Kingston Voluntary Action Newsletter April 2011

April 2011

Newsletter The Newsletter for Kingston’s Voluntary & Community Sector

Kingston Savers: making a credit union for Kingston a reality There is a new kid on the block in the voluntary and community sector. Starting from scratch - a volunteers run project - Kingston Savers is the officially recognised vehicle to secure the services of a credit union for the people of the Royal Borough of Kingston. The need for one locally has always existed; the recent economic downturn has simply heightened the requirement to get the process rolling. With the help of Kingston Voluntary Action and the encouragement of Kingston Council, we are up and running.

Incorporating the KVC Newsletter Pages 7-10

What makes a credit union?

In this Edition

There are over 600 credit unions in the UK, serving over 500,000 members. As co-operatives, they operate differently to banks; they do not have outside shareholders and do not pay large bonuses to directors. As part of their local community, credit unions harness their members’ savings to provide affordable loans to other members of the co-operative.

News

2-3

Health & Social Care

4-5

Child Poverty

6

KVC News

7-10

Funding

11

Training

12-13

Kingston-i

14

Focus on: kiaa

15

A credit union makes loan decisions purely on ability to repay, not on previous credit history or banking industry-wide credit ratings. This means that its loans are accessible to all people, including those on low incomes or who may have had financial problems in the past.

They also provide support and advice to people facing debt problems, and budgeting advice on how to escape from problem debt. As a not-for-profit co-operative, it has a different set of values and principles to most of the financial services industry.

(Continued on page 2)

Kingston Voluntary Action, Siddeley House, 50 Canbury Park Road, Kingston KT2 6LX Tel: 020 8255 3335 Fax: 020 8255 8804 Email: info@kva.org.uk Website: www.kva.org.uk Registered Charity No. 257551

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www.kva.org.uk

News

(Continued from page 1)

How can you help?

The road from enthusiasm to the full range of credit union services being accessed will be a complex one, but already we are gratified by the support locally. We see the voluntary and community groups of Kingston as natural allies in our quest to serve the financially-excluded and to promote ethical banking.

You can help by offering your organisation’s support as a stakeholder sponsor (no monies are required at this stage) or by individually signing up as a potential member of Kingston Savers when the time to turn into a fully fledged credit union is right.

For more details email me at kvavolunteer@kva.org.uk Michael Green, Kingston Savers Project Co-ordinator (Volunteer)

Voluntary Sector Managers begin CMI Course Now, more than ever before, our sector needs competent and well-trained managers, capable of seeing voluntary and community organisations through challenging times and enable them to grow.

Kingston Voluntary Action assisted managers of seven local organisations to start the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Diploma in Management and Leadership Level 5.

Widely recognised as the UK’s leading professional qualification for middle managers, the Diploma provides candidates with a thorough grounding in advanced management theory and best practice. Our partner, Kingston College, is the centre of excellence for delivering CMI courses.

The course is part funded by the BIG Lottery as part of KVA's 3-year Infrastructure Support and Development Project.

The benefiting organisations are Mind in Kingston, Oxygen, Kingston Churches Action

on Homelessness, Straight Talking Peer Education, Yorda Adventures, EnhanceAble and Kingston Carers' Network.

Joanne Chinnery, General Manager of Mind in Kingston said: “Since becoming General Manager of Mind in Kingston in April 2010, I had been looking for a management course, so I was thrilled when approached by KVA to apply for the CMI Management and Leadership course. It was too good an opportunity to refuse. The process of applying and getting funding was smooth, mainly due to the support of KVA staff. Since starting the course I have felt more confident in my role and have made a number of contacts within the borough. I still have a long way to go to complete the course, but believe that with the support from the tutors at the college this will benefit me, but more importantly, the team at Mind in Kingston, and ultimately the services and those who use them. I am evaluating my input more and have tools to measure the success as well as failures that are a result of my management style.”

April 2011

News

Page 3

KVA’s New Website Kingston Voluntary Action has a new website, developed as part of the Kingston Infrastructure Support and Development Project, funded by the BIG Lottery. The website address is still the same www.kva.org.uk

• More local and voluntary sector news, including feeds from NAVCA, Third Sector magazine and NCVO, so that you only need to visit one place to get the latest stories

The old site was looking tired and dated, and we hope you will agree that the new site looks much better. But, more importantly, the new site should be easier for visitors to find the information they need and offers several new features. These include:

There were also some ongoing technical issues with the online directory of voluntary organisations in the past, but this should be up and running on the site again soon.

• Clear information about the support we provide including information resources, grouped by topic such as setting up a group, governance, ICT, and communications. We will be adding more information to this section over the coming months • An events calendar showing all of our training dates, as well as important events in Kingston. In the near future, we hope to give groups access to this to add their own events

The website has been built using the VOICE system, which is available free to all voluntary and community groups in the borough to build their own websites.

Further information about this system is available at www.e-voice.org.uk/kingstonupon-thames and Justine Harvey, Information & Communications Co-ordinator is available to assist groups to create their own sites.

If you have any suggestions of further content that would be useful to your group, please contact Justine Harvey at communications@kva.org.uk

Aurora Health Foundation Spring Fayre Saturday 14 May, 2.00-6.00 St John’s Church Hall, Kingston Vale The Aurora Health Foundation (Aurora) is a specialist therapy centre that provides services primarily to adult victims of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), but also for associated abuse such as physical, emotional and psychological trauma. In addition, Aurora has developed a particular focus on helping adult victims of Female Sexual Abuse in childhood. Aurora also offers help to the people who support victims of CSA in their healing journey, including partners, family members and even friends.

Aurora relies heavily on external funding to keep services open to vulnerable people, including donations. The organisation is holding a Spring Fayre on 14 May 2011 (its first fundraising event), so please come along and give your support. The Fayre will include a variety of stalls, a raffle, activities for kids, live music and refreshments.

For more information, contact Aurora on 020 8541 1951, 020 3149 3033 or info@aurorafoundation.org.uk

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Health & Social Care

www.kva.org.uk

Changes to Health and Social Care Whilst the Health and Social Care Bill is progressing through required parliamentary stages, there remains a degree of uncertainty on how the future will look for voluntary and statutory sector organisations. This is already having a significant impact on the statutory organisations that organise local services, with proposals, altered plans and changes occurring with regular frequency. How this will impact on the voluntary sector remains to be seen, but we are aware that there is a need for the sector to be prepared to

respond to the changes and perhaps adapt to different ways of working within the new partnerships. We expect the key partners to be the local authority, including the new Local Public Health Department (within RBK) and the new GP Commissioners. The Health and Wellbeing Board, already set up in Shadow form, is meeting to organise future arrangements and we expect this to be the central point for all strategic planning and commissioning for health and social care in Kingston-upon-Thames

Kingston’s LINk to Shadow HealthWatch At the March RBK Executive meeting the local authority agreed to fund the LINk for a further year, through the transition into local HealthWatch. KVA is in the process of extending the Contract as the Host agency to support Kingston’s LINk. The Health and Social Care Bill introduced to Parliament in January, sets out the duties and responsibilities for local authorities, HealthWatch England and local HealthWatch organisations. Local authorities will continue their role as commissioners for Local HealthWatch, as they currently do for LINks. The Department of Health has notified all Local Authorities that LINks functions need to continue during 2011-12, subject to the

passage of the Bill, until Local HealthWatch comes into force from April 2012. All LINks have been invited to apply to become HealthWatch Pathfinders, as a partnership of local authorities, the LINk and the Host organisation. The purpose is to establish a network of action learning sets which will engage and involve all LINks. This network of networks will provide the environment for sustainable development for all LINks to evolve into Local HealthWatch organisations.

Kingston’s LINk is working on a Pathfinder development plan for an application to be submitted by 12 May.

RBK to Change Physical Disability Day Services Changes are ahead for the provision of day services in Kingston and there is now a 3 month period of consultation, which will end on 7 June 2011. The consultation document sets out the proposals in detail, regarding services at the Crescent Resource Centre and services provided by voluntary sector organisations; and asks a number of questions relevant to the proposed changes.

A series of consultation meetings are to be held at the Crescent Resource Centre during April. The consultation document and information about meeting dates is available on the RBK website www.kingston.gov.uk/adultsocialcare or contact Glen Mills on 020 8547 4704 or Glen.Mills@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

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Health & Social Care

www.kva.org.uk

Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England - Consultation response The consultation on the above Public Health Strategy closed on 31 March 2011. The National Association of Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA), contributed to a joint response by the Department of Health third sector strategic partners (this can viewed on the KVA website). A joint consultation meeting was held in February 2011. The views expressed in the submission are based on the shared views of those organisations, but they do not necessarily reflect the views of all individual DH voluntary and community sector strategic partners. In addition, many organisations have submitted their own detailed response to the consultations.

Comments in this response were restricted to key areas of agreed importance: the role of the voluntary and community sector in delivering the new public health system; the reduction of health inequalities the generation and use of evidence, and on implications of the new localism agenda.

The DH voluntary and community sector strategic partners are concerned that in the White Paper proposals, the voluntary and community sector is principally seen as a provider. However there are different roles most organisations can and do play in the delivery of public health services in England and Wales.

One of the main advantages of voluntary and community sector organisations, compared to private sector providers, is their focus on the needs of the whole person (a ‘holistic’ approach). In addition, voluntary and community sector organisations possess a wealth of knowledge and expertise about how to deliver services which reach all different population groups, including older people,

marginalised groups and those which statutory agencies often find hard to reach.

In a commissioning support role, there will be different commissioning bodies with responsibility for public health services, including local authorities, Health and Wellbeing Boards, GP consortia, the NHS Commissioning Board and Public Health England. The sector is well placed to provide information and guidance to these commissioning bodies, raising local awareness of what kinds of services are already provided by voluntary and community sector organisations. The sector also has a role in public health advocacy at both national and local level.

Given the voluntary and community sector’s expertise in what works best, the partners believe that Health and Wellbeing Board membership should include representation from local voluntary organisations as well as local HealthWatch. Mandatory involvement of the third sector in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) is essential to ensure that enhanced JSNAs feed comprehensively into the local commissioning process. In addition, third voluntary and community organisations can play a vital role in helping ensure that JSNAs maintain a coherent approach to reducing health inequalities.

KVA submitted an individual response to the consultation and also participated in a Regional Voices London workshop which enabled many voluntary sector organisations collectively to have their say on public health issues for London.

Maria Tunmer, Health & Social Care Manager, Kingston Voluntary Action

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Child Poverty

www.kva.org.uk

Children and Young People First Project - Child Poverty Approximately 5,000 children in the borough of Kingston are living in poverty.* This has a huge impact on every aspect of a child’s life including health, education and social participation.

In response to the Child Poverty Act 2010, every local authority has to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, identifying priorities from the Child Poverty Needs Assessment. For a copy of the Royal Borough of Kingston’s Child Poverty Needs Assessment, visit www.kingston.gov.uk/child_poverty or email Justine Rego justine.rego@rbk.kingston.gov.uk As voluntary and community organisations are often one of the first contacts for families affected by poverty, the Children and Young People First Project (based at Kingston Voluntary Action) is raising awareness of this issue. This includes hosting a seminar and research into why families do not claim all the benefits to which they are entitled.

Child Poverty Seminar Wednesday 18 May, 9.30-12.30 Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston The seminar is a chance for voluntary and community organisations to find out more about the RBK Strategy on Child Poverty and to share examples of good practice in our work.

Mary Francis, Head of Strategic Projects at RBK will tell us about the Borough’s Child Poverty Strategy.

Eamonn Gilbert, the 16-19 Coordinator, will

talk about Free School Meals and the Pupil Premium.

Raghad Al-Ugaily from Refugee Action Kingston will talk about the work they are doing to increase the take-up of Free School Meals.

Free School Meals There is a massive under-claiming of Free School Meals (FSM) by eligible families in primary and secondary schools in Kingston.

Families with an income of under £17,500 per annum are eligible to claim FSM and can do so via a link on the Royal Borough of Kingston website. Schools can claim a “Pupil Premium” of £430 per pupil taking free school meals, which can be used as part of the school budget.

We are keen to work with voluntary and community organisations to determine the reasons why families are not claiming FSM for their children. If you are working with parents who are reluctant to claim, please contact us. Along with the Royal Borough of Kingston, we are looking at how the take-up could be improved.

To book a place at the seminar or discuss what your group can do about child poverty, please contact Judith Naylor, Children and Young People First Project on 020 8255 3335 or cwd@kva.org.uk * Child poverty is defined as “where household income is below 60% of the median UK income after housing costs have been paid.” Source: HM Revenue and Customs Poverty Statistics, NI116 for 2008. published October 2010.

KVC News Celebrating 40 years of Volunteering in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

GK2012 – Your Chance to be Part of London 2012 Thursday 2 June, 12.00-5.30 All Saints Church, Kingston All Saints Church in the centre of Kingston will be the venue on Thursday 2 June for the launch of GK2012.

The GK 2012 Team is committed to ensuring each volunteer enjoys a positive experience by: • valuing people's time

Come along between midday and 5.30pm to learn more about Kingston’s Cultural Olympiad diary of events for 2012 and how you can get involved in, and be part of, the celebrations.

• offering training and development

Events being planned around the borough for 2012 include many established favourites such as the River Festival, Kingston International Youth Arts Festival and the Kingston Carnival.

• creating the opportunity to play different roles within the team, introducing an element of variety

• encouraging support for each team member from others • sharing goals

• ensuring good leadership • providing references and feedback

In addition, there will be stalls representing a variety of local sports for visitors to sample and find out how to get involved.

Help to bring the 2012 Cultural Olympiad alive in Kingston Are you looking for an opportunity to volunteer at either sport, leisure or cultural events around the Royal Borough of Kingston? Why not get involved with the GK 2012 Team which will give you the opportunity to get involved in local Cultural Olympiad events planned for 2012.

There is no strict time commitment - you simply volunteer for the events that appeal to you. It could not be easier. Come along on the 2 June, talk to members of the GK2012 Team and if it is for you, you could be helping Kingston celebrate being part of London 2012.

This event is part of Volunteers’ Week, a nationwide annual event, which celebrates the contribution of the UK’s millions of volunteers.

For more information about GK2012 please contact Hedley Featherstone at Kingston Volunteer Centre on 020 8255 8685 or email GK2012@kvc.org.uk

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KVC Newsletter

www.kvc.org.uk

Goodbye from the Youth Volunteering Project The Youth Volunteering Project, funded by V, started 3 years ago and has achieved a huge amount during that time. The project’s achievements include: • increasing the number and diversity of young people volunteering locally • providing young volunteers with nationally recognised vAwards • increasing the type and number of volunteering opportunities for young people in the Borough • providing specialist good practice support and training to local organisations • setting up the dynamic Kingston Youth Action Team “Given that youth unemployment is at its highest since records began, it is a tragedy that this important youth project is closing through lack of funding. When we saw the opportunity of applying to V to fund a Youth Volunteering project, we jumped at it. For many years, KVC has struggled to offer a brokerage service to young people and before the project, we only worked over 18s.

This project has allowed both KVC and organisations to be inclusive and has given many young people the opportunity to support their local communities. I would like to thank Meena and the Kingston Youth Action Team for all their hard work in making the project a success.”

Maria Jarvis, KVC Manager

Meena Kapila, Youth Volunteer Advisor, says goodbye: “I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all the local organisations and all the young people I have worked with, for contributing to the success of the project.

The project, which achieved Reach (the quality practice framework for Youth Action agencies), closes on a really healthy note and I know it will continue through many different strands in the Borough.”

“If it weren't for volunteering, I wouldn't have got this far and now I am working in an environment that I like and have also discovered what I want to do as my potential career path.”

Charlene Farmilo, aged 24 “This program has been excellent for us and we will continue to utilise the young volunteers we have received through it.”

Vernon Kizza Nxumalo, Project Manager, MeWe

For advice and support on volunteering issues after 31 March, please contact Maria Jarvis, Kingston Volunteer Centre Manager on volunteering@kvc.org.uk. If you know any 16-25 year olds who want to find out about volunteering and getting vAwards, please refer them to www.vinspired.com, www.do-it.org.uk, or www.kvc.org.uk

April 2011

KVC Newsletter

Page 9

Pilot Scheme for Nextstep Information, Advice & Guidance Interviews Nextstep is the national advice service in England proving information, careers and skills advice. A Nextstep adviser, Muriel Peach, (who already works with Refugee Action Kingston and has previously worked with Learn English at Home), is coming into Kingston Volunteer Centre on Wednesday mornings, fortnightly, to meet with anyone who wishes to access advice on jobs and learning opportunities.

Muriel's experience encompasses not only work with refugees and those whose first language is not English, but also disabled

clients and people from all educational backgrounds, including graduates. Anyone over 19, employed or unemployed, can use the free service.

Muriel’s next session will be on 20 April and then fortnightly until August, depending on the demand.

Individuals (or organisations representing them), can book an interview slot by emailing Muriel Peach at m.peach@londonlc.org.uk

Getting People Back to Work Project Ends The Getting People Back to Work project has come to end. During its time, we have supported and encouraged a number of volunteers with disabilities, including mental health problems, into volunteering. Some have even gone onto part/full-time employment due to their volunteering.

I strongly believe that the project has met its aim of building people’s confidence, improving their health and well-being and

more importantly, providing them with the right skills to enter mainstream employment.

On behalf of the project, I would like to thank the various partners who ensured the project was a success, in particular Kingston Workstart and Kingston Volunteer Centre. To all the volunteers, it was a privilege working with you.

Veronica Mulenga

Volunteering Good Practice Project Training As part of the Volunteering Good Practice Project, Pat Stanley will be running two half -day training sessions in KVA’s Spring Training Programme (see page 12).

look at all aspects of volunteer recruitment, thinking more creatively about your message and the best method of marketing.

Recruitment of Volunteers – creating the right team

The other session Volunteers and the Law on Wednesday 8 June is already fully booked, but you can be put on the waiting list in case of any cancellations.

Wednesday 11 May, 10.00-1.00 Attracting new and diverse volunteers can be difficult. Planning your recruitment campaign is important, but so too is creating the right message and getting it out to a wider audience. This workshop will

Full details and a booking form can be found on the KVA website at www.kva.org.uk

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KVC Newsletter

www.kvc.org.uk

Increased Expenses for Volunteer Drivers Volunteering England has welcomed the announcement that volunteer drivers will be able to claim a higher level of expenses to cover their costs.

addition, an allowance of 5p per passenger per mile, which is already available to business drivers will be extended to volunteers.

The announcement follows sustained calls for better support for volunteer drivers by Volunteering England, the Community Transport Association and other civil society organisations. It will be welcomed by thousands of volunteer drivers across the country who provide a vital community service.

Director of Public Affairs, Mike Locke, said: “This is a very welcome announcement that recognises the importance of volunteers in enabling communities to meet their transport needs themselves.

All drivers who use their vehicle for work or volunteering will now be able to claim 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, an increase from the current rate of 40p. In

We are pleased that our calls for the mileage rate to be increased by 5p have been heeded, and the extension of passenger payments to end the inequality between business and volunteer drivers is a positive sign that the Government is taking the role of volunteers seriously.”

The Mayor’s Community Award recognises two volunteers from Corinthian-Casuals FC Corinthian-Casuals volunteers, groundsman Rob Darby and Brian Adamson, who assists with the grounds as well as being First Team Manager, were recently recognised at the Mayor’s ‘At Home’ Reception and Community Awards at the Guildhall. The award was for their outstanding work in their 8 years of maintaining the pitch and surrounding area at the club’s base at Tolworth.

The home pitch supports three teams, First, Reserves and Youth, and maintaining it is a considerable undertaking. Rob Darby’s commitment to Corinthian-Casuals is total, his impact on the club is recognised by everyone who has the pleasure of playing on the wonderful pitch he and Brian Adamson provide. Brian is an outstanding manager, a real inspiration for the club’s strictly amateur team competing against semiprofessional clubs.

As well as these awards, their work has received recognition in the football world.

The Ryman League judged the pitch to be the best in the whole of Ryman’s three divisions, a total of 66 clubs. The Football Association awarded the club the national prize for the best pitch in season 2009/10 at what are known as Step 3 and Step 4 levels. That put the club in competition with 198 clubs from the Northern, Southern and Ryman Leagues. This was an outstanding achievement competing against semiprofessional clubs, who nearly all have paid ground staff.

The Good Sports project at KVA would like to congratulate Rob and Brian on their achievements, and the whole of the Corinthian-Casuals organisation for being a great example of a voluntary sports club.

April 2011

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Funding

Woodward Charitable Trust The Trust favours small-scale, locally based initiatives, primarily one-off projects. Your organisation must be a registered charity, school or church.

Their priority areas are: • Social and ethnic minority groups • Prisoners and ex-offenders • Homelessness • People experiencing violence or abuse • Arts outreach work by local groups involving disadvantaged people • Disability projects • Environmental projects • Addiction

Foyle Foundation Small Grants Scheme

They are willing to consider funding for startup or running costs (including core costs and salaries). Small grants will be between £100 and £5,000. Larger grants will only be considered if they are discussed with the Trust prior to submission.

Deadline: 31 May 2011 For more information visit their website www.woodwardcharitabletrust.org.uk

Team London Small Grants Fund

Help The Homeless

Help The Homeless makes The Foundation will award Small grants of up to £10,000 grants of up to £3000 for capital costs to small and one-year grants of between are offered to organisations £1,000 and £10,000 to to increase the impact of their medium-sized charities (annual turnover of less than charities that can volunteering activity. £1million), that help demonstrate that the grant will make a significant The funding must specifically individuals in their return to difference to their work. This be used for building volunteer mainstream society. All applications must relate to scheme is open to charities capacity within the projects that assist individuals with an annual income of less organisation, increasing the recruitment or more effective in their return to mainstream than £100,000 that are society, rather than simply working at a grassroots, local use of volunteers. offer shelter or other forms of community level. sustenance.

It could be used by Applications are accepted on organisations who wish to Deadlines in 2011 are 30 apply for Investors in an on-going basis. Visit the June, 30 September, 31 Foundation’s website for more Volunteers accreditation.

December information www.foylefoundation.org. Register online to be notified Further details online at when applications open uk www.london.gov.uk/team www.help-thehomeless.org.uk -london/small-grants

For more funding opportunities, visit the Funding section of the KVA website www.kva.org.uk. Alternatively, contact Zahida Saddiq, Community Development Manager who can assist with fundraising 020 8255 3335, zahidas@kva.org.uk

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www.kva.org.uk

Training

KVA Spring Training Programme 2011 KVA has recently launched its Spring Training Programme of courses for the voluntary and community sector, funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

Remaining Courses

Date

Time

Emergency First Aid at Work - Fully Booked

Mon 11 April

9.30-4.30

Creating a Website using VOICE - Beginners - Fully Booked Developing your Website using VOICE - Advanced

Wed 13 April

10-1.00

Wed 13 April

2-4.30

Disability Awareness

Tues 10 May

10-4.30

Recruitment of Volunteers

Wed 11 May

10-1.00

Food Safety

Wed 17 May

10-4.30

Safeguarding Children - Child Protection Induction

Tues 17 May

12-2.00

Commissioning and Procurement

Thurs 19 May

10-4.00

Writing Successful Funding Applications

Tues 24 May

10-4.30

Understanding and Using an Outcomes Focus - Day 1 (see page 13 for more details)

Wed 25 May

10-4.30

Volunteers and the Law - Fully Booked

Wed 8 June

10-1.00

Writing Budgets for Funding Applications

Thurs 9 June

10-4.30

Safeguarding Children - Refresher

Sat 11 June

10-1.00

Creating a Website using VOICE - Beginners

Thurs 16 June

10-1.00

Developing your Website using VOICE - Advanced

Thurs 16 June

2-4.30

Understanding and Using an Outcomes Focus - Day 2

Wed 22 June

10-4.30

Three courses are already fully booked (with others filling up quickly), but if you are interested in these, please contact Sanja Kane to be put on the waiting list. Full day courses cost £40 for voluntary and community organisations (£65 for statutory organisations) and half day courses cost £20 for voluntary and community organisations (£35 for statutory organisations), with the exception of the Safeguarding Children courses, which we are able to offer at no charge.

Full details, including a booking form can be found on our website www.kva.org.uk. If you have any further questions, please contact Sanja Kane, Workforce and Training Co-ordinator at Kingston Voluntary Action on 020 8255 3335 or training@kva.org.uk.

April 2011

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Training

Understanding and Using an Outcomes Focus Wednesday 25 May and Wednesday 22 June Access Learning Centre, North Kingston Centre Free two-day training course for voluntary and community organisations Would you like to know more about outcomes? Are your funders asking about outcomes monitoring? Do you need to know more about outcomes because you are getting ready for commissioning?

The course is interactive with lots of exercises and group work that will enable you to share your knowledge and experience with colleagues from other organisations.

If so, you will be interested in this fully subsidised training course. As part of its Infrastructure, Support and Development Project, KVA is offering training to voluntary sector organisations on developing an outcome based approach.

Setting clear aims and objectives and having a sense of purpose is fundamental to any organisation. In the current climate and with the burden of our everyday work, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the purpose of the work that we do.

An Outcomes Focus will help you place your vision and purposes at the very heart of your everyday work. It will allow your organisation to concentrate on its aims and to ensure you make changes that will help you to better achieve those aims.

The two-day training course will help you: • Understand what outcomes are and what they are not • Explain the concept of outcomes to the colleagues in your organisation • Identify and prioritise outcomes relevant for your organisation • Increase your knowledge of monitoring outcomes • Introduce and implement an outcomes focus in your organisation

Gillian Morris, My Voice London, who attended the Feb-March 2011 Outcomes training commented: “Thank you for such an excellent course.

The two days equipped us with lots of skills and tools that we can use to develop the approach in our own organisation. The homework task gave an opportunity to have valuable conversations with trustees and staff about why our work matters. Content and planning were good, and your delivery was great - very warm, supportive, inclusive and with a good injection of fun”.

All Outcomes Training is delivered by Sanja Kane, KVA’s Outcomes Champion trained by the Charity Evaluation Services.

To find out more, please contact Sanja Kane on 020 8255 3335 or training@kva.org.uk Alternatively, visit the Training section of the Kingston Voluntary Action website www.kva.org.uk

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Focus on: Kingston-i

www.kva.org.uk

Kingston-i, the information and access to advice service, launches in April Kingston-i is a partnership project, hosted

by KVA, and working with organisations such as Age Concern Kingston, Kingston Citizen's Advice Bureau, Kingston Centre for Independent Living, and Kingston Community Care Services and Housing Services. The Kingston-i website now holds information on over 500 organisations and services, ranging from local groups through to national charities and helplines. In addition, there are also over 140 information articles on all aspects of staying healthy, independent and well – including information about money, transport and care services. These articles have been written especially for Kingston-i and have been checked by experts. In addition to the website people will also be able to access the service by phone.

The information is divided into eight main categories, covering the following subjects: Help at Home Gives details about practical support that people can receive in their own home as well as general information about paying for care.

Keeping Healthy & Well This section has information about health services in the borough from keeping fit and active, through to emotional support and self-help groups.

Getting Out & About Containing all you need to know about transport in the borough; public transport, assisted travel and information about private vehicles such as the Blue Badge scheme.

Money Matters Information on services that can help you with your finances. Covers topics such as pensions, benefits and taxes

and also provides details of services to help with debt and looking after your money.

Things to do Stuck for something to do? This section lists activities across the borough; social clubs, day centres and activity groups.

Work & Learning Whether you need help getting back to work, learn a new skill or get involved by volunteering – this category has all the information you’ll need.

Housing Options Information about buying, renting, moving and maintaining property.

This section also contains help on care homes and sheltered accommodation.

Staying Safe Help on keeping yourself safe at home and out and about. Covers topics such as fire safety, avoiding trips and falls and crime.

Throughout April and the rest of 2011, Chris Wingrove, Project Manager, will be visiting locations throughout the borough to demonstrate the service, and to assist people in using the website. We will also be running training for organisations and services who give information to people, so that they can use Kingston-i in their professional capacity. However, we know that there is much more going on in the borough that is not yet listed. If you know of an organisation, service, activity, group or event that could go onto the Kingston-i website please let us know.

Website www.kingston-i.org.uk Kingston-i Helpline 020 8123 6685 Chris Wingrove, Kingston-i Project Manager kingstoni@kva.org.uk

April 2011

Focus on: kiaa

Page 15

Kingston Information & Advice Alliance (kiaa) Kingston Information and Advice Alliance (kiaa) is a network of information and advice providers from the voluntary, statutory and private sectors. We are working together to make services better for clients, to improve funding for services and to have a stronger campaigning voice.

Over 30 agencies have already joined kiaa, including Kingston Citizens Advice Bureau, Age Concern, Kingston Centre for Independent Living, Kingston Race and Equalities Council, Kingston Chamber of Commerce, Kingston Primary Care Trust and South West London Law Centres. However, for the network to be truly effective, it needs as many as possible of the estimated 130 information and advice providers in Kingston to join.

Benefits of membership Firstly, kiaa aims to develop better services for clients by developing an effective local referral system. This will involve improving access to and coordination of information and increasing awareness of advice services available locally. Joining kiaa will ensure that your services are represented.

Secondly, by working together and sharing information, we hope to safeguard our services for the future, which surely has to be a high priority for everyone right now.

Members will benefit from a collective campaigning voice, being able to demonstrate our impact through shared systems for collecting data and increased access to funding through partnerships.

Information sharing will be key to this, and this is being done through the members’ area of kiaa website, where members are already posting details of documents and policies they are willing to share, and details of funding and training opportunities

relevant to information and advice providers.

Plans for the future A Steering Group has been formed, chaired

by KVA, which has drawn up an implementation plan. Activities that are already underway or planned for the near future include: • Assessment of the existing referral system • A programme of training on how to signpost/ refer for statutory and community agencies • Setting up an agency placements shadowing/mentoring scheme • Sharing of specialist knowledge through workshops delivered by one agency for other Alliance members.

• Training around internal competition i.e. relating to funding • Multi-agency campaigning group to be set up It is anticipated that the whole membership of kiaa will meet three times per year.

How to become a member Membership is free and aims to be as inclusive as possible. Simply fill in the (brief) application form, which can be downloaded from the kiaa website www.kiaa.org.uk.

You will then be invited to register for the members’ area of the website, which will give you full access to the network.

For further information, visit the kiaa website www.kiaa.org.uk or email info@kiaa.org.uk

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About Kingston Voluntary Action

Mission Statement KVA leads community engagement, creating opportunities for organisations and individuals to become empowered to reach their full potential so they make a difference in their communities.

Kingston Voluntary Action 020 8255 3335 Hilary Garner Lynda Evans Keith Morton Maria Tunmer Zahida Saddiq Sanja Kane Justine Harvey Judith Naylor Mafaz Ansari Polly Healy Susie Masters Debra McCarthy Chris Wingrove

Chief Executive Deputy Chief Executive Business Manager Health & Social Care Manager Community Development Team Manager Workforce Development & Training Co-ordinator Information & Communications Co-ordinator Children & Young People First Project Worker Community Accountant Administrator LINk Co-ordinator LINk Administrator Kingston-i Project Manager

Next Edition: July 2011 Deadline for Copy: 17 June 2011 Newsletter Information The Newsletter is distributed free of charge four times a year, to all known voluntary organisations in the Borough, key personnel in the statutory sector as well as to local councillors, libraries, doctors’ surgeries and schools.

The Newsletter, along with the KVA website, provides opportunities to promote voluntary and community organisations and events. If you would like to submit details of inclusion, please contact Justine Harvey, Information & Communications Co-ordinator communications@kva.org.uk.

Inserts can be sent with the newsletter by prior arrangement. Please contact Polly Healy

www.kva.org.uk

Kingston Community Furniture 020 8942 5500 Adrian Collins James Deane Sean Murray Veronica Mulenga

Project Manager Operations Manager Business Manager Volunteer Co-ordinator

Kingston Eco-op 020 8942 5503 Bart Ricketts Nicola Farrington Chris Williamson Sue Illsley John Legate Sam Carey

Eco-Op Project Co-ordinator Kingston Workstart Workshop Supervisor Support Worker Bike Mechanic Support Worker

Superhighways 020 8255 8040 Kate White Colin Cregan Maher Al-Ugaily Yaarub Aisa Sue Quilter

Manager ICT Support Worker ICT Support Worker ICT Support Worker Admin Worker

Kingston Volunteer Centre 020 8255 8685 Maria Jarvis Richard Craig Pat Stanley

Manager Buddy Scheme Co-ordinator Volunteer Good Practice Advisor Hedley Featherstone Good Sports Project Co-ordinator

admin@kva.org.uk for costs and deadlines. If you would like to amend the contact details or you would prefer to receive the newsletter by email, please also contact Polly.

The current and back issues of the Newsletter are available in PDF format on the KVA website.

Membership of KVA Membership is open to all voluntary and community groups who are based or work in Kingston. For details of how to become a member contact Polly Healy, admin@kva.org.uk

Disclaimer: information contained in the Newsletter and inserts come from a wide range of sources. Opinions or statements expressed may not necessarily reflect those of KVA. KVA aims to ensure all information is correct and up to date.