The College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section

NICE: Consultation- Strategies to prevent unintentional injuries among under 15's

Please see the draft scope (65KB *) for the following Public Health Programme: Strategies, policies and national programmes to prevent unintentional injuries among children and young people aged under 15.
The consultation on this draft scope will take place between Monday 3rd November and Monday 1st December 2008. Please send any comments to our chair Lousie Nicholl louise.nicholl@awp.nhs.uk by Friday 28th November who will collate and respond on behalf of the specialist section.

2008/2009 Membership Renewal

All members should have received their 2008/09 renewal forms. If you have not or are still experiencing problems then contact membership services directly.
Shona Ianson who will be the new membership link following the AGM.
A reminder that if you are still paying by standing order this has not been in operation over the past year and membership can only be accepted through cheque payment.

We appreciate members patience over the delay in this years membership renewal and value members going commitment to the Specialist Section.

Recruitment of Community members to the national guidance development group on preventing unintentional injuries among children and young people

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is looking for applications from members of the public (aged 16+) with experience or knowledge of unintentional injuries among children and young people under 15 to become 'community' members of the Programme Development Group. This group will develop national guidance on strategies, policies and national programmes to prevent unintentional injuries among under 15s. Community members may be individuals with personal experience of the issues relating to unintentional injuries among children and young people, or people from voluntary or community organisations run by or directly representing the interests of children and young people, parents or carers, or specific communities.

'Community' members of this group will play a key role in making sure that the views, experiences and interests of children and young people and/or their parents or carers inform the guidance's development and its recommendations to the NHS, local authorities and wider audiences.

We would welcome applications for 'community' membership from people who have experience or knowledge of unintentional injury and its prevention among children and young people, for example, as someone who:

• has been injured as a result of an accident when under the age of 15 or
• who is the parent or carer, relative or partner of someone who has been injured as a result of an accident when under the age of 15 or
• who has participated in campaigns, activities or the development of plans to prevent or reduce unintentional injuries among children and young people or
• who works (paid or unpaid) for a voluntary or community organisation run by or directly representing the interests of children and young people, parents or carers, or specific communities

Public health professionals will be well represented on the group so we are looking for people without this type of professional background to apply for 'community' membership.

If you are interested, or know of anyone who would like to become a community memeber of the development group please send your responses to the specialist section chair Louise - NichollLouise.Nicholl@awp.nhs.uk

Conference 2009

Dear Member

It is with regret that I have to inform you that we are cancelling this year’s COT Specialist Section, Children, Young People and Families National Conference on the 17th November, due to insufficient applications at this stage.  I apologise for any inconvenience caused to members.

We are aware that for some people the delay in membership renewals, which we take responsibility for, has deterred members from applying and again, we can only apologise for this. I know from my own experience that securing funding from employers for one day national conferences can be difficult as training courses are seen as a priority. I am also aware that the recent global credit crunch means that previously, where people may have funded themselves, they are perhaps being more cautious about how they spend their money.

I would like to thank the committee for all their hard work over the past months to secure a programme that featured speakers with evidence based interventions as well as those who would help us reflect and improve our own practice. I would also like to thank all the speakers who put themselves forward and hope that we will be able to call on you again for other events. Finally, my thanks to those on the committee who endeavoured to keep the costs low, in order to make the day as accessible to as many members as possible.

It has been a difficult decision to make. I know that as a committee we always value the opportunities to network with other children’s Occupational Therapists and the conference is a learning environment even in the coffee breaks. However, in weighing up the losses we would have made, I felt that we had no other choice but to cancel at this stage.

We are already planning next year’s conference in September and this will take the form of the more traditional two day event. If you have any comments about what you would like at the conference and/or about what has happened this year then please do not hesitate to contact me at Louise.nicholl@awp.nhs.uk or at this year’s AGM which is being held in London on Monday 17th November 2008, at COT Headquarters at 3 p.m.

Yours sincerely

Louise Nicholl
Chair

2009 Children, Young People and Families AGM

This years AGM will be held on the 17th November 08, at COT Headquaters, London Bridge at 3pm.
See Agenda (14KB *)
We welcome as many members as possible to hear from the NEC what they have been doing for members this year and our plans for 2009.

URGENT!!!

We need your skills on the NEC for the

Role of Treasurer

Have you got a methodical way of thinking, have an eye for detail, and can ensure decisions are followed up - yes of course you have because you are a children's Occupational Therapist. In addition are you in a position to contribute to the smooth running of the Specialist Section by being part of a lively committee?

Following the resignation of the our last treasurer who brought our finances up to a very healthy position, we are currently without a treasurer on the National Committee and in need of a person to step into this essential position as soon as possible.

The main role of the treasurer is to have a general financial oversight for the committee. Financial planning and budgeting is the responsibility of the Chair and treasurer, with the support of the whole committee, as a way of ensuring that we spend the Specialist Section's money on what our members have identified as priorities in the business plan. The treasurer also needs to hold the evidence that we are spending money on running the organisation effectively through banking and record keeping of invoices.

You will work most closely with the Chair, the Regional reps coordinator and the conference planning committee.

You will also be required to be one of the 3 signatories on the committee.

There is free training provided by COT available on the 3rd Dec 2008.

If you are interested in this role then please contact Louise Nicholl, at Louise.nicholl@awp.nhs.uk

Membership Renewal

We apologise for a delay this year in processing membership renewal for 2008/09.
This is due to changes in the membership form. Members will be receiving renewal forms shortly.
If you have any questions in the meantime please contact the specialist section chair – Louise Nicholl.

NEC Vacancies

Do you want to contribute to the development of your profession at a national level?
Have you got good organisational and communication skills?
Do you like working part of a dynamic team?

We are currently looking for members to join the COT Specialist Section Children,Young People and Families National Executive Commitee. This is a great opportunity to contribute to your CPD, build on your strengths, and develop new skills whilst working as part of a team. There is a variety of roles that will become vacant shortly including support to the assistant regional co ordinator, assistant CAMHS rep membership link, and treasurer, and we will be voting on these at the AGM 17^th November 2008.

If you do not feel ready to be a full member then you can also join as a co opted member where you can be in a supportive role for up to a year and then apply for a full NEC member.

We meet 4 times a year (one of which is an away weekend) however the majority of our business is done via e mail. Location of the NEC meetings depends on the members. ALL expenses are reimbursed by CYPF.

There are role descriptions for all the current full NEC members available. Look at the business plan on the website and journal to see if there are projects you feel you could contribute to. There is training available provided by COT for specific and more general roles. If you interested in any of the roles or want to be a coopted member then please contact Louise Nicholl (01225 786730 or Louise.nicholl@awp.nhs.uk)

Nomination form (16KB *)

Membership Payment - Have you cancelled your Standing Order?

Since 2007, COT have not accepted membership payments by standing order. Some members however, are still paying by Standing Order (as well as by cheque), so please check that this is not you! If you do still have a Standing Order set up, please contact your bank to cancel this as soon as possible. All membership payments should be made via cheques payable to COT SS CYPF.

Clinical Advisors Posts

• Have you been qualified as an occupational therapist for more than 5 years?


• Have you worked in your area of children's services for at least 3 years?

If you can answer 'yes' to these two questions then read on...

Children, Young People and Families Specialist Section needs you!

We need therapists who can demonstrate experience and sound knowledge of their particular field of practice to:

• Provide information and opinion to consultations from national and professional agencies
• Inform responses to queries from members providing representative and evidence based information.
• Support the work of the NEC and the COT Practice Development Manager responsible for Children.
• Identify skills required and training needs for your area of practice;
• Inform the development of excellent clinical practice for your area of practice.

The COT Specialist Section Children, Young People and Families is the first specialist section to develop these roles. You can be contribute to us developing benchmarks for good practice.

The Specialist Section will provide induction, training and ongoing mentorship for these exciting and dynamic posts. These roles will provide a significant contribution to your CPD portfolio so what are you waiting for?

The specialist section will provide induction, training and mentorship for these exciting and dynamic posts, as well as help you to use this opportunity to evidence your CPD portfolio.

Interested in finding out more???

Please contact Louise Nicholl or Jackie Casey to find out more.

The specialist section NEC looks forward to answering any queries and to receiving your application.