Poor mental health and poor wellbeing have an impact on every part of society, and every part of society has a role to play in supporting positive mental health and wellbeing.
We need to take a radical new, truly cross-society approach to promoting wellbeing, preventing mental health conditions emerging, intervening earlier, improving treatment, supporting people with mental health conditions to live well and preventing suicide.
We need your support and ideas to develop a comprehensive plan that will help set and achieve our vision for mental health in a decade’s time.
Open opportunity – This means that the contract is currently active, and the buying department is looking for potential suppliers to fulfil the contract.
The Contracting Authority(s) (hereinafter referred to as “the Authority”) NHS West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (Lead Commissioner), NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Basildon and Brentwood Clinical; Commissioning Group, NHS Castle Point and Rochford and Southend Clinical Commissioning Groups, NHS North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Groups, Essex County Council, Southend Borough Council and Thurrock Council, seek suitably qualified providers to tender for this Children and Young People's Mental Health Digital Service.
The Southend Essex and Thurrock (SET) Executive Collaborative Commissioning Forum is looking to improve digital and remote access to mental health support and counselling services for children and young people (CYP), enhancing the mental health of young people and their families across the seven Essex CCG localities, Essex County Council, Southend Borough Council and Thurrock Council.
Locally, commissioners recognise that CAMHS are struggling to meet growing demand from young people for mental health services and are exploring how digital technologies can help support young people in a less resource intensive way-especially where young people do not need the level of specialist community intervention that CAMHS provides.
The Provider will ensure they comply with locality policies and procedures, with particular regard to encouraging young people to be as involved as possible in planning and care decisions and to ensure the needs and circumstances of individuals are made visible in their policy and practice. The Provider will ensure they build partnering relationships / pathway working with statutory health and social care services.
The service will have a contract duration of 3 years with the option to extend for a further 24 months. The contract value is £273,877 per annum.
The pan Essex Integrated LD Commissioning Team have been successful in its bid for NHSE Funding to implement a Keyworker Service for Children and Young People (C&YP) with Learning Disabilities (LD) and or Autism, on behalf of the Southend, Essex and Thurrock (SET) Transforming Care Partnership (TCP).
The Keyworker Service aims to achieve these outcomes by recruiting Keyworkers over the next 2 years to work with those C&YP most at risk of admission, to help them navigate the system whilst holding it to account in its development/action of plans of care agreed/required to reduce this risk. The Keyworker Service is expected to deliver the following National Metrics:
-By the end of March 2023, all children & young people (C&YP) identified as red or amber on the Dynamic Support Register (DSR) will have a named Keyworker
-By the end of March 2023, all C&YP placed in a Tier 4 Inpatient Service will have a named Keyworker
The Authority invites interested providers to attend a virtual pre-procurement market engagement event which will be broadcast via Microsoft (MS) Teams. The format of the event will be a presentation from the commissioners followed by a Q&A for Bidders. The information gathered will support commissioners to understand better the service model to put in place and will be used to inform the approach to the procurement process.
A check list written by Essex Is United – VCS And Community Facebook Group
Be prepared
Organisation’s aims and objectives, annual accounts, bank details, constitution
Organisation track record, policies and procedures
Staff and volunteer profiles, how the organisation is managed
Be clear
Create a project brief which should include: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, HOW,
WHEN
Aims and objectives, activities, target audience, project duration
Delivery staff, key volunteers, project partners
The need the project addresses, the difference the project will make
Project milestones
Sustainability or maintenance plan
Total costs – revenue and capital
Evidence need
Consultation reports, letters of support from tenants and community groups
Quotes from community questionnaires
Expert testimonial (eg advocates for play, wildlife etc)
Demographic/statistical data, ward information, Government reports about your
neighbourhood
Know your funder
Make sure the project fits the criteria, always read the guidelines and check your
group is eligible
Find out who they funded before and to what level
Make sure you are asking for eligible expenditure
Is there a grants officer to contact for queries?
Do you need to identify match funding?
Leave enough time
Review the application form and the application process, assess whether you
need further information and check whether the funder will answer questions
Proof read and edit
Double check the budget
Make sure the right people have signed the form – including partners
Creating content is becoming more and more important for charities. A nice blog post isn’t quite enough. You need to think about house style, formatting, imagery, tone of voice, consistency, titles, subtitles, hyperlinks, SEO, and so much more. One article requires a lot of attention.
And that’s just articles. You may also need to consider videos, podcasts, webinars, interviews, case studies, infographics, and more. But worry not. In this episode of the Charity Digital podcast, our experienced guests offer best practice advice and some digital hacks that will help you create attractive, edifying, and entertaining content without breaking the bank.
Our host Sacha Dhabalia is joined by Chris Hall (Head of Marketing), Laura Stanley (Digital Content Lead), and Ioan Marc Jones (Content Editor) to discuss all things content, with tips raising from writing high-ranking articles, filming videos on smart phones, creating podcasts on Zoom, and much more.
Videos can help people better understand what your charity does and the difference you make. Here’s how to work with videographers to create impactful videos.
In recent years, video has become almost commonplace with the rise of social media and affordable technology. While most video on social media doesn’t need to be slick and professional, there will always be a place for video that needs a professional touch.
Creating videos or films offers charities the opportunity to reach new and existing audiences and can be used in a number of different ways.
Video can be useful to:
Distill complex information in a visual way
Highlight an issue through storytelling
Educate people about a topic
Bring to life an abstract concept
Change perceptions
In order to create a professional video or film, charities will need to work with a videographer. Below are some tips when hiring and working with a videographer, ensuring you get the most from your budget.
What is a videographer?
A videographer is a trained professional who records video footage and then edits it into a video that can be posted online across various channels or used at events, such as gala dinners. The types of things they may film include live events, short films featuring case studies, corporate videos and educational videos. They often work alone with a single camera or with a small team of sound and light technicians.
Ready to get started? Here’s some tips to consider.
Research videographers
Before you start to engage various videographers, ask around for recommendations. You can do this by posting on your social media channels (such as LinkedIn), reaching out to your peers, or asking in specialist Facebook groups such as the Third Sector PR & Comms Network or Fundraising Chat.
If there’s a charity video or videos that you really like, contact the charity directly to find out who produced them. CharityComms also has a freelance and supplier directory where you can find freelance videographers or agencies who specialise in video.
Once you have a few videographers that you are interested in working with, ask them to provide you with both a portfolio of their work and references.
Have a clear budget and timelines
It’s so important to have a clear budget so that you don’t waste time engaging videographers or agencies who are out of your price range. As well as having a budget, have a timeline too with a clear deadline. This is helpful as some videographers may already be booked up and unable to meet your deadline.
When setting your timeline, ensure that you are being realistic with your timings, such as allowing enough time to organise case studies, find locations, factor in feedback and time for editing.
Don’t forget to factor in costs such as transport, hiring of a location and overnight accommodation if needed, into your overall budget.
Provide a solid brief
It’s essential to provide a detailed brief. This should include the project background and objectives. Is this video part of a wider campaign? What specific outcome are you hoping for?
The brief should also include:
Target audience – who are you trying to reach?
Key messages – what you want the viewers to take away from watching the video
Tone of voice
In addition, the brief should include the budget, timelines, where the video will be distributed (social media, website, or an event), whether it needs specific elements such as a logo, and the approval process. Also agree upfront how many rounds of edits your videographer will offer.
Write a script
The first place to start when creating a video is with a script. You don’t need to start with a blank piece of paper, which may seem daunting, as there are plenty of video script templates you can use as a starting point.
If your video stars a beneficiary or someone in your organisation sharing a story, remember that they may not be natural storytellers. Help guide them through their storytelling, whilst ensuring that they remain true to themselves and their experience. CharityComms has some great tips for interviewing case studies in their Filmkit guide.
Work together on a storyboard
Once you’ve appointed a videographer and written a script, work together on the storyboard. A storyboard is a visual representation of your video sketched out on either paper or you can use special software.
While you may have a clear idea of what the video should be, they will have lots of creative ideas – not to mention expertise. It can also help having an outside perspective and fresh input. Having a storyboard should also ensure that the editing process afterwards is simple.
Support them on the shoot
Chances are, if you’re on a limited budget, that you will need to assist the videographer on the day or days of filming. Ask them beforehand how best you can help and what you may need to bring with you.
Little Lives UK is offering grants of up to £1,500 through its Children’s Community Support Programme to provide services to disadvantaged and disabled children. The programme is open to applications from children’s groups and organisations such as play groups or sports classes. The Children’s Community Support Programme is also open to applications from other projects, as long as their primary objective focuses on providing services to disadvantaged and disabled children.
There is no monetary minimum that groups can apply for, and Little Lives UK will additionally support the work of successful applicants through their social media channels and on our website. Four or five grants are awarded on a monthly basis, and the next application deadline is the 29th April 2022.
Thank you for participating in this survey, the results will be important in helping us better understand the contribution of the VCSE sector to the overall health and care sector in Suffolk and North East Essex.
Your cooperation is sought in completing as much of this survey as is possible. We recognise that for some organisations some of the data may not be available, so that is absolutely fine.
We are not asking for total precision in your responses. Good approximations are perfectly acceptable. Our intention is that you should be able to complete this within 15-20 minutes.
And don’t forget that as a thank you for participating in the survey Tricordant is offering a FREE 1 year subscription to their online business skills development service SME Business Guide, normally £399+VAT. When you return your survey you will be sent a discount code to use when registering.
As part of Dying Matters Awareness Week 2022 and the Death Positive Libraries Framework, Southend Libraries are hosting a Death Positive event at the Forum: Southend-on-Sea.
Southend Libraries have invited organisations and services across the sector including bereavement support groups and services, celebrants and funeral directors, to come in and share information with the local community about the support, advice and guidance that is available when dealing with death, bereavement and loss.
This is a drop in event, open to all on May 3 2022 12pm – 3pm at The Forum: Southend-on-Sea, Elmer Square, Southend.
‘Death positive libraries’ is a national scheme aiming to help remove the barriers to talking about death and dying through a range of innovative activities in libraries that appeal to diverse communities. This is the first such activity in Southend Libraries.
The phrase ‘death positive library’ aims to reflect libraries’ contributions to the growing social and philosophical movement that encourages people to speak openly about death and dying.
Speaking on the library’s ‘death positive’ framework, Tandra Forster, executive director for adults and communities, said: “Although death is a very natural part of life, so many of us still struggle to speak about it. Seeking support to help us cope with death and dying for ourselves or our loved ones is so important, and I am sure that this initiative through Southend Libraries will help so many people deal with this subject effectively.”
Almost 80% of British adults find it difficult to talk about death, even though we all have to face it. Not talking about death, not getting the right support and advice at the right time and the suffering that people go through when a loved one dies or when they are facing death themselves, puts enormous strain on mental health and wellbeing.
Libraries are uniquely placed to be a centre for bereavement support as well as a trusted space where conversations about death and dying can take place.