Well Street Common May festival

Well Street Common User Group
is planning to hold the annual
May Festival on the Common
on Sunday 16 May 2010

Please put the date on your calendar now!

We will have all the usual attractions: live music, football tournament, refreshments, sports and children’s activities, dog show, stalls and more.
Yet again we are working with a minute budget and will need a lot of help on the day.  
The event is run entirely by volunteers, and we need to raise funds with stalls and refreshments to pay for the costs.
We will be grateful for any donations of second hand books, plants & bricabrac.
Would you like to help?
If have suggestions for extra activities, or if you would like to help in any way please get in touch or come along to the AGM.

Football tournament team application forms and stall application forms can be downloaded from the web site: www.wellstreetcommon.co.uk
or contact Caroline 020 8985 7422


Next meeting is the WSCUG  AGM
on Wednesday 28th April 7.30pm
at the Britannia in Victoria Park Road

www.wellstreetcommon.co.uk

Housing Support workers

Housing Support Workers

• Employer: HANOVER
• Posted: 17 Mar 2010
• Reference: XICE/HSW
• Contact: Judy Harrington
• Location: Hackney
• Contract: Permanent
• Hours: Full Time
• Salary: c.£25,000

 

As a leading provider of housing services for older people, we manage over 18,000 properties, and help our residents to maintain their independence. If you’ve got what it takes to maintain and develop our reputation for excellence, think about joining us - and contributing to our future success.

You’ll help older people live independently in both sheltered schemes and the community, providing them with flexible, wide-ranging support. Treating everyone as an individual, you’ll reflect our commitment to dignity and respect in everything you do, and above all, you’ll help customers to make their own informed choices. It’s important that you’re a good team player who’s equally comfortable working with older people, their families and carers, and a range of other housing, support, care and health professionals. You should also be able to work outside normal hours. Applicants who speak Turkish, Vietnamese or Chinese are encouraged to apply.

Ref: XICE/HSW.

Closing date: 6 April 2010.

Click here to visit website

CEN reach conference- feedback from last week

 The conference was fully booked in the days preceding the event (Some HSCF members reported that they could not attend as they had left it too late to book). It was packed to the seams on the day  and there were many interesting discussions.

Speed networking at Hackney CEN Reach 

Click here for Jake Fergusons feedback and here for Mary Cannon's feedback

and for all updates - full reports coming out soon check here  http://reachnetwork.ning.com/

in the transformation workshop - despite having to overcome the lack of space and apalling acoustics we had a very intersting discussion re transformation the main points thta came out of our workshop were:

• the need for ongoing dialogue with the local authority in terms of implementing these changes
• the need for support for groups in terms of marketing their services, especially as we will be competing with the private sector who have more experience in this
  
•  That we need to work together to measure the impact of services and we would like to  be involved in developing the measures & we wishto ensure teh measures are proprtionate to teh size of the organisation.
  

Health & Wellbeing Action Plan to be discussed at THriving Healthy communities board

Click here to view the Tackling inequalities health action plan

If you have any comments onthe plan please let us know as soon as possible as it will be discussed at the Thriving Healthy Communities Partnership Board  - the plan outlines the 13 priorities identified in the health profile of Hackney and the plans to tacjkle them.  Please note we understand this is  to be the evidence that will inform  commissioning of services 2010-2011.

David Woodhead will be coming to the HSCF forum on the 26th April 10-12 to discuss this further but please do get any comments back by return email - before the THCPB Meets on the 9th April.

Third Sector Commissioniong Strategy - draft coming in april

it was confirmed at the last Team Hackney Meeting that the draft Third sector commissioning strategy will be out for 12 week consultation in April.

This strategy should help us in the voluntary & community sector as all the statutory  funders  will be signing up to work in similar ways, and we hope to give plenty of notice before tendering services. 

Grants for partnership work across commonwealth countries

The Commonwealth Foundation awards the Civil Society Responsive Grant to promote co-operation and the sharing of skills, knowledge and ideas between developing Commonwealth countries. The programme is aimed primarily at projects that incorporate activities that involve the participation of people and organisations from more than one Commonwealth country.

Grants are awarded to projects falling under three main areas:
• Governance and Democracy;
• Sustainable Development; and
• Culture and Diversity.

Grants are awarded to applicant organisations that are able to contribute to the priorities of one of the Foundation's main programme areas. For more information, visit www.commonwealthfoundation.com/about/grantseekers.

Children in Need grants - reminder next closing date 15th April

deadline: 15 April, 15 July and 15 October 2010

BBC Children in Need's grants programme is open to organisations working with disadvantaged children and young people who are 18 years old and under. Your organisation and project must be based in the UK and you need to be a registered charity or other not-for-profit organisation.

Within the general grants programme, you can apply for:
• Small Grants of £10,000 or less per year for up to three years;
• Main Grants over £10,000 per year for up to three years.

www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/grants/general_grants.shtml

Source

Children in Need grants - reminder next closing date 15th April

deadline: 15 April, 15 July and 15 October 2010

BBC Children in Need's grants programme is open to organisations working with disadvantaged children and young people who are 18 years old and under. Your organisation and project must be based in the UK and you need to be a registered charity or other not-for-profit organisation.

Within the general grants programme, you can apply for:
• Small Grants of £10,000 or less per year for up to three years;
• Main Grants over £10,000 per year for up to three years.

www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/grants/general_grants.shtml

Source

provision of culturally specific accomodation based domestic violence refuge services

please click here for tender details

European Commission calls for proposals

European Commission calls for proposals

Two current European Commission calls for proposals are:

• Action 3.2 — Youth in the world: Cooperation with countries other than the neighbouring countries of the European Union

The call is aimed at proposals for projects promoting cooperation in the youth sector between Programme and Partner countries other than those which are neighbours of the European Union.

Deadline: 17 May 2010

For more information see the EACEA website here.

• Support for European cooperation in Education and Training

There are two parts to this call:

Part A - Raising national awareness of lifelong learning strategies and of European cooperation in education and training

Part B - Support for transnational cooperation in the development and implementation of national and regional lifelong learning strategies.

The deadline is 16 July 2010.

For more information, see the EACEA website here.

As with many European Commission funding opportunities, there may be requirements for a transnational element for all or part of the programme. See the websites for detailed information.

East End and City Grassroots Grants open!-

Apply for up to £5,000 for projects and activities which:
* Strengthen communities: Projects that encourage people to play an active part in making their neighbourhood a better place to live or projects that give communities a voice
* Bring people from different backgrounds together: Projects that work to build positive relations and understanding between different sections of the community
* Strengthen organisational capacity and ability: Projects that address training needs of volunteers, management committee and staff members; projects enabling users to take a more active role in the organisation.
* Respond to Local Need: Projects that address a problem specific to your community; demonstrating how you have identified the need and why your approach is the best way to tackle the problem.

Closing date: We are in the final year of East End and City Grassroots Grants and there will be two more Grants Panels this year, as below. Any money you do apply for, must be spent by 31 March 2011.
* Friday, 28 May 2010, 12noon
* Friday 16 July 2010, 12noon

Smoking cessation Project Manager - Shoreditch Spa

Smoking Cessation Project Manager

£32,000 plus L.A. pension

35 hours per week

Reporting to Programme Manager- Peace of Mind

Are you an experienced smoking cessation adviser with excellent project management skills?

Can you train and lead a team of community champions to deliver effective smoking cessation support to BME communities and work with local employers to provide support to routine & manual workers? Apply now if you are ready for the challenge of building community capacity to deliver culturally appropriate stop smoking support and increase numbers of successful quitters.

Closing Date: 21st April 2010

Interviews: 4th May 2010

Interview dates are provisional and subject to change.

Shoreditch Spa is a Shoreditch Trust Social Enterprise

Click here for job pack

Community Mental Health Development Worker- Children & Young People

£29,000 pro rata plus L.A. pension

Part Time, hours to be negotiated

Reporting to Programme Manager- Peace of Mind

Are you able to develop innovative, creative and culturally appropriate solutions to mental well-being for children & young people?

The City & Hackney Peace of Mind Project works to provide on the ground, innovative solutions to mental well-being in partnership with statutory, voluntary and community groups. You will need to be skilled and experienced in using community development approaches for engaging with the wide range of BME communities represented in City & Hackney, committed and able to work within a project which is action oriented and holistic in its approach to health.

Closing Date: 21st April 2010

Interviews: 29th April 2010

Interview dates are provisional and subject to change.

Shoreditch Spa is a Shoreditch Trust Social Enterprise

Click here for job pack 

Roots N Boots Coordinator- Peter Bedford

• Employer: PETER BEDFORD HOUSING ASSOCIATION
• Posted: 26 Mar 2010
• Reference: RNBC
• Contact: Ms Elizabeth Boonman-Salgado
• Location: Greater London - North London

• Hours: Full Time
• Salary: £25,515

You will:

Co-ordinate the 'roots n boots' project

Outreach to engage tenants and participants in particular those who are not normally involved with internal or external activities and assist them to participate and contribute to, improving their external surroundings

Ensure that tenants, participants and volunteers are able to form social and mutual support networks and engage in social and recreational activities in a supported setting.

The succesful candidate should have:

Experienceof working in a paid or voluntary capacity with people who have severe or enduring mental health conditions and at least one of the following groups: learning difficulties; people who have been homeless and rootless; or people who have alcohol-related problems.

Substantial experience of organising community development programmes

Experience of partnership working and engaging local people at the grass roots level

If you are interested in applying, please visit: www.peterbedford.org.uk for further information. Alternatively, contact Human Resources: tel: 020 7226 6074; text phone: 020 7241 6357; e-mail: admin@peterbedford.org.uk.

Chief Executive Officer Tower Hamlets CVS

• Employer: TOWER HAMLETS CVS
• Posted: 16 Mar 2010
• Location: Tower Hamlets
• Contract: Permanent
• Hours: Full Time
• Salary: The salary is £50k plus 6% pension and fringe
  
  • benefits

We are seeking a dynamic Chief Officer to develop, coordinate and manage all aspects of the CVS. Full time - permanent subject to funding

The successful candidate will have a strong track record of developing high performing organisations, including income generation, and experience of influencing policy. They will also have knowledge of issues affecting the Third Sector in Tower Hamlets, and a strong track record of working with Black and Minority Ethnic communities in an inner city setting.

For an information pack, visit www.thcvs.org.uk or email hr@thcvs.org.uk. For an informal discussion, please call the interim Chair Mr S Khan on 07957 690 606. Closing date: 5pm, 09/04/10.

First interviews: 22/04/10. Second interviews: 27/04/10.

Applications are open for Clore Social Leadership Programme Fellowship

The Clore Social Leadership Programme is now looking for its second cohort of Fellows, who will be recruited through an open application process. To be eligible, applicants must be working in or closely with the wider third sector and will have demonstrated leadership potential in some of the work they have already undertaken.

Each Fellow benefits from a personalised programme which provides challenging opportunities for development, and is tailored to meet their individual needs. Applications for the 2011 Fellowships will open on 19 April 2010; the deadline for completed applications is 3 June 2010. For more details about how to apply and to meet the current Fellows, visit: www.cloresocialleadership.org.uk

Writing Successful Funding Applications

9.00am - 1.00pm | Friday 9 April

Find out how to avoid the common mistakes of funding applications and get it right first time.

• How to find the right funding stream.
• Showing you meet a funder’s objectives.
• Writing with clarity and purpose.

Who are they for?

Staff, volunteers and members of community and voluntary organisations. The workshops cover essential writing techniques that people of all abilities and skill levels can start applying straight away.

Where are they?

Laycock Professional Development Centre, Laycock Street, N1 1TH - just round the corner from Highbury and Islington underground station.

How much do they cost?

Each workshop is currently available at the discount rate of £19 per person.

You can find out more about the courses and book a place online here, or call David Warrington on 020 7993 4588, 07986 835 205 (mobile) or email david@noisywriting.com.

Writing an Attention-Grabbing Press Release

9.00am - 1.00pm | Wednesday 7 April

Learn how to start building your profile and raise interest and support from your community by using the local media – for free!

• Understand who you are writing for, and what’s important to them.
• Who to interview, how to get all the facts and how to put them together.
• Who to send your press release to.

Who are they for?

Staff, volunteers and members of community and voluntary organisations. The workshops cover essential writing techniques that people of all abilities and skill levels can start applying straight away.

Where are they?

Laycock Professional Development Centre, Laycock Street, N1 1TH - just round the corner from Highbury and Islington underground station.

How much do they cost?

Each workshop is currently available at the discount rate of £19 per person.

You can find out more about the courses and book a place online here, or call David Warrington on 020 7993 4588, 07986 835 205 (mobile) or email david@noisywriting.com.

What does the budget mean for you& your Organisation

info4local: One stop for Budget 2010 - Updated

This page gives you quick and easy access to all the latest information from across central government on Budget 2010. and will be updated

Total Place to radically reform local services for all

A new report published today sets out a radical transformation to the way public services will be delivered in future.

Budget 2010 set out how the Government will protect key public service priorities while reducing the deficit. Total Place shows how this can be delivered in practice through a fundamental shift in the way public services are delivered that has never been attempted before.

For the first time all local spending from across all local agencies is being looked as a whole to relentlessly focus on designing services around the needs of the customer and cutting out waste and duplication, ensuring taxpayers money is being used effectively.

The Total Place report published today sets out the sweeping changes being introduced following wide-ranging testing of the approach in 13 pilot areas. The report presents a series of commitments that will give greater freedoms and flexibilities to support a new relationship between Government and places.

The new ways of working pioneered by the pilots will be replicated in all areas across England; the best performing authorities will be supported to go further and faster with new far reaching freedoms through a 'single offer', and a much wider group of local authorities and their partners will be encouraged to pioneer new working in policy areas where they are strongest via 'devolved responsibility'.

This work will be supported through stronger leadership at regional, sub-regional and local levels to deliver the total place principles.

Communities Secretary John Denham said:

"The pilots have made a compelling case for a radical re-think in the way local services are provided and government is responding with equal ambition by delivering the freedoms and flexibilities to make that happen.

"For the first time all local spending is being looked at as a whole to fit around the needs of communities cutting out waste and duplication, while protecting and improving front line services. This goes way beyond individual authorities, it amounts to a significant and collective shift in the way that all public services work from health and social care to policing and children's services.

"Local areas will need to demonstrate strong local leadership and work to find ambitious and innovative solutions that respond to the specific needs of their area and their residents.

"The pilots have shown that it is possible to breakdown silos to work collaboratively to improve outcomes while making savings and we now want all areas to benefit from the Total Place approach, which will help to meet the challenge of continuing to drive up standards in public services in a tougher economic climate."

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne said:

"Total Place recasts the relationship between local government and the centre. This report shows that giving local government greater freedom to respond to local needs delivers better services at lower costs.

"The message to local authorities is clear: if you perform well, you'll get more freedoms."

The changes include:

Total Place to be rolled out across England. All areas need to play their part, and will benefit from the freedoms outlined in today's report which build on our Smarter Government commitments to de-ringfencing (a further £1.3bn on non-schools funding), streamlining funding streams (from 110 to 94 - a decrease of 15 per cent by 2012-13) and reducing burdens.

Radical new freedoms for the strongest performing places - the single offer. High performing local authorities with a strong track record will be encouraged to negotiate with central government for more far reaching freedoms under a 'single offer' that will fundamentally and radically redesign their relationship with Whitehall. This could see a further significant reduction of ringfences for local authorities and their partners; agreeing a smaller number of targets with assessment and reporting focused only on these; radical simplification of funding for children and young people; lighter touch and less frequent inspection. 'Single offer' areas will be expected to agree significant savings targets each year over and above those required for all local authorities and other public sector organisations. Government and places will work together through the Single Offer process to agree a mechanism for identifying and allocating savings, including retention of savings. The first single offers will be implemented in April 2011.

An "Innovative policy offer" for all places with strong partnerships and strengths in particular themes. Many more areas that are strong in delivery of particular policy areas but may be weaker in others will be able to reach agreements for freedoms through thematic devolved responsibility under an 'innovative policy offer' on particular services like drugs and alcohol for example. These areas could take advantage of greater freedoms in these specific policy areas to develop new and better ways of working. The scale of the improvement should impact on local citizens who are service users as well as taxpayers. These offers can also apply to city regions or sub-regions, as well as single council areas.

No place left behind - Total place approach at every level. Government is committed to economic growth and inclusion for all people and places. One-size-fits-all solutions will not reach those furthest from economic opportunity. Policies to drive economic growth must also be inclusive - distinguishing between those areas that are well placed for economic recovery, those that are near prosperous areas and those that are truly disconnected from growth opportunities.

Some of the Total Place pilots comprised city-region and other sub-regional groupings of partners, demonstrating that the Total Place approach has the scope to deliver real benefits at all spatial levels. This wide ranging impact will be underpinned by an enhanced role for Regional Ministers, simplified regional structures and better alignment of investment in growth at the regional level.

The Children and Young People's grant - as a further response to the Total Place findings, LAs and their Children's Trust partners will be able to trial a new multi-agency Children and Young People's Grant to start in April 2011. The grant will include money for youth activities, school improvement, support for families, disabled children, Sure Start and money for children and young people - and will support the Government's ambition of more integrated services, bringing together providers and shaping services around the needs of children and young people.

Increasing the effectiveness of investment -11 Total Capital and Asset Pathfinders across England will help to transform services and deliver better outcomes, and support growth and inclusion effectively. The pathfinders are Cambridgeshire, Durham, Hackney, Hampshire, Hull, Leicester/Leicestershire, Leeds city-region, Solihull, Swindon, Wigan and Worcestershire.

Today's Total Place report sets out the scope to radically reform local services:

• Lewisham's report acknowledges that most inefficiencies occur when people come into contact with different services and move between them - which is not only costly, but frustrating for people using the services. By using 'customer insight' to determine what people really need and want, there is tremendous potential to simplify and streamline service, making them more relevant and effective
• by entirely redesigning services for the youngest children in Croydon, with better pre-natal care, family advocates, and family partnership teams working together across an area, they estimate that it will be possible to save over £60 million by the time today's four year olds turn eighteen
• Central Bedfordshire and Luton found just 2 per cent of offenders cause nearly 30 per cent of all crime locally and it costs about £500,000 a year for each persistent and prolific offender. The cost of local crime was £147m. The pilot found that benefits, prison, housing and probation services did not co-ordinate their help after offenders were released from jail
• Birmingham city council found children in care - who make up 2 per cent of the city's child population - cost £35m a year while each of Birmingham's 6,400 crack addicts costs £833,000 in wider "social costs" over their lifetime. The city's total annual budget is £7.5bn
• Kent county council estimated a third of the current total cost of administering an unemployment claim could be saved by simplifying the system
• Leicester city council found it spent £4.9m on alcohol interventions, and £13.4m on combating drug misuse, even though alcohol was a larger cause of crime.

Executive Director of the Institute for Government Lord Bichard said:

"Today's announcement is important in a number of respects. It shows that the potential of Total Place is recognised by Government as an approach which needs to apply everywhere - not just in the pilot areas. It also marks a change in the direction of travel in the relationship between local and central government and provides important new freedoms to local agencies."

Caroline Taylor, CEO NHS Croydon said:

"The promise to remove ringfences and achieve greater alignment and simplification of funding streams is very welcome news. It will make it much easier for us to make real our ambition to design services around local families' needs and lives, not according to organisational structures".

Neil Cleeveley, Policy and Communications Director for the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action said:

"Total Place can reinvigorate local public services. It also shows how the third sector is crucial to its success in the transformation of public services.The report recognises third sector organisations design services around people. They respond by developing local solutions for local circumstances by involving users in service design. If you want Total Place to be successful, involve your local third sector."

Notes to editors

1. The full report can be found at: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_total_place.htm (external link).

2. The 2010 Budget set out plans delivers a radical reform of public services that will enable all local public services, from councils to the NHS to work ever more closely together to deliver more personalised services and make more effective use of taxpayers' money: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1516904.

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Visit our newsroom contacts page for media enquiry contact details.

sourcehttp://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1519132

Skills - Third Sector write a framework for apprentices

Skills - Third Sector are writing a framework that sets down the skills and knowledge that apprentices in third sector organisations should be learning during their training. They are keen to ensure that the framework meets the needs of third sector employers, training providers and people who want to work for charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit-organisations.In particular, they are keen to hear from young people and the people who work with them.

The consultation runs until the 28 April 2010 and they would really appreciate your help to ensure that the views of your members and young people are captured. Read more

National volunteering workstream would like your input into research on managing volunteers

Would you like to talk about your work managing volunteers for a national research project? The Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) is looking for people who manage volunteers to take part in biographical interviews.

Skills Third Sector has commissioned IVR to explore the skills gaps and development needs of volunteer managers and the volunteers they support in the third sector. The research builds on Management Matters (2008), a national survey of volunteer management capacity undertaken by IVR. Read more

Source Capacity Builders improving support