We've launched a brand new Training and Development Programme to support community and voluntary groups/organisations with many aspects of their day-to-day running.

All courses take place online via Zoom and are run by NCVS staff, as well as some sessions which are being provided by external trainers. Prices start from just £10.

Our courses build on the latest policy issues that affect the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, including new legislation briefings, and will enable you to keep up to date with staff, trustee and volunteer development.

Back in March/April 2020, NCVS began listing details from voluntary and community-based organisations who were making changes to their service delivery as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we entered a new lockdown in January 2021, we put out a call to refresh these details. Many service changes may feel embedded and familiar by now within many organisations. Sadly, in some areas, services may find they need to close.

If you have updates regarding your service, please let us know. First check here for the original page (last updated on 19 August 2020) and our current page can be viewed here, to review the changes you may have reported previously. Then please email ncvs@nottinghamcvs.co.uk with new information, your amendments, or to confirm the details are still correct as before.

If you're a member of our Children and Young People's Providers Network (CYPPN) or Vulnerable Adults' Providers Network (VAPN), don't forget to book your place at our next virtual meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday 27 May 2021, 10am-12pm, via Zoom.

Many issues raised at previous meetings have been relevant to both Networks, so this meeting gives participants an opportunity to develop wider partnerships. Alongside time for networking and discussion, there will be a number of presentations. Speakers to be confirmed soon.

Six months ago, in August 2020, when the first wave of the pandemic seemed to be easing off and lockdown was lifted, I wrote a blog post asking Leaders of Volunteers to review their pre-lockdown opportunities.

From where we are now, in March 2021, it is easy to see that I floated that idea too early. We couldn’t have predicted the second wave of the coronavirus at that time, or the subsequent impact it would have on the voluntary sector.

At that time, many voluntary/community organisations were effectively closed, some staff were on furlough and some existing volunteers were shielding. Volunteering opportunities were modified and a lot of new ones were developed to take into account socially distanced and remote volunteering. But almost two-thirds of pre-lockdown volunteering opportunities in Nottingham were put on hold. This meant that huge numbers of volunteers who were active before the pandemic had no role, and the continued demand, from them and from new volunteers, has been met by a smaller number of organisations and opportunities.

Don't forget to book your place at our next Leaders of Volunteers Network (LoVN) meeting.

The meeting will take place online via Zoom on Wednesday 12 May 2021, from 10am-12pm.

This online event is open to anyone with an interest in managing, supporting or leading volunteers.

More info about what to expect from this session is available on our website.

Tuesday 13 April 2021, 2pm-3pm

This one-hour online session looks at methods that have proved to be effective in volunteer leadership, including the best ways to plan, involve, support and retain volunteers.

This session will be helpful for those who are new to working with volunteers or those who want to improve or gain new ideas for their group's volunteer management processes, making it a useful refresher for more experienced leaders.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 28 April 2021, 10am-11am

In this one-hour online session, we will identify some of the barriers that potential volunteers face to becoming involved in your organisation and share ideas to remove these barriers.

From a language barrier, time commitments and transport through to disability, mental health and age, this session helps to spot the things that prevent volunteers joining us.

Together, we will look at ways to overcome those barriers and give the volunteer and the organisation a rewarding, fulfilling and effective volunteering experience.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 14 April 2021, 10.30am-1.45pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of roles and responsibilities in the safeguarding of adults and how to respond to concerns.

This interactive course is delivered over one session, but divided into two parts, allowing for a 45 minute break and reflection between part one (10.30am-11.45am) and part two (12.30pm-1.45pm). You are required to complete both parts.

A certificate of attendance will be issued following completion of the course.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 21 April 2021, 10.30am-1.45pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of roles and responsibilities in the safeguarding of children and young people and how to respond to concerns. 

This interactive course is delivered over one session, but divided into two parts, allowing for a 45 minute break and reflection between part one (10.30am-11.45am) and part two (12.30pm-1.45pm). You are required to complete both parts.

A certificate of attendance will be issued following completion of the course.

Cost: £25 per participant

Tuesday 20 April 2021, 10am-11.15am

For organisations and community groups who are new to applying for funding, or for those in need of a refresher. Relevant for groups applying for Covid-19 funding and recovery support as well as other general funding.

This session is suitable for staff, volunteers, community activists and management committee members/ Trustees/ Directors with responsibility for writing funding applications, who want to start something new in their community or who would like to develop these skills.

Cost: £10 per participant

The PDU aims to promote and facilitate collaborative learning and the sharing of good practice among professionals and volunteers from all sectors, in Nottingham and neighbouring areas, who work with people experiencing multiple disadvantage (understood as a combination of mental ill-health, substance misuse, homelessness, offending and domestic abuse, among other issues).

Contact our coordinator Filipa Santos for more information by sending an email to enquiries@pdunottingham.org or calling 0115 934 8428 or 07483 354 441.

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

The PDU offers a unique opportunity for voluntary and statutory sector workers who support people experiencing multiple disadvantage across Nottingham and neighbouring areas, to connect, learn collaboratively and share good practice and expertise.

By participating in our events, you will have the chance to develop your knowledge and skills and extend your professional network by making links with other local organisations.

Attendance to PDU events is free of charge, but advance booking is essential. Follow the relevant links below to register your place at our upcoming events.

Please note that it is PDU policy that people with lived experience are invited to participate in our events.

We have a small number of places left for our new Community of Practice focused on working with autistic adults who do not have an intellectual disability. This CoP provides a vibrant but informal safe space for professionals to come together and share experiences and good practice, discuss issues with peers and gain new ideas and knowledge.

The CoP is hosted by the Practice Development Unit and facilitated by Debbie Austin, Specialist Autism Awareness Trainer, Assessor and Autistic Advocate from Autism East Midlands; and Claire Smith, CEO of Autistic Nottingham.

The first set of sessions will take place online from 1.30pm-3.30pm on the following dates:

• Thursday 8 April 2021
  
  
• Thursday 8 July 2021
  
  
• Thursday 7 October 2021

Please note that we have limited places available and these are restricted to two per organisation, so it is not guaranteed that we will be able to allocate you a place.

By joining the CoP, you will be registering for all three dates. To find out more and join the CoP, email enquiries@pdunottingham.org

Does your charity or community/voluntary organisation support low-income households? If so, your service users could benefit from applying to the Severn Trent Trust Fund's Big Difference Scheme.

Through the scheme, low-income households in Nottingham City can receive up to 90 per cent off their average Severn Trent water bill.

The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Advisory Committee is currently seeking to recruit three non-Magistrate members.

Successful candidates will have good interpersonal skills and good judgement of character, and will possess the ability to interview candidates for the Magistracy.

These roles are voluntary, although travel expenses may be claimed, if appointed. Applicants must have time available to attend at least one full committee meeting per year, plus taking part in the sifting of applications (which may be done online) and at least 12 full-day interview sessions. Successful applicants must attend a two-day training session before they can take part in the work of the Committee.

Due to Covid-19, all interviews will take place online via Microsoft Teams.

For further information or to request an application form, please email:

NT-LegalAdminSupportTeam@justice.gov.uk

The deadline for applications is 12noon on Wednesday 28 April 2021.

The UK's first and largest survey of its kind has launched, to document the impact of Covid-19, and the lockdowns, on the lives of people from ethnic and religious minority groups.

The Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) is being led by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) and being conducted by global market research company Ipsos MORI.

Its aim is to find out how the Covid-19 pandemic, and the lockdowns, have affected ethnic minority people across England, Scotland and Wales, in all areas of their lives.

The Law Family Commission on Civil Society is seeking input on a range of questions about how to unleash the full potential of civil society in the 2020s.

It is open for anyone – civil society organisations and participants, policy makers and businesses – to share their opinions, experiences and feedback until 10 May 2021.

The evidence submitted through this process will shape the Commission’s priorities and contribute to research content produced over the course of the Commission’s life cycle.

The Government has reopened its call for evidence into violence against women and girls.

The Home Office wants to hear your views to help inform the development of the next Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. They are particularly keen to hear from people who may feel underrepresented in previous strategies or who feel their circumstances were not supported by existing services.

In addition to those with lived experiences of these issues, they are also seeking the views of those with expertise in working with victims and survivors, those involved in preventative activity, and those involved in providing services.