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Successful organisations announced for Equality and Human Rights Fund

48 organisations across Scotland have been awarded funding from the Scottish Government’s Equality and Human Fund to advance human rights, promote equality and tackle discrimination.

The successful organisations will share £21 million over three years, from 2021 to 2024, with £7 million distributed annually. Overall, this new three-year programme will provide an additional £1 million per year for organisations dedicated to tackling inequality and discrimination, furthering equality and advancing the realisation of human rights in Scotland.

Recipients of the fund include Civil Rights First, Intercultural Youth Scotland, Generations Working Together and Neighbourhood Networks in Scotland. A full list of funded organisations is available here.

Celia Tennant, Chief Executive of Inspiring Scotland, which manages the fund on behalf of the Scottish Government, said:

 “Everyone in Scotland deserves, and has a right, to live their life to their maximum ability, to contribute to society in the widest terms, and to have full self-determination.

“The large number of strong applicants to the fund demonstrates the depth of commitment from the third sector. We look forward to working with the diverse range of funded groups to share challenges, develop solutions and amplify learning.”

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said:

“We want to build a fairer, more equal Scotland which is free from discrimination and where the human rights of everyone are respected, protected and fulfilled.

“Equality and human rights are at the heart of all we do. As we ease out of the pandemic, we are providing an annual increase of £1 million to support the vital efforts of these expert organisations to strengthen communities, further equality, and advance human rights of people across the country.”

Dionne McCabe, Trustee of Civil Rights First, said:

“This funding award, made in recognition of our specialist service delivery, is a significant step for our small charity in delivering to the most vulnerable with access to justice and a step change in growth across Scotland. We look forward to making a real difference with positive outcomes for vulnerable people.”

Supporting charity communications

Sam Marriott-Dowding is Managing Director of Marriott Communications and a Specialist Volunteer with Inspiring Scotland. He has brought his expertise in communications to several projects supporting charities across Scotland.

As a Specialist Volunteer, I work predominantly within communications – so anything from: PR, media management, crisis communications, digital marketing, content creation, social media management, to developing and implementing campaigns and strategies.

During my time on the Specialist Volunteer Network, I worked with several charities to develop their communications strategies, including, integrating cross-channel marketing plans, media engagement, social media management, and campaign development to increase consumer engagement, public awareness, and the creativity of their digital content.

Whilst I have been involved with several incredible projects through the Specialist Volunteer Network – one project in particular stands out.

I advised get2gether on their #BecomingVisible campaign, which not only increased the charity’s digital presence by 10%, but the campaign itself made a real and tangible impact. #BecomingVisible highlighted the stories of get2gether’s members – all adults with disabilities – and the work they have been doing during the pandemic.

Adults with disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, are often unheard in a societal, political, and economic sense. Expectations are generally low, with employment opportunities virtually non-existent. The aim of #BecomingVisible was to highlight how the media can reduce stereotypical representations of disability – and in doing so, help reduce discrimination and advance equality.

This campaign successfully highlighted these stories and experiences, which resulted in a substantial increase of engagement, visible impact, and even an STV interview!

In my role as a Specialist Volunteer, not only have I had the pleasure of working with incredible third sector organisations to make a real difference in the world, I have also been able to expand my professional knowledge and specialisms. As someone who graduated from university and then struggled to find employment during the pandemic, the Specialist Volunteer Network allowed me to redefine the faith I had in myself, and in my professional abilities – something which is truly an immeasurable gift.

So if you’re interested in joining the Specialist Volunteer Network, or using it as a charity, the only piece of advice I have is to go for it!

Signing up to become a Specialist Volunteer is something you won’t ever regret. You get to develop your own professional skills and expertise further with real-world experience, whilst at the same time supporting third sector organisations who often have skill deficits.

As a Specialist Volunteer, you really are making a difference, one organisation at a time!

Find out how our Specialist Volunteer Network could help your charity.

Consultation on funding for independent support sector

This consultation is now closed.

Following the success of the Support in the Right Direction (SiRD) funding programme, which empowers people to be equal partners in their social care and support decisions, Inspiring Scotland is opening a consultation for the independent support sector and other key partners. This consultation aims to gather views on the priorities for funding within the sector and to identify any gaps in provision. We want to understand how service provision and the need for funding have changed since the introduction of the SiRD funding programme in October 2018.

Any potential new funding for independent support is subject to decisions by Scottish Ministers later this year and therefore no new funding will be announced during the consultation. However, feedback is being sought now so that any potential new SiRD programme could be put in place for April 2022. Views are welcomed from:

• independent support and advocacy organisations,
• carers’ centres,
• health and social care partnerships,
• other national partners and stakeholders,
• any other groups with an interest in how funding is designed for independent support and advocacy.

Inspiring Scotland CEO Celia Tennant said:

“Over the past six years Inspiring Scotland has worked in partnership with Scottish Government to deliver Support in the Right Direction, funding independent support to empower people to have choice and control over their social care and support decisions.

“We look forward to consulting on priorities for any future SiRD funding, taking into consideration the impact of the pandemic on independent support.”

Have your say 

Thank you to everyone who took part in the online surveys and virtual discussion events during May. These have now closed but if you have feedback you would like to share please email sirdenquiries@inspiringscotland.org.uk

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information please read our Frequently Asked Questions Document.

Background

Inspiring Scotland is the Scottish Government’s delivery partner for the Support in the Right Direction 2021 (SiRD2021) programme. The aim of SiRD2021 is to increase the delivery of independent support for people who require social care. Self-directed Support is Scotland’s mainstream approach to social care. As Fund managers for the Scottish Government, Inspiring Scotland support the performance management, monitoring and evaluation of these projects.

Delivering Equally Safe Fund-Important Update

IMPORTANT UPDATE

On the 24th March 2021, the Scottish Government and COSLA issued a joint statement on the Delivering Equally Safe fund. The statement outlines a number of important changes to the fund which have come in with immediate effect. We understand that those who are intending to apply may have questions and we are working closely with the Scottish Government to ensure that all the documents associated with the fund including the Information and Application Guidance Notes are updated within the next few days. We will endeavour to have the updated documents available and distributed to everyone who has registered interest as soon as possible.

Please note: The application deadline date has been extended to midday on Friday 28th May.

Click here to access the full statement.

The Potential of our Relationships

Link Up worker Hannah Kirby reflects on Hilary Cottam’s book ‘Radical Help’ and the parallels with Inspiring Scotland’s community development and wellbeing programme.

The importance of engaging Scotland’s girls in Active Play

To celebrate Scottish woman and girls in sport week 2020 we decided to interview Anne- Marie, who is involved in the running of the Active Play programme at voluntary organisation FARE Scotland, on the importance of engaging girls in Active play.

FARE Scotland (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) is a voluntary organisation working within disadvantaged communities throughout Central Scotland. FARE have been running their Active Play programme for 3 years.

FARE are part of Thrive Outdoors -Active Play funded programme. Thrive Outdoors Active Play programme boosts physical activity in children and helps them develop fundamental movement skills such as coordination and balance, all through playing physically active games. Inspiring Scotland are passionate about communicating the many benefits of Active play for all Scotland’s children.

Can you tell us about the Active Play programme at Fare?

AM- Fare have been part of Active Play for three years now and the programme allows for children in the class of primary 3 to be provided with a 1-hour play session. The session is split into 2 halves. 1 half is more structured and led by the adults and the second half is free play. During this time the children are allowed to create their own play and explore the environment. The children are provided with a range of resources should they wish to utilize these. The children build relationships with other peers during this time and implement some of the skills learned in the first half of the session. The programme runs in primary schools for a total of 15 weeks.

Having worked on the Active play programme do you have tips or advice on how to motivate girls who are currently disengaged from physical activity and/or Active play?

AM-The structure of the programme allows for a lot of flexibility and with this the girls in the class tend to engage and be interested almost instantly. However, we do from time to time get girls who are shy in the class and we find out what they are interested in at home, what music they like and we use music and communication to try and engage the girls. Resources we use are Pom Poms, dance batons, gymnastics equipment.  We try to keep up with the times to engage the girls so recently tik toks have been created during our sessions with the girls and this allows girls to make decisions, work in teams and feel confident in their ability to perform. 

What are some of the benefits Active Play sessions bring for girls in particular?

AM-The sessions provide a fun, active and inclusive environment for the girls to be themselves without any judgment. The sessions by nature encourage the girls to be active for the full session. The fun element motivates the girls and reduces the dropout rate. The resources allow for girls to make up their own games and also gives them ideas on how to stay active. The staff are always one male, one female per session to allow for the girls to have a male and female role model. The staff are always active and willing to participate themselves to show the girls that they can have fun at any age. Adding all this together increases the girls confidence to be themselves and let themselves go.

To find out more about FARE’s Active play programme see here: https://fare-scotland.org/academics/active-play/

To find out more about how you can get involved in supporting Scottish woman and girls in sport week 2020 please see here: https://api.actify.org.uk/asset/b9717092-15bd-4766-b3d8-187cdbfb51d7

Follow the Thrive Outdoors team on twitter for updates: @Thrive_Outdoors

To read more about the Thrive Outdoors Active Play programme please see here: https://inspiringscotland.org.uk/what-we-do/our-funds/thrive-outdoors/active-play/

The world needs people who think differently

In our latest blog, Autism Performance Advisor Allison Crawford writes about the development of the Different Minds. One Scotland campaign and the collaborative process which helped bring the campaign into fruition.  

We start with hope

We must take this moment to reappraise and reimagine how our systems of support for the most vulnerable should operate in future, writes Andrew Magowan.

How we shape and control the world around us is the primary means by which we develop and express our place and role in this world. If we are unable to exercise this control, it undermines the essence of who we are and can be. This is the true nature of inequality and it is personal.

For millions of people, the current crisis has diminished their ability to exercise choice and control, serving to weaken an already precarious existence. For some in this group, the threshold between just getting by and life-shattering emotional, financial and health change has been breached. And for others, COVID-19 has hastened an unrelenting spiral to the margins of society. In this sense, the current situation is not only a public health crisis, it is a humanitarian one.

‘Building back’ will not be enough. We need to do better if we are not to fail people. However, we start with hope: “not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out” (Vaclav Havel).

What makes sense, is to foster the conditions in which people can comprehend and manage their life in a way that has meaning and is worthwhile. To afford them the opportunity to exercise control over the circumstances that influence their life. The consequences of the removal of this control reverberated through our society long before this crisis broke.

We need to imagine, design and implement structures, systems and practice that build from the person upwards, not top down as has for so long been the way. As social creatures, the bedrock for this human-centric approach is unquestionably our connection to others …

a shared passion for similar interests, a shoulder to cry on, sharing a meal, celebrating success, a hug that says it’s going to be ok, accepting and coming to terms with differences, our solidarity with others, to feel wanted and needed, to love and be loved

…these are what shape us and make a life.

For many however, such interactions are not part of their daily lives. For others, the nature of their interactions is singularly destructive. For both, life is diminished, and their path becomes one of retreat or chaos.

Our Link Up programme has for nearly a decade sought to enable local people, many amongst the most vulnerable, to exercise control over their lives and alter this path. This begins by creating a safe space for social activities; a space where trust and reciprocity grow, and the fundamentals of supportive relationships, confidence and self-esteem are established.  

These positively redefine the person’s view of their self and the role they play in family and community life. In turn, this leads them to reimagine their future and exercise choice and control over its realisation: improving health and wellbeing; creating a brighter financial future; and, becoming active citizens looking out for others and addressing tough local issues.

Nurturing these fundamentals is a role community-based organisations are uniquely placed to undertake because it is in their DNA. Unfortunately, such work is not always recognised and rarely funded. This needs to change.

What’s more, we must understand that when this can be done at scale, we set the foundations for and catalyse a process of societal renewal.

This is possible because we create conditions in which peoples’ lives pivot from retreat/chaos to stabilisation, recovery and ultimately, personal renewal. For many, this self-managed change is accompanied by a growing activism.

If this can be fostered at a collective level, a second phase of transformation can proceed; one in which local people and organisations (public, social and commercial) collaborate to identify and develop their path to an effectively functioning community that is resilient and regenerative.

Scotland’s first ever Social Renewal Advisory Board offers a powerful vehicle to do so. But it needs to go beyond careful listening and set us on a course to the fairer, healthier and environmentally sustainable future we seek.

There is a wealth of evidence to guide this course, but it must start with the understanding that people can only make progress in life when they are able to shape and control the world around them.

Andrew Magowan is Programme Manager for Inspiring Scotland’s Link Up programme.

Read a more in-depth version of this article here.

Our Future Now – The Need to Act

Alongside trusted charities and investors, we are committed to supporting young people as they navigate the challenges of the post COVID-19 job market, writes Inspiring Scotland Chief Executive Celia Tennant.

After 10 years of sustained effort from across government, business, and civil society in Scotland, youth unemployment reached a record low of 6.9% in July 2019.

I am proud of the role Inspiring Scotland and its many partners played in helping to reach this point, but could never have anticipated that only a year later we would be preparing for what is being described as a tsunami of youth unemployment because of COVID-19.

We know that unemployment is likely to affect 16-25-year-olds disproportionately.

An entire generation of young people are at risk, even those who are ‘job ready’ will have nowhere to go if they are not rapidly engaged in activity that provides skills and preparation for the post COVID-19 job market.

What we also know is the impact and challenge will be even greater for young people who face greater barriers in their lives; living in poverty or in difficult family circumstances, with experience of the care system, or with caring responsibilities.

To prevent this, we must use the knowledge and experience built over the last 10 years to invest in the kind of interventions which have the potential to prevent lifelong scarring from youth unemployment.

We’ve done it before

Inspiring Scotland’s flagship 10-year youth unemployment fund 14:19 contributed to securing record lows in youth unemployment in 2019 by supporting 36,188 young people to a better place in life through employment, education, or training.

Our Future Now was formed as the follow-up to 14:19, because we had learnt that too many young people were still being excluded from the opportunity to fulfil their potential due to circumstances beyond their control. We want to see even more young people not merely surviving but flourishing.

A collective Third Sector Response

We know there are no quick fixes, and therefore need to invest in leaders and organisations with strong track records, as well as vision, passion, and creativity.

We back the third sector for these reasons, and through Our Future Now we selected 12 experienced and trusted charities to direct their support at young people aged 16 to 25 experiencing more challenges in their lives than most.

These charities have ambition, potential for growth, commitment to evaluation and transparency. They are well placed to work with young people in complex circumstances in a person-centered way for as long as required. They can also be relied on to innovate and quickly implement new creative approaches, focusing on efficiency and keeping bureaucracy at a minimum.

We have a shared ambition for young people and by working together as a portfolio, we share what works and what doesn’t and provide cohesion and momentum that results in the collective impact being more than the sum of the individual parts.

#Nevermoreneeded

To tackle the scale of inequality it will take radical and bold interventions, which the The Report of the Advisory Group of Economic Recovery has called for.

We know that we must use this moment to act. Given the scale of the task, success will require cross-sector collective effort of a kind that has never been seen before.  As this crisis has illuminated inequality, it has also shone a light on the role of the third sector and an acknowledgment of its critical role in the period of economic recovery, supporting young people, employability, health and wellbeing.

I ask that we now look to approaches and interventions which have delivered successfully, effectively, and at scale in the past. With the investors who are already backing Our Future Now and the commitment and drive of the charities involved we are committed to rise to this challenge and we are determined to use our experience, energy and passion to help young people and prevent scarring further generations.

Read more about  Our Future Now 

Where should our future classrooms be?

In this collaborative blog, Rachel Cowper of Thrive Outdoors and Central Scotland Green Network Trust’s Deryck Irving present the case for moving classroom teaching outside post-COVID-19.

The response to the current pandemic has meant the introduction of new behaviours to many aspects of our day-to-day lives. The process of easing lockdown will require changed behaviours for some time to come, as well as new approaches to the places, spaces, and buildings that we live and work in.

While it is likely that some of these new behaviours will be temporary, it may actually be sensible to retain some of them in the longer term – not just to control risk, but because they are actively good for us. Accommodating this may mean we need to take steps to improve and adapt our towns and cities, our streets, our workplaces, and our public buildings.

Getting outdoors

The value we place on being outdoors has been highlighted by lockdown, and by people’s response to its easing. The health and wellbeing benefits of greenspaces are significant and well documented. Being in, or even just being able to see natural spaces has a significant positive impact on mood. Greenspaces are also among our favourite places to take physical exercise.

Research indicates that virus transmission risk is reduced outdoors, and under current circumstances, these spaces offer more opportunity to socially distance. Outdoor spaces have always been places for communities to come together, and in the short to medium term, they will continue to be the only spaces that people can safely meet. So, what might the next steps be?

Phase 1 of the Scottish Government’s lockdown easing measures include the re-opening of childminders and fully outdoor nurseries. This is driven by evidence that transmission risk for COVID-19 is lower out of doors, and findings on outdoor settings indicating their positive impact on many aspects of learning such as decision making, problem solving and interpersonal skills. Furthermore, being outdoors is key to children’s development, improving physical, mental, and emotional health, and helping to build personal resilience, self-esteem, and confidence. It is also cost-effective in meeting the increased need for space.

According to national guidance on how to establish and deliver high quality childcare outside, ‘an outdoor setting does not need a fully functioning building to deliver high quality, flexible early learning and childcare. And importantly, it is fun and should be an everyday part of children’s play-based learning!’

This notion leads directly to the question of whether this model is something that could be replicated in Primary or Secondary education. In other words, could we have outdoor schools? The answer should be emphatically yes, since our curriculum in Scotland, particularly at Primary level, can be delivered outside. Moreover, by moving education outdoors, we can provide additional benefits to childhood health and wellbeing, as well as ease the pressure on indoor settings.

Looking back to a pre-pandemic world for a moment, it’s useful to think about where outdoor learning has typically taken place. Some of it has occurred on playgrounds, astroturf pitches and staff car parks within school or nursery grounds – although much of our educational outdoor estate can be relatively sterile and offer little in the way of stimulation. Other nurseries and schools might have made use of local greenspaces, but these can also be less than ideal.

Others still have created their own spaces from underused or unused land. Consider Baltic Street Adventure Playground, created on a derelict site in Dalmarnock as a temporary response to the lack of play space and out of school provision for children and families in the east end of Glasgow. The site has become a permanent, supervised adventure playground for children aged 6 to 12, and a haven for play, adventure and learning in the community.

The way forward

While Baltic Street offers a wonderful example, there are currently only 31 registered fully outdoor nurseries in Scotland. There are more in the pipeline, but it is important to note that this is still a fledging industry here. As a comparison, in Scandinavia, outdoor nurseries and classrooms are so commonplace that they are not separately identified in the registers of education provision.

We believe that any solution for educating in the early and school years must include increased access to, and use of, outdoor spaces for learning.

In order to do this, there are a few steps that can be considered. Some or all of them will help achieve this aim, and support children’s health, wellbeing, attainment, and connectedness to their communities.

• Improve school grounds as learning spaces. It’s time to think outside the box and use recycled and loose parts materials to aid learning and encourage greater biodiversity in school grounds. Consider all external space as an opportunity – a staff car park may be the perfect place for chalk drawing and maths lessons.
• Look outside your school grounds. What local spaces exist in your community? Could you use local parks and greenspaces or other public places close to the school? Consider how you could improve greenspaces as learning spaces, including providing safe access from local schools. Does the way parks and greenspaces are managed need to change?
• Create new greenspaces as learning spaces. Not every community or every school has access to greenspaces which could be used for outdoor learning. Recent research by Fields in Trust suggests that almost 320,000 people in Scotland do not have a greenspace within a 10-minute walk of their homes. The Scottish Government uses greenspace within a 5-minute walk as its measure of access so there are likely to be many more people affected.
• Be innovative. Look for opportunities to transform under and unused spaces such as vacant and derelict land into new greenspaces. Analysis carried out by the Central Scotland Green Network Trust identified 86 vacant and derelict land sites with the potential to provide new greenspaces in areas where access is poor. Since this only covers land on the official vacant and derelict land register in the most disadvantaged communities in Central Scotland, it is likely there are further opportunities on other unused land.

There is a pressing need to focus on making best use of what we’ve got while ensuring that what is there in the future is better. This will involve our communities having better access to local greenspaces, with outdoor learning fully integrated into the curriculum.

Not only will this make us more ready for future public health challenges, it will also create better, healthier places for us all to live and work, increasing our contact with nature and reducing the negative impacts of vacant and derelict land on communities across urban Scotland.

We want to help more children, more schools, and more communities take the opportunity to use their local green and natural spaces. If you’re considering how you might achieve this for your setting or community, please get in touch and speak to us.

Rachel Cowper is Programme Manager for Thrive Outdoors
rachel@inspiringscotland.org.uk

Deryck Irving is Director of Strategy and Development, Central Scotland Green Network Trust
Deryck.Irving@csgnt.org.uk