The NCVO has the following updates for this month;
Highlights from the new chair of the Charity Commission’s first speech
New safeguarding course for volunteer managers
The average amount of reserves held by charities
Analysis of the gender pay gap in charities
Upcoming governance training
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Society Building, 8 All Saints Street
London, N1 9RL
Website: www.ncvo.org.uk
Twitter: @NCVO
Registered Charity No. 225922
Great news – funding is still available for a wide range of courses including. “Falls Prevention“, “Children and Young People’s Mental Health” and “Safe Handling of Medication”.
Our courses are all nationally accredited and have been designed around a flexible learning delivery model to ensure they are easily accessible within the workplace. This means learners do not attend a classroom but still receive high-quality support throughout their learning journey.
I have included a full list of courses that are available, these can also be found on our website www.wefindanylearner.co.uk. For more information or to book instantly please call 01226 958 888 or email nick@wefindanylearner.co.uk. Alternatively, you can complete our online enquiry form or download a booking form and attach it as a reply.
GLA Sports Team have launched the first funding round for the Mayor’s new community sport programme, the London Together Fund. If there’s anyone in your network that you think would be interested, please do share the link round or include in any newsletters/websites etc.
There are contact details on the application website to the grants team at Comic Relief who are administering the fund should any potential applicants have further questions.
We are pleased to announce that the Coach Trip scheme is taking place again this year.
Application packs are available online via the dedicated Coach Trip Scheme page on our website.
Please visit www.lbhf.gov.uk and type in ‘Coach Trip Scheme’ in the search field. This will take you to the page where you can complete the form online or print off and complete manually.
If you would still prefer to receive your pack in the post, have any queries or would like further information, please contact:
Sacha Mortimer
Phone: 020 8753 5009
Email: sacha.mortimer@lbhf.gov.uk
In partnership with Hammersmith and Fulham Council, Opening Doors London – the charity for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans+ people in London (originally part of Age UK Camden) – is delivering a free workshop on the morning of Monday 23rd April to bring council staff and local health, housing and social care workers together with the voluntary sector to agree ways to improve services to better meet the health and social care needs of older LGBT+ people in the borough.
The workshop will enable your staff and volunteers to:
We would be very grateful if you could please circulate the attached flyer to relevant staff and volunteers that you work with who may be interested in this free event. Click Here for the Eventbrite links to sign up which can also be found in the attached flyer but please do drop me a line or give me a ring if you encounter any difficulties with this or need any further information.
Click Here for the Event Flyer
The Upper Room is planning to build an entire new floor at St Saviour’s Church, in Shepherd’s Bush, which will effectively double our work space. Whilst this work is being carried out we urgently need to find alternative premises to continue delivering our services. Ideally we are looking for one decent sized room to deliver employment support for our UR4Jobs and UR4Driving projects and a small kitchen in which to prepare sandwiches for our UR4Meals project which feeds the homeless. We may have to look to alternative premises to deliver UR4Meals but would like to keep UR4Jobs and UR4Driving together.
The work is anticipated to start around July and is expected to last 3-4 months.
Do you know of a community hall, or vacant office space, which we could rent on a temporary basis. We would like to stay as close to our base in Shepherd’s Bush as possible for the sake of our clients. Please email: operationsdirector@theupperroom.org.uk with any suggestions.
St Saviour Wendell Park Church
Cobbold Road | London W12 9LN
T: 020 8740 5688 | M: 07923 462 497
The Tamil Community Centre, Ilays – Somali Community Centre, CAIA, HEAR and Race on the Agenda are inviting BMER community organisations in West London for a meeting on campaigning for mental health services provision in for Black, Asian, refugee and other minority ethnic communities.
The meeting will take place on Tuesday 10 April, 11.00-15.00 at the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice (CAIA), 105 A Mill Hill Road, Acton, London, W3 8JF The meeting will be the second of three and will be open to BMER community organisations across West London. The third session will take place in May 2018 (date to be decided).
Participants will:
– Discuss what is needed for West London’s communities’ mental health equality
– Decide on what to ask from the CCG, MHT and Local Authority
– Plan the next steps of their campaign
If you have knowledge of the mental health needs of BMER people in West London you can register by emailing laurie@rota.org.uk. Places are limited so please tell us you want to come. We promote user-led projects and Experts by Experience.
Following recent events, the Charity Commission would like to remind ALL trustees to take safeguarding extremely seriously. Safeguarding should be a key governance priority for all charities, not just those working with groups traditionally considered at risk.
As your regulator, we expect charities to meet these expectations.
Our advice is that you should now:
Our regulatory role is to ensure charities comply with their legal duties, manage any incidents responsibly and take prompt steps to protect the people affected by it. We cannot look after the safety of your people for you and we do not investigate individual incidents for you.
Find more information about what and how to report to the regulator. More information about safeguarding responsibilities for trustees, and the role of the Charity Commission and other regulators, is below:
Safeguarding is a key governance priority for all charities, regulator reminds trustees
Regulatory alert to charities – safeguarding,
Strategy for dealing with safeguarding issues in charities
When: Saturday 21st April 11.00 – 13.00
Where: The Attic Room, The Bush Theatre, Uxbridge Road Shepherd’s Bush
Protection Approaches is delighted to invite you to join us at community workshop and discussion at the Bush Theatre. This event will bring together community members from different backgrounds, ages, and professions to explore ideas of how we can bridge community divides.
During our project, Prejudice and Us, we worked with young people from Shepherds Bush, White City and Hammersmith to understand their experiences of prejudice. We discovered that prejudice is an ever present problem affecting the lives of the young people in a variety of ways and that many young people feel they live in an increasingly divided community. You can view a full report of our findings here.
We hope that this workshop and discussion will be an opportunity to work together to think of ways we can bridge those divides and make our community a better place for all.
The event will end with a buffet lunch and a chance to continue discussions informally
To confirm your attendance or for more info please:
Email: info@protectionapproaches.org or call: 020 3488 2996
Patients living with Type 2 diabetes in North West London have seen significant improvements to their health thanks to new smartphone health apps.
In partnership with Imperial College Health Partners, the North West London Collaboration of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) offered more than 400 patients from 18 GP practices across North West London the opportunity to trial the digital apps over four months last year.
The results
The apps, welcomed by leading UK charity Diabetes UK, aim to support patients that are unable to or choose not to attend diabetes education classes to help control their diabetes. They encourage healthy eating and exercise and, educate people on how to manage and control their condition.
Dr Tony Willis, diabetes Clinical Lead for the North West London Collaboration of CCGs said: “The results have been beyond our expectations. Historically, the education classes on offer for patients with Type 2 diabetes have seen low attendance. There was an excellent uptake of patients completing the trial using the apps. This alongside the clinically significant improvements in HbA1c, blood pressure and weight; show just how well people respond when they can receive support at the click of a button.”
Rachael Glover, Improving Care Manager at Diabetes UK, said: “Diabetes is the most devastating and fastest growing health crisis of our time, affecting more people than any other serious health condition in the UK, more than dementia and cancer combined. Everyone learns differently and it’s important that people with diabetes can access a range of tools to help them manage their condition. Diabetes UK welcomes this new work, which shows how technology is being used to widen the options available for people with diabetes.”
What did patients say?
Patrick Hingston, from Hammersmith and Fulham, living with Type 2 diabetes said:
“I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2001, it has been a gruelling journey but now I am smiling. When my GP spoke to me about these new apps, I was desperate to try anything. I logged on, got some equipment sent to me, changed my diet and my physical activity. I started going on lots of walks which I have grown to love. I recommend this to anyone who is living with diabetes, having difficulty losing weight and getting their HbA1c down because mine has reduced dramatically. I am delighted to have made a turnaround and want to keep it that way. I want to thank my doctor for putting me on this trial; my results have given me so much joy.”
Patients that took part were from a mix of ages, ethnicities and social backgrounds who are often ‘hard to reach’ through traditional methods of care.
The three apps trialed were Changing Health, OurPath, and Oviva. Patients reported that the apps were easy to use, they felt more motivated, better informed about food and enjoyed the tips and advice on hand.
What’s next?
The North West London CCGs are currently working on an ‘information hub’ for both patients and clinicians to find information and training courses on diabetes. The apps will be one of the services on offer to ensure that every patient living with Type 2 diabetes in NW London will get access to personalised support and information to improve their diabetes and their overall health and wellbeing.
If you have Type 2 diabetes and need support talk your GP about the services available in your area. Stay updated with our work and watch videos on how other people, like Patrick are benefiting from these apps by visiting www.knowdiabetes.org.uk.
