EVOC thinkSpace event: Pensions

EVOC is holding a Breakfast thinkSpace on

Pension Auto Enrolment

on Friday 20 February 8:30am – 10am

at EVOC, 14 Ashley Place, EdinburghEH6 5PX

The session will be delivered by Deborah Adam from the Pensions Team at Burness Paull LLP, as well as a speaker from Hymans Robertson (to be confirmed).

There will be more information to follow on our dedicated ThinkSpace pages, as well as on our social media channels.

In the meantime, please save the date and reserve your place by booking through eventbrite:

https://eventbrite.co.uk/event/15498270745/

Drylaw’s looking for a local hero

It’s Tierney Award nomination time in Drylaw Telford

Do you know someone who gave up their time to help the Drylaw Telford community last year? A local volunteer who went that extra mile to support a neighbour, or a person who’s worked to improve the local environment or enhance the quality of life in the neighbourhood? If so, Drylaw Telford Community Council wants to hear from you!

The community council is now seeking nominations for the Thomas Tierney Award for Good Citizenship 2014.

Tam Tierney was a committed community activist from Wester Drylaw who was involved in many of the positive things that happening in the old Greater Pilton area during the eighties and nineties. He was a stalwart of Pilton Sporting Club, chaired Craigroyston Community Centre for many years and was also an active and enthusiastic member of Drylaw Telford Community Council. Tam was also part of the steering group and a member of the first management committee of Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, which first opened it’s doors twenty years ago in 1995.

When Tam passed away in 1999, Drylaw Telford Community Council decided to mark his contribution to community life – not only to celebrate his achievements but also to try to encourage others to become more active within their community.

Every year since 2000, the community council has chosen a new recipient of the Award. They are all very different, and every one has been nominated for a different reason, but they share one thing in common: they freely contribute their time to do something that makes the Drylaw Telford neighbourhood a better place to live.

Former recipients have done that in many ways – helping out as a volunteer with local projects, doing their neighbours’ shopping, supporting local groups by serving on management committees … and some have done all of these things and more!

Drylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale – who himself received the award in 2012 – said: “The Thomas Tierney Award is an important date on our community council calendar and is usually the best attended meeting of the year. We are looking forward to receiving nominations and the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our local unsung heroes.”

Nomination forms are now available at Drylaw Parish Church and Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre and forms can also be downloaded at Drylaw Telford Community Council’s website.

All completed forms must be returned by 25 February.

If you think you know someone from the area who deserves recognition for their community spirit, visit the community council’s website at www.drylawtelfordcc.co.uk or email Secretary@drylawtelfordcc.co.uk for further information.

Thomas Tierney Award Poster

Active Kids is back at Sainsbury’s

Active Kids is back at Sainsburys Blackhall. Customers can collect vouchers in store from 28 January – 5 May to help registered schools, groups and clubs across Edinburgh receive active and cooking equipment and experiences.

The scheme, which is celebrating its 10th birthday, is supported by double Paralympic gold medal-winner Ellie Simmons, world record breaking sprinter Jonnie Peacock and Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge.

Active Kids is designed to inspire and enable children to take more exercise and to eat healthily. Launched in 2005, the voucher collection scheme is open to all nursery, primary and secondary schools, as well as Scouts, Girlguiding groups and sports clubs in the UK.

Since it launched, over £150 million worth of equipment and experiences have been donated to registered schools, clubs and organisations.

The programme continues to evolve and reflect changes to the curriculum, with developments such as additional cooking equipment and toolkits introduced to support this new emphasis in the classroom.

Still caring after all those years

Caring award for Stockbridge charity

Care at LifeCare (Edinburgh) in Stockbridge extends far beyond attending to health necessities. Be it music and singing in the St. Bernard’s club, or a nutritious meal at the on-site community cafe, LifeCare Edinburgh has enriched the lives of older people for over 74 years.

Earlier this month LifeCare Edinburgh was awarded a Carer Positive certificate to acknowledge their commitment to caring.

The recently-introduced Carer Positive kitemark is awarded to employers in Scotland who have a working environment where their staff, who are also carers for family members, are valued and supported. This might be through flexible working policies or with simple practical measures which can make a big difference to carers.

Care Services Manager Margaret Stewart said: “This award is proof that we do what we say we do. LifeCare is set apart from other organisations by how we look after our staff as employees and in their caring role. We are very proud to be one of 16 organisations across Scotland to be recognised for this award.”

Fundrasing manager Vicki Bradley added: “LifeCare Edinburgh is known for caring for others whether in their day centre or at home, so it seemed natural that it should support its staff who are carers personally,”

And such is the commitment of the Stockbridge team that they are already working towards the next level of the Carer Positive kitemark!

Snow through road

Snow and ice made driving conditions particularly treacherous this morning, as this driver found.

The incident happened in Saxe Coburg Street at around 06:45am. Fortunately no-one was hurt in the accident, but police said both the car and the property were damaged.

Citizens have their say on council budget

Five-fold increase in public response to budget proposals – but only 3500 take the opportunity to have their say

es more responses than last year have been received through the City of Edinburgouncil’s budget engagement and consultation exercise.

The results are detailed in a report which will be considered by the Finance and Resources Committee on Tuesday, 3 February. The Council received comments on topics such as allotments, early years and adult education, Edinburgh Leisure, library opening hours, public toilets, homelessness and third party grants.

For the first time the Council used a new online tool enabling residents to have their say on how the Capital invests and saves over the next three years.e report includes feedback from around 3,525 Edinburgh residents, key stakeholders and local businesses including 1,719 people who used the online planner.

The city’s population is around 490,000.

The Council also received 782 telephone calls, emails and letters,145 budget leaflets were returned and 524 comments were made through social media.

A budget question time event was also attended by over 40 people, viewed by 200 people on the live webcast and watched another 862 times using the archive.

In order to meaningfully engage with a larger and more diverse group, the online planner allowed the Council to show where it expects to incur costs in 2017/18, to demonstrate the impacts of increasing or decreasing spending in all of its services, and to give respondents the opportunity to express what they feel the Council’s priorities should be. Impacts shown in the planner were indicative of what might happen as a result of budget changes. The Council also asked for public views on this year’s 2015/16 budget proposals.

Cllr Alasdair Rankin, Convener of the Finance and Resource Committee, said: “I would like to thank the thousands of residents and businesses who took part in this open and democratic 11-week engagement and consultation process. A broad range of channels were used to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to have their say as an individual and or as a group to influence how the Council should invest and save money.

“The Council received five times more feedback through this year’s budget engagement and consultation than last year. The online planner was extremely successful and we ensured it was promoted to all age groups and people from all walks of life to help us understand more fully where Edinburgh residents think Council money should be invested and saved. We will be taking this success and working with people right through the year to develop a more participatory process throughout the city.

“The comments and the results of the budget planner are now being carefully considered along with all the other feedback we received. This will help us to make the right decisions for our residents now and in the future when setting our budget. I would encourage people to watch councillors making these important decisions for the city live, via our website, or catch up afterwards on the webcast archive.”

The budget for 2015/16 will be set at a meeting, which will be webcast, on Thursday 12 February.

Positive parenting: the Teen Triple P programme

Raising a teenager? Teen Triple P parenting programme

What is Group Teen Triple P?

Group Teen Triple P is a parenting programme which can help parents and carers cope positively with some of the common issues associated with raising a teenager.

The group and telephone/ individual consultation sessions give parents an opportunity to explore ways they can build a stronger relationship with their teenager, reduce conflict, manage problem behaviours and help their teen stay safe.

Group Teen Triple P helps parents make small changes in the way they handle things which can make big differences to the whole family.

Teen Triple P is suitable for parents, step parents and carers of pre-teen and teenagers aged approximately 11-16 years. Groups for kinship carers and dads also run.

What does it involve?

It is natural to feel nervous when attending a group and meeting new people. The facilitators will try to meet each parent before the group starts, either during a home visit or at the venue. They will do what they can to make everyone feel welcome. Teen Triple P groups are run by two facilitators with up to 12 parents in each group. Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided. Each parent will be given a parent workbook which is theirs to keep.
Each group usually runs for 9 weeks with:

 Five group sessions which last for 2 hours
 Followed by three phone or individual sessions
 Then a final group session

During group sessions, parents learn from DVD clips, discussions and activities.

Parents choose which strategies to try each week at home. The facilitators will chat with parents during telephone or individual sessions to offer additional support.

Outline of Sessions

Introductory Session: Getting to know you. Parents are given a brief overview of the programme and get a chance to meet the facilitators and other parents in the group.

Session 1: Positive parenting. This session provides parents with an introduction to positive parenting, explore factors that influence teenage behaviour, and set goals for change.

Session 2: Encouraging appropriate behaviour. During this session, ways of improving positive relationships with teenagers are considered. Strategies to increase desirable behaviour and holding family meetings are also covered.

Session 3: Managing problem behaviour. In this session, parents learn how to develop family rules, deal with noncooperation and acknowledging and managing teenage emotions

Session 4: Dealing with risky behaviour. This session helps to identify risky situations, explores routines to deal with risky behaviour, and discusses family survival tips.

Session 5-7: Implementing parenting strategies. During telephone or individual consultation sessions, facilitators assist parents to review their chosen parenting strategies.

Session 8: Programme close. Parents return for a final group session to review progress, look at ways to maintain changes and problem-solve for the future. Information on additional available supports is provided.

Where does Group Teen Triple P run?

The City of Edinburgh Council runs Group Teen Triple P in each area of the city. They run in venues such as Community Centres, Schools and Libraries. Programmes run during the day and in the evenings.

How do I apply to attend Group Teen Triple P?

Applications can be made at any time as we operate a waiting list system. We welcome applications directly from parents or practitioners may apply for a place for a family they are working with.

Application forms can be requested by emailing supportingparentsandcarers@edinburgh.gcsx.gov.uk

or by telephoning 0131 529 6700

More Information

If you would like more information about Teen Triple P or wish to discuss if it is suitable for you or a parent you are working with contact Jillian Hart, Teen Triple P Lead, Parent and Carer Support Development Officer- Tel: 07860736129 or email jillian.hart@edinburgh.gov.uk

Quotes from Edinburgh parents who have attended Teen Triple P groups:

“I have found the program very helpful and supportive, the atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly.”

“Really enjoyed this course, it helped me a lot.”

“It is reassuring to know that we are not alone, to have a better insight into what motivates our daughter, and to be able to refer to the workbook for tips and strategies.”

“Really made me think, we have a better relationship.”

“Excellent content with varied strategies which makes the program flexible and manageable for all”

“I feel stronger and more confident as a parent and a person.”

TTP flyer Kinship