In this week's e-bulletin, we highlight:
- a new Family Services Improvement Co-ordinator job vacancy at FVA;
- community groups can apply to Planning Aid for Scotland for help with producing an Active and Sustainable Travel Action Plan;
- an upcoming Development Day for the Voluntary Sector Children's Services Forum;
- NHS Education for Scotland's draft Strategy for 2023 - 26 is up for consultation;
- advice from the Health and Safety Executive about tackling stress in the workplace;
- our Lunchtime Learning sessions - upcoming session on 18 April focusing on debt management and common financial problems;
- our training, events, and forums;
- new funding opportunitiesfor you and your organisations to apply for; and
- key news and events taking place across the local and wider third sector.
We're hiring!
Do you have experience engaging with children, young people and families?
Are you passionate about creating meaningful change in how we design and deliver support services to create the best possible outcomes for children, young people, and families?
If this sounds like you then we want to hear from you.
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Post Title: Family Services Improvement Co-ordinator
Salary: £30,000 (pro rata)
Working Hours: 35hrs per week
Duration: Two years (Applications for a secondment would be considered)
Location: Glenrothes
Reporting to: Children’s Services Development Manager
As the Participation Co-ordinator, you will have a lead role in bringing together children, young people, and families with lived experience, third sector organisations and public sector partners to develop a review of family support services as part of the Whole Family Wellbeing developments progressing in Fife.
The role will help shape a better understanding of the current experience of services, what needs to improve, and how change can be facilitated by working together. The learning from this will inform future planning, design, and commissioning of services in Fife.
We are looking for someone who has a proven ability in developing meaningful relationships at all levels and can demonstrate an ability to develop and lead new and innovative work.
The postholder will work closely with the Children’s Services Development Manager and will work alongside third sector organisations and the children, young people, and families who use their services. They will also engage with public sector partners to ensure all relevant voices inform the co-production journey and recommendations for whole family wellbeing and holistic family support.
Fife Voluntary Action (FVA) is the third sector interface for the Fife Council area. We are an independent charity that receives funding from key public sector agencies to ensure the third sector is robust, resilient, and delivers high-quality services for the people of Fife.
For more information and to apply please visit our Working with FVA webpage.
Please note the closing date for all applications is Wednesday 26 April and interviews will be held on Wednesday 03 May.
Developing Active and Sustainable Travel Action Plans
Planning Aid for Scotland (PAS) is excited to launch its third programme of Sustaining Choices. This programme works with up to seven community groups to produce Active and Sustainable Travel Action Plans.
PAS will work closely with communities for over a year, delivering training, supporting community engagement, data analysis and report writing so that they can develop a vision of better walking, wheeling, cycling, and public transport for their areas. In particular, the team is looking to support communities that would especially benefit from having better active and sustainable transport.
Applications are open until the !! 21 April 2023 !! and you can apply via PAS's website. There is also a short video you can watch here.
Please contact Erin (Project Lead) if you’d like to find out more:
Voluntary Sector Children's Services Forum - Development Day
The Voluntary Sector Children's Services Forum is open to any third sector organisation working with children, young people, and families in Fife.
Partners are invited to join us for a Development Day where we will explore how best to develop the Forum further. Members are of course encouraged to attend, while potential new members are also very welcome.
Full discussion points are yet to be finalised but will likely include Forum membership development, collaboration, learning and development opportunities, and third sector representation.
Lunch will be provided, and spaces are limited to a maximum of two per organisation/service in the first instance.
The session will run in person from 13:00 - 16:30 on Tuesday 30 May.
Book a place here.
NHS Education for Scotland: Draft Strategy for 2023 - 26 Consultation
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has published its draft Strategy for 2023-26 for your consideration and feedback.
Centred round the themes of People, Partnership and Performance, the draft Strategy sets out how NES plans to work with staff, learners, partners and those who use health and social care services to make a positive difference to health and wellbeing, focusing on four key areas:
- Education, Training, and Workforce Development
- Data, Intelligence and Workforce Supply
- Educational Research
- Digital Innovation and Delivery
Through this consultation - which closes on 01 May 2023 - NES is seeking the views of its learners, educators, partners, and stakeholders to help the team to better understand what is important to people and further shape its strategic intent.
How to tackle stress in the workplace
April is Stress Awareness month, a timely reminder to reach out and have a conversation about stress and mental health where you work.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Working Minds has written this important article that can help get started with combating stress by following 5 simple steps: Reach out; Recognise; Respond; Reflect; Make it Routine.
The full article can be found on our website and we recommend taking a moment to give it a read.
Lunchtime Learning Enhancing the skills of local service providers
Our Lunchtime Learning sessions are designed to inform local service providers about key systems and approaches- across different areas- with the aim of enhancing their knowledge, skills, and capacity.
All sessions take place from 12:00 - 13:00 (unless specified) on the following dates:
- Debt management and common financial problems - 18 April
- Suicide Awareness - Ask...Tell for Vulnerable Adults - 12:00 - 13:30 - 02 May
- Recruiting the volunteers you need - 09 May
- Child Poverty and Parental Employment Support in Fife - 01 June
- Positive steps to mental health and wellbeing - 13 June
- How to engage effectively with local communities - 20 June
- (New) Understanding Fife Voluntary Action services and support - 27 June
Our training, events and forums
Our Volunteer Management training aims to equip anyone responsible for recruiting or managing volunteers with the basic and intermediary skills to better navigate the complexities of volunteer management. It's not just for newcomers - it's an excellent opportunity to reflect on your existing practice, revise concepts that you haven't looked at for a while, and find out about the latest thinking in the area.
Attendees are not required to attend all sessions as each one focuses on a standalone topic.
All sessions take place from 09:30 - 13:00 at Caledonia House, Pentland Park, Saltire Centre, Glenrothes, KY6 2AL on the following dates:
- Managing Risk in Your Volunteer Programme: 19 April
- Avoiding Legal Issues in Volunteer Management: 02 May
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Our Forums and events:
- Our Fife Employability Forum is held quarterly and brings together staff and managers involved in employability services from all sectors - aiming to help organisations to work together to improve employment outcomes for people in Fife - 10:00 - 12:30 on 03 May.
- Our Health and Social Care Forum is open to any third sector organisation working within the health and social care sector in Fife. The forum is a fantastic space for third sector colleagues to come along and hear about key developments in health and social care in Fife and Nationally, discuss significant issues and network with other third sector organisations - 10:00 - 12:00 on 11 May.
- Our Mental Health Peer Support Network Gathering is open to anyone interested in developing and delivering formal peer support in mental health services in Fife - whether you are already, or are interested in, working in the sector, and whether you have lived experience of using services or none - 13:00 - 15:00 on 14 June.
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Please get in touch with us if you would like to find out more about any of our Forums and events. E-mail
Funding opportunities
- The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust is this year offering grants to registered charities working in the areas of rehabilitation of prisoners, ex-prisoners and those at risk of offending, or children and young people in care and care leaders = apply by 30 April 2023.
- The 7stars Foundationsupports organisations that help enable young people to have the best start in life. The priority areas are those challenged by abuse; or addiction; those who are young carers; those who find themselves in transition; and/or those without a place to call home - apply by 30 April 2023.
- The Jo Walters Trust supports projects that inspire pupils to engage with mathematics and welcomes applications of all sizes for trips, workshops, competitions, research projects and equipment - apply by 05 June 2023.
- The FCC Scottish Action Fund offers funding to projects through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund (SLCF). It will consider applications across all types of projects included in the SLCF such as land reclamation, community recycling, public amenities and parks, biodiversity, and historic buildings - closing date: 17:00 on 07 June 2023.
- The Women and Girls Match Fund is a match funding campaign for charities that are working to improve the lives of vulnerable, disadvantaged, or underrepresented women and girls in England and Scotland - closing date: 23 June 2023.
Local and national news
- Children in Scotland is offering free membership to charities with an annual income under £50,000 and/or organisations that primarily work with minority ethnic children, young people, and families in Scotland. Organisations joining will be able to access a wide range of benefits including discounted training, networking opportunities and the biannual members’ magazine, Insight. Offer ends on 31 May - find out how how to register
- Levenmouth Foodbank has a surplus of supermarket crates that it is looking to donate to a good cause. Interested groups should contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange a time for pick-up. The crates are available to pick up from Methil. - Barnardo’s has recently published a new report - A Crisis On Our Doorstep - which reveals how the cost-of-living crisis has affected some of the children, families, and young people using Barnardo’s services across the UK during winter 2022/23.
- Self Directed Support Scotland has worked with the Neurological Alliance of Scotland to create three new factsheets aimed at helping people with neurological conditions, and their carers, access self-directed support.
- Disabled people are being urged to find out if they are eligible for Scottish Government disability benefits as part of a new campaign to increase benefit take-up.
- Latest data from Action Fraud reveal that £1.7 billion has been stolen from over 65s across the UK in the past four years. Due to a rise in online scams, 2022 saw a new high in rates of financial abuse, with older people losing £460 million.
- Scottish Recovery Network is looking to work with people, groups, and organisations in Scotland as part of a new peer support focused suicide prevention project. Join the team for one of its online information sessions in May to find out more.
- The UK Government has announced that the first large-scale test of the new Emergency Alerts system will take place on Sunday 23 April 2023 at 15:00.
- Fife Health and Social Care Partnership's Participation and Engagement Team is running an engagement workshop for the public to have their say on the proposed reconfiguration of Palliative and End-of-Life Care services in Fife - 10:00 - 12:00 and 18:00 - 20:00 on 19 April and 14:00 - 16:00 on 20 April.
Fife Voluntary Action | Caledonia House, Pentland Park, Saltire Centre,
Glenrothes, KY6 2AL United Kingdom
The above information is from Fife Voluntary Action (FVA) Latest news and updates Newsletter 13-04-2023