Resources

Our Resources Section contains information open for all groups working with children, young people and families. The key resources we have in this section are either available below or via links on the right.  There are a variety of resources from other organisaitons that are relevant to the children and young people's sector and available to download.  These are listed below.   The Resources Section is under continious development because of the amount of information available.

IT help for children's organisations

An IT helpdesk for voluntary organisations and social enterprises that work with children, young people and families has been launched by i-trust in association with Children England. The helpdesk will be able to give advice and guidance on ICT matters as well as basic IT support. For more information about the support desk click on this link:
http://www.childrenengland.org.uk/upload/Free%20IT%20support%20flyer.doc 
Here is link to the website and a poster:
http://www.thecovergroup.org.uk/i-trust/index.php/projects/children-england-free-it-helpdesk

 Arts

arts_hub

Want to know more about the rapidly growing visual arts network in the city of Wakefield and surrounding district? Sign up to arts_hub, a free listserve that allows you to stay directly connected with what's going on in the city. Arts_hub currently has over 100 members, providing one online notice board for artists, arts organisations and those interested in the visual arts. As an arts_hub member, you can also inform the group about your own events, exhibitions and opportunities, simply by sending an email to arts_hub@yahoogroups.com
For more information visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arts_hub/
To join email arts_hub-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Commissioning and Procurement

Commissioning and Procurement

Income for delivering public services is the sector's largest source of funding. Think carefully whether public service delivery is the right strategy for you. This section is a wiki (part of our iKnowHow project) so you can help make it even better. Today, voluntary and community organisations are engaged in a broad range of public service activities in areas such as health, social care, education and training, and housing. We now deliver £10.9 billion worth of public service contracts, and £3 billion worth of grant-funded activity. Public sector bodies (such as government, health trusts and local authorities) commission services through the competitive process of processing bids to win contracts for delivery known as procurement. This new iKnowHow section takes you through the process of working out whether delivering public services is right for your organisation. Learn more about commissioning and procurement. If you decide that your organisation is ready to deliver services, let us take you through the stages. Visit the Knowhownonprofit website to find out what they are:
http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/funding/service  

Community Organisations

Creating Change

Creating Changes is a project offering free community development training to a wide range of local support and development organisations, so that they can improve their practice in supporting small groups and networks. The training is delivered by experienced trainers who are also experienced practitioners. The courses use a participative approach that involves various tools that course participants can adapt and cascade down to the groups they are supporting. There is an expectation that applicants try to name at least six community groups that they are working with and participate in a tracking process that measures the impact of the training on their practice and allows both FCDL and participants to track their learning and professional development. It involves a tracking form being sent to all learners that is completed and returned. There is also an opportunity to take part in Practice Learning workshops to explore the themes mentioned. The website includes links to downloadable tools, so visit the website at:
http://www.fcdl.org/creating-changes

Better Together Challenge

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published a community buying guide to help communities who are thinking of buying goods collectively in order to save money. Community buying involves consumers combining their buying power to buy goods or services together, getting better deals and saving money, for example food/groceries, heating oil and solar panels. BIS are also running a Buy Better Together Challenge. If you have come up with new ways of buying collectively to help save money or you have an idea about communities working together in this way you could enter the challenge to win a share of £60,000. Training, mentoring and seed funding is available for stand out projects with a £15,000 prize for the overall winner. Visit the website to find out more:
http://discuss.bis.gov.uk/buying

Community Matters - Online Guidance and Advice

Here is a page from Community matters where you can find all you need to know about setting up and running a community organisation. This includes legal structures, Trustees roles, managing the organisation, policies, finance, marketing and more.
http://www.communitymatters.org.uk/content/462/Online-Guidance-and-Advice

 Compact

Ensuring Meaningful Engagement when Consulting

The Compact Voice team have produced a handy checklist about when national or local government consult with the voluntary sector about policy issues, programmes or public services. There are some key things they should do to make the process meaningful. Find out what at:
http://www.compactvoice.org.uk/sites/default/files/ensuring_meaningful_engagement_when_consulting.pdf

User Guide to Local Compacts

Compact Voice has published 'Local Compacts: A User Guide' giving practical information on what Compacts can cover, communicating their contents, addressing non-compliance and more. ("A local Compact is a mutually agreed document and approach to partnership working between sectors.") It provides practical guidance on:
• What a local Compact is and what areas they cover
• Compact groups, officers and champions
• How to communicate the Compact to different partners
• How to run an effective Compact event
• Action planning, monitoring and evaluating your local Compact
• Revising or Renewing your Compact
• Addressing non-compliance
There is also a useful Implementation Checklist. Visit the website for more information:
http://www.compactvoice.org.uk/resources/publications/local-compacts-user-guide 

Improving working between community groups and local public sector

The Commission for the Compact has published 'Working better together', an implementation guide on how community groups and local public bodies can improve the way they work together. It looks at five common situations such as 'having a say on an issue' or 'using and renting space'.
http://www.thecompact.org.uk/files/142259/FileName/communitygroupsimplementationguidance.pdf

Computers, IT

A Parent's Guide to Facebook

Connect Safely have launched a helpful Facebook guide for parents. It is designed to help parents understand what Facebook is and how to use it safely. With it you will be better informed and able to communicate with young Facebook users in your life. That's important because:
1. if something goes wrong, we want our children to come to us
2. as the internet becomes increasingly social and mobile, a parent's guidance and support are ever more key to young people's well-being in social media and technology. The guidebook is published in partnership with the iKeepSafe Coalition.
You can download the guidance from:
http://www.connectsafely.org/Safety-Advice-Articles/facebook-for-parents.html

Electroville

Electroville is a social firm that exists to help voluntary organisations achieve their objectives more effectively through the use of ICT. You can find information about their services and also free access to learning resources, useful web links, and a Technology Toolkit.
http://www.electroville.org.uk/

 iT4Communitues

iT4Communities introduce charities, voluntary organisations and community groups needing help with IT-related projects to volunteer IT professionals. Since 2002 we have provided over 2,500 VCOs with help, advice and guidance thanks to our network of over 7,500 volunteers and our team of project definers. Our volunteers give £750,000 of support to UK charities every year, helping organisations to run efficiently, make good use of new technologies and free up staff time to deliver vital services to the communities across the UK. There is an £85 + VAT administration fee covering:
• 12 months registration and access to the iT4Communities volunteer network
• as many requests for IT volunteers in those 12 months as you need
project help and end-to-end expert support from the iT4Communities team
Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.it4communities.org.uk/it4c/open/charity/index.jsp;jsessionid=6DB3913654E1CC3750003DC2294C4B64

Survive & Thrive - free guide on using technology

Many voluntary organisations are experiencing funding cuts, so it is important for charities and community groups to embrace technology. Making good use of technology enables your organisation to reach more people such as donors, policy makers and those who use your service more effectively at less cost and 24 hours a day. Technology also enables you to find more routes into funding so, ultimately, you can improve more lives. The role of technology in the modernisation of charities can help to improve their efficiency. This Survive & Thrive is full of useful case studies and tips on how you too can use technology to cut costs, raise more money, build communities, increase your reach and more vividly demonstrate your impact. Download your free guide now at
http://raceonline2012.org/sites/default/files/resources/survive__thrive_-_charity_sustainability_through_technology.pdf

Lasa launches Technology Handbook

The 56 page Technology Handbook (PDF - 314Kb) is designed to be a central repository of all information relevant to the configuration and management of the technology services within an organisation - from your ISP's login details to where licence keys are stored. It is aimed at third sector technology staff who have responsibility for supporting, developing, managing and securing ICT systems.

The handbook covers all areas of an organisation's technology. It is split into eight sections:
1. The organisation - e.g. mission, strategy, budget
2. Compliance - e.g. health and safety, data protection, waste electrical regulations
3. Inventory - hardware, software
4. Configuration - passwords, server, network, internet
5. Contracts - e.g. support, maintenance, internet service provider
6. Policies - e.g. disaster recovery, acceptable use, data protection
7. Procedures - e.g. user induction, backup
8. Appendices - sources of further information
http://www.lasa.org.uk/publications/computanews-guides/

Guide to using no-cost online surveys

A short guide on how to use no-cost online survey facilities, with a comparison chart of 13 of the most commonly used providers, has been put together by M and E Consulting (http://www.monitoringandevaluation.org.uk). From a quick browse, one suggestion by VolResource is that a data export feature can be of great help for any next steps, but generally this looks helpful. 'How to design and use fr** online surveys to collect feedback' at
http://www.monitoringandevaluation.org.uk/How_to_design_and_use_free_online_surveys.pdf

BT FREE web-hosting service

Charities and not-for-profit community groups can access a free web-hosting and design service through the communications company BT. Its Community Web Kit provides free website hosting, a free address, a choice of layouts and designs and a step-by-step guide. It has a choice of 8 templates in various colour themes, an easy-to-use Page Editor as well as an HTML Editor for the technically minded. The service is part of the telecom giant's Get IT Together campaign to encourage as many people as possible to get online.
http://www.btck.co.uk/

Microsoft Britain Works

Helping UK Charities support people into employment. Join today and access resources to help your organisation maximise your outreach through IT skilling for employment. The Britain Works Initiative aims to help 500,000 people into employment by giving them access to vital IT skills over the next 3 years.
A major component of Britain Works is our NGO Programme which provides resources and connects UK registered charities working in the employability arena. Any registered UK charity with an employability programme is eligible to apply to the programme, where you will have, access to a variety of benefits to enable you to help more of your beneficiaries into employment through IT skilling. You can register to join the Britain Works NGO Programme free of charge. To register your interest please Email: britwork@microsoft.com and an application form will be emailed to you to complete your registration.
Website: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/britainworks/ngo.aspx

Disability -working with children with a disability

Look, Smile, Chat

The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) is launching a campaign called Look, Smile, Chat to help deaf and hearing teenagers communicate with each other. The campaign aims to reduce the social isolation experienced by some deaf teenagers by putting hearing teenagers in the shoes of their deaf classmates and giving them simple steps to make communicating easy. Deaf children and young us to take action.

Free resources, including short films, lesson plans and posters have been created to help spread the simple steps that can make a big difference to the lives of deaf teenagers. NDCS is asking organisations to show their support. All the resources and information can be found here: www.buzz.org.uk/looksmilechat  

Network Autism

NAS had recently launched a brand new online community that will connect autism professionals across a host of disciplines, including the research sector. It is the first UK network to provide an online space where autism professionals can engage and communicate directly and access constantly updated and exclusive content. Network Autism is free to join and is open to all professionals who work in an autism-related field. You can register for the network now by visiting
http://www.autism.org.uk/networkautism

'Managing my way' - a free healthcare toolkit for young disabled people

The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) has published some new resources as part of its 'Managing My Way' project. This aims to help disabled young people take responsibility for managing their own health conditions. Managing My Way was an innovative project which aimed to increase the responsibility disabled children and young people are able to take for managing their own health conditions. It was funded by the Department of Health. CDC used the funding to carry out research with disabled young people and health care professionals which looked at the barriers to young people's involvement and the kinds of tools which help to overcome those barriers. It also funded us to develop some new tools. Visit the website to download some of the resources available:
http://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/managingmyway

Disabled children to have their say on how their health should be measured by the NHS

National Institute for Health Research
A new project, The Children's Outcome Measurement Study (CHUMS) has received funding of £250,000. The project will help place children with neurodisabilites at the centre of evaluating the NHS care they receive and will also look at how disabled children and young people can report their own opinions, particularly exploring how technology can be used to support this. Click on the link below for more information - the links at the bottom of this page take you to more useful information:
http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/news/january-june-2012/disabled-children-to-have-their-say-on-how-their-health-should-be-measured-by-nhs  

Council for Disabled Chidren

The Council for Disabled Children, the umbrella body for disabled children's sector, has launched a new website. Visit the website to find lots of information and resources.
http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/

Guide to help disabled people find adequate transport

This guide from Radar is written by and for disabled people using their real experiences of using public transport. It is the newest in a series of guides. ‘Doing Transport Differently - How to access public transport - a guide for everyone with lived experience of disability or health conditions' has information and travellers' tales to inspire people with lived experience of disability or health conditions to use all types of public transport. You can download the report from:
http://www.radar.org.uk/people-living-with-health-conditions-disability/doing-life-differently/doing-transport-differently/

Disability Toolkit

The Children's Society have developed a website that includes a toolkit with resources, information and support to help you ensure that young people's voices are heard.
http://sites.childrenssociety.org.uk/disabilitytoolkit/toolkit/

KIDS; WeSail

Provides advice, information and liaison to families caring for a disabled child or a child with additional needs living within the Wakefield district. WeSail provides a range of services to families including transition support.

Jan Bray, Connexions Complex Medical Needs Personal Adviser is based with WeSail two days a week (Mondays and Wednesdays) she provides the key role in terms of transition. The role of Connexions is to provide information, advice, guidance and support for young people aged 13-19 (or up to 25 with learning difficulties or disabilities). As well as help with career choices, support with issues such as health, relationships and housing is also available.

Jan is able to provide support to young people with a disability or additional needs, particularly in relation to transition at 16 or 18 or to those at risk of disengagement from education or employment. Jan can provide information about transition and future options including advice about education, training or employment or adult services. Information about leisure and social activities is also available. Jan is able to link with schools and colleges to advocate on behalf of a young person and to facilitate support from agencies and services where required.
Contact details:
Phone 01924 379015 Fax 01924 377323 Email wesail@kids.org.uk 

Disability Services: An A-Z Guide of What Works

If you manage or commission services for disabled children and young people this guide is for you. It will help you find the evidence that has been gathered by the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services (C4EO).
This tool will be helpful whichever agency you work in - universal or specialist, third sector or statutory. Your services for disabled children may be multi-agency or delivered through inter-agency arrangements. Now, more then ever you will want to know more about ‘what works' for disabled children and young people so that you can make the most effective use of limited resources. Visit the website for more information:
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/disabledchildren/atozwebguide/default.aspx?themeid=2&accesstypeid=1

Speech Bubble

Speech Bubble - technology that gives you a voice. If you need help with spoken communication because of a disability, this website can give you an idea of what's on offer, with details of nearly every communication aid available in the UK - and it's all searchable! Communication aids, software, vocabularies - lots of technology for all ages and abilities both physical and cognitive. Visit the website to find out more.
http://www.speechbubble.org.uk/

C4EO Interactive Learning Modules

C4EO have launched three new interactive e-learning modules, focusing on Disability, Schools & Communities and Vulnerable Children. These have been developed to help all professionals working in the children's social services, education and health sectors achieve better outcomes for children and young people. You can view these modules and others at:
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/elearning/?dm_i=7SL,CLCN,2G7RX0,ZR9M,1 

Drugs Information

Free Resources from Frank

As part of FRANK's new campaign partners and practitioners are able to order campaign resources to give to young people and parents about drugs including:
• A range of merchandise such as pens, bags and badges
• The Truth About Drugs: Know The Score. An A to Z booklet of drugs for young people.
• Does Your Child Know More Than You? Drugs information booklet for parents and carers, with information about drugs and young people.
• Campaign posters
To download a leaflet visit the website at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4137440
or email FRANK@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk to request the order form

Empowering the Voluntary Sector

Setting the Standard: Data sharing and standards in the voluntary sector

With data sharing becoming increasingly important for voluntary organisations, data standards to standardise the terminology and categories used is essential for successful collation, analysis and communication, for example in consortium working. An article on ICT Knowledgebase discusses two types of data format and what needs to be addressed to move forward with standards. An issue this newsletter has been plugging for years with little sign of progress, but this may help. 'Setting the Standard: Data sharing and standards in the voluntary sector'. Read more on the lasa knowledgebase:
http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/datastandards  

 Empowering the voluntary sector (using Public Law)

The Empowering the Voluntary Sector project brings together the expertise of Compact Advocacy, based at NCVO, NAVCA and the Public Law Project. The partners will deliver this innovative project consisting of advice on managing disputes and training in using the principles of public law and Compact to prevent and manage disputes with public bodies until September 2011. The project will also continue to publish regular newsletters with updates, case studies, and hints and tips to manage and prevent breaches of public law and non-compliance with the Compact. The overall aim of the project remains unchanged; to strengthen the relationship between voluntary and community sector organisations and public bodies and significantly increase opportunities to influence funding and other decisions made by public bodies. Find out more from NAVCA at:
http://www.navca.org.uk/services/learningopps/evs?utm_source=Funding+News+email+updates&utm_campaign=db87d0095c-FN_MAILCHIMP_DAILY&utm_medium=email

New resource from Empowering the Voluntary Sector: advice and information on Compact and Public Law issues related to council-owned premises

Many organisations either rent or use council-owned premises. The Empowering the Voluntary Sector project has produced a short introductory guide on how the Compact, public law and equalities duties are relevant and how they can be used where decisions are taken that affect your use of premises. It will help organisations to know where they stand, what their rights are and how they may be able to challenge unfair decisions.
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/?ACT=39&fid=28&aid=177_MoDeLCgjOMSEBkKRmNqd&board_id=1

Civil Exchange

This collection of 20 essays Civil Dialogue: ideas for better working between government and civil society, is published by Civil Exchange and DHA, a communications agency working in the voluntary and public sectors. It could be interesting reading. For an article about it visit Third Sector at:
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/DailyBulletin/1081384/Government-use-voluntary-bodies-to-reconnect-society/EE9E632FD1468B21FEDC72FD55BE3576/?DCMP=EMC-CONDailyBulletin

To download the collection of essays go to:
http://www.civilexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Civil-Dialogue-final_July_20111.pdf 

Evaluation and monitoring

Local Area Interactive Tool (LAIT)

The Department for Education has developed the Local Area Interactive Tool (LAIT) to provide easy access to a wide range of data related to children and young people sourced from various departments across government. It acts as a single central evidence base that helps support the Accountability Framework and Transparency Agenda.
The LAIT is an Excel-based tool that provides user-friendly access to a system that brings together a consistent set of local authority (LA) performance and data items including:
• inspectorate judgments
• contextual information about individual LAs, including number and type of schools, social deprivation factors
• pupil attainment, health, looked-after children, post-16, etc.
The LAIT includes baseline and time-series data for more than 180 different data items allowing comparisons to be made both over time and, for benchmarking purposes, against national, regional and statistical neighbour groups. The information is presented in interactive tables and charts with the LA's rank and quartile position included to indicate performance in the national context. The LAIT data is continuously updated when new data is released so that users always have access to the very latest information. Visit the website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/research/lait/a0070240/local-area-interactive-tool-lait

Talking results: Six tips for good impact reporting

Impact reporting is a buzzword among charity and donor circles. But how does it help charities and what does good impact reporting look like? NPC shares six top tips for communicating results. More and more charities are talking about the impact of their work, helping them to engage with donors and building trust and credibility with supporters. The information gathered for impact reports also provides valuable insights into what organisations are achieving and can help to ensure that they are doing the right things. Good impact reporting clearly communicates what you are aiming to achieve and how you are doing in relation to these aims. While some organisations produce a stand-alone impact report, others include information on impact in their annual report, on their website and in other marketing materials. Impact reporting was the focus of a recent series of NPC seminars, following on from NPC's Talking about results report published in 2010. Visit the website to rad the six tips:
http://gi.philanthropycapital.org/howto/103/talking-results-six-tips-for-good-impact-reporting

Measuring and communicating your impact

Here are some downloads from the Charity Comms Measuring and Communicating your Impact Conference last month. On this first link you can see presentations, tweets, and pictures from the day, as well as hear interviews with three of the speakers:
http://charitycomms.org.uk/events/charitycomms_seminars/measuring_and_communicating_your_impact_conference
2. Demonstrating your impact with digital storytelling
http://charitycomms.org.uk/articles/in_focus/demonstrating_your_impact_with_digital_storytelling?dm_i=3LK,GTDW,29Q746,1DEJ4,1
3. Three things we do to mess up communication success
http://askcharity.org.uk/blog/2011/06/three-things-we-do-to-mess-up-communications-success/?dm_i=3LK,GTDW,29Q746,1DEJ9,1

Can ICT Help with Monitoring & Evaluation?

Charities Evaluation Service has produced a guide aimed at organisations which have already developed their monitoring framework, assessed their needs and are considering purchasing an 'off-the-shelf' system.
http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/index.cfm?pg=416&dm_i=6FP,E3QP,12IELE,14ZH1,1 

Developing and using outcomes monitoring tools

New from Charities Evaluation Services, 'Assessing Change: Developing and using outcomes monitoring tools'. This guide is a practical handbook to help you identify and develop ways to collect information on the outcomes of your work, that is, to track the difference your work is making. It takes you through the process of deciding whether to design your own monitoring tools or to use one of the many tools that are already available. This guide will help you:
• assess the range of options available
• understand the different methods of data collection available and
• decide on the methods most appropriate to your work and your
• information needs
• develop outcomes monitoring tools based on your outcome indicators.
http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/downloads/assessingchange-740-748.pdf

Charities Evaluation Service launches monitoring tool selection resource

CES's National Performance Programme has launched IT for Outcomes, a new online resource designed to help you select the right tool to support your monitoring work. We've focused on low-cost, 'off the shelf' database systems and have created a guide to help you establish your needs, and a comparison table to clearly demonstrate key features - for example cost, flexibility, outcomes management functions and ease of use. Visit the website for more information:
http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/index.cfm?pg=416&dm_i=6FP,E3QP,12IBOS,14ZH1,1

Freebies

What would your charity do with £4,000?

Provide training for your staff? Put on an extra event for your service users? Fund a new part time worker? Last year In Kind Direct, one of The Prince's Charities, helped charities in its network to save an average of £3,995 each by providing access to the essential supplies that not for profits need to run their services. Visit the Directory of Social Change website to find out more:
http://www.dsc.org.uk/PolicyandResearch/News/Whatwouldyourcharitydowith4000?dm_i=6S7,S4XV,29I7I3,2A8FY,1

Let schools find you on the new VCS Hub

Voluntary and community sector organisations - Do you offer extra-curricular activities to KS1, KS2 or KS3 pupils, or to SEN pupils up to age 16?
If so, you are invited to register your organisation on the VCS Hub (a new extra-curricular database). Schools can then find out about the extra-curricular activities you offer and commission your services.
Registration on the VCS Hub is FREE until September 2012.
(The VCS Hub is part of the Learning Exchange, an online community of extra-curricular practitioners. Membership of the Learning Exchange is included when you register.)
You will enjoy many benefits as a member of the VCS Hub and Learning Exchange.  Visit the website at: http://www.learning-exchange.org.uk/ or download a poster  here

 Furniture
Over2Hills - Solves the problem of redundant office furniture. The furniture they receive will will either be passed on to 'not for profit' organisations or recycled. Get more information from:
http://www.ylc.org.uk/assets/Over-2-Hills.pdf

Free Goods Available to Community Groups
Giving World Online (GWO) is a not-for-profit scheme set up to help to community groups and charities access free surplus goods from businesses and organisations whilst at the same time helping reduce the amount of goods sent to landfill. For more information visit the website at:
www.givingworldonline.com 

Free Online Advertising Available from Google Grants (UK)
Registered charities can apply to the Google grants programme, for in-kind support that translates into free advertising through Google Adwords - an online self-managed advertising programme. Google Grants is a unique in-kind donation programme that awards free AdWords advertising to selected charitable organisations. We support organisations that share our philosophy of community service to help the world in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy and the arts. The Google grants programme empowers non-profit organisations to achieve their goals by helping them promote their website via advertising on Google. Google AdWord ads appear when users search on Google. When you click one of the ads, you are brought to the website being advertised. Applications can be made at any time. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.google.co.uk/grants/

Free CRB checks
The Youth Association don't only work with young people; part of what they do is help volunteers and groups overcome financial and bureaucratic hurdles, such as CRB checks (FREE for associates) and much more. To find out more about free CRB checks, visit the website at: 
http://www.youth-association.org/

Microsoft offers more free products to charities

Microsoft has increased the number of free products charities can receive from it each year
from six to 10, using the Charity Technology Exchange service, which helps charities to access free software. Products include Windows 7 operating system, Office 2010 and most other main software packages produced by the company. Charities will also be able to put in requests as often as they like to CTX, instead of being limited to one request a year. They will be able to request up to 50 copies of each product and will be charged a small administration fee for each request. Richard Craig, chief executive of the Charity Technology Trust, the charity that runs CTX, said the initiative would give more not-for-profit organisations greater access to up-to-date technology. "We look forward to working closely with UK-registered charities to help them acquire the right technology to help support their staff and to achieve their charitable missions," he said. Microsoft has been running a software-donations programme in the UK since 2006, and says it has provided more than £47m worth of software to charities. (Third Sector)
http://www.ctxchange.org/ 

Student Cash Point

Student Cash Point is a FREE website designed to help students find the funding they need to cover the costs of going to college and university. It's the UK's most comprehensive source of information on student grants, loans, bursaries, scholarships and awards - that's hundreds of millions of pounds worth of FREE money on offer every year! Students can register for FREE and find out what money they might be eligible for. Visit the website top find out more.
http://www.studentcashpoint.co.uk/Default.aspx

Finance

Help for small charities

In 2011 the Institute of Fundraising secured funding from the Office for Civil Society to support small charities to fundraise more effectively. The three year project supports small and localised organisations at grassroots level with an annual income of £1 million or less.
The project also works with groups supporting marginalised, vulnerable and socially excluded individuals to support them develop their fundraising career. Our programme of activity includes face to face training, online learning, mentoring, career coaching, consultancy and a toolkit.
• Five Minute Fundraiser
• Training Courses
• Conference Bursary Scheme
• IoF Academy Qualifications
• Online Courses
• Free CPD Access
• Managing Fundraisers: The essential guide to recruiting, developing & retaining fundraising talent
For more information about this project please contact Annie Clarke on 0207 840 1008 or email: annie@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk or visit the website at:
http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/events-and-training/help-for-small-charities/
If you Google "Social Technology - A starting point" you can find a document about fundraising from the Institute of fundraising.

Tendering for a contract - where do we start?

Finding information about available contracts and being invited to tender often requires a combination of research, building the right relationships through networking locally, subscribing to the relevant trade journals and even speculative enquiries to commissioning agencies.
Useful starting points for searching for information on purchasers include:
• Local partnerships, voluntary and community organisation committees and local strategic forums, especially those including public sector representatives.
• Local and national priority needs and service plans.
• Approaching a public sector organisation directly and asking for information under the Freedom of Information Act
• Contacting the procurement department of an agency and obtaining a copy of their written guidelines.
• Individual public sector organisation websites for further information on their procurement strategy - also look out for adverts for ‘meet the buyer' events.
• Inspection reports, which highlight key issues and failures in both public service and procurement practice. These can be used to inform service design.
Read more at funding Central:
http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/Page.aspx?SP=6158

Key stages in applying for funding

There are thousands of different funders and each has their own way of handling applications and making grants. Fortunately for those seeking funds - while there are differences between funders, the vast majority of grant programmes involve similar stages and processes.
A common mistake is to see grant funding simply in terms of making applications - you find a potential funder, submit an application and hopefully receive an offer letter. But when you read the terms and conditions you find that you are going to be paid in arrears, with instalments linked to producing reports and project accounts, and that the existing post you were hoping to fund needs to be externally advertised. The project costs you far more to administer than you had expected. You thought it took enough time to apply but you soon find it takes even more time to monitor, report and meet funders' conditions. Despite these problems, the project goes well and in your final report to the funder you explain how you want to continue after the pilot stage. The funder calls you - if only you'd talked to them sooner - you just missed a deadline for a new programme which would have been ideal. Read more at Funding Central:
http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/Page.aspx?SP=6282

Funding infrastructure

Voluntary Sector North West has published a short paper, On the Nature of VCS Infrastructure, that highlights the need for coherent investment in local infrastructure and summarises their submission to the Lottery's recent consultation on support for frontline groups. You can down load the paper from:
here

Jargonbuster

Funders and support agencies use concepts and terms from the language of planning, project management and performance improvement in different ways. This lack of agreed definitions has led to widespread confusion about what particular terms mean and how to use them most appropriately Jargonbusters aims to help UK funders, the Charity Commission and voluntary and community organisations to be more consistent in the way they use technical terms in voluntary sector management and commissioning. We also aim to increase awareness of the ideas behind these technical terms. This will help organisations to understand, plan, review and develop their projects in a systematic way and become more effective. It will help funders understand the work of the projects and organisations they want to fund more thoroughly and sympathetically. Visit the website at:
http://www.jargonbusters.org.uk/

 Dipping into restricted funds

Tempted to raid your restricted funding to cover budget shortfalls? It's possible, says insolvency practitioner Stephen Goderski, but only if you follow certain steps. The economic downturn has put a real strain on many charities' finances and the outlook for 2012 does not give much cause for optimism. For some smaller and niche charitable organisations the drop in funding and rising costs can prompt the temptation to dip into their restricted funding.
Restricted funds are those provided to a charity for a specific purpose and are not necessarily intended as a bolster to keep the organisation afloat. They tend to be assignment or project-focused. They may be income funds, which are used at the discretion of the trustees in relation to a particular aspect of the charity's work, or they may be capital funds, where the assets are required to be invested, or retained for actual use. Read more at Civil Society:
http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/finance/indepth/expert_advice/content/11509/dipping_into_restricted_funds

Five Minute Fundraiser

The Institute of Fundraising has created a series of short videos to give a snapshot of the key principles of successful fundraising, and offer those with limited experience an ideal ‘way in' to an exciting long-term career as a charity fundraiser. The videos have been produced as part of a wider project funded by the Office for Civil Society to support small charities to fundraise more effectively. There are nine separate videos which you can view at:
http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/help_for_small_charities/five_minute_fundraiser

Charity Commission - videos to help smaller charities to file accounts online

Evidence shows that those with incomes under £500,000 are less used to filing online, which is a requirement from this year. The Charity Commission has created video tutorials on its website that offer smaller charities step-by-step guidance to filing their annual returns online.
There are different videos explaining the process for charities in three different income brackets between £10,000 and £500,000, each of which has different reporting requirements. Those with incomes under £10,000 have to update their details annually, but do not have to submit accounts. Those with incomes above £500,000 are felt by the commission to be less in need of help. "The target audience is smaller charities because, looking at the figures, it is the smaller charities that are less likely to have done it online before," said a commission spokeswoman. The commission is moving this year to a system under which all charities required to file an annual return must do so online. In a statement, it said 86 per cent of charities filed online last year. "From 2011 onwards, all charities are being asked to submit the required information online, through the Charity Commission's website," the statement said. (From Third Sector).
You can visit the website at:
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/RSS/News/pr_ar11.aspx

Funding Guide

Free Guide on Sustainable funding

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has published a free guide for trustees on sustainable funding. The guide covers grants, contracts, donations and also income from trading goods and services. Visit the website and you can explore the publications by topic area.
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-support/funding-finance/sustainable-funding/publications#trustees

Cutswatch Launch

Cutswatch.org.uk has been set up to provide guidance and support to third sector organisations through public spending cuts. The site aims to provide up-to-date news, case studies, guides and information on how to positively deal with spending cuts, along with links to useful events and services. They want to hear how they can further support your organisation. What would you like added to cutswatch.org.uk? Send them your suggestions Email: carina.mckeown@acevo.org.uk
Or visit the website to read more:
http://www.cutswatch.org.uk/main/

Local Grants Forum - Defending Local Grants (f4f)

The Local Grants Forum is a partnership of national organisations formed in 2007 who campaign to protect grants for local third sector organisations and community groups. They have produced resources you can use at local level which will help you to convince councillors, commissioning officers and procurement professionals that grants should continue to be used to fund local organisations and groups. These have recently been revised and can be downloaded from the website at:
http://www.navca.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0C1A3369-C77C-4E77-8A27-8C23AD0BC37E/0/Defendinglocalgrantsrevised.pdf

Public liability insurance for smaller organisations

Public liability insurance for small voluntary organisations and community groups which costs less than £10 a month or £75 a year has been developed by Zurich Insurance in collaboration with sector support umbrella NAVCA and charity specialists Tennyson Insurance. Tennyson Insurance at
http://www.tennysoninsurance.co.uk/

Guides and toolkits

What and how to report your impact - new guide

A good impact report can help your organisation in lots of different ways. And there's now a brand new plain English guide to help you get it right. NCVO is one of eight organisations who have developed these principles within the sector and for the whole sector, following on from the Inspiring Impact last December. Read more and download from the NCVO website at:
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/networking-discussions/blogs/116/12/03/19/would-you-some-help-reporting-impact-your-organisation
You can also read the guide, Twelve steps to impact heaven, on the NCVO website. Getting your whole team to become focused on impact requires leadership. Richard Piper has guided lots of organisations through the process and he recently wrote up a 12 step plan for anyone tasked with doing it.
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/networking-discussions/blogs/14292/12/01/30/twelve-steps-impact-heaven-real-process-real-world  

Freedom of information guide

The Information Commissioner's Office has published a plain English 'Guide to Freedom of Information'. It is written mainly for those in public authorities and explains the obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, answers many frequently asked questions and gives practical examples to illustrate how to apply the Act in practice. It may also be of interest to others. Visit the website at:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/freedom_of_information/guide.aspx
You could also take a look at this page which may be useful. The Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations give you the right to access official information held by public authorities. It includes decisions about local hospitals, money raised from car parks and minutes of meetings. This information must be recorded, such as in documents, emails, notes, videos, letters and even audio tapes:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/official_information.aspx)

Resource Pack

Leeds Infrastructure Consortium (LIC) has issued a new resource pack which provides help in key areas such as finance, governance, marketing and funding. The pack includes information that gives community and voluntary groups and small charities information they need to operate effectively and efficiently. It is primarily aimed at organisations in the Leeds area, but the tools and guidance should be of wider benefit. The pack is available at:
http://bit.ly/w4sWW3

Funding guide for workforce development

The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) has published ‘Funding guide for workforce development'. The guide is free to download and is aimed at employers, training providers and learners who work with children, young people and families in the voluntary and community sector. The guide has the following sections:
• Charitable funding for organisations
• Public sector funding for organisations
• Low and no-cost alternatives to support learning and development
• Funding schemes for training providers
• Funding for learners
• Future funding and developments.
Visit the website to download:
http://ncvys.org.uk/blogs.php?act=view_topic&id=249  

 A plain English guide to the Localism Act - Update

• This document describes the main measures of the Localism Act under four headings:
• new freedoms and flexibilities for local government
• new rights and powers for communities and individuals
• reform to make the planning system more democratic and more effective
• reform to ensure that decisions about housing are taken locally
• This document is designed to give an overview only. You can read the Act and its explanatory notes in full, on the parliament website at:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/localism/documents.html (external link). The document Decentralisation and the Localism Act: an essential guide also gives further background. It explains how the principles that underpin the Localism Act also inform other government policies. It is only available online and can be downloaded from:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/localismplainenglishupdate  

Tools social workers can use to talk to children

Which techniques and resources should be in every social worker's toolkit when doing direct work with children? David Shemmings, Yvonne Shemmings, David Wilkins, Yvalia Febrer, Alice Cook, Fran Feeley and Claire Denham have put one together. The Munro Review highlighted that the only way to create a "child-centred" system was for social workers to have the time and the skill to undertake a great deal more direct work with children. Direct work needs to done in the right setting and involves more than asking a child "how are things?" Sometimes they need different media - paint, clay, pen and paper, puppets, virtual reality - to make sense of their "wishes and feelings". We offer practical demonstrations of direct work methods each of which seeks to understand the mind of the child and the child's world. Visit Community Care website at:
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/static-pages/articles/Social-work-tools-for-talking-to-children/

Toolkit - literacy, language and numeracy skills

The Learning and Skills Improvement Service has developed a new toolkit, designed to support voluntary and community organisations to respond to the literacy, language, communication and numeracy skills needs of their service users, staff and volunteers. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=327312

 UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2011

The UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac shows there were 765,000 people working in the voluntary sector in 2010, an increase of 40% since 2001, demonstrating significant growth in the size of the sector's workforce in the past decade (obviously this figure is expected to fall in 2011!). The almanac is a user-friendly source of research and information for voluntary sector employers and managers. It has been jointly produced by Skills-Third Sector, NCVO and the Third Sector Research Centre. Download the almanac from:
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/workforce#Almanac 

Young people's health toolkit launched

A comprehensive new health toolkit which is suitable for all professionals and volunteers who work with young people has been launched. Making Health Easy: A Toolkit for Youth Leaders was created with input from expert partners such as the British Nutrition Foundation and has been developed for use in a variety of community settings. The toolkit covers health support across the areas of nutrition, physical activity and emotional wellbeing and will be available from the Make Space website free of charge. Make Space for Health provides lively, interactive and challenging programmes for young people, delivered in youth centres and other settings, to support them to manage their lifestyles in an enjoyable way. The toolkit should be available soon, so read more at:
http://www.makespace.org.uk/news/view/75

Information Sheets from SYFAB

SYFAB has worked with Together for Regeneration (TfR) to produce six information sheets aimed at providing clear guidance specifically for faith groups. The sheets are:
• Funders for faith projects
• Evaluating faith projects
• Partnerships, networks and strategies for faith projects
• Project planning for faith groups
• Communicating with funders for faith projects
• Governance for faith projects.
While all the faith information sheets have information relevant to all groups, one of them, Communicating with funders for faith projects, is particularly good for non faith groups too.
You can download the full range of our information sheets at:
http://www.syfab.org.uk/infosht.php 

Guidance on Mutuals and Social Enterprises: a Quick Guide

The law firm, Nabarro has published a quick guide to mutuals and social enterprises. This guide summarises what mutuals and social enterprises are, their policy and legal context within the Big Society and some of the issues and challenges associated with them.
http://www.nabarro.com/Downloads/Projects-Mutuals-and-Social-Enterprises.PDF 

Best Value Statutory Guidance

This statutory guidance on the Best Value Duty sets out some of the reasonable expectations of the way authorities should work with voluntary and community groups and small businesses considering changing funding and making funding decisions. It reaffirms commitments under Compact. Download the document from:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1976926.pdf 

Resource Pack for Voluntary and Community Sector Groups

Leeds Infrastructure Consortium (LIC) has created a free resource pack offering advice and guidance to voluntary and community sector groups and organisations.
The pack has eight sections covering a range of topics, as follows:
1. Governance
2. Marketing and PR
3. Finance
4. Networks and Partnerships
5. Funding
6. Planning
7. Monitoring and Evaluation
8. Resources for Operation
The pack has been designed as a support pack for local organisations - mainly community and voluntary groups and small charities. It may be of use to larger organisations too. It is intended to provide resources for new and established groups to enable them to access the information they need to operate effectively and efficiently.
http://www.val.org.uk/news/free-resource-pack 

Ready for Change Toolkit

Rocket Science's experience in developing the capacity of third sector organisations shows that a positive approach and readiness to embrace change is critical to designing and successfully implementing a plan for sustainability. This tool has been designed to understand how skills, systems and behaviours, support or prevent change and pinpoint areas of strengths and weakness. It will help you explore how well your governance, financial management, communication and development activities are working and identify where you may need to focus your energies to ensure that plans for sustainability are realistic and achievable. Ready for Change is easy to use, quick to complete and produces a helpful analysis and report. To download the tool please visit the website at:
http://www.rocketsciencelab.co.uk/what_we_do/toolkits/ready_for_change_tool/ 

Asset Transfer toolkit for sports clubs

Visit this website at Sport England to find about asset transfer. The Community Sport Asset Transfer Toolkit aims to help community sports clubs tackle the issue of asset transfer, which involves the shifting of the ownership of land or buildings from government organisations to community groups such as local sports clubs and trusts, giving them financial stability and independence. The transfer of an asset is complex and the process can be daunting for a sports club, especially those run mainly by volunteers. The online toolkit provides information, resources and case studies and the transfer process is presented as a step by step process. Running Sports will soon be offering training which will help you get the most out of the toolkit. For more information about the toolkit and about help for sports clubs see: http://www.runningsports.org/ 
Website: http://www.sportengland.org/assettoolkit/

Reducing the time for office risk assessments

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has produced an online risk assessment tool which allows those working in low-risk office-based environments to do their risk assessment quickly and easily. It aims to "help cut back the time it takes to weigh up the hazards in offices to just 20 minutes avoiding unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy" for low risk activity. Visit the website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/office.htm

Charity Accounting online

A new online charity accounting toolkit is available from CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy), designed with the smaller voluntary and community organisation in mind. There is a demonstration module available. More details at:
http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/news/new-online-charity-accounting-toolkit/.

New Health Activities Resource Pack from NYA

A new resource, Health Activities Resource Pack (HARP) has been launched by The NYA's Youth Work for Health team. HARP is a group work resource for use by professionals working with young people. It splits the health curriculum into four key strands - healthy lifestyle; healthy relationships and sex; mental and emotional well-being; and substance use - and provides an expert background briefing on each, together with a range of activities to explore each area in more depth. The pack, which was extensively tested with groups of young people all around England, features background briefings, over 60 group work activities, a photo pack and a DVD. HARP will be available to buy shortly. Visit www.nya.org.uk/harp for more information. If you are interested in buying a copy, register your interest by emailing health@nya.org.uk

NCVO - Good Guides

NCVO's range of handbooks, the Good Guides, provide comprehensive information for all voluntary and community organisations to ensure they are working effectively. Aimed at beginners or those who are more experienced but looking for more guidance or a refresher, the Good Guides make it easy to follow best practice. Divided into clear chapters, they include checklists, legal information, changes in legislation and case studies to ensure they are clear and simple to use. The guides do cost around £25.00. Visit the website to find out more.
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/goodguides

Free 'Future Focus' guides from NCVO

This series of guides, written by NCVO Third Sector Foresight, is designed to help small and medium-sized third sector organisations think about likely changes in their external environment and how these trends could affect them. Each pocket guide focuses on a different topic and provides a ready-made analysis of the future changes we will probably see in the coming years in that particular area. Inside, they pose some strategic questions to help you think through these likely future changes, and how you can prepare for them. They are full of useful information and small enough to be accessible. There are as tips and suggestions that organisations can build into their planning. The series aims to help organisations to be more sustainable and more effective.
• Future Focus 1: What will our funding be like in five years' time?
• Future Focus 2: What will our volunteers be like in five years' time?
• Future Focus 3: How will we use new technologies in five years' time?
• Future Focus 4: How is local democracy changing?
• Future Focus 5: How are social attitudes changing?
• Future Focus 6: What will the UK population be like in 5 years' time?
• Future Focus 7: What will campaigning be like in five years' time?
• Future Focus 8: What will membership be like in five years' time?
The publications are available to download for free from:
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/future-focus-series 

Practical thoughts from research on mergers

The Institute for Voluntary Action Research has published the first of a new "Thinking about" series, which draws on previous research to provide practical, useful information for staff and trustees of small to medium-sized voluntary organisations. 'Thinking about merger' is primarily for staff, trustees of small and medium-sized voluntary and community organisations (VCOs). It is not a guide to the legal, constitutional or financial aspects of merger; nor is it a step-by-step ‘toolkit'. Instead, it brings together the experiences of a wide variety of VCOs that have contemplated or carried out merger to highlight different dimensions of ‘thinking about merger'.
• The document covers:
• Reasons for thinking about merger
• Stages in the process of merger
• What can help to make a merger work
• Information about other resources and further reading.
Download from: http://digbig.com/5bchrf

Help for facilitators of collaborative working

This guide from bassac is designed for anyone supporting collaborative working involving community or voluntary groups. It's the result of the learning and experiences that have come from the work of the Collaboration Benefits programme. The guide is filled with top tips and practical advice. It takes you through each stage of a collaboration - from establishing your role at the start of the project, to evaluating your support at the end. It sets out the key issues you'll face and gives you a clear framework on which to base your support. This guide will be indispensable to anyone working to support and facilitate collaboration.
Download the guide from: http://www.bassac.org.uk/node/942.

Health and Safety

PAT testing

The Health and Safety Executive has a section about Portable Appliance Testing. It has a section - "Answers to your most frequently asked health and safety questions on
Portable appliance testing" (aka PAT). Visit the website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/faq-portable-appliance-testing.htm

Reducing the time for office risk assessments

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has produced an online risk assessment tool which allows those working in low-risk office-based environments to do their risk assessment quickly and easily. It aims to "help cut back the time it takes to weigh up the hazards in offices to just 20 minutes avoiding unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy" for low risk activity. Visit the website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/office.htm 

 Health and safety for lone workers

Voluntary Art Network's have a useful Briefing series. Here is a link to one about 'Health and Safety for lone and remote workers'.
http://www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map19289.pdf 

Revising the guide to health and safety at music events

The Health and Safety Executive is consulting on a revised version of its publication 'A guide to health, safety and welfare at music and similar events', aimed primarily at organisers of such events. Responses by 11th November,
http://www.eventsindustryforum.co.uk/event_safety_guide/ The current guide is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg195.htm

Human Resources

Voluntary sector job satisfaction beats public and private sectors, says poll

Professor Stephen McKay at the Third Sector Research Centre says sector workers feel their mission fits their ideals. Voluntary sector workers are more satisfied with their jobs than those working in the public and private sectors, according to new research. But it also shows job satisfaction in the sector has fallen in the last 15 years. Analysis by the Third Sector Research Centre of data collected over the past 17 years for the British Household Panel Survey, which asks individuals how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with their jobs, found that voluntary sector workers scored a higher level of satisfaction across a range of questions, including the hours they work, the nature of the work and job security. The TSRC, based at the University of Birmingham, found that on a scale of one to seven, with seven being the highest, 75 per cent of voluntary sector employees in 1993 ranked job satisfaction as a six or seven, compared with 62 per cent of all workers. Read more at Third Sector:
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/bulletin/third_sector_daily_bulletin/article/1126769/voluntary-sector-job-satisfaction-beats-public-private-sectors-says-poll/?DCMP=EMC-CONThirdSectorDaily  

Pension Reform

2012 signals the introduction of new pension reform that will affect all employers. The Guardian's Voluntary Sector Network has an article on how charities can make sure they are prepared for auto-enrolment pension changes, including how to cope with possible increased costs. In an effort to address the problem of an ageing population coupled with the fact that an estimated seven million people are undersaving for their retirement, the government are introducing new pension legislation from October 2012. Under the Pensions Act 2008, all employers will be required to auto-enrol eligible staff into a pension scheme and contribute towards their retirement. There is a lot for organisations to consider, so visit the website for five key steps to help employers prepare for pension reform:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/feb/21/pension-reform-charities-prepared

Working with older employees

Age Positive and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development have published a guide for employers 'Performance and retirement practices - get it right!', on handling consequences of an aging workforce and the removal of the Default Retirement Age. Not a heavy document. Visit the website for more information:
http://www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy/_performance-retirement-practices  

Revised timetable for pension auto-enrolment

A revised timetable for when employers of all sizes must start enrolling their staff in a workplace pension is set out by the Government. Large employers, those with 250 or more employees, will not face any change in the date they are due to start enrolling their staff. This follows the announcement in November that small businesses would be given more time to prepare for automatic enrolment to help them out in exceptionally tough economic times. Read more at the Department of Work and Pensions website:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/jan-2012/dwp010-12.shtml
or you can visit Sandy Adirondack's Legal Update for more information:
http://www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#nest  

The employment year ahead - a sector round-up

Sandy Adirondack's Legal Update focuses on the voluntary sector. It includes proposals arising from the government's red tape challenge, and looks at what is in the pipeline as well as definite changes. There is lots of useful information about employment and volunteering, charity and company law, equality, redundancy, health and safety etc. A very useful website:
http://www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#employment-pipeline

Understanding basic rights at work

The TUC is launching a new microsite to help people find out more about their basic rights at work. Basic Rights @ Work will introduce vulnerable workers - people who have little knowledge of their employment rights, who find it hard to access advice and who do not have the ability to protect themselves against abuses of their rights - to information about employment rights in the UK and how to enforce these rights through statutory enforcement bodies. The site, put together by the TUC's Union Modernisation Fund (UMF), has details of the employment rights that apply to different categories of workers, information about basic rights - from the National Minimum Wage, to working time and annual leave entitlements - and advice on how to enforce your rights at work. The microsite contains five videos created by the TUC and enforcement bodies which explain how the different agencies operate. They reveal the role and purpose of the Pay and Work Rights helpline, the HM Revenue and Customs National Minimum Wage enforcement team, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, the Employment Agencies Standard Inspectorate and the Health and Safety Executive. Read more at:
http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-19896-f0.cfm
Or see the videos at:
http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-19833-f0.cfm 

Changes to the law for Workplace Pensions

The Voluntary Action Rotherham website has a roundup of the changes to the law about workplace pensions. It includes the changes from 2012, what employers will need to do now and in the future. Highlights from the article in regards to the change in law are:
• Employers will need to automatically enrol certain workers into a pension scheme, an eligible jobholder is aged between 22 and state pension age and earning above a certain amount (currently £7,475)
• Employers will need to make contributions on their workers' behalf
• Employers will need to register with The Pensions Regulator
• Employers will need to provide workers with certain information about the changes and how they will affect them
• The changes will affect all employers with at least one worker in the UK.
You can visit the VAR website to read the full article.
http://www.varotherham.org.uk/payroll-services/payroll-news-services/3736-workplace-pensions-the-law-is-changing 

Free guide to help you with your staff training plan

NCVO have put together a free guide to carrying out a Training Needs Analysis Report. It lays out the practical steps to managing your training requirements at all levels within your organisation including for volunteers and trustees. You can download the guide from:
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/Training_Needs_Analysis_2010-ncvo.pdf

Legal update for voluntary organisations: employment, equal ops, health & safety

This is a useful website for Voluntary Organisations. It provides information of a general nature for boards/management committees and staff of voluntary organisations about legal changes over the past year, and forthcoming changes, relating to employment, volunteering, equal opportunities, and health and safety
http://www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#h&s-cases 

Get Legal

Get Legal, is a free online reference and decision-making tool for charities, social enterprises and co-operative organisations. Get Legal has been developed by NCVO, with support from BWB, to enable organisations and their advisors to access clear information and guidance on the most appropriate legal form and governance structure for delivering their goals. Visit the website at:
http://www.getlegal.org.uk/?utm_source=Funding+News+email+updates&utm_campaign=ecd9de5676-FN_MAILCHIMP_DAILY&utm_medium=email 

Work-related stress: what the law says

Are you stressed out with work? The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), with support from the Health and Safety Executive, Acas and others, has published new guidance for employers highlighting the importance of managing employee stress through tough economic times. It is in employers' interests to tackle staff anxiety through good people management, and there are legal risks if they ignore their responsibilities. Acas news item at:
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3118
or download from CIPD at
http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/health/stress/_work-related-stress-what-law-says.htm

HRBank updated with 112 new policies

We have just added 112 new policies to our HRBank. HRBank contains an extensive collection of human resources policies and job descriptions which have been donated by voluntary and community organisations. These are available for organisations to amend and tailor to their own needs. HRBank is free for voluntary and community organisations to access - to do so, visit the NCVO website.
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-support/people-hr-employment/hrbank/hrbank

 Journal Articles

Youth and Policy

The Youth and Policy editorial group works in partnership with a range of local and national voluntary and statutory organisations who have complementary purposes. These have included UK Youth, YMCA, Muslim Youth Council and Durham University. All members of the Youth and Policy editorial group are involved in education, professional practice and research in the field of informal education, community work and youth work. The journal is run on a not-for-profit basis. Editors and Associate Editors all work in a voluntary and unpaid capacity. Download journals from:
http://youthandpolicy.org/

Legal

FREE legal advice for the voluntary sector

The Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC) has launched a new free legal advice service for professionals including those in the voluntary sector. The Safe Network has been working alongside CCLC to promote the legal advice service. The information and advice provided on the website, as well as via the advice line, is free of charge and covers all aspects of child protection and safeguarding law and policy in what is a changing and sometimes complex arena. The CPP advice line can provide legal information and advice regarding general queries as well as advice on specific incidents or cases that practitioners may be confronted with. Visit the website at:
http://www.safenetwork.org.uk/news_and_events/news_articles/Pages/child-protection-project-free-legal-service.aspx  

Management

 Free and easy to use, the Acas Model Workplace helps you to check how good your organisation is at people management - from recruitment to performance management. Presented in short modules, you can complete as few or as many sections as you want to. And after completing a module, you'll be a given a rating for how effective your current practices are, along with useful advice and links to resources. You will need to have installed Microsoft Silverlight to use the Model Workplace. Visit the website top find out more:
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2806
Or, download it from: (Note that the tool requires the Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in to work, but there isn't any cost for either of them.)
http://www.silverlight.net/ 

Resources from four of CWDC's successful leadership and management programmes

These will be available online at the end of this week. Between 2009 and 2010, CWDC delivered three training programmes aimed at leaders and managers in the young people's workforce. These included the
• The Leadership Development Programme (LDP),
• The Management Development Programme (MDP),
• The Leadership Enhancement Programme (LEP).
A further leadership programme for children's services workforce planners was also delivered over the same period. Materials from all four programmes can be downloaded for free via the CWDC website. These resources can be adapted to for local needs, and offer you the first step if you considering going into management.
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/whats-new/cwdc-news-e-bulletin/july-2011/news-for-practitioners/leadership-and-management/leading-fr?utm_source=Communicator&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Untitled23&utm_campaign=Apply+yourself+to+be+the+best

Top tips for better management

A new online resource from employment mediation service ACAS, 'Top tips for better management', brings together what they consider as the best material from a variety of sources. This aims to make it easier for managers to support their staff, impacting on health and wellbeing, how well they do their job, and how well the organisation performs.
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2966 

Being a manager / leader

These are all from the KnowHownotprofit website and look really useful when so many groups and organisations are going through periods of change.  It is an excellent website to browse.  The how to adapt your HR strategy in tough times guide has advice about dealing with absence and redundancy.

http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/how-to/how-to-adapt-hr-strategy-in-tough-economic-times
A recent discussion on KnowHow highlighted that good communication was key to staff and volunteer morale. Find out more about communication and motivation.
http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/people/staff/team-communication-motivation-and-engagement
The section on managing change has lots of useful material on planning and communications.
http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/leadership/change

Media

Media Trust

Media Trust provides charities and voluntary organisations with the skills they need to raise awareness of their cause and improve their communications. They bring together media professionals with charities and voluntary organisations that want to improve the way they communicate. If you want support from them they have the following sections:
• Training and events
• Free professional support - eg looking over a press release or getting your website ranking higher online, to mentoring disadvantaged young people on media projects.
• Tell your story with a film
• Free resources
If you want to give support they have sections for:
• Volunteer your skills
• Become a corporate member
• Partner with us
• Donate to Media Trust
Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.mediatrust.org/

Networks, Communities and News

Share Street

The Children's Workforce Development Council have an online network called Share Street for those who work with children and young people as they need the skills and knowledge to work together to do the best job they can. Share Street is an online community designed to help make that happen. You can network with colleagues, share ideas and learn from each other. You'll find documents (in the library), videos (in the cinema) and case studies (in the rainbow) that you can browse, download and share. You can comment on the items you find, join and start discussions or publicise an event. Share Street is your street, and the central hub for the ever-evolving children and young people's workforce.
https://sharestreet.cwdcouncil.org.uk/Page.aspx?PageName=Default

Community Development Exchange

Community Development Exchange, the membership organisation for community development, has a new e-membership category "for the princely sum of nowt". This provides a monthly e-zine, policy updates and occasional CDX news. To find out more go to:
http://www.cdx.org.uk/news/become-e-member-cdx

Data to help communities make sense of their choices

The Young Foundation has created WARM - the Wellbeing and Resilience Measure, a framework to bring together existing and new data to help communities make sense of their choices. As public resources shrink it is more important than ever that local areas have ways to think clearly about their priorities and needs. WARM is a new tool that has been developed to make the most of existing data about localities, combining familiar statistics on such things as jobs and health with new ways of thinking about how happy and resilient communities are. Developed in partnership with a wide range of local authorities, community groups and national organisations, WARM focuses not just on community needs and vulnerabilities (such as crime or mental illness) but also on community assets (such as strong families and social supports). It's been designed to help areas compare themselves with other similar places, and as a tool to help communities struggling with difficult decisions about priorities for spending and cuts. Visit the website to download the publication, Taking the temperature of local communities: The Wellbeing and Resilience Measure - WARM (October 2010)
http://www.youngfoundation.org/publications/reports/taking-temperature-local-communities

Parents and Families

Volunteers supporting families

Family Lives has put together a new resource for organisations and volunteers that work in family support. 'Unlocking Parent Power - Volunteers supporting families'. is designed to recognise and celebrate the work of volunteers in family support as well as help organisations and professionals work with volunteers in a well-managed and supportive way. There are case studies, volunteer management good practice, ways of motivating and celebrating volunteers etc.
http://familylives.org.uk/instructions-not-included/unlocking-parent-power

Families

Strong and stable families are the foundation of a strong and stable society and, are key to ensuring children develop into healthy, happy and successful adults. This section of the DfE website contains family policy and information about services to support families. Information on the parenting classes trial for parents of children aged 0-5 has been updated. There is the latest news on family policy and information about services to support families.
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families

Working Together Pack

These resources draw on outcomes from research to identify what parents need to help them effectively engage with their child's learning at home. They give parents practical ideas, tools and information to help them make homework and learning part of their family routine. The pack provides user-friendly, interactive, fun and familiar tools to inform parents around the value of communicating with their child about learning and school, whilst providing the means to do so. It provides practical exercises to encourage imaginative development, storytelling and problem solving and reinforces the idea of reading together and enjoying reading as a part of everyday life. Download from:
http://publications.education.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-00141-2010&

C4EO Families, Parents and Carers Knowledge Reviews

C4EO have published three new Families, Parents and Carers Knowledge Reviews to help those working in this field. These focus on

• what works in improving the safety, health and wellbeing of children through improving the physical and mental health of mothers, fathers and carers.
• what works in improving children's outcomes by supporting parental and carer couple relationships and reducing conflict within families, and
• the impact of parenting and family support strategies on children and young people's outcomes.

C4EO's Knowledge Reviews are based on a rapid review of the research literature, analysis of key data, validated examples of excellent local practice and the views of both service and agencies users and providers. They summarise the best available evidence that will help services to improve service delivery and, ultimately, outcomes for children, young people and their families.  The three new reviews are now available in the publications section and you can download them from: http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/families/default.aspx?themeid=4&accesstypeid=1&tab=publications&dm_i=7SL,EC6G,2G7RX0,156ZG,1 
You can also download from the C4EO website 116 local practice examples 44 are fully validated with another 72 judged as promising practice.
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/general/localpracticeexamples.aspx?themeid=10&dm_i=7SL,EC6G,2G7RX0,156ZG,1

Policies

Download free ‘Good Guide to Employment' templates 
We have a wide range of templates available on our website which are designed to be customisable to your organisation and which you can adapt, edit and amend as you wish. The templates are designed to help you with the development of policies, job descriptions and good diversity practice - and many more. To access the templates, visit: 
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/gge-templates-downloads

Publicity

Community Newswire

Community Newswire, is a free-to-use Community Newswire service that helps charities, communities and citizen journalists get their stories into the national and regional media.Charities and community groups can upload their press releases and news stories, which are then picked up by journalists from the Press Association news agency, rewritten, facts checked and distributed to newsrooms nationwide. You will also find a useful section with advice on writing press releases.
http://www.mediatrust.org/get-support/community-newswire-1/

Research

Open access to scholarly research

The research report 'Benefits of Open Access to Scholarly Research for Voluntary and Charitable Sector Organisations' has been produced by the Office for Public Management and NCVO. It makes clear the Open Access publishing model for higher education research would give the voluntary sector direct and indirect benefits from increased access. Already, more voluntary and community sector organisations use OA than pay the more prevalent subscriptions. See a news item at http://open-access.org.uk/news
Or download from
http://ie-repository.jisc.ac.uk/view/subjects/open_access_research_outputs.html

Safeguarding

E-learning Resources

C4EO has launched two new interactive e-learning modules, focusing on Child Poverty and Safeguarding, and there is also one for early years. They are in an interactive format and have been developed to help all professionals achieve better outcomes for children and young people. There are several more modules coming soon.
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/elearning/?dm_i=7SL,8WCL,2G7RX0,N9MZ,1

Free CRB checks

The Youth Assiciation are providing free CRB checks to voluntary organisations working with children and young people.  Click  here for more information. 

Secondments and staff

Really Responsible Consultancy
Starting in 2011 we'll be allocating 50 project managers to charities in the UK and one of them could be with you. Do you have a fundraising initiative you need support with? Or a project you haven't been able to complete? Perhaps you need a fresh perspective on things? Now's your chance to get involved and get the extra help you need to make a difference. It works by Really Responsible Consultancy arranging a meeting between you, the candidate and their mentor/coach so that you can agree what you'd both like to achieve from the partnership over a six month period. This is an opportunity to outline the task or project you need to be completed and to agree an appropriate working relationship between you. £1,000 of the programme fee is donated to your charity to support your candidate while they manage the project. 

How to get involved - Charities and social enterprises that are able to demonstrate the passion, drive and commitment required to make the most of this opportunity are invited to apply for inclusion in the 2011 programme. Ask your Fundraising Manager or Director to arrange a meeting with us to discuss your eligibility. For more information, see the Really Responsible website: 
http://www.reallyresponsible.com/grants_funds_charities_social_enterprises.html

Invitation for charity secondment
The John Lewis volunteering programme, which is handled by the Golden Jubilee Trust, has issued a call for charities to apply for secondees from the company for periods of up to six months. You can read a news item about it at: 
http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/fundraising/news/content/8132/ 
and go to the website at: 
http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?&MasterId=302088b7-fc0b-4b0c-b0d3-fe2389abdbca&NavigationId=624

Social Enterprises

An Enterprisong Future

Here is a guide to social enterprise for voluntary sector organisations providing children and young people's services. This guide is for anyone working to provide children and young people's services in the voluntary sector, who are interested in finding out more about the social enterprise model. You may have heard people talk about social enterprise and be wondering what it's all about, or you might want to explore operating as a social enterprise, especially if traditional funding streams are drying up, or if you're looking to generate income in new and innovative ways. You can download the report from:
http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/advice-support/resources/enterprising-future

Social Media

Guidance on Social Media use in the Workplace

The employment relations body Acas has produced guidance on managing the use of social media in the workplace. There are fact-sheets giving practical tips on how to manage the impact of social networking on Managing performance, Recruitment, Discipline and grievances, Bullying, plus Defamation, data protection and privacy, with a guide on how to develop a social networking policy. Visit the website at:
http://www.acas.org.uk/socialnetworking  

Report 'Social media and its impact on employers and trade unions

This guidance follows a research report 'Workplaces and social networking - the implications for Employment Relations' and a comment piece 'Social media and its impact on employers and trade unions'. The latter is reasonably short (pdf, 123KB) and may be worth a read, see news release
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3438

Social media guide for charities

CharityComms, the organisation for sector communicators, has produce a two part 'Guide to
Social Media for Charities'. Thousands of charities in the UK are aware of social media, but aren't sure what it can do for them. Even more are engaging with their audiences on social networks, but want to know how to develop and optimise their activities. CharityComms has put together a two part Guide to Social Media for Charities. Part One is aimed at those just getting started, with Part Two written for charities who are actively using social media and want practical advice on taking their comms to the next level of success. Download the guide from:
http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/resources/guidelines/charitycomms_guide_to_social_media_for_charities

How charities can use social media for digital campaigning

Charities need to think about their digital offering in a different way to help engagement with campaigns. Social media thrives on conversations. It isn't meant for broadcast but for engagement, and that should play to the strengths of voluntary sector campaigns. However, digital campaigning is still regarded as replicating campaign messages and relationships from the physical world in the digital landscape. Basically, trying to reach out to the same people, saying the same things online. And that is where many organisations should tread carefully. Visit the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network Blog to find four ways to think about your digital offering in a different way:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/apr/05/charities-social-media-digital-campaigning

Sport

Local Leaders - free tools and tips for people planning an Olympic celebration

If you want to plan a celebration for the Games, look no further. Sign up to be a Local Leader and whether you invite three friends or your whole community, we'll provide you with the tools to make your celebration one to remember. Visit the website to check out the tools and tips or to sign up:
http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/local-leaders/

Strategy for Sport

Sport England has launched their new Strategy for Sport. The aim of the strategy is to help deliver a sporting legacy from the 2012 Games to encourage everyone, but particularly young people to take up sport and develop a sporting habit for life. The document has been published on the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) website at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/default.aspx  

Travel

Half Price Fares on Grand Central Trains

The Grand Central Community Card is designed to help reduce the cost of travel to voluntary and community organisations operating in the areas we serve. It provides 50% off the cost of Grand Central fares, and can only be used on Grand Central trains. Each card can only be used by one person at any time, representing the organisation. We welcome applications from voluntary and community organisations. You do not have to be a registered charity, but tell us if you are. We would like to know a bit more about what you do, and if there are any other ways we may be able to help you.
http://www.grandcentralrail.co.uk/community-card.html

Trustees

Young charity trustees: What you need to know

Just 2.1% of UK trustees are under 30 years of age, so young people are hugely under-represented on charity boards - something which many in the sector want to change. Some of the barriers to trusteeship for young people seem to be the fact they don't know enough about the trustee opportunities that exist and what it entails, or they don't feel they have accrued enough work experience or skills. On the contrary - many charities are crying out for young, motivated people who can demonstrate a willingness to learn and are passionate about a charity's ethos and goals. There are about 200,000 charitable organisations in the UK and one in five is likely to have a trustee vacancy - so there are many varied opportunities available. Becoming a charity trustee offers many benefits. Young people will learn how organisations are run and gain experience in areas such as setting strategic goals, accounting, financial planning and employment practice. Such experience would enhance any CV and give young trustees an edge over other jobseekers in an interview situation. Read more at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/feb/24/young-trustees-need-to-know

Lessons in managing risk in charities

Charity Finance Directors' Group has published 'Managing risk in charities: Lessons from the past decade and a look into the future', which looks at development of risk management in the sector since the first annual survey 10 years ago, and makes recommendations for improving practice. Download the report from:
http://www.cfdg.org.uk/~/media/Files/Resources/Briefings/CFDG%20and%20CASS%20risk%20briefing%20final.ashx

Lessons in managing risk in charities

Charity Finance Directors' Group has published 'Managing risk in charities: Lessons from the past decade and a look into the future', which looks at development of risk management in the sector since the first annual survey 10 years ago, and makes recommendations for improving practice. Download the report from:
http://www.cfdg.org.uk/~/media/Files/Resources/Briefings/CFDG%20and%20CASS%20risk%20briefing%20final.ashx

Good governance codes all in one place

(Vol Resource)
All the Good Governance codes for the voluntary and community sector, from the original 2005 version to the latest one for smaller organisations and its accompanying jargon buster are available to download from:
http://www.goodgovernancecode.org.uk  (Note that the site is marked as 'under construction' so the precise links to the guides might change)

At Your Bidding

At Your Bidding is a guide for charity trustees about commissioning and tendering for public services, published in partnership with the Local Government Association. At a time of significant change within the public sector, the guide aims to:
• Provide some context about the commissioning of public services so that trustees can understand the potential implications and impact of commissioning at a strategic level on their charity
• Outline the issue to consider and the decisions that trustees have to make regarding bidding for service contracts
• Describe the steps that trustees need to take to make sure their organisation is tender and contract ready
• Draw attention to key areas for risk assessment and risk management
Signpost to other useful publications, resources and sources of information and advice
This publication is not a detailed technical manual on how to tender. The focus is squarely on the key issues that individuals need to be aware of in fulfilling their duties as charity trustees
http://www.navca.org.uk/publications/atyourbidding

Make your board effective - the role of chairs, trustees, and CEOs

This is from Knowhownonprofit - Calling all trustees, chairs and CEOs! Improve the effectiveness of your board by understanding the roles of the chair, trustees and CEO as well as the purpose and principles of good governance. Plus, do something about those never-ending board meetings. It is an invaluable practical guidance from leading non-profit governance consultant Ruth Lesirge. You can buy ‘Make your board effective' (with downloadable trustee self-assessment tool) from the website. You can sample all their training by watching the first two minutes of any video for FREE. Visit the website at:
http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/studyzone/make-your-board-effective-the-role-of-chairs-and-trustees

Risk management for small charities and new trustees

The Charity Commission, the regulator of charities in England and Wales, has produced a web section on risk designed specifically for small charities. Aimed at small or newer charities, and for trustees just starting out, the three pages cover ten useful questions for avoiding problems, simplified risk management for small charities, and signposting for further information/help on topics from charity law to health and safety. Visit the website at:
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Charity_requirements_guidance/Specialist_guidance/Small_charities/Avoiding_problems_in_running_your_charity.aspx

The risks of becoming a trustee

New from charity specialist solicitors Russell-Cooke is a briefing 'What are the Risks of Becoming a Charity Trustee?' As they say, rewards of being a trustee, and giving back to society, should outweigh any such worries. It looks at the duties of both Trustees and Directors as well as the operational liabilities and insurance. Read more at:
http://www.russell-cooke.co.uk/clientUpload/document/file/What%20are%20the%20Risks%20of%20Becoming%20a%20Charity%20Trustee%20-%20April%202011.pdf

Update model governing document from Charity Commission

The model governing documents provided by the Charity Commission (Articles of Association, Constitution and Trust Deed) have been updated. The trustee benefit provisions have been reviewed and harmonised, including closely connected persons, and are consistent with their Charitable Incorporated
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Start_up_a_charity/Guidance_on_registering/mgds.aspx 

How can you use technology to be more effective trustees?

What's the usual structure of your trustee meetings? You get sent the papers a few days before, everyone has been too busy to look at them, you waste time reading documents and going over old ground, there's disagreement about who was meant to be doing what and in the end no major decisions are made? If that sounds like your board then there is help out there and technology might be the solution. So what are the typical things you do as a trustee board and how might technology help you to do this more effectively
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/networking-discussions/blogs/18088/10/12/23/how-can-you-use-technology-be-more-effective-trustees 

Voluntary governance code for sports and recreation

The Sport and Recreation Alliance have published a 'Voluntary code of good governance for the sport and recreation sector', designed for use by national governing bodies of sport, County Sports Partnerships and representative membership organisations. Visit the website to read more:
http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/smart-sport/voluntary-code-good-governance
Or download from:
http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/sites/default/files/web/GovernanceCodeFinal.pdf 

Overview on managing charity assets and resources

The Charity Commission has produced a new, or updated, guidance document 'Managing charity assets and resources: an overview for trustees' (CC25). It is a general introduction to the management of a charity's assets and resources, with a summary of the key points to consider: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Publications/cc25.aspx

Trustee training and development to "lead through governance"

The Centre for Charity Effectiveness has a 'thought piece' looking at trustee training and development needs, based on the proposition that boards have a duty to lead through governance (first published in Caritas). 'High Impact, Low Cost - Chair and Trustee Development' in Word format, 113KB,
http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/cce/resources/thought_pieces/chairandtrusteetraining.doc

Everything you need to know to find or recruit a trustee

NCVO's Trusteebank is a free service to advertise or view trustee vacancies. It provides information about becoming a trustee and on best recruitment and induction practices. Visit www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/trusteebank to see how it could help your organisation recruit trustees. You can also download a Good Trustee Guide reader' to find out more about your responsibilities and as a reference guide for individual issues for existing trustees.
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-trustee-guide

Volunteers

Avoiding job substitution by volunteers

Volunteering England, in partnership with Locality, NAVCA and NCVO, have produced a guide to help organisations ensure volunteers are not substituting for paid staff when services are being cut. It notes a range of scenarios which could be considered job substitution and sets out steps in managing the process and consulting about the principles, policy and roles and responsibilities of volunteers. You can download 'A guide to avoiding job substitution' from the volunteering England website at:
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/aboutus/news-releases/2273-strategic-partners-publish-guide-to-avoiding-job-substitution

Investigating the training needs of volunteers in the children's workforce

This is a qualitative study from CWDC to identify the core training priorities of volunteers in the children's workforce. It explores the training needs and experiences of volunteers in two case study areas. NCVYS contributed to the research providing advice, information and contacts
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/assets/0001/1578/CWDC__Final_Volunteer_Report.pdf

Recognise, support, invest - Your Guide to Valuing Volunteer Management

Volunteering England has created a guide to help organisations to assess how much value they currently place on volunteer management, why this is an important issue, and what extra steps they could take to value it even more. Recognise, support, invest - Your Guide to Valuing Volunteer Management.
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D6C69432-0BB8-485B-AA5D-C1E6E9267A56/0/Recognise_Support_Invest_Your_Guide_to_Valuing_Volunteer_Management.pdf

Working with children and young people

Social justice: transforming lives

This Government's strategy for Social Justice is about giving individuals and families facing multiple disadvantages the support and tools they need to turn their lives around. The strategy sets out Government's strong commitment to this agenda. It focuses on exploring how we can tackle the root causes of problems to promote real and sustained changes in peoples' lives. Download from the Department for work and pensions website
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/social-justice/

A new free online forum for the youth sector

the National Youth Agency (NYA) working on behalf of the Local Government Association (LGA) and in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE) and the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) has launched the Supporting Services for Young People community. The community is a free learning environment where people with an interest in the youth sector, not just those in local government, can discuss issues, access resources and take part in discussions. All members will be able to fully interact with the community posting questions, seek help from others, showcase their own research and case studies and find the latest information that they need. Over the coming year the community will host a number of ‘Hot Seats' from key figures in our sector where you will be able to ask questions and join the discussions. Find out more, including how to register at the NYA website:
http://www.nya.org.uk/news/knowledge-hub

Good practice in working with young people

The Big Lottery Fund has published good practice guides for organisations that work with young people. The new publications share learning and practical examples from projects supported by the Young People's Fund, which actively involves young people in planning and delivering youth services. You can download a range of documents such as actively involving young people, reducing anti-social behaviour, working with young carers and more: Visit the website at:
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/er_yp_gp.htm

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

The Rights! Cameras! Action! Project brought together Photo Voice and Action for Children to engage and inform children about their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). They do this using a range of media. They held workshops for young people from a variety of backgrounds throughout the UK and asked what they thought about their rights and how important they were to their lives. The young people expressed their views through video and photography. The project launched an online multimedia resource for use in schools, youth groups and families to explore what the CRC is and what the articles mean in practice for young people in the UK. Visit the website to download this free resource:
http://www.rightscamerasaction.org.uk/

Making it REAL: Raising Early Achievement in Literacy (REAL), Sheffield

REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) is an approach aimed primarily at three and four year olds and their families. It encourages participation in, and enjoyment of, the four key aspects of early literacy - books, early writing and mark making, singing songs and rhymes (phonological awareness) and reading and engaging with environmental print. The aim is to enhance young children's progress in early language, literacy, and social development, by building parents' confidence to provide strong early home learning environments, and engage with early years' settings. Visit the website to read more:
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/general/vlpdetails.aspx?lpeid=358&dm_i=7SL,LH0X,2G7RX0,1QP1H,1

Youth Work Resources

CYP Now has brought together virtual youth work activity resource packs under different topics, such as sexual health and alcohol. Each pack contains activities from the pages of CYP Now and Youth Work Now, and links to external quizzes, games, worksheets and other activities. Our youth club sessions offer ideas on how to engage young people in a range of key topics. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/go/youth_work_resources/ 

Kids - Childcare Information Pack

Kids brand new ‘Childcare Information Pack' has been developed by KIDS as part of the Wakefield Disabled Children Access to Childcare (DCATCH) project in collaboration with Wakefield Council Educational Psychology Service, Wakefield Family Information Service and Wakefield Council Childcare and Marketing Development Team. You can download the information pack from the website at:
http://www.kids.org.uk/information/100790/100828/103646/out_of_school_inclusion_support_project/ 
If you would like paper copies of the ‘Childcare Information Pack' to distribute to parents please contact KIDS on 01924 379015.

All in it together? Citizenship and the Big Society

This is a new curriculum pack which is available to download. These materials will contain learning activities that explore issues around the Big Society: what it means, how it might work (including the National Citizen Service for 16 year olds) and how young people can get involved in the Big Society by taking action in their own communities.
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=242762 

You are not on your own (for children affected by parental alcohol abuse)

I think this will be really useful for those working with children. The colourful booklet from The Children's Commissioner for England is aimed at children aged 8-12 to help children affected by parental or carer alcohol abuse. It aims to help the worker have a conversation with the child about the issues they face and could be adapted to suit a child of any age. It has lots of useful information, such as how to deal with an emergency, and sections for the child to work through.
http://system.newzapp.co.uk/EditSite/Customers/10272/nz-docs/Youarenotonyourown.pdf 

C4EO

The value of encouraging young people's participation in structured leisure-time activities outside of school and home has long been recognised as having a positive impact on their future life chances. Over the last 18 months C4EO has focused on three specific areas to help inform those working and developing services for young people. These include: increasing the engagement of young people in structured activities; improving outcomes for young people by spreading and deepening the impact of targeted youth support (TYS) and reducing alcohol consumption by young people to improve their health, safety and wellbeing. In addition to these reviews, C4EO have almost 20 examples of innovative and exciting best practice that focuses specifically on Youth programmes on the C4EO website. They hope that these three Research Reviews and the Director's Final Summary and Recommendations, along with the effective local practice examples, will support all those working with young people and, ultimately, help achieve better outcomes. You can download the summaries from the C4EO website:
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/youth/default.aspx?themeid=5&accesstypeid=1

Out of school groups - Leaders road safety activities

The THINK! Education road safety activities for out-of-school groups have been developed for leaders of groups of 5-11 year olds, such as Rainbows, Beavers, Brownies, Cub Scouts, Girls' Brigades and Boys' Brigades. These leaders' notes have been written to complement road safety materials available for teachers and parents. Leaders can download free resources accompanying this booklet from the THINK! Education site.
http://shop.dft.gov.uk/education/Product.aspx?ProductID=44c13c6f-a209-41f1-96f3-0a8ce7902f1b

Governance Guides for Children and Young People

BYC launch four governance guides for children and young people The British Youth Council (BYC) has recently revised and updated four guide booklets as part of their Youth at the Table training programme, which aims to support young people's involvement in governance. The guide booklets are designed to help develop the skills of young people in order for them to become effective members of a committee or a charity trustee board.
• What is governance?
• The essential information you need to know about governance
• What skills do I need to be great at governance?
• How do I get involved in governance?
You can download the booklets from Participation Works by clicking on the title.
http://www.participationworks.org.uk/news/byc-launch-four-governance-guides-for-children-and-young-people

Services for Young People: Value for Money Self-Assessment Pack

This self-assessment pack is a result of collaboration between the Audit Commission and the Confederation of Heads of Young People's Services (CHYPS). We are grateful to Ofsted for supporting this resource pack and advising on its content.
The tool has been piloted in a number of areas. Those involved in piloting it saw it as serving a number of purposes:
• to increase the self-awareness of council youth services managers and staff;
• to facilitate joint discussions with partner organisations on how to improve and achieve better value for money;
• to identify some ‘quick wins'- such as identifying the need to do more to celebrate young people's achievements;
• to raise the profile of services for young people; and
• to initiate a longer-term review of provision, staffing and costs across both statutory and voluntary sectors.
While this pack is designed as a self-assessment tool you may wish to have support in using it. The Audit Commission and CHYPS can provide independent facilitation if you are using the pack with a group of people. For more information, visit the website at:
http://youngpeoplevfm.audit-commission.gov.uk/(X(1)S(b0ffbv45mjneciq1btuw0j45))/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 

The Family Information Directory - relaese of software

The Dfe has released the software behind the Family Information Directory. This allows other organisations to develop their own version of the Directory. The Family Information Directory was introduced in 2009 to provide a unique, comprehensive source of registered childcare and family services information. The key software component of the Directory collects information from local authorities and national organisations in England, then publishes the information on a range of websites to enable parents, families and those who work with them to search for childcare and family services. http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a0075067/the-familyinformation-directory-release-of-software

Health-e - online learning tools

Following the successful launch of these tools, they are now available FREE TO USE online. 

What is Health-e learning?

The National Youth Agency has developed a set of FREE online resources to help youth professionals work more effectively on health issues with young people. There are five e-learning modules to work through or dip into, it is up to you.  These are designed to offer an introduction to key health areas which learners can then build on through further research, training and learning. The e-learning covers:

• Introduction: non-formal health education and youth work 
• Healthy lifestyles 
• Healthy relationships and sex
• Mental and emotional wellbeing
• Substance use

Visit the NYA website for more information and how to register:

http://www.nya.org.uk/health-e-online-learning-tools

Make Space

Make Space for Health provides lively, interactive and challenging programmes for young people, delivered in youth centres and other settings, to support them to manage their lifestyles in an enjoyable way.  Make Space for Health is running an ongoing programme of practical health and wellness support for youth workers and young people aged 11-19 in Make Space clubs and settings outside of school.  Fun, innovative and interactive resources to support young people to manage their lifestyles have been developed and tested - with excellent feedback and real evidence of change in attitudes and behaviour.  The Make Space for Health resource packs cover three themes:
http://www.makespace.org.uk/activities/make-space-for-health/activity_packs

Hello the national year of communication

2011 is the national year of communication. We have a year of activities to take you on a journey through communication. Being able to communicate is vital for all children, so they can make friends, do well at school and live life to the full. But more than a million children have some form of communication difficulty that limits their true potential. It's easy for you to help children learn and improve their communication skills and Hello is here to help you. Difficulties with communicating can affect children and young people severely and for life. In areas of poverty, over 50% of children start school with delayed language skills. This puts them at a huge disadvantage to their peers as they struggle to learn and make friends. There are monthly themes throughout the year. Visit the website to find out more. http://www.hello.org.uk/introducing-hello.aspx

Resourceful leadership: how directors of children's services improve outcomes for children

The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services/C4EO. Research into how directors of children's services lead to achieve the best outcomes for children. It found that the most highly effective leaders of consistently display a common set of eight behaviours in their leadership practice which collectively is best described as resourcefulness. The study examines the eight behaviours in more detail as well as looking at leading change, leading in times of shock and managing the political and corporate landscape.

http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/docinfo?id=144732&filename=resourcefulleadership-dcs.pdf

Cards for Little Lives

Cards for Little Lives is funded by the Equitable Trust. This is a fantastic resource for those who work with primary school age children. There are FREE Powerpoint files which you print out as cards or display on Smartboards. They are separated into different categories matching the 5 Every Child Matters (ECM) Outcomes of: Well-being: Health, Safety, Achievement, Contribution and Economic Well-being. The cards are designed to generate discussion, and children should be able to identify with each situation. A teacher's guide is also available. Visit the website for more information and to download the cards.
http://www.cardsforlittlelives.org/ 

Health-e - online learning tools 
Following the successful launch of these tools, they are now available free to use online. The National Youth Agency has developed a set of FREE online resources to help youth professionals work more effectively on health issues with young people. There are five e-learning modules to work through or dip into, it is up to you.

These are designed to offer an introduction to key health areas which learners can then build on through further research, training and learning. The e-learning covers:
• Introduction: non-formal health education and youth work
• Healthy lifestyles
• Healthy relationships and sex
• Mental and emotional wellbeing
• Substance use
Visit the website to download and use - you will need to register: 
http://www.nya.org.uk/health-e-online-learning-tools

 Health checks for Local Compact 
Compact Voice is the independent body representing the voluntary and community sector on taking the Compact forward. They have produced a collection of six ‘health-checks' for the Local Compact that include scorecards, a template and a relationship polling form. These cover the key components of a Local Compact that works for partners at strategic, operational and grassroots level. Take a look at: 
http://www.compactvoice.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Local_Compact_electronic_toolkit.pdf

Centre for Excellence and Outcomes (C4EO) 
C4EO has produced a number of templates that you can use to assess the cost of interventions alongside the impact of outcomes achieved for children and families. Visit the website for more information: 
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/costeffectiveness/?dm_i=7SL,8WCL,2G7RX0,N9MZ,1 
There are also several other resources available around ‘What Works - Local Practice examples' - which can be viewed at: 
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/general/localpracticeexamples.aspx?themeid=10&dm_i=7SL,8WCL,2G7RX0,N9MZ,1 
Thirdly, are downloadable postcards with challenge questions that act as checklists to stimulate multi-agency thinking and to help organisations develop a child poverty strategy. There are questions for frontline staff, strategic leaders and professionals from Health and Housing:
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/poverty/files/postcards/frontlinestaff.pdf?dm_i=7SL,8WCL,2G7RX0,N9MZ,1

http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/poverty/files/postcards/strategicleaders.pdf?dm_i=7SL,8WCL,2G7RX0,N9MZ,1

http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/poverty/files/postcards/health.pdf?dm_i=7SL,8WCL,2G7RX0,N9MZ,1

http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/poverty/files/postcards/housing.pdf?dm_i=7SL,8WCL,2G7RX0,N9MZ,1

New C4EO Practice Guide 
C4EO have published "Grasping the mettle: early intervention for children, families and communities". It is a practice guide executive summary to the challenges and opportunities in supporting children, families and communities through early intervention, based on effective local, national and international practice. Early intervention and prevention for vulnerable children, young people and families, poses one of the greatest challenges for local services and society at large. Identifying local, national and international knowledge of ‘what works' in early intervention and prevention, and supporting its use has the potential to transform life chances and ensure resources are spent wisely. ‘Grasping the nettle: early intervention for children, families and communities' demonstrates the challenges and opportunities in supporting children, families and communities through early intervention, based on effective local, national and international practice. Download from: 
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyintervention/files/early_intervention_grasping_the_nettle_executive_summary.pdf

NSPCC releases guide to help social workers avoid common mistakes 
The NSPCC has launched a guide for social workers to address the most common mistakes made when dealing with child protection cases. Ten Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them is primarily aimed at social work professionals and students, but is also targeting anyone involved in child protection referrals and plans, such as those working in education, health and the police. Some of the common problems highlighted in the guide are early information not being properly recorded or checked; information from family members and friends not being given sufficient weight; and not enough attention paid to what children say. Dr Karen Broadhurst, lead author of the booklet, said: "A number of recent serious case reviews, such as that of Khyra Ishaq, have highlighted problems both in deciding which children's cases get an initial investigation, and with the quality of initial assessments. Read more at CYP Now: 
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/Social-Care/1049730/NSPCC-releases-guide-help-social-workers-avoid-common-mistakes/ 
or download direct from the NSPCC website: 
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/publications/downloads/tenpitfalls_wdf48122.pdf

Targeted briefings for practitioners 
The Audit Commission has published a range of targeted briefings for practitioners. They include briefings on: 
• Young offenders 
• Young carers 
• Young people with special educational needs 
• Teenage parents 
• Care leavers the website at: the odds: targeted briefings 
http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/localgov/againsttheodds/pages/targetedbriefingsforpractitioners.aspx

Young people's workforce offered their Ticket to Progress 
Ticket to Progress, an online portal that will support the learning and development needs of staff and volunteers working with young people has now been launched. The Ticket is the latest phase of the Progress project, our voluntary sector-led partnership that is delivering 25,000 accredited training places to the young people's workforce. Hundreds of learners are now receiving training through the Progress project each week, and the launch of this web portal will enable them to keep an online record of their skills, training, work experience and volunteering. This can be shared easily with employers, training providers and other agencies, enhancing their employment and volunteering potential. Ticket is available to everybody working in the young people's voluntary and community sector. It can be used to complete a quick online self-assessment questionnaire that shows the training options available through the Progress project. The Ticket not only helps us to identify and work with learners accessing training, it also encourages input from employers to support the development of their paid and/or volunteer workforce. To get started, simply visit www.tickettoprogress.co.uk and choose to 'take the self assessment'. Read more at: 
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/news/4393_young-peoples-workforce-offered-their-ticket-to-progress

Make Space

Make Space is a campaign with a clear mission: to transform opportunities for young people aged 11-19 across England via a network of contemporary out of school centres that provide exciting places to go and things to do. They work with young people and youth workers, schools, local authorities and national organisations. By building on existing good practice and through lobbying, campaigning and development, Make Space seeks to revolutionise the youth offer in this country. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.makespace.org.uk/home

Resources from CRAE on human rights and equality for children and young people

You can download resources on human rights and equality law for children and young people from The Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE). They provide general information about the rights of children and young people in relation to:
• The new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Children's rights when their parents split up
• How lawyers can help children and young people and how to find one.
• Human rights for women and girls
• The European Convention on Human Rights
The guide on children's rights and parental separation includes information on how children and young people can have their wishes and feelings heard by the court when decisions are being made regarding issues such as living arrangements and contact.
http://www.crae.org.uk/protecting/advice/resources-for-young-people.html

Plings

Plings is a national programme that standardises how councils gather and share information about activities for children and young people. It is a discovery engine to help you find out information and things to do for young people. You can browse by keyword, postcode and date to find out what is going on. It is really easy for young people to share details with friends and other young people via Facebook, digital TV, mobile phones and websites. The key to Plings success will be the engagement of the voluntary and community sector, so visit the website, tell young people about it and use it:
http://www.plings.net/

Progress Matters: Reviewing and enhancing young children's development

The material in these professional development meetings (PDMs) is intended to support quality improvement on the theme of early assessment. The aim of the PDMs is to enable Early Years consultants (EYCs) to help practitioners identify children's starting points and their next steps in learning. These suggestions for continuing professional development (CPD) will need to be tailored to meet the specific needs of the participants. These PDMs build on the sessions presented at the National Strategies summer 2009 EYC events, in reviewing and enhancing young children's development. They are designed to support EYCs, leaders and managers in promoting effective practice in settings to ensure that all children make the progress to which they are entitled throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Facilitators may wish to extend the PDMs as part of a rolling programme of professional development. The PDMs are intended to develop the skills and confidence of EYCs, leaders and managers in monitoring children's progress. You can download from:
http://publications.education.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-00797-2009&

Guide to twenty impact and quality tools

‘Tools for you’ is an update to the Prove and Improve Toolkit from New Economics Foundation.  It is designed to help development workers and frontline organisations navigate the world of social impact and quality measurement.  The main booklet gives detailed summaries of twenty different approaches and an accompanying tool decider and comparison chart enables you to weigh up the varying benefits.  All downloadable, but registration required.
http://www.proveandimprove.org/new/

General

Barnardos

Barnardo's, the UK's biggest children's charity, have a useful resources section for those working with children and young people. Many of the resources are downloadable.
http://barnardos.org.uk/resources

New 'Inspiring Communities' guide launched to help people get involved in community activities

The Department for Communities and Local Government has launched a tips and advice guide designed to help encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to get further involved in local life and bring lasting improvements to their communities. From kick starting local projects, organising community festivals and engaging local businesses, the Inspiring Communities guide offers practical tips for anyone interested in running similar projects. It draws upon real life examples highlighting the experiences and the important and creative contributions made by communities across the country. Visit the website to read more and download the guide:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsstories/newsroom/1924587 

Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI)

Everyday small charitable organisations support individuals, families and communities and positively touch the lives of millions. On a daily basis thousands of these organisations struggle to keep their doors open and reach everyone that needs their help. FSI aim to give small charities the strategic support they need to stay open and be there for everyone who needed their help. At the FSI we're all about supporting the small charities who work right across the UK to build happier, safer and more supportive communities. The launch of the FSI Community brings these charities closer together; an online community aimed at the staff, trustees and volunteers that make our sector tick. They run free courses in London and give a contribution for travel costs.
http://www.thefsi.org/

Voluntary Matters

Here is a link to a website that looks useful for voluntary organisations. The site aims to inspire and inform everyone who is involved with a voluntary organisation in any way. It has four subject areas: people, money, organisation and message. You can switch between subjects using the menu options down the left side of the screen. The site offers both overviews and more details information and learning resources in these four areas.
http://www.voluntarymatters1and2.org/

Centre for Intergenerational Practice (CIP)

The Centre for Intergenerational Practice (CIP) aims to support the development and promotion of intergenerational practice as a catalyst for social change; the Centre is an initiative of the Beth Johnson Foundation. Through its funding sources and partners, it seeks to provide expert support to develop intergenerational practice across the UK and Europe
The Centre aims to support managers, practitioners and volunteers in the Voluntary and Community Sector, policy makers, and regional and national government to develop more cohesive communities by:
• promoting intergenerational practice as an effective mechanism to improve the understanding and relationships between people of different generations and cultures
• developing the evidence base and understanding of intergenerational practice at national, regional and local levels
• to develop a Learning and Development model to support Local Authorities in progressing their intergenerational programmes and plans in a climate of diminishing financial support
Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.centreforip.org.uk/

Setting up a small charity

The Charity Commission has produced new web resources "for small charities and
anyone thinking of setting up a small charity". Most charities have a small income or consider themselves small. Their needs and legal requirements are different than those of larger charities. They can also face different challenges. To make things easier, the Charity Commission has brought guidance and resources relevant to small charities together on a section of their website. There is lots of useful information to look at. Go to:
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Charity_requirements_guidance/Specialist_guidance/Small_charities/default.aspx

Policies and Legislation

 Equality Act 2010: What do I need to know?

The Equality Act brings together nine separate pieces of legislation into one single Act simplifying the law and strengthening it in important ways to help tackle discrimination and inequality.. Equality Act 2010: What do I need to know? is a series of summary guides and "Quick Start" guides to the key changes in the law, produced by the Government Equalities Office in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce, Citizens Advice and the Equality and Diversity Forum, to support implementation of the Act. These simple guides set out clearly what the new laws will mean for business, the public sector, the voluntary sector and the public, helping people understand their new responsibilities and rights. Implementation of majority of the Equality Act will begin on 1 October 2010.
http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010/equality_act_2010_what_do_i_n.aspx  

 Equalities Act

There are several items here worth reading about the new Equalities Act that came into force on 1st October. There are particular parts of the Act that are relevant to charities.
Guidance finally available on "charities exemption" under Equalities Act
The Charity Commission, the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, has produced guidance about a key section of the Equalities Act that allows a charity to limit the group of people that it helps, referred to as "the charities exemption". This means that charities will need a "strong justification" to restrict their services to certain beneficiary groups if they cannot prove that group has a particular need or disadvantage. Read what Third Sector magazine have to say on the subject.
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/1030818/,

This legislation came into force on Friday, 1st October, although there are other parts of the Act yet to be brought in to effect. Visit the Charity Commission website to read the guidance:
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Charity_requirements_guidance/Charity_governance/Good_governance/equality_act_summary.aspx

The Commission will publish more detailed guidance by the end of the year "to look at particular issues that may affect a small number of charities". This guidance should complement, not replace, that already produced by the Government Equalities Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which we have previously covered. The main employment aspects do not make any great changes to what employers need to do.

More help with the Equality Act

Here are several more links to help orgnaisations with the new Equality Act. NCVO Workforce Development team has rounded up key web links around the implementation, from 1st October, of the Equality Act 2010,
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-support/people-hr-employment/equality-act-2010-overview/equality-act-2010-overview

An online Equality Act Starter Kit has been created by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, with nine "bite-size" learning modules that set out the essential points of the legislation, Each downloadable module should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/new-equality-act-guidance/equality-act-starter-kit/

People Management magazine outlines why employers should welcome the Equality Act, contrary to how the popular press has portrayed it, and separates "myth from reality" on key issues,
http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/10/separating-myth-from-reality-why-employers-should-welcome-the-equality-act.htm

Sector guide on how to use the Equality Act
The Equality and Diversity Forum's 'How to use the Equality Act 2010: A guide for voluntary and community organisations' looks at how the new equality law can be used in advocacy, service delivery and campaigning work. It also includes a briefing on the Localism Bill and the EDF response to the Civil Society consultation.  Visit the website at:
http://www.edf.org.uk/blog/?cat=20

What are your rights during weather / travel disruption?
Here are a few links to websites about your rights during periods of bad weather when travel is disrupted. Basically, you are not automatically entitled to pay if you are not able to get to work because of bad weather. The official line from Direct.gov on employees' rights around travel disruption can be found here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Timeoffandholidays/DG_184199
Here is a link to ACAS:
http://www.acas.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2797
TUC's advice can be found at:
http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-17391-f0.cfm
The Communities Department has published 'Guidance on community action
during severe weather', which "challenges misconceptions about health and
safety laws getting in the way of action and volunteering" along with
contacts for useful charities and tips on how to volunteer. You can find this at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/severeweatherguidance
and finally, official advice on clearing snow and ice from pavements or public
spaces, the "snow code" can be found at:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_191868

 Recessions and Change

 Resilience Pack

This resource pack, co-ordinated by Voluntary Action Leeds, brings together the advice, information and support of several West Yorkshire agencies. It is part of a series of activities funded by Capacitybuilders (and Central Government) to help alleviate the impact of the current recession on voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise organisations. Our sector is used to dealing with the uncertainties of funding, and will always rise to the challenge. However there have already been casualties as funding has become more scarce over the past two years. With the recession, no organisation will be immune. A number of common themes are developed in this pack, however the two which come through most clearly are the need for planning, and the need for the sector to pull and work together.  Download the pack here.

Proving your worth to Whitehall

In this document produced by New Philanthropy Capital in preparation for the tough Comprehensive Spending Review this autumn, the Treasury has posed a series of 9 questions to government departments to force them to focus on which services are essential and which can be cut. The questions are not designed with charities in mind, but charities should be capable of answering them. Charities are concerned about the prospects for public spending and many are facing cuts already, so it may be useful to read the document and answer the questions which, in effect, will subject the charity to the same scrutiny faced by government spending departments. If charities can successfully answer the questions being asked of Whitehall departments, they could build a stronger case for survival. They might become more resistant to departments looking to make cuts. Their case could be more compelling to local authorities. You can download the document here

Power and social change

This comprehensive guide from NCVO focuses on helping you think strategically about how to bring about change through a series of chapters that can either be read on their own or as a whole. It seeks to complement existing practical guides and resources and is aimed at people who want to think more deeply and tactically about the issues of power and change. Download at:
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sites/default/files/UploadedFiles/NC586_12b_power_social_change.pdf

Local Grants Forum - Defending Local Grants

The Local Grants Forum is a partnership of national organisations formed in 2007 who campaign to protect grants for local third sector organisations and community groups. They have produced resources you can use at local level which will help you to convince councillors, commissioning officers and procurement professionals that grants should continue to be used to fund local organisations and groups. These have recently been revised and can be downloaded from the website at:
http://www.navca.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0C1A3369-C77C-4E77-8A27-8C23AD0BC37E/0/Defendinglocalgrantsrevised.pdf

Volunteers

Volunteering England

The Volunteering England website has useful information if you are working with volunteers, including new on-line material for employers. You can also find pages with the aim of increasing volunteering and resources to help you establish or develop a programme.
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/who-we-can-help/employers  

 Miscellaneous

Early Years

The Family and Parenting Institute has launched a new Department of Children, Schools and Families funded website to support those working with families with young children. They aim to engage parents in providing the best start to their children's learning with advice for parents, information for practitioners working with parents and information for organisations that wanting to set up a service for parents on early home learning. Visit the website to find out more:
http://www.earlyhomelearning.org.uk/

 Informing service delivery from community engagement

If you are working at the local community level, 'Integrating community engagement and service delivery pointers to good practice' may be worth a browse. From Local Government Improvement and Development (formerly IDeA), it shows how some councils are using information from community engagement to inform the ways services are planned and delivered, at
http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=22695537

 Young People

New campaigning guide for young people

The Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) has produced an easy-read campaigning guide for young people. The guide includes information about why young people should get involved in campaigning, how to get publicity for your chosen issue and factsheets explaining campaign jargon!  Download the guide from EDCM website.  
http://www.ncb.org.uk/edcm/Young%20Campaigners%20campaigning%20guide.pdf