E-Bulletin

Welcome to the CVS North Wiltshire e-bulletin. To view the latest e-bulletin online click here.

We have now been sending you fortnightly e-bulletins for two years! We have always had a really positive response from you about the bulletins and we hope they are still proving useful and informative to you and your organisation. Is there anything you would like to see more of in the bulletins? Or less of?! Let us know! Please feel free to forward our bulletins to anyone you think should be getting them, alternatively let them contact us or give us their email address's and we'll add them to the mailing list. Do your trustees get the bulletins? Do all your staff receive it directly? It's easy to sign up, just email beth@cvsnw.org.uk with "Please Subscribe me to the E-Bulletins" in the subject line.

Don’t forget you can advertise all of your volunteering opportunities in North Wiltshire with Vanessa at the Volunteer Centre. This service is free and your opportunities can be promoted to any prospective volunteers who contact the Volunteer Centre. Your opportunities are also advertised on the national volunteering website www.do-it.org.uk In addition to this Vanessa also writes a weekly column for the Gazette and Herald and a weekly piece which is read out on BBC Radio Wiltshire, not to mention promotion of your opportunities at local events, through leaflets and poster campaigns. Call Vanessa on 01249 654089 or email Vanessa@cvsnw.org.uk for more details.

Samantha is a caring & compassionate qualified Reiki healer and believes Reiki can treat the emotional and physical, enabling the positive energy to flow to the areas in need. It can relieve stress and anxiety, promoting relaxation and general wellbeing. This type of treatment can be used to aid the healing process in the bereaved. Samantha also offers crystal healing which is beneficial for children who suffer with ADHD, anxiety or emotional problems. To find out more about Samantha's treatments visit www.wellbeing-centre.org.uk. An initial treatment is just £10.00 for either the Reiki or Crystal Healing with Samantha.

The latest issue of the Wiltshire Community Web Online Newsletter is now available to download, click here. These newsletters provide information on Training Events, Hints and Tips on using WCW and Spotlight on a Wiltshire Community Web Site. For each newsletter, we will feature a site that has been created on Wiltshire Community Web (WCW). If you would like to have your site featured in the up and coming issues, then get in touch! Email us at info@wiltshirecommunityweb.org.uk with a short explanation of your site.

Wiltshire County Council & Wiltshire PCT - Review of Working with the Voluntary Sector

The review looks at how we work together with the voluntary and community sector in Wiltshire. The purpose of the review is to improve the way we do business together, strengthen the Compact in Wiltshire and to look at new ways of working including the “shopping, giving and investing” model. The consultation period will run from March until the end of June 2008. This is your chance to get involved and have your say about the ways of working between the statutory bodies and the VCS in Wiltshire. Click here to find out how.

Voluntary workers may soon be entitled to claim travel and childcare expenses without affecting their employment status. The House of Lords will later this week debate an amendment to the Employment Bill which, if passed, will remove the current restriction on voluntary workers’ expenses. At present, organisations can reimburse costs incurred while working, but not additional costs such as travel to work. A voluntary worker receiving benefits beyond the needs of the organisation may be classed as a worker. This would make them eligible for the national minimum wage, and could potentially leading to claims for backdated payment. Minister for Employment Relations, Pat McFadden, said the amendment had been tabled to remove a barrier to taking part in voluntary work. Until now, said McFadden, organisations have been afraid to refund additional expenses for voluntary workers in case doing so would change the nature of the employment relationship. The proposed amendment follows a consultation conducted by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform into the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said: "We want to be sure that voluntary workers are not out of pocket as a result of volunteering, while also minimising the chances of low paying jobs emerging. Voluntary workers do not get paid, but they still incur expenses as a result of their work, and this new legislation will allow those expenses to be paid without any problems."

FINAL REMINDER- 'How to Win Tenders' - Training in Chippenham and Bath April 8th and 9th 10am- 3.00 pm

There are still a few places left on each of these highly valuable training days and I am extending the deadline for bookings to March 31st. Successful tendering requires an understanding of the legislative and practical background within which procurement is currently taking place and the processes which drive the tendering procedures. Can you afford to miss this training? This unique day will take you through the legislative and practical background of procurement and how to complete the Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). You will gain a clear understanding of what procurement officers are looking for in tender appraisal and evaluation and how to ensure that your tender scores well as Lowest Price or Most Economically Advantageous Tender. Who is it for? This day is especially aimed at organisations already used to Service Level Agreements, with long-term service delivery objectives and with a regular turnover of more than £50,000 p.a. Course Fee: £75 (N.B. The same course is being offered at £120 elsewhere, with travel costs on top!). Click here for a booking form for Chippenham, or here for a booking form for Bath.

Are You Ready to Take the Next Step To Progress Your Learning in Monitoring and Evaluation?

If you are planning to engage users in various aspects of your monitoring and evaluation you may wish to consider attending the Involving service users in evaluation, one-day training course. The Involving service users in evaluation course covers how to consult and involve service users effectively. Participants look at why they should involve their service users, who their users are and what their organisation may need to consider before starting to involve service users. The benefits and barriers of increasing user involvement are addressed, as are, the different levels of user involvement in evaluation – from feedback, to consultation and beyond. Alternatively you may be interested in attending a highly participatory, one-day course that looks at good practice in structuring and presenting your findings. The Presenting evaluation findings effectively course also addresses drawing conclusions, making recommendations, and how to make use of and disseminate evaluation findings. If you want to be able to demonstrate to funders, stakeholders and staff that you are really making a difference then it is vital to present your monitoring and evaluation data effectively. A booking form can be downloaded from the CES website at www.ces-vol.org.uk or telephone 0207 713 5722 and ask to speak to the training team.

Display Screen Equipment
The Health and Safety Executive has a new Display Screen Equipment section on its web site, bringing together a variety of useful material around the use of computer workstations. At http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/index.htm.

Third Sector Peer Coaching for Learning and Skills

This is a new free programme running from March 2008 to March 2009 for Third Sector providers of learning and skills and Third Sector organisations about to become providers. Is your organisation: *planning to go through the Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)or Invitation to Tender (ITT) processes; *currently involved in these; * just got through the PQQ or succeeded in becoming an LSC-funded Third Sector provider for the first time; or an existing Third Sector provider that would welcome support around quality issues and meeting LSC requirements? Would you like short-term, tailored support and guidance from a peer coach who also works in the Third Sector and who has successfully managed the delivery of learning programmes for the LSC? Then this could be for you! For more information about this LSC-funded support programme, and for an application form, contact: Rachel Hughes: rachel.hughes@niace.org.uk; '0116 204 4217

Wiltshire Local Involvement Networks (LINks) - Tender Specification for a Host Organisation

From April 2008 Local Involvement Networks (LINks) will replace existing Patient and Public Involvement Forums (PPIFs) in order to strengthen and extend the influence local people have on health and social care services. These networks of service users, voluntary organisations, community groups and members of the public will be established and supported by a host organisation commissioned by the local social care authority. WCC have issued a draft tender document for comments, any organisation wishing to tender (or comment on the draft tender) to run the new LINks service should contact Tracey Bratten, Strategic Procurement Officer, Wiltshire County Council, County Hall, Trowbridge.

South Wiltshire Action Against Poverty - Debt Matters

A half-day conference, Alamein Suite, City Hall, Salisbury, Wednesday 30. Starting at 9.30 am with coffee and closing at 1.00 pm with lunch. £10.00 SWAAP members £15.00 non-members. We do not wish for this nominal charge to exclude anyone from attending the event. Please call 01722 415600 if you have any difficulties. Key speakers: Tony Ryan, Official Receiver, Bournemouth, Salisbury, Weymouth and Steve Meakin, CAB Money Advice Coordinator, Devon & Cornwall. This conference aims to raise awareness of unmanageable debt in the Salisbury District, highlight its complexity and explore causes, impact and solutions. Who should attend: Frontline workers dealing with people who are facing unmanageable debt, and policymakers interested in developing strategies to combat its effects on the local community. The Organisers: SWAAP, the sponsors of this event, have drawn on the expertise of local providers to set the program and speakers. SWAAP facilitates a local forum of statutory and non-statutory agencies to address issues surrounding poverty and social exclusion. Click here for an event booking form.