Can the World’s Worst Novel help you develop a growth mindset?

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Mike Hickman, Leadership Development and Training Manager at Community First Yorkshire, has been in post for a few months. Here he shares his thoughts on the power of growth mindsets and how we all need to embrace challenges through continued learning and development.

“I kept the World’s Worst Novel on my person for the longest time. It came with me in my bag to conferences and events, both national and international. It was there when I taught primary age children, teacher trainees, and drama students.

It will probably come as no surprise to learn that what I call the World’s Worst Novel was not published. Neither was it the World’s Worst Novel – it was a very determined and brave first attempt.

It might come as more of a surprise that it was written by me.

When I was twelve. On an Olivetti Lettera typewriter. Drafted the once, bundled into a Jiffy bag and sent off to the publisher I knew was going to snap it up for a seven figure sum.

When I worked in teacher education, I was introduced to Carol Dweck’s concept of fixed and growth mindsets. As Senior Lecturer and later Head of Programme and Department at York St John, I worked with undergraduate and postgraduate students from ages 22 through to 60+. And I wanted them to know that the Ofsted-badged outstanding practitioner could one day be them. With the right work and the right care and attention in the right places, they would become leaders of classes, subjects, schools, and communities.

It helped for them to know about things like the World’s Worst Novel, which found itself relabelled as my personal Draft Zero for everything that followed for me, all the way to a doctorate and beyond.

It helped me to model my own attempts to fulfil Dweck’s goal of a growth mindset.

And now I find myself at Community First Yorkshire as Leadership Development and Training Manager. Picking up on the excellent work already done to craft a training programme for VCSE organisations in North Yorkshire. Striving to ensure that our training reaches ever more people and is of the highest possible quality, so that we can achieve our collective ambition in the sector of creating more resilient, resourceful, and confident communities. I could not be more delighted in playing my part in such an important mission and growing together.”

 

If you need guidance on running your charity or group in North Yorkshire, take a look at our training and leadership development programmes. From being an effective trustee, fulfilling your potential as a leader or raising the profile of your organisation, we can help.

 

 

Ethnicity in North Yorkshire: what the 2021 Census is telling us

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At our latest Equality and Inclusion Partnership meeting we heard from Gary Craig, visiting professor from Newcastle upon Tyne University. Gary kindly shared his analysis of ethnicity across North Yorkshire from the 2021 Census.

Read what Gary has to say:

“Ethnic minorities have lived and settled in North Yorkshire ever since the Romans set up shop at, for example, Aldborough, on the paved roman road from Otley. When I first started working in the county about 30 years ago, its minority ethnic (BAME-i.e. non-White British) population was still only around 2% – although there were a few schools (in Northallerton, Skipton, Harrogate and Scarborough) where the BAME pupil population was about 4-5% because of a small concentration of minorities in certain workplaces such as hospitals and colleges. The BAME population in the county was effectively invisible because it was scattered and very diverse, with very few people of any particular ethnicity.

This proportion has, however, grown steadily since then and the recent 2021 census shows that the minority ethnic population of North Yorkshire county is now around 7%: that is one in fourteen of the population or, in numerical terms, getting on for about 50,000 people. That is a sizeable number.

The increase is, of course, partly due to natural growth – children in 2001 are adults now; partly due to minorities working on the periphery of the county – in Teesside, Durham, Leeds, Bradford and York for example – but living within the boundaries of North Yorkshire; and partly reflecting economic change. Some industrial sectors have been associated with a minority workforce, for example hospitality and leisure (hotels and restaurants), health and social care, and agriculture and food production.

In parts of the county, the proportion of minorities in local populations is substantially greater than 7%, usually for specific reasons. Examples of wards with much higher levels include:

  • Castle ward in Scarborough (15%) – one in seven
  • Selby East (14%)
  • Skipton West (Craven 14%)
  • Central Harrogate (18%) – almost one in five
  • Hipswell (Richmondshire 13%)
  • and Malton in Ryedale (10%).

Only Hambleton bucks this trend with Northallerton and Sowerby wards showing a 6% minority population – the former notable given it is effectively the county’s administrative centre. The minority population is very diverse with no one minority dominating the BAME population except for ‘other white’ – a legacy of the pre-Brexit situation. Only the Pakistani Kashmiri population of Skipton bucks that particular domination.

This data gives the county’s organisations insight and detail to respond to this growth; and avoid effectively invisibilising particular groups of people. Now may be the time to respond.”

Further conversations take place at the Equality and Inclusion Partnership meetings so if you want to be part of the discussion and join the group email info@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

If you find this data useful and are able to use it in your work, or if you would like further details on your area, please inform Professor Gary Craig, Professor of Social Justice, Visiting Professor, University of Newcastle upon Tyne gary.craig@galtres8.co.uk

How we make Grewelthorpe Village Hall a warm and welcoming space

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This week we’re celebrating Village Halls Week (23 – 29 January) – a time when we recognise the vital contribution that village halls and community buildings make to our communities. This year’s focus is on how halls make their spaces warm, welcoming and inclusive. Here, Deborah Hodges, Chair of Grewelthorpe Village Hall, tells us how they’re doing just that.

Grewelthorpe Village Hall is a lively hub at the centre of the Village. Our volunteers provide a huge range of activities for the local community, as well as putting on events which attract visitors from further afield.

We pride ourselves on offering a ‘warm welcoming, inclusive space’, in a variety of ways:

Hackfall Cafe is entirely volunteer-run:

  • It is a friendly, welcoming place with a delicious menu of mainly homemade goodies, such as soup, cakes, traybakes and scones (including the widely acclaimed Hackfall Scones, made with wild garlic from the woods), with paninis and sandwiches also available. Everything is sold at very reasonable prices. We operate on a not-for-profit basis – all proceeds going back into the upkeep of the hall.
  • Once a month, our volunteers provide a two-course community lunch, at a very affordable price. This enables people to get together for lunch, with friends and neighbours, without having to travel any distance.
  • The Cafe is a great place to feel connected to the whole community. New people in the village and the surrounding area, make lasting friendships there. Residents who are less mobile or who have health difficulties, can rely on a helping hand to come for a coffee or lunch. And, our volunteers find they have a regular and enjoyable opportunity to use their skills and talents.
  • We welcome young people to our volunteer team, and are keen to offer work experience opportunities, either as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme or as an introduction to the world of work.

Other activities:

  • Our Cafe Talks are thriving. We have a huge pool of local talent and expertise, which we exploit on a monthly basis!  Everything, from lovingly restoring a Grade 2 listed house to riding for the disabled, farming in Romania, walking up Mont Blanc, cycling from Landsend to John O’Groats … and much more! The speakers give their time free of charge, and we ask for a small contribution from the audience, which includes a glass of wine or a soft drink. It gives the community the chance to spend an evening in a convivial group, being entertained by one of their neighbours. All proceeds again, go back to the hall.
  • Clubs and Societies:  National groups, such as the British Legion and the WI meet in the village hall, at concessionary rates, but we also have a growing number of local societies:  Knit and Natter; Book Club; Art and Craft Group; Music Appreciation; French and Spanish Language Classes;  Gardeners’ Club; French and Spanish Art Talks.
  • Fundraising events are crucial to our survival, in these tricky times. For example, we are lucky again, to be able to rely on our very successful music events, which are incredibly well supported. The organising team have brought some great artists to Grewelthorpe, and continue to do so!
  • The Big Village Quiz makes a welcome return this month too, having been a casualty of COVID 19.  Again, all volunteer-led, and accessible to the whole community.

Grewelthorpe Village Hall relies on the support of the local community, and on its energetic, dedicated, talented team of volunteers. We are also delighted to see visitors to the village. Lots of walkers and cyclists can be sure of a friendly welcome in the Café, with plenty of information and advice available on Hackfall itself, and other places of interest.

Please visit our recently updated website, which is project-managed for us by two of our volunteers, for more information.

Together, we believe we make it a ‘warm, welcoming and inclusive space’.

Celebrating our village halls

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This week we’re celebrating Village Halls Week (23 – 29 January) – a time when we recognise the vital contribution that village halls and community buildings make to our communities. Community First Yorkshire trustee, Jan Thornton reflects on how village halls and community buildings have been central to her life.

It is hard to imagine what my life might have been like were there not a village hall or community building in the village where I was brought up or currently live in….

As a young child, my first years at infant school were in an old building, which subsequently became repurposed for community use when the new infant and junior school opened in the late 1960s. I remember subsequently attending dancing classes there and also Brownies and Guides in the church hall.

My husband and I, as a newly married couple in the late 1980s, moved to the village where we still live. The village hall has been central to my life within the community ever since and barely a week has gone by in over 35 years where I haven’t been taking part in one activity or another there.

It has been the venue in which I have volunteered, worked hard (!), made friends and met up with neighbours. It is a great space to participate in and feel part of the community in which I live. I am very lucky: our village hall was newly built with a grant from Sport England only a couple of years before we moved there. It has been well maintained and ‘kept up with the times’ over the years by the volunteer village hall committee, so that it is still an attractive and warm place to visit and a delight to spend time in. It is so important where possible to manage a community building in a sustainable way so that it can continue to be an attractive venue for community use. Cold, damp and musty halls are hard to visit and support!

Obviously it is much harder this year than ever before to manage energy bills for community buildings. Energy advice is available on the ACRE website. There is also information available on how to apply for the Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund which is managed by ACRE on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which helps community buildings fill temporary gaps in funding, either for specific projects or for urgent work connected with the building. Last year, government announced a new £3m Platinum Jubilee village hall improvement fund, which will provide grant funding over three years (to 2025) to support capital improvement projects for village halls, such as installing Wi-Fi, extending buildings and modernising facilities, with 125 village halls set to benefit.

At Community First Yorkshire, we provide practical guidance and rural advocacy to trustees, employees and management committees of rural community buildings. Support is available on a range of topics including: good governance; safeguarding; finance and funding; policies and procedures and operational good practice. If your hall needs some improvement, there is advice and support on funding opportunities available.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who manages and maintains rural community buildings across Yorkshire.  It is a significant responsibility but so worthwhile for the life enhancing richness they provide to those who live in your community.

#VillageHallsWeek

I’m not talking to you anymore, Mr Blackbird

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I have an allotment. I love my allotment; I was lucky enough to get it just before lockdown and it provided a great place to go when there was no-where to go. Being in the open air and close to nature after a day’s work is a brilliant way to relax and let my mind wander after hours of intense concentration.

In June, some of the birds get very brave and come close whilst I’m weeding to find bugs and worms for their young. Last week a blackbird came so close I grabbed a worm in my hand (gloves on!), held it out, and waited very patiently for it to come and take the worm out my hand. It hopped within inches a few times and fluttered away, but the third time he snatched it, flew a few yards away, pecked it once, then flew onto my strawberry patch, and you guessed it, ate my first ripe strawberry of the season!

I leapt up and scolded him as I would a naughty child. How dare he?! I’d just given him a lovely fat, juicy worm but he rejected that. Maybe, like most of us, he has a sweet tooth/beak. Needless to say, I immediately netted the strawberry bed.

The next day I went to the allotment and was passing the strawberry bed when I saw Mr Blackbird’s Mrs in the strawberry bed. I was incredulous! How did she get in there? I tried to un-net a section to allow her out but she squawked her way up to the other end of the bed and escaped though a tiny gap.

I thought I’d safeguarded my strawberries but it made me look afresh at my netting technique. I went round the bed tightening and weighing down the net so there were no gaps.

How are the safeguarding procedures in your Village Hall? Are there any gaps? Do you need to “tighten your nets” to ensure you are protecting those most vulnerable?

If you want to make sure your netting is secure, come along to our online Community Building and Village Hall network meeting on Wednesday 25 January 10am – 11:30am where we will be exploring what trustees should know and do regarding safeguarding in village halls. There will be a chance for you to ask questions and share good practice with others in a similar role .

I also recommend looking at our  safeguarding resource, which provides a checklist for essential and good safeguarding practices in your organisation.

 

Hilary Ashton, North Yorkshire Development Officer

Finance and Treasurers Network meeting – Insurance for charities 19 January 2023

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Do you know if you have enough insurance in place for your organisation to cover every eventuality?

Charities, just like all businesses, need to safeguard their assets. Ensuring that you have the correct insurance in place is one of the ways you can do that.

Charities come in all shapes and sizes and their insurance needs will vary accordingly. What your organisation does will shape the kind of insurance you need. Here’s some food for thought when considering insurance:

  • Do you have contact with members of the public?
  • Do you offer a service or advice?
  • What is the structure of your organisation?
  • Do you have employees and volunteers?
  • Do your trustees need indemnity insurance and what is it?
  • Do you own buildings and are they hired out?
  • Do you own vehicles or specialist equipment?

There’s a lot to think about in terms of insurance especially when you consider that charities are evolving all the time. It’s important to regularly review your insurance policies to ensure you have the right cover for your current situation.

How can we help?
Community First Yorkshire is hosting a network meeting for finance staff and treasurers on 19 January 2023 where we will be looking at insurance for charities.

A representative from McClarron Insurance will be joining us at this meeting to talk through the types of insurance charities may need to consider and to answer your questions.

There will also be an opportunity to explore this and any issues you’re currently facing with peers and to raise any issues or concerns you may have about any aspect of finance in your organisation.

If you have any specific questions you would like to put to the network, please submit these before the meeting.

Book your place here.

5 things you should know about community building hire agreements

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If you were renting out your property, you would very sensibly ask potential tenants to sign a rental agreement. It’s common practice to have one so that both parties know what is expected of them.

The same applies to hiring out your village hall – having a hire agreement is an important part of protecting your vital community asset.

  1. 1. Why you need a hire agreement

Whenever a community building or village hall management committee hires out any part of its premises, it is important to have a written agreement in place so that both the management committee and the hirer know their rights and responsibilities.

  1. 2. Start by putting together a hiring policy

This should include a summary of all the decisions the management committee makes about the various aspects of hiring out your building. You should revise and review your policy regularly to keep it up to date and relevant.

  1. 3. What to include in a hiring policy

Your policy should include an explanation of the booking secretary’s role and responsibilities; when discounts or special rates for hirers are available; information about bookings, such as ensuring that hirers book enough time for setting up and clearing away; any other issues, such as whether to charge for village consultations or public meetings.

When you have your policy in place, you can then move onto drafting the hire agreement.

  1. 4. What to include in your hire agreement

The hire agreement should have two parts.

Part one includes the details specific to a particular booking and part two describes the standard conditions of hire which are the same for all bookings.

Having a comprehensive agreement which is signed by hall representatives and the hiring organisation before an event should ensure those using the building fully understand the requirements of the management committee.

  1. 5. Where to find out more about hire agreements

If you want to find out more about what to include in the hiring policy and agreement for your community building, come along to one of our Community Building Network meetings in November. These meetings are for trustees managing community buildings across North Yorkshire and give you a chance to ask questions and share good practice with others in a similar role.

How much do you know about menopause?

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I’m not sure which button I’ve inadvertently pressed on my phone but I now regularly receive reminders that this is the International or National Awareness day/week/month for… well lots of worthwhile and, in some cases, intriguing causes. Personal favourites have included 4 July ‘Eat an Extra Dessert day’ and 7 July ‘World Chocolate Day’.

October is World Menopause Awareness Month, with Menopause Awareness Day UK taking place on 18 October. Menopause, the biological stage in a woman’s life that occurs when hormones change and eventually menstruation stops, is medically defined as the ‘day’ a woman has not had a period for 12 consecutive months. This is something I hadn’t realised until I took part in Menopause Champion training earlier this year. I also hadn’t realised that menopausal women are the fastest growing workforce demographic in the UK, particularly in the voluntary and health sectors.

So how much do you know about menopause?

Here‘s a little quiz that was part of the menopause training I went on that was used to prompt discussion about our own awareness.

Why not grab a cuppa and a few minutes and see how much you know.

You will have to mark your own answers and there are no prizes but you may know more than you realised and it could help raise awareness of aspects of menopause and support, if needed, for family, friends and colleagues experiencing their own unique and often intriguing journey through this time.

1. What’s the average age of menopause in the UK? (answer in years)

2. How many people are affected by menopause symptoms at work? ( ? / 10)

3. How many women experience menopause symptoms? (? /4)

4. Name five symptoms of the menopause?

5. What is perimenopause?

6. What percent of women go through early menopause?

7. Why might someone go through an early menopause?

8. What are the three key hormones that play a part in the menopause transition?

9. Name at least three lifestyle changes someone should consider to support themselves through menopause? (up to 3 points)

10. What is andropause?

The answers are below.

How did you do??

I’ve come to learn from my own, and talking to others, that everyone’s menopause experience is different. We all have different views, philosophies and medical histories that will determine our unique journey.

Brain fog can lead to some frustrating and funny moments., Flushes can arrive at the most inconvenient of times, and disturbed sleep –well that can be very challenging not only for the person experiencing this symptom but also those around them. It’s often hard to feel experienced, knowledgeable, empowered, capable and fabulous but that’s what we are. The hot flushes are after all really just power surges!

If you would like to find out more about menopause there are a wealth of resources available, particularly during Menopause Awareness month. Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership are running a festival of events around menopause, or why not take a look at the menopause hub on Henpicked’s website here?

 

Answers

1. 51 – 8 out of 10 menopausal women are in work at this age and have a life expectancy of 83. In fact, this is likely to be a half-way point of life for many women as there is a one in six chance of living to be a 100.

2.  Eight out of 10.

3. Three in every four.

4. Difficulty sleeping, insomnia or fatigue, hot flushes during the day or night, low mood, depression or changes in mood, nervousness, worry or anxiety, reduced ability to concentrate or focus, problems with memory recall, migraines or headaches, aches and pains, urinary issues, e.g. increased frequency, and this is to name just a few.

5. The time leading up to menopause.

6. 5% before the age of 40.

7. POI (Premature Ovarian Failure)/Surgery/medication.

8. Oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone.

9. Exercise/diet/quitting smoking/reducing alcohol/extra calcium/vitamin D/supplements.

10. Andropause is the age-related decline in hormones men go through. In an otherwise healthy male, they would not normally experience menopause-types symptoms as the change in hormones is much slower and a gentle decline. However, there are conditions such as testosterone deficiency syndrome and hormone therapy for things like prostate cancer treatment that could bring about menopause type symptoms. We also need to understand that not everyone experiencing menopause identifies as a woman but may still have the appropriate biological make-up to experience menopause.

Increasing a charity’s income by charitable trading: a treasurer’s point of view

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Your charity has identified that it needs to increase its income but is not sure how it is possible.

You have considered a number of income streams. You’ve applied for grants, you’ve had donations from a few local businesses and you run a really successful bingo night on the first Friday in every month, but still your income is not enough to cover the ongoing maintenance costs of the ageing building.

The building is located in the heart of the village on a popular route for walkers in the area, and at one of your board meetings an idea starts to develop – what about opening a café in the annex which is currently rarely used? The idea starts with selling teas, coffee and a few cakes on a Saturday but quickly snowballs with suggestions of ‘why only a Saturday?’, ‘what about bacon sandwiches on a morning?’ and ‘we could do salads for lunch!’.

After the initial enthusiasm for the idea, thoughts turn to the practicalities of how the charity trustees can make their ambition of opening a café a reality, and what legal issues they need to consider. You start looking at the rules governing charity trading and quickly discover that as a charity, the ability to trade is limited, because making money is not in itself a charitable purpose, even if it is done to support the charitable activities of the organisation. To carry out trading activities you will need to set up a trading subsidiary. This is a separate company that is usually owned by the charity, and donates the bulk of its profits to the charity via gift aid.

But there are still so many questions:

  • What trading can charities do?
  • When must a charity set up a trading subsidiary?
  • How can a trading subsidiary pay funds to its parent charity?

Fortunately, you know where to look to find these answers. The following websites are particularly helpful:

Now that you have all the information you need, it’s time to talk to the charity’s accountant. They have lots of experience of working with voluntary sector groups and you’re confident they will be able to give her the expert help you’re looking for.

The accountant proves invaluable and the trustees can now open that café they dreamed of safe in the knowledge that they are fully compliant with all legal requirements.

 

If you want to find out more about the issues charities need to consider if they plan to carry out any trading, come along to our next Treasurer’s Network Meeting on 13 October.  These network meetings are for both new and experienced treasurers of voluntary community and social enterprise sector organisations across North Yorkshire.