Are they safe: Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire safeguarding podcast

/by

The purpose of the podcast is to raise awareness of safeguarding. You should listen if you are a member of staff, a volunteer or a trustee in the voluntary sector. We have been joined by a range of guests from organisations in Northamptonshire.

The series has been produced with NLive Radio and NAVCA, with guests Amarjit Pawar from Right Resolution CIC, Caroline Gooch from Age UK Northampton, Natriece Westwood from NDAS (Northampton Domestic Abuse Service), Northamptonshire Safeguarding Adults Board, Jane Geraghty, NSAB Independent Scrutineer, Michelle Wright, Team Manager for Safeguarding and Assurance, North Northants Council, and Angela Dempsey Chief Nurse for Northamptonshire CCG.

Listen now

In addition to a short introduction, our episodes will cover a number of topics including:

Roles and responsibilities

  • How to involve everyone in safeguarding
  • When and why organisations might want a designated safeguarding lead
  • The role of boards/ trustees/ management committees in safeguarding
  • How do organisations ensure that everyone is safe, and that all staff and volunteers take responsibility for keeping others safe?

Policies and procedures

  • What policies and procedures should organisations have (proportionate to size and the nature of their work)
  • How to make sure everyone in the organisation is familiar with the policies and procedures and comfortable using them

Risk, recognising, responding and reporting

  • Who is at risk and how this relates to organisation’s own responsibilities around safeguarding
  • Understand and recognise the different types of harm and abuse
  • Know what actions to take re safeguarding concerns, disclosures or allegations
  • How to report different types of incidents and safeguarding concerns

Recruitment and criminal record checks

  • What should organisations consider during the recruitment and induction of volunteers and staff?
  • What are Criminal Records checks, how to use them, and how not to.

 

Integrated Care System workshop

/by

VIN delivered the first ICS workshop in Northampton on the 28 of March 2022, with funding from NHS England and the Lottery Community Fund. Over 50 delegates attended to hear a range of speakers, including the Independent Chair of the soon to be convened Integrated Care Board (ICB) and West Northamptonshire Council on Health Transformation in Localities and Neighbourhoods. The Integrated Care System (ICS) is a fundamental change to how Population Health Management will be delivered in our communities. Within the ICS structure, there is a requirement to embed and work with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE).  This guidance can be viewed here.

It will not be the role of the ICS to prescribe how they work with the VCSE, just that they will. Experience across the UK, in other Integrated Care Systems, demonstrate that the more the VCSE can group together along Thematic lines, the better the opportunity to engage. The Mental Health Collaborative, within our County, is an excellent example of this, with 50 organisations coming together to discuss the issues and challenges around the subject. With a weight of 50, they will be listened to.

The ICS cannot engage with every single VCSE organisation, so alignment is critical, particularly at Tier 1 (Neighbourhoods) and Tier 2 (Localities). At the moment, there is no real detail about who will sit where and why. Part of the solution will be driven by Local Authority data which informs health decisions based upon statistics and trends – but the rest is up for grabs.

One way of ensuring you are part of the collective is to join the VCSE Assembly. You can do this by simply emailing the Project Officer Kerri, at: kerri@vcseassembly.org.uk

The Assembly will keep you informed about what’s happening in the ICS, demystify some of the terminology, and has a place at the table of the potentially new Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), which will help inform the VCSE viewpoint on a whole range of health-related issues. Membership is free so there’s every incentive to join and have your say.

VIN is hosting another workshop on the 9 of May 2022 in Kettering, so if you missed the first one you still have an opportunity to engage and understand. You can book your place here.

Play Action International needs volunteers

/by

Play Action International’s Ukraine Play Box Appeal aims to give boxes of toys and play materials to as many of the estimated 90,000 Ukrainian children who are expected to arrive in the UK over the coming weeks as possible, as well as to Ukrainian children seeking refuge in Eastern Europe. By offering Ukraine’s children boxes of toys and play materials, together we can begin to give them a sense of their childhood back and heal through play.

The Play Boxes being sent to Play Action International for this appeal all need to be hand-checked before they give them to Ukrainian refugee children. This is where you come in!

Play Action International need volunteers who can come to Yodel’s base in Northampton (Yodel, Unit 4, Mercury Drive, Northampton, NN4 7JE) and help to check through Play Boxes and prepare them for sending.

Please fill out the form below with your availability for volunteering. The shifts available will be Mon – Fri, 11:00am-2:00pm and 2:30pm-5:30pm. You will be contacted THE DAY BEFORE, between 4:00pm – 7:00pm, to see if you are still available to volunteer.

The number of volunteers we need will vary from day to day, so please be flexible where possible. This is due to the unknown response and unknown quantity of boxes Play Action International will receive each day. You will be an essential part of this operation and Play Action International cannot thank you enough for volunteering your time.

Sign up to volunteer here.

To send a Play Box today, find the 3 ways of giving here.

How are trees managed in west Northamptonshire

/by

West Northamptonshire Council has an activity called scrutiny where councillors look at issues affecting the people of West Northamptonshire or how the council works and makes recommendations.

The Scrutiny Committee has set up a task panel to look at the way the council manages trees – both trees it owns and those where it has a regulatory role through the planning system – and how trees can best help improve West Northamptonshire in the future.

They are seeking views on this subject, whether you are a resident of West Northamptonshire, someone who works here, a business in West Northamptonshire or an interest group.

Your answers will help the council shape a new tree policy and strategy and so guide the way trees are managed across West Northamptonshire.

Please click below to access further information and how to access the survey.

VIN and Growing Together

/by

Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire is working with Growing Together to form a Community Organising Partnership on the Talavera Ward of Northampton ( Southlands, Thorplands and Blackthorn). With funding from Awards for All and West Northamptonshire Council, this 12-month programme hopes to inspire communities to help themselves, become involved in social activities, and bring people together to solve issues of mutual concern.

Russell Rolph, CEO of Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire states:

I am really excited to be working with Growing Together on this. Where Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire has obtained funding, but others are best placed to deliver its right that we partner in this way. The next 12 months will be challenging but interesting.

For more information on the Community Organising Approach or for this project contact Russell.rolph@voluntaryimpact.org.uk

The role of the integrated care partnership

/by

The Integrated Care Partnership is one construct of Leadership within the Integrated Care System. It sits alongside the Integrated Care Board and will predominantly focus on Place as an approach to Population Health Management. The Integrated Care Partnership (or ICP) is also where Partners across Sectors will meet to co-produce service design for People, Places and Communities.  For more information on what the proposed ICP is attempting to deliver please click here.

Stuart Lackenby, the Director of Adult Social Services for West Northamptonshire Council will be talking more about this at VINS ICS Alliances Workshop on the 28 March 2022. If you wish to book a space for this event please click here.

Friday bulletin

/by

In this week’s bulletin, the latest blog from CEO Russell Rolph, Integrated Care System updates, we are recruiting for a Project Support Coordinator, Poverty Truth Commission and much more.

Evaluating the Covid 19 VCSE support programme

/by

The Covid-19 Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector support package, hereby referred to as the funding package, was announced by the Chancellor on 8 April 2021 as an emergency funding package of £750 million to support the VCSE sector through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The funds were distributed by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and other government departments to a range of organisations. Of the £750m, £360 million was distributed directly from government departments and £370 million was distributed to smaller charities, including a grant to the National Lottery Community Fund.

The government also matched donations to the National Emergencies Trust (NET) as part of the BBC’s ‘Big Night In’ fundraiser. To read the evaluation report in detail click here.

Tickboxes and tokenism?

/by

Shaping Our Lives has today published Tickboxes and Tokenism: Service user involvement report 2022 – exploring deaf and Disabled people’s experiences of being involved in planning and delivering services such as health and social care.

Service user engagement (also referred to as public participation) is increasingly seen as important for shaping and delivering public services, but those running involvement opportunities don’t always have the experience or knowledge to meaningfully and accessibly involve Disabled people.

The report explores some of the barriers people face when it comes to sharing their lived experience and contains recommendations for organisations to make sure the lived experience of deaf and Disabled people is heard and valued.

There are five key findings from the study:

  1. 92% of respondents said they would be interested in finding out about (more) involvement opportunities. 63% said they currently find it difficult to find involvement opportunities.
  2. Only 39% currently have their access requirements recorded. Of those that didn’t, many thought this would be useful so that organisers could find the right people, plan ahead and make necessary adjustments.
  3. We asked people what was important for them to be able to take part in involvement activities. 65% said that they needed their access and support requirements organised in advance. This rose to 100% amongst respondents to the British Sign Language (BSL) survey.
  4. Besides meeting their access requirements and other practicalities, people said they needed to be listened to and for their input to have an impact. They want a meaningful experience and do not want their time wasted.
  5. Over half (56%) of respondents have difficulty getting their access and support needs met (rising to 89% for the BSL survey).

Peter Beresford OBE, Co-Chair of Shaping Our Lives, Visiting Professor at the University of East Anglia, said: “There is a lot of talk about the importance of involving disabled people and social care service users. There is more and more recognition of making sure that involvement is inclusive; that is to say, it should include everyone regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, impairment and so on.”

“But we see that too many people aren’t able to get involved with the access and support they need. Many more want to have a voice and be involved. The report offers recommendations and ways forward.” To download a copy of the report please visit our website: Tickboxes and Tokenism? Service User Involvement Report 2022 – Shaping Our Lives

Launching the My Involvement Profile

As a result of the survey findings, Shaping Our Lives is launching a new tool to help people who want to share their lived experiences.

The My Involvement Profile is a resource where people can record their skills, lived experience knowledge and experience of engagement, involvement, co-production and research. Crucially it will also support people to explain their access requirements in advance.

We asked in the survey if people had their access and support requirements, as well as their knowledge and skills, recorded so that they can be easily shared with organisers of involvement activities. The majority of people (61%) said that they didn’t. When asked if it would be helpful to have such a record, many people thought that it would be a great idea and would help organisers find the right people, plan ahead and make necessary adjustments.

Shaping Our Lives can support individuals to complete their My Involvement Profile. Find out more about the My Involvement Profile on our website: Support to Take Part in Involvement – Shaping Our Lives

About Shaping Our Lives

Shaping Our Lives is a user-led, non-profit organisation, specialising in the inclusive involvement of Disabled people and people from other marginalised communities. We have decades of experience in research and inclusive involvement. We draw on the knowledge and expertise of our national network of service users and user-led organisations. Sign up for our ebulletins: http://eepurl.com/gmQUu9

About the study

The survey was promoted through our network and beyond, using the website, e-bulletins, social media, our members and our partners. It was interpreted into British Sign Language and promoted to Deaf organisations. We ran one workshop with people with learning disabilities and have been supported by People First England to disseminate the survey to their members.

We received 126 responses, with 9 from the British Sign Language community, and 12 people attended the workshop.

Integrated Care System moves to July 2022

/by

In a letter to all health and care systems, NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that, in order to allow sufficient time for the remaining parliamentary stages of the Health and Care Bill, a revised target date of 1 July 2022 has been agreed for ICS arrangements to take effect and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to be legally and operationally established.

This replaces the previous target date of 1 April 2022 and means that current statutory arrangements will now remain in place until 1 July. Preparations are continuing in Northamptonshire to be ready for full Integrated Care System status, formalising the joint working arrangements already established for health and care in our county and simplifying partnership working and decision making.

Subject to the passage of the Health and Care Bill through Parliament, NHS Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will be disestablished at the end of June 2022 and two new statutory bodies will come into effect: an Integrated Care Board (ICB) to oversee local NHS functions and working closely with an Integrated Care Partnership of wider health and care organisations.

The current CCG Chief Executive Toby Sanders has been confirmed as the Designate Chief Executive of the new Northamptonshire ICB, with NHCP Chair Naomi Eisenstadt installed as the ICB Chair Designate. Three designated Non-Executive Directors and a Chief Finance Officer have also been appointed to the ICB, which is our aim to begin operating as a shadow arrangement from 1 April.