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As thoughts turn to the Christmas break we have all been thinking about what gifts we are going to give to friends and loved ones. This year at College and University Support Network we have written our wish list to Santa, but we want you to be his elves and help him out. This year there are just two presents that we really want.

As we speculate about whether it will snow on the 25^th, or whether Santa will fill our stockings this year, one thing remains certain. Throughout the winter, we will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week - including Christmas and New Year's Day - to offer advice, counselling and coaching to teachers on the phone and online.

Flow, extra hours and support

We've had a busy fortnight, with nearly 100 calls to our Support Line. We are here to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so if you'd like to speak to someone for support or advice call us on 08000 32 99 52.

Our online InfoCentre has also been busy with over 320 factsheet views in the last two weeks.
Here are the most popular:

Time is running out to join the CUSN Team at the Virgin London Marathon on 25 April 2010.

We are looking for participants to take on the world-famous challenge of pounding London’s famous streets for 26.3 miles as the event reaches its 30th birthday.

We have only a limited number of places and we must have decided our team by 21 January 2010, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to take up the challenge.

If you join the CUSN team we will:
• Give you a running vest.
• Support you with fundraising.
• Have a pre-race meeting.
• Have a post-event celebration.

The festive season is soon to be upon us and a well earned break is on the horizon as the end of term approaches. As thoughts turn to mince pies and mulled wine, this is an opportunity for you to take time out from work and relax with friends and family.
 
If you think you might struggle to leave work behind for a couple of weeks, our new Work-Life Wizard tool might help you to find your balance and keep it under control.
 

Our Online Support Team is here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; it could be a straightforward question or a bigger issue that's troubling you where we can give you some extra support.

It's easy to take the first step, fill in some simple details including what's on your mind and send it off to one of our trained advisors for a personal email response. Click here to try it out today.

Here are some of the questions we've been asked this week:

This week our close friends at UCU launched a new organisation - Make Education Count Westminster.

The network aims to bring together key players from across the political divide including MPs, peers, local politicians, unions and other key stakeholders, including CUSN.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “We look forward to thrashing out the best way forward for the UK with politicians from all parties who have a genuine passion for education.”

Last week, we marked the 10th Anniversary of our Support Line with a reception in the Terrace Pavilion at the Houses of Parliament.

Barry Sheerman MP, Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, and Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools, both spoke at the event, as well as Zoe Speakman, a teacher who had used the Support Line and Julian Stanley, CUSN Chief Executive.

Over a hundred people, including teachers, trade unionists, civil servants and others from education attended the event in the Terrace Pavilion.

This week is Anti-Bullying Week: an annual event that aims to raise awareness of bullying of children and young people, in schools and elsewhere, and to highlight ways of preventing and responding to it.

The event is organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), which is made up of about sixty member organisations and supported by the DCSF.

As we said last week, CUSN is about to change.
A big thank you to all of you who agreed to take part in telephone interviews as part of our efforts to assess CUSN’s services.
If you didn’t sign up to talk to us over the phone you can still play a valuable role in our efforts to ensure CUSN is at the top of its game and able to help more than ever before.
Please take five minutes to fill in the survey at www.mymedia-uk.com/CUSNfeedback
We’ll make sure your opinions are taking into consideration.
We really value your input.