As part of its new grant-making strategy, BBC Children in Need is awarding grants of up to £40,000 per year for up to three years to support the projects costs of registered charities and not-for-profit organisations (including Special Schools) working with disadvantaged children and young people aged 18 years or under living in the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The funding will support the delivery of a specific piece of work (project), and could be spent on project staff costs, trips and outings, volunteer expenses and/or moveable equipment. Groups requesting £15,000 or less will receive a quicker decision. Expressions of interest should be submitted in the first instance. Applications can be made at any time. Applications Invited for BBC Children in Need’s Project Grants (UK, Isle of Man & Channel Islands)
1 in 6 girls and 1 in 20 boys experience child sexual abuse by the age of 16. * The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report highlights the ‘cruelty of perpetrators’ and organised networks. In the digital era, with the impact of the pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis, children are more vulnerable to grooming and sexual abuse than ever before.
What happens following the recommendations of the IICSA’s final report? What will be the impact of the Online Safety Bill on patterns of child sexual abuse? Join Westminster Insight’s timely, cross-cutting Tackling Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation digital conference, chaired by Ian Dean, Director of the CSA Centre. Gain insights from Alexis Jay OBE, Chair, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) as we look to next steps following IICSA’s final report.
We will be joined by colleagues across police, schools, local authorities, and social services to discuss next steps for creating a safer future for all children. Working together as multi-agency partnerships, we will explore how to improve reporting processes and information sharing. Police representatives such as Richard Fewkes, Director of the NPCC Hydrant Programme will discuss how to tackle child sexual exploitation and next steps for ramping up disruption tactics.
Self-generated and coercively created content among children tripled from 2020-2021.** We will be joined by experts including Suzie Hargreaves OBE, chief executive of the IWF and David Wright, Director at the UK Safer Internet Centre. Learn how to keep children safe online, including training staff, teaching children on what to look out for and implementing new methods for disrupting perpetrators from online grooming.
Keeping victims and children safe is at the heart of the response to tackling CSE – Change to child sexual abuse. We will explore ways to better protect children from harm and support victims through recovery. Understand why different groups of children are more likely to be targeted and how you can you provide tailored support and protection. Gain insight on how to identify and improve knowledge of victims and perpetrators in your local area.
- Early Bird Discount – 20% off – available until Friday 16th Dec 2022 (Please enter the discount code EARLY3917in the payment section when you book online)
- Please email us for group bookings of 3 or more – info@westminsterinsight.com
- Pay online by credit card and receive a further 10% off (This will be automatically applied when you book online)
Men’s Health Awareness Month is dedicated to bringing awareness to a wide range of men’s health issues.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with their mental health, read through our blog which will guide you on ways to help and seek advice.
Carers Rights Day is usually held each year in November created by Carers UK to recognise the support and raise awareness of the rights of unpaid carers (carers). This year it will be held on 24th November.
As an annual nationwide event Carers UK suggests the following on how to help:
- ensure carers are aware of their rights
- let carers know where to get help and support
- raise awareness of the needs of carers.
7th -11th November is Trustees’ Week 2022, a time for us to come together to celebrate the achievements of our trusty trustees!
The national theme of this year’s celebration is “making a difference in changing times”. As our external environment continues to change, we are all facing new challenges. The positive impact made by trustees more valuable now than ever, as the organisations they work so hard to steer and support emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and face the tough cost of living crisis ahead. The commitment, time and effort given by trustees to help their organisations and the communities they support is truly remarkable. Thank you. Read on
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – it seems that there are days to celebrate just about everything in every month throughout the year. You have to admire the creative minds and advertising executives who came up with the ideas of Roast Dinner Day (7th), British Pudding Day (9th) and the intriguing, if not potentially dangerous, Hug a Bear Day (7th)!
However, November is also a time for serious reflection and commemoration – when we give thanks to and remember our armed forces on Armistice Day (11th) and Remembrance Sunday (13th). Read on
The role will consist of making calls to our service users and other volunteers to monitor how placements are going and ensure we are always providing high quality services and volunteer support. Volunteers would be able to carry this out whilst working from home, provided they have access to a computer or laptop.
We have recently launched a new round of funding for The Our Space Award, a fund that supports local communities to green their local spaces and increase access to nature. See below further information, would really appreciate if you could pass this information on to your members or organisations.
You can also visit our website – https://www.groundwork.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant/london-grants/our-space-award/
Like many of you, and the residents you support we’re all more worried than ever at increasing costs. I had a smart meter installed at the beginning of November, and it was quite a surprise to see exactly how much energy some of our day to day electrical items were using. Turning on the kettle for example, made my energy cost jump from 16p to a whopping £1.05 per minute! I’ve been guilty in the past of switching on the kettle, then forgetting to make the drink immediately, and without a thought would just flick the switch and boil the kettle again 10 minutes later. Not any more! My daughter and I spent time over the weekend testing all of our gadgets and electronics to find out which were the worst offenders in terms of the amount of power they use.
Fridge freezer
This isn’t something we can turn off (obviously), but it did account for the biggest draw of power. To minimise its energy consumption, try not to live the fridge door open as this increases the amount of work the motor has to do to keep it cool. It will be a challenge for my daughter to break her habit of automatically opening the fridge door and staring at the contents for several minutes whilst she mulls over what she wants to snack on!
Washing machine
I knew this would be a high user of power, but it was a bit eye watering to see exactly how much the electricity cost shot up when it was switched on. To make it more economical, I now use it at night when energy costs are cheaper, and use a short cycle with a cooler temperature for most loads.
TV
This was quite a surprising one. I’m not a huge TV watcher, but it’s important to get into the habit of switching televisions off at the mains, rather than leaving it on standby, as this continues to draw power. Apparently, televisions with LED technology use 25% less energy than LCD televisions and up to 40% less than plasma screen TVs.
Oven:
The oven used quite a lot of electricity – so I’ve switched to an airfryer, as this is cheaper to run as a smaller area needs to be heated. When using an oven, avoid opening the door too often, as each time you do the oven needs to use more energy to come back up to heat.
Computer
Like many of you, I’m working from home regularly. I have a laptop that I work from at home, but they do use a fair amount of power – mainly to help them cool internally. Tips from the industry include reducing the screen brightness, removing the screensaver (even if it is pretty) and switching off additional devices (i.e. the printer, the scanner, speakers…) And of course, switching it off when it is not being used.
Heating
This is probably going to be one of the biggest costs as the weather grows colder. At home, I’ve already turned down the thermostat slightly, and changed my central heating timer so that it’s on for a shorter amount time. Keeping doors closed helps retain heat in different rooms and dressing in warmer clothes will certainly be the norm going forward. My daughter grumbled the other day that she was chilly, but I pointed out that if swapped her usual shorts and t-shirts for something more seasonally appropriate, she’d be warmer! Cosy fleeces, onesies and jumpers as well as slippers that she’s had stuffed in the bottom of a drawer are now being made good use of. I make sure our home isn’t cold – but it shouldn’t be tropical either!
Lights
I found two particular lights in my house used far more power than others. It transpired that I didn’t have low energy lightbulbs in those fittings, so swapped them immediately. We need to make more of an effort to switch off lights when we leave the room – my daughter in particular is a big fan of turning on every light in the house – a habit she’s trying hard to break now.
Kettle
The aforementioned kettle uses a horrible amount of power – albeit only for short bursts at a time. However, I’ve decided to make use of a hot water flask when at home and at work. I boil a full kettle, then fill up the hot water flask to use for the next few hours – which saves me boiling the kettle another 5 or 6 times! Every little helps!
Overall, for me the smart meter is a really good way of seeing exactly what I’m using (and spending), and will make my daughter and I much more aware of our energy consumption on a daily basis.
If you have any tips on how to save energy prices at home – let us know.
sobus
20 Dawes Road, London, SW6 7EN
Telephone 020 7952 1230
Email info@sobus.org.uk
Registered Charity No.1071089
and Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No.03471416
Sobus is a new Community Development Agency for Hammersmith & Fulham. It has been created through the merger of the Community and Voluntary Sector Association Hammersmith & Fulham (CaVSA) and the Fulham Community Partnership Trust (FCPT). Building on the strengths of both organisations, sobus aims to provide a wider range of support services for local charities, community groups, social enterprises and start up businesses.