PISCESwm  has just been awarded a Grant from the Leonardo Lifelong Learning programme to participate in a programme looking at the role of continuing education as a strategy for active ageing, This will involve a number of workshops accross Europe starting in Hungary in September.

We will be looking to link this into the work we are completing in Kington under the 'Unlocking the Potential of People over 50 programme

The project is being lead by our Czech Colleagues, the European Development Agency based in Prague who have also invited PISCESwm to continue their asscoiation within a Czech ESF funded programme  loooking at issues arouind Active Ageing.

Jim Knipe of Merrivale Accountancy Services, a Herefordshire Councillor and also a Board Member for Kemble Housing will be in Prague on our behalf in September addressing issues around housing and accomodation strategies.

BCLA - The Black Country Learning Academy has, we understand, gone into liquidation. Its founder and Director, Ian Johnson has been a long term Director and associate of PISCESwm although we severed formal links with BCLA in operational terms some months ago.

LITHE.

The relaunch of LITHE is scheduled to happen on Thursday 22nd September at 5.30 at the Church of the Redeemer, Waterworks Road, Edgbaston

August has started well for PISCESwm with a number of .cutting edge' opportunities opening up during the course of the past few days.

Sandra Fitzpatrick, Head of Community Services for the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust and I recently visited Kaunas in Lithuania as part of our participation in a Grundtvig partnership programme. PISCESwm is working alongside 6 other Countries each represented by Caritas, a Roman Catholic NGO with extensive social care activities accross most European countries, with the exception of the UK. Together we are looking at Child poverty and ways in which we can intervene by low level community based initiatives.

We were accompanied by Michelle Sheehy a head Teacher from Milllfield Junior School in Walsall whose ' Going Wild in Brownhills project provides an outstanding example of how schools can embrace their immediate environment for the inclusion of children, families and the community in Education.

The contrast with what Michelle has to offer with the  children's day centre we visited was stark. The common criteria however is the dedication and commitment of staff and the way in which this, irrespective of surroundings, permeates throughh to the children and families they serve.

Our Lithuanian colleagues are desperately looking for additional resources and professional support and I have accepted an invitation from both caritas - Lithuania and Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas to visit them next month to discuss possibilities of establishing PISCES Lithuania.

Our thoughts are that we can, using European funding, enable students and community workers to come and spend time with us in the UK and to take back their experience to help develop services in their country.

we are looking forward to welcoming Kristina Maclulyte in January 2012 to start this process.

LITHE IN THE WEST MIDLANDS

LITHE stands for local inclusion through Heritage and Education and is the initiative designed to follow up on the outstanding work within the Cardinal newman heritage Project in Ladywood, Birmingham

After a brief hiatus caused by an unfortunate breakdown in communication and trust with an officer of Birmingham City Council we are now back on track . PISCES works on the basis of a strong network of long standing associations with other individuals and groups and plans are afoot to establish  two new Birmingham operational centres, In the Watterworks estate on the ladywood, Edgbaston boundaries  and the 4 Dwellings School in Quinton.

More of this later