On Thursday 11 May 2023, we held our first Nottingham City Place-Based Partnership (PBP) Race Health Inequalities Summit. The event, led by Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS), brought together leaders from across Nottingham to discuss how race affects people’s health outcomes, the healthcare they receive, and what steps we can take as a partnership to address these inequalities.

As well as hearing powerful talks from a range of expert speakers, it was a great chance for partners representing different organisations from the public and voluntary sectors to come together and make valuable new connections. We saw a fantastic turnout, with over 200 people in attendance – a testament to the passion there is within the city to making healthcare better for everyone.

Race health inequality is a particular issue in Nottingham, with local data shining a light on how race can affect a patient’s health outcomes.

The Summit provided an opportunity for partners to address some of these issues. The day had a particular focus on mental health and maternity care, where health inequalities are known to disproportionately impact people from minority communities.

On behalf of the PBP, Clive Foster MBE and Donna Sherratt, we would like to thank everyone involved in making this day a huge success.

Please read on to learn more about the presentations and discussions on the day.

Then, if you would like to know more about this work or you would like to be directly involved, please contact Jules Sebelin, Chief Executive of NCVS.
Email juless@nottinghamcvs.co.uk.

Thursday 29 June 2023, 12.30pm to 3.30pm (set up from 11.30am)
Notts County Football Ground, Meadow Lane NG2 3HJ
Free to attend

Alongside the ICB and Nottingham City General Practice Alliance (NCGPA), NCVS is hosting the first in-person conference for Social Prescribing Link Workers (SPLWs) across the city and county on Thursday 29 June.

Feedback from some of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector is that we're often not sure who the social prescribers are, and how to contact them. So this event is a chance to meet the social prescribers, learn more about what they do, and showcase to them all the amazing work you do.

If you would like a free information stall at the event, please email ruthes@nottinghamcvs.co.uk to request more information and a booking form.

Some of you may have taken part in the Leaders of Volunteers Network (LoVN) meeting in April, where we had a focused session on how volunteering can be a health outcome, using social prescribing as a potential vehicle to do this.

Ruthe is working with Nottingham Trent University and Herriot Watt University to research health benefits of volunteering and “volunteering on prescription” models to look at how befriending, volunteering and peer support opportunities may be used amongst our organisations.

To discuss the research, please contact Ruthe (ruthes@nottinghamcvs.co.uk) or Dr Mhairi Bowe at Heriot Watt University (m.bowe@hw.ac.uk) before Monday 12 June 2023.

We're aware that there is often confusion around accessing information about local social prescribing services. As part of her role, Ruthe is committed to making an accessible 'front door' portal of information for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, so it is much clearer how to find out the essentials of social prescribing, how people can be referred, and how we can make connections as a sector.

Ruthe will be launching a survey and consultation in July 2023. In the meantime, please come forward now with your experiences. Your input will help Ruthe to create the most appropriate consultation questions, so we can get a full picture of what the challenges have been for individuals and organisations trying to navigate this landscape.

We aim to make training and development opportunities around personalised care and person-centred conversations more accessible to the VCSE sector.

There is often talk about the VCSE sector being included within the Integrated Care system (ICS), but feedback has shown that this is not always clear and opportunities and information are not made visible to our sector. It is integral for the VCSE sector to be a key cornerstone in the ICS. The sector is referenced time and again in national and local health strategies and plans.

The Personalised Care Team is committed to including our sector in those conversations and working more closely together. A 'Workforce Development' webpage is available for all staff and volunteers to access. The site is a work in progress, with plans to make the information more VCSE-centred.

Please take a look at the current resources, and Ruthe wants to hear your perspective to ensure we can make improvements.

The new Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Sheriff of Nottingham and Executive Councillors were named this week.

The post of Lord Mayor will be held by Cllr Carole McCulloch, who has lived in Aspley for 29 years and been a councillor for Aspley since 2011. Cllr Shuguftah Quddoos will take up the role of Sheriff of Nottingham. She has lived in Forest Fields for over 20 years and has been a councillor for Berridge Ward since 2019.

Cllr David Mellen has retained his position as City Council Leader as well as being portfolio holder for Strategic Development and Communications & Marketing, while Cllr Audra Wynter has taken the position of Deputy Leader, along with the Finance portfolio.

Other portfolio responsibilities have been announced as follows:

• Energy, Environment & Waste Services and Parks – Cllr Corall Jenkins
• Children, Young People and Education – Cllr Cheryl Barnard
• Skills, Growth, Economic Development and Property – Cllr Steve Battlemuch
• Housing – Cllr Jay Hayes
• Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion – Cllr Sajid Mohammed
• Leisure and Culture – Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis
• Adults, Social Care and Health – Cllr Linda Woodings
• Highways, Transport and Planning – Cllr Angela Kandola.

Voting deadline is 12 noon on Friday 26 May (tomorrow!)

Community groups across the UK are competing for a share (up to £70,000) to help improve the lives of people in their local area, through The People's Projects National Lottery funding.

Among the projects in Central East area, you can vote to support Nottingham-based Diversify Education and Communities CIC or FarmEco Community Care Limited, based in Rushcliffe.

You can vote for your favourite project in each geographical area, if you act quickly.

Deadline for applications: midnight on Sunday 11 June 2023

Co-op Local Community Fund supports projects that help make communities fairer for everyone. You can apply if you're a not-for profit group, wanting to fund a specific project that benefits your local community around one of these themes:

• Brings people together to access food
• Helps improve people’s mental wellbeing 
• Creates opportunities for young people to be heard and make a difference  
• Enables people to save and restore nature or tackle climate change .

Check the full eligibility criteria on the website.

Deadline for applications:  Wednesday 14 June 2023

Do you have a project or series of events you want to develop and deliver for your local community within Hyson Green?

The YOUnity programme, delivered by New Art Exchange (NAE), offers three commissions of £5,000 each to support community-led events by, with and for the neighbourhood in Hyson Green.

This callout is open to individuals, collectives and to registered companies. They are especially interested in supporting applications from the global ethnic majority.

By now, we expect your plans for Volunteers' Week are firmly in place. If you're still looking for ideas, one little extra that some members of the team might appreciate is the Volunteers' Week Certificate. You can download it as a Word file and customise it to suit your own needs. It's on the national Volunteers' Week website, along with other resources for the week.

In addition to your own events, we hope you know about Nottingham’s Volunteer Celebration event on Saturday 3 June between 11am and 3pm at the Arboretum on Waverley Street.

Please come along. You’ll be welcome whether you are a Leader of Volunteers, a volunteer yourself or simply want to join in with the celebration. Don’t forget to pass on this invitation to anyone you know who volunteers. It’s completely free and, unless you want a stall, you don’t need to book.

On the day, you’ll find a great collection of organisations represented with displays and stalls. If you haven’t booked a stall yet, it’s not too late. Fill in and return the booking form (link downloads Word document) to get a stall for your organisation. Promote your work with display photos, leaflets and publicity material, You can offer an activity for the public and provide a meeting point for your own volunteer team.

There’s no shortage of space, but if you would like us to provide a gazebo, table and chairs, we need to know as soon as possible.

If you have already returned your booking form, we will be sending final details out next week confirming your stall.

Keep your fingers crossed for sunshine on Saturday 3 June!

For more details, please contact our Volunteering Development Officer, Dave Thomas at davet@nottinghamcvs.co.uk or call 07564 040767.

Wednesday 28 June 2023, 10am to 1pm
New Art Exchange, 39-41 Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 6BE

This event is being organised by the Vision for Volunteering team who are based at NCVO. The Vision for Volunteering sets out a view of what volunteering needs to look like, and how this will make volunteers feel about their roles, by 2032.

More than 350 people from more than 300 organisations contributed to the Vision for Volunteering. It is led by NAVCA, NCVO, Volunteering Matters, and the Association of Volunteer Managers. You may have heard it talked about at the Leaders of Volunteers Network (LoVN) meetings that NCVS facilitates.

Do you want to find out more about the Vision for Volunteering? Are you keen to explore how to bring it to life in your own community? Do you want to meet other like-minded people who are looking to improve the experience of volunteers and those who work with them?

Vision for Volunteering local workshops are now travelling the country, and this East Midlands session is coming to Nottingham. Everyone is welcome.

If you have any questions, please contact Su Swage, Vision for Volunteering Network Engagement Officer. Email su.swage@ncvo.org.uk.

Green social prescribing is a way of connecting people to nature-based activities and green groups, projects and schemes in their local community for support with health and wellbeing. Often this will be through a referral from a Link Worker based at a GP practice or another primary care professional.

Our scheme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called GreenSpace, is one of seven government Green Social Prescribing Test and Learn sites. It's all about improving people’s mental health. Green providers, social prescribers, voluntary organisations and community initiatives will help connect many more people with nature-based activities, helping everyone to feel better.

The National Test and Learn may have ended, but we continue to embed green
social prescribing into health systems to make nature-based/outdoor activities an
intervention of choice to support people to improve and maintain their mental and
physical health and wellbeing. We are also continuing to collect case studies and
evidence to show the benefits of green social prescribing.

The latest GreenSpace bulletin is available to read.

You can view it in your web browser now. If you would like to receive future issues directly to your inbox, please email greenspace@nottinghamcvs.co.uk with a request to be added to the mailing list.

The deadline to include items in next month's edition is Monday 19 June 2023.

Friday 26 May to Monday 29 May 2023
Various venues, ticket prices apply

You are invited to an array of performances, workshops, debates, and other poetry-related activity programmed together with the local creative community.

Carers Week takes place from Monday 5 June to Friday 9 June 2023. The theme this year is "Recognising and supporting carers in the community".

Unpaid carers (especially Young Carers) are such a hidden group of people who offer so much free time caring and supporting loved ones that they often forget about their own needs. For this reason, Carers Federation is hosting a series of events throughout the week at Christopher Cargill House, 21-23 Pelham Road NG5 1AP.

They would like to invite everyone to join in.

Other organisations who provide services are invited to have an information stand at events on Tuesday 6 June or Thursday 8 June. Set up would be from 3.30pm, finishing at 5.30pm. Children and adults would be attending on both days. This will give you an opportunity to inform carers and family members of services available in the local community.

Tuesday 6 June includes refreshments and a petting zoo. On Thursday 8 June, there will be a variety of activities, including an outdoor marquee, flower, plant sales and refreshments.

Please respond to Roz Lynch (Service Manager for Young Carers) by the end of Friday 25 May if you would like a stand. Email r.lynch@carersfederation.co.uk.

If you can't make either of those events, please email Roz for details of other times you can drop in during the week to help link up services.

Friday 16 June 2023, 9am to 2.30pm
East Midlands Conference Centre, University Park, Beeston Lane NG7 2RJ
Free to attend

This is a free business event. Do you want to explore working with the University of Nottingham? This is your opportunity to make connections with the university and hundreds of other local businesses. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to hear from the policy and decision makers who are shaping the business environment in the East Midlands region.

Saturday 1 July to Sunday 9 July 2023
Various venues around Wollaton, Art in Shop Windows (on Bramcote Lane) and a grand finale in the grounds of Wollaton Hall & Deer Park

There are opportunities for people to come together to share food, music, singing, drama, photography and varied creative art activities.

Wednesday 12 July 2023, 10am to 12.30pm

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

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 26 July 2023, 10am to 12.30pm

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.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 31 May 2023, 10am to 12.30pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the Designated Safeguarding Lead Person.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 16 August 2023, 6pm to 7.30pm

An interactive online session for Trustees (or members of Management Committees) of organisations whose activities put them in contact with vulnerable adults or children.

Cost: £15 per participant

Wednesday 5 July 2023, 6pm to 8pm

This two-hour online session covers the basic information for all trustees, whether you are new to the role or long-established.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 18 July 2023, 10am to 12.15pm

A new interactive hands-on workshop for organisations and community groups who want to practice their skills and would welcome constructive feedback to further develop their skills in writing successful funding applications.
Cost: £20 per participant

Monday 12 June 2023, 6pm to 8pm

Do you manage a space, office or building? This new two-hour online session will take your Fire Wardens and/or Fire Marshal through the basics. As a result, they will be better equipped to carry out these very important roles.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 7 November 2023, 6.30pm to 8.30pm

This two-hour online session is intended for trustees who have completed our 'Being a Trustee' course, who want to further develop their involvement and awareness of trustee duties and improve their personal skill set.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 16 January 2024, 10.30am to 12.30pm

Are you acting as secretary or note taker, or do you need to record meetings? Learn how to take effective minutes and make your task easier. This two-hour online session will take you through the process of producing a 'minute'.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 21 June 2023, 10.30am to 12.30pm

This new two-hour online session will explain the basics of health and safety, then take you through the process of carrying out a risk assessment in an organisational environment.

Cost: £20 per participant

Monday 3 July 2023, 6pm to 8pm

What is the right structure for your organisation? This two-hour online session will explain your options and provide you with some useful tips to help you through the process of registration and beyond.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 6 June 2023, 10am to 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 cost of living funding and recovery support as well as other general funding.

Cost: £10 per participant

Thursday 29 June 2023, 10am to 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.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 14 June 2023, 10am to 11am

This one-hour online session aims to share some ideas about how best to deal with the inevitable disagreements, personality clashes and conflicts that arise from time to time among a team of volunteers.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 5 July 2023, 10am to 11am

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.

Cost: £10 per participant

Thursday 21 September 2023, 10am to 12 noon

For some time, we’ve been asked about training that goes beyond the basics of managing and supporting volunteers. In this new two-hour online session, we’ll explore some of the real-life issues that you are facing.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 5 September 2023, 10am to 12 noon

A two-hour online course for Leaders of Volunteers to start to develop an understanding of some of the legal requirements that relate to your volunteering programme.

Cost: £20 per participant

Thursday 20 July 2023, 10am to 11am

A one-hour online session to help your volunteer role descriptions stand out, ensuring you attract enthusiastic volunteers.

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 Katie Hall, our PDU Programme Manager, for more information: enquiries@pdunottingham.org

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

Wednesday 7 June 2023
Morning Session: Introduction to Gambling Related Harms 10am-1pm
Afternoon Session: Credit and Illegal Money Lending 2pm- 4pm
Cleaves Hall Conference Centre, 6 Castle Gate, Nottingham NG1 7AS, with option to attend online instead

This full-day workshop is an opportunity to develop a broad understanding of gambling related harms, credit and illegal money lending, delivered by experts in this field. We are offering a hybrid option to access this event as we want as many people as possible to benefit from this training opportunity.

Our talks will be delivered in person but available to watch live online. The chat box will be monitored throughout the session with online participants also encouraged to participate in group discussions.

We highly recommend that people attend both the morning and afternoon sessions to get the most out of the workshop.

Lunch is provided, with vegan and gluten free options available.

The full day workshop in June kick starts a further Gambling Related Harms learning series that will be delivered via the PDU as monthly one-hour online workshops.

These will deep dive on topics that begin to be explored in the day workshop. You can register for these events now at the links below:

• Cost of Living - Wednesday 5 July 2023, 10am to 11am
  
  
• Screening - Wednesday 2 August 2023, 10am to 11am
  
  
• Affected Others/Women - Wednesday 6 September 2023, 10am to 11am
  
  
• Cultural responsivity - Wednesday 4 October 2023, 10am to 11am

We welcome individuals with lived experience of Severe Multiple Disadvantage (SMD) to attend, as well as professionals and volunteers from all sectors.

Though attendance is free, advance booking is essential.

Download our events poster to share within your networks.

Wednesday 2 August 2023, 9.30am to 12.30pm
NBV Enterprise Centre, 6 David Lane, Nottingham NG6 0JU
Free to attend

Join Communities Inc for a morning of Stand By Me training and be a better ally.

A bystander is a person present where another person needs help, but chooses not to act. Bystander Interventions can prevent escalation of incidents. It also sends a strong message to perpetrators that their behaviour is not acceptable.

This session is aimed at individuals who would like to build their knowledge and confidence to stand by anyone experiencing hate or hostility. Training will focus on safe interventions that support the victim.

Deadline for applications: Friday 9 June 2023

MH:2K is delivered by Leaders Unlocked in association with NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB). The project is an integral part of the ongoing work to improve children’s emotional and mental health in the region.

Those who join the MH:2K team will play an important role as ‘Citizen Researchers’ in helping to shape how young people access support and to have a voice within services.

Please encourage any young person who you feel would benefit from this experience to apply and support them to fill out the application if needed.

Email gabrielle@leaders-unlocked.org for further information and application forms.

Closing date is 12 noon on Friday 30 June 2023

Nottingham City Council is seeking tenders from sufficiently experienced and qualified organisations for the provision of a Mental Health Reablement Service. 

This is a time limited and highly focused 12 week intervention which involves one to one community support, to support citizens to recover and help to overcome issues in their daily lives that impact negatively on their mental health and wellbeing.

The primary focus of the service is to enable citizens to remain independent in the community and to facilitate discharge from psychiatric wards.

The contract duration will be for two years with a possible extension of two years at the Council’s discretion. The total contract value is estimated to be a maximum of  £1.6 million over the total length of the contract (including any potential extensions).  The anticipated contract start date will be 1 October 2023.

This contract will be let under the Light Touch Regime of the Public Contract Regulations 2015. Please direct any enquiries via the procurement portal.

Deadline for nominations: Thursday 31 August 2023

The awards are back, and celebrating their 10th anniversary this year.

Merlita Bryan, who is now the former local Councillor, former twice Sheriff of Nottingham and former Lord Mayor of Nottingham, first started these awards in 2011. The aim of the Black Achievers Awards is to recognise and promote the achievements of our BME community. The awards ceremony is a black- tie event not to be missed, and will be held on Saturday 28 October 2023 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Nottingham Belfry, off Mellors Way, Woodhouse Way, Nottingham NG8 6PY.

All sponsors for this year's awards have been confirmed, and it is now over to you, the people of Nottingham and the East Midlands, to nominate someone for an award. There are nine categories. NCVS is once again sponsoring the Community Volunteer Award.

The next general election is a maximum of 20 months away. Most people are predicting an autumn 2024 polling day. Organisations from different sectors are now trying to influence political parties’ priorities as they prepare for the big day.

ACEVO and NCVO are working together to produce a manifesto for charities and volunteering because they feel strongly that there is benefit in engaging their members and the wider sector, in the spirit of generous collaboration and collective endeavour, in creating a shared vision.

You don't need to be a member of ACEVO or NCVO to get involved.

They are running in person and online events in June and July to gather feedback about what should be included in the manifesto. This feedback will be used to draft a manifesto over the summer, which will be consulted on later this year.

Our closest in person events are in Sheffield on Thursday 22 June and Leicester on Monday 3 July. An online event is on Wednesday 12 July.

Closing date for comments is 11.59pm on Tuesday 27 June 2023

A call for evidence has been launched by the Department of Health and Social Care to invite views on how best to prevent, early diagnose, treat and manage the six major groups of conditions that drive ill health and contribute to the burden of disease in the population in England.

The six major health conditions – cancer; cardiovascular diseases including stroke and diabetes; chronic respiratory diseases; dementia; mental ill health; and musculoskeletal disorders – affect millions of people in England, with data showing that one in four suffer from two or more of these major long-term conditions.

This call for evidence builds on from the calls for evidence last year on cancer and mental health. You can respond on behalf of an organisation or as an individual.