Fast Track Children's Hearings Pilot : Final Report of the Evaluation of the Pilot

The Scottish Executive decided that a Fast Track approach to the children's hearings system would be introduced in early 2003 on a pilot basis in selected parts of Scotland. The aim was to improve practice and outcomes with respect to the ways that the hearings system and associated services dealt with young people who persistently offend. Particular objectives were to: • reduce the time taken both overall and at each stage of decision-making • promote more comprehensive assessments which include appraisals of offending risk • ensure that all young people who persistently offend and who require an appropriate programme have access to one • reduce re-offending rates as a result of the concerted efforts made in such cases

Fast track children's hearing pilot: final report of the evaluation of the pilot

This report presents key findings of the evaluation of the Fast Track children’s hearings pilot in Scotland1. The research was undertaken by staff at the Universities of Glasgow, Stirling and Strathclyde between February 2003 and January 2005

The New Zealand Police dogs : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Veterinary Studies in Animal Science at Massey University

This study aimed to identify characteristics of dogs to be used by the New Zealand Police Section for their dog breeding and selection programs. Only one scientific paper has been published on selecting dogs specifically for police dog work. Currently, no statistical analysis has been conducted on any of the New Zealand Police Dog Section's data. A questionnaire on all aspects of police dog work was sent to the 120 operational police dog handlers working in New Zealand. The majority of handlers rated their dog high for a number of traits and areas of police dog work but their ideal dog rated very high for the same traits. The handlers ranked from highest to lowest the traits 'prey drive', 'trainability', 'activity', 'obedience', 'playfulness', 'independence' and 'aggressiveness'. This gives an indication of the relative emphasis that should be given to the traits in a selection program. Improved stud selection, better monitored foster homes, more consistency between regions and the training centre and having more dogs for selection are improvements that can be made. Annual reports from dog trials for the years 1997 to 2000 were analysed by ANOVA to enable the calculation of repeatabilities for each activity. The activities 'heel free', 'retrieve', 'down stay', 'sendaway', 'recall and redirection', 'distance control', 'speak on command', 'track', 'article search', 'passive attack', 'chase and recall', 'chase and attack', and 'control' were measured in all four annual reports. The activity 'search and escort' was measured in 1999 and 2000. The highest repeatability (0.48) was for 'speak on command' and the lowest repeatability (0.03) was 'track'. There were insufficient data to enable the estimation of heritability values. During the annual trials each activity should be separated into handler performance and dog performance to give an indication of the performance of the dog alone. If the traits essential for each trial activity were identified and measured when the activity was being tested then a repeatability study on the trait alone could be conducted. This report identifies several areas where changes in trait definition and the collection of information could be used to improve the efficiency of the police dog breeding program

Measures for assessing the impact of ICT use on attainment

"Building on ImpaCT2, this study aims to design a measure or measures capable of tracking 'snapshot' data, such that it will be possible to monitor the development of ICT use to support attainment" -- page 4

Homebuyer Education and Counseling: A Start-Up Guide

This guide combines material from various sources in order to provide the best summary of homebuyer education programs. The enclosed samples range from job descriptions for home ownership counselors to Homebuyers Club schedules

Using Data in Multi-Agency Collaborations: Guiding Performance to Ensure Accountability and Improve Programs

A growing number of foundation- and government-funded initiatives are bringing together diverse partners within communities -- to create screening and referral systems, to coordinate and deliver services and to advocate for policy changes -- all in the interest of serving clients more effectively. Many of these efforts emphasize the use of evidence-based programs, and there is increasing recognition that to be successful, collaborating agencies must work together to collect relevant data and use it to inform and improve their programming

Raising standards, improving lives: the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills Strategic Plan 2011–2015

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection