The Roman Baths welcomed visitors back through its doors today, having been closed since 31 December 2020 due to government Covid lockdown restrictions. The very first visitors of the day were John and Sue Jenkins, from Riverside, Bath, who were met by Bath & North East Somerset Council leader, Councillor Kevin Guy and Roman Bath’s staff. Councillor Guy said: “Re-opening the Roman Baths is a big step forward in our recovery as we ease out of lockdown and I was absolutely delighted to greet Sue and John. “The balance is now shifting thanks to the rollout of vaccines and testing. So our priorities are to support the recovery of our High Streets and local businesses in a sustainable way. The safe reopening of the Roman Baths, as well as the Fashion Museum and the Victoria Art Gallery, will be a huge boost to businesses in the city and we look forward to welcoming visitors back to Bath & North East Somerset.” Sue Jenkins, 65, said: “We moved to Bath a year ago from Lacock and have spent this last lockdown walking past the Roman Baths most days wishing we could come inside and look around. The last time I was here was aged 18 so today has been great to be able at last to revisit the Roman Baths. John, 68, added: “We have also got our tickets for the Fashion Museum and The Victoria Art Gallery and are really looking forward to being able to explore them too. The Roman Baths was always a place we wanted to visit since moving to the city last year. We feel really safe visiting the Baths with all the measures that have been put in place and we enjoyed our warm welcome.” Pre-booking for the Roman Baths opened in mid-March and has proved popular with more than 7,600 tickets booked so far. The Fashion Museum and Victoria Art Gallery – also run by Bath & North East Somerset Council – will reopen tomorrow (Tuesday 18 May) after being closed for more than a year due to the pandemic. The Fashion Museum will open with a stunning new exhibition called Shoephoria!, featuring more than 350 pairs of boots and shoes, many drawn from the Museum’s world-class collection, alongside ‘star’ shoes borrowed for the exhibition. The Victoria Art Gallery will host a major new exhibition by celebrated British painter Kurt Jackson, whose passion for nature and commitment to the environment are central to his work. The exhibition, Kurt Jackson: Biodiversity, will display works seen for the first time, highlighting important issues around biodiversity. Safety measures are in place at all three venues to protect visitors and staff this means reduced capacity and one-way systems have been introduced, along with increased cleaning and screens at ticket desks. Visitors are required to wear a face covering unless exempt. All visitors must book online in advance. Admission is free for residents of Bath and North East Somerset, with a Discovery Card or other proof of residence. Free tickets must be booked online in advance. For more details visit www.romanbaths.co.uk/residents. www.romanbaths.co.uk www.fashionmuseum.co.uk www.victoriagal.org.uk

Would you like to be part of an award-winning creative arts organisation and help to make a real difference? Currently, we have a Board consisting of 5 trustees. We are looking for up to 3 new trustees and a new chair to join us and bring with them fresh eyes and new perspectives to work with our experienced board. We would ask for your time as a minimum of up to 5 days a year and commit to a 2-to-3-year tenure and in return we will support you to grow your own professional networks and contribute to your local community to a cause you really care about. We are particularly keen to welcome new and diverse people to our Board from under-represented groups. If you don't have previous experience of this type of role, you will be buddied with an expereinced Trustee to support you and aid your development. Please feel free to email Director Sarah James via sarah@creativityworks.org.uk to organise an informal chat to see whether we might be the right fit for you before you decide to apply. Deadline for applications is 1st June 2021.

Mixing home and office working has many benefits. Here are some tips from Charity Digital to help charity staff as they begin to move back to the office. Charities around the UK are looking forward to welcoming staff back into their offices as COVID-19 restrictions are slowly lifted. But after the enforced changes in working practices over the last fourteen months, things are unlikely to return to the way they were before the pandemic for a long time, if ever. That’s because many charities have discovered the advantages of staff working from home – the ability to benefit from the skills of people who live too far away to work in the office or who may have mobility issues, lower office overheads, better work life balance, and less commuting stress, to name just a few. As a result, many charities are looking to transition from staff working from home to hybrid working. This involves some office-based staff, some home workers, and some hybrid workers: staff members who work some of the time at home and some of the time in the charity office. For staff transitioning to hybrid working, there are a number of important things to consider. Office reconfiguration With a significant number of hybrid workers, most charities will need less dedicated desk space. But that begs the question of where hybrid staff will work when they do come in to the office. Likely solutions include “hot desking”, where all staff can sit down at any free desk rather than having their own workspace, and more informal open plan workspaces where hybrid staff can place a laptop and start working. Since charities are likely to have fewer staff working in the office at any given time than previously, this provides an opportunity to reconfigure the office to include more meeting rooms or collaboration spaces. Alternatively, it may be possible to repurpose office space, either by using it for some other charity activity, such as service delivery, or by subletting it to other businesses or charities, or putting up event or meeting space for hire. Hybrid working technology One of the biggest inconveniences of hybrid working is finding that the documents, spreadsheets, and other resources that they need when they are working from home on a laptop are on their office computer, or vice versa. Overcoming this may require changes to working practices, for example by storing all computer files in the cloud where they are accessible from anywhere. The use of a password manager such as LastPass or Keeper which can store and sync bookmarks and passwords between browsers can also help ensure hybrid workers have easy access to all their passwords and important websites regardless of whether they happen to be in the office or at home. Home office setup Many charity staff who have been working from home during the pandemic will have been working from a kitchen table, or perhaps even their bed. But if hybrid working means that some home working will continue indefinitely then it makes sense to encourage staff to establish a proper home working environment if this is possible. A good home working environment should include a comfortable and ergonomic desk and chair and good internet connectivity (using a Wi-Fi booster if necessary), in a quiet environment free from as many distractions as possible. Some people may not have the space in their home for a room to be turned into a dedicated home office, but a home working environment can often be made out of a small portion of a living room or kitchen. To help staff work effectively in a home work space it can be useful to: Avoid getting distracted by the internet. Software and mobile apps can block or limit the use of social media and shopping sites, video platforms and games during work hours to help home workers stay focused. These include Dewo, Freedom, FocusMe, and LeechBlock Dress for work. Stories abound of people working in their pyjamas during the pandemic. But putting on work clothes when working from home can reinforce the feeling that they are “at work” when they are in their home working environment Hybrid working security Hybrid workers are vulnerable to cyber criminals when working from home. The main reason for this is that home work environments are rarely protected by the same cyber security measures as an office. There is also the added security risk which stems from staff travelling between their home and office while carrying laptops, USB memory sticks and mobile devices which can all get lost or stolen. That means that hybrid workers need to take additional security precautions. Basic security precautions that hybrid workers need to consider include: Securing home routers and Wi-Fi networks with strong passwords Using two factor authentication when logging on to cloud services or accessing office systems remotely Using a VPN when accessing the office network remotely Encrypting all data stored on laptops, mobile devices and storage devices such as USB memory sticks Running endpoint protection software on all home laptops and desktops. If possible, use a dedicated computer for work use rather than using the same computer for personal and work use Backing up data securely to protect against disasters and ransomware attacks

About Grow Batheaston Grow Batheaston is a one-year-old community group initiated by a small group of local residents, coming into existence as a response to the pandemic which threw into relief the problems society is currently facing. The group’s common love of growing and gardening sustainably has enabled it to flourish and encompass wider areas of interest which now includes plans for a local store, a community garden, a Hen Club, a Bee Club, a Sports and Fitness branch, a Wellbeing group, support for a local Art Trail plus collaborations with other organisations within the village. JOB DESCRIPTION Grow Batheaston is about to apply for charitable status. They will be able to take advantage of better funding streams and make their organisation more resilient. They need committed, well-informed, enthusiastic individuals to help negotiate this exciting new way forward by forming a Board of Trustees. Appointed trustees will be working with a group of creative and committed individuals, and will understand the underlying ethos of the group which is to strengthen community, create food security and encourage biodiversity. PERSON SPECIFICATION Appointed trustees will have experience of working in or with community groups; areas of expertise could be as diverse as business management, wildlife conservation, nature projects, the arts, agroecology, organic food production, fundraising, sports coaching. More important is a cooperative, creative approach and a willingness to help develop a sustainable strategic vision for the benefit of the whole community. You can view the full trustee job description & specification here. If interested please visit: growbatheaston.co.uk/journal/trustee or email hello@growbatheaston.co.uk www.growbatheaston.co.uk | facebook/growbatheaston | @growbatheaston | instagram/growbatheaston

This free step-by-step online guide to open trustee recruitment has equality, diversity & inclusion embedded throughout. It's recently been launched as a new collaboration between Getting OnBoard, Reach Volunteering, the Association of Chairs and Small Charities Coalition. They spoke to a range of charities to find out what helps them to recruit good trustees, and what hinders them. They have distilled their experience into six stages below. Don't feel like you've got to follow every step! Pick and choose what is most useful to your charity, for the stage you are at right now. The guide has been developed using a design-led approach, is grounded in research and has been tested with charities at several stages. It's packed with tips, tools & insights, see the full guide here or keep reading below for an overview. Reflect Decide which skills and experience are the most important to lead your charity, and identify which of these are missing from your current board. A skills audit can help. Trustees work collectively, as a team, so the people who will add the most value to your board will be people who can bring new skills and different perspectives, rather than 'more of the same'. Think about the diversity of your board - which voices and experiences are missing from your board discussions? A diversity audit can reveal characteristics like invisible disabilities and class. Recruiting a diverse board does take extra thought but it will repay that investment by making board discussions richer, and ensuring that your board represents the communities you serve. Consider what might discourage people from joining your board and be open to changing how you operate. Deciding to recruit openly will get you off on the right footing Prepare Decide on your process. How do you want people to apply so that you can shortlist effectively? Who will be involved at each stage of the process, from writing the role description to sitting on the interview panel? Agree key dates and get them in people's diaries A good process will help you select the right trustees, and it will make the experience more engaging and inclusive for your candidates. Think about what people need to know about the role and your charity, and what will encourage them to apply. A recruitment pack can be a good way of bringing this information together. Outline the responsibilities and commitment of the role in a clear, concise and jargon-free trustee role description. Get someone from your target audience to look over your materials and give you feedback on anything that is confusing or off-putting Advertise Write a compelling trustee advert that will attract great candidates. Explain why your charity's work is vital, the skills and qualities that you are looking for, and why these are important to the board. Communicate with passion and energy. Don't forget practical details like how to apply, and make it easy for people to find out more. Share your advert widely to attract a good pool of candidates. Use your own networks to encourage people to apply, and ask people to share your role on your behalf. It is important to promote beyond your own networks too, especially if you want to broaden the diversity of your board. Trustee recruitment sites can help you find a range of people interested in trustee positions. Some, like Reach Volunteering, allow you to proactively search for candidates. Identify other places that might help you reach your target audience such as dedicated networks and organisations. Tailor your advert to suit the channel. Shortlist and interview Shortlist your candidates against your agreed set of skills and qualities. Don't be swayed by impressive CVs! Look for people who meet your criteria and will bring new and different perspectives to your existing board, rather than 'more of the same'. Plan your interview process so it goes smoothly. Ask structured questions to assess applicants' interest in your organisation, their fit with your charity's values and to explore how they could use their skills and experience to help board discussions. Use marking criteria to choose the best candidates and to make the process fair. It also makes it easier to turn down unsuccessful candidates and give them constructive feedback. Interviews are a two-way street: applicants will want to find out more about your charity, the other trustees and your board culture. Give them opportunities to do this, and make the interview a positive experience for them – it will help you secure the right trustees. Appoint and induct When you've chosen your new trustee, check their eligibility and confirm their appointment. There are a few administrative tasks to do at this stage. Then give your new board member an induction that will help them thrive in their new role. Boards vary in how they operate so a good induction is useful, even if they have been a trustee before. Share relevant information on your charity and how your board operates, and help them get to know the other trustees and team members. Different people will have different needs, so tailor your induction to suit the individual. All board members share the same responsibility so they must all be able to participate on an equal footing. Find out what training and support your new trustees need to carry out their role well and give them a board 'buddy'. Consider wider aspects like board culture: the way your board currently operates might not work for your new trustees. Be willing to make changes to accommodate them and set them up for success. The Chair has an important role to play in building an inclusive culture. Evaluate No recruitment process is perfect. Although it's tempting to move on to next steps, evaluate your trustee recruitment process now while it’s fresh in your mind. You'll be grateful next time you come to recruit. Review what worked and what didn't, and ask for feedback. If you didn't manage to appoint this time round, it might be worth taking a second look at your shortlist, and it is certainly worth evaluating each stage of the process to see what you can change for next time. This is also a good time to think about succession planning, term limits and how to create a pipeline of future trustees.

You may not really have thought about carbon monoxide risks in your day to day work, both to your client and to you. There is a duty of care to both of you. This online, hour-long workshop is aimed at front line staff or volunteers working in individual's homes. The Think CO online workshop will tell you more about the sources, signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, how to help prevent it and what the implications are to you and your client. In particular, we focus on long term, low level risks which can have serious consequences and help you spot and address the risks. As more vulnerable people are spending time at home, the risks increase. The online workshop is a mix of presentation, scenarios and practical exercises. Only the presenters will be on video, but participants can ask (or type) questions as they go along. They expect the workshop to last just over an hour, but there will be an opportunity to ask further questions. If you or a team member would like to participate in a free, hour long Think CO workshop please click on this link to book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/115618952399 If you would prefer to do an e-learning course instead, covering similar topics and please email them on e-learning@gassafecharity.org.uk to receive log on details. Think CO success story Earlier this year a member of the North Yorkshire County Council's reablement team was visiting a client, only a few weeks after attending the Think CO workshop. He spotted a gas fire showing signs that it was not working properly and the client described headaches, nausea and dizziness. After an emergency visit from a Gas Safe registered engineer, the fire was condemned because it was leaking carbon monoxide. This is an example of why this training is so important; it raises awareness and it can save lives.

Since 20th March 2020 to April 2021 the Community Wellbeing Hub has supported over 12, 900 calls into Triage and 69% of calls are resolved at this stage. The hub has co-ordinated over 4418 volunteer tasks since March 2020 including 3624 for food, 612 for medication and 182 other activities i.e. electricity top up. To date 3SG volunteers have completed an impressive £100,000 worth of shopping to support B&NES residents in the community. 3SG have access to approx. 2145 volunteers who are supporting 169 residents in the community on a weekly/fortnightly basis. The council logistics pod at the hub has completed the following activity since March 2020: Total of 697 emergency food parcels delivered in B&NES which has supported 834 individuals. 25% of the boxes delivered were repeats. Emergency food boxes continue to be supplemented with frozen meals supplied by the Bath Masonic Hall Trust, Square Meals project. This project has secured funding to extend frozen meals support until August 2021. Frozen meals have also been supplied to local charities and organisations. Since April 2020 over 44,900 meals have been distributed across B&NES.

B&NES Council are proud to announce the launch of a brand-new web-based resource providing information, signposting and support to adults needing care or support to live independently. Live Well B&NES adults (which replaces Wellbeing Options) is now live! The resource is brand new, with information, services and groups being added all the time. If you work with, support, provide services or run groups for adults needing care or support (including older people, adults with physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments, people recovering from mental ill-health), and haven’t already registered - make sure you’re included! It’s free and takes five minutes to register A calendar of activities, groups and events is being developed and will be available shortly: watch this space. Coming soon! The new SEND Local Offer (Rainbow Resource), providing a wealth of targeted information, support, and resources for families with a child or young person with additional needs The new family information resource, providing all the information a family in B&NES needs, including all local Ofsted registered childcare If you’d like to know more, have any questions about Live Well B&NES adults or would like to be involved in the review of the new SEND Local Offer or family information parts of Live Well B&NES; the Live Well B&NES team would love to hear from you. Contact: P_C_Comms@BATHNES.GOV.UK or Melanie_Hodgson@bathnes.gov.uk

Headway Bath and District is a local charity with over 20 years’ experience of providing specialist relief, rehabilitation and support to adults who have suffered an acquired brain injury (through accident or injury). They also support carers and family members including advocacy, signposting and emotional support. As part of Action for Brain Injury week, Headway Bath and District will be premiering a short video they’ve put together, hearing from service users themselves about their experiences of isolation after brain injury and reflections on the last year of COVID-19 lockdowns. They’ll also be hosting a cake sale and awareness-raising event at the Percy Community Centre in Bath, on Friday 21st May. If you’re interested in finding out more about what they do, about brain injury, and want to show your support please feel free to drop by any time between 10am and 12noon. You can also visit their Instagram and Twitter pages @HeadwayBath for more info on the above! Read more… About Headway Bath and District Headway Bath’s services have grown and developed over the years and they currently provide a combination of practical support work, and social and cognitive rehabilitation for people across BANES and Wiltshire. This includes a day centre with a variety of tailored activities, social groups, online groups, and one-to-one outreach - in people’s homes and out in the community. They actively engage their clients in developing personalised and tailored support plans, through a person-centred, rehabilitative, and outcomes-based approach. Carla Snell who recently joined as Operations Manager says: “Although we are a small charity, we have big ambitions! We want to raise awareness and promote more of an understanding around the impact of brain injury, not just on the survivor themselves, but also on their family members and carers. We want to develop our services further so we can support more people straight after discharge from hospital and rehab units, and we want to work in partnership with more agencies and third sector organisations to collectively provide the best support we can.” Anyone can refer to their service, although the large majority come via adult social care, community neuro and stroke teams, and other health and social care professionals. If you are interested in finding out more or want to make a referral, please call on 07985 412 133 or email: info@headwaybath.org.uk A few facts and stats! Acquired brain injury (ABI) is an umbrella term for any injury to the brain sustained since birth. The most common forms of ABI are traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke. Other causes include brain tumour, meningitis, aneurysm, haemorrhage, encephalitis, anoxia, and other conditions. The most common causes of a traumatic brain injury are: Road traffic accidents (50%) Domestic and industrial falls (20-25%) Sports and recreational injuries (10-15%) Assaults (10%) Every 90 seconds someone is admitted to hospital with an ABI in the UK. Men are 1.5 times more likely than women to be admitted for a head injury

Tescos and Co-Op have recently opened out their local community funds and are requesting organisations to submit their applications as soon as possible. Details below: Tesco Community Grant Scheme This has been relaunched and rebranded, with a focus on ‘food insecurity, food banks, holiday hunger projects’ and ‘children, young people and families’. Shortlisted projects go into Tesco stores and are voted on by customers. The grants awards are £1,500 for 1st Place, £1000 for 2nd and £500 for 3rd. All applications must be done online here and projects are encouraged to apply asap. Groundwork are helping to coordinate the scheme and can be contacted with any questions: East of England: Sarah Holloway - Sarah.Holloway@groundwork.org.uk North West: Dan Ellis - Dan.Ellis@groundwork.org.uk South of England: Richard Younger-Ross - richard.younger-ross@groundwork.org.uk All other areas: Julie Bustos - julie.bustos@groundwork.org.uk Co-Op Local Community Fund Applications are now open for projects that enable people to access food and co-operate together to feed everyone help improve people’s mental wellbeing offer young people opportunities to develop new skills and make a difference in their community The deadline for applications is 30th May. Find out more and apply here.

Mental Health Awareness Week (10th – 16th May 2021) is hosted by the Mental Health Foundation. It’s the UK’s national week to raise awareness of mental health and inspire actions to promote good mental health for all. This year’s theme is nature. The evidence is clear that access to nature is crucial for our mental health, and millions of people discovered that during lockdowns in 2020. However, this was not the same for all of us. MHAW 2021 will explore what the barriers to accessing nature are and ensure that everyone is able to share in the natural world and experience its mental health benefits. Daily themes • Monday 10th May – Being Active in nature • Tuesday 11th May – Keep Learning in nature • Wednesday 12th May –Connections to nature • Thursday 13th May – Giving time and giving to nature • Friday 14th May –Taking Notice in nature • Saturday 15th May – Why Accessible Nature matters • Sunday 16th May – Creative ways to be in nature Mental Health Awareness Week resources To help celebrate MHAW the Mental Health Foundation have provided a range of resources from logos, press release templates and social media assets. Simply follow the link here to access these resources. Campaign hashtags: #ConnectWithNature #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #NatureinBANES (Bath Mind own hashtag) What's on locally? During Mental Health Awareness Week, there are various free face to face and online events available. Please note this list is not exhaustive, some of these events are specific to Mental Health Awareness week others are on an ongoing basis. Monday 10th May • Green Links Community Allotment - 12:30 – 3:30pm • EcoWild Lakeside Wellbeing - 10am – 12pm and 1pm – 3pm • EcoWild Peer-led Lakeside Wellbeing – 10am – 3pm Tuesday 11th May • Creativity Works Writing Outside the Walls – Four Week Course - 2pm – 4pm • Bath Mind & Creatvitiy Works Snap and Stay Session in Keynsham Park from 1pm - 3pm. • Bath Mind Mental Health First Aid Aware Training Session – 9:30am – 2pm • Green Links Community Allotment at Alice Park Community Garden, 10am – 1pm. • EcoWild Natures Respite, 10am – 12pm and 12:45pm – 2:45pm Wednesday 12th May • Eating for Good Mental Health and Wellbeing, 10am – 1pm • Gardening for wildlife at Sydney Gardens – 2pm – 4pm • Green Links Community Allotment, 12:30pm – 3:30pm • Green Links Community Allotment at The Potting Shed, Radstock, 11am – 2pm • Online Connect 5 Session 1 Mental Health & Wellbeing Conversations – 1pm -4pm Thursday 13th May • Creativity Works Intention Sticks at Sydney Gardens – 2pm – 4pm • Mindfulness session with Huw Griffiths at Sydney Gardens, Bath – 6pm – 7pm Friday 14th May • Bath Mind Mindfulness Walk around Henrietta Park from 11am - 11.30am. Saturday 15th May • Wheels for All Bath and West Saturday Club 12pm – 1:30pm How else can I get involved? If you're looking for other ways to get involved in this Mental Health Awareness Week, then checkout Bath Mind's competition and resources below: Download the Bath Mind free B&NES Wellbeing Map Enter their nature-themed photo competition for a chance to win local prizes Try one of their free online/at-home nature-themed wellbeing activities Mental Health Support If you or someone you know is in need of support, then please visit the Bath Mind local support directory. This resource includes COVID-19 pandemic-related options for mental health support as well as crisis support.

Starting today (7th May 2021), everyone using Twitter in English can send tips to applicable accounts on Twitter for iOS and Android. For now, a limited group of people around the world who use Twitter in English can add Tip Jar to their profile and accept tips. This group includes creators, journalists, experts, and nonprofits. Soon, more people will be able to add Tip Jar to their profile and we’ll expand to more languages. How is the money transferred? The payment is facilitated by platforms such as Bandcamp, Patreon, PayPal, Cash App and Venmo. Twitter will take no cut of the transaction, they said in a blog post announcing the new tool. “Tip Jar is an easy way to support the incredible voices that make up the conversation on Twitter,” they wrote. “This is a first step in our work to create new ways for people to receive and show support on Twitter — with money.” How do I add a Twitter tip jar? Those with access to the new feature can add it to their account via their “edit profile” section, by toggling on the “tip jar” function. Users must be signed up with one of the supported payment platforms to add the widget.

Rapid Covid-19 testing will be easier for people to access when out and about or working in Bath with the opening of a new test and collect site in the city centre from Monday (May 10). Bath & North East Somerset Council is opening the site at 3 Burton Street to offer convenient testing and test kit collections for shoppers and workers in the city centre, now retail venues have reopened. The new test and collect site will replace the facility at the Apex Hotel, which closes tomorrow (May 7). The opening times will be 7am to 6pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays. Tests can be booked via www.bathnes.gov.uk/rapidtest. Testing at Midsomer Norton and Keynsham can also be booked via the link. There will be no on-site testing available in Bath on Saturday, May 8, but kits can be collected from pharmacies across the district. There are now more than 40 sites in B&NES where people can collect a kit and people can find their nearest site here: https://maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/ Residents are being urged to regularly visit one of the test centres in B&NES to either take a test, or to pick up a test kit. Testing is being carried out twice a week, three to four days apart. Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture, said: “It’s good news that lockdown restrictions are continuing to ease, but this does mean an increased risk of Covid-19 transmission. Our new test and collect site will make it easier than ever for you to grab a test while you’re out shopping in Bath, or even on your lunch break. Please continue to test twice a week and keep following the rules so that we stay on track with the Government’s roadmap.” Becky Reynolds, Director of Public Health, said: “It’s still really important that we all keep working hard to break the chains of transmission of Covid-19 by carrying out regular rapid testing. Having a test is easy and there are lots of places where you can pick up a test kit. This new site will make it even easier for those people shopping and working in Bath. Let’s stay on track.” Having a Covid-19 lateral flow test (LFT), is quick and easy. Once you’ve registered online, getting tested takes just five minutes – with the results being sent by text or email later that day. The tests are open to anyone over the age of 16 who lives or works in Bath and North East Somerset – provided they don’t have symptoms. Testing sites at the Masonic Hall, Bath Road, Keynsham and the Centurion Hotel, Charlton Lane, Midsomer Norton are also open the same times, from Monday to Saturday. You can book online up to two weeks in advance: www.bathnes.gov.uk/rapidtest. Visit this page for more information about booking a rapid flow test: www.bathnes.gov.uk/rapidtest Please do not contact the venues directly with rapid flow testing enquiries. For questions about access to local rapid testing email rapid_test@bathnes.gov.uk. All council updates on coronavirus can be found at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/coronavirus

Clean Slate launches laptop drive in B&NES Clean Slate has received central government funding to provide laptops to people across Bath & North East Somerset who are digitally excluded. They have teamed up with Wiltshire Digital Drive (WDD), a non-profit organisation that refurbishes and recycles donated laptops to gift back to the community. The initiative will not only grant low-income households access to the benefits of online tools and resources. It will also extend the life cycle of hardware that would ultimately end up in landfill .Anyone who receives a laptop will be offered Clean Slate's Money Health-Check for one-to-one support on how to use their device to manage their finances. Around 50 laptops will be distributed this week, with more to follow. Clean Slate is working with other organisations in the region to set up a referrals process. The Right to Breathing Space - Government’s Response to Debt Crisis The government’s response to the national debt crisis comes into force this month. But despite well-meaning intentions, could this new legislation have repercussions for the sector? It’s not news that more and more people are falling into debt. Last summer we wrote about fears of a debt time-bomb, as advice agencies geared up for their busiest time on record, helplines inundated with calls. This was after the first lockdown was lifted. Since then we’ve had two more national lockdowns, triggering an unemployment, housing and mental health crisis. For people who were already struggling with debt, things have got a hell of a lot worse, while hundreds of thousands have fallen into it as a direct result of the pandemic. The rent crisis is thought to be largely to blame for the increase in debt amongst young people – an estimated 800,000 private renters have built up arrears (National Residential Landlords Association). The recent rise in young people using buy-now-pay-later loans is also a concern, according to the charity StepChange. A report published last month by the Resolution Foundation shows that before the pandemic, two-thirds of middle-income households in the UK had non-mortgage financial debts. During the crisis, 17 per cent of UK households who had experienced a drop in income, reported taking on debt to cover day-to-day costs of living (food, bills etc). What is Breathing Space? So far the government’s response to dealing with the fall-out from the pandemic has been to press ‘pause’. Whether it be on evictions – an eviction ban has been extended until the end of May – or with unemployment, by extending the furlough scheme until September. These short-term protections are just that – they won’t last forever, and while they do it creates a false sense of security for those on the receiving end. Eventually something’s got to give. Welcome ‘Breathing Space’. Also known as the Debt Respite Scheme, Breathing Space will give people in England and Wales who have problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a defined period. The idea is that this will give people time to seek advice and potentially enter a debt repayment scheme. There are two types of breathing space: a standard breathing space and a mental health crisis breathing space. A standard breathing space is available to anyone with problem debt. It gives them legal protections for up to 60 days (two-months). The protections include pausing most enforcement action and contact from creditors, and freezing most interest and charges on their debts. A mental health crisis breathing space is only available to someone who is receiving NHS mental health treatment when they apply to the scheme. It lasts as long as the person’s treatment, plus 30 days (no matter how long the treatment lasts). To trigger ‘breathing space’ people need to contact an FCA-regulated provider of free debt advice, or their local authority (where they provide debt advice to residents). It’s estimated that the scheme – which launched on 4 May – will help over 700,000 people get professional help. It covers a wide range of debts including council tax, personal tax debts and benefit overpayments, as well as credit cards and personal loans. Will it work? On the whole, the scheme has been welcomed by the sector. National debt charity StepChange has been campaigning for Breathing Space since 2014. Sue Anderson, head of media, said: “Breathing Space has the potential to arrest the cycle of worsening debt and to help put people seeking debt advice on the road to recovery. It’s welcome that people taking action to deal with their debts will finally get statutory protection that, up to this point, has only been voluntary and offered by some creditors.” Research by the charity found that six in ten people who weren’t protected from interest, charges and enforcement action went on to take out even more credit to cope. Credit cards continue to be the most common debt type, held by two thirds of StepChange clients in 2020 (67 per cent). Meanwhile, last year saw single people without children account for 44 per cent of StepChange clients – up from 36 per cent in 2019. Anderson added: “Breathing Space will help to reduce the pressure of a stressful debt situation, allowing people to focus on engaging fully with advice. This is the first step towards regaining control of your finances and plotting a sustainable route out of debt.” But there are others who are more sceptical. Rosie Phillips, chief executive of DHI, which runs services for disadvantaged people, said: “It sounds great, but it means that mental health is increasingly becoming the gatekeeper to all sorts of support. Access to mental health services is arguably discriminatory – it seems much more accessible to well-behaved, middle class people than to say poor, working class males who are more likely to ‘act out’ and be seen to have behavioural or a drug and alcohol problem, than get taken on for talking therapies.” In addition, many people in need of mental health support may not accept help. “I thought we were trying to move funding upstream but it is forever being sucked into crisis services, which are much more expensive,” says Phillips. “Why can’t we support people with debt and prevent them having to be referred to a mental health crisis team?” For more information on the Debt Respite Scheme visit the government website Both articles above are from Quids in! Pro and published by Anna Reynolds (Clean Slate Training & Employment CIC). Sign up to the Quids in! Professional Network for free monthly analyses on developments around welfare reform, best practise around the UK and news about the issues affecting people struggling to make ends meet.

After three years at Twerton Park, operating out of our Charlie’s and Randall’s function rooms, CrossFit Bath is to move to a new home in Oldfield Park. It’s been a successful partnership for both parties, contributing financially to the Club and bringing new people to the area for their health and fitness, while CrossFit has enjoyed a flexible space both indoors and out and been able to grow its business to the extent it now needs larger premises. General Manager Carole Banwell said, “It’s been a real pleasure to host CrossFit at Bath City for the past three years, helping make a Twerton Park a hive of energy and activity seven days a week and helping our Club achieve greater financial health and stability – Covid impacts aside. We’re now looking to work with a new organisation, offering our well- appointed space, attractive rent and a can-do attitude to working together.” CrossFit Bath Co-Owner Ed Mason said, “It’ll be sad to leave Twerton Park behind. The Club has been a great home for us and always helpful and collaborative. Our time there has enabled us to build the business to the point that we’re now moving to bigger premises in Oldfield Park to enable more Bath-based people to benefit from the unique CrossFit approach to embracing a healthier and fitter lifestyle.” Bath City FC is looking for a new partner for the 3,000 square foot space that comes with up to 100 car parking spaces on site. The light and airy rooms can operate as a single space or divided in two and feature a kitchen, two sets of WCs, level access and three entry points. The site is based in Twerton BA2, outside the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), next to a convenience store, and easily accessible to major A-roads and the M4, as well as a regular bus route from the city centre, a flat cycle ride or walk, and trains into Oldfield Park. Superfast broadband, and an alcohol licence add to the benefits of the site. Contact General Manager Carole Banwell at carole.banwell@bathcityfootballclub.co.uk or call 07711 44 66 39

Bath Building Society are now welcoming applications for their Charity Awards 2021, until the closing date of 27th May 2021. Local charities and community groups are invited to apply for one of their cash awards or hot air balloon tickets that can be auctioned or raffled to raise valuable funds. The Charity Awards programme is a big part of their commitment to the local community. Over the past 14 years they’ve donated well over £100,000 to small local charities and community groups including Bath City Farm, Bath Gateway Out & About, Moorland Road Community Library, Bath Area Play Project and Bath Hospital Radio. Award Categories 1 award x £1,500 3 awards x £1,000 4 awards x £500 3 pairs of tickets for a flight over Bath in the Bath Building Society hot air balloon To get started, find out more about the application process and their judging panel and download an application form for the 2021 Awards.

This month the Trauma Recovery Centre (TRC) in Bath celebrates 10 years of helping children, young people and families recover from complex trauma. The TRC was founded in 2011 by Betsy de Thierry after she had a vision of seeing children find lasting recovery. Taking her 20 years of experience as a teacher, a psychotherapist, an author and a mother of 4, Betsy set about creating the charity and finding a way to help families recover from significant trauma and crisis. Since that day, the TRC has worked with over 1,000 clients and delivered over 20,000 hours of face to face recovery intervention. Over the last 10 years, the TRC has worked with many families in the South West and have opened more centres in Oxford and Guernsey. Working with a highly trained team of complex trauma professionals, psychotherapy is provided at the TRC via play, music, art and creative therapy sessions for the child or young person, with therapeutic sessions provided for the parent/carer happening at the same time. The TRC also provide specialist help for other professionals working with the child, such as help with an EHCP plan in educational settings. Working holistically in this way, gives the family a chance to recover from the trauma as a unit and brings hope in what can be a really difficult time. Betsy de Thierry says: “It has been an incredible 10 years of helping families find restoration from the traumatic experiences they have survived. As a core team we have been surprised that what started as a small local therapy centre has grown into a nationally recognised centre of excellence for complex trauma. When I founded the charity I was not aware that the important topic of recovery from trauma is not often understood because it is not often taught in qualifying courses around the world. We have been honoured to consult and help families and professionals from all over the UK whilst remaining as a local specialist resource for families in Bath.” The effectiveness of their work has been evaluated by Christ Church Canterbury University Salomon Applied Psychology Department using clinical data from 248 clients in 2019 and it was found that 98.8% of the sample had significantly clinically improved through the TRC’s intervention, with difficulties, significantly decreasing, and strengths significantly improving. More than that though, are the many hundreds of positive stories from families and children of lives completely transformed due to the specialist care and love from the TRC team over many months and often from families who have not found help or hope from anywhere else. A former TRC client says “The support we have received as a family has changed our lives. Before we were at the TRC we felt shamed, alone and hopeless. You have supported us through our worst times and you have helped the children’s schools to understand too. You have never judged us but have shown patience and kindness as we all changed and recovered.” If you would like to help the work of the Trauma Recovery Centre continue to bring hope to children, young people and families then you can donate via their website www.trc-uk.org/supportus For more information about the Trauma Recovery Centre visit www.trc-uk.org

Somerset Skills & Learning (SS&L) have a jampacked schedule for May bringing you a whole range of workshops and courses. All the courses are online for now, but they are looking forward to starting a select number of in-person classes from June. For now, get cosy at home and see what you could learn this May! We've outlined the courses on offer below: 4th May: Make a Magical Monster Book! – A 90 minute workshop for adults and kids alike, crafting a concertina-style book that folds out to reveal a plethora of terrifying monster surprises… 4th May: Improve Your Memory – a 3-hour workshop exploring different effective memory techniques for life, work and study. 7th May: Understanding Stress, Anxiety & Low Mood – a four-week course providing knowledge and management techniques to improve health and wellbeing. 10th May: British Sign Language – ONE SPACE REMAINING! – a 10-week introductory course to BSL 10th May: Mental Health Awareness Course – improve your knowledge of mental health, debunk the myths and gain awareness of how to recognise poor mental health 10th May: Applying For Jobs With Confidence – looking for a new job? This workshop is for you! 11th May: Effective Time Management – a course for anyone who wants to manage their time better and enhance productivity 12th May: A Beginner’s Guide to Being in the Moment – you may have heard people talking about being ‘in the moment’, but what does it really mean? 12th May: Healthy Eating for Children – a workshop for parents, carers or anyone working in childcare who’d like to learn more about promoting healthy eating 13th May: Autism Awareness Taster Session – a taster workshop for anyone considering working or supporting someone with Autism 17th May: How to Succeed in Your Job Interview – got an interview coming up? Get confident with our short online interview workshop! 18th May: Expressive Creative Writing Taster – learn how to practise expressive creative writing and apply it to your own life 19th May: Developing Emotional Resilience – gain the knowledge, tools and resources to develop and build your personal resilience 20th May: Developing Assertive Communication and Behaviours – assertive communication is beneficial in both our personal and professional lives – learn more in our 2-part workshop 20th May: Turkish Pattern Making: Shamza Workshop – Shamza, meaning ‘little sun’, is a beautiful intricate pattern found commonly in Turkey and other Middle Eastern Countries. Learn to paint your own! 21st May: Caring For Yourself in Times of Uncertainty – learn about different methods of self-care during these uncertain times 24th May: Applying the 5 Ways to Wellbeing – learn about the 5 ways to wellbeing, and how to apply these practically to your life 25th May: Supporting Teaching & Learning in Schools Taster – are you interested in working in a school setting? This taster course explains your options and how to reach your goals 26th May: Craft Your Own Concertina Keepsake Book – create your own memory book full of secret pockets, compartments and pages to fill with something special Please feel free to share these courses with anyone who might enjoy getting involved! *SS&L Community Learning Workshops and Courses are free for anybody aged 19+, who lives in WECA (B&NES, Bristol and South Gloucester) or Somerset, and has lived in the UK for the last three years.

The Hive Community Centre The Hive Community Centre in Peasedown St John is run by local residents and aims to deliver youth work to the village, and has excellent facilities for the community to use and for service providers and agencies to support those in need . We have a sports hall and an outside sports court, an art room, one large and two small meeting rooms. The main area hosts the SWALLOW Café. Peasedown Community Library is based here and the local Post Office will run from the Hive from 18 May 2021. For further information and photographs of rooms visit The Hive website. For availability call us on 01761 360021 Fairfield House Fairfield House in Bath, the former home of Emperor Haile Selassie I, is pursuing the vision of a community of suitable organisations in this unique, lively, welcoming and diverse place. It's working with the Council to make this a reality and they'd love to hear from organisations, especially those involved in care for the Elders, racially minoritised people and anything cultural which honours the legacy of the Emperor in Bath. Do get in touch if you'd like us to make an introduction to their team. Bath City FC You may know, since 2018, Bath City FC have hosted CrossFIt Gym in their large function space (known as Charlie’s / Randall’s). It’s been a really successful partnership, bringing more, and different, visitors to Twerton. Sadly though CrossFit are now moving on as they continue to expand and have been given the opportunity to take a larger space. So they are seeking a new partner/s for the space and would love to hear any ideas/contacts/uses you or any of your contacts may have for it. Here are the basic details: Ca. 3000 sq feet of space has become available at Twerton Park, the home of Bath City FC. It’s a flat, level access room, with two sets of Male + Female WCs. Light and airy, three entry points, as well as a kitchen. Approx 100 car parking spaces on site. Very flexible space; has been successfully used previously as a gym, a function space, and clinical / NHS services. If interested, please contact Joy at joy.saunders@bathcityfootballclub.co.uk

Blackbaud Europe recently published the Future of Work Report 2021 in partnership with The Resource Alliance. The data was collected in January and February 2021 via an online survey of 46 questions. A total of 814 respondents completed the survey across the UK, and 50% of these were from organisations with less than 50 paid employees. In addition to this, an incredible (yet not surprising) 98% of respondents had worked from home during COVID-19. In this report, individuals across the third sector shared their ideal long-term work practices and what they really feel about their organisations’ response to COVID-19. Respondents shared their opinions on how well their organisation responded to COVID-19, the benefits and challenges of remote working, and what will influence their future career choices. You can find all of these insights in the report here. Download the Report Here Here is a selection of stats from the report: 90% of respondents believe that flexible working policies are the future 80% of people would like to work from home more often in the future, up from 67% of respondents cited in the Status of UK Fundraising 2020 Report 87% of respondents said that technology had helped them to work more effectively during COVID-19 83% stated that access to cloud-based technology has been essential whilst working remotely