A report today from Ofsted looks at factors which are stopping some Further Education colleges from improving. It says strong leadership, clear vision, challenging aspirations and targets and thorough monitoring of progress all help colleges to raise the bar and move towards outstanding status.

Read more on OFSTED FINDS MOST FE COLLEGES ARE IMPROVING…

Councils are being warned they may need to rethink the way they communicate with their local residents if they want to take advantage of the place shaping agenda. The warning comes from local government PR experts who say the changes are needed to create attractive, prosperous and safe communities.

Read more on COUNCIL COMMUNICATORS HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANCE OF PLACE SHAPING AGENDA…

By Graham Baker

Bureaucracy and form filling are characteristics of public services. Police forces are no exception and beat officers have been spending almost half their time at the police station. The problem is being tackled vigorously and officers now spend much more time on the beat and less at the station. Mobile technology has played a part in this transformation. The author describes how BlackBerry smartphones are being used by many forces to reduce paperwork and cut the duplication of effort by giving officers out on the beat the opportunity to access information and report activities.

Read more on INCREASING POLICE EFFICIENCY WITH MOBILE TECHNOLOGY…