Guidance and support news

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• Find out more about this year’s Volunteers’ Week 2013

  May 21st

  Say ‘thank you’ to your volunteers during this years Volunteers’ Week 2013

• New BBC1 series ‘The Gift’ is looking for mentors and befrienders to apply to take part

  May 20th

  Programme makers are looking for people who are longing to say ‘thank you’ or desperate to say ‘sorry’…

• New online toolkit to support mentoring for women offenders

  March 14th

  This new resource has been produced by the Together Women Project as part of the NOMS-funded Volunteering and Mentoring Project

• Free one-to-one consultancy from Cranfield Trust volunteers

  March 12th

  For charities working to address issues of poverty, disability or social exclusion

• The new website to find government services and information – GOV.UK

  January 7th

  This new website replaces Directgov and Business Link

• CRB checks become DBS checks with launch of the Disclosure and Barring Service

  December 18th

  More about the new Disclosure and Barring Service which launched on 1 December 2012

• Introducing a new legal form for charities – the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

  December 10th

  Online applications are being considered from 10 December by the Charity Commission

• Market your befriending service on ‘Find Me Good Care’ – a new website to help people search for good care and support services

  October 23rd

  Private, voluntary and statutory care and support providers of all sizes can promote their services on the website for a small fee

• Ban on age discrimination comes into force

  October 15th

  Guidance to be published over the next few months

• Looking for volunteers? Work in the criminal justice sector? Trained, vetted volunteers available to work with you

  September 20th

  JustPeople covers North and South England and London

• ‘The Professionals’ unleash their skills

  September 19th

  Find out more about the new CSV project ‘The Professionals  which is aimed at getting people to share their skills with their local community

• Make a difference day – 27 October 2012

  September 18th

  Find out more about CSV’s Make a Difference Day taking place on 27th October 2012

• Latest on CRB and Protection of Freedoms Act – some changes introduced from 10 Sept

  September 17th

  Full details on the Home Office website

• Opening Doors – annual conference of National Care Leavers’ Week

  August 17th

  Reserve your free place now and attend a session on the best model of one-to-one support for care leavers from the National Children’s Bureau

• Awards honour work of Merseyside volunteer mentors and befrienders

  August 10th

  Merseyside’s leading volunteer mentors and befrienders have been honoured for the positive difference their work has made to the lives of others

• Rural ageing resources help raise awareness of issues faced

  July 11th

  Includes a report and eight best practice case studies

• Impact measurement in the NEETs sector – new report explores potential

  June 20th

  New Philanthropy Capital launches new report

• Info 4 Care Kids website launches aimed at children in care

  June 15th

  A useful resource for any mentoring or befriending project supporting children in care

• Latest on changes to criminal records checks and barring arrangements

  June 15th

  The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 receives Royal Assent but timetable for bringing in legislative changes still not finalised

• Volunteering recruitment and retention case studies from projects working with BAME and women offenders – new resources from Clinks

  June 15th

  The four organisations featured include some mentoring provision

• Does your mentoring or befriending project support families? New toolkit from Family Lives outlines good practice

  May 22nd

  Contains downloadable samples of forms, guidelines on best practice and information on all aspects of supporting families via volunteering

• Microsoft Britain Works Initiative for registered charities with an employability programme

  April 13th

  Register your interest to access free benefits such as resources, software and training

• New good practice guide to encourage more impact reporting

  March 8th

  From ACEVO, Charity Finance Group and New Philanthropy Capital highlighting good practice through case studies and insights from the sector

• Consultation on portability of CRB checks

  February 17th

  Information from employer consultation briefing pack

• Want to show the difference that your project is making?

  February 16th

  Our new toolkit on monitoring and evaluating outcomes can help you

• Updated MBF guides supporting the investment of mentoring and befriending

  February 4th

  Free downloadable guides aimed at commissioners and funders to find out more about the ‘promising returns’ of investment in mentoring and befriending

• Third Sector Apprenticeships – new training for charities to develop skills in campaigning, fundraising and volunteer management

  February 2nd

  Could you improve your project sustainability and services through employing an apprentice?

• Measure your impact on young people’s well-being – NPC’s Well-being Measure

  February 1st

  A product to help youth organisations measure their impact on young people’s well-being

• Funding Central survey

  January 24th

  A free online tool for finding grant, contract and loan information – help strengthen their service

• How mentoring can benefit your Ofsted inspections

  January 16th

  See how Ofsted recognises the positive impact of mentoring in their inspection reports

• Guide to improving equality and diversity in third sector organisations

  December 20th

  New Acevo guide for small and medium sized organisations

• NHS Outcomes Framework 2012-2013 published

  December 15th

  Updated outcomes framework for the NHS

• Transgender action plan outlines government plans to advance transgender equality

  December 13th

  Includes a commitment to support businesses, public bodies and the voluntary sector

• Anti-bullying week 2011

  November 21st

  A look at Guardian Teacher Network and Anti-Bullying Week 2011. Find out how MBF can help and support your anti-bullying needs

• Charities use of the internet – new practices and opportunities in the online environment

  November 17th

  A review from the Nominet Trust with case studies

• A commissioning and tendering guide for charity trustees

  November 15th

  Outlines key issues that trustees need to be aware of

• Christmas carol concerts – relayed into people’s homes by phone for free

  November 8th

  Anyone, anywhere in the UK can take part and BT is funding the project so there is no charge to individuals

• Literacy, Language and Numeracy toolkit for the third sector

  November 4th

  To support voluntary and community organisations to respond to the literacy, language, communication and numeracy skills needs of their service users, staff and volunteers

• How to check to see if you are delivering a personalised service

  November 4th

  Document outlines elements that need to be in place to check progress

• Is befriending support needed for people living with aphasia? Online survey asks for views

  October 31st

  Survey launched by Connect a charity for people living with aphasia

• Calling all mentoring projects – reminder of 4 Nov deadline to give your feedback on the proposed revised National Occupational Standards for Coaching and Mentoring

  October 26th

  View the draft standards and fill in the online survey

• Case studies needed for Age UK guide on volunteer roles – showcase your project

  October 20th

  Show how your volunteers support older people and showcase your project

• Help for charities to navigate and influence the health agenda changes locally

  October 17th

  Briefing document from Navca, NCVO and Regional Voices

• Behind the training room door…

  October 13th

  We can support you demonstrate the positive changes that your project helps people to achieve

• Nominate inspirational young mentors and befrienders for a Diana Award

  October 12th

  Nominate young volunteers, anti-bullying champions, fundraisers, campaigners or citizens

• Mentoring for politicians – a free toolkit for anyone interested in political mentoring

  October 11th

  Includes information from interviews with local politicians

• EYV2011: Opening the door to volunteering for under represented groups – Results from literature review

  September 27th

  Read the results from a research review to understand how to open doors to volunteering for underrepresented groups and share your good practice of working with those who are traditionally less likely to volunteer.

• Older People’s Day 2011 – tools to help you celebrate the contribution of older people

  September 13th

  This year’s theme is Getting and staying active in later life

• Unsuccessful grant applications – what can we learn?

  September 8th

  Guidelines to help charities reduce the time spent on unsuccessful applications

• Survey for volunteers offering family and parent support – mentoring and befriending volunteers are invited to fill it in

  August 15th

  Survey closes 19 September 2011

• Get involved in Make a Difference Day 2011

  August 3rd

  This year’s date is Saturday 29 October – why not start planning how your project will take part?

• Build your commissioning knowledge, contacts and influence – our briefing update gives some ideas

  August 3rd

  Read our briefing as the government outlines its new commissioning reforms

• Do you work with young people around the areas of sexual/mental health or substance misuse?

  July 29th

  UK Youth’s Healthy Young Adults Transitions Project would like to hear from you

• New website to provide small businesses with mentors experienced in finance and marketing

  July 26th

  Mentorsme will replace the services provided by Business Link

• Free workshops to help you engage with those traditionally less-likely to volunteer

  July 18th

  Opening Doors to Volunteering action-learning workshops are delivered as part of the European Year of Volunteering 2011

• New ad campaign launched to raise awareness of online career information, guidance and counselling service for 14-25 year olds

  July 15th

  The FutureYou programme’s ‘Waste’ campaign aims to help get young people back into education, employment and training

• Improving support for offenders leaving prison – GateMate report

  June 21st

  Report of a meeting of GateMate members – an alliance of mentoring providers supporting people leaving prison

• Are you looking for volunteers? The Work Together volunteering programme may help

  June 9th

  The Work Together volunteering programme run by Jobcentre Plus may be able to help

• Accreditation for peer tutoring and befriending skills

  May 24th

  AQA Level 3 Skills Award for young people in educational settings

• Sefton CVS launches new informal mentoring project for ex-offenders

  April 27th

  The project’s launch event is Monday 16 May in Liverpool

• Greater Merseyside Mentor of the Year Award 2011

  April 26th

  This year, Volunteer Centre Sefton Bridging the Gap mentoring support project presents the 2011 Greater Merseyside Mentor of the Year Award

• Does your mentoring service support people leaving prison?

  April 15th

  Do you want to join a network of providers who want to work in partnership providing a more consistent service to people leaving prison?

• New online training videos for the voluntary sector

  April 1st

  E-learning charity KnowHow NonProfit has launched an online training platform called the StudyZone

• Catch22 are inviting expressions of interest from local mentoring providers in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

  March 25th

  Projects to take part in a pilot to provide support to people leaving custody

• Resources for young carers: postcards with messages of respect for professionals, friends and peers

  March 22nd

  From The National Young Carers Forum’s ‘Include Partnership Project’

• Add your project details to the European guide of peer mentoring and support

  March 11th

  The guide will consist of a directory of organisation’s mentoring projects throughout Europe

• Education Committee launches online forum

  March 7th

  13 to 25-year-olds views on services wanted

• Changes to CRB checks and vetting and barring scheme

  February 15th

  New recommendations outlined

• Guides for transforming community services

  February 11th

  For providers and commissioners

• Carers and their rights

  January 12th

  Download a new legal guide from Carers UK

• Poverty and social exclusion in later life

  January 12th

  Report highlights examples of befriending

• NCVO Funding Commission report

  December 15th

  A 10 year framework for civil society

• Better Together

  December 15th

  Case studies of local authorities working well to minimise impact of spending cuts

• Small charities experiences of working together

  December 14th

  Research finds collaboration brings real benefits

• Commissioning and the Big Society

  November 11th

  A guide showing how the community sector can play a role

• A new tool to measure wellbeing and resilience in local communities

  November 11th

  The ‘Wellbeing and Resilience Measure’ tool produced by the Young Foundation

• HR signposting website for the voluntary sector

  October 29th

  HRBird website launched