Listening to Community Organisations

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By Victoria Hopkins

The Support Fenland project continues at pace this week as we met with members of a wide range of community organisations across the district. A key part of our project is to understand the specific needs of Fenland, so we wanted to talk directly to the groups who are already active in the community.

There are a huge number and wide variety of groups supporting Fenland communities, ranging from large organisations supporting the whole county and beyond, to small voluntary based organisations supporting a very specific area within a town or village. Often these groups have been set up in response to a need that is emerging in the community, and so these groups are vital for support organisations such as CCVS and Hunts Form to listen to when we’re planning how we can better support their work.

At this week’s session we had 19 representatives from 17 different organisations of different sizes, and over a fast paced one hour Zoom call we learnt an awful lot!

When asked about the challenges that their groups are facing, there were some common themes emerging. The ability of each group to reach and communicate with their communities has become limited, either due to social distancing or a reduction in funding. Digital services offered within Fenland do not have a high take-up rate. Volunteers have a lack of confidence; whether that is dealing with new Covid measures or just coming back to volunteering after a significant break, the groups are finding that those volunteers need an increased level of support. Finally, there is a lack of awareness of the variety and scale of the issues within Fenland outside of the district.

We then talked about the opportunities that were coming in the future. There was a lot to celebrate and look forward to, and the focus was on ensuring that all of the positive ways of working that have come out of the emergency Covid response, such as new partnerships, closer relationships and new services, continue.

Finally, the conversation turned to how the groups wanted to raise their collective voice. It was acknowledged that networking and bringing people together will be key, and that there will be many benefits of this; knowing which groups are already delivering services to residents and being able to point people in the right direction, enabling increased partnership working on common issues, giving communities a place to celebrate all that is happening and acting as an advocate for all that is great about living in Fenland.

A huge thanks to everyone who joined us for such an open, honest and lively meeting. We’re looking forward to continuing the conversation with even more members of the community at next week’s open event.

Our notes from the meeting are captured on the graphics below – click them to view full-screen.

The New Integrated Care System

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On the morning of the 21st April, Mike More the Independent Chair of the STP and Interim Chair of the Integrated Care System (ICS) shadow board came and spoke to a group of CEO’s and top-line management professionals about the new health care system which will replace the CCG.

Mike took the group through where the idea of the ICS came from, and how it will work and this was then followed by questions from the group. The slides can be found HERE

 

The CEO Network is a network of voluntary and community leaders across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, it is a close group however anyone can join. If you wish to be part of the CEO network then please contact Julie Farrow 0n 01480 420601 or at julie@huntsforum.org.uk.

Support Fenland: Capturing the Views of Council Officers

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By Ben Pitt

The Support Fenland project starts in earnest with a round-table discussion with council officers about what the voluntary and community sector needs to help it flourish.

Many people see “the council” as a single organisation that does things like parks and bins, but the reality is that Cambridgeshire has four tiers of local government – parish and town councils, district councils, the county council and the combined authority. Each has its own areas of responsibility but they all take an interest in keeping residents healthy and happy. Building strong communities is a vital part of that.

While the elected councillors or Mayor might be the most visible side of local councils, the bulk of work is carried out by council staff. They include dedicated teams at Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council to support communities. Meanwhile, parish and town councils often have the closest links with the people in their town or village, and much of the work of the parish or town clerk is to respond to the specific needs of their residents. This often goes hand in hand with the activities of local community and voluntary groups.

At Hunts Forum and CCVS we want to ensure that our work in Fenland responds directly to the specific needs of the district. That’s why we started by talking to the council officers who work with residents on a daily basis. We were delighted to be joined by the community development teams from Cambridgeshire County Council and Fenland District Council, the clerks from Wisbech, Chatteris and Christchurch plus our friends at Living Sport and Cambridgeshire ACRE.

We started by asking what the communities of Fenland need from infrastructure organisations, and what the barriers were to accessing that support. Lots of answers came back. Some were practical, such as support with business planning and funding applications for new projects, a volunteer database and peer networking opportunities. Others were more strategic, such as umbrella organisations with the governance in place to hold funds, thereby allowing volunteers with a good idea to focus on delivering it.

Some points were more philosophical. How can we make volunteering a more ‘normal’ thing to do? How do we empower residents to feel that it’s their right to shape their community, rather than their burden? How do we give communities the confidence to seize opportunities?

Finally, we reflected on what infrastructure organisations and councils need to do to ensure that the voices of our communities are heard. The simple answer was to ask them, but there was also a recognition that communities need a reason to want to have that conversation.

We need to ensure that the various people whose job it is to support communities work together effectively, and that the Support Fenland project has a legacy. Too often, people and solutions are parachuted in and make a few ripples, but afterwards things fall back to the way they were before. Our challenge is to change the culture of volunteering and community action in Fenland for the better.

We’re looking forward to talking to the community activists to find out what their perspective is.

The graphics below capture the views expressed during the discussion. Click them to view full screen.

 

 

 

Starting Conversations

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By Kathryn Shepherdson

The Support Fenland project has started with a series of conversations about what the communities in Fenland need to help them flourish.

Support Fenland has started, and we are very excited to get going and learn a little more about what the district needs.

As highlighted in a previous blog, the first job will investigate what makes Fenland, Fenland. The quirks, issues, barriers and areas we need to celebrate and nurture to be stronger.

This will be done through four events, each talking to different groups and individuals who work and volunteer in and around the district.

14th April – We are talking to the officers who work in several communities across the district – including our own teams at CCVS and Hunts Forum, other infrastructure organisations such as Living Sport and Cambridgeshire ACRE plus staff at Fenland District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and Town and Parish Clerks – to find out what they think the communities need.

28th April – We will approach community leaders, volunteers, and groups we know do so much in the community already and talk about the issues there currently and make sure their voice is heard and respond to their needs moving forward.

5th May – Here, we will be running an open forum, where we encourage the public along with those who volunteer or work in the community to come forward to talk about what things the local community and volunteering groups need. If you’re interested in attending, you can sign up here.

Finally, later in May, we will be running a Councillor event to hear their views and thoughts about the communities they service and what they feel they need.

Following these events, we will pull together our findings, which will be reported here, and devise a plan of action to support those voluntary and community groups to become stronger and more resilient in the coming months.

Safeguarding processes change in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire

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As previously advised on 12th April 2021 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Children’s Services will be launching their online referral form.

 

This online referral form should be used by professionals to submit safeguarding concerns to Children’s Services. This is a much more secure and efficient way of submitting a referral. The online form should be used instead of Word or PDF versions of the form from the above date.

 

The form can be found on the Safeguarding Partnership Board website at

Concerned? | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board (safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk)

Please note that there are separate referral forms for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough children, the referral should be completed based on the home address of the child /ren.

 

You should make sure that you have all the relevant information to enable you to complete the referral as you are unable to save it and return to it at a later point. Supporting documents and pictures etc can be uploaded as attachments within the online referral form.

 

The “Effective Support for Children and Families” (Threshold Document) provides helpful guidance on identifying the child’s level of risk and the appropriate level of support that may be required.

 

You will be able to download a copy of your referral form as a PDF at the point of submission by clicking the download button on the acknowledgement page. Each referral submitted will also generate a unique reference, please note this number for any further correspondence in relation to your referral. Please be aware that once you leave the acknowledgement page you will not be able to return to it to download a copy of your submitted form.

 

There is a referral form for members of the public who wish to raise concerns to complete. These can be found on the relevant Local Authority’s websites below:

 

CCC

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/parenting-and-family-support/safeguarding-children-and-child-protection

 

PCC

https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/healthcare/safeguarding-children/worried-about-a-child

 

All submitted online referral forms will be received by the Customer Service Centre who will process them in line with the Threshold Pathway, as is currently the case.

 

We appreciate that this is a change in process but we are confident that this will support the work of the partnership to improve the quality of referrals received and to reduce the volume of unnecessary referrals being made.

 

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