A reported threat all the existing community development qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would cease to exist after December 2010 appears to have been avoided. We understand that the Learning and Skills Improvement Service has confirmed the units in the Awards at Levels 1, 2 and 3 are compliant with requirements and that Awards will be available from the Awarding Organisations shortly. Work will now begin to ensure compliance at higher levels.

LSIS is also exploring the feasibility of a community development apprenticeship framework, and have launched an on-line survey to obtain feedback from Community Development employers in the four nations on the demand for this apprenticeship. They would like responses by 18 September if you are a manager or senior practitioner delivering generic or specific community development activities and able to respond on behalf of your organisation.