The page referred to has been replaced by the Education and Engagement section of ParliNet.

 

There’s a useful page on the intranet (here) which tells Members and Staff how you can co-operate effectively with teachers and others working with young people. It’s part of Parliament’s Education Service and has links to a range of resources.

Here’s what it says:

The Education Service runs training events to support the teaching of political literacy and the work of Parliament in schools and informal learning organisations around the UK. These events often include talks by MPs and Peers.

Speaking to trainee teachers

Some universities accross the UK run teacher training courses that relate to Parliament, such as Modern Studies, Social Sciences or Humanities subjects. Trainee teachers on these courses can apply to spend a day in Parliament, learning more about its work and how to communicate the role of Parliament in the classroom.

If your constituents will be visiting Westminster then the Education Service will contact you in advance to give you details of the visit

Teachers’ Institute

Each year Parliament’s Education Service runs a Teachers’ Institute – a week-long intensive programme held at the Houses of Parliament. The event provides teachers and other education professionals with a more detailed understanding of how Parliament works, so they can take it back to the classroom. Teachers’ Institute is designed for teachers of Politics, General Studies, History, Citizenship, Modern Studies, Law or another Parliament-related subjects.

The programme includes Q&A sessions with members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It also involves talks on specific aspects of lawmaking and democracy, and a chance to watch debates in both chambers.

Dates and details of the next Teachers’ Institute are available on the Education section of Parliament’s website

Seminar days

The Education Service also runs a series of one-day courses at the Houses of Parliament for teachers and those working with young people in other settings. These range from specialist seminars, designed for A-level teachers of Politics, to days providing a more general introduction to Parliament and democracy for those working in secondary or primary education. At each event, a member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords is invited to give a Q&A session.

Find out more information on our website.

You can also contact us if you have a query about the Teachers’ Institute, Seminar days and other events for teachers.

Around the UK

The Education Outreach Team will also travel around the UK to deliver bespoke training sessions for teachers and education professionals in their schools, or in collaboration with other organisations working with young people.

To find out more about booking a session in your constituency, contact the Education Outreach Team on teachertraining@parliament.uk

 

The home page of the Education Service on the public Parliament website is here.

Page last updated: 4 December 2013

Please note that links to the old Parliamentary intranet have been removed. Please use search on ParliNet to find relevant current details, if available.

MAPSA Winter Newsletter

You can read this newsletter on the MAPSA page on w4mp

Dear Colleague

It’s been a really busy few months for MAPSA and so we wanted to let you know what we’ve been up to as well as what’s coming up in the New Year.

The MAPSA Committee has a few new faces and you’ll find their details below – please do get in touch with either myself or any other member of the Committee if you have any questions, comments or news that you’d like to share.  We’re always here to offer help and advice and you can get in touch with any one of us but I know that often you’d rather speak to someone from your own political party and so you’ll find the details of each of our political VCs below.

I have really enjoyed meeting so many of you over the last year at our events and trips and hope that you’ll be able to join us for some of the exciting social events that Adam has planned for next year.

Finally, if you’ve not renewed your membership this year (or are unsure about whether or not you’re a current member) then please get in touch with Katharine (katharine.pearce@parliament.uk) who will be able to send you a form – MAPSA membership is still at the incredibly competitive austerity rate of just £1 a year!

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year from all the MAPSA Committee,

Lisa Townsend

MAPSA Chairman

House Departments

Much of the work that MAPSA does takes place behind the scenes and Georgina Kester has been incredibly busy on your behalf over the last year meeting with everyone from Catering through to the Pass Office and MSVO.

Catering

You should have noticed some of the recent and welcome changes to the access arrangements which mean that staffers can now take guests into the Adjournment during the week as well as better access to the Churchill Room. If there are any issues you’d like us to raise with the Catering Department then please get in touch with Georgina (georgina.kester@parliament.uk).

Pass Office / Security

Georgina and I recently met with the Pass Office and were really encouraged to hear that they aim for a turnaround time for pass applications is 5 working days but this is largely dependent on the volume of applications as well as receiving full applications from those applying. You can help this by ensuring that all sections of the form are completed and that your passport and proof of address are included in your initial application.  A few other points from the Pass Office that will help ensure the service runs smoothly:

• Your pass is an official document and must be produced and worn at all times within the Estate
• Ensure your pass is on display whilst on the Estate. Take it off when leaving
• Do not give your pass to someone else to use
• If escorting guests, make sure you are with them at all times and escort them off the estate
• Take care of your pass, but if you lose it, please report to the Pass Office asap
• Your pass MUST be surrendered on termination of appointment or expiry and handed back to the Pass Office.
• IT security – Make sure you log on and off the computer you are using and do not allow anyone else to use your login details
• Interns from abroad, even if they are only spending a few days, unpaid, in your office, are considered as ‘working’ for UKBA’s purposes.  This means that unless they are here on a working visa they will not be able to apply for a Parliamentary pass.

Georgina and I also meet regularly with the Serjeant at Arms who is very keen to extend access to passholders of all levels and we have been discussing ways in which we can make it easier for you to show constituents and others around the Estate.  I am also aware that many of you would like to be able to take your interns and work experience staff onto the Terrace during recess and that the current regulations make this difficult.  The SAA is very happy to help facilitate this so if you have an intern (that does not have a pass) and would like them to be able to join you for lunch on the Terrace during the warmer months then please drop me an email at lisa.townsend@parliament.uk and I will speak with the SAA Office to get them clearance for this.

Relaunch of Education website

October saw the relaunch of Parliament’s website for schools, which contains free resources for political literacy teaching, information about Parliament’s education outreach programme, and details of how to bring schools to visit Parliament.  See https://learning.parliament.uk/en/

The new website has a new design, larger images and videos, more prominent information about the Education outreach programme, and a new filtering tool enabling teachers to find resources suitable for the subject and age group that they teach, at the click of a button.

Parliament’s Education Service runs a range of programmes for your local schools to take part in. More details are available on the Parliamentary intranet and on Twitter @UKParlEducation.

To help schools make the most of these programmes, Parliament’s Education Service welcomes tweets, links and other communication with schools to let them know about the free resources available to them.  Please email educationwebsite@parliament.uk if you would like to be sent the Education Service logo or any other educational resources for your website, or for any further information.

Westminster Staff Open Day Questionnaire

The Central Communications team in the Office of the Chief Executive runs regular open days for staff based in the constituencies. As a result of feedback, and following requests from staff in Westminster, they are looking into the possibility of offering a similar open day for Members’ staff based in Westminster.

In order to ensure that they provide the most useful and relevant information, we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete this survey, by Friday 13 December.

Volunteers Wanted!

Georgina is seeking volunteers to join a small group for a one-off meeting in the New Year with the Table Office, Journal Office and Public Bills Office to help them better understand what it is we do and how they can assist us.  I am assured there will be biscuits.  If you or anyone you know would like to get involved then please send an email to Georgina.kester@parliament.uk

IPSA

IPSA has been in operation for almost four years and while I know that no-one enjoys dealing with the new expenses regime I hope that like me you have noticed some real improvements since the service first started.  MAPSA is very proud of the role it has played in relaying your concerns to the team at IPSA and we continue to work closely with them to ensure that the process is as painless as possible.

Emily Knight met with IPSA recently and the following points came out of the meeting:

• The MPs’ Pay and Pensions consultation ended recently.  IPSA received 3,500 online and 600 written submissions.  As well as the responses that one might expect there were a good number of reasoned, detailed ideas, especially on pensions.  The vast majority of the public seem to be in favour of anything involving a cut and (unsurprisingly) less favourable to any kind of rise in pay for MPs. IPSA will need some time to get through these responses and will report in due course.
• IPSA is currently reviewing the way they publicise information and will look into further ways they can emphasise the separate nature of staffing and other expenses incurred by MPs to discourage the media lumping the two figures together.  They would welcome staff views on this and we will be in touch again soon about ways in which you can get involved in this.
• The annual review of the scheme will launch soon and will be the last prior to the 2015 General election.  IPSA are particularly keen want to look at the intern element of staffing in more detail.

If you have any comments or issues with IPSA, please get in touch with either myself or Emily (emily.knight@parliament.uk) and we will do our best to get it resolved.

Events and Trips

It has been great to see so many of you join us for tours of Westminster Abbey, the BBC and the National Theatre.  The trips to the BritishMuseum were incredibly popular and we hope to visit again next year.  Adam is currently in the process of arranging a further visit to Broadcasting House and we have also been invited to Radio 1 – more details in the New Year.   I know that many of you have been waiting for the announcement of another trip to Number 10 and that is something we are trying to negotiate with the team there.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions then please get in touch with Adam: adam.chambers@parliament.uk

Survey

I will be in touch again in the New Year to ask what you as MAPSA members and staffers want to see us doing more of – whether it’s social events, speaker briefings or updates from the House Departments. We are particularly keen to get the views of staff in constituency offices as we are aware that they are an often neglected group.

MAPSA Committee Members

Gill Cheeseman	President	cheesemang@parliament.uk
Lisa Townsend	Chairman	lisa.townsend@parliament.uk
Benjamin Clayton	Labour Vice Chairman and Lords’ staff VC	benjamin.clayton@parliament.uk
Alexandra Hernandez	Liberal Democrat VC	hernandeza@parliament.uk
Emily Knight	Conservative VC	emily.knight@parliament.uk
Georgina Kester	Facilities Representative	georgina.kester@parliament.uk
Julie Spencer	Treasurer	spencerj@parliament.uk
Adam Chambers	Events Secretary	adam.chambers@parliament.uk
Katharine Pearce	Membership Secretary	katharine.pearce@parliament.uk

We know that many of you using W4MP are university students, lecturers or tutors so here’s something from Parliament’s Outreach Service that may appeal.  Full details and appropriate links can be see here but, meanwhile see the key information below.

_______________________________

The Houses of Parliament provides services and resources for universities across the UK.

Parliament’s Outreach Service supports lecturers and tutors to teach about the Houses of Parliament, and assists academic researchers to access information and get involved with the work and business of Parliament. The teaching and research support which we provide is outlined below.

Teaching support

• Tailored lectures and tutorials on any aspect of the work, business and procedure of the institution of Parliament, delivered at a place and time convenient for your students. To arrange a session at your university, please contact the Outreach Officer for your region.
• Open lecture series, delivered by senior figures from within Parliament, focusing on a different aspect of Parliament at each event. These lectures are free to attend but places are limited, so please book early.
• University student visits to Parliament can include talks on any aspect of the work, business and procedure of Parliament, plus watching business in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
• Teaching resources on a variety of topics, including presentations and reading lists for use in lectures and tutorials; for access to these materials, please contact Naomi Saint on the details below.
• The Training the Trainer programme for any tutors or lecturers who would like to access and deliver Parliament’s approved quality training, using comprehensive and flexible resources.

Research support

• Research briefings produced within Parliament are a valuable source of topical analysis and procedural information for researchers, students and tutors; see our advice on accessing research and information.
• Workshops for academic researchers on using research to have an impact at Parliament can be delivered at any university across the UK. To arrange a session at your university, please contact the Outreach Officer for your region.

Further information

• For more information about any of the above services, please contact Naomi Saint on naomi.saint@parliament.uk or 07917 488148.

We’ve given this a plug before (no pun intended!)….

Members and Members’ staff with iPads can now access the House of Commons Order Paper directly through their ‘newsstand’ via the House of Commons Order Paper App.

The new app, launched in October, makes the House of Commons Order Paper available in mobile format – initially on the iPad – allowing Members, staff and members of the public to download and view the daily business wherever they are.

Download the House of Commons Order Paper App from the App Store.

Key features at a glance:

• · Available to download immediately after publication.
• · Search within the day’s business.
• · Make annotations then share or email them.
• · Adjustable text size for improved clarity, readability and legibility.

Further information

The launch of the Commons Order Paper App follows the launch of the new-look Order Paper and Future Business in May 2013. For further information or assistance in navigating the app contact the Web & Intranet Service on x2010 or webmaster@parliament.uk.

For further information on the Order Paper, contact the Table Office on x3305/3302/3303 or tableoffice@parliament.uk.

When taking on a volunteer or voluntary intern you should ensure that you and the intern have agreed and signed the IPSA Model Volunteer Agreement.

See: https://www.ipsaonline.org.uk/guidance/new-starters

Calling all caseworkers…..

Here are a couple of resources which you may find helpful for certain groups among your constituents:

1. The first one is run by the Royal British Legion for certain members of the armed services in need of help and support: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/can-we-help/care-and-support/in-home-services/handy-van.
2. The second, run by Age UK, offers older people extra help with small practical jobs to make their lives life easier and safer around the home: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/home-safety-and-security/handyperson-services/.

If you know of other such services which you have found useful let w4mp know and we will spread the word.  Email the information to us at editor@w4mp.org.

It’s Parliament Week and this year’s theme is Women in Democracy.

To mark the occasion, the Electoral Reform Society has developed an online app which shows how much more needs to be done to reach gender parity in the House of Commons.

Find out if your constituency has ever been represented by a woman – use their online app and don’t forget to share the results with your friends!

The Electoral Reform Society firmly believes that our parliamentary representatives should reflect the diversity of Britain. Currently, only one in five Westminster MPs are women – yet women make up 51% of the population of Britain. Over half of constituencies have never had a female MP.

The ERS is urging all political parties to get serious about improving the diversity of selected candidates in winnable seats. Only then will we have a truly representative cross-section of MPs who can help build a better democracy in Britain.

What are your thoughts? Email them at ERS@electoral-reform.org.uk, or share what you think on their Facebook page and on Twitter.

From 1 December 2013 w4mpjobs will no longer be accepting some adverts for work that does not pay at least the current rate of national minimum wage (see https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage).

The exceptions to this (ie, ads that pay less than national minimum wage that we will still accept) are:

• Adverts for voluntary work for registered charities.  Please note that if you are a charity, from 1 December you will be asked to include your registered charity number when submitting an advert.  Without this, your advert will not be accepted.
• Adverts for volunteers for any of the political parties represented in the UK parliaments or assemblies – this includes voluntary work for MPs, MSPs or assembly members, local party constituency groups, local council constituency groups, prospective parliamentary/assembly candidates, prospective councillors and any other specifically party political related volunteer work.
• Adverts from legitimate political organisations asking for one-off or short term voluntary help with a specific project.
• Adverts for voluntary contributors to political websites and blogs.

These are the only exceptions which we will make. Please do not ask us to make any others.

A NOTE FOR MPs: when taking on a voluntary intern you should ensure that you and the intern have agreed and signed the IPSA Model Volunteer Intern Agreement. See IPSA Model Volunteer Agreement.

Important note: w4mp reserves the right to refuse any adverts which do not fulfill the above criteria or which, for any other reason, are deemed to be inappropriate for w4mpjobs.

The Government has announced a consultation looking at charging principles which begins on 12 November and will last for 3 weeks.

See here for further information: http://bit.ly/17uw3Pv

Parliament Week 2013 will be taking place from 15-21 November 2013.

In 2012, Parliament Week attracted 95 partners across the country, ranging from local museums to universities and national organisations. As a result of these partnerships, the Parliament Week programme included a fantastic range of events, including debates, exhibitions, talks and online activities, and attracted thousands of participants.

Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lord take an active part in Parliament Week – visiting schools, taking part in debates and attending events across the country.

All you need to know is here: http://www.parliamentweek.org/.