We were sad to say goodbye to Jenny Flynn MBE, as she retired from our board of trustees at our AGM on 9^th November.  Jenny has been an active trustee on the board of Durham Community Action for an amazing 37 years, and has served in a variety of roles, most recently as our Deputy Chair.

In addition to the incredibly generous amount of time she’s given to DCA, she has been very involved within the local community in a variety of ways, and was awarded an MBE for her services to the community of Tow Law in 2001. She was subsequently appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for County Durham in 2005.

She was previously a Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, and a member of the Integrated Quality and Assurance Committee, chaired the Charitable Funds Committee, and the link Director for Mental Health and Freedom to Speak Up.  Jenny previously served on the Boards of both the Durham Dales PCT and the County Durham PCT.  

Jenny is a qualified Solicitor with a specialism in elderly client work and worked in private practice with the Consett firm of Swinburne, Snowball & Jackson for 27 years until her retirement in 2015.

We would like to sincerely thank Jenny for all her dedication and support of DCA over the years. 

Kate Burrows, Executive Director of DCA said:

“Jenny embodies the principles of good trusteeship. She has been a wonderful trustee; she has supported the charity through the good times and some not so good times! She has given her time, energy, expertise and wise counsel to support DCA deliver on its objectives. She has rolled up her sleeves to provide very practical support when needed, always asked the tough questions and been willing to take on the difficult jobs trustees sometimes face. Jenny has given her all to the stewardship of DCA over such a long period.  We thank her and will dearly miss her.”

Jenny said:

"I have really enjoyed my time at DCA. In my time as trustee I have seen it grow from quite a small organisation dealing mostly with small community organisations into an organisation that represents the voluntary sector and volunteers in Durham and gives them a voice both locally and regionally. I have been proud to be part of it."

Photo: Jan Worters, Chair of DCA (left) with Jenny Flynn as she retires from the DCA Board

Durham County Council are working alongside the County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF) to support Welcome Spaces (formerly Warm Spaces) for another year by offering funding to the voluntary and community sector to help create a network of spaces where people can receive a warm welcome.

Following evaluation of last year’s work, the project aims have been broadened to support residents who may be feeling socially isolated and emotionally vulnerable, as well as needing somewhere warm to go through the winter due to the continuing high energy costs and cost-of-living.

Alongside community groups and organisations, the 39 Durham County Council library buildings will again join the scheme with Family Hubs also involved this year.

Both Durham County Council and CDCF are contributing to the funding, with increased funding of over £280,000 available to support premises with a grant of between £750 and £3000 for their Welcome Space offer.  This range and increase will offer spaces flexibility with their offer and is in response to feedback from last year’s scheme. 

Each Welcome Space will again be encouraged to signpost those who need it to financial support and energy efficiency advice and will be given leaflets to handout to people attending.

The online application is available here

Participants will again need to sign up to a charter, setting out a quality standard that they will be expected to deliver, and they will be asked to display a window poster highlighting their involvement in the scheme.

Grant recipients will again be offered training on a range of topics including basic mental health, making every contact count including financial stability and safeguarding, with grants able to cover a range of expenses such as utility bills, volunteer expenses or staff time, equipment and furniture.  This year grants can also be used for transport should individuals need help accessing the spaces particularly in rural areas.

Locate will again be the online source for Welcome Spaces information.  Key information including opening times, accessibility and any other facilities available, such as the offer of hot drinks or wi-fi, will be highlighted to ensure people can access their nearest space.

Organisations wishing to offer a Welcome Space without accessing the additional funding can email welcomespaces@durham.gov.uk to sign up to the charter. Details of these will also be added to Locate.

Residents will be able to access the directory here

Did you know, you can keep your trustees, staff, volunteers and service users safer by implementing some robust recruitment practices. Here are some examples of the things you can do.

Having a safer recruitment policy will outline the process you follow in order to recruit new people into your organisation, and this includes recruiting for trustees, staff and volunteers. The policy will give guidance on the application process, the organisations commitment to safeguarding through disclosures, and taking references as well as using safeguarding focussed questions during the interview process, having a probation period and providing ongoing safeguarding training.

When advertising for new roles, state in the application the importance of safeguarding within your organisation, include details of your safer recruitment policy and have an application form asking details of previous work history and life experience. Showing that you have a robust recruitment process will be a deterrent for possible perpetrators who may target charities or community groups working with children or vulnerable adults at risk of harm.

Complete a DBS check for all trustees, staff and volunteers who are eligible for the check based on their role. Applying for a DBS is not a one size fits all approach so it is important that you have a clear understanding of the role you are reviewing, writing clear role descriptions and consider circumstances that might also affect eligibility. More information about eligibility can be found here

At DCA we work with our local DBS outreach worker to deliver eligibility workshops to help you understand the process. For our next workshop see our training calendar here

Gaining information about a person’s previous behaviour is a way of gauging future behaviour and you can do this by requesting professional references. You may want to include an overview of the organisation and role applied for, asking about the suitability for the role and details or any previous disciplinary action on  an organisational reference form.

During the induction process explain the importance of safeguarding within your organisation by sharing your safeguarding policy, whistleblowing policy and arrange for safeguarding training as part of their induction process. Ways to assess someone’s suitability includes the provision of regular supervision sessions, arranging times for job shadowing and also offering new roles on a probation period giving time to reflect and review by both the new started and the organisation.

If you require this email in a different format, would like to contribute towards future issues or provide any feedback about Durham Community News please contact helen.brown@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk (Mondays to Thursdays).