thrive june-july-august 2010

Supporting Voluntary & Community Action June / July / August 2010

Inside Voscur’s MagazineHave your say on the future of Voluntary and Community Sector Representation

Celebrate Carers’ Week

New Green Capital Grants programme

Neighbourhood Partnership Funds

Results of Commissioning Survey

BIG Funding Reaches Bristol

Vetting and Barring Scheme

Understanding Incorporation

Silver Cyclists’ Project

Summer Festivals

Training and Learning opportunities

Bri

sto

l In

tern

atio

nal

Bal

loo

n F

iest

a P

ho

tog

rap

hed

by

Pau

l Hay

es

Charity no. 1018963

TACT is a well respected fostering and adoption agency. TACT will offer you excellent training with 24hr support and a break from caring when you need it.

TACT pay between £322 & £574 per week per child as well as additional allowances for birthdays, festivals and holidays.

Although fostering can be challenging it can also be very rewarding. If you believe you have the capacity and commitment to support vulnerable children and young people between 10-16 years old, then we would like to hear from you. To make a difference give us a ring now on: 0117 927 7725 or email [email protected]

www.tactcare.org.uk

Shape a life. Be a foster carer.

Issue 10 June / July / August 2010 www.voscur.org 3

Charity no. 1018963

TACT is a well respected fostering and adoption agency. TACT will offer you excellent training with 24hr support and a break from caring when you need it.

TACT pay between £322 & £574 per week per child as well as additional allowances for birthdays, festivals and holidays.

Although fostering can be challenging it can also be very rewarding. If you believe you have the capacity and commitment to support vulnerable children and young people between 10-16 years old, then we would like to hear from you. To make a difference give us a ring now on: 0117 927 7725 or email [email protected]

www.tactcare.org.uk

Shape a life. Be a foster carer. Contents

Thrive! is available on disc. Please contact the

office if you would like to receive your Thrive!

this way. The newsletter is also available online

as a pdf at www.voscur.org/magazine

Why not advertise?

Special discounts for Voscur members. Deadlines for September/ October/ November edition of Thrive!: Monday 26 July for ads and Monday 23 August for flyers. Details of prices at www.voscur.org/magazine or phone Polly Stewart on 0117 909 9949

Disclaimer: some of the views expressed in this publication are those of individual contributors and do not necessarily represent those of Voscur. Publications, events and services mentioned in Thrive! are not necessarily endorsed by Voscur.

Welcome

4 Editorial

5 New Voscur Members

6-8 Finding FundingBIG funding reaches Bristol

Charities waste time and money with poorly focused bids

Local sources of funding advice

9 Green ICTConnecting Bristol – Beyond Green ICT

10–12 Have Your SayNeighbourhood Partnership Funds all round

Your Voice – Voscur Reps

Your views sought on the future for VCSE Representation

13 Vox PopsCommunity Buildings offer a vital resource

What difference does owning your own community asset make to a VCS organisation?

14–17 Training and LearningEqualities Act 2010

Gypsy and Traveller awareness training

BePS training and funding advice

18–19 The CompactResults of the ChangeUp survey on third sector commissioning experiences

20–23 National Carers’ WeekBristol celebrates Carers’ Week

New carers group in Henleaze

Voscur member profileActa youth theatre for young carers

24–25 Children and Young PeopleThe Vetting and Barring scheme

Ofsted Voluntary Childcare Register

Network meeting – Bristol Children and Young People’s Plan 2011-2014 – Needs Analysis

26–27 Green PagesBristol Cycle Festival

Bristol Green Capital launches new small grants programme

Silver Cyclists: Cycle Project for Older People

28–29 Festivals and Summer Events

30 Volunteering BristolVolunteer Management Project – One Year On

Volunteer Support Project

31 Constitution CornerUnderstanding Incorporation

32 Diary

www.voscur.org June / July / August 2010 Issue 104

You will have noticed that we list

new Voscur members in each

edition of Thrive! We do this to

highlight our members’ work

and the contribution that they

make to the city, whether that’s

delivering services, campaigning

for change, advocating on behalf

of others, or offering volunteering

opportunities. This month’s new

members are opposite, on page 5.

What an amazing range of

organisations! As belts are

tightened and budget cuts

are planned it’s important to

remember that these groups and

others like them are the glue that

keeps our society together.

“Many voluntary and community

organisations play an important

role in designing and delivering

public services, identifying

need and in helping people and

communities to make informed

decisions about public services.

Many provide vital services to

vulnerable communities which

should not be seen as a ‘soft

target’ for public spending cuts.”

Stuart Etherington, NCVO in his

recent letter to our new Prime

Minister.

Voscur endorses and supports

that statement, and whilst we

recognise that savings will need

to be made – these should not

be made at the expense of the

most vulnerable people in society.

That’s why it’s important that

we support our member groups

to have clear channels

of communication to local

decision makers.

We have been preparing ourselves

to bid for the Council’s voluntary

sector support services contract

and part of this will be reviewing

the way that we represent the

sector to decision makers. We

would very much appreciate your

help in this – please see page 11

to find out more.

In the meantime, enjoy the

summer!

Wendy Stephenson

Chief Executive

Equalities Article

Training

Resources

Event

Key to symbols

Dear members and friends

Editorial

Wendy Stephenson

A note for your diaries

– we have decided to

move the date of our

Annual General Meeting from

20 October to 24 November.

This is because by that time the

Council will have decided which

organisations will be delivering

voluntary sector support

services in Bristol. So, whether

it’s a Voscur led partnership or

another organisation, we will use

the opportunity of our Annual

General Meeting to let you know

what’s happening.


New Voscur Members

Art-E-Motion: A not-for-profit

organisation providing facilities,

events and workshops in the

community. Currently providing

visible art and inclusive art

projects.

Email: urbanalaguna@

blueyonder.co.uk

1st Bristol Muslim Scout Group:

A scout group and community

organisation that caters for the

needs of children and adults

primarily from ethnic minority

backgrounds. Meets at the Scout

HQ in Muller Road, Horfield.

Contact Amir Cheema, Scout

leader, Tel: 07779 349566

Bluebell Nurses: A new charity

based in Bristol. Raising funds to

provide the first ‘Bluebell Nurse’

in Bristol to support mothers and

families affected by post-natal

and ante-natal depression.

Visit: www.bluebellnurses.org

Tel: 07767 324003

BrAMS (Bristol Avon Multiple

Sclerosis): A centre of excellence

which offers new MS treatments,

new drug trials and leading Stem

Cell Research with a full team of

research doctors. Information

covering all aspects, symptoms

and treatments for Multiple

Sclerosis.

Visit: www.brams.org.uk

Tel: 0117 340 2992

Bristol U3A: An autonomous

organisation associated with

the Third Age Trust. Offers a

programme of educational and

leisure activities for retired people.

Email: [email protected]

Happy City Initiative CIC: Aim

to make happiness the aim of life

across Bristol and shift from bad

news to celebrating and spreading

success. Working locally to help

people direct their attention

towards building on successful

solutions.

Visit: www.happycity.org.uk

International Organisation for

Solidarity and Social Action:

A not-for-profit, charitable

organisation. Core goals and

mission to help bring about

community cohesion, fight social

deprivation and poverty, and to

promote peace and harmony

among religious groups in Bristol.



Our Stories make Waves: An

African diaspora Bristol based

collective of artists working

across diverse art forms including

playwrights, film makers,

musicians, actors and painters

who together develop innovative

projects for public performance,

exhibition and education.

Visit: ourstoriesmakewaves.co.uk

Pride Bristol: Established to set

up an annual festival to celebrate

LGBT life in Bristol, and create

and support sports and art

opportunities for LGBT people in

the southwest

Visit: www.pridebristol.com

Southville Primary School PTA:

A PTA Committee, made up of

parents and teachers who carry

out activities to help raise money

for Southville Primary School

children.

Visit: www.southville.bristol.sch.uk

Who’s Joined Voscur Recently?

Would you or your

organisation like to

join Voscur?

To read about the benefits of

Voscur membership and to join

visit: www.voscur.org/joining or

phone the Voscur office on:

0117 909 9949

www.voscur.org/joining


Finding Funding

BIG Funding Reaches Bristol

Serenity House, Alcoholism Recovery Service

Many of Voscur’s member groups

qualify for Big Lottery Funding,

which supports projects which

meet one or more of BIG’s four

outcomes:

• People having better chances

in life, because they are able to

get training and development

to improve their skills

• Stronger communities with

people working together to

tackle their problems

• Improved rural and urban

environments, which people

are able to enjoy

• Healthier and more active

people and communities

The Reaching Communities

programme can provide

organisations with up to

£500,000 over five years for a

range of costs including running

costs/overheads.

Because so many organisations

are eligible to apply, the success

rate for Reaching Communities

has so far been pretty low. But

recently there has been some

good news for Bristol’s Voluntary

and Community sector as two

organisations have been awarded

Reaching Communities funding.

Visit: www.biglotteryfund.org

Advice line: 0845 4 10 20 30

Serenity House provides

treatment and substance abuse

education to anyone suffering

from drug or alcohol addiction.

Its 12 Step Programme supports

people to find a solution to their

addiction through a programme

of intervention and action for

sustainable sobriety. They have

been awarded £488,000 over

five years to employ counselling,

management and support staff

and to develop an outreach

service to deliver sessions

across Bristol.

Serenity House approached

Voscur last summer to ask for

help with developing their

application. Staff and trustees

accessed training and fundraising

support from Voscur. Sally

Cousins, Chair of the Trustees,

said “The hardest part of the

application was formulating the

outcomes so that the whole of

our service was described. We

could not have done it without

Voscur’s help.”

The Reaching Communities

funding will not cover their total

costs and a condition of the

award was that match funding

be obtained. This has now been

secured through contracts with

local health authorities who will

refer funded clients to their

programme. Sally feels that BIG’s

grant contributed to the statutory

agencies’ confidence in Serenity

House’s ability to deliver the

requirements of their contracts.

Serenity House are looking

for two to three partners

with premises where they can

provide outreach sessions.

They can be contacted at

[email protected]

Read about how Serenity House and Khaas achieved their funding success.


Finding Funding

Khaas

Khaas offers support to disabled

children of South Asian origin and

their families and carers, through

provision of a variety of services

including playschemes, support

groups, benefits advice and

positive activities. They have been

awarded £218,000 over three

years for projects and activities

which support carers. This will

allow Khaas to employ a part-time

Carers’ Support Worker and pay

for project activities; and will also

contribute to their running costs.

Activities will include exercise

classes, cookery sessions,

workshops on health-related

issues, and educational courses.

Access to these activities helps

to overcome the isolation felt

by many carers and gives

them the opportunity to form

friendships, learn new skills and

build their confidence.

Khaas identified Reaching

Communities as a possible source

of funding during a Funderfinder

session with Voscur. Frida Malik,

Co-ordinator, has this advice

for other groups going through

the lengthy application process:

“Remember that you are in a

big competition with everyone

else. But if you are passionate

enough about what you do and

really believe in it, this will come

through on the form.”

Over 50% of Khaas’ Management

Committee members are service

users, and this is important

evidence that their beneficiaries

are helping to develop and

manage their services. BIG have

recently announced some changes

to the Reaching Communities

application process.

The new outline proposal form

asks more detailed questions

about the need for a project and

the problems it aims to solve,

and about how beneficiaries are

involved in both planning and day-

to-day activities.

BIG is asking more questions at

this stage to reduce the amount

of applications that proceed to

the second stage. They anticipate

that groups invited to submit a full

application will then have a much

better chance of success than in

the past.

BIG resources

You can find out more

and download the new

forms from BIG’s website at

www2.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

prog_reaching_communities

Voscur can offer fundraising

advice including access to the

Funderfinder and Grantfinder

databases and proof-reading

of applications. For further

information please contact the

Voscur office on 0117 909 9949

or email [email protected]

Khaas staff, Frida Malik (left) and Saiqa (centre) with a member of the Khaas group


Finding Funding

Charities wasting time and money with poorly targeted funding bids

Local Sources of Funding Advice

For every successful

application there are hundreds

that are not successful.

Research by the Directory of

Social Change (DSC) indicates that

over one third of applications to

UK charitable grantmakers in the

last year were ineligible.

More than 361,000 out of a

total pool of nearly one million

applications were rejected

because they didn’t meet the

funder’s stated criteria. For

example, applications for work in

England going to a trust which

states it only funds in Scotland.

If each application took 10

minutes to write, (a very

conservative estimate) that adds

up to nearly 7 years of wasted

effort every year. If each one

were posted first class, that

amounts to around £141,000 just

in postage stamps.

DSC surveyed 2,500 grantmaking

trusts and foundations and asked

how many applications they

received in their last financial year,

how many were ineligible, and

how many awards they made. The

report published in May includes

statistical analysis of responses as

well as recommendations for how

funders and fundraisers can start

solving the problem.

Fundraisers need to carefully

research who they apply to,

read any guidelines thoroughly

and make contact with the

funder to ask for advice prior to

submitting an application.

DSC’s research also points out

the good news – that if

fundraisers ensure basic

eligibility, their chance of

success increases significantly.

With funding from

Capacitybuilders and Bristol City

Council, Voscur has been able

to employ a dedicated Funding

Adviser for the past two years

who has been able to:

• sift through all the funding

information that we receive,

and highlight funding

opportunities on our website

and in our weekly e-bulletin;

• talk to groups about their

funding needs and signpost

them to appropriate funders;

• help groups with

application forms;

• devise and deliver training

sessions designed to support

groups’ knowledge and

understanding of funding

processes.

Capacitybuilders and Bristol

City Council also fund The Black

Development Agency to offer

a funding advice service to its

members.

This goes some way to support

local groups offering services

to local people who find

themselves in competition with

organisations who have been able

to pay professional fundraisers or

consultants to write applications

for them.

Knowledge of Bristol’s voluntary

sector and local funding

programmes also helps to ensure

that we can make groups aware of

the local scene, other sources of

support and link them to groups

who may be doing similar work.

To read the report,

visit: www.dsc.org.uk/

greatgiving

Contact: Richard Lee, Directory

of Social Change.


Tel: 020 7391 4881

Contact Ruth Pitter,

Funding Adviser


Tel: 0117 909 9949


Green ICT

Connecting Bristol – Beyond Green ICTVoscur’s work with Connecting

Bristol in the Green ICT project

is only small part of the work

Connecting Bristol and its partners

are doing in Bristol. There are a

wide range of initiatives being

undertaken under the Digital

City umbrella, whose aim is

championing a ‘people-focused

agenda, which aims to increase

digital inclusion, skills and learning,

support economic growth and

stimulate innovation in public

services and the voluntary sector’.

A review day in April gave a

snapshot of progress so far and

the promise of things yet to

come. 14 major initiatives were

showcased.

Here’s a brief overview of some

of the initiatives and some notes

on the implications for Voscur

members:

An EU funded home energy

project, installing ICT based

energy efficiency technologies

in social housing, addressing

fuel poverty and digital

inclusion issues. This project is

running mainly in the Filwood area

as a ‘living laboratory’. As part of

this project, Voscur has electrical

supply monitoring equipment

available to groups with their own

premises and dedicated power

supplies. Contact Sean Kenny at

Voscur for more details:

[email protected]

Euro petitions. An online system

that will enable citizens from

different European countries to

collectively petition the European

Parliament on shared policy issues

and concerns. This project builds

on Bristol’s leading reputation for

e-democracy.

The Digital Infrastructure

project is being rolled out to

provide Wi-Fi connectivity in

30 council and community

buildings and libraries with the

aim of increasing access to very

high-speed ‘next generation’

broadband.

Under the working title

Innovative Data Projects, this

project aims to give open access

to all the council’s raw data (from

health and nutrition statistics

in Bristol’s school meals to

environmental data from green

spaces), and to inspire innovative

use of it by at first commissioning

digital services that are useful

and will inspire businesses and

community organisations to get

involved in using the data to drive

improvement.

E-Inclusion Computer Recycling

– create a citywide mechanism for

making refurbished PC’s available

to low-income households and

voluntary sector organisations.

The scheme will start by recycling

redundant council PCs.

These are just a few

examples of the

Connecting Bristol

programme which includes even

more initiatives on tele-healthcare,

home access and education.

If you want more information or

would like to get involved with the

initiatives you can follow progress

and contribute at the Connecting

Bristol Blog

(www.connectingbristol.org).

Find out more about how the

voluntary sector can benefit on

Voscur’s ICT pages:

www.voscur.org/ict

Connecting Bristol is the

city’s Digital Partnership.

They are a part of Bristol

City Council but work closely

with the Bristol Partnership,

which is the city’s Local Strategic

Partnership.

Their aim is to ensure that Bristol

is widely recognised as a creative,

smart, green and connected

city. Their role is to ensure that

inclusive digital participation

enables the city to realise its

potential. Connecting Bristol grew

out of the Government’s Digital

Challenge competition. As part of

the process Bristol developed a

range of assets setting out their

bid and vision for the City.

Visit: www.connectingbristol.org

for details.


Have Your Say

Neighbourhood Partnership Funds all round

In the Brislington Neighbourhood

Partnership area the wellbeing

funding has supported scores

of local groups, but in addition

to providing funding, Brislington

Community Partnership (the

local NP) has used the wellbeing

fund to promote a celebration of

Brislington.

All the events funded by the

wellbeing fund in Brislington are

being invited to be part of the

2010 ‘Festival of Brislington’. The

wellbeing fund has helped 16

groups already and has supported

events including the ‘Shop local’

theatre performances held in

Sandy Park shops, the Arnos Vale

Cemetery reopening celebrations

and healthy walks – all promoted

as part of a year long Festival of

Brislington.

Cabot, Clifton and Clifton East

Neighbourhood Partnership has

decided to encourage younger

people to give their views on how

£15,000 (half) of its wellbeing

funding should be spent. In

partnership with the Bristol

Partnership the NP has set up an

online discussion group called

‘It’s my Bristol’ where people can

contribute their ideas or vote and

comment on other suggestions.

More than 30 suggestions have

been put forward so far; people

have until 30 June to contribute

to the debate. The most popular

suggestions will be taken

forward by the Neighbourhood

Partnership.

Find out more

The deadline for the next

round of Brislington wellbeing

funding is 16 June 2010. For

more details of how to apply

visit the Brislington Community

Partnership website: www.

brislington.org/funding/index.

html

For more details on the ‘It’s

my Bristol’ NP pilot visit:

www.itsmybristol.org

To find out more about wellbeing

funds, contact your local

Neighbourhood Partnership Area

Coordinator – visit www.voscur.

org/haveyoursay/np for contact

details.

Within the budgets that Bristol City Council has devolved to the 14 Neighbourhood

Partnerships (NP) is a ‘wellbeing fund’ to spend on anything that the NP feels will

improve local wellbeing. £10,000 has been allocated to each ward so a two ward

Neighbourhood Partnership has £20,000 and a three ward NP has £30,000.

Celebrations to mark the restoration and reopening of Arnos Vale Cemetery, one of the projects supported with wellbeing funding from Brislington Community Partnership


Have Your Say

Power and influence – who has it and how do you get to it?Nationally, we have a new

Conservative and Liberal Democrat

Coalition government. Locally,

we have seen the creation of 14

Neighbourhood Partnerships. In

addition, the Bristol Partnership

involves people from the public,

business and voluntary sectors.

But who are they? What decisions

can these different bodies take?

Where is the power in Bristol?

Voscur organises network and

assembly meetings, and elects

people from its membership

to represent the voluntary

sector at different partnerships

in the city. We recognise that

times are changing, new decision

making bodies are emerging and

people are communicating in

different ways.

We’d like you to help us to take

a fresh look at what we do to

support you and to get your

message across to the decision

makers in the city. That’s why

we are asking you to come along

to one of three workshops that

will help us plan the best ways of

doing that.

Wednesday 14 July*

11am-1pm at the CREATE Centre,

Hotwells

Wednesday 14 July*

3:30pm-5:30pm at @Symes,

Hartcliffe

Monday 19 July*

6-8pm at The Greenway Centre,

Southmead

*The workshops are identical – you only need to attend one.

In April, the Thriving

Neighbourhoods Board (TNB)

agreed to invite reps from

each of the 14 Neighbourhood

Partnerships to attend the TNB.

Ben Barker (chair of the TNB)

and Di Robinson (Bristol City

Council Service Director for

Neighbourhoods) intend to draw

up a clear outline of the role of

Neighbourhood Partnership reps.

Voscur will be convening short

pre-meetings for residents and

voluntary community reps to

the TNB immediately before

each meeting.

For more details contact

Matthew Symonds at Voscur,

email: [email protected] or

phone on 0117 909 9949.

Bristol PartnershipYour Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector representatives

will be attending the following meetings during June, July and August:

Name of Board DatesBristol Partnership Executive Board 8 June and 20 JulyChildren and Young Peoples Trust 19 JulyHealth and Wellbeing Board 21 JulyProsperous and Ambitious Board meeting

7 July (tbc)

Safer Bristol Partnership 29 JulyThriving Neighbourhoods Board meeting

15 June, 15 July and 17 August

Find out more or

book a place at one

of the workshops at

www.voscur.org/networks/

assemblies or contact Matthew

Symonds by email:

[email protected] or phone

0117 909 9949

To find out more about

the Voscur reps or these

meetings visit www.

voscur.org/representation

Matthew Symonds at Voscur


Thriving Neighbourhoods board strengthens links with Neighbourhood Partnerships


Have Your Say

Petitions get more teeth

The new statutory duty on

councils will mean that they will

have to respond to petitions for

the first time and tell local people

what action is going to be taken

to address their concerns.

Every council will now have to set

out clearly how local people can

submit both paper and electronic

petitions. Popular petitions will

trigger a debate of the full council

or require a senior council officer

to answer to scrutiny hearings.

Bristol was one of the first

councils in the country to launch

e-petitions in 2004. Over 190

e-petitions have been submitted

since they began, with a total of

73,725 signatures collected. The

most popular petition so far has

attracted over 10,200 signatures,

backing a campaign to save the

Bristol – Bath railway path.

“This is an important tool to

increase citizens’ influence over

local decision-making. Petitions

are a tried and tested way for

citizens to raise their concerns

and make their opinions known.

Giving people the right to get

a response to a petition will

increase public accountability

and give a real boost to

democratic engagement.”

Toby Blume, Chief Executive of

Urban Forum.

The new statutory guidance for

petitions sets out exactly how

councils will be expected to

respond to all petitions, especially

on four key areas:

• underperforming schools

• alcohol related crime and

disorder

• underperforming hospitals

• anti-social behaviour

The new guidance will mean that

popular petitions will require

either a debate in full council or

a response by a senior council

officer at a scrutiny hearing. The

changes follow a survey by the

Local Government Association

(LGA) which found that only 28%

of councils guarantee a response

to petitions.

The duty to respond will apply

to paper petitions from 15 June

and electronic petitions from 15

December 2010.

Find out more about

e-petitions – sign in and

see how to start your

own at: epetitions.bristol.gov.

uk/epetition_core

Find out more about the new

statutory guidance on petitions

at www.communities.gov.uk/

publications/communities/

dutyrespondpetitionguidance

Local people can now demand their councils take action on underperforming schools

and hospitals, drink disorder, anti-social behaviour and other concerns under new rules

giving real power to local petitions.

Petitions have long been a popular way for local people to influence decision-makers. Image: h de c


Vox Pops

Find out more: To

find out more about

the Community Asset

Transfer policy visit:

www.bristol.gov.uk/cat

Community Buildings

Network meeting,

Thursday 17 June,

9:30am-1pm

Fishponds Village Hall, Beechwood

Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3TR.

Organised jointly by Voscur and

Bristol City Council

For full details visit: voscur.org/

networks/communitybuildings

An Asset to the Community?

“Avonmouth

Community

Centre

Association

has its building

on license from Bristol City

Council. Having a longer term

relationship with the building

is allowing us space to think

ahead; in terms of community

development this is a positive

thing creating scope for a

bigger vision.”

Alv Hirst

Avonmouth Community

Association

“I have worked

in senior

roles in the

voluntary

sector for

over 12 years. On each

occasion I have sought for my

organisation to own its own

assets. The Vassall Centre Trust

is the first organisation where

that is the case. It gives us an

enormous sense of security,

both from a financial and

tenure viewpoint, and provides

a solid core from which to

develop our work. Nationally, it

makes us one of the strongest

organisations led by disabled

people.”

Andy Rickell

Chief Executive,

Vassall Centre Trust

“BCC has given us a Tenancy

at Will, which is a licence to

occupy. We’re negotiating

with Bristol City Council

to move towards some

kind of long term lease

arrangement. Having a longer

term arrangement means

the local community feels

it has taken control of the

community centre; ownership

would be a step further. In

terms of applying for capital

improvements to the centre,

having ownership and long

term control would help us to

secure these funds”.

Liz Jones

Manager,

Easton Community Centre

Bristol City Council is currently consulting on its draft Community Asset Transfer

policy, which deals specifically with the management and ownership of assets by local

communities. The closing date for comments is Wednesday 9 June 2010.

During May, we asked three voluntary, community sector organisations running community buildings in Bristol to tell us:

What difference would or does owning your own community asset make?


Voscur Training and Learning

The Equalities Act 2010

The new Equality Act which

comes into force in October

replaces a number of previous

anti-discrimination laws such

as the Race Relations act, the

Sex Discrimination Act and the

Disability Discrimination Act.

In their response to the Equality

and Human Rights Commission

consultation on the Equality Act

2010, the Charity Law Association

working party warned that

once the Act becomes law in

October, charities will need to

identify and provide evidence of

“a disadvantage or a legitimate

aim that the restriction on their

beneficiary class addresses, or risk

challenge under the Act.”

The types of charities that could

be affected include religious

groups, organisations for

immigrants, charities that work

with older people, and groups

that promote sports to particular

nationalities. The lawyers also

said that the Act would affect

grantmaking charities, “which will

need to be confident that projects

or charities that they propose to

fund do not discriminate”.

This Act will affect our members,

who we expect will be looking for

support to help them interpret

the Act. Equality South West is

running an event in Bristol in June

to explain the implications of the

Act (see details in box). If you miss

that one, Voscur will be running a

session on the Act in the autumn

and will be working with Avon and

Bristol Law Centre to produce a

guide to the Act for our members,

which we will publish in our next

magazine.

Equality South

West event

The Equality Act 2010 Explained22nd June – The Vassall Centre,

Bristol (Afternoon)

This session is looking to address

the following questions:

What do employers need to

do to prepare for the Equality

Act 2010?

How does the Act affect

organisations in the public,

private and third sector?

What are the priorities in

your area?

Contact: Moira Anderson

Email: moira.anderson@

equalitysouthwest.org.uk

“It may be true that legislation cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless”Dr Martin Luther King



Gypsy and Traveller awareness training sessions to promote Gypsy and Traveller history month

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history

month this June aims to show that

if people do not realise the role of

Gypsy and Traveller communities

in Britain’s past, they will never

accept their crucial part in Britain’s

future.

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History

Month celebrates culture and

history by tackling negative

stereotyping and prejudices. It is

a partnership between Gypsy and

Traveller communities and those

in public sector agencies as well as

Voluntary, Community and Social

Enterprise sector organisations.

Training sessionsGypsy and Traveller communities

experience high levels of

discrimination, higher numbers of

health related issues and a lower

life expectancy than many other

groups.

How much do you know about

Gypsy and Traveller communities?

How are your services reaching

Gypsy and Traveller communities?

How could you improve your work

to make it more inclusive?

Voscur is running two multi-

agency sessions which aims to:

• Explain the history and

culture of Gypsy and Traveller

communities

• Provide you with an opportunity

to discuss issues with reps from

Gypsy and Traveller communities

• Assist with approaches and

action planning to improve your

services to Gypsy and Traveller

communities

Who should attend?

Those providing front-line services

or planning policy from public

sector agencies and the VCSE.

When:

Tuesday 15 June, 1pm-4pm

Barton Hill Settlement

Wednesday 14 July, 10am-1pm

Federation of City Farms

Cost: £15.00

To book please visit our website:

www.voscur.org/training

Visit:

www.grthm.co.uk for

more details of national

Gypsy and Traveller history month.

For further information

please contact:

Voscur: 0117 909 9949

or Visit: www.voscur.

org/training

Britain’s 300,000 Gypsies, Roma and Travellers have lived, worked and travelled

throughout Britain for over 500 years, yet have been almost entirely written out of

British history. Go to most museums, libraries and schools and nothing about their

history and culture is kept or taught.


BePS (Bristol Electronic Procurement Systems) Training & Funding AdviceBePs is the e-procurement system for Bristol City Council. Voscur and the Black

Development Agency (BDA) have arranged a series of sessions to guide your

organisation through the process and to offer funding advice.

Dates Venue

Wednesday 9 June (pm) The Gatehouse Centre

Thursday 17 June (am) Barton Hill Settlement

Wednesday 7 July (am) The Greenway Centre

Thursday 16 September (am) Mede Community Centre

Tuesday 28 September (pm) Langley Centre

Thursday 30 September (am) Vassall Centre

Thursday 21 October (pm) Black Development Agency

Each session can cover:

1. Registering on the Bristol Electronic

Procurement System

2. Funding Advice

3. Grant Finder Search

Sessions delivered by BDA and Voscur

Six 1 hour slots available per day

Sessions needs to be booked in advance

To book a session please contact:

Charlene on 0117 939 6645 / [email protected] or

Liz on 0117 909 9949 / [email protected]

Please check our Websites:

www.voscur.org and www.blackdeva.org.uk

For up to date information on Training, Events, Surveys, Publications, and relevant Policy updates

Funded by:

Cost: FREE

Please specify preferred session Book early as places are limited

Morning sessions (9:30am-1pm)

Afternoon Sessions (1pm-4:30pm)

9:30am-10:30am 1pm-2pm

10:40am-11:40am 2:10-3:10pm

11:50am-12:50pm 3:20pm-4:20pm


Training and Learning OpportunitiesFull details of all courses can be found on our website www.voscur.org/training where you can

also book your place. You can also call the Voscur office on 0117 909 9949 to find out more

about booking and FREE places.

First Aid in the WorkplaceWednesday 23 June, (9:30am-4pm)

The Greenway Centre, Doncaster Road, Southmead, Bristol, BS10 5PY

This accredited one day course will give you a

basic introduction to First Aid. By the end of the

course, candidates will be able to demonstrate

the essential knowledge and skills needed

when dealing with First Aid emergencies in the

workplace.

Trainer: Brian Hibbert – BHTS Limited

Cost: Full Members £70 / Associate Members

£90 / Non-members £140 (Includes £15

accreditation fee)

Supervision skills29-30 June, (9:30am-4:30pm)

Salvation Army, Hassell Drive, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, BS2 0AN

Working in the VCSE sector, many of us face the

task of supervising staff without having been

trained. This popular two-day course will equip

you with the skills and knowledge to deliver

effective supervision.

Trainer: Susan Moores – Independent

Consultant

Cost: Full Members: £100 / Associate

Members: £145 / Non Members: £220

Gypsy and Traveller AwarenessTuesday 15 June

Wednesday 14 July

See p15 for details

BePs Training and Funding Advice – Bristol Electronic Procurement SystemsBetween Wednesday 9 June – Thursday 21 Oct

See p16 for details


Look out for our Free legal and HR training coming up!

In June and July we will be running sessions

with professional businesses from Business in

the Community on:

• Disciplinary and Grievance procedures

• Managing and Procuring Buildings.

To find out more go to

www.voscur.org/training or call

Sophie Bayley on 0117 909 9949

www.voscur.org June / July / August 2010 Issue 1018 www.voscur.org June / July / August 2010 Issue 1018

The Compact

And the commissioning survey says… good progress, further improvements needed

In February, Bristol City Council’s

Select Committee on Third

Sector Commissioning asked the

Bristol ChangeUp consortium

to undertake a survey. The

committee required up-to-date,

Bristol-based information about

the relationship between public

sector commissioners and VCSE

sector organisations so that

it could draw up proposals to

help improve commissioning

relationships.

This research focused on the VCSE

sector’s experience of Bristol

City Council’s commissioning.

The findings are also relevant in

the VCSE sector’s relationships

with other public sector bodies,

including Avon and Somerset

Constabulary, Avon Fire & Rescue

Service and Bristol NHS.

Key findingsGood progress has been made

by some parts of BCC whose

commissioning practice has been

positively acknowledged by some

respondents to the survey.

The majority of respondents

described their organisations

as ‘social enterprises’ and had

annual turnovers greater than

£100,000. This means that the

voice of smaller, less resourced

organisations was not heard in

the survey – an important fact in

considering the survey results.

Many organisations felt confident

about delivering services and over

half of the respondents were

already contracted or had service

level agreements. This is clear

evidence that some organisations

are engaging successfully in

commissioning processes.

There are, however, several

causes for concern. One third of

the respondents, for example,

reported that they had not bid

in any commissioning processes

and they cited their reasons as:

unclear information, poor match

There’s a lot of talk about the commissioning of public services to the Voluntary,

Community & Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector. In February 2010, the Bristol ChangeUp

Consortium surveyed third sector experiences of being commissioned and presented

its findings to Bristol City Council and other commissioners. Mark Hubbard, Compact

Liaison Officer, describes the key findings and what happens next.

“We were keen as elected

members, to sit alongside

voluntary sector infrastructure

organisations and hear together

about the experience of

commissioning in Bristol. We

have learned about concerns

and support needs, and the

worries from smaller third

sector organisations that they

might be getting left behind.

We have also heard Best Practice

from Croydon and Birmingham

Council, and from NAVCA, and

their stories echoed those we

heard from the Change-up

survey. We are now drawing

up recommendations to take

to Council, and look forward

to presenting these to a wider

audience.”

Councillor Helen Holland (Leader

of the Labour group of Bristol

City councillors), Chair of Select

Committee on Third Sector

Commissioning

Issue 10 June / July / August 2010 www.voscur.org 19Issue 10 June / July / August 2010 www.voscur.org 19

of service specification with

‘charitable’ work, low expectation

of success.

Of those that had bid in

commissioning processes, most

described the experiences as ‘not

good’, citing the following themes:

short deadlines, especially time

needed to form consortia and the

complexity and inconsistency of

processes.

What happens now?The Report presents a set of

recommendations, which include

the following:

Decision-makers:

• Commissioning needs city-wide

strategic ownership

• Additional research needed

to understand small VCSE

organisations’ experience and

readiness for commissioning

• Publicise commissioning/

procurement/grant-funding

opportunities in one place

Commissioners:

• Incorporate all principles of

Intelligent Commissioning and

Bristol Compact into all BCC

commissioning practice

• Enable more time in

commissioning processes for

the formation of consortia

Third sector organisations:

• Review ‘commissioning’ in

strategic planning processes

• Engage with commissioning

processes to ensure that VCSE

organisations’ perspectives are

considered at all stages

• Infrastructure organisations

respond to VCSE sector’s

support needs

The select committee has heard

evidence from many sources

and is working on its final report.

That report will go through

several BCC processes prior to its

consideration by the full Council

in September and, after their

endorsement, will be turned into

an action plan.

The Compact

If you would like a copy

of the Report or have

questions/comments

about commissioning, please

contact Mark Hubbard

([email protected]) or visit

www.voscur.org/compact

Jargon Buster

The Bristol Compact is the local

version of the Compact – an

agreement between the Bristol

Partnership and the voluntary,

community & social enterprise

(VCSE) sector. It aims to improve

their relationship for mutual

advantage and community gain.

The Bristol Compact covers

main themes: Shared Principles,

Resources and Commissioning,

Equalities and Community

Cohesion, Volunteering and

Resolving Complaints.

In response to feedback,

a series of Autumn/

Winter training events is

being planned:

• Commissioning for Beginners

• Commissioning and Outcomes

• Costing your project

• Getting ready to tender

• Bristol E-procurement

• Commissioning and Legal

Issues

• Different ways of collaborating

Also, there will be several ‘meet-

the-commissioners’ events

that will focus on networking

between specific commissioning

managers and potential service

providers.

Visit www.voscur.org/compact

for more information.


National Carers’ Week

Bristol Celebrates Carers’ Week with a Range of EventsA Life of My Own2010 is the tenth year that

Carers’ Week has been held in

its current format. Organised by

a consortium of seven national

charities, over 100,000 carers take

part in the thousands of activities

held in every part of the UK.

Carers’ Week 2010 will highlight:

•Why supporting carers is crucial

• How carers miss out on things

others take for granted

•What needs to be changed

The theme, A Life of My Own, will

enable carers to talk about many

parts of life that many others take

for granted, for example, family

occasions, going on holiday, a

meal out, even just chilling out

for an evening with no worries or

responsibilities. Carers will speak

about what they need to have a

life of their own, including:

• Access to relevant and practical

information, to help them with

their caring role

• The opportunity to take a break

when they need it

• Support at times of crisis

• Financial support

The Princess Royal Trust Carers’

Centre provides a range of

support services for unpaid

family carers. These include, (but

are not limited to ) Carersline

(0117 965 2200 10am – 1pm), a

telephone service which provides

information and advice and acts as

a referral point to services within

the centre and outside agencies.

There is also one-to-one support

and advocacy available to suit the

individual needs of carers in both

Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

Each year the Centre holds events

which coincide with the national

carers week, whilst Carers’ Groups

and trips run throughout the year

to offer carers peer support and

time out.

The Carers Centre offer training

courses for carers and has a new

Bristol health team working with

GP Practices and the Trusts.

The Young Carers team provides

individual, group and family

support and activities to 80 young

carers. In addition, the Trust works

in partnership with statutory

organisations and provides

support to Carer Representatives,

involved in influencing and

directing policy in the two local

areas. Carers and professionals can

sign up to receive their newsletter.

Please see the box below for

details.

‘The team that delivers the services to support carers’ Staff at the Princess Royal Trust Carers Centre, for Bristol and South Goucestershire

Carers’ Week

activities:

For details of Bristol and South

Gloucestershire Carers’ Week

activities Please contact admin

on 01179 392563 for general

enquiries or see the website for

the details of all their events in

Carers’ Week. (Some need to be

booked.)

www.prtcarerscentre.org.uk


Many local Voluntary and

Community sector organisations

use community buildings as a

place to meet.

The buildings are used for services

such as lunch clubs, youth groups

and day care facilities - all of which

are locally based for the people

who need and use these services

The Community Buildings

Network, coordinated by Voscur

in partnership with the Bristol City

Council, helps support Voluntary,

Community and Social Enterprise

organisations that manage or .run

community buildings.

The Network provides

information and advice as well

as the opportunity for groups to

meet with others who also run

community buildings.

National Carers’ Week

Calling Carers in the Henleaze Area

Getting together with other carers

and sharing the experience might

offer a welcome relief from the

feeling that you are all alone in

your situation. Swapping stories,

sharing experiences and hearing

how others have found support

and finding out what help is

available, could offer new ways of

approaching the daily caring role.

In the Henleaze area there are

many people who care for the

needs of an aging or dependent

family member or friend at home.

The Trinity-Henleaze United

Reformed Church has been

building a new community hall,

to be called “The Bradbury Hall”,

in the centre of Henleaze. Work

is nearing completion and one of

the first new groups to be offered

there will be a carers’ group.

The Henleaze Carers’ Group is

open to all carers. It will offer the

chance to meet new people, share

experiences of caring and find

support.

If you would like to come along

to find out more there will be

a launch meeting on Thursday

10 June, at the new Bradbury

Hall in Waterford Road, from

10am until 12noon. The speaker,

Grace Wiltshire of the Princess

Royal Carers’ Centre, will share

some experiences of the positive

support a Carers’ Group can

offer. Grace will speak at around

10:30am and you are welcome to

call in as you are able.

The plan is to offer a Henleaze

Carers’ Group on the second and

fourth Thursday mornings of the

month between 10am and noon

at the Bradbury Hall. You are

welcome to come along.


contact Monica Rudston on

0117 942 6095.

If you are caring for a family member or friend at home it can be a full time job.

The next Community

Buildings Network

meeting will be held on:

Thursday 17 June, 9:30am-1pm at

Fishponds Village Hall, Beechwood

Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3TR

Community Buildings offer a vital resource

The Bradbury Hall under construction at the Trinity Henleaze United Reformed Church

Health and wellbeing – at your fingertips! Well Aware is a new, free information resource for everyone in Bristol. The Care Forum and six local authority/NHS partners have come together to develop a comprehensive database of health, wellbeing and community resources in Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The new project builds on several years’ work by The Care Forum’s Room 102, Spot On and Purple Pages services. It is completely free to use and be listed on. Its records are regularly checked and updated to keep them up to the minute. It already contains the details of over 5,000 different health, wellbeing and community services, ranked by relevancy, with no advertising.

Go to www.wellaware.org.uk to start using it today!

Anyone can use www.wellaware.org.uk – its user-friendly format makes it easy to find support for a friend, family member, client or patient – or for yourself. Whether personal health services, a lunch club or social group, help round the home or in the garden, dentistry, advice, counselling or any other form of support – all you need to find it is just a few clicks away. The website can also be searched for services for carers, support for particular disabilities, culturally specific services and more. A dedicated section helps find information on employment for anyone with mental health difficulties. Even if you can’t access the website directly yourself, you can still use it by getting in touch with the Well Aware team on (freephone) 0808 808 5252 or [email protected] instead.


National Carers’ Week – Voscur Member Profile

Laughing Panthers and Who Cares? Youth Theatre for Young Carers“…a time to be young again,

a time to play and leave adult

responsibilities at home and

have the support of other

young people in similar

situations”

Acta Community Theatre

empowers people to create their

own original theatre and delivers

participatory arts projects with

communities most at risk and

most in need in and around

Bristol.

Acta has been delivering a youth

theatre group for young carers

for over 11 years. Their work

with young carers started as a

partnership with Barnardos in

1999 to offer an opportunity

for young carers to meet other

young people in a relaxed, creative

and fun environment and work

towards their own original theatre

pieces.

Eleven years on, our Who Cares?

Youth Theatres cater for 10

-19 year olds across Bristol and

surrounding areas. The older Who

Cares? group for 14-19 years olds

has recently been joined by the

Laughing Panthers; a group for

younger carers aged 10-13. Both

groups meet at the Acta Centre

in Bedminster and are funded by

Bristol City Council.

Acta has organised several

residential trips, which have been

key to the work of the youth

theatre. Being part of the youth

theatre has opened up new

opportunities for many members,

young cares who first took part

in Who Cares? ten years ago

continue to participate today.

One is now an apprentice on Who

Cares? and another is part of our

touring community theatre group.

“… it is great to see the

positive effect the group has

had for many young people…

one youth theatre member

told me ‘it’s a time to be

young again, a time to play and

leave adult responsibilities at

home and have the support of

other young people in similar

situations’. Many have made

long-lasting friendships and

feel their self-confidence and

self-esteem has been boosted.”

Ingrid Jones, Acta’s Senior

Drama worker and facilitator.

Contact Details:

Who Cares? Youth

Theatre for 14-19 year

olds, 6.30pm-8.00pm

Laughing Panthers, for 10-13

year olds, 5.00pm-6.30pm

Both on Thursdays, at the

Acta Centre, Gladstone Street,

Bedminster, BS3 3AY.

Free Transport is provided for

both groups – new members

welcome!

Contact:


Tel: 0117 953 2448

Huria Hussein in the Acta Production, ‘The Box’ .


Children and Young People

The Vetting and Barring SchemeThe Vetting and Barring Scheme

(VBS) was established as a

result of the Bichard Enquiry,

which recommended that all

those who work with vulnerable

groups should be registered.

The VBS is a partnership of

the Criminal Records Bureau

(CRB), Independent Safeguarding

Authority (ISA) and Access

Northern Ireland.

The CRB is responsible for the

application and monitoring

elements of the scheme. The ISA

is responsible for the decision-

making and maintenance of two

barred lists for England and Wales

and Northern Ireland, covering the

Children and Vulnerable Adults’

sectors. The ISA was created as

part of the VBS to help prevent

unsuitable people from working

with children and vulnerable

adults.

The ISA will make independent

barring decisions and place or

remove individuals on either the

ISA’s Children’s Barred List or the

ISA’s Vulnerable Adults’ Barred List,

or both. The three former barred

lists (POCA, POVA and List 99) are

being replaced by these two new

ISA-barred lists.

It is a criminal offence for

individuals barred by the ISA

to work or apply to work with

children or vulnerable adults in

a wide range of posts including

most NHS jobs, Prison Service,

education and childcare.

Employers also face criminal

sanctions for knowingly employing

a barred individual across a wider

range of work.

Employers, local authorities,

professional regulators and

other bodies have a duty to refer

to the ISA, information about

individuals working with children

or vulnerable adults where they

consider them to have caused

harm or pose a risk of harm.

The VBS is designed to ensure that

anyone who presents a known risk

to vulnerable groups is prevented

from working with them and is an

additional recruitment tool. It is

not a guarantee that an individual

is suitable for the position.

Please note that the new

programme from the coalition

Government includes a review of

the Vetting and Barring Scheme,

so there will be changes.

Bristol Association for

Neighbourhood Daycare

(BAND) offers an Enhanced CRB

check service and will offer an

ISA registration service to its

Bristol based member groups.

Due to the volume of enquiries

being received, please direct

all enquiries via: crbchecks@

bandltd.org.uk or voicemail:

0117 914 3007. BAND aims to

respond within 2-3 days. You can

visit their website for further

details: www.bandltd.org.uk/

crb_checks.html

Paul Dielhenn, Coordinator at

BAND has produced a list of key

points, which include:

•ISA registration is a legal

requirement for new staff

members (paid or unpaid)

and those changing roles,

working in Regulated Activity

from November 2010

•ISA registration can be

requested for new staff

members and those changing

roles in Regulated Activity from

July 26 2010

•Employers will be able to check

the ISA status of those applying

for work, on line free of charge

•CRB’s charges: ISA check £64

with or without Enhanced CRB

check, Enhanced CRB is £36. No

charge for unpaid/volunteer

staff. It’s likely that registered

bodies who must process CRB

and/or ISA applications will add

an admin fee


on the scheme you can

contact the VBS call

centre on 0300 123 1111 and/or

visit these websites:

Criminal Records Bureau website:

www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk/

faqs/vetting_and_barring_

scheme.aspx

Independent Safeguarding

Authority: www.isa-gov.org.uk


Children and Young People

Ofsted Voluntary Childcare Register

These benefits include:

• Parents/carers are reassured

that safeguarding standards are

being met and that the welfare

of their children is a priority

• Eligible parents/carers will be

able to get help with the costs

of using the provision through

Working Tax Credits and

employer supported childcare

vouchers

• Local authorities will pass on

details of the provision to

parents and/or schools looking

for activities for their children

These benefits may mean that

numbers of children using the

provision could increase and may

help improve its financial position

In addition

• Bristol City Council offers

support and training to

provisions that are registered

with Ofsted

• Schools that use external

organisations to provide

extended services are being

encouraged to work only with

provisions registered with

Ofsted

Bristol City Council

have contracted BAND

Ltd to provide free

advice, guidance and training

for organisations interested in

registering on the Ofsted VCR.

For further information please

contact Julie Bassett at BAND Ltd

on 0117 9542148 or


Children and Young People’s Plan for 2011-2014

Joint Children and Young People’s Voluntary and Community sector Network Meeting

Tuesday 29 June, 1pm-3:30pm

The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ

Bristol Children’s Trust is gathering information for the Children and Young People’s Plan for 2011-2014. It

is essential that Voluntary and Community sector organisations providing services for children and young

people are part of this process.

Voscur, The Care Forum and Bristol City Council would like to invite you to a joint meeting where the

Voluntary and Community sector will have the opportunity to identify the priority needs for children and

young people in Bristol. This needs analysis will help to shape the delivery of services to meet the Every Child

Matters outcomes for children and young people between 2011 and 2014.

Alison Jackson and Andrew Turvey from Bristol City Council, will present on the current context, particularly

in relation to Child Poverty.

To book a place, please contact Emma Rice at [email protected], 0117 909 9949 or visit www.voscur.org

for more information.

Did you know that organisations or individuals providing services or activities for

children may be eligible to register with Ofsted on its Voluntary Childcare Register

(VCR)? Registering on the VCR can provide many benefits.


Bristol Cycle Festival

This is the idea behind the

rapidly emerging ‘Bristol Cycle

Festival’. The ball is rolling –

anyone and everyone who loves

bikes and cycling can join in to

make this festival a reality in

September 2010.

Voluntary and community groups

are invited to join in the first

Bristol Cycling Festival taking place

this September. The more that join

in, the better the festival will be.

Here’s how to start:Get Involved

Think of an idea for a great bike-

related event you want to run

as part of the festival. Festival

organisers are open to anything

– if it involves bikes, is reasonably

easy to set up, and you think a

good few people will enjoy it, go

for it. Here’s a few suggestions of

what people are thinking already:

Guided rides; Silly races – Bike

films; Fun bike competitions –

jousting? Pedal raft building?;

Arty bike events; Practical

demonstrations; workshops;

Bike powered shows; Exhibitions;

Artworks; Safety demonstrations;

Cycle games; Bike amnesty;

Bike-related performances, Talks;

History of cycling and whatever

else you can think of...

The Bristol Cycle Festival will

take place between 11 – 25

September 2010 in and around

Bristol. The current core team are

just some enthusiasts who got

together to organise a festival as

they love bikes. They have some

financial support from Bristol City

Council Cycling City team. A small

grants scheme will be introduced

at the launch meeting, which aims

to facilitate your events!

Green Pages

“ Why don’t we all get together and organise the best ever cycling festival, here in Bristol ?”

If you’d like to find out

more or have got an

idea for the cycling

festival, visit:

www.bristolcyclefestival.com


Bristol Green Capital Launches New Small Grants Programme

Silver Cyclists: Cycle Project for Older People

The Bristol Green Capital Initiative

is part of the Bristol Partnership.

It is made up of over 110 pledgers,

who range from a number of

Voscur member organisations

through small, one-person

sustainability practitioners, to

Bristol institutions like the Zoo

and universities and successful

multinational businesses that

have a base here in Bristol. The

decision-making and governing

body is called the Momentum

Group. The group chooses

projects each year and sets the

focus and direction of the year’s

work.

Bristol City Council and the

Momentum Group have created

a new small grants programme

for community and grass roots

initiatives that help make Bristol

“A low carbon city with a high

quality of life”.

Final details are still being agreed,

but an outline of what the fund

will look like, will be available soon.

Silver Cyclists is a new project

funded by Bristol City Council.

It is aimed at encouraging older

people to cycle. Potential riders

will be those who can cycle but

who have maybe not done so

for a while. It will be mixed ability

with rides of various lengths and

abilities.

Each ride will be accompanied

by an instructor/ride leader and

a volunteer ride coordinator. The

scheme is a pilot, initially starting

in Easton, Lawrence Hill and

Bedminster.

•Whocanapply?

•Whatkindofprojectwill

the programme fund?

•HowmuchcanIapplyfor?

•Whenarethefundingrounds?

For the answers to these

questions and more information

visit: bristolgreencapital.org or

if you do not have access to a PC

or the internet, phone the Green

Capital Team on 0117 922 4379.

For further information,

contact Julie Hares on

Julie.lifecycleuk@

googlemail.com or

0117 353 4588.

Green Pages

The launch of the Green Capital Initiative


Festivals and Summer Events

Best of the Festivals

JuneAvonmouth Fun and Fab Family Youth Health Day

When: Saturday 12 June,

10am to 3pm

Where: Avonmouth Community

Centre, 257 Avonmouth Road,

BS11 9EN

What: Free interactive fun event,

offering information and activities

for parents and young people 0 to

19 years. There’ll be a chance to

try cheer leading, have your bike

checked by the bike doctor, ride

on the wacky bikes, find out about

child resuscitation and safety, how

food affects mood, get home

disability access alterations and

much more. For more information

Tel: 0117 982 7445 or Email:

[email protected]

Easton Arts Trail

When: Saturday 12 and

Sunday 13 June, 11am to 6pm

Where: Easton

What: The Easton Arts Trail 2010

takes place in 30 different venues.

This year there is a blooming

marvellous theme for the trail

including Art & Flowers Up Front,

featuring our very own Chelsea

Flower Show and a brand new

Front Garden Competition too.

For more information visit:

www.eastonartstrail.co.uk

Grand opening of the Integrated Youth and Play Project

(formerly Lockleaze adventure

playground)

When: Saturday 12 June,

11am to 4pm

Where: Lockleaze Integrated Youth

and Play Project

What: Grand Opening celebration,

music and dance performances

from local young people, face

painting, circus skills, five-aside

world cup tournament, world food,

complementary therapies and

chance to have a look around the

new building.

For more information contact the

Youth and Play Team, Bristol City

Council, Tel: 0117 903 8464

Throughout the summer a host of community festivals

and events are taking place across Bristol. Here are just

some of the events taking place in the coming months.

Promote your community eventsAre you having a community festival or event during the summer?

Make sure you put them in the Voscur online diary. We also promote

events in the diary in our weekly e-bulletin. To post your events visit

www.voscur.org/event

July

St Paul’s Carnival

When: Saturday 3 July

Where: St Paul’s – various locations

What: Now in its 42nd year, the

carnival has become one of the

UK’s best cultural oriented events.

The theme for this year is ‘Heroes

& Sheroes’.

For more details visit:

www.stpaulscarnival.co.uk

Tel: 0117 944 4176 or email:

[email protected]

Southmead Festival

When: Saturday 17 July,

11am to 4pm

Where: Glencoyne Square,

Southmead

What: Glencoyne Square will

come alive with live music and

performances, workshops, street

stalls and games. This theme of

the Festival is Village Fair – Bat the

Rat, Striker, Hook a Duck and many

more fun games!

For more details email: southmead.

[email protected]


Festivals and Summer Events

August

Pride Bristol

When: Saturday 21 August,

Where: Castle Park, Bristol

What: Pride is a celebration of

the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and

Transgender (LGBT) community.

This will be the biggest Pride in

Bristol to date, this free day festival

will feature international music acts,

theatre, DJs, high-end fashion and

community -based performance.

There’s something for everyone, all

set against a backdrop of the castle

ruins and river Avon.

For more details visit

www.pridebristol.com or contact

Leighton de Burca –

Pride Director by email

[email protected]

Summer 2010 Big P, Hartcliffe

When: Every Wednesday 28 July to

25 August, 12 noon to 4pm

Where: Willmott Park (near

Spacemakers) and The Core

What: All activities are free

and include den building, junk

modeling, football, art and

crafts, drama and boxing. Light

refreshments available for a

small charge.

More Summer Activities:

July The Big Lunch

When: Sunday 18 July

Where: City wide

Find out more:

www.thebiglunch.com

Bristol Harbour Festival 2010

When: Friday 30 July – Sunday

1 August

Where: Bristol Harbourside

What: The festival will showcase

Bristol’s circus and street theatre

talent, with street performers from

all over the world. At the centre

of the Harbour Festival are the

ships and boats. Tall ships, feature

vessels and hundreds of private

boats, anchor up for the festival,

providing the backdrop to the

entertainment.

Find out more:

www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk

AugustBristol Islamic Cultural Fayre Eastville Park, Eastville

When: Sunday 1 August

Where: Eastville Park

Find out more: www.bmcs.org.uk

Bristol Balloon Fiesta

When: Thursday 12 to

Sunday 15 August

Where: Ashton Court Estate

What: Founded in 1978, it has

become an icon for Bristol, as

synonymous with the city as

Brunel’s Suspension Bridge.

Estimated to boost the local

economy to the tune of £10 million

each year, it is run by a not-for-

profit organisation.

Find out more:

www.bristolfiesta.co.uk

SeptemberCelebrating Age Festival 2010

When: Saturday 11 September,

10am to 4pm

Where: The Colston Hall, Colston

Street, Bristol, BS1 5AR

Find out more: www.bristol.gov.

uk/celebratingage

The Bristol Festival

When: Saturday 25 and Sunday 26

September

Where: Lloyds Amphitheatre,

Harbourside

What: The Bristol Festival 2010 will

feature a jam packed programme

of music, arts, circus, theatre and

comedy. A celebration of Bristol

culture and showcase of local

talent.

Find out more:

www.thebristolfestival.org


Volunteering Bristol

Volunteer Management Project – One Year On

Volunteer Support Project gets underway

Volunteering Bristol recently

hosted a conference for volunteer

managers marking the completion

of the first year of the Lottery-

funded project supporting

volunteer managers. Sixty-five

delegates took part in discussions

with volunteer management

expert Mark Restall and Emir

Kullar, training consultant for

Volunteering England’s Excellence

in Volunteering Management, and

took part in 15 workshop sessions

addressing the current issues

facing volunteer managers.

The project has progressed well

during its first year with six newly

written training courses attended

by more than 120 volunteer

managers in a programme of

low-cost sessions delivered jointly

with Voscur. Also working with

Voscur, Volunteering Bristol has

established peer supported action

learning groups using electronic

social networking technology. The

Volunteer Organisers’ Forum (VOF)

is benefiting from the project’s

resources so that a broader group

of people are now involved to

offer their advice and experience

to colleagues at meetings. The

VOF has proved particularly

useful to volunteer supervisors

in smaller community groups and

organisations new to recruiting

volunteers.

Following the successful launch

of the Volunteer Support Project

at the end of March, attended by

representatives from a range of

volunteer-involving organisations

in the voluntary and statutory

sectors, and from organisations

seeking to encourage more of

their service users to become

volunteers, the project is now in

full swing.

Piers Cardiff is already advising a

number of volunteer managers

on working more effectively with

volunteers who have additional

support needs, but is keen to

involve more organisations. In

addition to giving one-to-one

support, he is working on a toolkit

for volunteer managers to help

assess volunteers’ support needs.

He is looking for organisations with

experience of working with people

in the following areas to peer

review some sections: learning

disabilities, mental health, sensory

impairments, refugees and asylum

seekers, non-native English

speakers, people recovering from

addictions, ex-offenders, older

and younger people.

Contact Piers for more

information:

[email protected]

or by phone on 0117 989 7734.

A full catalogue of

information and advice

sheets and template

documents for organisations to

use in setting up volunteering

roles, recruiting and retaining

volunteers has been updated

and expanded, and is available

on a CD from Volunteering

Bristol. For more information

about Volunteering Bristol’s

work supporting volunteer-

involving organisations and

groups contact Jenny Idle at

[email protected]

or telephone 0117 989 7734.

Contact –

Volunteering Bristol

Tel: 0117 989 7733

Email: info@bristolvolunteers.

org.uk or visit: www.

bristolvolunteers.org.uk

Royal Oak House, Royal Oak

Avenue, Bristol BS1 4BG


Constitution Corner

Understanding Incorporation

In English law, some things are

only possible for a ‘person’ to

do; among these are: owning

or leasing property, signing a

contract, or being held liable.

So, in order to make it possible for

an organisation to do these things

(i.e. own property, sign contracts

and discharge a liability), the law

has invented a fictional type of

person. The organisation is treated

as if it had become ‘embodied’

– the word incorporation comes

from the Latin for ‘having a body’.

Just as you can have ‘characters’

in books that have personality

even though they are fictional, so

incorporated organisations have

a ‘legal personality’, even though

they are not real people.

The most common way for an

organisation to be incorporated is

as a company, though the ‘Mutual

Society’, such as a Co-op, is an

alternative type. Corporations

(e.g. the BBC) can also be set up

by statute.

There are many types of

companies possible, the biggest

divisions being between public

and private companies, and

between ‘shareholder’ and

‘guarantee’ companies.

The most common company

type in the Voluntary, Community

and Social Enterprise sector is

the Private Company Limited by

Guarantee; instead of owning

shares that can be sold, the

members each guarantee to pay

a small sum of money (usually £1

or £10), towards any debts the

company might have if it folds up.

In return they have rights: to

attend general meetings; to

make or reject changes to the

company’s legal rules (called its

‘Articles’); and to appoint or recall

the members of the Board.

The Directors of a company are

‘protected’ because it is the

organisation, (in its role as a legal

person) that owns the property,

signs the contracts and has to

meet any liabilities. In addition it is

possible to take out an indemnity

insurance to further protect

Directors from any personal risks.

All company Directors have

seven specific duties set out in

law, and Directors can still be

held personally liable if they act

fraudulently or with deliberate

neglect, and this is ‘doubly true’ if

the organisation is a charity.

Later in the year, in partnership

with Voscur, I plan to run a

course on Legal Structures for

Voluntary and Community sector

organisations. Details will be

available on the Voscur website in

the autumn:

www.voscur.org/training

One issue that has emerged from training sessions, is how many people lack an

understanding of incorporation, and the difference between being incorporated and

unincorporated.

Graham Partridge

Community Groups

Legal Advice Worker, Avon &

Bristol Law Centre

Tel: 0117 924 8662


Voscur Ltd. The CREATE Centre Smeaton Road Bristol BS1 6XN

Tel: 0117 909 9949 Fax: 0117 933 0501 Email: [email protected] Web: www.voscur.org

Company limited by Guarantee registered in England no. 3918210

Produced by circle-creative.co.uk Printed on 100% recycled paper using vegetable based inks

Voscur Diary — June / July / August 2010

JuneWednesday 9 June BePS (Bristol Electronic Procurement Systems Training) and Funding Advice Sessions

The Gatehouse Centre, Hareclive Road, Bristol BS13 9JN. Afternoon session.

Tuesday 15 June Gypsy and Traveller Awareness Barton Hill Settlement 43 Ducie Road, Barton Hill, Bristol, BS5 0AX (1pm-4pm)

Thursday 17 June BePS (Bristol Electronic Procurement Systems) Training and Funding Advice Sessions Barton Hill Settlement, 41-43 Ducie Road, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, BS5 0AX. Morning Session.

Thursday 17 June Community Buildings Network meeting Fishponds Village Hall, Beechwood Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3TR (10am-1pm)

Wednesday 23 June First Aid in the Workplace The Greenway Centre, Doncaster Road, Southmead, Bristol, BS10 5PY (9:30am-4pm)

Thursday 24 June Neighbourhood Partnership Learning Session: ‘Mini workshop’ with useful resources to help you engage more people in your Neighbourhood Partnership Unitarian Chapel, Brunswick Square, Bristol, BS2 8PE (6pm-8:30pm)

Tuesday 29 June Joint Voscur and Care Forum Children and Young People’s organisations Network Meeting

Bristol Children and Young People’s Plan 2011-2014 – Needs Analysis The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ (1pm-3:30pm)

Tuesday 29 – Supervision Skills – A 2 day course Wednesday 30 June Salvation Army, Hassell Drive, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, BS2 0AN (9:30am-4:30pm)

JulyWednesday 7 July BePS (Bristol Electronic Procurement Systems Training) and Funding Advice

The Greenway Centre, Doncaster Road, Southmead, Bristol, BS10 5PY Morning session.

Wednesday 14 July Gypsy and Traveller Awareness The Federation of City Farms, The GreenHouse, Hereford Street, Bristol, BS3 4NA (10am-1pm)

Tuesday 27 July Neighbourhood Partnership Residents’ Forum South Bristol Sports Centre, West Town Lane, Bristol, BS14 9EA (2pm-4:30pm)

AugustThursday 26 August Neighbourhood Partnership Learning Session

Redland Park United Reform Church, Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS6 6SA (2pm-4:30pm)

For full details of the above training and events visit: www.voscur.org or phone the Voscur office on: 0117 909 9949

thrive june-july-august 2010

Documents