Organised by RAWM, the event takes place at The Crossing at St. Pauls, in the heart of Walsall town centre, between 10:00am and 2:00pm.

To book your place, follow the link here.

The session is aimed at voluntary organisations delivering services for children, young people and families.  It’s an ideal opportunity to find out more about personalisation within children’s services and to share and learn from the experience of others from across the region.

Mark Molloy, who is the West Midlands Lead on the Commissioning Support Programme and Emilie Whitaker, Children England’s Personalisation Support Officer, will be providing expert advice at this session.

The event takes place at the offices of Action for Children, Princess Alice Drive, Chester Road North, Sutton Coldfield B73 6RD from 9:30am to 12:30pm.  To book your place, please contact Sue Spencer, Children England Linkworker on 0121 504 2431 or susan.spencer@barnardos.or.uk by Wednesday 1 September.

Developed by the Financial Services Authority, in partnership with Citizens’ Advice and leading youth charity Fairbridge, the course gives those working in the youth services field a greater understanding of the issues and supporting toolkits to help their young people make more sense of their money and increase their financial capability.

The core subject areas covered in the course are: 

• The psychology of young people and money.
• Income, budgeting and banking.
• Costs of credit and comparing credit deals and options.
• Debt Management including when, where and how to refer young people for money advice.
• Skills to engage young people in financial matters.
• Identifying practical ways to use and embed the exercises/materials in your existing work.

A4e are currently delivering this training programme in the West Midlands, with sessions scheduled to take place on the following dates:

26th August – 75 Harborne Road Birmingham B15 3DH

8th September – Bromsgrove District Housing Trust, Bromsgrove, B60 3DJ

4th October – Thistle Hotel, St Chads Birmingham B4 6HY

To book a place on one of these courses, please visit www.a4emoney.co.uk.

Developing sustainable Social Enterprise with the voluntary sector

16^th September 2010, 9.30am – 4.30pm at  The Crossing at St. Pauls, Walsall .

Eastside is running this practical and hands-on workshop event in conjunction with Walsall Voluntary Action and The Vine Trust.

Eastside specialise in setting up and building social enterprises in partnership with voluntary sector organisations throughout the UK .  Finding new ways to create alternative revenue streams in the current climate of public sector cuts is now a very high priority.

The sessions are part of the Trade Walsall programme – which aims to support the development and growth of social enterprise in the local area. The programme is funded by Walsall Partnership and Walsall Council Economic Regeneration Team.

 Funded one-to-one follow up sessions available

Every organisation which attends will be eligible to receive follow on one-to-one sessions with a specialist social enterprise adviser for each of the delegate organisations to help them further imbed and develop social enterprise.

Workshop Aims

This workshop aims to inspire Walsall Voluntary Action members around the possibilities of how to:

• Develop sustainable schemes
• Improve current knowledge levels
• Evaluate current ideas and test their robustness
• Access external funding
• Understand what others are doing  through case studies
• Create a new vision of how social enterprise can be implemented

Workshop Format

The workshop is split into 2 distinct am and pm sessions.

AM session

• Creating a better understanding of social enterprise.
• How social enterprise best supports social inclusion.
• How voluntary groups can best support social enterprise.
• Video case studies of good social enterprise.
• Great best practice tips.

PM session

• Brainstorm social enterprise ideas that members of the group want to analyse.
• Use business analysis techniques in groups to work on ideas.
• Share findings.
• Work on individual next steps in moving social enterprise forward.
• How might one-to-on advice support each member’s progression.

 There are limits on places and booking will be done on a first come first served basis. We have already filled a few and demand for the remainder is expected to be high. If you would like to attend, please contact Andy Haynes for further information on 07720 850864 or by email at tradewalsall@eastsideconsulting.co.uk.

The team at Glass-House are offering a free one-day tour of inspiring eco-housing developments in the West Midlands on Thursday 5 August.   This tour is for community groups at an early stage of a housing project and will give you the opportunity to learn more about incorporating eco features. There will also be an architect on hand to answer your queries.

The tour is a chance to take away inspiring design ideas, meet similar groups who have been involved in the regeneration process and find out how community initiatives have improved neighbourhoods.

There will also be an opportunity to speak to a professional about the design process.

Places are limited, so make sure you book now by following this link.

The Women Take Part course aims to get women involved in their community and to learn how to increase their level of influence over the decisions that affect their lives.  The course provides opportunities for people to be more active in communities and public life.

The course will be starting in September 2010 and runs for 12 days, including a residential weekend and a trip to Parliament.

The programme is part of the Black Country Take Part Pathfinder programme, funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

If you are interested, why not attend a special taster morning to find out more about the course and put your questions direct to the course facilitators?  A session is being held with residents from Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell at The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Street, B64 5EP on Tuesday 22 July from 10am to 12noon.

If you would like to know more about the course in advance of the taster session please contact Sarah Oakley of Walsall Council’s Community Development Team, on 01922 654721 or by emailing oakleys@walsall.gov.uk.

The session takes place at Walsall’s Forest Arts Centre on 20 July, between 9:30am and 1pm.  Lunch will also be provided.

If you would like to attend, please register by sending an email to kspilsbury@w-n-c.org.

Walsall Centre For lndependent Living has joined forces with Breathing Space to deliver the Life as an Enterprise course, designed to help you to explore what you want to do with your life, where you want to go and what steps to take. It will enable you to set goals to meet your own aspirations and make the most of training and employment opportunities.

The course is being delivered at the Centre on a Friday from 1pm to 4pm.  Starting on 23 July, the course lasts for six weeks. It is a portfolio based course leading to an Entry Level 3 qualification in Understanding and Achieving Personal Goals.

All students who complete the course will also receive a £10 gift voucher. 

For more details, please contact Walsall Centre for Independent Living on 01922 650 790.

Bursaries of up to £1950 are available to fully fund an approved skills development package; each one is aligned to the National Occupational Standards in Volunteer Management.

There are three levels of access available based on individual experience and role. You also have the option of obtaining an award from a nationally recognised accreditation body.

To apply for a bursary you must: 

• Directly manage volunteers in England if applying for Level 3 or strategically manage volunteers in England if applying for Level 4 or 5.
• Meet the accrediting body criteria for entry to the chosen level of programme.
• Have your application endorsed by your current ‘line manager’, or equivalent (whether you are undertaking the role on an employed or voluntary basis), i.e. you will require formal permission from your organisation to participate and, when appropriate, they must be willing to meet any related expenses such as travel and subsistence.

For further information please visit http://www.capacitybuilders.org.uk/vmpskills or contact Capacitybuilders via one of the following routes:

Address: 77 Paradise Circus, Birmingham B1 2DT

Telephone: 0121 288 6559

Email: vmpskills@capacitybuilders.org.uk

The course consists of four, one-day seminars that will give you the knowledge to PAT test your own equipment and ensure that you get the best out of your IT.  Subjects to be covered include:

• PAT Training and electrical safety
• How to use the internet remotely, share ideas, and utilise online diaries
• PC and internet safety: how to shop, buy and avoid online scams
• IT disaster recovery plans
• Good IT housekeeping: updating, upgrading and troubleshooting
• How to save money online

 The first 50 people to register will also receive free PAT testing equipment hire and a free recycled PC on which to practice their new skills!

For more information, please contact Julian Benton or Dave Taylor on 01922 746328 or email ryecroftcoalpool@yahoo.co.uk.