April 2022

SEN News
 

Employability SEN Session:  Opportunities and Support (Thursday May 26^th, 1-2.30pm)
Join us at our final Employability SEN session to look at the opportunities and support available for Employability SEN members specifically in relation to employability.  We will have a range of speakers who will outline their role in employability and the support they can offer.  There will be time for questions and for members to highlight the support they require going forward.  We will also be using the session to celebrate and reflect on the impact of our wonderful Employability SEN members.  Would be lovely to see you there – contact Jayne to book your place.

Employability SEN Members – we need your help!  As part of our final Employability SEN meeting, we really want to showcase social enterprises’ contribution to employability and employment in Scotland, particularly supporting people with barriers to work and complex needs.  We don’t want to create any extra work for you so please just send information you already have/collect on outputs/outcomes (annual reports, photos, stories, testimonials, funding reports) - relating to employability and employment - and we will do the rest! We want to shine a light on how amazing you are and the fantastic work you do.  Contact Jayne to help.

In-person Community Learning Exchange with The Larder (Livingston) – Tues 7^th June
The Larder is a successful social enterprise that uses food as a catalyst for change.  It provides real solutions to poverty through needs-led transformational learning opportunities for young people with multiple and complex barriers and access to high quality affordable food. Places are limited and restricted to one person per organisation - more info and book here.

In person CLE with Cranhill Development Trust (Wed 18^th May)  
Cranhill Development Trust will be hosting an in-person CLE, providing an opportunity for participants to learn about the development of their community shop and garden and recently opened Post Office.  We expect this to be a popular visit, so get in touch soon to register your interest as places will be limited. Book here.

In person CLE with Eat Sleep Ride CIC (Thurs 26^th May)  
ESR CIC is an approved horse riding school offering lessons and hacking to the public and work with people experiencing mental health problems, those that have suffered abuse, lived in areas of high deprivation and other challenges such as drug/alcohol addiction.  Programme here and book here.

West Lothian SEN has asked about charities/social enterprises who provide free/low cost handsets to help low income families and individuals to get into work, education etc.  Contact info@wlsen.org.uk if you can help.

Members News

It’s all happening at Eat Sleep Ride CIC – check out their volunteering days and how you can support their move to their new environmentally centred community equestrian wellness hub here.

Callander Youth Project, spoke to The Scotsman about their fully accessible glamping pods, allowing people with additional support needs - and their families and carers - to experience the beauty of Scotland and enjoy a break.

Social Print and Copy has published their latest Youthalytical Project Report 2022, reinforcing their commitment to our social objectives that will be achieved through supporting communities across a number of key areas: Barriers to work opportunities; Environmental benefits; and Third Sector efficiencies.

Glasgow Wood has produced this short video (1 minute) showing the range of different products and types of timber they have available. Products include a variety indoor and outdoor furniture as well as play and learning products and structures

West Lothian social enterprise, The Larder, has been awarded £30,000 from a radio group charity in recognition of its work in combating food insecurity in our communities.

BRAG Enterprises in Fife recently opened their new community pantry, shared with Benarty foodbank.  The new space hosts food storage, a shopping area for members and a new café. Brag supports people, often residing in disadvantaged areas of Fife, to gain the training and employability skills to enable them to move into sustainable employment.

Fyne Futures recently held a Celebration event – and there was a lot to celebrate! Their Bute Dignity in All Work project; the creation of a recipe booklet and incredible edible food trail postcard set; their employability program, particularly 8 young people who have completed a range of horticultural skills development workshops and personal development learning events; volunteering across 3 themes – Incredible Edible Bute Food Growing; Incredible Edible Bute Food Sharing and Making Things Last.  This presentation highlights their achievements over the last year incl working to reduce Bute’s environmental impact and supporting people with volunteering and wage-based learning opportunities to support personal growth, overcome barriers to gaining employment, tackling social isolation and food insecurity, And if this wasn’t enough - they announced the first gift of community benefit from Fyne Energy - more background here. Congratulations to all involved.

Employability & Fair Work

Are you a supported business that could provide Goods or Services to the public sector?  Scottish Govt’s current ‘Commodities Reserved for Supported Businesses’ Framework is due to expire 9 December 2022.  This framework agreement delivers a range of goods and services which are provided by supported businesses.  Information including the definition of a Supported Business is available in the Request for Information.  The replacement for this framework may involve the establishment of a further Framework Agreement or a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).  They are seeking information from organisations who can demonstrate that they meet the definition of a Supported Business and who may be interested in supplying their Goods and or Services to the public sector in Scotland. More here – note you must complete information by 25^th April

 Scottish Government recently published both the Employability Service Design Toolkit and the Employability Shared Measurement Framework - both presented as 'works in evolution' and as such comments and feedback are welcomed. They should be useful for any organisation who has been awarded No One Left Behind funding or who is hoping to bid.

Joint SUSE / Apt PSP Annual Conference - Tues 3rd May – Glasgow/hybrid
The conference theme this year is Partners in Progress, celebrating the achievements of the Apt Public Social Partnership (PSP) and the ambition to create positive steps to reduce the disability employment gap.

Celebrating 10 years of Community Jobs Scotland (CJS) programme is coming to an end as a national programme. It has been really successful for both the young participants and the organisations that employ them.  This report shows the amazing work that SCVO's CJS team has done with voluntary organisations across Scotland to make CJS one of the most successful employability programmes Scotland has ever had.

Check out the Fair Access Sector Support sessions that creative & cultural skills (CCSkills) is delivering designed to empower employers to adopt inclusive and lawful recruitment practices which both support sector growth and develop a more diverse range of talent, and strengthening the principles of fair opportunity as part of Scotland’s Fair Work First Framework.  Although targeted at creative industries’ organisations and employers in Scotland with the support of Creative Scotland, they are potentially relevant to a wider audience.

March’s Labour Market Statistics – Learning & Work analysis.

Funding/Finance

UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) – UK Govt has now published its full SPF prospectus.  In Scotland, delivery will be supported through the eight Regional Economic Partnerships (City & Growth Deal areas), however the 32 individual Local Authorities will each have a funding allocation with a total Scottish value of circa £212m over the next three years available to support three key investment priorities – Community & Place, Supporting Local Businesses, and People & Skills.  Unlike in England, funding will be available to support the People & Skills priority in Scotland from later this year with an outline timetable presented indicating first approvals & funding available from October ’22.  More info on SPF in Scotland here and allocations (by region and local authority) in Scotland here.  With an investment plan submissions window: 30 June 2022 to 1 August 2022, the timetable indicates that engagement sessions with local authorities & other partners to support development of investment plans should commence this month.

The National Lottery Community Fund has recently launched their Strategic Renewal process, which will help shape how they invest in communities in the future. They want to hear from you to ensure they continue to effectively support communities across the UK to prosper and thrive. Share what matters to you and your community through their survey here.

As they review their funding offer and develop new programmes, TNLCF is closing their Community Led and Improving Lives programmes from 30 Sept 2022, with their new portfolio launched in early 2023.  National Lottery Awards for All, Young Start and Scottish Land Fund are not part of this review and will remain open to applications.  More here.

Ballie Gifford - Up to £15K, over three years to deliver projects that support the most vulnerable in our society. The fund's priorities include reducing isolation, supporting people financially through food and work poverty initiatives, improving employability and enterprise (particularly for young people), and tackling homelessness in communities. Deadline - 28 April.

Volant Charitable Trust - up to £15,000/yr (max of 3 years) to projects supporting women, children and young people at risk. Apply before 12:00 on 29 April.

People's Postcode Trust funding: Up to £25,000, and available to Community Interest Companies and community benefit societies for the first time. Rounds open at 9am at the beginning of each month. A limited number of applicants are accepted each round. Next round opens on 2 May.  NOTE – they accept a limited number of applications in each round, their most recent funding round closed after 3 hours.

The Triangle Trust's Young Carer Grants will support work that amplifies the impact of existing work with young carers (up to the age of 25) and enables your existing support to develop or go further. This might mean adding an education component to what you already do or increasing the work you are currently doing around education and young carers/young adult carers - apply by 06 May.

Regional Food Fund - Grants of up to £5,000 are offered to support projects and initiatives that promote the development of food and drink across Scotland.  Projects that celebrate locally sourced and produced food and drink are being encouraged to apply.  Deadline 5pm on 9^th May.

SSE Resilient Communities Fund (North of Scotland) - for communities to become more resilient in severe weather and prolonged power interruptions. Grants up to £20,000. Deadline - 13 May.

SSE’s Royal London Changemakers Programme includes a £20,000 grant, two years of support, 1-2-1 expert consultancy and learning sessions with other social entrepreneurs in the same sector. Plus the chance to collaborate and build a relationship with Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual, life pensions and investment company. Deadline - 17 May.  Online info sessions on the same link.

The Creative Breaks programme provides 12-month grants to third sector organisations to develop and deliver short breaks projects and services for carers of adults (aged 21 years and over), and young carers (caring for children or adults), and the people that they care for. Deadline - 19 May at 5pm.

The Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation - supports a variety of capital projects, funding projects from charities that cover one or more of the following areas: Education, Health, Care, Sport, Arts and Heritage, and Conservation and Environment. The geographical area for funding has been extended to cover communities in the North East of Scotland and the Highlands & Islands. Deadline - 27th May.

FCC Scottish Action Fund offers funding to projects through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund (SLCF) and will consider applications across all types of projects included in the SLCF: Land Reclamation, Community Recycling, Public Amenities and Parks, Biodiversity and Historic Buildings - closing date: 08 June.

Matthew Good Foundation - Charities, voluntary groups or social enterprises that have an average annual income of less than £50,000 can apply for a grant of up to £5,000 Every three months five organisations will share a pot of £10,000 - the next deadline is 15th June.

Arnold Clark Community Fund – up to £1000 for registered UK charities and local community groups continue their important work during this challenging time.  Closing date: 30 June.

Historic Environment Scotland’s Heritage & Place Programme is an area-based funding programme that aims to contribute to the development of vibrant and sustainable places in Scotland, through community-led regeneration of the historic environment. It supports the development and delivery of heritage-focused schemes within conservation areas, or alternatively distinctive heritage areas with local authority recognition. Community participation is integral to the design and delivery of successful schemes your objectives should fit within the local authority's strategic framework for Place and Regeneration - apply by 31 July 2022.

The Essentia Foundation - with grants of between £500 and £3,000 Essentia provides financial support to improve the health and social welfare of children and young people up to the age of 25 years old and also seeks to increase opportunities for training, enhancing learning, upskilling and developing career opportunities and supporting young people towards employment.

Force for Change - Opening in April 2022, this programme will award grants of up to £10,000 for community projects that reduce isolation and promote integration; supporting post-Covid recovery in local Armed Forces communities affected by isolation.

Magic Little Grants - awarding £500 grants through a quick 10 minute application.  Organisations must either be in their first year of operation or have an annual income under £250,000.  Funding can be used to launch new projects, support existing ones, or cover core costs associated with ongoing work.

The Weavers’ Company Benevolent Fund - principal aim is to support people in trouble, particularly young offenders and ex-offenders, as well as other disadvantaged young people.  Up to £15K with grants normally awarded for one year and preference given to pump priming new projects, for smaller organisations.  Deadline – 14^th July

Inspiring Scotland: Workforce Wellbeing Fund - Grants up to £10,000 funded by the Scottish Government are available for public, private and voluntary sector organisations to support the cost of activities that will improve the wellbeing of staff engaged in delivering adult social work and adult social care. Apply before 29 July.

St. Nicholas Care Fund - Grants up to £5,000 for small organisations working within disadvantaged communities in Glasgow to meet an identified social need, especially among vulnerable people. They can support one-off costs like equipment or an event but cannot cover core running costs. Apply any time.

Drugs Services Funds Micro Funds. These are for small community-based groups (income up top £50K) which deliver frontline services to support people who use or used drugs, people in recovery and families affected by someone else’s drug use.  Rolling programme.

Support/Resources

Touching Lives Deafblind Awareness Training - deafblind trainers deliver informal training to increase awareness of deafblindness through their “lived experience” and its daily challenges.  Offered to groups, organisations and individuals who engage with, and support older people, a Deafblind Awareness Toolkit and Attendance Certificate will be provided after the training once the relevant paperwork is completed and returned.

Marketing Communications Project - GCVS is partnering with the University of Glasgow to support 3 third sector organisations with their marketing communications planning.  Apply by 2nd May.

Firstport are holding a series of Just Enterprise in-person networking and information events with the opportunity to meet fellow social entrepreneurs and local support agencies. Galashiels (Monday 25th April – 10.30 am to 2.15 pm); Ayr (Wednesday 11th May – 10.30 am to 2.15 pm), Stirling (Thursday 19th May – 10.30 am to 2.15 pm).  Book here.

Digital Transformation Hub: You can now access all of the resources released by Charity Digital during their Digital Transformation Week, to help you start your digital transformation journey. There are webinar recordings, templates, podcasts and more.

April is Stress Awareness Month - the Stress Management Society have further details and resources available on their website.

Learning from Evaluation, developed by Evaluation Support Scotland, is for people in the third sector who want to use their evidence to identify learning about what works, for who, and in what circumstances. 

Evaluation Support Scotland’s new workbook Not Just a Story – making use of experiences and stories in evaluation is a practical step-by-step guide on how to collect, analyse and use this rich information. 

The Community Ownership Hub Glasgow and Clyde Valley have been working with Govanhill Baths Trust to co-produce a top-tips resource on diverse and inclusive community engagement.

Good Finance have created The Outcomes Matrix - an interactive tool that provides a useful starting point for you to consider the social impact that you are trying to deliver and how you will measure it.

Are you interested in adopting Circular Economy practices but don't know where to start? Join SIS on the Circular Economy 360 (3 May - 7 June), delivered in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland. Over a series of workshops, hear from the experts and learn from those with first-hand experience in adopting circular economy practices. 

Recovery Conversation Café toolkit supports you to run your own recovery conversation café. It helps you to engage with people in a meaningful way to find out what is important to them.

The Scottish Land Commission, together with DTA Scotland, have produced this useful guide for community-led organisations with an interest in bringing vacant or derelict land back into use.

Information/News

A nationwide survey commissioned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists reveals the devastating impact of the pandemic on the nation’s mental health, with one in three (29%) adults reporting their mental health deteriorated over the past two years.  Those with pre-existing mental health problems have been hit hardest (81% reporting a deterioration in their mental health) with adults with a disability (52%) and those with prior physical health problems (41%) also impacted. 

Community Justice Scotland has published the following reports  - Community Justice Outcome Activity Annual Report, 2020/21 and Community Payback Order (CPO) Summary of Local Authority Annual Reports 2020/21.

The Health Foundation has published new research looking at public perceptions of health inequalities. There is clear evidence that factors such as housing, education, and employment impact our health but a greater understanding of these factors is needed.