2011, where the Minister stated: ‘‘Developing the health visitor workforce is critical to rejuvenating the service so it offers a rapid response for urgent issues, access to child rearing expertise and the resource to deliver ongoing support. That’s why we’re making the money available to recruit 4,200 health visitors and improve the training they get. As part of this national drive, the Faculty was commissioned to recruit 18 new health visitors and responded by developing a two year MSc with Nursing Registration programme, followed by the one year PGDip Specialist Community Public Health Nursing course, to offer an accessible option to those postgraduates interested in the profession and to offer an innovative training solution to help meet the increasing demand for health visitors in the years ahead. This challenging programme, the first of its kind in the region, offers a unique opportunity to postgraduates with a commitment to a career in nursing and health visiting. The postgraduate nursing qualification is one route of a wider nursing programme which includes an undergraduate BSc route. The programme received substantial praise from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and was commended on the organisation of placement activities and partnership across the North West region, student support by practice learning support systems, excellent systems for equality and diversity and service user, carer and student involvement in informing the curriculum. The NMC were also pleased to see the successful production of a joint practice document, produced in partnership with other Higher Education Institutions in the region. To find out more about this programme or any of our courses visit www.ljmu.ac.uk/health or contact the Faculty Admissions team on 0151 231 5829. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120917.htm 6EB6DA10-B421-4827-926B-70EBA3CCF624 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:48 +0100 Terry Dray, Director of LJMUs Graduate Development Centre (GDC) recently met Geraldine Cunningham, Head of the Royal College of Nursing Learning and Development Institute to discuss nursing matters and the LJMU World of Work (WoW®) Programme. The WoW programme is unique to LJMU and aims to ensure that every student is equipped with the skills they need to stand out from the crowd and successfully engage in the world of work, either because they possess skills which are highly valued by employers or because they are well equipped to set themselves up in their own business. Key transferrable skills and work-related learning have been developed as part of every undergraduate degree programme and students develop a deeper understanding of themselves and how they want to make the transition into the world of work through the programme. Terry commented: As WoW is co-designed and co-delivered with employers, professional bodies and trade unions, it’s been so useful to get such valuable feedback from an organisation like the RCN. They have completely understood how we are trying to support our student nurses through the WoW Programme and have agreed to support us in a number of ways, for example by providing WoW Skills Certificate verifiers, allowing the GDC to run a session on WoW/employability at the RCM congress 2012, and assisting with WoW promotional activities featuring Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN. Dr Peter carter said: The RCN values the focus on emotional skills developed through the WoW Skills Certificate. Nursing is about caring for people when they are often at their most vulnerable and can often be a job that asks people to go above and beyond for those in need. The experience of nursing students can be enhanced by completing the WoW Skills Certificate and will really improve their chances of securing a job when they finish their course. Other nursing professionals quick to recognise the benefits of WoW include Joanne McDonnell, Head of Nursing, 5 Boroughs Partnership Foundation Trust, who states: LJMU are really ahead of the game with the WoW Skills Certificate, they are helping people to prepare for the world of work. I’ve had colleagues who have received 400 applications for one post so you really have got to stand out so I can’t understand why people wouldn’t do the certificate. The Faculty’s first wave of WoW graduates are now entering the workforce and are benefiting from the added skills that WoW has given them. Catherine Elder, One of the nursing students who has reaped the benefits remarks: “As a student nurse I thought I wouldn’t have much time to complete WoW, however after going on the WOW bootcamp I was able to complete the entire process successfully and it has enabled me to stand out from other student nurses applying for jobs as well as understand myself fully. If you are an employer and would like to find out more about the WoW programme, please contact Deborah Pownall, Manager of the Brokerage Team, on 0151 231 8048 or d.pownall@ljmu.ac.uk. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120919.htm 6F3D0787-314C-4DC6-9B9D-D970BB44C150 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:47 +0100 With deafness affecting one in seven adults and a North West adult deaf population of 8,000, it’s alarming to hear that some studies show prevalence rates of mental health problems in deaf people may be around twice those of hearing people. According to the Deaf Mental Health Charter, commissioned by Sign and the Mental Health Foundation, the current evidence base suggests that prevalence of mental health problems in deaf people is significantly higher than that in the general population, yet one third of deaf people avoid seeing their GP and only 40% find their GP Practice accessible, compared to 88% of wheelchair users. Clearly there is a huge gap in service provision that needs to be addressed. Many people with a hearing disability experience a lack of understanding and appropriate response from health and social care services when they develop mental health problems”, states the charter. For this reason, the NHS North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) sought a service provider to deliver an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies in Primary Care (IAPT) course specifically for deaf people which aims to increase access to mental health services for people who are deaf. IAPT courses have one principal aim, to support Primary Care Trusts in implementing National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders. July 2011 saw the Faculty awarded with the SHA contract to deliver this unique IAPT course for deaf students. The course, which is the first of its kind in the country, will see its first cohort commence in January 2012. The Faculty were appointed for the flexible and realistic approach demonstrated by previous work with the SHA and the successful delivery of the already well established IAPT course which has now been running for four years. The Faculty was also recognised for its willingness to engage with a number of organisations in order to initiate and support the delivery of this initiative. This is not the first time the Faculty has pioneered new versions of the course, with June 2011 welcoming the first intake of the only IAPT course for military veterans in the North West. The course, which takes one year to complete, trains students to become psychological wellbeing practitioners within primary care settings where course graduates will go on to work with common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. Students can train at degree or postgraduate level and will be taught the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to work within primary care settings and deliver a range of low intensity, evidence based interventions, including cognitive behavioural interventions, collaborative case management and social interventions. The cohort will consist of profoundly deaf students who will be taught by a newly appointed honorary lecture who is fluent in British Sign Language (BSL). While facilities such as hearing loops and large print versions of documents were already in place, the Faculty has now made further measures to enhance the support for this cohort of students such as providing additional safety measures and identifying members of administrative and library service staff that are fluent in BSL. ‘We’re elighted to be able to offer this much needed course, says Lisa Woods, Professional lead for Mental Health currently exists. To find out more about IAPT or any of our courses visit www.ljmu.ac.uk/health or contact the Faculty Admissions team on 0151 231 5829. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120923.htm D9B0B146-AB9A-4FBC-98B4-77E1ED5FD836 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:47 +0100 Trading Places - Paramedic Students Gain Valuable Experience Across the Atlantic A new wave of staff and students from the Faculty and Centennial College in Toronto, Canada, spent two weeks experiencing Paramedic training and practice across the Atlantic as part of a Student Paramedic International Exchange programme. The 2011 visit builds on an ongoing relationship between the two institutions who have forged a strong relationship since the programme launched in 2009. The project has been student-led from the outset and has come about purely because of the initiative, drive and willingness to learn that the students involved have demonstrated. The programme enables students to gain an international perspective in their field of work and highlights how international ambulance services and educational institutes can work together to provide better patient care and personal development through sharing best practice, clinical skills and experience, explains Dave Taylor, Faculty Professional Lead for Paramedic Practice. The 2011 programme kicked off with LJMU students experiencing a range of hospital, emergency medical and rapid response placements, in addition to air ambulance and fire service placements which students would not normally experience in the UK. A placement in an air ambulance is not something I thought I would experience as a student, says Dan Griffiths, a final year paramedic student who benefited from the programme I’m really thankful to the exchange for giving me this incredible opportunity. It was a real confidence boost to see that I could apply the knowledge and skills I have learnt in the UK to situations in another country, added Dan. Students even arranged to undertake extra placement shifts so that they could maximise their learning during the valuable experience. We had a debrief at the end of every job to discuss what we would have done, explains Ben Davison, a final year Paramedic Student who coordinated the 2011 programme both sets of students learnt a lot from the different approaches we shared. On the second leg of the exchange, the Canadian students tested their skills out in the Faculty’s Paramedic Practice Suite, which utilises simulation equipment designed to replicate ‘real life’ emergency conditions. Staff and students from both universities also took time out from their busy itinerary to enjoy afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor. Placements within the region’s Hyperbaric Centre were arranged, so that both sets of students could undertake and experience a combined trauma based ‘major incident’. North West Ambulance Service continued to demonstrate their support and commitment to the project by providing a range of emergency placements on frontline emergency vehicles and in the regional control centre. Canadian programme leader, Walter Tavares, commented that: “The trip has exceeded all of our expectations and has witnessed a shared vision of improved patient care develop between the two institutions. We would like to express our thanks to LJMU for extending such a warm and hospitable welcome and we look forward to future visits.” http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120925.htm 008FE2D9-1D14-48F5-9B24-2449BE7D0430 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:46 +0100 Julie Connolly, Senior Lecturer for the Health and Social Care for Families, Individuals and Communities course, received the ‘Amazing Personal Tutor Award’ at this year’s Liverpool Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Awards. Over 200 members of staff were nominated for this year’s Liverpool Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Awards and the nominations prove that inspiring teaching and learner support is crucial to delivering an outstanding student experience. All of the judges were impressed by the students’ thoughtful, reflective accounts on why staff make such an impact on the student experience. Students want to say thank you to the people who have changed their lives, says LSU Vice President Jemma Blease-Dudley. Everyone goes to Julie for advice. She is the first point of call in any emergency. Julie’s help and presence on our course is priceless. - Student on Julie Connolly. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120929.htm 547E6DB0-95AA-49A0-B884-E22FF89326CE Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:45 +0100 When Faculty graduate Alice Pulford set off to Malawi on a gap year placement, she had no idea that just one year later she would end up setting up, funding and managing an orphanage and transform the path of not only her own life, but the lives of many Malawi orphans. Alice’s drive to undertake a gap year in Malawi was inspired by her grandfather who had carried out aid work in India. When he died shortly before Alice finished school, she was determined to follow in his footsteps and help make a difference to peoples’ lives. Alice initially went to Malawi on a teaching placement but it was whilst undertaking other volunteer work in Area 49 in Lilongwe Sector 4, Malawi, that Alice realised this wasn’t going to be a typical gap year experience, she was in this for life. In Area 49, Alice witnessed the support and kindness that local families had shown towards the hundreds in the area. Orphans who, without the kindness of these families, would not even have a roof over their head. Yet most of these families struggled to feed, clothe and care for themselves. Like much of sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDs epidemic has left many Malawi children without one or both parents. High death rates from pregnancy and birth complications, combined with poverty and poor health have added to this number, leaving somewhere between one to two million children orphaned, dependant on begging for food or money or the kindness of a family in order to survive. One in five of these children will not even live to see their fifth birthday. When Alice first met the children of area 49 they were gathered on a wide dirt track where they would meet every afternoon to have supervised porridge, education and games. Darkness arrives quickly in Malawi and as the night drew in Alice noticed that the children were not going home. When Alice asked the local families where the children went, Alice learnt that they had nowhere to go. The dirt track was their home. Alice knew then that she was going to raise funds and return to the area to help support local community projects to help care for the orphaned children. An opportunity that couldn’t be missed It was on Alice’s second trip over that she came across the opportunity she had been waiting for. “I’d raised funds and gone over to build a toilet block for one of the schools when I came across a derelict, unfinished building consisting of just three walls and foundations,” Alice explained “The building had not been completed because of political unrest in the area but the family who owned the land had always hoped it could be transformed into a safe haven for the orphaned children to sleep, rest and play, but had never had the funds to see the project through. I saw an opportunity to give something back to the incredible people I had met and started investigating how much it would cost to convert the structure into an orphanage by getting quotes from local builders”. Alice set up a registered charity and website to inform people about the project and used social networking sites, along with the support of family and friends, to spread the word about her aim to raise the £6,500 needed to transform the derelict building into a safe and secure home for the orphans. Using the quote, Alice was able to break the building renovations down into smaller components and created a wish list, on her Facebook page “People could buy a door, a bed or some cement and feel that they had contributed something tangible to the project” says Alice. She also put her organisational skills to great use, setting up various fundraising initiatives to support her vision. As the funds came in Alice got renovations underway and in August 2009 she achieved her goal and watched 20 orphaned girls, aged between six and sixteen, settle into their new home, Tilinanu. These children now had a roof over their head and a place that they could rest, play and receive healthcare and education. Alice recalls how “the girls were trying to take their mosquito nets down and hide them under their beds because they had never had one. They were trying to hide their individual towels because they had never personally owned anything. For the first few days they showered at least 4 to 5 times a day as most of them had never had running water” Building a brighter future Alice then returned to her second year at university where she carried on her studies alongside running the orphanage from afar and raising funds to take the project further. The orphanage has since gone from strength to strength, trebling in size and expanding to provide a safe haven for a total of 34 girls, each of whom has had the course of their life changed forever. Two of the girls have just completed secondary school and will go on to become secretaries, a job they would not have been able to achieve without the education provided by the orphanage. Thanks to the kind and generous donations since opening, Alice has been able to build a community centre, medical clinic and additional shower blocks. She organised construction of ‘the great wall of Tilinanu’, the name fondly given to the 8 ft wall surrounding the orphanage and keeping the girls safe. Alice also bought and planted fruit trees and vegetables to help the community to become more self sufficient. The Tilinanu charity finances its own porridge fund which feeds an additional 175 children. The government provides the oats but Alice and her team raise the funds to provide the staff and utensils to cook and serve it and ensure the children’s weight, height and health are regularly monitored. The orphanage’s large communal space is also used by local children and their carers as a place to receive education, guidance and support. As with many charities, sustaining the project isn’t easy and requires constant fund raising by Alice and her team which include mother Yvonne and sister Nina. Auctions, curry nights, raffles and car boot sales have all helped sustain the growth of the project. Social media and the website have helped source sponsorship for each of the girls’: ‘£3.81 keeps a roof over a child’s head for a week – that cost includes food, clothing, education, books and exams” explains Alice. Clearly Tilinanu has made a huge impact to the lives of these 34 girls and to the other hundreds of children who receive food and support from the project but there is still so much more that Alice is determined to achieve for the orphans of Tilinanu, all set out in her 7 year plan to achieve sustainability. Alice is clear that her long term goal is for a self sufficient community without reliance on these funds. Alice wants to buy a maize mill to allow the community to provide for themselves and trade with other communities, sewing machines to allow for the production of clothing and chickens and more fruit trees to provide a sustainable source of food. Alice is eager to point out that the orphanage doesn’t aim for a British Standard of Living “But rather just to give them a helping hand to living a life that children should be living. We still want them to learn their basic agricultural life skills but at an age where they can achieve their education first and live a life free of worry about their next meal, education, fees and health”. With this achievement under her belt at the tender age of 22, it’s easy to see why Alice won runner up of the 2010 Britain’s Most Dynamisante Woman of the Year ran by YOU and Clarins and also gained the award for 'outstanding student volunteer' at the Liverpool Students’ Union ‘LSU loves you awards’. Alice has certainly put her Working with Children and Young People degree to great use “The skills I learnt on the course have been put into practice out in Malawi and have really helped influence the lives of children and young people for the better’ explains Alice, who is currently working at the orphanage full time ‘I am so thankful to my tutors for all the support they gave and continue to give me and to the course for helping to clarify that this is what I want to be doing with my life”. Here in the Faculty we think Alice is a real inspiration. We bet there are 34 girls in Africa who’d agree. To support Alice’s work or find out more about the project, visit lovetilinanu.org.uk http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120932.htm E7FEE30A-A6DA-481A-80BB-6A01D029252F Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:00:41 +0100 Community Finance for London - Scaling up the Credit Union and Social Finance Sector, is a new research report commissioned by Santander that was launched in The House of Commons in July 2011. It focuses on how to develop affordable financial services in low-income communities in London with the solutions it outlines intended as a blueprint for the sector in general. The report was written by Paul A Jones of the Faculty’s Research Unit for Financial Inclusion (RUFI) in collaboration with Policis, an independent consultancy specialising in evidence based policy development. RUFI was invited by Santander, one of the worlds’ largest banks, to bid for funding for this important research and was successful in securing the financial backing after submitting a competitive tender. There is cross-party consensus that the major challenge for the credit union sector is the need to modernise and to achieve sufficient scale in order to offer affordable financial services to a wide range of households on low and modest incomes. This major new strategic research study addresses the way forward in building scale and efficiency and in modernising the sector whilst maintaining the community finance ethos and vision that defines and differentiates it from the mainstream. It was developed in collaboration with leading London credit unions and key stakeholders including the Department of Work and Pensions, the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd, social housing providers and local government representatives. Rob Hailey, Senior Public Policy Manager at Santander UK plc, said: "We are delighted to support this important piece of research into the community finance sector. Though focused on London, many of its recommendations will be relevant for credit unions and others across the country. We hope it will contribute to the strengthening of the sector and ultimately to reducing financial exclusion." The report explores the fit between need for affordable financial services and the capacity of community finance in the capital. It investigates the nature of the challenges facing the sector in scaling up to meet need and to achieve scale efficiencies. It also reveals how credit unions and social finance institutions are strengthening the social and economic cohesion of local neighbourhoods and communities. Speaking at the launch of the report, Paul said: “Credit unions now have a new opportunity to expand their reach throughout London. Success will depend, however, on a step-change in their organisation and management. The report calls for a new radical collaborative approach to credit union development. It describes a vision of credit unions and social lenders working in partnership with Central Government, local authorities, social housing providers, money advice agencies and other locally-based organisations in order to ensure that they can provide quality and competitive financial services at affordable rates whilst actively contributing to the local social and economic development of the city”. Paul has a background in community development in both the voluntary and local authority sectors and has worked as a senior lecturer in the Faculty since 1998. He created RUFI in 2006 to undertake academic, action and evaluative research in a wide range of areas related to poverty, financial exclusion and the development of financial services for lower income households. Since the initial launch of this report, Paul has presented its findings at several high profile events including the World Credit Union Conference in Glasgow and the International Co-operative Alliance research conference at the University of Helsinki. He will also be attending a conference run by London Councils to disseminate this influential research. http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/HEA/news/120936.htm A7B3AAFF-FAC0-4A56-B04E-D1782708C9AF Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:13:54 +0100