News

The Parent Network Scotland (PNS) has created a Wellbeing Toolkit online course. The aim of the course is to help parents, carers and families of children of any age, culture, background, or beliefs about parenting, to learn about and try new tools to promote health and wellbeing. The course is free and will be delivered over 8 one hour sessions in an online classroom. Aims and topics are set for each session so participants can learn in manageable chunks without feeling overwhelmed.

Scottish Government has recognised the impact the pandemic and lockdown restrictions has had on people’s mental health and wellbeing. They have created ClearYourHead.scot, a website full of resources, information and reassuring messages to support people in Scotland during this time, including how important it is to take breaks from news and social media. There is also a Winter Tips page, with information on clearing your head and connecting with others this winter.

The deadline for families to apply for Best Start Grant School Age Payment is Sunday 28th February. The one-off £250 payment is currently open to families with a child born between Sunday 1st March 2015 – Monday 29th February 2016. It can be used for anything from a warm coat to books and toys. Parents who have deferred their child’s entry to school from August 2020, to August 2021, or those home educating, should still apply before the closing date.

The Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) is opening a consultation on the newly updated Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) Guidelines, for services providing people who use drugs with harm reduction equipment and advice. The consultation will be launched with a themed webinar on Friday 5th February, 12:30pm – 1:45pm. In the following week, there will be online workshops for those who wish to discuss and input to the consultation document or process.

Lead Scotland will hold a series of FREE online safety classes throughout February, covering a variety of common online safety issues such as password security, and online scams. The classes are aimed at disabled people or those who may find it harder to use the internet safely, and carers who care for someone who needs extra support using their digital device safely, however the classes are open to anyone who would benefit from attending. Classes last one hour, with the first class, “How to Create Strong Passwords”, taking place on Monday 1st February at 12pm.

THIS WEEKEND is your last chance to book a place at the Forth Valley Third Sector Conference, with booking closing at 5pm on Tuesday 2nd February.

Taking place on Tuesday 9th February, 9:15am – 3pm, this year is the first time the event has been completely online. With a focus on “People, Place and Participation”, attendees can find out more about the opportunities available to them, and have the chance to meet groups from across the Forth Valley area. There will also be keynote speeches from Aileen Campbell, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Communities, and Dr Jim McCormick, the new CEO of the Robertson Trust. Tickets are £10 each, and available from the Eventbrite page.

The first 2021 meeting of the Compassionate and Included Communities Forum takes place on Wednesday 27th January, 2pm – 4pm, and can be accessed via the Zoom link, or with the meeting ID: 972 2993 0991.

Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) is now recruiting volunteer Panel Members, and accepting online applications until 11:59pm on Monday 15th February. Panel Members take part in children’s hearings, often otherwise known as “children’s panels”, where their role is to listen and make legal decisions for, and with, infants, children and young people. Panel Members are supported by CHS, and are required to undertake comprehensive training to prepare them for the role.

The Third Sector Homelessness Fund is open to applications from third sector organisations on the frontline of delivering homelessness services in Scotland. The fund aims to support third sector organisations to innovate and transform the services they provide to people around homelessness; organisations that originally applied to this fund in early 2020 will need to complete a new application for funding. The deadline for applications is 12pm on Monday 8th February.