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Please download the July 2010 E Bulletin below

Download below a copy of the 2010 voluntary and community groups directory. If you would like your group to be included in the 2011 directory contact us on 01797 229750 or info@rothervoluntaryaction.org.uk. Listing is FREE to groups operating or based in the Hastings and Rother area

RVA together with Hastings Voluntary Action and 3VA are keen to capture the value of the sector to demonstrate the importance of the voluntary sector in what we all know will be difficult financial times to come. To help us we have produced a survey which will be used to estimate the size of the voluntary sector in East Sussex – the first time this has been attempted. Here at RVA we all appreciate that these surveys are time consuming but we really would appreciate it if you could help us by taking a few minutes to complete and return to us.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us at 01424 217259 or 01797 229750 and we will be more then happy to help.

Please download the survey below

Please download the June 2010 E Bulletin below

This small grants scheme is made available by East Sussex County Council through the Community Partnership Finance (CPF) Programme Priority 3 – 2009/2012. During its lifetime, the aim of the scheme is to award a total of £150,000 in grants of up to £5,000 to voluntary organisations and community groups across East Sussex 

Dates for applications in 2010 are  26 May 2010 and 3rd November 2010

Click here for more information

The new Vetting and Barring Scheme aims to protect
children and vulnerable adults by ensuring that people who are judged to present a risk of harm are not allowed to work with them.

Download the full guidance here:

http://www.isa.homeoffice.gov.uk/pdf/VBS_guidance_ed1_2010.pdf  

The guidance has been developed for employers, employees, volunteers and volunteering organisations to provide important information about how the Scheme works and to help you to prepare for registration. It covers:
• the scope of the Scheme – what activity is and is not
within its remit
• how the registration process will work
• how employees and volunteers, as well as employers
and volunteering organisations, will be affected, and
• when all this will happen.

Barring decisions are now made by an independent body of experts, the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), and follow a clear and structured judgement process, which is about assessing the risk of future harm based on the information that is known about the individual.

An individual’s Vetting and Barring Scheme registration
will be fully portable, and any prospective or subsequent
employer will be able to check an individual’s registration
status online, free of charge. Employers can also choose
to be notified, free of charge, if an employee’s registration
status changes.

Even though registration is mandatory for most employees
and volunteers working with children and vulnerable
adults, there are some circumstances where the Scheme
does not apply.

Activities carried out in the course of family or personal
relationships are completely outside the remit of the Scheme. These are also a number of specific exceptions which are set out in detail in Section 2 of the guidance. These include the exceptions that the Government agreed in response to the recommendations made by Sir Roger Singleton in Drawing the Line, his report on the Vetting and Barring Scheme which was published in December 2009.

The first meeting of the Climate Change Partnership for East Sussex (CCP) was held on the 1 April with an aim to set up and agree the structure and membership of the partnership.  It was agreed that the CCP will have three key groups as part of its structure; a board, a working group and a stakeholder group. The membership of the board was discussed and agreed. The next board meeting will be held in June. The aim of this will be to focus around identifying and implementing actions. Martin Fisher, CEO of RVA, has become the countywide voluntary sector representative on behalf of SpeakUp.

Su Reece, Volunteering Support Officer for Hastings & Rother, will be working alongside Rother Voluntary Action (RVA) and Hastings Voluntary Action (HVA) in supporting volunteer-involving organisations in recruiting, supporting and managing volunteers.

Su will also assist members of the public interested in volunteering to access the information and help they need to learn more about volunteering in the area. Su will be working in Rother 4 days a week and one day in Hastings and will be working from the RVA and HVA offices respectively. Please contact Su to discuss how the project can help your organisation.

Her contact details are: mobile 07538 780 776, email susan.reece@3va.org.uk The County Volunteering Project office number (01323) 301757

The Project, managed by Sarah Hodgetts, County Volunteering Development Co-ordinator, will provide consistent infrastructure support across the county working alongside existing Volunteer Centre Officers to help deliver the 6 core functions of a Volunteer Centre: brokerage; marketing; good practice development; developing volunteering opportunities; policy response and campaigning, and strategic development of volunteering.

The team will be working across East Sussex, with the County Volunteering Development Co-ordinator and Team Administrator based at the 3VA office in Eastbourne and 3 Volunteering Support Officers delivering outreach services across the 5 districts.

Please Download below >>>

The Bexhill Local Action Plan has now been published. Over 1300 questionnaires and 4000 written responses have been analysed and a summary set of actions published.

Click on the link below to take you to the Bexhill LAP website where there is a downloadbale pdf summary and all the raw data in an easily accessible form.

http://www.bexhilllocalactionplan.co.uk/