COVID-19 Support for the Sector

Keep up to date with the latest public information and advice regarding the virus at the Gov.uk website. 

Support for North Tyneside’s voluntary and community sector

While we have temporarily suspended face-to-face meetings, we can still offer advice and support to charities and voluntary and community sector organisations in North Tyneside. We have lots of valuable information on our website, so please explore this and see below for resources around COVID-19. If you need specific advice, please contact our Development Manager (but please be aware that this is an incredibly busy time for VODA and responses may take longer than usual).

Funding Advice

We have produced a COVID-19 Funding section of our website for general advice and the latest opportunities. Again, while face-to-face funding advice is currently suspended, we can still offer email and telephone support to North Tyneside voluntary and community groups and organisations. Please contact our Funding Adviser for more information (but please be aware that this is an incredibly busy time for VODA and responses may take longer than usual).

Training

VODA is working to support the North Tyneside VCS through its recovery from the pandemic. Part of this will involve online training such as PPE, Zoom Clinics, Risk Assessment and Making Your Community Building COVID Secure. Available videos and slides from past sessions will be shown below. Find out about our upcoming courses here. 

• Making Your Community Building ‘COVID Secure’: VODA and North Tyneside Council hosted an event on how to ensure you keep your community building COVID secure when reopening. You can  download the slides for the presentation here and view the supporting guidance from North Tyneside Council Workplace and Public Buildings Recovery Standard.

• PPE and managing Covid risk: VODA recently hosted an online workshop on PPE and managing Covid risk in the workplace with North Tyneside Council. Watch the video of the session below and download the slides here.

• • COVID-19: Guidance for the safe use of multi-purpose community facilities from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
  • Charity Shop reopening pack from the Charity Retail Association.
  • Practical information to help village halls reopen published by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England). This free information will help village and community halls reopen post lockdown. This has been designed for rural village halls but should translate into community centres/other community use buildings to a large extent as well. Includes updated guidance around the opening of performance and sport venues.
  • A Guide for Community Buildings – Life After Lockdown. This guide from Durham Community Action looks at what trustees can do now towards recovery planning and start to consider what measures will need to be in place for a safe reopening when services can be delivered once again.
  • A Practical Guide to Re-Opening after Covid Closedown from the Cranfield Trust.

• Risk Assessment planning information for opening a community building from Connected Voice (our equivalent covering Newcastle/Gateshead).  (Please note, they won’t be able to provide advice to North Tyneside based charities but the information should still be useful).
• HSE: talking with your workers about preventing coronavirus. A guide aimed at all employers that explains how you can talk to your workers about preventing coronavirus (COVID-19) in your workplace. It gives guidance on reducing the risks from coronavirus, for example by putting in place social distancing measures, staggering shifts and providing additional handwashing facilities.
• Working safely during coronavirus: government guidance to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
• 5 steps to working safely: government guidance to working safely during COVID-19
• Supporting your staff, volunteers and beneficiaries and keeping safe during coronavirus. This guide from NCVO provides information on protecting and supporting the people working in your charity or voluntary organisation, and those who use your services during the coronavirus outbreak. The guide also includes a number of webinars including Easing of lockdown – practical considerations for managing and supporting staff. 

• Coronavirus/COVID-19: Guidance for Community Transport. The Community Transport Association (CTA) has developed detailed guidance on how to restart and sustain your community transport services as lockdown measures ease.
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): Fundraising key principles guidance. The Fundraising Regulator, in collaboration with Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive, has produced guidance to highlight the issues for consideration when adapting the way your organisation fundraises as lockdown measures are eased.
• Coronavirus recovery – six data protection steps for organisations. As lockdown restrictions start to ease and businesses begin to reopen, the ICO has set out the key steps organisations need to consider around the use of personal information.
• Guidance on sports clubs reopening. Sport England has put together new resources to help the sport and physical activity sector prepare for a return to play.
• The Fundraising Regulator and Chartered Institute of Fundraising have published two pieces of guidance to support charitable organisations to return to fundraising activities in line with social distancing requirements, as restrictions are eased across the UK. The guidance covers the over-arching principles which should be applied to all fundraising methods, and specific advice on public fundraising (including street, door-to-door and private site fundraising).
• COVID-19: cleaning of non-healthcare settings outside the home. This government guidance covers the cleaning of environments outside the home.
• The National Youth Agency (NYA) has developed sector specific advice and guidance for managing youth sector activities and spaces during COVID-19.

• Collecting customer and visitor details for contact tracing: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published advice for organisations that are asked by government to collect and retain customer and visitor information, for a limited time period, for the purposes of a COVID-19 contact tracing scheme.

• The Charity Commission has published new guidance on financial difficulties in your charity caused by coronavirus to help trustees, especially aimed at smaller charities, who may need assistance to work through these. www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-financial-difficulties-in-your-charity-caused-by-coronavirus. There is also guidance to help with running your charity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector
• The UK Government has created a page which pulls together all information and advice for VCSE orgs on funding, fundraising and volunteer guidance. www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-guidance-for-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-organisations
• Connected Voice has collated all of the new government support available for charities and businesses around coronavirus www.connectedvoice.org.uk/latest-news/741-charity-business-services-covid-19-information
• VONNE is collating all of the online training and events taking place during this period of social isolation www.vonne.org.uk/member-events
• The Small Charities Coalition is monitoring the situation and updates will be posted on their dedicated Covid 19 page smallcharities.org.uk/corona-virus-advice-information-and-resources
• NCVO has also published some useful information at ncvo.org.uk/practical-support/information/coronavirus
• The Institute of Fundraising is providing regularly updated information for fundraisers to help everyone in the fundraising community have the right information to guide any action you might need to take institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/news/information-for-fundraisers-about-coronavirus/
• The Cranfield Trust is continuing to offer free, high level business support to charities in North East. They have quickly adapted all of their services, so they can now be accessed remotely by charities. In addition, they have brought forward the launch of a telephone support service, Cranfield Trust On Call. www.cranfieldtrust.org
• The Facebook group COVID 19 Charity Preparedness Group is an online group for charities to discuss and share contingency plans in relation to Covid 19 facebook.com/groups/345239189766729
• During the current crisis, a number of tech vendors are making their services available for free or at discounted rates. This live article from Charity Digital will be updated as new offers become available charitydigital.org.uk/topics/coronavirus-tech-offers-available-to-charities-7209
• GLT Partners – who run the Virgin Money Masterclasses – has put together a COVID-19 page which includes links to webinars and other free support and advice. www.gltpartners.co.uk/coronavirus-help-and-support

For general advice and guidance:

• North Tyneside Council has a dedicated page with information on Council services, links to the latest advice, working with local businesses and information on visiting or working in social or community care and residential settings. my.northtyneside.gov.uk/page/26134/coronavirus-covid-19
• North Tyneside Council also has an updated section about Adult Social Care for professionals and service users my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/1426/coronavirus-covid-19-latest-updates
• The NHS website has more information about how coronavirus is spread and answers common questions about the virus nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
• Healthwatch North Tyneside has a service changes information hub to show how NHS, social care and community services are changing how they work and what they offer due to Coronavirus. https://healthwatchnorthtyneside.co.uk/servicechanges/
• Department of Health and Social Care updates its Twitter feed daily with the latest information and advice twitter.com/DHSCgovuk
• The European Social Fund (ESF) has a dedicated page with all the latest available information for all ESF (and ESIF) Funding Recipients and Delivery Partners on COVID-19 Response issues. www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-structural-and-investment-funds-coronavirus-covid-19-response
• The Children’s Commissioner has developed a children’s guide to coronavirus. www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/publication/childrens-guide-to-coronavirus
• UK Government Travel Advice for British people living and travelling overseas gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus