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If you are not automatically forwarded, please click on these links : Joanne Cash - Westminster NorthWestminster North's Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Joane Cash Challenges "Illegal" Babysitting Arrangements
Joanne Cash, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Westminster North is calling for OFSTED to look again at how they interpret guidance on childminding after the shocking news this week that two female police officers, who took it in turns to look after each others' children so that they could return to work, were told that their arrangement was illegal.
According to OFSTED, parents who look after each others' children, but who are not registered as childminders, are breaking the law as reciprocal arrangements constitute a 'reward'.
People registered as childminders currently have to pay £103 annually to OFSTED, and must go through criminal records checks and training. For most parents, informal mutual arrangements such as these are much easier for them financially, particularly in the current economic climate.
Joanne says: “There are many families in Westminster North in similar situations to these two police officers who rely on each other to share the load of childcare they cannot afford for no financial reward. This is the nanny state literally gone mad. OFSTED needs to get some common sense. I have written on behalf of concerned mums and dads here in Westminster North to ask them to review their position.”
Also commenting on the situation earlier this week, celebrity mum of two Kirsty Allsopp said: “This story has really troubled me. Women shouldn’t be treated like criminals for helping each other. Life as a working mother is challenging enough.”
To register your support for Joanne’s campaign for OFSTED to review its position please sign her petition here.
Social action is true Conservatism at its very best
Speaking this week, Matthew Taylor, former advisor to Tony Blair and Director of the RSA, stated publicly that:-
“what the Conservative party is doing on social action is brilliant and I absolutely agree with it. I begged the Labour party to do it for years and they ignored me..”
This statement from a former opponent signifies not just welcome support for Conservative work but a seismic shift in the political landscape.
Of course, it is hard to disapprove of our social action work, particularly when we have been initiating and supporting it for years without advertising the fact. Even the left wing press are struggling to criticise it. One Guardian columnist doing her best this week said that it could never add up to a political vision and further that mobilising people behind any political vision is not possible because we know we face an environmental apocalypse.
However, this need to give social action a new ideological label betrays a reluctance to acknowledge the core beliefs at the heart of Conservatism and the possibility that we were actually the good guys all along. Social action is simply the manifestation of Conservative ideals in the modern world where the electorate is more informed, more sceptical of remote government and increasingly more confident that they could do at least as well for themselves (given the right opportunity) as this government has done for them.
Another hard fact facing the left is that people at a practical level are innately Conservative. They may not vote for us (yet) but they believe in the same things. They want their children to attend a school where rules are enforced, they want support against extremists in their community who are radicalising their children, they want a benefits system which incentivises rather than demoralises people. Don’t take it from me, come and meet the mums and dads who bring their children to the Butterfly Reading Group, the leaders of the London Tigers’ football club or the All Stars boxing gym, or the teenagers who use STEP UP.
As Matthew Taylor has learnt, social action is Conservative in essence. Disraeli talked not only of the need for the safety net for the poor and weak in society but also of the “ladder back up”. It is the happy partnership of our passion for innovation and opportunity and our desire for individual freedom and opportunity. And most importantly it is the death knell for the liberal left which has argued for years with our words but cannot argue with our actions.
We have had a generation of wrong-headed well-meaning madness. But out here on the frontline hundreds of Conservative Candidates and activists are committed to transforming lives on the ground. This is true Conservatism at its very best.
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My 91 year old grandfather left school at 14 and worked many hard jobs before joining the army. I was the first member of our family to go to university and he follows with pride everything we do in Westminster North, particularly our social action work. On Tuesday evening at 7.50pm, he will be glued to Channel 4 to watch the Conservative political slot in which our social action project STEP UP will be featured.
Changing lives to change minds
Joanne today gave the opening presentation at the Conservative Party’s ‘Social Action Conference’ at the Royal Society of Arts.
The conference featured speeches from a wide range of Conservative politicians, including David Cameron, focussing on the projects they have been putting in place to help improve the lives of residents in their constituencies.
Since her selection as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Westminster North in 2006 Joanne has been working hard supporting local, community-orientated organisations such as the All Stars Boxing Gym, the Butterfly Reading Group, Arrival Education and the London Tigers. She has also just launched the second year of her STEP UP programme which provides state educated children in Westminster North with tailored tuition for their university or first job applications.
Joanne commented:
“I was delighted to be asked to participate in the Conservative Party’s ‘Social Action Conference.’
I am a huge advocate of grass-roots activism and it was great to see so many Conservative politicians united by their determination to make a positive difference in their local communities - this is what conservatism is all about.
Empowerment and responsibility are key Conservative principles and this explains why it is Conservative MPs. Candidates and activists who are leading the way on projects such as this.
On a personal level, the ‘Social Action Conference’ provided a fantastic platform for me to raise the profile of all the hard work we are doing in Westminster North and to show the impact this work has had on the lives of our local residents.”
The conference featured speeches from a wide range of Conservative politicians, including David Cameron, focussing on the projects they have been putting in place to help improve the lives of residents in their constituencies.
Since her selection as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Westminster North in 2006 Joanne has been working hard supporting local, community-orientated organisations such as the All Stars Boxing Gym, the Butterfly Reading Group, Arrival Education and the London Tigers. She has also just launched the second year of her STEP UP programme which provides state educated children in Westminster North with tailored tuition for their university or first job applications.
Joanne commented:
“I was delighted to be asked to participate in the Conservative Party’s ‘Social Action Conference.’
I am a huge advocate of grass-roots activism and it was great to see so many Conservative politicians united by their determination to make a positive difference in their local communities - this is what conservatism is all about.
Empowerment and responsibility are key Conservative principles and this explains why it is Conservative MPs. Candidates and activists who are leading the way on projects such as this.
On a personal level, the ‘Social Action Conference’ provided a fantastic platform for me to raise the profile of all the hard work we are doing in Westminster North and to show the impact this work has had on the lives of our local residents.”
Lights, camera, action - STEP UP launches at London Tigers
Joanne today introduced volunteers from her STEP UP programme to members of the London Tigers youth club for free one to one tuition with their university and job applications.
Baroness Warsi, Conservative Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action, also paid a visit to London Tigers HQ to speak to volunteers and students on the STEP UP programme.
First established by Joanne in 2008, STEP UP provides face-to-face tutoring followed up by email based mentoring. Students signed up to STEP UP will have the opportunity to attend skills work-outs designed to boost their confidence in pressurised interview situations. Each student will also be assigned a personal mentor who will provide guidance on the construction of a tailored CV and personal statement to improve their chances of success throughout the application process.
STEP UP is not political and anyone living in, or attending a state school in, Westminster North is welcome to sign up to take part in the programme as a volunteer or as a student.
Joanne is delighted about the new partnership with London Tigers on her project:
“I hope this is the beginning of a long and successful partnership between STEP UP and London Tigers.
“Not only do we want to provide local children with a ‘step up’ towards achieving their goals in life but we also want these children to ‘step up’ and take advantage of the opportunities the programme provides.
"By pairing our students with people who have recent experience of entering the job market or dealing with the university application process, we will be helping them to achieve the success that they deserve in their chosen career path.”
Anyone wishing to get involved with STEP UP can contact Joanne on 020 7625 3805 or at
Baroness Warsi, Conservative Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action, also paid a visit to London Tigers HQ to speak to volunteers and students on the STEP UP programme.
First established by Joanne in 2008, STEP UP provides face-to-face tutoring followed up by email based mentoring. Students signed up to STEP UP will have the opportunity to attend skills work-outs designed to boost their confidence in pressurised interview situations. Each student will also be assigned a personal mentor who will provide guidance on the construction of a tailored CV and personal statement to improve their chances of success throughout the application process.
STEP UP is not political and anyone living in, or attending a state school in, Westminster North is welcome to sign up to take part in the programme as a volunteer or as a student.
Joanne is delighted about the new partnership with London Tigers on her project:
“I hope this is the beginning of a long and successful partnership between STEP UP and London Tigers.
“Not only do we want to provide local children with a ‘step up’ towards achieving their goals in life but we also want these children to ‘step up’ and take advantage of the opportunities the programme provides.
"By pairing our students with people who have recent experience of entering the job market or dealing with the university application process, we will be helping them to achieve the success that they deserve in their chosen career path.”
Anyone wishing to get involved with STEP UP can contact Joanne on 020 7625 3805 or at
joanne@westminsternorthconservatives.com.
Joanne's STEP UP programme to work in partnership with London Tigers
Joanne today announced that volunteers from her STEP UP programme would be working with young members of the London Tigers youth group to tutor them in preparation for their university and job applications in order to boost their chances of success.
STEP UP is a mentoring scheme designed to equip young people with the skills they will need to succeed in applying for places at university or their first job. Volunteers on the programme are all recent graduates, or current undergraduates, who can offer practical advice with UCAS applications and help to boost students’ presentation and communication skills through specialized training.
For those who do not already know, the London Tigers is a voluntary sports and education project based in Church Street. The Tigers' volunteers do a tremendous amount of work in the local community, and indeed throughout London, to provide opportunities for children and young adults in some of our most disadvantaged areas.
Joanne is excited about the prospect of working with the students at the Tigers:
“I have met many of the great students at the Tigers at various quiz nights and at their annual awards dinner. This partnership will increase their chances of succeeding in their chosen path.
Our team of volunteers are just as excited as I am. We have much hard work to do but it will be a very rewarding experience for all of us.”
Anyone wishing to get involved with STEP UP can contact Joanne on 020 7625 3805 or at joanne@westminsternorthconservatives.com
Arrival Education at Paddington Academy - one year on
It is now almost a year since Joanne first introduced Arrival Education to Paddington Academy. During this time Arrival Education have worked in partnership with the Academy providing structured work placement programmes for year 10 pupils.
Under Arrival Education’s ‘Success for Life’ programme these pupils have completed work placements at a wide variety of organisations including Investec, Unanimis, JGP (a talent development/recruitment agency) and IAB (an internet advertising agency).
All of the students involved in the course have now entered into a longer-term coaching relationship with a business coach at the organisation where they received their training. They are also receiving support with their GCSE studies and community projects as well as learning a broader range of skills such as creative thinking and CV construction at a number of specifically tailored workshops.
Joanne is delighted that the partnership has proven such a success:
“When I first met the Arrival Education team, I was extremely impressed by the comprehensive work placement programme they had in place. I was delighted to be able to introduce them to Paddington Academy.
Having been educated at state schools myself, I know the amount of dedication and hard work involved in achieving your goals.
The team at Arrival Education, together with the teachers at Paddington Academy, have provided these pupils with a fantastic opportunity. I am delighted to hear that they have grabbed it with both hands and look forward to hearing more about their success in the future.”
Arrival Education hope to run the ‘Success for Life’ programme at Paddington Academy again next year.
