Cascade Summer 2010

cascadeNo. 13 www.casouthwark.org.uk Summer 2010

community action southwarkcreating a stronger voluntary and community sector

INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

Page 2: Cambridge House facelift

Page 3: CoolTan Largactyl Shuffle

Page 6: The Personalisation Agenda: Demystified

Page 7: Refugee Week celebration

Page 8: Vetting & barring scheme

Pages 10&11: Volunteer Centre news

2 | Summer 2010 | www.casouthwark.org.uk

Local news

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Cambridge House gets a facelift After more than 120 years of providing services in Southwark, Cambridge House has secured £5.74m from the Social Investment Business, Communitybuilders funds and the Sure Start Capital Grant scheme, to re-develop their entire site.

Parts of the current site will be refurbished and redeveloped, and parts will be demolished to make space for a new, purpose- built facility. The end result will be a fully DDA compliant building that is accessible for all. The offices Cambridge House use to provide their own services, as well as house a number of tenant organisations, will become safer, high quality flexible spaces. Further, the increase in additional office space, and potential for co- location, will provide greater opportunities for cross referral of clients, so more local people can access services.

Community Action Southwark Voluntary Sector Resource Centre 8th Floor, Hannibal House Elephant and Castle London SE1 6TE

tel: 020 7703 2368fax: 020 7703 9393email: [email protected]: www.casouthwark.org.uk

The Council for Voluntary Service in Southwark. Charity No. 1105835

Printed on 100% recycled paper

All about Cascade If you would like to let 1600+ voluntary and community organisations and numerous families know your news then get in touch...

tel: 020 7703 2368email: [email protected]

Copy deadlinesAutumn issue: 27 September 2010 Winter issue: 31 December 2010 Spring issue: TBC

Large Print VersionIf you would like to obtain a large print version please call

020 7703 2368

In this issue of Cascade, we update you on some

of the biggest agendas in the voluntary and

community sector today. But perhaps the one

thing everyone is talking about right now is the

cuts to public sector services and how are they

going to affect us as individuals and organisations.

Everybody is concerned about the future, 25%

cuts are coming, but what will they mean? Some

claim that it’s possible to make cuts and get better

services, but is it really? If not, we’re in for the

biggest scaling back of government services this

generation has ever seen. If it is possible, then

perhaps there is a more streamlined, effective

Council/NHS/Police service to look forward to?

One thing is certain, as government spending

recedes, the only thing that can fill the space, the

only thing that has perhaps ever filled the space,

is local charitable work. Back when there wasn’t

an NHS, who ran hospitals? Charities. When there

wasn’t council housing, who ran almshouses?

Charities. Local people came together to support

those in greatest need. Our roles have not changed

in this sense – we fill the gaps that no one else will

touch. So as these boundaries change, between

what the local government does, and what business

does, so must we adapt and change to fill the gaps,

building on the great work that’s already gone

before and that we are proud of.

We need to debate and plan for the future. In

this edition of Cascade, we bring you up to date

with a few key areas to think about for the future. All

are opportunities for your organisations or areas of

work, then get engaged in the debate through our

forums and networks.

Chris Sanford, Chief [email protected]

The increase in space and accessibility means that there is potential for more community groups to make use of our Resource Centre for meeting spaces and service delivery, in a far more flexible way. In total we will have 7 new rooms offering activity space (capacity ranging from 10-150 people), with a garden and reception area that will be suitable for art exhibitions. In addition to this, the increase in office space means we will have up to

100 more desk spaces available, offered with a fully functioning service.

Cambridge House are very excited about this project and look forward to the new building being put to use by our local community. For any enquiries regarding office or meeting space please contact our Resource Centre Manager, James Crawford, on 0207 358 7000.

www.casouthwark.org.uk | Summer 2010 | 3

With names like ‘Sinto’ and ‘Biggie’ and the cryptic title of this article, I will forgive you for thinking I am about to describe the activities of two mobsters in south London!

You could not be more wrong, for Sinto and Biggie are two very unique Ghanaian barbers in Southwark, who recently piloted an innovative, health promotion initiative targeted at barbers and hairdressing salons. ‘Sinto and Biggie’, the barber shop, hosted the screening of the ‘Family Legacy’, a short film produced by the NHS Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Screening Programme to raise awareness of sickle cell

disease and testing, particularly among the high risk West African and African Caribbean community. The Family Legacy is a moving British-Nigerian film about the impact of sickle cell disease on a marriage and a family and part of my remit at the Sickle Cell Society involves disseminating this film around south London.

Continued on page 7

Local news

more tHan your Hair SHare

youth Learning network & myBnk

The Youth Learning Network (YLN) is collaborating with MyBnk, an education charity, to build the knowledge, skills and confidence of young people to enable them to manage their money more effectively. MyBnk, led by Chief Operations Officer Melanie Robinson, provides programmes that develop young people’s finance and enterprise capabilities through fun and interactive workshops.

The workshops are spread over three weeks and cover practical everyday financial matters making them suitable for young people 11-19 years old, from key stages 3-5. Members of the YLN are taking part in this innovative three-week project, taking place at Goose Green Community Centre in East Dulwich.

The Executive Director of the YLN, Kwame Ocloo, expressed his appreciation to MyBnk and the young people who took part in the workshops, indicating that he would endeavour to organise more activities to develop children and young people. He concluded, “It is important that we equip our future generation with the knowledge and understanding of the challenges they face in this daunting world, so that they have a good foundation for their future. They need to know where the money comes from when making demands for Nike trainers or designer clothes, as well as asking to be taken to McDonalds and Burger King everyday of the week”.

To find out how you can get involved contact Kwame Ocloo, [email protected]

COOLTAN ARTS MIDNIGHT LARGACTYL SHuffLe JuNe 2010At the entrance of the Tate Modern on 19 June 2010

at midnight, walkers-by were surprised by an unusual

gathering of a good 60 people. People were meeting

for CoolTan Arts Summer Solstice Midnight Largactyl

Shuffle, a guided cultural walk from the powerhouse

Tate Modern to the home of contemporary psychiatry,

the Maudsley Hospital.

So why a night walk in June? On the Midnight

walk, CoolTan Arts celebrates the ancient tradition of

Summer Solstice, aka Midsummer. In pre-Christian

times, people believed it was a healing and fertility

night and picked the herb Calendula. Christians

called the night St John’s Eve / St Peter’s Eve and

thought it is the night when the ‘evil spirits’ begin.

Until this day, people associate Midsummer

with neo-Druids and Stonehenge and for many it’s

a magical night. 21 June is the shortest night of the

year - from now until 21 December the nights will get

longer.

On CoolTan Arts unique Summer Solstice

Midnight walk, participants had a chance to explore

the urban psycho-geography of South London, and

learn about local history and familiar landmarks in a

light they had never seen them before.

People from all over the world took part in this

procession – visitors from Australia, Global Xchange

volunteers, local residents and CoolTan participants.

One of the walkers said they saw the event in

TimeOut and decided to come along, wondering

what is was all about, curious to explore Southwark

by night and learning more about the history of an

area where you usually would not walk around at

night time.

They were not disappointed and said they will

not forget the stories and quirky facts walk leader

Ari mentioned on the walk. However, it was not only

the walk leaders Ari Henry and Michelle Baharier

who did the talking; the narrative includes audience

participation and many of the walkers shared their

own stories about Southwark and mental health.

Continued on page 9

Sinto & Biggie- men with a

mission


Big Society

the ‘Big Society’ debate:

Over the last few months and in his House of Lords’ maiden speech, Lord Nat Wei outlined his vision and direction on the role to be played by civil society and the importance of effective partnerships between government and civil society, in shaping social policy.

To encapsulate this, the government talks of a ‘Big Society’. The term is fast becoming one of those buzzwords, which I can only hope will not be as fuzzy and woolly as most. At this point, I have yet to find an article or review which gives me a clear, unambiguous definition of what goes into it.

What ‘Big Society’ meansLord Wei says it is a three-fold vision through which the government will focus on: • “One, building the capacity of citizens. • Two, encouraging national collective activity. • Three, a constant negotiation between the boundaries of civil society, citizen and government.”

Attempting to clarify this further, during his maiden speech he made an analogy to an event that took place during his university years: “At university I learnt many things, but one experience stood out; I took part in a business competition ... My team won against the odds, which was most shocking because none of us had any business or higher mathematical training and many other teams were better qualified than ours. All we did was organise ourselves so that we could make any kind of useful decision faster and reasonably well. It taught me that ordinary people can, against the odds, out-perform expectations when they work

together in groups. Over the years since that victory, I have been able to observe the same phenomenon in business, in education, in social enterprise, and now in civil society.”

Tough and very optimistic about this venture, he warns “The road ahead will be arduous and filled with setbacks.”

Linking the asset approachIn the last issue of Community Care, Prof. Bob Hudson, Honorary Professor in the School of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Durham, explains the concept of Big Society by linking it to the idea of an asset approach to community building. “Through the asset approach, there is a clear and undeniable focus on individuals’ and/or communities’ capacity, ability, skills, knowledge, passion, interest, connections and on their potential to do things and make a difference for themselves.” However, Prof. Hudson warns that the shift in values and attitudes should not be seen as a quick way of cutting costs or saving money; rather this should be seen as a way to achieve better equilibrium between service delivery and improved health and wellbeing for local communities.

He continues his analysis by recognising this will require considerable initial investment in community development to strengthen the capacity of local communities, empower them and build up their confidence to prepare and enable them to deliver. The investment should also cover costs relating to data gathering and processing, as well as building up a strong and complex evidence base.

(Continued on Page 5)

YOuNG, BLACk AND SuCCeSSfuL:

fORuM eVeNTOn 29 April 2010, Young, Black and Successful

(YBS), a student led organisation had an

outstanding forum event.

YBS strives to build a strong and united

international community of proactive and ambitious

black youths to impact their community with their

God-given talent.

After the success of a similar event last year,

YBS decided to replicate the formula to deliver

another event this year: the evening featured poetry,

motivational speeches and a presentation on the

effect of leukemia in Afro-Caribbean communities.

At YBS, entertainment and education goes hand in

hand to provide innovative answers to serious social

issues affecting black youths in the UK.

Present at the event were a variety of speakers,

ranging from a young BBC journalist, Joanna

Abeyie, former Superintendent of Southwark Police,

Victor Olisa and many others. They all drove a

message home: success is diverse and limitless.

The initiative has so far received media

coverage on BEN TV, for promotion and interviews.

This is what Richard Kuti, Project Director, had

to say about the event:

“The event was extremely successful and I

can’t stress how much we needed such an initiative

in Southwark; at least 100 people turned up and

most rated it as excellent in their feedbacks. Being

all student led and run goes to show that when

given the opportunity, our young people can be

effective in motivating and inspiring their peers.”

One of our volunteers sums up the project idea

very neatly:

“Believing is the beginning of achieving; this

usually also requires focus, determination and

willingness to go the extra mile. Many times I just

felt like giving up and focusing solely on my studies,

but I had a goal and I wanted to fulfill it.”

For more details about our work, email info@

ybsgroup.co.uk or join our Facebook group Young,

Black & Successful Group.

DReAM OR ReALITY? NeW OR SAMe-OLD?

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”Lord Wei, Governments chief advisor on Big Society quoting Margaret Mead


Is your organisation a registered charity, a community amateur sports club or a non-profit making organisation? There may be help available to cover business rate bills.

Mandatory Rate Relief of 80% from rate bills is available to charities that occupy business properties. Southwark Council is currently conducting a take-up campaign.

Businesses within the UK receive an annual rates bill each April which is valid for the length of a financial year. If your organisation is a charity and uses its property for charitable purposes it should be automatically entitled to an 80% reduction of Business Rates. The organisation should in most cases be registered with the Charity Commission and have a Charity Commission reference number.

However, the absence of being on the Charity Commission register does not necessarily mean that an organisation is not a charity because it may in fact be exempted from registration. These exempted charities include: • the church commissioners • charities concerned with the

advancement of religion • friendly societies • some boy scouts associations • some girl guides associations. Such organisations are also entitled to 80% Mandatory Charity Relief.

Registered community amateur sports clubs can also apply for an 80% reduction of their Business Rates by filling in an application form.

If your organisation meets any of the above criteria, please apply directly to Southwark Council’s Business Rates department on 020 8290 7133 or write to them at The Business Rates Section, London Borough of Southwark, PO Box 782, Bromley, BR1 3YE or email [email protected]

Discretionary Rate Relief for charities and community amateur sports clubs

All of the above types of businesses can also apply for a maximum top-up of 20% if they fill in and return a Discretionary Rate Relief application to the Council. The Council will consider awarding relief if the organisation can demonstrate a major beneficial impact on the wellbeing of its residents.

Non-profit making organisations If your organisation is classified as a non-profit

making organisation, it may apply for Discretionary Rate Relief up to a maximum of 60%. The following non-profit making organisations not in receipt of Mandatory Charity Relief can apply: • advice, social welfare and health agencies

• ethnic and community centres • educational and training organisations • counselling centres • theatre and arts groups • sporting and leisure clubs • youth groups.

The application forms and criteria can be found by applying directly to Southwark Council’s Business Rates department and additional information can be obtained by contacting the Revenues Manager, Patrick Hall on 020 7525 3343 or Mita Roy on 020 7089 6136.

rate relief

Help with your business rates

Big SoCiety(continued from P4)

In conclusion, Prof. Hudson agrees that the asset approach is overall a more positive one which fits comfortably within several wider agendas (such as personalisation, citizenship, community development) and most importantly, it seems to be paving the way for achieving the coalition government’s focus on Big Society where individuals, families, networks, neighbourhoods and communities as a whole are expected to play a crucial role.

After reviewing all above materials, I cannot

help but feel a sense of déjà-vu and really wonder how much of all this is new, achievable and most importantly, how much money will be allocated and invested in social capital to enable existing infrastructure organisations and available support services to turn the Big Society concept into reality.

The debate is opened and we welcome your views and comments on the Big Society issue. Please send your feedback to Claudine Bongo, Director of Community Development [email protected]

RefuGee Week CeLeBRATION... ...took place on Thursday 17 June 2010. For the

seventh consecutive year, Southwark’s refugee

community organisations were able to celebrate by

organising two community events of various socio-

cultural significance. A citizenship ceremony for new

British citizens of a refugee background, gave people

the opportunity to look back and assess what they’ve

achieved in this country; the second was more about

celebrating diversity, communities and their inputs in

the local socio-economic setting.

Celebrations included: A ceremony of thanks

and recognition for Southwark people from refugee

backgrounds. Cultural musical performances,

fashion show, oral history, art, traditional food and

authentic ritual dances by Ardhmeria from Albania,

the Women’s Ivory Tower Association from Ivory

Coast , the Vietnamese Women’s Group from

Vietnam, Tradicion Andina from Bolivia, the Eritrean

Community Association, the Latin American youth

forum, and the Liberian community in Southwark.

The week is a very good conduit for promoting

and celebrating the accomplishments of refugee

communities; it also facilitates positive encounters

between refugees and the general public, to

encourage greater understanding and overcome

stigma attached to the communities.

Southwark Refugee Community Forum (SRCF)

exerts all possible effort to positively contribute

to the integration of refugee communities with

host communities, including local partner

organisations. It has a long history of making a

significant contribution in facilitating collaboration

between refugee organisations and local partner

organisations, especially during the planning and

delivering of refugee week.

Here are some of the feedbacks we received during

and after the event:

• “I thought it was important to learn in great

detail about each other. Culturally we are not

that different after all.”

• “The event has given me a sense of belonging,

as I was able to share part of my heritage with

others.”

• “Thank you very much for allowing us to meet

with refugee communities in such a relaxing and

friendly atmosphere.”

• “My confidence improved and I am very

enthusiastic with the idea of participating in

more events in the future.”

For more information about Southwark Refugee

Communities Forum (SRCF), please contact Eltayeb

Hassan, Community Development Worker, on 020

7277 4400 or 07827316126, or by email at eltayeb.

[email protected]


the Personalisation agenda: Demystified


Free Community nHS HeaLtH CHeCkS

SOuTHWARk fORuM AND SuBGROuPS Over 50 member organisations attended the June

Southwark forum, held at Cambridge House, to

hear from the newly appointed council leader,

Councillor Peter John.

The council leader began by thanking

the voluntary sector for their hard work and

contributions to the borough. He said that Labour

have a clear majority which brings a political unity

to governing of the borough. However, Councillor

John acknowledged that funding cuts are inevitable.

He was asked a number of questions from CAS

members. A lively discussion took place, which

covered topics affecting the borough’s voluntary

and community sector, including personalisation,

employment and council’s need to make cuts

to budgets. Following the question and answer

session with the leader of the council, members

participated in three workshops exploring issues

raised in the preceding discussions. Minutes from

Southwark Forum, and the other subgroup meetings,

are available on the CAS website. Visit www.

casouthwark.org.uk and click on ‘partnerships’.

Date of next meeting:

• 25 November, venue TBC.

ADuLT INDePeNDeNCe AND WeLLBeINGStuart Hearne, manager of Cambridge House

Law Centre, gave a considered presentation on

Personalisation [available on Basecamp]. Stuart

began by explaining that the language used in

Personalisation guidance is positive and that this is

why charities have embraced the concept. Stuart

did, however, raise some concerns about this gloss

on the provision of services. He also noted that

while Personalisation is new policy initiative, there

is no change in the law. A number of questions

were asked, including the cost of implementing

personalisation, the time taken as brokers are taking

several days to complete plans, what will happen

to the small, niche services? And what will services

have to work harder on their marketing to survive?


• 1 September, 2pm at CAS.

SOuTHWARk CHILDReN, YOuNG PeOPLe AND fAMILIeSNaomi Gilbert, Chair of Southwark Children, Young

People and Families subgroup, chaired a mapping

exercise, after outlining her involvement in meetings

concerning disabled children. She explained the

reasons for an exercise to pool information on all

the children’s services meetings in the borough.

Naomi will be meeting up with Southwark Council’s

children’s services staff shortly to update them on

this mapping exercise.


• 9 September, 2pm at CAS

“Personalisation is about people having choice and control over the support services they receive.”

CAS is working with Southwark PCT to identify voluntary, community, and faith organisations who wish to offer free NHS health checks to their members/clients.

The criteria for the checks are as follows: • Between 40 and 74 years old • A Southwark resident

However, you do not qualify if you have already been diagnosed with: • High blood pressure • Heart disease • Stroke • Diabetes • Chronic kidney disease • Or have had an NHS Health Check

within the last 5 years

If you are planning an event or are interested in holding a NHS Health Check session please call Sue Lloyd–Evelyn on 0207 525 1792 or email [email protected]

for many years, the older peoples and disabled peoples movements have lobbied for an increased choice and control over the way in which their social care needs are met and for increased independence.

Historically there has been a limited ‘menu’ of options that social workers could offer to people.

Personalisation is about people having choice and control over the support services they receive, so that instead of being told what they will have, they are in control of what and how their support is provided.

The changes in SouthwarkPersonalisation - including a strategic shift towards early intervention and prevention – is becoming the cornerstone of Southwark’s adult social care services.

The programme of change is well under

way. The first phase, which was about investigation, development and pilot activity, was completed in March 2010. It delivered a new operating model for adult social care known as ‘the new customer journey’.

The second phase is moving beyond simple pilot activity to implementing the new customer journey to everyone who is eligible to receive paid support.

Southwark Council will continue to use a ‘reflective learning’ approach, recognising that




CAPTION

Charity heroSOuTHWARk SkILLS The May Southwark Skills meeting focused on prime

and sub-contractors in the voluntary sector. Abi

McDonald from Ingeus (formerly Work Directions)

gave a presentation on prime and sub-contractors

concerning the delivery of employment services. AM

described the work that Ingeus do locally.

Abi explained that Prime contractors are

looking for a number of things from sub-contractors,

including experience of working with a particular

group of people, such as a particular ethnic group, a

particular geographical region or a socially excluded

group such as ex-offenders.

Abi advised that organisations wishing to get

involved in Welfare to Work should keep an eye on

the DWP website. Abi explained Ingeus will work with

partners of all sizes, but that these depend on the

nature of the contract. More information can be found

at www.ingeus.co.uk



SOuTHWARk SPACeThe latest Southwark Space meeting focused on

Biodiversity, with an engaging presentation from Jon

Best from Southwark Council. This was a popular

subject, with members keen to express concerns

about the threat to biodiversity caused by physical

regeneration in the borough. Members also heard

about the plight of market traders in Hays Galleria

and agreed to send a letter of support to traders.

Since then, the traders have been granted three

further months stay on the site, and continue with

their campaign.



BOOkING A PLACeTo book a place at any of these meetings, please

contact the Policy and Participation team on 020

7703 2368.

keePING uPDATeDYou can also keep up to date by following

developments on these subgroups on Basecamp, by

visiting www.casouthwark.basecamphq.com

(continued from page 3) If anyone has watched the movies ‘Barbershop’ or ‘Beautyshop’, you will know that barbers and hairdressing salons very often create a hub in local communities where people go for much more than a haircut. These venues present a setting where life stories are shared, problems are aired, advice is sought and in the case of barbers, football teams are discussed!

At barber shops there is a captive, grassroots male audience among which health messages can be promoted, particularly when these are being targeted at men. What a success the session at Sinto and Biggie was! It took place on a busy Friday evening (I made sure this didn’t clash with any football match) and approximately 20 people (mostly men) were present.

An introduction of the project and its aims was given and then the 25 minute Family Legacy film was shown. A young man then spoke about living with sickle cell disease, followed by a very interactive question and answer session. Everyone then completed feedback forms on the film and issues it raised, after which they tucked into the delicious free food provided.

Iyamide Thomas introduces the Family

Legacy to customers whilst Sinto and Biggie cut hair. The session at Sinto and Biggie was indeed a great way of raising awareness of sickle cell at the grassroots level and I would like to applaud these two Southwark barbers for taking part in this community initiative. One organisation called Cares of Life (COL), is a black and minority ethnic (BME) mental health promotion service which is part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. It has pioneered the use of barbers and hairdressing salons for the dissemination of health messages and with their help, more visits to barbers and hairdressers are planned, including a repeat summer visit to Sinto and Biggie, who are at 721 Old Kent Rd, London SE15 1JL.

Participants complete evaluation forms and take part in the Q&A.

The Family Legacy can be seen for free on the internet at www.familylegacy.org.uk. Of course no refreshments will be served there but please still complete the on-line evaluation form!

For further details about the Family Legacy, please contact Iyamide Thomas on 07841-558611 or [email protected]

more tHan your Hair SHare

some development work is still required and that as pilot work is ‘scaled-up,’ further changes to the model will need to be made.

The Council will move away from large block contracts as people are empowered to control their support services through personal budgets. The market will need to respond quickly with flexible approaches to supporting people. Your ‘customers’ will be the individual people that require support to live independently.

Working out what people want; developing the marketThe Council is working with some of our partner organisations to undertake a survey of our ‘customers’, to better understand how people might use their personal budget.

We need to understand what people know about personal budgets, what they would change if they had a personal budget and have an indication about the required pace of change. We can then share this intelligence with the current and potential provider market so that it can begin to evolve to meet emerging needs, preferences and choices of ‘customers’.

We have also sent out the survey to people

that are already in receipt of direct payments, which are one form of personal budget, to find out what they changed about the support they receive.

The surveys are due back at the end of July, the analysis will take place in August and we’ll share the findings in September.

For more information on Southwark’s personalisation agenda contact [email protected]


Vetting and Barring

fuNDING NeWSFor local grants, keep your eye on the Capital Com-munity Foundation website, www.capitalcf.org.uk

fRee ONe-TO-ONe fuNDING SuPPORTContact us on 020 7703 2368, or [email protected] to make an appointment for help in identifying funding sources for your projects and filling in application forms.

fuNDING OPPORTuNITIeS...find more funding opportunities by joining our

funding ebulletin. Contact [email protected].

uk to join. You can also find the latest copy of our

funding Opportunities on the Income page of our

website.

NeW WATeS fOuNDATION fuNDINGThe Wates Foundation is accepting new applications

for its five main programmes which include:

strengthening the charitable and voluntary sectors,

building family values, community health and safer

communities. Grant value is £5,000 to £25,000. A

one-off grant is unlikely to exceed £15,000. Their

periodic grants range up to £30,000 depending on

the nature of the project and the length of the award.

The maximum period of support is three years.

Closing date: No deadline. Contact: 01372

861000, [email protected], www.

watesfoundation.org.uk

COMMuNITY WILDLIfe fuNDThe Big Lottery Fund has launched the Community

Wildlife funding programme. It will offer grants

of between £300 and £10,000 to projects that

bring communities together to improve or protect

the natural environment by raising awareness of

threatened wildlife or places.

Closing dates: 22 September and 24

November. Contact: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

communitywildlife

HBOS fOuNDATION AND LLOYDS TSB fOuNDATIONFollowing the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB

resulting in Lloyds Banking Group, the grant-making

activities of the HBOS Foundation will be replaced

by the Lloyds TSB Foundations’ grants programmes.

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales

requires all potential applicants to complete its

eligibility questionnaire which can be found on the

website. Closing date: ongoing. Contact: www.

lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk, 0870 411 1223.

CHILDReN IN NeeD SMALL GRANTS fuNDA reminder that up to £10,000 funding per year for

up to three years is available from the BBC’s fund.

ICT equipment must be for the direct use of young

people. Closing date: 15 July, 15 October. Contact:

Tel: 020 8576 7788, www.digbig.com/5bbpqa

Registration with the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) will be halted to allow the Government to remodel the scheme back to proportionate, common sense levels, it was announced on 15 June. Voluntary registration with the VBS for new employees and job-movers working or volunteering with children and vulnerable adults was due to start on 26 July. This registration has now been stopped.

While the timing and scope of requirements on individuals to register with the Scheme will depend on the outcome of the review, the following requirements remain in place:• since January 2009, the Independent

Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has been making independent barring decisions. It will continue

to maintain two constantly updated lists, one for those barred from working with children, the other for those barred from working with vulnerable adults;

• existing requirements concerning Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) will remain in place, and those entitled to such checks can continue to apply for them; and

• employers are still legally obliged to refer information to the ISA if they have moved or removed an individual because they have harmed or there is a risk of harm to a member of a vulnerable group.

The latest information on the VBS will shortly be available at www.direct.gov.uk/vetting or www.businesslink.gov.uk/vbs

SHaPing LoCaL SerViCeS

Chris Todd, CAS’s director of Capacity Building looks at the main elements of the new Vetting and Barring Scheme

Vetting & barring scheme postponed

A report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by Samantha Mauger and Gordon Deuchars from Age Concern London (and independent consultants), brought commissioners and service users together to discuss how service users can be involved in shaping local services. They worked with service users in seven local organisations and commissioners in six inner/ outer London local authority areas. Key points:

The involvement of service users in shaping and commissioning services is at an early stage. We’re a long way from credible user involvement in ‘World Class Commissioning’.

‘User involvement’ can mean different things. It can represent a valued process with users as equal partners in re-shaping services, or be a manipulative one-off consultation, when users realise they are being given bad news.

Commissioners and their partners were poorly placed to engage with user involvement in commissioning. Their skills, knowledge and practice of effective involvement was limited.

In most cases the facilitation of user involvement was handed down to voluntary organisations without acknowledging tensions between their provider and advocacy roles.

There seemed to be two ideas within the same system. Individual service users were to have choice and control in line with Personalisation. Commissioners retained control over block contracts. It was difficult to see how one influenced the other.

There were examples of better practice where service users were involved in shaping solutions, often in Social Care rather than Health. Even where good practice did not yet exist, there was often an honest acknowledgment of poor practice and a desire to improve.

Change was not simply about shifting a few structures. Some of this was about trying different approaches. But some was about believing it is possible.

Evidence from this project suggests that commissioners need to be visionary and experimental, involving service users in this. The bad news is that we are starting from quite a low base in terms of credible user involvement. The good news is that developments favour people who are willing to take risks. It is difficult to argue against involving service users in shaping the services they use. The difficult part is moving beyond talking about why it’s not happening, to helping to make it happen.

The report can be downloaded from the website at www.jrf.org.uk


Doing the Largactyl Shuffle

MORe fuNDING OPPORTuNITIeS... ANDY fANSHAWe MeMORIAL TRuST GRANTS The trust funds projects that give disadvantaged

young people the chance to develop an existing

interest in the outdoors. They prefer that applicants

have also done some other fund-raising towards

the project. They don’t fund taster sessions or

one-off residential trips and are unlikely to support

foreign trips. They also don’t support capital

projects. Closing date: ongoing. Contact: www.

andyfanshawe.org

HeLP THe HOMeLeSSHelp The Homeless’s main funding remit is the

regular allocation of small grants (generally up to

£3000) for capital costs to small and medium-sized

charities only. Grants to larger charities will only be

considered if the project is suitably innovative and it

is only possible for a large organisation to develop

it. All applications must relate to projects that assist

individuals in their return to mainstream society,

rather than simply offer shelter or other forms of

sustenance. Closing date: 30 June / 30 September

/31 December. Contact: The Secretary, HTH@

help-the-homeless.org.uk, http://www.help-the-

homeless.org.uk/

ePIC AWARDS fOR ARTSThe new Epic awards run by Voluntary Arts

England are for voluntary and amateur art and craft

groups, who can nominate themselves under four

categories: engagement, partnerships, innovation

and creativity. The award provides a package of

benefits including training, equipment and publicity.

Closing date: 10 September. Contact: http://www.

epicawards.co.uk. [email protected]

AWARDS fOR BRIDGING CuLTuReSCommunity and voluntary organisations that are

working towards making a real and meaningful

contribution towards the mutual understanding of

cultural differences within communities, are being

invited to enter the Awards for Bridging Cultures

(ABC).

Closing date: 5pm, 13 September. Contact: 024

7679 5768. www.bridgingcultures.org.uk/About

CHiLDCare SuBSiDieS

Cooltan arts Largactyl Shuffle

Continued from page 3Along the way walkers are given the sort of information you won’t find in guidebooks – site specific insights into, for instance, the time when Charlie Chaplin’s mum was sent to the asylum for being a single parent. There’s Dickens, Shakespeare, Dr ‘lexicon’ Johnson and Chaucer being a few of the better known writers with associations to Southwark. Hospitals come in too; some of the world’s oldest are along the route as some of the first to change the face of medicine, bringing Southwark’s position to the forefront of research.

The Largactyl Shuffle brings together all the elements of CoolTan Arts, a charity that believes mental wellbeing is enhanced by the power of creativity. It exists to inspire the wellbeing and creative participation of a diverse range of people through the production of quality art, and is run by and for people with mental distress.

It operates a vibrant arts centre in the lively Walworth Road, near Elephant and Castle, with

a public art gallery and urban garden. Providing a programme of activities run by and for adults experiencing mental distress. Creative workshops, exhibitions, fashion shows, public art projects, monthly Largactyl Shuffle walks, volunteering opportunities, self-advocacy training and websites.

They empower participants in their own lives and helps break down the stigma of mental distress. Doing this through quality arts education with professional outcomes such as public exhibitions, and social enterprise principles.

CoolTan Arts is looking to work in partnership with other service providers and is taking

commissions, service level agreements and referrals. They hire and sell high quality pieces of artwork to other organisations, hire its workshops and provide professional tutors to run multi-disciplinary art workshops and advocacy / self-advocacy sessions.

uPCOMING WALkS: every third Saturday of the month• 17 July 2010 – architectural walk • 21 August 2010 – family treasure hunt/quiz • 18 September 2010 – artist Austin Spare, The

20th Century Blake • 9 October 2010 - sponsored walk at 11.30am.

For more information about CoolTan Arts and the Largactyl Shuffle, please contact: Kathrin Kirrmann on 020 7701 2696 or 0798 565 8443, [email protected] or www.cooltanarts.org.uk

“We have a lot of free events and exhibitions open to all and anyone can join our monthly Largactyl Shuffle.”

The childcare affordability programme 2009 (CAP 09) has been set up to help parents moving into employment with childcare costs. From December 2009 the scheme will help eligible Southwark residents who are on a low income move into employment, by offering up to 12 months worth of childcare bursaries.

To be eligible, parents must meet a number of criteria including:• Southwark Residents

• Child(ren) aged between 0-14 years old (18 years for SEN children)

• Income less than £20,000 • Entering employment for 16hrs/week• Use an Ofsted registered childcare provider

(with a minimum Ofsted rating of satisfactory)

To make it really easy simply call the free phone number below. The Southwark Childcare Support Team 0800 013 0639


Need volunteers?

Hello and welcome to the Volunteer Centre Southwark section of Cascade

We have been having a very busy couple of months as 1-7 June was Volunteers week, a national time to celebrate and promote volunteering. We had stalls through the borough from east Street to Dulwich library to promote volunteering and the 400 volunteering opportunities that are currently registered with us. We also hosted a special volunteer’s fair in the atrium of Southwark Councils Tooley Street Offices to encourage council employees to volunteer.

Clive Pankhurst, Chief Executive

Welcome

We have funding to run a free service to help voluntary groups involve volunteers in their work. This means we are running a series of training sessions, and have a new worker, Truly Johnston, who is here to help you.

Our Volunteer Management training programme for the next few months will be released

soon. Training for groups over August and September includes:

• Creating a volunteer programme. Tue 10 August 10:00-16:00

• Safety and security in involving volunteers (for volunteer led groups). Sat 14 August, 11:00 – 13:00

• Mental Health Awareness training. Tuesday 24 August 10:30-13:00

• Dealing with difficult volunteers and difficult situations. Thur 26 August 15:00 – 16:30

• Keeping volunteers, Support Supervision and reward. Wed 8 September 10:00-13:00

Whether you want to recruit volunteers through us, just want to talk through how you work with volunteers, or are thinking of doing something new get in touch to see how you could benefit. Contact Truly Johnston 0207 358 5957, [email protected] or see our website www.volunteercentres.org.uk

inVoLVing VoLunteerS

fRee TRAINING PROGRAMMe Our courses aim to give people the skills and the knowledge to get involved and change things in their community for the better. All of our courses are free and are open to anyone living, working or volunteering in Southwark who wants to find out how to make a change. forthcoming courses in September include:

7 September: (first of 4 sessions)Training the Trainer in Active CitizenshipFor people interested in delivering training to others in their community, with the intention of improving the community

8 September:Introduction to Being a TrusteeAn introduction to the role, rights and responsibilities of a trustee in a voluntary or community organisation

22 September:Introduction to Becoming a MagistrateFor anyone who is interested in becoming an active citizen by taking on the role of magistrate and who wants to learn more about the role and how to apply

23 September:Introduction to becoming an Active CitizenFor anyone who wants to learn more about volunteering or is thinking about making a change in the community

30 September:Developing NetworksFor anyone wanting a better understanding of how they can work well together to make a difference in their community

30 September: Working with DiversityCommunity Cohesion in Practice For anyone who wants to know more about Southwark’s diverse community and equality legislation

Check our website at www.volunteercentres.org.uk to download a copy of the programme or to book a place on one of our courses. For more information or to join our mailing list, contact Karen on 020 7703 4205 or at [email protected]


Southwark Stars

Volunteers of the year winners 2010

60’s group leaders, textile club volunteers, film makers, warship conservation volunteers, ward visitors, football coaches, web designers and homework tutors and many more…

In addition to giving over 100 people Southwark Stars awards, 5 people were named volunteers of the year and given awards from the mayor of Southwark. Usually only one person is given

this accolade, however this year the standard of nominations was very high and the panel decided on giving out 5 awards to recognise the fantastic work they all complete.

David Johnston, Blackfriars SettlementEveryone was really impressed with the commitment that David shows to support Blackfriars Settlement. Along with having a full time job he has been a befriender for 5 years, visiting two isolated older people, and uses his holiday time to accompany a visually impaired group of vulnerable older people on their annual week end away. As well as this he helps out wherever he can from doing the petty cash to making cakes for fundraisers or cooking for the clubs making a huge difference to the settlement.

Rizwan Khokhar, Catch22 Kickstart

Rizwan Khokhar: 19, has shown a willingness and enthusiasm to serve his local community

that has been nothing short of inspirational. This year he witnessed a friend of his become a stabbing victim over post code rivalries. Rather than go the route of retaliating with violence, he

contacted Catch22 Kickstart and began volunteering.

Since starting with Catch22 Kickstart, he has supported and even led estate based sports sessions, knife crime awareness workshops in a local primary school, served on Catch22 Kickstart’s youth led ‘knife crime forum’, assisted in planning for and promoting large scale events aimed at reducing violence, lobbied with MPs and local authorities at campaign launches, spoke at Stop and Search meetings chaired by the Metropolitan Police, and provided administrative support in the office.

Ernest Nkrumah, Peckham Voluntary Sector Forum (and others!)Ernest won the award for his dedication in helping others in a huge variety of ways from working with HIV/AIDS, setting up a support group, developing an after school club, chauffeuring people with disabilities to his church and supporting PVSF whom described him as ‘a real champion and a role model to others in the community.’

Esy Oluwafemi, Wisegem

Esy, founded Wisegem 7 years ago and each year she has worked tirelessly to support teenage parents who find it difficult

to cope with being parents or young people who are risk of becoming teenage parents.

Her work with this teenage group has meant she is constantly speaking to agencies such as Social Services, Teenage Pregnancy Unit, Hospital Midwives, and Southwark Teenage Pregnancy Unit.This work also takes her into many Southwark Schools where she has been asked to run sessions on Sexual Health and relationships as way of preventing young people from becoming teenage parents. Many of the users of the project are mentored to become Sexual Health peer educators and are the ones who deliver these sessions.

Other users of the project have gone onto college, University and into full time jobs things that they would never have dreamed of achieving until they came across Esy’s support and dedication.

Tom Bateman, Greenhouse Bethwin Football ClubFrom his first day as an Assistant Football Coach Tom made a positive impact, engaging brilliantly with his under 13b team and his Head Coach, Ibrahim. Through his volunteering he has completed his FA Level 1 coaching qualification and helped his team to a recent cup final. “How Tom finds the time to coach his team every Monday and take them to their matches on Saturdays, whilst completing the final year of his History degree and mentoring other young people in East London i will never know, but we are hugely grateful that he does. With his last exam finished and the football season drawing to a close he could put his feet up but he has offered to help his players with their coursework and exam revision at this critical stage of the school year to help them succeed off the pitch. HIs commitment knows no bounds”.Images from the event are all on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/volunteercentresouthwark

At a glitzy awards event on the 2nd June at Shunt we held our annual ‘Southwark Stars’ awards event to celebrate volunteering in Southwark.

We were excited that 110 people from 41 voluntary groups were given a Southwark Stars award by the Deputy Mayor of Southwark in recognition of doing more than 100 hours of volunteering in the last 12 months. Collectively the people there had volunteered for over 26,000 hours in the last 12 months.

These people are volunteering in very different roles from people who ran their own voluntary groups as volunteers, over


and finally...

WHO’S WHO AT CAS?

Finding out who to speak to in any organisation

can be tricky. So we thought we would provide

you with a quick and easy reference of who’s

who at CAS.

Chris Sanford, Chief Executive ............... ........................................ 020 7703 2368 [email protected]

Seyi Madariola, Director of Operations ...and ICT ............................ 020 7358 4174 .................... [email protected]

Position vacant, Central Support Officer, ........................................ 020 7703 2368 [email protected]

Roda Mbonde, Central Support Officer .. ........................................ 020 7358 4179 ................... [email protected]

Chris Todd, Director of Capacity Building ........................................ 020 7358 4822 [email protected]

Position vacant, Training coordinator ..... ........................................ 020 7358 4826 [email protected]

Position vacant, Sustainability Officer .... ........................................ 020 7703 2368 [email protected]

Position vacant, Sustainability Officer .... ........................................ 020 7703 2368 [email protected]

Jamal ettetuani, Director of Policy & .....Participation ..................... 020 7358 4825 [email protected]

Mark Drinkwater, Participation Officer ... ........................................ 020 7358 4178 .................. [email protected]

Andy Boaden, Policy and Research .......Officer .............................. 020 7358 4834 [email protected]

Claudine Bongo, ................................... Director of Community Development ........ ........... 020 7358 4189 / 07543 050 360 [email protected]

Lina Maria usma, .................................Community Development Officer .............. ...............020 7358 4172 / 07904 983 130 ..................... [email protected]

Juma Bah, .............................................Community Development Officer .............. ........... 020 7358 4183 / 07904 983 071 [email protected]

BOARD Of TRuSTeeSHelen Rice (Chair), Les Alden (Vice Chair), David Stock (Treasurer), James Gillespie, Viv Oyolu.

CAS is currently seeking new trustees.

If you are interested in what this entails and

how you can get involved please contact [email protected]

CaS has office space to letYour office environment says a lot about your organisation. In todays markets image is becoming more and more important. Networking and collaboration are still huge key factors to success and sharing the right space with the right people can get you well on the way.

Sharing and being in the right place can increase your organisations’ skill diversity, the sharing of information and present increased opportunities not to mention social benefits.

CAS shares its space with several other voluntary organisations creating a hive of community involvement smack in the centre of where it matters the most.

There is a further 80 square meters (or 860 square feet) of space here spread over two rooms overlooking the city skyline from the refurbished 8th floor.

The space could be shared or split so if your situation is feeling a little cramped then drop Chris a line on 020 7703 2368 or email him on [email protected] to discuss the possibilities.

Is your space a bit cramped?

wrightoneducationservices

Do you need CRB disclosures?Wrighton education Services has 8 years experience of successfully processing CRB disclosures for companies and voluntary sector organisations.

Employees only £43/53Volunteers only £17 for a friendly, efficient service contact Peter or Lorraine on:

020 7564 0480web: www.wrighton-education.comemail: [email protected]

43b Mason Street, London, Se17 1HfAn umbrella body authorised by the CRB

includesCrB charges

“... thank you for the excellent service you

have provided...”Vauxhall City Farm

Cascade Summer 2010

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Transcript of Cascade Summer 2010