The School for Social Entrepreneurs are excited to be running a Peer Network Leadership Programme for SME Leaders in Bristol, Bath, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The programme provides the opportunity to access support with leadership skills on a peer-to-peer basis, in a safe, confidential space. Activities take place in structured, small-group sessions, led by a skilled professional facilitator to make sure you see real results in return for the investment of your time. You will also benefit from access to 1:1 mentoring, coaching or advice depending on the support you need. The programme is fully funded so free to access, and will take up just a few hours of your time a month. Organisations need to be turning over at least £100,000 and have at least 5 employees, who can be part-time. The deadline for applications is the 21st November. More info and how to apply can be found here: https://www.the-sse.org/courses/peer-networks/ Or to discuss the programme or ask any questions contact Holly on holly.vandyke.ld@sse.org.uk

Last month, the Home Office added new translations of the guidance on how to get help if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse. Translations of the page have been added in Arabic, Bangla, Chinese, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu and Welsh. The guidance covers how to recognise domestic abuse, get help and support and how to check whether someone has an abusive past. Please share the new translations with your local networks (link below). Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help - see top of page on right hand side next to heading for translations

Have you thought of ‘pro bono’ support for your charity or social enterprise? There is an opening right now for charities that would like to take part in a free assistance programme, where senior business experts come in to support you and your charity’s strategy over the course of twelve months. This is typically for charity or social enterprise leaders of small and medium sized organisations – less for ‘micro’ voluntary organisations without staff or with one member of staff alone. The Pilotlight Programme comes highly recommended and has a track record of helping to solve problems and find new ways forward even for the most effective of charities. Find Out More & Apply here - Deadline Wednesday 17th November 2021

Do you use (or have you used) specialist mental health services? Do you support or care for someone living with Care Act assessed mental ill health needs? Are you a mental health care professional (including support worker, social worker, care coordinator, specialist nurse)? You can help Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) shape the way services are delivered. Over the last few months, B&NES have been working in partnership with local care and support providers (Arch Care, Bath Mind, Milestones and St Mungo’s) to develop a new model of care and support services for adults (18-64) with Care Act assessed mental health care and support needs. These services include: specialist accommodation based supported living specialist non-accommodation based supported living specialist residential care. The mental health care pathway consultation gives you an opportunity to learn about, and comment on, their proposed pathway to greater independence for people with specialist mental health needs. Their experience, and the feedback they have had from service users, carers, professionals and the organisations they work with, all show that the current arrangements are not meeting needs as well as they would like. This consultation is now open and will run until 19 December 2021. You can see the consultation pages here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/mental-health-care-pathway-consultation. They will treat any feedback you give in this consultation in strictest confidence.

Did you know that: unintentional injuries in and around the home are a leading cause of preventable death for children under five? there are around 450,000 visits to A&E departments each year in England because of preventable accidents at home among under-fives? New virtual training for staff or volunteers supporting parents or carers of children under 5 in B&NES which covers: the relationship between child development and unintentional injuries the significance of deprivation in relation to unintentional injuries key principles and approaches to preventing childhood unintentional injuries delivering home safety messages to families in engaging and empowering ways sources of home safety information and support how to refer to the B&NES Child Home Safety Equipment Scheme national and local context in terms of childhood unintentional injuries for children aged 0 – 4 years. Due to added pressures the pandemic is putting on front line staff, we have arranged a wide range of dates and times to accommodate as many people as possible. Wednesday 24 November, 5.30-8pm: Book here Wednesday 1 December, 9.30am-12pm: Book here Wednesday 1 December, 1.30-4pm: Book here Thursday 6 January, 1.30-4pm: Book here Thursday 6 January, 5.30-8pm: Book here Tuesday 1 February, 9.30am-12pm: Book here The workshops will be delivered on Zoom and will include a range of presentations and interactive group activities.

Southside Family Project and Bath Area Play Project (BAPP) are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the contract to continue to deliver the Family Support and Play Service for Bath and North East Somerset Council. The new contract started on 1 November 2021. The Family Support and Play Service will continue to provide holistic, inclusive and community-based whole family support for children, young people and their parent/carers at risk of experiencing poor social, health and wellbeing outcomes through a trauma informed and therapeutic approach. Children, young people and their families are at the heart of our service, and Southside and BAPP will work together to provide early support before things get worse. We build on the strengths, capabilities and resilience of families and communities, supporting individuals to take responsibility and help themselves as they progress through the service, following our clear pathway: As set out in the Theory of Change for the service, this support will improve their feelings of safety, wellbeing, positive relationships and connections, sense of identity and belonging, and resilience so that each member of the family can thrive: Any local organisations supporting families dealing with the impact of trauma or other social, health and wellbeing challenges in Bath and North East Somerset, can contact the Family Support team directly on 01225 331 243 for further information and guidance on referring families for support or book onto our bi-monthly induction sessions for professionals via Zoom. We would also be happy to attend any team meetings if this is required. Any families who would like to find out more about the Family Support and Play Service and access support can contact us directly on 01225 331 243 or in one of our Hub Groups in local communities, which run each week this term: Mondays, 1pm-2.30pm at the Lighthouse Centre in Twerton Tuesdays, 11am-12.30pm at St Francis Church in Keynsham Wednesdays, 9.15am-11.15am at St Andrew's Community Church in Foxhill Fridays, 1pm-2.30pm at Beacon Hall in Peasedown St John We look forward to continuing our work with you and appreciate your support.

The team at Bath Spa were delighted with the success of their internships schemes over the last couple of years and are excited to announce the relaunch of Bath Spa Works: Internships for 2021/22. Since the conception of Bath Spa Works: Internships we never tire of hearing the great feedback from both employers and students who benefitted massively from the offering. These opportunities provide invaluable experiences to our students allowing them to enhance their key employability skills, which will set them apart in the ever competitive Graduate labour market. We understand that our employers have such varying recruitment needs and we want to be as flexible as possible to suit you. If you would like to get involved with Bath Spa Works: Internships, please complete this Employer Proposal form with an outline of your internship details. This form will be submitted to the Placements Team to review and approve if deemed appropriate so please be as clear as possible as this will help us shortlist. If approved, you will then be asked to upload the role to our online jobs platform, MyCareer. We will be in touch with next steps and further detail if and when your role has been accepted. This year we will be offering part - funded internships where you will have an opportunity to select one of our fantastic students for either: 70-120 hours - funding contribution of £500 OR 140 + hours - funding contribution of £1000 You will be required to make up the remaining amount in order to pay the student the national minimum wage. The student will need to be added to your payroll and paid directly. When putting your proposal together, please remember that students should not work more than 15 hours per week during term time. If you would like a full time internship, you may want to consider running your internship during academic breaks (such as Summer). Please get in touch if you have any questions on this. In the meantime, please take the time to read over the Bath Spa Works Internships: Terms & Conditions and Employer Guide. For any internships that involve remote working, we also encourage you to take the time to read over this "Guide to working from home for students" from ACAS.

Localgiving have partnered with Western Power Distribution to manage their Community Matters Fund. In this fund, Western Power Distribution is providing £500,000 funding in response to fuel poverty this winter. Western Power Distribution distributes electricity to 8 million customers across an area covering the Midlands, South West England and South Wales. Simply enter your postcode here to make sure that your organisation is based in an area served by Western Power Distribution. Registered charities are able to benefit from up to £10,000 in funding and other charitable organisations can access up to £2,000. You can find out more about the fund on the Localgiving website, including a funding guide and the application questions, so that you can make the best application possible. Find Out More They are accepting applications to the fund until 22nd November Start Your Application

The Women’s Work Lab, in partnership with B&NES Council, are keen to hear from businesses who may be interested in taking on a Mum for an unpaid work placement in January 2022. The Lab supports unemployed Mums in receipt of benefits to (re)start their careers. Typically participants have faced significant barriers to working which may include domestic abuse, children with additional needs, mental health struggles or English being their second language. The core 12-week programme helps to build confidence and employability skills via face-to-face training combined with a volunteer work placement at a well-respected local organisation. Mums are then matched with a mentor for six months to support them on their continued journey back towards work, which may include further training & volunteering. The January placements form part of the November 2021 Women’s Work Lab programme. Other programmes in Bath this year include one in May and the September cohort which is currently ongoing. Of the 14 Mums who joined the May programme, eight are now successfully back into work. Women’s Work Lab would like to hear from organisations, no matter what their size, who feel they may be able to help. The main criteria is a supportive environment where a participant can take part in an entry level type role. The types of business are endless and, depending on the Mums interests, placements so far have included administration (in charities and businesses), support work, nursery work, hospitality and retail. Placements are due to take place January 11 to February 3 for 15 hours during school hours (usually Tues/Weds/Thurs 9.30-2.30). Find out more at www.womensworklab.co.uk. Any interested organisations please contact co-founder Rachel Mostyn on rachel@womensworklab.co.uk

Bath & North East Somerset Council’s cabinet is to consider extending Virgin Care’s contract to provide adult community health and social care services, children’s health services, and some public health services. As joint commissioners, the council and Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG) awarded Virgin Care a seven-year contract in 2016 with the option to extend for a further three years to 2026/27. This award followed a two-year joint review of community services that included extensive public engagement and led to developing a new model for health and care community services that informed Virgin Care’s transformation programme. A report to go before cabinet on Thursday 11 November recommends extending the contract but transferring two services back to the council and the CCG. Since April 2017 Virgin Care has been responsible for a wide range of services to support people in their community who, for example, have diabetes or dementia or who have respiratory problems or suffered a stroke; children with learning difficulties or life limiting conditions; people with complex needs; and elderly people undergoing rehabilitation after a stay in hospital. The organisation’s community public health functions include helping people to stop smoking and supporting parents to give their children the best start in life. Through its school immunisation programme, commissioned by NHS England and Improvement, Virgin Care is currently playing a key role helping to stop the spread of Covid-19, by offering vaccinations to 12–15-year-olds. The report to cabinet outlines Virgin Care’s performance, including customer feedback and details of areas requiring improvement. It recommends extending the contract but returning Virgin Care’s responsibilities for strategic safeguarding and Continuing Health Care (CHC) to the council and CCG respectively. This would streamline safeguarding services between Virgin Care and the council and the transfer of the CHC service to the CCG would bring it in line with CHC arrangements for Swindon and Wiltshire. Councillor Alison Born, cabinet member for Adults and Council House Building, said: “We recognise that the past two years have been incredibly challenging for those working in community health and social care, supporting some of our most vulnerable residents. The pandemic has reinforced how important these services are and we must ensure they are delivered to the highest standards. We will therefore consider the report carefully before reaching a decision.” Dr Brynn Bird, GP and B&NES Clinical Lead at BSW CCG said: “The option of a contract extension was included as part of the original contract between Virgin Care, B&NES Council and the CCG when it was awarded five years ago. But it’s important that we act in the best interest of our local population and I’m pleased that such a detailed and balanced report has been prepared for the Cabinet and CCG Governing Body to consider on 11 November.” Virgin Care is currently responsible for a range of services including two community hospitals, outpatients’ clinics, school nursing and immunisation services as well as wellbeing services and some social care services. The report to cabinet says regular monitoring of these services has found that overall they are well run by Virgin Care and its contractors. It says the offer to residents has improved following changes to service delivery, for example upskilling physios to support consultants delivering Botox therapy to reduce waiting lists within the Community Stroke and Neurological Service and embracing new technologies within public health to support people wishing to stop smoking. The performance of Children’s Community Health Services is highlighted as consistently performing strongly: managing resources effectively and delivering high quality services across the board including receiving a ‘Very Good’ rating for the support provided to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. One of the biggest drivers of improvement has been the establishment of a Care Co-ordination Centre to help residents navigate the health and care system by providing a single point of access. The centre, set up by Virgin Care in Peasedown St John, receives hundreds of calls every day with teams of social care and health professionals on hand to provide advice and signpost to appropriate services. Virgin Care has also been instrumental in leading the development and operation of the Community Wellbeing Hub in conjunction with colleagues from 3SG, their members, BSW CCG and the council. The Hub was set up as an emergency response to Covid-19 providing a single point of access for anyone seeking support or guidance. Since the onset of the pandemic Virgin Care staff have triaged more than 15,000 calls to the Hub with response teams providing a range of support including food support, welfare support and mental and physical wellbeing advice and support. The Hub has proved so successful it will now provide an ongoing service for a joined-up community response to support the wellbeing of residents. During 2019/20 Virgin Care: provided 52 community services supporting 40,268 people carried out 278,209 face-to-face appointments supported 14,562 calls from the Community Wellbeing Hub Virgin Care has also delivered on a key initial transformation priority to develop a system to allow practitioners to appropriately share an individual’s records to ensure the best decisions are made about their care. Integrated care records are now being rolled out across Bath and North East Somerset. However, the report to cabinet also identifies some service areas that require improvement such as assessment and review waiting times in Adult Social Care; diagnostic waiting times in Community Services, which fall below national standards, and length of stay times in Community Hospitals. The report also highlights the fact that some services are being affected by recruitment issues and throughout its five-year contract Virgin Care has consistently found its ability to carry out Continuing Health Care assessments within the national target of 28 days challenging. The report also recommends identifying clear performance improvement plans for some services provided by Virgin Care. It's against this backdrop that cabinet is being asked to consider whether Virgin Care should continue to provide community health and social care across the district from 2024 – 2027. As joint commissioners BSW CCG and the council must reach a decision and inform Virgin Care by March next year. The BSW CCG Governing Body will also meet in public to discuss the report on Thursday 11 November and details of their meeting are available here The Council’s Children, Adults and Young People Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel will also consider the report at its meeting on 9th November. View the report to cabinet Cabinet will meet informally via Zoom at 6.30pm on Wednesday 10 November to discuss the report before making a formal decision at its meeting at 11.30am on Thursday 11 November. You can watch both meetings live or view them later on the Youtube channel.

Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) is a hate crime charity that provides casework support as well as signposting, training, educational workshops, empowerment sessions and equality and diversity consultancy across the West of England. Alongside their specialist partners, SWAN and The Diversity Trust, they have been awarded funding by the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) for their Every Victims Matters hate crime service. As well as free, confidential and person-centred casework for hate crime victims, they are also funded to provide free training and empowerment sessions across BANES, North Somerset and Somerset. The aim is to raise awareness on hate crime, build confidence and empower individuals and the community while developing a wider network. They can offer: Free training sessions for statutory, voluntary and corporate agencies. Free ‘Twilight’ (straight after the school day finishes) training sessions for school staff. Free empowerment sessions for residents, service user and community groups. If you feel that your organisation or community group would benefit from free hate crime training and awareness please don’t hesitate to get in touch with natalia@saricharity.org.uk or call 07944888226.

B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership (BCSSP) have released their latest regional newsletter which includes all the details of what is happening for Stop Adult Abuse Week this year. The week runs from Monday 15th November to Friday 19th November and combines with the National Safeguarding Adults Week. Please make use of the resources provided in this newsletter here – where you will find: • Events to book on – all free and suitable for practitioners working with adults across Avon & Somerset • Information about resources to use with families • Practitioner resources • Useful contact details • Social media suggested posts to use throughout the week – the more people and organisations using the hashtags and messages, the more people will be reached by the important messages.

This November, local charity Julian House has teamed up with its long supporter Paperstarlights to ‘gift a little light’ this winter. The charity is encouraging its supporters and members of the public in Bath and the surrounding area to nominate a loved ones who has done something good this year to help others. In doing so, their loved one will be in with a chance of winning one of 12 stunning paper star lights to decorate their home this winter. Senior Community and Events Fundraiser Jess Gay said: “ This year has continued to be immensely tough for everyone. As we started the year in lockdown, many families went months without seeing each other yet still went above and beyond to help others in the greatest of need. Whether your loved one made scrubs for NHS workers, donated food, gifted funds, made hats and scarves for those who needed them or volunteered for a cause, we’d like to know all of the wonderful incredible ways our community has gone above and beyond to help each other in these dark times.” People will be able to nominate their loved one by tagging them in our Facebook post here or Instagram post here. We’ll then enter all entries into a pot and pull out 12 winners at random on 1st December. The winners will then be able to collect their beautiful stars from the Paperstarlights stall at the Bath Market outside the Abbey which is running up until December 19th.” Andy from Paperstarlights added: “As traders at Bath Christmas Market for almost 20 years, we are always so grateful for the warm welcome given to us by the people of Bath. It’s a city full of warmth and humanity – demonstrated every day by the people who give their time and resources to support the work of Julian House. This year we wanted to shine a light on some of the people from Bath who, during another tough year, give so much to support the charities work with vulnerable people in the city. Hopefully the gift of these stars can signify warmth, comfort, and gratitude. Both in the homes of people and those who pass by.” Paperstarlights has been a long supporter of Julian House, offering support everything December though the usual Bath Christmas market. Last year, when the market was closed, it donated lights to the charity’s domestic abuse refuge to ‘shine some light’ during the difficult year. While Bath Christmas market has been scaled back this year, Paperstarlights will be part of a smaller market and will be holding a stall outside Bath Abbey from 25th November to 19th December. For more information on Julian House visit: www.julianhouse.org.uk or Paperstarlights: https://paperstarlights.com/

The CAF Business Development Manager for charities has shared some updates which may be useful for 3SG members: CBILS - Through CBILS, CAF Bank is able to provide loans of up to £3m to charitable organisations across the UK who are experiencing financial difficulties due to lost or deferred revenues. https://www.cafonline.org/charities/borrowing/secured-loans/cbils CAF Venturesome – Community Led Housing Scheme - This is a pioneering social investor. We've been providing flexible loans to Community Land Trusts since 2008. https://www.cafonline.org/charities/borrowing/social-investment/community-led-housing CAF Charity Deposit Platform - Manage your risk. Just one application. Multiple Banks, Multiple Deposits. - A deposit platform exclusively for charitable organisations in the UK https://www.cafonline.org/charities/savings/charity-deposit-platform

GPs from across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire have today written to local people to explain that, despite current pressures, practices across the region remain open, with a range of appointments, including face-to-face, telephone and online, available. It’s no secret that GP practices in our area are incredibly busy right now, and while we know this may cause some to have concerns about not being able to access care, we want to reassure our communities that we are open. However, the pressure we are currently seeing, which stems from a mixture of staff absences, increasing numbers of coronavirus cases and an increase in demand for urgent and emergency care, means we are working in conditions not usually seen outside the middle of winter. During August, which is the last full month for which statistics are available, GP practices in our area carried out more than 366,000 appointments, of which more than half (56 per cent) took place in person. This is up by more than 50,000 when compared to August of last year, which means our teams are now providing around 2,400 more appointments each day. We know some patients have struggled recently to get through to their practice, and we know this hasn’t been ideal, but please be assured that our practices are open, as they have been throughout the entirety of the pandemic. Coronavirus meant that we had to adapt the way we offered appointments, so that we could continue to see patients in a way that kept both patients and our practice staff safe. This meant carrying out more telephone and video consultations, which many patients told us they preferred, especially at this current time. As well as preventing the need for people to travel, remote appointments give people the convenience of being able to be seen and treated within their own home or at work, while also helping us to avoid having crowded waiting rooms in our practices. That does not mean in-person discussions are no longer available – they absolutely are – especially for people with potentially serious health concerns. Our GP practices will always offer appointments, either face to face, or via remote consultation, with the health and care professional most appropriate for a patient’s needs. We know that people have been hugely supportive of us throughout the pandemic, and we truly appreciate this, but it’s important to remember that Covid-19 has not gone away, and we still need your help. When our receptionists ask questions on the phone, this is not a barrier, but an important process to ensure that people are cared for in the most appropriate way, and by the most appropriate professional, such as a physiotherapist, mental health nurse or phlebotomist, all of whom are experts in their area. So please be kind, and remember that our administrative teams are here to help, just as much as our clinicians. Staying home when feeling under the weather, as well as visiting a local pharmacy for minor illnesses and injuries, keeps more appointments available for those who really need them. Many pharmacies also have a private treatment room for confidential consultations and discussions, which can usually be had without an appointment. NHS 111 online is a great tool for those thinking about accessing care, but unsure of where to go, as the service provides information and advice specific to a person’s symptoms and, where appropriate, directions to other healthcare options. By taking these steps, as well as taking personal precautions such as having vaccinations for Covid-19 and flu, if eligible, you will be playing your part in supporting your local practice during this exceptionally busy time. Our health services are under enormous pressure, but we are open and available. Please continue to play your part by being kind to our staff, socially distancing where possible and wearing a face covering in all healthcare settings. Thank you. Dr Bryn Bird, Locality Clinical Lead, Bath and North East Somerset Dr Amanda Webb, Locality Clinical Lead, Swindon Dr Edd Rendell, Locality Clinical Lead, Wiltshire

A group of 4 young farmers have collectively purchased 15.5 acres of land to start a farm for community and ecology. Building on their existing veg box scheme through Middle Ground Growers (middlegroundgrowers.com), they aim to upscale their operation to provide over 200 families with fresh produce whilst supplying more local restaurants and shops - joining the shift towards a localised food system for Bath. They are now calling on the community to help fund a truly inspiring model for regenerative farming and community supported agriculture. A crowdfunder launched on 23rd October: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ecological-farm-for-bath

The 9th edition of the newly designed ‘Safe Home’ newsletter, formerly called ‘Keeping Children & Young People Safe from Injury in B&NES’ has been published. Unintentional injuries in and around the home are a leading cause of preventable death and are a major cause of ill health and serious disability for children under five. This edition showcases the Home Safety Equipment Service. It also includes top tips for staying safe at Halloween and on Bonfire night, how to get involved in road safety awareness week, workforce training and warnings on products. This newsletter, plus previous editions can also be accessed via: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/public-health/latest-health-messages/injury-prevention-children-and-young-people-0

People with a learning disability often have poorer physical and mental health than other people and may face barriers to accessing health and care to keep them healthy. Too many people with a learning disability are dying earlier than they should, many from things which could have been treated or prevented. The learning from deaths of people with a learning disability (LeDeR) programme was set up as a service improvement programme to look at why people are dying and what we can do to change services locally and nationally to improve the health of people with a learning disability and reduce health inequalities. By finding out more about why people died we can understand what needs to be changed to make a difference to people’s lives. In a LeDeR review someone who is trained to carry out reviews, usually someone who is clinical or has a social work background, looks at the person’s life and the circumstances that led up to their death and from the information they have makes recommendations to the local commissioning system about changes that could be made locally to help improve services for other people with a learning disability locally. They look at the GPs records and social care and hospital records (if relevant) and speak to family members about the person who has died to find out more about them and their life experiences. For more information on the LeDar programme: https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities/improving-health/mortality-review/ Anyone can notify a death to the LeDeR programme and the more deaths we are aware of the more accurate the information we have will be. Information on how to report the death of a person with a learning disability to LeDeR (age 4 years and over) can be found here:https://leder.nhs.uk/report If you have any further questions please contact BSW LeDeR Email: bswccg.leder@nhs.net

Groundbreaking local projects in the Bath area have been awarded a grant from the first ever Love Your Park Community Fund helping communities to recover from the pandemic while cherishing their green space. The Fund will directly benefit 1000 people in the immediate vicinity of the projects as well as providing benefits for the wider community. The innovative Fund is the result of generous donations from local people and businesses in support of community groups with an inspiring grass roots idea for projects that meet local need in their park or green space. These are the unsung local heroes in and around Bath who volunteer their time and go the extra mile for their community and their green space. All the projects demonstrate how they will help communities to recover from the pandemic by connecting with those who do not regularly benefit from a green space, are socially isolated or without a garden of their own. One in eight households has no access to a private or shared garden and those of Black ethnicity are 2.4 times less likely than those of White ethnicity to have a private garden (Office for National Statistics, 2020). Many of the groups came together during Covid-19 and the projects aim to enhance the wellbeing of communities, both physical and mental, improving access to nature and providing opportunities to socialise and be active. Their ideas will benefit both people and nature, protecting local habitats and creating wilder spaces in our parks. Projects awarded grants in the Bath area are: • Blooming Whiteway – a group dedicated to growing community connections on the Whiteway estate who will use the grant to create a community Peace Garden building on activities supporting residents to connect with and celebrate their green spaces. The Garden will include natural seating, bee friendly sensory planting and a Memorial Area for local people to reflect and rest. The group says ‘We hope that creating a peaceful place to sit and reflect, plus the addition of a Memorial Garden will help people to engage with the many losses that have been experienced during the pandemic’ • Grow Batheaston - a group of enthusiastic volunteers who came together as a response to the pandemic and climate emergency. They want to help local people to learn about and appreciate how managed meadows and more planting would improve living in the area and result in a positive impact on the environment. The group will use their funding to involve the local community in creating areas of wildflower meadow, including preparing the ground, sowing and eventually community scything of the meadow. They will also discuss ideas for the future exploring how to collaborate as a community to improve their urban space. • Keynsham Abbey working group are a group of dedicated volunteers who care passionately about the historic remains of the Abbey and gardens within Keynsham Memorial Park. Many passers-by are completely unaware of the existence of the Abbey site and the group will help to bring the remarkable story of the Abbey to life by creating a website and hosting visitor events for the wider community. They will also use the funds to restore and replenish the medieval plants and herbs that would have grown at Abbey, rekindling its origins, improving local signage and celebrating its unique history. Charlee Bennett, Director, Your Park, Bristol and Bath commented: “We’re so excited to be announcing the projects we’re supporting through the first ever round of the Love Your Park Community Fund. Local groups have told us just how vital their community green spaces have been during Covid 19. We are delighted to be helping them on their journey and can’t wait to see the impact they will have.” The Love Your Park Community Fund was created through individual donations to the Your Park Bristol and Bath charity, via initiatives such as the ‘Big Give’ as well as support from local companies including C J Hole and Good Energy.

3SG have just launched their Annual Survey and invite all 3rd Sector organisations working in BaNES to fill in before 12th November 2021. The survey can be completed here: https://forms.gle/Raf3E67dPkckJZEH8 The 3rd Sector includes registered charities, associations, self-help groups, churches, community groups and social enterprises. It should take around 15 minutes to complete but you may need to collect a few pieces of financial information. If you work in a team then please talk to your other colleagues to ensure that each organisation only completes the survey once. It's open to all 3rd sector organisations in Bath and North East Somerset and you do not have to be a 3SG member to complete.