Following the PM’s announcement on Monday 20^th February 2021, the DfE has updated the out-of-school settings guidance to provide more information on who can attend out-of-school settings (OOSS) from 8^th March, and what measures should be put in place to reduce the risk of transmission in OOSS. The updated guidance documents are available at the usual links here

The updated guidance should provide you with all the detail you need, but the headlines are available from the NRCSE website here

NRCSE has also developed some useful guidelines for operating during the pandemic available here

2020 saw thousands of people across the UK take to the streets as part of the Black Lives Matter protests and many more engage through social media. Several charities published statements expressing solidarity with the movement and pledged to take action to make their organisations more diverse and inclusive. So, what next?

We all know it’s not enough to have an equal opportunities policy hidden away in a staff handbook. As the updated Charity Governance Code makes clear, charities need to be putting plans in place, setting targets for improvement and monitoring their progress. Read on

It’s never easy for any charity to turn down or return donations, particularly at the moment when many charities are struggling to raise money and need to be more creative in fundraising. The decision is rarely straightforward and it’s important not to lose sight of the situations where you can (and in some cases should) refuse a donation.

Charities are of course obliged to accept donations and they should only refuse or return them in exceptional circumstances

In some situations it’s clear a donation should be refused, for example where significant ‘red flags’ are found during due diligence checks on a donor, where a donor lacks capacity, or where donor conditions are too onerous or unlawful. However, outside these more straightforward scenarios are more difficult situations where a donation carries a concern about potential reputational or other damage to a charity. Read on

The Charity Commission have put together a trustee toolkit to encourage charity trustees to refresh their knowledge and be certain they’re up to date on government guidance. View the toolkit here.