May 2023

University of Lincoln

28th June Lincoln Medical School 9.30 am – 12.30 pm.

Do you work in government, the health sector, or the not-for-profit/charity sector?

Are you keen to know more about how you can use use research and evaluation to underpin the work you do and the programmes you deliver?

Do you have to commission research or evaluations in your role?

This half day symposium will introduce you to:

The importance of research and evaluation for you and your organisation.

Tips for delivering high quality research on a budget.

Things to think about when commissioning research and evaluation.

Some common research and evaluation methodologies.

There will also be time to meet academics working in your field, to hear organisations who have done research or evaluation with the university before and to find out more about opportunities for collaboration with university.

For further details visit: https://lncn.ac/resintro

Further events

There’s so many wonderful events across Lincolnshire during Carers’ Week. Please see below and on the previous post for details.

Monday 5

All Lincs Carer Burn Out (Carers Compassion Fatigue)  32183 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/recovery-college-carer-compassion-fatigue/

All Lincs Supporting Parent Carers 32444 N Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/supporting-parent-carers/

West Lincs Brayford Belle 32472 N Zoe Crawford https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/brayford-belle-trip/

Tuesday 6

All Lincs Overcoming Unhelpful Thoughts and Worries  32184 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/recovery-college-overcoming-unhelpful-thoughts-and-worries/

All Lincs Completing a Carer Passport 32445 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/completing-a-carer-passport/

East Lincs Skegness Pamper 31931 N Zoe Burkill https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/skegness-pamper-session/

All Lincs Belton House open day for carers 31843 Y Heidi Wooder https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/spalding-carers-celebration/

East Lincs Skegness College Dropin 32340 Y Samantha Sharp https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/skegness-college-dropin/

East Lincs Flower arranging 32091 N Zoe Burkill https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/flower-arranging/

South Lincs Afternoon tea at Wake House, Bourne 30033 N Becky Toynton https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/bourne-afternoon-tea/

Wednesday 7

East Lincs Tasting Meal, Horncastle 31934 N Zoe Burkill https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/horncastle-tasting-plates/

All Lincs Overview of benefits for carers 32447 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/overview-of-benefits-for-carers/

All Lincs Support for Working Carers 32446 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/support-for-working-carers/

South Lincs Water Taxi, Spalding 31986 N Sarah Smith https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/spalding-water-taxi-trip/

West Lincs Ladies Lunch 32090 N Katie Pickering https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/ladies-lunch/

Thursday 8

East Lincs Mablethorpe Craft Session 31929 N Nicola Bygott https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/mablethorpe-craft-group/

All Lincs Supporting young carers into work 32449 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/supporting-young-carers-into-work/

All Lincs Overview of benefits for young carers 82448 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/overview-of-benefits-for-young-carers/

East Lincs Boston College YAC Awareness 32021 Y Kelly Eaton https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/boston-college-dropin/

South Lincs Chocolate Workshop 31975 N Krystyna Banks https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/chocolate-workshop/

West Lincs Men Care 2 – Wild in the Woods 32193 N Zoe Crawford https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/men-care-2-wild-in-the-woods/

All Lincs Energy Awareness Session – liz Lamming 32473 Y Brian Myciuk https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/energy-awareness-session/

West Lincs Dementia Support Group, Lincoln 30472 N Michelle McKinnon https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/dementia-support-group/

Friday 9th

All Lincs 5 Ways To Wellbeing – Dan Fleshbourne 32185 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/recovery-college-5-ways-to-wellbeing/

All Lincs Supporting carers for older people 32450 Y Hannah Key https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/supporting-carers-for-older-people/

East Lincs Louth Cake, coffee and chat 31933 N Lisa Vickerage https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/coffee-cake-and-chat/

East/South Alpaca Walk 32013 N Danielle Webster https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/alpaca-walk/

West Lincs Lincoln Tour Bus 32038 N Michelle McKinnon https://www.carersfirst.org.uk/lincolnshire/groups-and-events/lincoln-open-top-bus-tour/

Saturday 10th

All Lincs Wildlife Park Trip 32020 N Nicola Bygott

10-11th June

Grange Farm, Stoke Rochford NG33 5BD
(located off the B6403 North of Colsterworth)
Proceeds will be donated to Stoke Rochford Church.

Enjoy a walk in a 27 acre meadow which has 22 different species of wild flowers growing in it, and are in flower at different times throughout the summer. Sown in 2015, the meadow is now fully established and is opening for charity.
Paths are cut in the field, the perimeter walk is about 1.5 miles, and there are also shorter routes cut within the field. Unfortunately it is not accessible to wheelchairs, but mobility scooters can travel with care in dry conditions.
You may see many different species of butterflies, bees, moths and other insects. It is also a quiet haven for many songbirds, especially skylarks, yellowhammers, flycatchers and goldfinches.

£10.00 PER HEAD
10th & 11th June. 2pm to 5pm both days
Dogs will be allowed but must be on a lead
There will be a cup of tea and a cake included in the ticket price; any extra by donation.
Brief introductory talks will be given to groups during the afternoon.
CHILDREN UNDER 15 FREE

Enquiries and details By email to wildsidewalks22@gmail.com
Telephone 07836 707600
or 01476 530207

2023-WILDSIDE-WALKS-FLIER

Lincolnshire Community Foundation – Sortified

Following a review of our work and impact, Staff and Trustees at Lincolnshire Community Foundation (LCF) decided to create a tool to use alongside local knowledge and intelligence to inform our future grant making and place shaping work across Greater Lincolnshire.  We decided to commission one of our partners, Sortified CIC, to build a bespoke place-based data package and to this end the Lincolnshire Visual Intelligence System (LVIS) was born!  This unique interactive data visualisation tool can determine existing and emerging needs in local communities across Greater Lincolnshire at street level, will assist in highlighting local issues and be used to influence future investment, identifying what and where funding and/or interventions could create the biggest positive impact in local communities.

Organisations, partner agencies and Local Authorities were invited to a preview of how LVIS works earlier this year, and received positive feedback including:

“Really clear presentation and appears to be user friendly. Also good to be able to focus on local authority areas and even down to LSOA areas” and I liked how it can draw down to street / area level. This will indeed help with structuring projects that meets the most need.

We are now pleased to announce that LVIS is freely available to any organisations wishing to interrogate where there are local or countywide needs.  The platform can be accessed via our website www.lincolnshirecf.co.uk/LVIS.

LCF determined 14 key priorities (health & wellbeing, poverty, social isolation, barriers to transport, crime etc) based on 20 years grant making experience.  Over 70 different sources and more than 1000 lines of data have been used to create LVIS.

Sue Fortune, CEO, Lincolnshire Community Foundation said “Having developed this bespoke dataset, we felt it only right to make the platform available more widely, particularly to voluntary sector partners.  It represents a milestone in identifying existing and emerging needs across the County.”

Rich Collins, Sortified’s Creative Director said “It’s great the community sector across Greater Lincolnshire will be able to use LVIS for free and that community organisations use the data and information to ensure they can target their amazing support towards the people and the communities that need it most. Well done to LCF for sharing LVIS with everyone, and we are really proud to be part of such a cracking piece of work in Lincolnshire.”

Is your organisation looking for funding?

Calling all Lincolnshire voluntary organisations, community groups and charities to our Funding Fair on Wednesday 28th June.

Would you like the opportunity to speak direct to a range of funders in an informal marketplace environment?

Would you also like to take the opportunity to book a one-to-one 20-minutesession with a specialist funding advisor to discuss a specific funding application you are working on?

You can also have the opportunity to book a one-to-one 20-minute session with a specialist funding advisor. Once you have booked your morning or afternoon slot via the QR codes below; you can then book a 20 minute specialist session by emailing enquiry@lincolnshirecvs.org.uk

This event is being organised by Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service and Voluntary Centre Services on behalf of the Lincolnshire Funding Advice Network and is funded by Lincolnshire County Council.

To ensure we cater for numbers please book in advance, selecting to attend either the morning or afternoon session using the QR codes below.

Funding Fair
enquiry@lincolnshirecvs.org.uk
At Broad Street, Methodist Church
Spalding, PE11 1TB
Wednesday 28th June
www.lincolnshirecvs.org.uk
01205 510888

Closure Report March 2023

This report provides readers with a status update and overview of the actions delivered, key themes and any emerging issues facing residents and businesses. This is focused from the work delivered by the county wide sub-groups, data and emerging themes from frontline services, the work completed, as well as what work others in the county have done to address the ongoing Cost of Living Challenge. This is a closure report for the activity led by the Lincolnshire Cost of Living Challenge stakeholder group.

The sub-groups had the responsibility of coordinating actions, acting as facilitators and enablers, working in partnership to encourage
networking between existing organisations, establishing funding streams, improving consistency in communications and sharing best
practice. Consideration is given to the existing funding gaps and the revised Government settlement outcome received by local authorities in December 2022.

There have been a wide range of financial support packages offered by Central Government, many of which are and continue to be largely administrated locally, which the sub-groups have supported the delivery, including Household Support Fund 1-3 (HSF) and Council Tax Energy Rebate Scheme (CTER). Some are being extended or replaced in 2023 and the ongoing impact of support to deliver these needs to be considered against the background of expected reductions to public spending as a result of the Local Government Settlement, as additional financial support for the Cost of Living, without understanding the scale of public full impact of spending cuts.
The report also highlights how the National, County and District initiatives supported and worked collaboratively with voluntary and
community groups and to provide community led support which matched needs identified locally and the need to be adaptable to
respond to the changing situation.

The breadth of organisations represented on the Challenge group, along with their connections have been a strength in effectively
coordinating activity, reducing duplication and delivering signpost effectively by having a diverse group of people and organisations
involved in the group. This closure report also advises the end position and recommendations for the future direction with strategic leadership from the three Chief Executive Co-Chairs.

To read the report in full please follow the link below.

Cost-of-Living-Challenge-Group-Closure-Report

Carers week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. 

Within Lincolnshire we have many people juggling work and personal unpaid caring responsibilities.  This comes with huge pressures and stresses and the Lincolnshire Carers Project has been launched to support our staff who are also unpaid carers. 

This carers week we would like to invite our staff to attend these online events which are being provided for unpaid carers across Lincolnshire by Carers First and Lincolnshire Recovery College.

If you would like any more information about these events, or the links to join them please email jo.rouston@nhs.net

Monday 5^th June – 11am-12pm – Supporting Parent Carers

Monday 5^th June – 1.30pm-3pm – Carer Compassion Fatigue

Tuesday 6th June – 12pm – 1pm – Completing a Carer Passport

Tuesday 6^th June – 7pm-8.30pm – Overcoming Unhelpful Thoughts and Worries

Wednesday 7^th June – 11am-12pm – Support for Working Carers

Wednesday 7^th June – 12pm – 1pm and 6pm-7pm – Involving Carers in the Patient Journey

Thursday 8^th June – 11am-12pm – Carers Awareness

Friday 9^th June – 10am-11am – 5 Ways to Wellbeing

Friday 9^th June – 12pm-1pm – Supporting Carers for Older People

The NHS in Lincolnshire is launching a new Carers Project for those who may have personal caring responsibilities be that elderly or frail parents, unwell partners or children with special educational needs or disabilities who may not either recognise themselves as carers or who do but are not aware of the support that is available to them. 

There is lots of help and support available to working carers, but sometimes finding out where to look for it or who to ask just never gets to the top of the to do list! The carers project has been launched to care for our unpaid carers by helping to support them with the daily balancing act.

If you are an unpaid carer in any capacity I would love to hear from you.
Please get in touch to find out more about the project and the help and support that is out there for you.

Please email to find out more jo.rouston@nhs.net

Seldom Heard Groups

Lincolnshire County Council are proud to have been selected as one of 75 local authorities to benefit from the Government’s ‘Family Hub’ Programme. Family Hubs were championed in the Government’s 2019 manifesto, and the Programme is hosted by Department for Education (DfE) and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The Programme stems from clear evidence that identifying risks early and preventing problems from escalating means better long-term outcomes for children and their families. It aims to address this by providing a focus on the first 1001 days in a child’s life as well as ensuring all families can access universal services and advice and guidance in a welcoming local ‘hub’. Therefore, Family Hubs aim to make a positive difference to parents, carers and their children by providing high-quality, joined-up, whole-family support services from conception, through a child’s early years until they reach the age of 19 (or 25 for young people with special educational needs and disabilities). This is at a Universal level.

Family Hubs are not new buildings, but adapting how and where we deliver information, advice and help to make it more welcoming and accessible for all families, particularly when they need it most. They are a place-based way of joining up locally in the planning and delivery of family services. They bring services together to improve access, improve the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and put relationships at the heart of family support. Family Hubs offer support to all families with a specific focus from conception to two, and to those with children of all ages, which is 0-19 or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with a great start for life offer at their core. For more information please head to Family Hubs and Start for Life programme – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We are actively building relationships and connections with wider partners, and this is one example of what we mean by this.     We value all your experiences, skills and knowledge and wonder if you may be able to offer a person from your team(s) across the county to join us on task groups to discuss ways forward to gain a view from, what we have identified, as our seldom heard groups (SHG). We have no doubt many more groups will also be identified as we work through our next two years.

The initial groups set up will be.

1. Military Families
2. Dads and male role models
3. EAL and BAME
4. Home Educated
5. Farmers
6. Kinship carers

We have worked with Better Births and Shien to seek feedback already.  

As we continue our journey through Family Hubs, we now have the three Community Development Officers (CDO) in Post as of May 15^th. They will be key to gleaning the views on the ground. The process we will be following is outlined below. What am is setting myself up for I hear you say or wonder? As you can see below, we would only need them to attend three meetings over a period of six months. There will be one main task group for each  group, and then the CDO’s will pop out into the community and ask the questions set up within these groups. It is not envisaged that other people will have any extra work other than to share knowledge within the three meetings. We will offer a hybrid approach to the meetings, however for meeting two we would invite you to join us at a local Family Hub.

The process we will follow (for now) is shown below.

• Meeting 1 – Needs assessment – research/professional opinion (discussion fact fining kind of mission, CDOs and I would then look at the information and any questions from the first meeting) 
• Meeting 2 – Outreach plan – develop questions for SHG share these and agree start date to enter into the community.
• Family Hub Development Officer – Carries out relationship building events to seek views with young people and families.
• Meeting 3 – Analyse findings, update outreach plan, changes to practice/services across the FH Network. (All regroup for findings and CDO will have a plan for each area to aid discussions and together join and link services)

Please contact sam.white@lincolnshire.gov.uk  by the 26th of May so invites can be sent out. Please let Sam know which group you would like to support and if you would like to be a facilitator of the meetings and discussions.

A new training course for physical activity providers to support people in Lincolnshire living with long COVID to recover and manage their condition.

The free training has been co-produced by Active Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire NHS and community voluntary organisations including Shine Lincolnshire and Every-One, and people with lived experience.

The course also provides guidance on adaptations that can make activities long covid-friendly and suitable to be delivered in a variety of settings including sports facilities, community and village halls, schools, open spaces and other non-traditional physical activity venues.

Please see the link below for further details.

Active Lincolnshire Workforce Newsletter – Long Covid