Flourishing

Review of 2011 - Part Two

2011-12-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

This second video covers our work with nine new clients during the course of 2011.

Themes included - communication, training, risk assessment, employee engagement, development of policies and procedures.

Assignments covered work with a funder and a social enterprise, with a start-up business and a corporate client. As well as with organisations in the charitable sector.

What might you need in 2012? Contact karen@flourishing.me.uk to arrange a chat.

Review of 2011 - Part One

2011-12-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

2011 was a very busy year for Flourishing Consulting Ltd. This video footage describes some of the work we did for four existing clients during the year.

We also had nine new clients during the year. See Review of 2011 - Part Two for details of our work with these organisations.

As well as work for charitable organisations we attracted a small business, a funder and a corporate client during the year. A satisfying development, which shows that many of our skills are transferable across different sectors.

Contact karen@flourishing.me.uk for more information - and to discuss your needs.

Faith and cultural perspectives on disability

2011-12-29T02:33:00.000-08:00

This is a longer version of an article written by Karen Walkden, submitted for publication in the SEN Magazine. It was written as part of Flourishing Consulting's work with ASEND.

Nobody can argue that a truly holistic assessment of a disabled child needs to take into account the family circumstances. But how well is the impact of faith and cultural background understood?

This article sets out some of the issues, and also responses available to health, social care and education professionals working with disabled children, young people and their families from different faiths and cultures. There is also a checklist to use in identifying gaps and developing local action plans.

A complex issue

The first thing to say is that this is a complex area. There are variations within faiths, as well as between them – and it is simplistic to speak in terms of eg the Muslim community or Christian community. In addition to specific sub-groups or denominations, there will be degrees of adherence to the principles that define a set of beliefs. Within families there could well be generational variations – often with younger members of the family taking a more liberal or westernized stance.

Variations also arise in times of crisis – such as the diagnosis of a child’s disability. Parents may tend to the extremes of their beliefs – from rejection of the faith to fervently embracing it. There can be a reversion to the core culture, so that practices perceived as tried and tested, or handed down through the generations, are given greater credence – particularly where the disability causes the parent to question their own skills. Clashes between cultural norms and UK norms (enshrined in legislation) may arise. This may be evident in areas such as physical chastisement and forced feeding, for example, putting the child at risk of harm.

At the root is a simple concept – that beliefs drive behavior. To understand why a person behaves as they do, is to understand the complexity of their belief structure. As professionals, we need to take the time to explore this area with families and to understand the influence of faith leaders and the community as a whole.

Cultural competence

Why do we shy away from these conversations? Fear of offending or stereotyping families, of being branded as racist or insensitive? A feeling that we should know more than we really do?

As part of this quest for understanding, professionals are advised to explore their own cultural competence – to identify experiences that have shaped their personal knowledge and understanding of different faiths and cultures. Your cultural competence is the lens through which you look at the world, and interpret information in front of you. A greater awareness of your own influences will enable you to work more objectively with those who have a different background to your own. Cultural competence increasingly features in the training of front-line health and social care professionals, and is a good INSET topic to explore.

Perceptions of disability

Compassion, love and support for the vulnerable are common themes across all faiths. Having a faith, and belonging to a community, can provide social capital for a disabled person. Professionals working with local community groups have the opportunity to contribute to the building of a strong and enduring support framework for the family.

However, religions offer differing, and sometimes confusing, views of disability; for example, a manifestation of “the sins of the Father”, and a form or punishment – or each person is created equal, and in God’s image.

Families may believe that the disabled child is a special gift that they have been entrusted to care for, that there is an innocence about the child that gives them a more direct relationship with God, or that the parent’s faith is being tested. Both of these stances can pose a risk to the child, if taken to extremes.

The family of a disabled child in a church with a strong belief in the healing power of prayer, could feel isolated and embarrassed when they are not “cured”, potentially leading to a risk of physical or emotional abuse as the child’s differentness separates them from the community.

Where there is a belief in malign influences, actions may be taken to expel spirits possessing the child, and believed to cause the disability. These can become physical and extreme – as seen in recent high profile cases. The emotional and psychological consequences of being labelled in this way compound the family’s difficulties within the community.

Cultural stigmas may result in denial or concealment of the child’s condition and so limit access to services, treatment, therapies and medication. Where provision is limited then professionals might well inadvertently collude with families who express a wish to keep their child away from public services. The challenge for professionals is to work with the family to overcome and change the views of the wider community.

Responses

Some very practical issues may sit alongside a belief system. For example medication containing preservatives based on porcine, bovine or opioid products will not be acceptable in some faiths. Similarly blood products and transplants may not be accepted. Suffering may be seen as part of life’s process, with a resultant view on the use of pain relief. Creativity on the part of health professionals is needed to find alternative responses and in some instances the medical view may prevail.

Where English is not the first language then the issues may be less around beliefs and more about support to describe the child’s needs, to interpret information provided and perhaps to implement complex instructions or therapies. This is another area where working with community groups, through interpreters and building up the skills of advocates, can be beneficial.

I’ve worked with one London borough which has invested in disability awareness training for supplementary schools, with the twin aims of enabling the schools to include disabled children effectively in their own group lessons, and to increase parental awareness and confidence in engaging with mainstream schools.

We secured lottery funding for a local group supporting BME families with disabled children to set up school based parent support groups, facilitated by trained volunteers from the BME community. The outcomes include an increase in the uptake of local services by BME families, who can find navigating their way through the various forms and processes intimidating. Increased confidence on the part of parents will result in better advocacy for their disabled children.

Creative local commissioning can provide culturally appropriate and cost effective disability services. A good example is Ronak, an Asian project run by Barnet Mencap, and Salaam, an inclusive scout group providing Islamically sensitive short breaks for Muslim families.

Culturally specific provision is one way to go – but the other is to ensure that services are sensitive and accessible across a range of belief systems. This requires some knowledge of the barriers that could exist. One real example is the reluctance of a Hindu father to allow his daughter to attend a siblings group set up to provide a break for brothers and sisters of disabled children. The concern he had was around the presence of boys, and group leaders of different faiths.

Checklist

The following questions will help you to evaluate the extent to which you are responding to the needs of families whose faith and culture differ from the host nation.

Do you gather information on the faith and culture of the disabled children and young people you work with?
Does the faith and cultural profile of the families you work with reflect that of the local area?
Would you expect particular faiths and cultures to be better represented in your figures?
How do you engage and work with the voluntary and community groups that support families of different faiths and cultures in your area?
Is there scope for co-production of services – through partnership arrangements between faith groups and the public sector?
Aiming High for Disabled Children has provided funding to establish forums for parents of disabled children – how are these groups reaching and representing families from different communities?
Do you undertake equality impact assessments in the development of new services or the decommissioning of existing services?
How accessible are your services to people from different backgrounds?
Is there a need for more inclusive services – and some culturally specific provision as well?
Have you examined your own cultural competence – and that of your team

Karen Walkden is a chartered psychologist, working part-time as Business Manager for ASEND – providers of SEND advice, assessment and support services to schools.

If you have any comments on the ideas expressed in this article - or have an interest in engaging faith and cultural groups in your services then please contact karen@flourishing.me.uk to explore this.

Testimonial - IT Healthcheck

2011-12-29T02:20:00.001-08:00

In the winter of 2011, Flourishing Consulting had the opportunity to work with CommUNITY Barnet to test out a new service, initially on a pro bono basis.

Through the IT Healthcheck service organisations are enabled to examine the ways in which technology enhances the services they offer, reduces costs and increases regulatory compliance.

Working with Genevieve Grimshaw and Ruth Mulandi we were able to identify areas where significant savings can be made, and develop a straightforward costed action plan to achieve these. We are very pleased with the outcome, and are now ready to roll this service out to other organisations.

"Simon’s approach in understanding our needs and how we work was great; he was able to explain IT in easy to understand terms, did not push things on us, gave us back up in anwering our questions and concerns and provided us with the right plan for us to improve our IT."

Ruth Mulandi,

CEO CommUNITY Barnet

If you are interested in an IT Healthcheck for your organisation - then please contact us at simon@flourishing.me.uk for details.

Testimonial - Small Business Support - ASEND

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

"As we come to the end of 2011 and the first 6 months of ASEND, I'd just like to thank you again for your huge contribution to getting the company going and moving forward. 2012 should see some big changes as we develop and grow, but the seeds have most definitely been planted, nurtured with care by you."

Barbara Ball, Director of ASEND

If you need help getting your business off the ground - especially around marketing, staffing and putting efficient processes in place - then contact karen@flourishing.me.uk for support.

Developing an Employee Promise

2011-12-07T03:30:00.000-08:00

LinkedIn does actually work!

I commented on a discussion thread that resulted in a brief to develop an employee promise for a large corporate client.

The organisation in question has four divisions, and has been absorbing new companies into its structure over the last few years. The aim is to preserve and reinforce the organisational culture through this period of change.

The brief is to provide the company with a range of employee engagement tools - to capture the views of different groups (from talent pool to long servers, graduates to front line) and consolidate them in a three part employee promise to all who work for them.

The starting point is investigation into psychological contract research to ensure that we are tapping into different elements of the relationship between employee and employer. These are then addressed in the design of accessible focus groups, on-line surveys and structured telephone interviews to be delivered locally.

Important to remember that the workforce are largely blue collar - and so some hygiene factors may be important, as well as aspirational and self-actualising factors. Also, command of the English language and cultural issues may come to bear on the views expressed.

A challenging piece of work - but ultimately satisfying in its potential impact.

Supporting new business - ASEND

2011-12-07T03:18:00.000-08:00

Six months in, and I realise that it has been a while since I recorded exactly what I have been doing to support a new organisation to get up and running.

The organisation in question is ASEND - www.asend.co.uk - set up in the summer of 2010 to provide special educational needs and disability professionals into educational settings - primarily schools. ASEND will provide individual assessments and support programmes for SEN children and young people - but will major on whole school approaches to SEN support and inclusion.

There is a strong emphasis on multi-agency support, and the provision of a team with impeccable expertise and professionalism, and with the vision to draw in support across different disciplines.

Flourishing Consulting are providing business support on a one day a week basis - covering operational issues around the recruitment and assessment of potential ASEND Advisers - partnership development - and marketing ASEND through social media and events.

So far so good - we have a steady influx of new Advisers, and strong relationships developing with schools keen to involve ASEND in their SEN provision.

My personal angle is very much around inclusion and safeguarding - particularly where there may cultural barriers. With this in mind, I am writing an article for the Spring Edition of the SEN magazine drawing all these themes together.

Report Back from FGM meeting in Barnet

2011-12-07T02:28:00.001-08:00

26 Professionals across a range of disciplines came together in the London Borough of Barnet to find out more about Female Genital Mutilation, and the actions that can be taken to eradicate it.

The meeting was scheduled as part of Barnet Council’s annual Safeguarding Month. Each year Barnet develop a range of safeguarding briefing, training and action planning opportunities for front line staff, voluntary and community groups and anyone locally who is keen to improve their understanding and skills.

Barnet Safeguarding Children Board has a Faith and Culture sub-group, who have been keen to address FGM issues in the borough. 28TooMany offered to run a workshop on Council premises, and this was facilitated by Flourishing Consulting Ltd.

Ann Marie Wilson from 28TooMany set out her aims – to bring together organisations working in the FGM area, and create some opportunities to join up information, support and programmes of action. The meeting started with an explanation of FGM – in its four forms – and the prevalence of FGM across different countries. 28TooMany gets its name from the number of African countries where FGM is common practice.

Illustrated by personal stories Ann Marie explained the cultural reasons why FGM is practiced and the stigma associated with non-compliance. She expanded on the global situation, UK legislation and emphasized that FGM is practiced in London Boroughs including Barnet. This was confirmed by health professionals in the group.

FGM has been illegal in the UK since 2003. However there have been no prosecutions, and it is very difficult to prevent. Anti-FGM guidelines are available on the Home Office website. Details of resources are provided in a separate document prepared for distribution to those attending the meeting – and the 20 or more people who expressed interest, but were unable to come along.

It is worth stressing that FGM is not supported by the scriptures or holy books of any faith.

In Barnet FGM has been found in girls and women presenting themselves for maternity services – and referrals are primarily from the health service, rather than through social care. FGM can be seasonal, with young girls travelling abroad at the beginning of the long summer school holidays – so that they are recovered in time to return to school. Cutting parties are evident in the UK.

Rita from Forward spoke of the support and actions underway in the UK. The organization works with communities to empower women to take control of the situation. An NHS funding project in Bristol has made significant progress. Forward services include clinics, counseling and leadership training skills so that groups of women are able to achieve change for their communities. Peer to peer support is crucial within communities – as is the training of young advisers to catch a generation.

Dorrett from Imkaan talked in detail about an integrated response across different agencies – highlighting best practice – and agreeing to adopt consistent standards.

The actions in Barnet include the following:

- Providing those attending the meeting with materials with which to brief their peers – including copies of the slides presented

- Including FGM in the Barnet violence against women strategy

- Sharing information about support available

- Developing a detailed plan through the Faith and Culture sub-group of the Safeguarding Board

- Reporting back progress during the 2012 Safeguarding Month.

Karen Walkden

Flourishing Consulting Ltd

www.flourishing.me.uk

IT Health Check

2011-12-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

Flourishing is pleased to offer a new service for voluntary and community organisations, businesses and statutory organisations of all sizes. We can save you money by reviewing your use of information technology and identifying efficiencies to be achieved.

The IT Healthcheck service starts with a review of your current systems - from information management, customer service management systems, office systems, data storage etc. We then talk through your business plans to determine ways in which technology could assist you to meet your organisational goals.

The next step involves researching alternative approaches, reviewing your current contracts and identifying simple, reliable and efficient processes that will support your work. These are then presented succinctly as costed proposals for your senior management to consider. If you choose to proceed then we can manage the implementation and change over for you - drawing on our team of information technology experts.

If you want to reduce your IT bills, simplify your processes and move towards a greener business model, then get in touch - and we can arrange your IT Healthcheck.

FGM meeting in Barnet - 11am 28.11.11

2011-12-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

Great meeting on 28th November 2011.

In fact we chose the date and time to be memorable - 11am, 28.11.11.

It was great to work with 28TooMany founder Ann-Marie Wilson and to host a meeting for front line professionals in Barnet exploring ways to eradicate FGM (Female Genital Mutilation).

Barnet Council offered us a meeting space and refreshments as part of their Safeguarding Month. We weren't sure how many would come, but in the end we had to go and get more chairs three times to accommodate the number of people who came. We had another 20 people who couldn't make the time - but wanted to be kept in touch.

Ann- Marie talked through her own journey, working in different countries, encountering women and girls who have suffered FGM. She also explained actions that are being taken in the UK and abroad. The numbers of women and girls impacted in the UK are difficult to quantify - but it most certainly does happen in Barnet and elsewhere locally.

Rita from Forward and Dorrett from Imkaan also spoke of their work - particularly in gaining commitment from local community groups, empowering women to lead on stamping out FGM. There is a great example in Bristol - and we explored parallels and lessons for elsewhere.

If you would like Ann-Marie to speak with your group then please get in touch and we will see what can be arranged.

FGM meeting in Barnet - 11am 28.11.11

2011-11-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

Flourishing Consulting Limited are delighted to be supporting 28TooMany - an organisation lead by Ann-Marie Wilson with the aim of eradicating FGM.

As part of Barnet Council's Safeguarding Month we are delighted to be holding a meeting in their offices, to draw together professionals from different organisations to explore the scope for working together co-operatively on this issue.

Front-line professionals are welcome to join us, as well as those from voluntary and community organisations.

Contact annmarie@28toomany.org or karen@flourishing.me.uk to book your place.

The meeting takes place at 11am on 28th November 2011 - in Building 4 of the North London Business Park in Barnet.

There will be speakers from Imkaan, 28TooMany and we hope to welcome a speaker from the Home Office as well.

Social Action and Social Innovation Conference

2011-11-17T00:12:00.000-08:00

On 14th and 15th November I attended a 2 day conference at Lambeth Palace - hosted by Faiths Forum for London.

The focus was on the role of faith groups in delivering social action projects. Speakers from around the world talked of their work - from challenging attitudes to disability amongst Arab communities in Israel, to the 2011 Hours Against Hate campaign presented by members of the US State Department.

One of the lasting thoughts for me is around the economic imperatives to understand other faiths and cultures. There is little that can be described as good about the current economic crisis - but in Italy there is some evidence that SME's are taking a broader view of the marketplace for their products and services, and actively seeking to understand ways in which they can deliver these sensitively and appropriately across different faith groups.

There were lively break out sessions in which we sought to define social action - and to explore where single faith or multi-faith responses might be most relevant. For the most part we agreed that furtherance of a religion lent itself to single faith action, and there were discussions around delivery of projects where faiths held strong views - LGBT is the most obvious area.

It was great to be able to speak about Faithbook (www.thefaithbook.co.uk) and also the Barnet Community Project's youth skatepark - as an inter-faith resource and social action project respectively. In particular, exploring more socially enterprising ways of delivering social action.

The Director for the Big Lottery Fund spoke of their role in supporting projects - and Baroness Warsi committed to looking at the criteria for the Social Action Fund, which currently excludes faith organisations.

My particular point is that giving money to a project is not sufficient. Some form of advice and support is needed to enable projects to eke the money out. Intelligent funders engage more in the development of the projects that they fund - and in some instances provide people and skills alongside money.

Overall a very good investment of time - with lots of thought provoking discussions.

Unshackling Good Neighbours

2011-10-19T15:25:00.001-07:00

Today's All Party Parliamentary Group on Civil Society and Volunteering covered Lord Hodgson's report on Unshackling Good Neighbours. The full document can be found on the Cabinet Office website. Particularly intriguing is the list of 20 things that you can do without permission!

The report details over 600 examples under three headings:

What stops people volunteering?

What stops people giving money?

What stops charities growing?

Taking each of these in turn. The main issues around volunteering around risk of litigation, the perceived need for insurance, the CRB process and the myth that volunteering impacts on benefit claims. A couple of actions have been implemented - especially around standardising insurers approaches to insuring volunteers - and displaying posters in Job Centres to spell out that volunteering does not in fact impact on benefits.

There is a public attitude to risk which inhibits organisations. A prevailing presumption of failure ties services in knots with ever more detailed risk assessments and preventative plans. There is a need to differentiate between systemic failures and random events.

Giving is inhibited in part by local authorities attitudes to licencing eg of collections, non-standard regulations around lotteries and a need to find a way to encourage social investors who may seek a return on their money, which would then be reinvested.

Not all charities will want to grow - and where their focus is local then why press the matter. Regulatory overlap is a big inhibitor. A hospice might well be subject to 11 different regulators and servicing their needs increases back office costs. Regulators overlap eg OFSTED ask about health and safety and CRBs.

Withdrawal of cheques would have impacted on smaller charities - where two cheque signatories are required and financial controls would have been difficult. However, the decision to stop cheques has been reversed.

Commissioning approaches have also caused problems - and the costs of participating in tenders needs to be restricted and commensurate with the size of the tender. Equally monitoring arrangements need to be lighter where smaller figures are involved, and remain consistent throughout the term of the service delivery.

Paul Emery then presented a new innovation - My Community Starter - an online tool for groups providing end to end solutions to setting up community groups. The process can be completed in about an hour - at the end of which all the governance documents needed can be downloaded. There have been over 14000 unique visitors to the site to date. Zurich are behind this, though their insurance is not pushed. Even though they have a £75 insurance package providing £5m of cover for upto 50 volunteers.

A really interesting meeting - and I saw Andrew Marr in the corridor!

I am very interested in testing the My Community Starter approach for small organisations - please get in touch if this is something that you need, and we can test it together.

IT Health Check

2011-10-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

Flourishing are exploring the development of a new service - an IT health check for your organisation.

The starting point will be a series of questions about your existing systems. This will include telecoms, data management, social media and so forth.

Then we will explore with you the ways that effective IT could enhance your organisation and assist you in achieving your objectives. This is likely to be an iterative process involving staff and volunteers, as well as discussions with your users or beneficiaries.

We will produce a costed set of recommendations - alongside potential funders to approach to achieve the changes we suggest.

Finally, we will work with you to develop funding applications, and to manage any changeovers from one system to another. This could include training for key staff if need be.

If this is of interest to you - please contact us to discuss.

Olympic Truce - an update

2011-10-10T07:26:00.001-07:00

Here are a few notes prepared for the Olympic Steering Group in Barnet.

There are fabulous opportunities for local faith and community groups to get involved. Open up your doors to show the events on big screens - turn it into a community event, and show hospitality to the people in your area. The BBC have confirmed that they will be showing every minute of the games.

Olympic Truce

The Olympic truce was a time when conflicts would cease so that athletes could travel safely to compete in the Olympic games.

London Borough Faiths Network are suggesting that local boroughs could take the concept of the Olympic truce and use it as a banner for initiatives that bring faiths together, resolve conflicts and achieve peaceful outcomes. Rather in the manner of Inter-faith week - each borough would develop responses that work locally.

The Truce is something that LBFN members can relate to because it naturally brings religious groups and the public sector (community safety, police, youth services, domestic violence teams, schools, etc) together towards the same end.

Each nation hosting the Olympics declares the truce through its parliament. The truce is expected to run for 100 days starting on 9^th June 2012.

Activities so far in Barnet

ü Participated in LBFN meetings on the subject – including one in September with Duncan Green.

ü Briefed the Barnet Multi-faith Forum, who are now considering their activity.

ü Briefed CYPNet.

ü Met with More than Gold Director – and identified local contact.

ü Briefed the Barnet SCB – Faith and Culture sub-group

ü Briefed Lucy Somali.

Resources

Duncan Green has said that there will be a Faith 2012 Inspire pin badge and logo available to tag faith activities inspired by the Olympics. The requirement is that they must be open to the community (of all and no faith) and not evangelical. There should be a clear benefit to the community. Applications close at the end of September.

Get Set is a programme of resources for schools to pick up the Olympic theme. There are activities for all ages from 3 to 19 years, as well as fact sheets and advice for educators.

More than Gold – mobilizing churches to offer hospitality, open events screening Olympic events, schools resources etc. The community festivals model is promoted with accompanying training to deliver these effectively. The local contact for Barnet is also part of the Copthall Stadium development team. To date one of Barnet’s towns is picking this up actively. (KW in contact, and attending a More than Gold event in Watford on 19^th October 2011)

Visit Jewish London – website for visitors and athletes developed with the Jewish Volunteer Network.

Faiths Forum for London are getting involved. (KW linked to this)

Oasis Community Learning – developing a 100 days of peacemaking programme with a logo for branding local activities. Resources will be made available – and the challenge put out “what can you do?” This is part of their schools work around the Restoring Peace theme, and is endorsed by the UK government. (KW following up the link)

London Boroughs Faith Network are co-ordinating local grassroots faith responses, and disseminate information through their blog. A sub-group is due to meet with the Home Office to discuss the involvement of faith groups with Olympic activities (KW is a member of the LBFN, and part of the group to meet the Home Office)

Piece of Gold – private companies to sponsor Lego bricks to be loaded onto a trailer and taken to different locations for communities to construct

Local activities for Barnet?

Prior to the games:

- Hospitality and volunteer stewards from faith communities along torch route.

- Mill Hill School is the pretraining venue for archery and hockey.

- Barnet Multi-Faith Forum are planning an event to promote the truce concept (details to be agreed) (KW briefed them on the event and JG attended the LBFN)

During the games:

- Opening faith and community venues to show televised Olympic events

o Co-ordinate and publicise

o Existing venues with large screens and PA systems

- Schools project work, highlighting existing resources

- Commissioning summer 2012 youth activities through Futureversity, and sports activities for other age groups through the small grant and Milly Apthorp programmes

- Concerted efforts to tackle hate crime and promotion of third party reporting through faith communities

- Multi-faith prayer walks around crime hotspots in the borough

- New community safety initiatives

- Gun and knife amnesties

- Peace festivals – or theming the local community festivals around peace, using Boris’ bunting

- Support for Street Pastors work in areas of conflict

- Taster events to provide residents with the opportunity to try Olympic sports.

After the games:

Dates for regional activities open to the public

21^st September 2011 – Peace One Day – celebration at the O2 arena, London – a 365 day countdown

21^st December 2011 – POD concert in Istanbul – 9 month countdown

21^st March 2012 – POD concert in the US – 6 month countdown

2^nd – 5^th June 2012 – Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

9^th June 2012 – multi-faith celebration in Trafalgar Square, to launch 100 days of peace. Showcasing activities where GB is active, but there is more to do. The aim is to mark the beginning of the truce as part of the Olympic event. Could include:

A gun and knife amnesty

Interfaith relationships

International development

The Northern Ireland experience

21^st June 2012 – Opening of the London 2012, POD festival and Derry/Londonderry 3 month countdown

14^th- 15^th July – Interfaith walks across London supported by the The South London Interfaith Group.

21^st – 26^th July – Torch is overnight in Walthamstow, Bexley, Wandsworth, Ealing, Haringey and Westminster.

27^th July – 12^th August – Olympic Games

29^th August – 9^th September – Paralympic Games

21^st September 2012 – Peace One Day concert in the Olympic stadium, headlined by Elton John

There will be a post games, multi-faith, celebration event as the truce is handed on to Brazil for 2016.

NB:

The 40^th anniversary of the Munich 1972 tragedy will be marked during the games.

Ramadam falls from 21^st July to 20^th August 2012.

Other activities planned by London Boroughs

St Johns church in Waterloo is reflecting on aspects of war as the bicentenary of the battle of Waterloo is not far off. In 2012 the focus is on war and peace. From 13^th to 17^th July there will be a festival with a youth slant to it, including exhibitions, debates and a commissioned piece of music drawing on texts from different faiths on the subject of peace.

The East London Mosque is developing a programme to challenge Islamaphobia in sport, and also knife crime.

Restoredrelationships are a Christian organisation addressing domestic violence, and plan to raise the profile of this issue under the Olympic truce banner.

Sikhs in the City will have multi-faith teams running in relay across all boroughs in the first and second weeks of January 2012 – finishing in Stratford at the Olympic stadium. They are a worldwide group, organizing multi-faith relay races for men and women.

The Lambeth Mediation Service are deploying their Peace Ambassadors, recently involved in post riot facilitated dialogue.

Greenwich multi-faith forum and local involvement network (LINk) have merged in response to cuts in funding. So their focus is on health and wellbeing across the faiths, with a sports focus for 2012.

Nominated torchbearers

Approx 30 torchbearers crossing Barnet, perhaps 8 will be local residents

Mark Healey – Green Man Community Centre, East Finchley – also LGBT work

Sally Dryden – St Barnabas Church, Woodside Park – community work

ASEND

2011-10-10T07:19:00.001-07:00

For the last couple of months I have been working with a colleague, Barbara Ball, to set up a new organisation - ASEND.

ASEND is a one stop shop for schools, colleges, nurseries etc looking for assessment, support and training to provide for disabled and SEN children and young people.

We are recruiting SENCOs, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, advisory teachers, CAMHS professionals and many others with skills and experience to work as multi-agency teams supporting schools to deliver high quality support.

A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes - and www.asend.co.uk has now been launched. We have publicity materials for schools and advisors, as well as thorough procedures to ensure that we deliver focussed and effective services for our clients.

This week we will be at the TES SEN exhibition - talking to schools and potential advisors about our service. Look out for us!

Safeguarding Award

2011-10-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

Wow!!

Some of my work has been nominated for an Emerging Best Practice in Safeguarding award. The results will be announced at the London Safeguarding Children Conference on 5th December 2011.

Over the past 18 months I have been working for Barnet on a Pan London project to increase awareness of safeguarding issues in faith and BME communities.

Scroll to the end of the attached link to see details of the nomination.

AidExcel launches with the support of Barnet's mayor

2011-10-06T02:55:00.000-07:00

Just a short post with a photo of Faith, Director of AidExcel Support Services - with Karen and Simon, and Mayor Lisa Rutter, with her husband.

A really great launch event for this fabulous organisation supporting BME parents of disabled children in the London Borough of Barnet.

Wave Inclusive Club Muswell Hill

2011-09-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

All Party Parliamentary Group on Civil Society and Volunteering - Incentivising giving and the respective roles of the state and sector

2011-06-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Meeting chaired by Alun Michael MP.

Karl Wilding – NCVO

Trends in giving to charities:

Charitable giving from surveyed people - £10.6bn per year.

Plus £2bn from legacies.

56% of the adult population say they give to charity – the same as 10 years ago, though 30 years ago 75% gave to charity.

28m people give to charity each year.

The median gift is £12 per month – and this hasn’t changed over the last 5-6 years. Is this a psychological price point?

The mean gift is £31 per month – 8% of donors give over half the donated money.

The public are conservative about the causes they will fund – children and young people, disaster relief, help for heroes.

An important factor is “being asked” – you cannot milk a cow by sending it a letter, you have to engage with it!

The charities who spend most on fundraising – raise the most funds. This can lead to Tescoisation – where larger charities get larger. A situation compounded by commissioning approaches that disadvantage smaller organizations.

There is a shift away from cash and loose change towards credit cards and direct debit giving.

Gift aid reclaim is static – and 50% is not claimed (who does this belong to HMRC or the sector?)

Trends going forward are likely to be:

- Philanthro-capitalists – high net worth individuals making larger donations as part of a reciprocal relationship with a charity. Significant sums will only be given through having real relationships with donors.

- Increased role of technology – social networking/friendraising – makes it easier to give on-line, via a cash machine, rounding up the bill in shops with the pennies going to charity (Pennies Foundation), mobile phone apps that know where you are and prompt donations to charities located nearby. Technology is most accessible to larger organizations with resources to make advantage of the opportunities.

Beth Breeze – Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy

Each year there are around 100 donations of £1m or more.

The appeal is that individuals can fund programmes that appeal to their interests – whereas taxes fund programmes that individuals can only tangentially influence.

There are four areas where government could act to increase philanthropic activity:

Provide tax breaks – and the whole area of committing a legacy before death should be opened up and explored. There are some areas where this is possible eg donations of works of art or to universities – but some examination needed to look at why some areas are given preferential treatment.

Directly fund organizations that exist to promote philanthropy and advise on effective ways to progress eg Philanthropy UK.

Look at the regulations around giving – people are easily put off through concern that their money is not used well.

Enhance the visibility of philanthropists – promote as part of local leadership, reinforce through high profile good news stories. There are big cultural differences between the US and UK. Warren Buffett and Bill Gate’s 2010 challenge to US billionaires to give away half their fortunes (Giving Pledge) was met by over 40 people.

There are no degree programmes that cover fundraising – yet these skills are much in demand.

Matthew Bowcock – Member of the Philanthropy Review Board and Chair of the Community Foundation Network

The UK is the second most generous nation in the world. The poorest give more as a proportion of their income.

The challenges are to:

Make giving easier – payroll giving is easy and tax efficient, yet only 1% of employers offer this option and 4% of employees participate.

Incentivise giving – review of living legacies etc

Change behaviours through investing in education on philanthropy and celebrating philanthropic actions. Shift social norms so that more people give and people give more. This needs to be the ethos from the top – with prominent business leaders being seen to give.

Getting the basic right – by this we mean having data with which to assess philanthropic activity eg via HMRC

Next meeting to cover Understanding Participation

Co-producing public services with faith groups

2011-06-08T11:28:00.001-07:00

London Boroughs Faiths Network Meeting – 24^th May 2011

Notes from the discussion – Better and smarter ways: the co-production of public services – Malik Gul, Director, Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network

18 people attended from 16 boroughs.

Malik started with a description of recent approaches to the involvement of faith communities in the delivery of public sector services.

A variety of approaches have failed to recognize that faith communities are all about relationships – whereas public sector emphasis has been on inputs and outputs to systems – and measurable outcomes. In the mid to late 70s there was a crisis of Keynesian economics and a recognition that achieving regeneration purely through public sector funding was not working.

In the monetarist years of the 80s the focus was on economic value with an emphasis on quantifying and evaluating the financial value of interventions.

Social value did not feature at all in these models – the quantitative outweighed the qualitative.

In more recent years the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal talked in terms of “bending the mainstream”. Providing small pots of money to equip communities to influence the way that local authorities spent the billions of pounds allocated to them. However, “postcode poverty” and health inequalities across communities continued. With significant differences in life expectancy from one neighbourhood to another.

Then came community empowerment networks. Their involvement and engagement with faith communities in neighbourhood renewal was very patchy. Under the Labour government, however, faith groups had designated seats around the neighbourhood renewal table.

In 2002 Wandsworth set up a community empowerment network. Fairly quickly it became clear that the problems were not about what to do – but with the structure of the systems. Faith communities had no way to input into the structures making key decisions. This continues to be contested ground within the Big Society discussions – with each political party having views as to how this is to be achieved.

In Wandsworth they have brought it right back to relationships – listening to people’s stories, talking about what communities want to talk about – and it turns out that they pretty much have the same interests – better health and safer communities. But no-one seemed to know how the systems work, and how to voice their views and achieve change. For example there is a local church – just celebrating their 50^th anniversary, but only in the last 3 to 4 years have they started to get the things they care about into the system.

The issue is in the command and control, top-down, style of management within public services. Even very senior managers have no power to act on what local people are telling them. Wandsworth have brought leaders and chief executives for public sector services into conversations with people in the local community. Not with a fixed agenda – but to achieve transformational relationships.

This should change the way that services are commissioned, with delivery to communities who want, and need, specific services.

Here is an example. The black Caribbean community were not accessing mental health services, though it was evident that there was a need. Church pastors from black evangelical churches work with these families every day and know them well. So the pastors and family therapists from the mental health trust worked together to co-produce services. Pastors were equipped with family therapy skills and could then intervene with some families and refer others to the mental health trust. A kind of triage/early intervention service operating within a community setting. At the same time the family therapists benefitted from the co-production through a better understanding of the issues for this community.

Another example. There are 19,000 carers in Wandsworth. Adult social services know that BME carers are not accessing carers services - but they know that there are carers out there. Adult Social Services were brought together with community organizations serving Somali families, the local mosques and African groups. Adult Social services trained these groups to deliver carers assessments, and to feed them into the ASS system. Social workers now have a better knowledge of the needs of BME carers and there is greater access to the services.

There are now 6 different projects running like this in different parts of Wandsworth.

The key is to present these as pilots – an addition to the usual way of working. For voluntary groups to take these activities on through the relationships formed. Then a couple of years down the line (and with academic research available to back up the approach) the power balance will have tipped. The long view needs to be taken. It is not about getting drawn into short term inputs or consultations on specific issues phrased and framed by existing public sector service providers.

Pilots can be funded through alternative routes – for example academic and research grants – and so sit outside the usual commissioning framework. There is some merit to this approach – which allows for more experimental service delivery, and builds an evidence base before seeking public sector funding to extend and expand.

Challenges to commissioning processes might be needed, to enable small community groups – without a track record – to deliver co-produced public services. This is another way that the current systems impede experimentation and development of relationships.

Another factor is to take a look at the often used phrases “hard to reach” and “capacity building”. Who does this apply to? The leaders of our councils and PCTs and mental health trusts are hard to reach – and there is a need to capacity build in terms of faith literacy.

“Institutional isomorphism” was discussed. Where community groups, and particularly faith groups, might take on a similar shape and structures to public sector providers and lose their character. The Church of England was specifically mentioned here.

The challenge in forming relationships with shifting communities was explored. Especially because it could be these newer communities who are the most vulnerable and so in the most need of public sector services.

Concerns raised included the Conservative government’s intention to take the requirement to undertake equality impact assessments off the statute books. This provides a legal basis upon which public services can be called to account, if there is not engagement or understanding of local community needs. Community organizations’ skills need to be built up so that they are equipped to exercise such power through the legal process – if need be.

There was no real reference to LINks as a potential broker or voice for communities. The success of LINks has been very limited in the experience of those attending the meeting.

This is a brief summary of a wide ranging discussion. Malik is open to further conversations with interested parties.

Other interesting matters arising during the information share:

Olympic Truce (All): historically there has been a ceasing of war and conflict at the time of an Olympic games. The suggestion is that this is echo’d in 2012 through a programme of activities under the Olympic Truce banner. These activities could include – a knife amnesty, opportunities to resolve local conflicts, a concerted effort to focus on stamping out hate crime, programmes around domestic violence. Each borough would have its own priorities and activities – but there would be an overarching thrust for the publicity etc.

Closing the gap 3 (Wandsworth): Building on the journey with the local mental health trust and NHS Wandsworth – exploring ways of working with Wandsworth Council in a better, smarter, more relational way - 16^th June.

Inter-faith marathon: 11^th June, relays in teams of 4 each from different faiths. In January 2012 there will be an Olympic interfaith run – 200 miles, across all boroughs and involving relays from all faiths.

Scriptural Explorations (Lambeth): a series of multi-faith meetings at which selected scripture texts from different faiths, relating to a chosen theme, are presented briefly and discussed. The next meeting is to be run on three Wednesdays in June around the theme of Healthy Lifestyles – led by Dr Haider Ali (a Barnet resident!) of the Open University, who has undertaken research projects in this area.

London Catalyst : a good source of funding for faith and fitness projects

Victim support training for faith leaders (Camden) : leaders are being trained to support members of their groups who are victims of crime, particularly hate crime. Includes third party reporting through faith groups.

Emergency planning (Kingston): faith groups working with local public services on disaster planning and responses.

Refugee health (Hounslow): projects looking at improving health outcomes for refugees. Proximity to the airport makes this a big local issue.

Next meeting in w/c 12^th September – date, time and venue to be arranged.

Website for mobile skatepark

2011-06-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

Switch mobile skatepark

Click here for details of the youth led mobile skatepark now up and running in Barnet.

I was involved in establishing the host organisation - Barnet Community Projects - and getting the funding in place for the project.

Come along to New Wine LSE to see the skatepark in action.

Olympic Truce

2011-05-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Olympic truce was a time when conflicts would cease so that athletes could travel safely to compete in the Olympic games.

I went to the London Borough Faiths Network last week and it was suggested that local boroughs could take the concept of the Olympic truce and use it as a banner for initiatives that bring faiths together, resolve conflicts and achieve peaceful outcomes. Rather in the manner of Inter-faith week - each borough would develop responses that work locally. Possible ideas:

- concerted efforts to tackle hate crime and promotion of third party reporting through faith communities

- multi-faith prayer walks around crime hotspots in the borough

- new community safety initiatives

- gun and knife amnesties

- peace festivals

There are many others - and we don't need to pin down the exact activities at this stage.

The Barnet Multi-Faith Forum are interested in exploring this idea and so I'm going along to speak to the group about how this might work.

I am also keen to see which other faith and multi-faith groups in the borough would be keen to participate - and perhaps arrange a meeting for interested parties to get this off the ground.

Gold Dust Arts Ltd

2011-05-30T01:05:00.000-07:00

A new assignment with Gold Dust Arts Ltd - a social enterprise established by Community Focus. The task is to examine processes and procedures and advise on sharpening them up to reduce risks to the organisation.

London Borough Faiths Network

2011-05-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Always challenging and always a pleasure.

The London Borough Faiths Network bring together people working across faiths in different boroughs in London. Each meeting is themed - and this month we looked at co-production of services, through exploration of some exciting developments in Wandsworth.

Some good discussions of the relationship between faith and health - something I am keen to explore in more detail (links to the work with Noah's Ark Children's Hospice). Good contacts made and another stimulating meeting. Watch this space as some of the ideas presented turn into reality.

Olympic truce anyone?

All Party Parliamentary Group on Civil Society

2011-05-30T00:58:00.000-07:00

Well this is a new and exciting development.

I am now a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Civil Society. An opportunity to influence government policy in relation to voluntary and community groups, and their contribution to local decision making.

I will report back after the next meeting.

Catching up - We're going to New Wine

2011-05-30T00:53:00.000-07:00

The Barnet Community Projects mobile skatepark will be at New Wine LSE in the week of 23rd July 2011.

We are taking a group of young people to Shepton Mallet to run the skatepark. The aim is to draw in young people who might not engage with the youth programme. But also to promote our model of delivery of community led projects.

A group of us will also be delivering a seminar covering the principles and a few "how to" points.

Watch this space for the powerpoint slides nearer the time.

Catching up - Supplementary Schools

2011-05-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months we have got to know quite a few of Barnet's Supplementary Schools. These are schools run largely by volunteers, delivering aspects of the national curriculum in mother tongue languages - and also reinforcing the principles and culture of local communities. In Barnet there are about 30 supplementary schools in the Barnet Supplementary Schools Forum. My work has been to promote safeguarding, and the development of local safeguarding leads for each school. The work of these groups is fantastic - and in the main, not well known.

Catching up - ADDISS

2011-05-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

It's been about a month, and I am very behind with updating you on Flourishing's recent assignments. Some have now been and gone - and so the next few posts will provide a brief summary.

ADDISS are a national charity supporting families and professionals working with ADHD issues. This assignment was to produce their quarterly newsletter. A very satisfying task, including writing 2 articles on the green paper for SEN and the Autism Bill. ADDISS are known internationally, and have many eminent individuals available to submit articles. The challenge was to draw all these elements together to create a coherent newsletter with something for families and for professionals.

The newsletter is available to members as part of their annual subscription fee.

Team Event - BCIL

2011-04-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

Spent the morning with the newly appointed Peer Support Brokers working for Barnet Centre for Independent Living. They are into their second week, and settling into the BILS building in Colindale.

The aim was to fast track the group into effective team working, through exercises covering values, feedback and disclosure. Lots of discussions on the practicalities alongside some theoretical models for those who find this approach helpful.

Also touched on change management and culminated in some reflection on individual support needs.

Are you a newly formed team, in need of some independent facilitation, or a group who are stuck and unable to move forward. Contact Flourishing for advice and information.

Come Unity

2011-04-11T00:32:00.000-07:00

Come Unity are working on the Northumberland Park Estate in Harringey. Over the last few years their founder - Kim - has delivered events and fundraised for a local child in need. She has a real heart for the local community and can see many ways that Come Unity could bless them and make a real difference. But where to start...

We are working alongside a funder, who recognises that giving money to a project is not always enough - a few days of advice could make all the difference. It is a bit of an experiment all round. Karen and Kim will work alongside one another to develop a plan, and use one anothers expertise and knowledge to build new services for Northumberland Park.

A morning spent on the estate last week has lead to a raft of possibilities and the next step is to narrow these down and work out how to take the project forward, and in what direction.

A similar approach is being taken to a Barnet project - Re:Store.

If you have an idea, and need help to turn it into reality - then contact karen@flourishing.me.uk

Pan London Faith and Culture Safeguarding Project

2011-04-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

A quick, and long overdue update on this project.

Now that the 80 page interim report has been submitted, time for a summary of where we have got to.

The story so far...

The Pan London faith and culture project brings together representatives across all the London boroughs. In practice about 12 of us meet monthly at the London Councils building to steer the project. Eight boroughs are delivering specific activities funded by the project - and I am managing the Barnet contribution - with a team of people from the local CVS (CommUNITY Barnet) and reporting to the Barnet Safeguarding Children Board.

The Barnet contribution covers a number of strands - testing materials with BME and faith groups in the borough, drawing in young people's views and working with supplementary schools. Alongside this we have delivered focus groups across professional and voluntary groups to determine the kinds of support and information that each need to engage with families of different cultures.

A few highlights so far (though as an 18 month project it is difficult to capture it all in a nutshell)...

Taking the safeguarding surgery on the road - Barnet has a local voluntary sector safeguarding adviser. Each month he holds a surgery so that groups and individuals can bring their issues to him for advice. This could be around policies or how to handle a possible safeguarding case, signposting for new information - or processing of CRBs at a much reduced rate. Under the umbrella of this project, the surgery has been "on the road" to faith hosts. So far Ayesha Community Education (school for Muslim girls) and the London Jewish Family Centre have hosted. In May the Redeemed Christian Church of God will host in Edgware.

Safeguarding awareness sessions have been delivered for Barnet's supplementary schools - with an amazing turnout. This is now moving on to create new safeguarding lead positions within each supplementary school - and we will start working with them from May. The focus will be on healthchecking current safeguarding practices, and developing new resources relevant to supplementary schools.

There have been some unusual experiences - delivery of a safeguarding awareness event in a room with a screen down the middle to separate men and women - so that the staff from Ayesha could all participate in the same event.

Some fabulous experiences - delivering a presentation on the project to the Victoria Climbe Foundation conference. Being part of the safeguarding month in Barnet.

Some disappointing experiences - the planned youth faith conference run by SACRE, but supported by the project, did not take place - due to poor numbers booking.

Overall the project has been designed in such a way that we are all learning from one another - across boroughs - with childrens safety right at the centre of everything we do. Projects covering witchcraft, spirit possession, FGM are also featured.

A lot more to say - so look out for more updates.

Please contact me for more information.

Noah's Ark Children's Hospice

2011-04-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

This takes me back to my training days, and has a connection with more recent work with Community Action Southwark - providing development for trustees.

Noah's Ark Children's Hospice work through a team of volunteers to support families with a life limited child. Volunteers will work in the home and at organised activities. There is also a siblings project.

Families will come from a range of cultural backgrounds and so we have designed a workshop to explore the different faiths prevalent in the area - and the practical considerations for volunteers.

A panel of people from different faiths will be available for questions - and we will particularly explore ways of showing proper respect for different cultures - as well as different views of health, healing, the physical body, and end of life.

A second workshop is to cover effective social communication - ways of engaging with families in crisis, and developing trusting and supportive relationships. Key to volunteers working in the home.

If you would like a similar workshop for your organisation contact us at karen@flourishing.me.uk

Barnet LINk - interim management

2011-03-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

This assignment comes to an end in the next couple of weeks - and it has been a whirlwind.

Barnet LINk had struggled to get going under the previous hosting arrangements - I think that is fair to say. CommUNITY Barnet took on the hosting in December 2010 and I was contracted to manage the team until the funding situation for 2011/12 became clearer.

We have had some fantastic feedback from members new and old. The local authority seem pleased to have an energetic and engaged LINk, poised to make a real contribution to the shape of health and social care in the borough.

The initial focus was on membership. We inherited a mailing list of 99 people and organisations. By the end of January 2011 this had grown to over 300.

Welcome events encouraged newcomers to sign up - and demonstrated engagement with current issues - the health and social care bill, care homes and one of the local hospitals becoming a foundation trust.

The steering group met monthly - and we brought in expert speakers to help develop the action plan so that the LINk can prepare to become a local HealthWatch in 2012. One action was to engage with GP consortia development. The LINk will be part of the management group, and will also sit on the Health and Wellbeing board. We endorsed proposals for Barnet to become a pathfinder for GP consortia and wrote a supportive letter to accompany the submission. Every GP in the borough was written to, and telephoned, to promote LINk member events - and also to establish whether patients groups were in existence. The LINk offers support to surgeries wanting to set these up - and can now provide a toolkit.

LINk outreach activities included briefings for networks of voluntary and community groups, development and delivery of publicity materials - including postcards, through which any resident can raise an issue and post it for free to the LINk office. LINk ambassador training creates a new route into local communities. Ambassadors will attend community events and gatherings with 2 roles - to promote LINk membership and also to establish what residents views are of the local health and social care services. We are specifically recruiting ambassadors with community language skills - and will provide supporting documentation in these languages.

A formal LINk workplan process was established so that a mandate from the members could be secured before resources are committed to project work, investigations or formal requests for information.

There was a hit and miss approach to meeting representation - and a summary of the roles and responsibilities of meeting reps was agreed and embedded through training.

Regular communication - through weekly e-newsletters and a bi-monthly newsletter - engaged the members and provided context for some of the changes taking place. After a couple of editions these were seen as important communication vehicles that others wanted to use to get their information across to members. A special edition of the newsletter was produced to cover a members event looking at social care in the borough.

Top all this off with an analysis of the best practice from other LINks and we have left Barnet LINk in a good place for developing and contributing in the future. The local authority have made positive statements about working more closely with the LINk, and the LINk are playing a key role in the development of the Barnet JSNA.

A very satisfying assignment - contact me to find out more.

Recruitment support for BCIL Peer Support Brokers

2011-03-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Barnet Centre for Independent Living goes live on 1st April - providing a one stop shop for vulnerable adults in the borough.

I have been working with Caroline Collier, the BCIL manager, to develop the job description, competency framework and selection tools for the recruitment of peer support brokers. These brokers (equivalent of 4 full time posts - mostly working on a part-time basis) will provide one to one advice, information and advocacy so that a holistic plan of support is developed for each individual. Brokers will have first hand experience of disability or mental health issues.

Caroline was overwhelmed with applications - a good sign! I provided shortlisting support and designed a competency based interview - and also assisted with the appointment decisions.

AKAMAS - Victoria Climbie Conference feb 2011

2011-02-22T14:00:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

AKAMAS - Victoria Climbie Conference feb 2011

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Aid Excel Support Services

2011-02-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Whoo hoo!

Funding has now been secured for Aid Excel support services - a small voluntary sector organisation in Barnet, providing advice and information for parents of disabled children from BME communities.

Awards for All and Barnet Small Grants Team have made grants to Aid Excel which mean that the range of services on offer can be expanded and more families can be reached through new routes - including a telephone hotline and school based support groups.

The next step is a detailed implementation plan - to ensure that this funding stretches as far as possible. Also, application for charitable status.

Barnet Centre for Independent Living

2011-02-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Did I really not mention the work with Barnet Centre for Independent Living?

This is a new, user led organisation establishing itself in Barnet to deliver Right to Control for disabled adults who meet the criteria - as well as providing advice, information and advocacy for vulnerable adults with a variety of additional needs.

Right to Control merges a number of sources of funding and involves the development of tailored support plans that reflect an individual's interests, needs and aspirations. Peer support brokers will assist in sourcing and securing services and information so that the support plans can be implemented - and positive outcomes achieved. The aim is increased choice and independence for disabled adults in the first instance. Barnet are a trailblazer for Right to Control.

My role was in the recruitment of the BCIL service manager, which included design and implementation of a selection process based on key competencies. During the early days of the induction of the appointed manager there were some service development activities. Now we are in February - the next step is the development of materials to support the recruitment of the peer support brokers.

Mobile skatepark - launched 29th January 2011

2011-02-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

So all the funding was secured, insurance issues ironed out, charitable registration achieved - and now Barnet Community Projects has its mobile skatepark. The equipment was demonstrated at a launch event, covered by the local press, on 29th January 2011.

This was a fabulous piece of work - bringing together the local safer neighbourhood team, young people, Barnet's youth and connexions service, Milly Apthorp charitable trust, Barnet Homes, BCVYS and the team at Barnet Community Projects - lead by Steve Neale.

Skatepark sessions will be run during February half term - by trained young people, who will lead the project. After Easter sessions will be available in other parts of the borough.

Great to be involved in the fundraising, publicity, infrastructure, capacity building and governance of this new project.

Updating - Barnet LINk

2011-02-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

A long time since my last post - and pretty much flat out on a 4 month assignment for CommUNITY Barnet - as the new hosts for the local involvement network Barnet LINk.

LINks were introduced in 2008 as a replace for the PPI forums. They are volunteer led groups that give residents a voice in shaping, and holding to account, local health and social care services. There are 150 in the country - and Barnet LINk has had a quiet time of it over the last 18 months or so. My role was to reinvigorate the organisation, increase membership and establish it as a credible, active and respected force within Barnet.

So far the membership has trebled (in 2 months). Three LINk welcome events have been held - with speakers including the Chair of NHS Barnet briefing members on the Health and Social Care Bill and the Chair and Chief Executive of the Royal Free Hospital talking on the proposed move to foundation trust status.

There is a major adult social care event planned for March 10th - with speakers including the new director of health and social care and the lead councillor for adult social care. This include communication on the budget cuts to ASS.

A training programme is in place - covering Enter and View (a statutory inspection power), ambassador training (to develop an outreach team) and effective representation at meetings (to cover the roles and responsibilities involved in being a spokesperson at key decision making meetings).

Finally, we are are providing weekly e-newsletters to all members so that they are able to keep in touch with developments.

A hectic schedule of activities - with lots of project research and exploratory meetings taking place behind the scenes.

It all comes to an end on 25th March - when CommUNITY Barnet will appoint staff members to carry on the work.

Safeguarding Month - Interfaith Week

2010-11-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

Talking here to Councillor Andrew Harper (Barnet Cabinet Member with responsibility for children's services). November is Barnet's Safeguarding Month - and I was invited to speak at the Barnet Multi-Faith Forum event at Hendon Town Hall, to mark Inter-Faith Week. Additional panel members were the Mayor of Barnet and the Chief of Police. A great opportunity to talk about www.thefaithbook.co.uk and all the safeguarding work underway in faith communities.

The most inspiring and enlightening part of the evening involved young people from 4 secondary schools talking about what their faith, and the concept of inter-faith, means to them. A really great evening - with lots to think about.

Pan london pres nov 2010

2010-11-11T05:30:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: the edited version delivered in November

Pan london pres nov 2010

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Safeguarding resources for faith and bme groups

2010-11-11T05:28:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Updated in November 2010

Safeguarding resources for faith and bme groups

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We are now a registered company - Flourishing Consulting Limited

2010-11-11T05:15:00.000-08:00

Hallo all,

Exciting news here at Flourishing. Upto this point I have been a sole trader working with a network of associates - name check here for Barbara, Chris, Victoria and Alex in particular.

On 9th November 2011 Flourishing Consulting Ltd became a company. This will enable me to offer more solid employment to staff and to bid for contracts that are usually closed to sole traders.

Quality of delivery will stay the same, as will the personal service.

Safeguarding resources for faith and bme groups

2010-10-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Safeguarding resources for faith and bme groups

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November is Safeguarding Month in Barnet

2010-10-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Flourishing will be delivering a variety of activities during November 2010 - Barnet's safeguarding month.

These will include:

A safeguarding focus group with the Barnet Supplementary Schools Forum

Briefing professionals on the Pan London faith and culture safeguarding project

Speaking at the Barnet Multi-Faith Forum evening

Delivering a safeguarding event for BME and faith groups in partnership with Safe Networks.

It's going to be a busy month.

Check out the CommUNITY Barnet and www.thefaithbook.co.uk websites for more information on events and activities for the month.

A very nice testimonial from CAS... and UCL

2010-09-24T02:44:00.000-07:00

"Everyone was unanimous in agreement about the success and balance of the day. It's pretty difficult to achieve that. Well done and thanks"

Chris Sanford, Chief Executive of Community Action Southwark - after Flourishing delivered a staff and trustee strategy day.

Also....

"This is excellent. I wasn't sure how far you would be able to get
but you have done a great job."

Dr George Grimble,
Principal Teaching Fellow,
UCL Centre for Gastroenterology and Nutrition - on delivery of a worldwide mapping of universities offering degrees in nutrition. Preparatory work for the marketing of a new masters course to international students.

Pan London Safeguarding Presentation Sept 2010

2010-09-13T12:24:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Pan London Safeguarding Presentation Sept 2010

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Pan london culture & faith safeguarding project summary description

2010-09-05T04:31:00.001-07:00

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Pan london culture & faith safeguarding project summary description

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Consultations with disabled children, young people and their families.

2010-09-03T05:45:00.001-07:00

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Consultations with disabled children, young people and their families.

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BCP skatepark proposal

2010-08-27T12:19:00.001-07:00

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BCP skatepark proposal

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2010-08-27T12:15:00.001-07:00

http://www.slideshare.net/karenwalkden/bcp-skateparkproposal

Personalisation - faith communities

2010-08-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

So, the workshop was for trustees of voluntary and community groups in Southwark. I had a speaker, and an open invitation to a variety of organisations to send trustees to find out all about the ways that services for vulnerable adults and disabled children are going to change.

As all the best events do, the shape shifted according to the participants. We had a large proportion of the audience attending from faith groups - primarily churches. Personalisation was a new concept, but they totally got it - and together we painted a picture to illustrate the variety of ways that faith communities can and should support vulnerable people within their communities and through outreach work.

Faith communities are bound together through shared beliefs. Relationships are forged and ministries developed to ensure that every person is valued, supported and involved. Historically faith communities have always delivered social action projects - from schools, hospitals, social services. Perhaps we haven't applied current terminology - but the principles have always been evident.

Personalisation places purchasing decisions in the hands of people who currently receive services. Through supportive person centred planning individuals will be given independent budgets and be assisted to buy in the tailored services that they need. Providers will need to think in terms of marketing directly to individuals, as opposed to contracts to deliver block services.

So where do faith communities fit in? Consider the following:

- Who better to surround an individual, and to assist in the purchasing decisions they make - as trustees or brokers?

- What about faith based service provision - offering consistent relationships and cost effective solutions - blessing the recipient and the provider?

Keep watching this space for real examples of faith communities grabbing this opportunity and making it work.

Mobile Skatepark - Social Enterprise for NEETs

2010-08-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

Great news - we have 40% of the funding needed to purchase the mobile skatepark equipment (half pipes, ramps, spare skateboards, pads, trailer etc). Three other sources of grants being pursued, as well as support from local sponsors.

A good contact made with regard to social investment bonds/social impact funding. Thanks Bill - will pursue this in September when we are all around.

Still have a funding task - and keen to hear from individuals and organisations with an interest in helping young people to develop some business skills, and in delivering diversionary activities that will bring down youth crime in some of the underserved areas of the borough of Barnet.

If you would like a summary document that describes the project in more detail then e-mail me karen@flourishing.me.uk for an information sheet.

Mobile Skatepark - Social Enterprise for NEET young people

2010-08-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Barnet Community Projects is seeking sponsors for the development of a Mobile Skatepark

Pan London Safeguarding Project - Barnet Contribution

2010-08-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

Follow the link to track progress on this one year assignment. There will be regular blog posts as well.

Karen will be delivering the Barnet contribution through co-ordination of a multi-agency team.

Action points currently stand at 7 pages, 9009 characters!

www.londonscb.gov.uk/culture_and_faith/

Community Projects in Barnet

2010-07-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

On 19th July Community Projects in Barnet was registered as a Community Interest Company. When charitable registration is complete then Barnet Community Projects will be the asset locked organisation nominated to benefit through CPB's work.

This will give the team flexibility to generate mixed income streams, and develop activities that support local residents to grow their own projects to the benefit of their communities.

Great news.

Two new assignments confirmed

2010-07-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

June and July 2010 have been particularly.

Flourishing undertook its first piece of interim management work - covering a Trustee development post at a CVS for a couple of months whilst a permanent appointee was sought. A rapid learning stage with immediate need to deliver workshops, informative communications and an end of year lottery report.

We also took on two more assignments.

One to design and deliver consultation work with disabled children and their families in a west London borough. This will underpin the development of the special needs strategy. The design work is underway now - with delivery through September. A variety of engagement approaches are needed to make this accessible for pupils with different communication needs, and parents with different levels of availability.

The second is to support the development of safeguarding materials for professionals engaging with faith communities, BME and refugee communities. This will run through until the end of 2011.

We are now a team of three - with associates working with us according to the needs of each project. So our capacity has increased, as well as the breadth of what we can offer.

If you are interested in what we can do - get in touch.

Busy June

2010-07-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

It's been another busy month for Flourishing - but a satisfying one too.

We said goodbye to one long standing client, as the assignment came to a close. But a big hallo to a new local authority client. The work here is to consult with disabled young people and their families in order to shape the local SEN strategy. Lots of scope for creative and accessible engagement.

Repeat business with another client - to develop a team event for a group of trustees, where newcomers are fully integrated with longer serving team members to build something new and fit for the future.

July sees two new assignments kicking off, and two coming to a close.

We have a new member of the team now - Victoria joins us to take on some research activities and to help Flourishing to move to the next stage as a registered company (as opposed to being a group of associates). Premises may well be in the offing too.

Alex continues to mastermind the back office, and has done a fantastic job on some international research for a university department - pulling together a worldwide mapping of degree courses to support promotion of a masters programme to overseas students.

This has been a good month for networking too. Raoul and Jane (former colleagues at the Pru - and now on totally different paths), and Julie from Paradigm to discuss personalisation and the challenges for the voluntary sector.

The next big step

2010-06-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since the last blog.

Lot's of work underway - and a mad couple of months in prospect.

Wrapping up some marketing work for a play/disability organisation

Setting up a new community organisation, and applying for funding to develop the youth work

More funding for a client providing advice and advocacy for parents of disabled children

Developing creative learning opportunities for trustees and management committees for a CVS as interim management of a lottery funded project

Taking the mapping of nutrition degree courses worldwide to the next level, and developing a marketing plan for the results

Part of a pan-London safeguarding project team

Participating in a strategy day for a disability charity

And that's just this week - hence the feeling that maybe Flourishing has reached the stage where it needs more resources - premises, associates and staff. In discussions on all three fronts - so watch this space...

Cognitive Surplus

2010-05-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

If the work you are engaged in does not stretch you - or develop your skills then you may be in a cognitive surplus situation. Essentially, you have more to offer. Frustration results and alternative outlets are sought.

This is not a new phenomenon - but there is an increasing awareness of the consequences.

The truth about what really motivates us...

2010-05-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Check this link - worth 10 minutes of your time to think about how you manage your staff, and the kind of organisation you are building.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

No win - no fee

2010-05-28T13:10:00.001-07:00

A small local advocacy group is struggling to finance its work. The manager is funding the activities herself. This is an organisation meeting the needs of vulnerable people, and filling a niche - but struggling to attract funds.

Flourishing are offering a no win, no fee funding service to help them get things off the ground - and to move to the next stage of development. 5 funding applications - with a flat fee for each successful one.

This is a new arrangement - and it will be interesting to see how it evolves. Initial feedback from the first potential funder seems encouraging.

Trustee Development Assignment

2010-05-28T13:05:00.001-07:00

New assignment confirmed this week, for a London Borough CVS.

Delivery of lottery funded trustee development activities - to include workshops, newsletters and networking opportunities.

The focus is on broadening skills and encouraging trustees to look up and out to ensure that their organisations are evolving and responding to the changing environment. Already planning some speed dating activities to match potential trustees to vacancies - and some self directed learning activities to sit alongside masterclasses for chairs and treasurers.

Adult Social Care Review - Mencap

2010-05-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Adult Social Care Review workshop at National Mencap's offices this week. Attending in my capacity as Director at Barnet Mencap.

Social care law is very complex and in some places conflicting. This has led to a postcode lottery of social care, where every local authority has taken differing interpretations of the law.

The Law Commission have been asked by the Government (2009) to undertake a review of all social care law. They have been asked to attempt to clarify and simply adult social care law. The review covers both England and Wales.

Mencap believes that this is of major importance to the future of adult social care and to the way services for people with a learning disability are run. Local Mencaps are attending a workshop to explore this issue and highlight the consequences for their groups and user communities.

AidExcel Support Services

2010-05-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

Supporting AidExcel Support Services to develop a marketing plan, alongside a funding strategy.

This organisation provide support, advice, signposting and training for parents of disabled children from BME and new migrant communities. There is a significant demand for their work, and it's all about developing at a sustainable pace - promoting existing services, adding new ones, diversifying income streams and establishing a solid platform for growth.

Draft proposals prepared and ready for discussion with the Director later this week.

Safeguarding Children - Pan London Project

2010-05-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Representing a London Borough

Promotional DVD with Rolling Base

2010-05-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

Really pleased to be involving Rolling Base in the development of a promotional DVD for a disability charity.

Rolling Base is a multi-media single decker bus - with filming equipment, mixing desks and a whole lot more. Gareth will be filming at a number of events over the next few weeks - and will also be assisting a group of disabled young people to create an original song as the sound track to the film.

As soon as it is ready, I'll post it here.

Check out www.rollingbase.co.uk for details of this fabulous resource.

The Lamb Inquiry

2010-05-08T03:36:00.000-07:00

Attending Barnet's Parent Partnership Conference on Tuesday this week (11th May). A range of workshops available - as well as exhibition stands staffed by local support groups providing services for families with disabled children.

One important workshop is being offered by Phillipa Stobbs, Council for Disabled Children, taking the outcomes from the Lamb Inquiry to the next stage - and consulting with parents on their needs and wants with regard to information sharing.

Also good to hear Graham Durham, Assistant Director for Inclusion, delivering the keynote address.

Safeguarding in Faith Communities

2010-05-08T03:29:00.000-07:00

What guidance is available to religious leaders, childrens workers and youth leaders across different faiths with regard to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults?

It is a very mixed bag - and most certainly needs attention and resources, so that local faith groups can draw on the range of resources offered by local authorities, and provide activities with proper safeguards in place.

Attending a pan London group this week to explore just this issue. A number of local authorities are sending representatives to discuss this issue, and to agree a programme of action. I will be representing Barnet Council - and will report back to the Faith sub-committee of the Safeguarding Board, with proposals to take this agenda forward.

Lots of good progress made in this area by Barnet - Primarily through joint working with childrens and adults services. Time now to take the lessons from last year's multi-faith safeguarding conference to the next stage.

Inclusive Play - Schools Work

2010-05-08T03:23:00.000-07:00

Check out Oyster Training for inclusive play and disability training.

Good meeting with Maurice this week. Exploring scope to work together to develop an array of inclusive play interventions for schools.

Putting some meat on the proposals on Monday. To our knowledge no-one has taken this route before - other than some circle of friends/playground buddies work. This would be a menu of services to include parents activities, peer group work with pupils, INSET days for teaching staff, LSA training, playground supervisor skills development and last by by no means least - embedding inclusive play in extracurricular clubs and schemes delivered as part of the Extended Services agenda for schools.

What this space!

Community Interest Companies vs Charities

2010-05-08T03:16:00.000-07:00

Strangely this week I seem to have had the same conversation with three organisations. All relating to the relative merits of establishing themselves as constituted community groups, community interest companies or registering as charities.

Pros and cons for each model. Community Interest Companies are relatively straightforward to establish - and are subject to light touch monitoring. CICs can operate on business principles, but must meet the charitable purpose test, with roots in local communities. CICs can pay their founders in ways that charities cannot (even under SORP 2005 guidelines). However, they do not have the tax breaks, or access to funding that charities do.

I'm setting up a CIC for one client, and then registering a parallel charity - which is the best of both worlds. Another is weighing up the options, and a third is embarking on charity registration (with help from Flourishing).

Thanks to Companies House and the CIC website/helpline. Very accessible advice, and helpful helplines!

Wrapping up UCL Research

2010-05-08T03:12:00.000-07:00

This week sees Flourishing wrapping up its first assignment with a University. We were engaged to research the availability of degree courses in nutrition and dietetics worldwide.

UCL will use this information to understand the marketplace and to promote their newly developed Masters.

We can now provide this information, and a lot more besides. A spin off has been a series of "by the way" communications, endorsing the work and a network of Nutrition Societies and Dietetics Associations - also worldwide.

Great when it all comes together!

Skydive film footage - tangible proof!

2010-05-03T05:05:00.000-07:00

Sponsored Skydive on 24th April 2010 - to raise money for IPOP.

PQQ Workshop

2010-04-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

In spite of major traffic problems - inevitable regardless of route selected - I finally made it to the PQQ course in a Heathrow hotel.

Initially thought I was in the wrong place until the trainer volunteered that we had been supplied with the slides for the tendering workshop. So more note taking needed, but extra information supplied - a bonus really.

Not many people from third sector organisations - or from partnership/consortium facilitators. However, that added to the richness of the experience. The trainer has worked in local authority procurement, with a wealth of practical knowledge.

A good investment of time - for a significant return in knowledge. Thanks BIP.

New opportunity - lunchtime programmes for working parents

2010-04-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

Networking today with a former colleague - and uncovered a potential opportunity that would combine both our skill sets and meet the needs of working parents.

Developing a programme of lunchtime workshops for employees, to be delivered on business premises. Covering a range of family related topics - and tying in with the organisation's community responsibility needs. Between us we have expertise in a number of relevant areas - and have connections to fill any gaps.

Lots more aspects to this - and an embryonic business plan is in place. Next stop - research the market, secure the resources, develop the product, make the contacts, pilot and promote.

Setting up a new charity

2010-04-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Am just spending a few hours on a workplan to set up a new charitable organisation. The charities commission is extremely helpful in this regard - and confirms that this is the way to go.

Looking forward to some initial exercises with those already keen and involved - to ensure that the formal documents do not constrain any future activities.

So many aspects to cover - and challenging.

My role? To take on all the legal and process requirements. Get the organisation into good order. Attract funding. Release those that are visionary to enthuse others and deliver services.

Fundraising Skydive!

2010-04-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Wow - that was pretty amazing! Skydiving from 12,000 feet to raise money for local disability charity IPOP (Inclusive Play Opportunities Project). 23 of us jumped today (24th April) - including local charity campaigner Lisa Connell. Raised a lot of money - and were featured in a TV documentary as well.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored me!

Thanks HAVCO

2010-04-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Bernice and I met with HAVCO's Sue King today to explore the different models of operating for WAVE.

WAVE is a fledgling organisation that will provide social opportunities for disabled young adults in Harringey and the local area. Bernice is the driving force behind WAVE and is drawing together a team of people to take the planning to the next level. Putting ourselves on a formal footing will help to address funding issues - and enable us to work more effectively with potential partners.

Much of what HAVCO told us today will also be applicable to Barnet Community Projects - and there were some very useful tips and exercises that both organisations can undertake to ensure that there is clarity over the core purpose for each organisation.

Three different meetings - three different directions

2010-04-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

Today was the wrapping up and signing off day for the CVS competency framework assignment. This has been a piece of work that has evolved organically over the months. Totally appropriate. New elements of participation were introduced at different stages in the development of the competencies for each of three job families in the organisation. It has been really important that the staff and managers have shaped the framework so that it really reflects their views and has a distinct stamp on it.

My second meeting was about a new assignment to support the development of a brand new, community lead organisation providing three services that local residents have said that they want. So the initial focus will be on determining what kind of organisation this should be - and to register accordingly so that funding applications can be developed. Everything from governance, CRB checks, insurance, premises, staffing, policy development and banking will need to be addressed. A big challenge - and a huge learning opportunity. Watch this space for developments over the next 6 months.

Finally, a third meeting - also about the development of a new organisation, in a different borough, providing social opportunities for disabled young adults - who appear to be underserved at present. The starting point will be some mapping work - to see who else is offering services locally, and to identify potential partners. The second stage will be a creative consultation with disabled young adults to ask them:

What makes them happy?

What they like to do with their friends?

What they want to do more of?

This will drive the shape of the organisation and the kinds of services it will provide.

We are also exploring the possibility of creating some learning opportunities eg making and maintaining friendships, romance and relationships, staying safe on-line - the kinds of skills that people usually acquire by trial and error as they grow up, but that disabled young people often miss out on.

So all in all - a very busy and exciting day - with three very inspiring and creative meetings.

InterChange

2010-04-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

A very wide ranging conversation today with InterChange's Training and Development Manager.

We were exploring the possibilities of working together in the future - and the different ways in which this might work. InterChange can provide in depth training, coaching and development interventions for organisations. Associates with specialist skills and areas of knowledge work with clients according to their needs. It is a very participatory style of working and results in tailored solutions with real ownership.

InterChange also offer legal services to charities, venue and events management and have a thriving creative arts organisation - WAC.

Check the InterChange website for details of their services - www.interchange.org.uk

Looking forward to more conversations over the next few months.

A new assignment and a new direction for Flourishing

2010-04-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Some exciting news today, as Flourishing takes on a mapping project for University College London.

It involves a worldwide survey of universities to identify students who may be interested in studying a new Masters course. We'll produce a spreadsheet of data that can be turned into a mailing list - so that this course can be marketed to those studying relevant undergraduate courses.

Fascinating new area of work - that builds very logically on the research and mapping projects that we have delivered in the past.

An interesting day of ups and downs - and thoughts on inclusion

2010-03-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

One of the big ups was a conversation with the Inclusive Solutions people about the variety of tools and services that they are able to offer.

They are unusual in addressing inclusion of disabled children, young people and adults across all disabilities in all aspects of education, community and leisure. I was particularly struck by the Circle of Friends idea. This addresses inclusion through peer groups. There is a parallel with IPOP's work in Barnet - delivering inclusive play PE sessions in primary schools. Both approaches raise awareness of disability amongst children and young people and result in an enhanced sense of community responsibility.

Inclusion is not to be delivered by adults for children - but is everyone's responsibility. That takes us back to IPOP again - and working with play and leisure providers so that they develop their inclusive practices.

Inclusive Solutions have taken the idea further to develop Community Circles. The concept being "to leave your label at the door" - and come together as individuals with needs and wants of all kinds that can be addressed as part of a multi-faceted community. This is entirely consistent with Person Centred Planning - but at a group level. I would be interested to know whether this can be used across faiths to improve community cohesion - but perhaps that needs to be mulled over a little more. It also strikes me that the eighties legacy of the "cult of me" continues to expose those that are vulnerable - and we still see that in social care planning. Maybe this is a strand to be explored in another posting though!

If you have read this far - Happy Easter, Pesach and Bank Holiday - and much love.

Slideshare

2010-03-31T00:02:00.000-07:00

Flourishing has just joined Slideshare.

This is a great resource for sharing presentations and I've seen a few really useful ones in the last couple of days.

Try this one if you want some information about the history, use and power of social media tools. Lots of useful graphics too. http://slidesha.re/aq3bvb

DJ Jo Whiley backs Short Breaks for Disabled Children

2010-03-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

The BBC Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley is backing a campaign to improve access to short breaks for disabled children.

The Be the Big Difference campaign was part of Share the Care Week, which took place from 7 to 14 March and was run by the Shared Care Network. Whiley has a sister with learning disabilities. "We grew up together and there were times when it was really difficult," she said. "Life would have been a lot easier if there had been people there just to take Frances out, even for a couple of hours." The campaign is backed by other celebrities, including TV presenter Amanda Holden, actor Liza Goddard and 1992 Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie.

Talking to parents of disabled children about inclusive play

2010-03-24T07:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I spent an afternoon talking to parents about inclusive play - and the opportunities available for their disabled children to attend after school clubs, holiday playschemes and other leisure activities with support in place.

Barnet has a fabulous organisation - IPOP - who can provide such support. Check out their details on www.ipop.org.uk

The principle is that every child should be able to access any play opportunity. IPOP work to remove barriers to access, by providing extra support - and also by working with play and leisure providers to help them to develop their inclusive practices. Really good stuff - and these parents definitely thought so.

Competency Workshop

2010-03-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Another good morning with the senior management team of a local CVS. Refining the draft competency framework through a combination of briefings and team exercises. Linking it to a new appraisal system with an on-line 360 degree assessment element - so that feedback can be gathered from staff, customers, funders and colleagues.

The driving theme is to deliver the framework in a way that is consistent with the values enshrined in the competencies. For example, demonstrating a commitment to participation at all levels by involving every member of staff in the development of the competencies for their own job roles.

The fine detail is all coming together now - and will give the organisation a good basis for embedding recent changes and demonstrating to the outside world that they are focussed, ready and able to respond to the changing environment.

Enormously satisfying to work with visionary clients.

Very impressed with Harrow!

2010-03-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a few hours putting together a proposal for some work in Harrow and uncovered a fabulous website www.harrowyouth.co.uk

A really good example of youth participation in action. Harrow has a youth parliament and a variety of engagement mechanisms in place - including a version of the Children and Young Peoples Plan designed specifically for young residents.

Well worth a look for anyone working for a local authority, and interested in participation mechanisms that really engage and work.

Delivering those tender documents

2010-03-19T02:14:00.000-07:00

Go Alex...

Drive like the wind (but observing all traffic and highways restrictions).

Deliver those tender documents by midday.

Why Flourishing?

2010-03-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

What does it mean?

1. To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive.
2. To do or fare well; prosper.
3. To be in a period of highest productivity, excellence, or influence.
4. To make bold, sweeping movements.

Many thanks to Jenny B for sharing these thoughts all those months ago.

Thank you!

2010-03-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a momentous day.

Many thanks to Charli at Jelli Ltd for applying all her creative talents to produce this website.

Flourishing has been working hard over the last few years, and has grown and grown through personal recommendations and referrals. We have had fantastic support from many people and this is the perfect opportunity to say thank you.

We could name many people - but let's just start with four - Simon, James, Louis and Rufus. Inspiring, challenging, thoughtful and always there with an encouraging word and a nice cup of coffee. Thank you.

WEBSITE LAUNCHES TODAY!

2010-03-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

New website launches today!

http://www.flourishing.me.uk

Head over to find out all the services on offer to help your organisation flourish!