As part of their commitment to keeping people active and well, Edinburgh’s leading sport and physical activity charity, Edinburgh Leisure, is launching a new month-long physical activity challenge that aims to inspire people to get active every day this May.
The Movement for Good challenge is aimed at everyone, not just their members. It’s well-evidenced that moving and being physically active benefits our overall health and wellbeing, but putting it into practice can be hard, with family life, work commitments and household chores often taking precedence over exercise.
Helen Macfarlane, in the newly created role as Edinburgh Leisure’s Director of Wellbeing explains: “Whether people are new to physical activity or need a helping hand to get back into the swing of things, then our new Movement for Good challenge is for them.
“It’s designed to give participants a period of focus when they start to make small consistent changes by being active every day. This is the start of forming healthy habits so that regular activity becomes part of their daily routine, and they build the motivation to stay active because they feel good.
“Being active doesn’t have to mean running a marathon or joining a bootcamp. Even small changes can make a huge difference. Participants are encouraged to find an activity or activities they love, enabling them to create healthy habits and providing them with the motivation they need to stay active. So, for example, someone might wish to step it out, boogie on the dancefloor, or dip their toes into the pool or pump some iron throughout May.
“Participants can also use their challenge to do some good by raising sponsorship money to support local people who need a bit more help through Edinburgh Leisure’s Active Communities programme, so they too can experience the benefits of an active life.”
This includes enabling care experienced children to enjoy the active childhood they deserve, to helping people with cancer and other long term health conditions to manage their symptoms and have a better quality of life, to ensuring older adults can stay active and connected for longer.
The new Adult Disability Payment will open for applications today (Monday 21 March) for people living in three pilot areas.
People aged between 16 and state pension age who are disabled, have a long-term health condition or a terminal illness living in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and Western Isles council areas can apply.
Adult Disability Payment will replace the UK Government’s Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in Scotland.
People with ongoing awards of Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance do not need to make an application for Adult Disability Payment. Their awards will transfer to the Scottish social security system automatically from summer 2022.
Further council areas will be introduced in phases until Adult Disability Payment is rolled out nationally on 29 August 2022.
Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “Social security is a human right and none of us know when we might need it – it is a shared investment to help build a fairer society, together. We are developing a system that is rooted in trust to make sure people can access the support that they are entitled to.
“Launching this first Adult Disability Payment pilot is a significant milestone, as we start to deliver our biggest and most complex benefit. We are taking a positive and compassionate approach to delivering disability assistance, centred around our principles of dignity, fairness and respect.
“We know people have found applying for disability benefits stressful in the past. That is why we have listened to their experiences and have designed our service to work for people, not against them.
“We are ensuring that accessing Adult Disability Payment is as straightforward as possible and we will always start from a position of trust. Importantly, in the Scottish system no one will be subject to Department for Work and Pensions style assessments and we will never use the private sector to carry out health examinations.
“There won’t be any degrading functional examinations, such as asking a client to ‘touch their toes’.. These changes have been welcomed by those with lived experience, who we have worked with to design this benefit.
“People will only be invited to a consultation on occasions when we require more information so we can make a decision. This will be a conversation with a health and social care professional to understand how an individual’s disability or health condition impacts them.
“We are committed to giving people timely decisions, but our priority is making the right decisions first time and sometimes this may take a bit longer. This will reduce the need for people to go through a redetermination or appeal.
“Adult Disability Payment is there to support people to live well and provide security at the most difficult of times. I would encourage those who think they could be eligible to check and apply.”
Tracy McNally, Director of Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau said: “Helping people with social security payments, and disability payments in particular, is one of the biggest things we do and we’re excited that Dundee is one of the pilot areas for the roll out of adult disability payments.
“It’s really important that the new system is rooted in dignity and respect for applicants, and doesn’t cause unnecessary stress or anxiety.
“We’d encourage anyone who may eligible for the support to apply, and if anyone ever needs help or advice on social security issues, your local CAB is here for you.”
Global educational resources publisher, Twinkl, has a Gaelic-speaking team publishing resources in the language throughout the year.
From the 21st to the 27th of March, Seachdain na Gàidhlig (World Gaelic Week) is going to be enjoyed in Scottish classrooms and beyond.
The event is a wonderful way of shining a light on a significant part of Scottish heritage, and to celebrate an aspect of Scottish culture. The aims of the week are to encourage learning Gaelic, and to promote the cultural richness associated with Gaelic.
Gaelic is prominently used in the Highlands and islands of Scotland. There are also many urban Gaels using the language in Scotland’s cities. Gaelic is actively spoken in schools, among friends & family, as well as in shops and restaurants.
According to the last census, over 87,000* Scots were able to speak, read or understand Gaelic. As a minority language, it has had a large impact on Scottish culture for centuries, right up to the present day.
Twinkl has created learning materials that fit into five themes to help the language come alive. The themes can be used each day in the school-week when Seachdain na Gàidhlig takes place.
These are: Celebrate Gaelic, Learning the Language, Gaelic in the Real World, Gaelic in the Media, and Arts & Culture. These themes were created to support the teaching and the learning of Gaelic.
Twinkl is an EdTech company with a mission to ‘help those who teach’. The organisation has its own Gaelic-speaking team, dedicated to creating educational materials in the Gaelic language throughout the year. There are resources designed for fluent Gaelic speakers as well as learners.
Julie-Anne Mackenzie, Twinkl Alba’s Product Owner said, “World Gaelic Week is a fantastic way of boosting the language’s profile, as well as celebrating its stories, music, and much more. It is an opportunity for both learners and fluent speakers in a variety of contexts to celebrate and share their learning, whatever stage they are at.”
The Twinkl Alba team speaks Gaelic throughout the working day. Alongside the Gaelic resources that are made, emails are written, and meetings are hosted in the language. The team features content writers, graphic designers and editors dedicated to supporting teaching and learning in the language throughout the year. Employees come from a variety of educational and linguistic backgrounds throughout Scotland and beyond.
Julie-Anne said, “It is a privilege to work on a team that creates thousands of educational resources in Gaelic a year. Gaelic is the primary language we use in a business setting, no matter the project we are working on.
“There are even English Twinkl employees who have enjoyed picking up some Gaelic words and phrases when working alongside us!”
“Learning Gaelic is a fun challenge, and Twinkl Alba are here to support learners and teachers with a vast array of engaging resources. This is to supplement and enhance the learning experience. Why don’t you give it a try?”
Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives through reading and writing, has launched their Community Campfires residencies project.
It marks the 14th year of Scottish Book Trust’s annual Your Stories campaign and four intensive story making residencies will take place in communities across Scotland via the Story Wagon.
The Community Campfires residencies will work in partnership with four different library services. Over five days, the charity will support people in the community to tell the stories from their lives that matter to them. The residencies are supported by EventScotland as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
Scotland’s Year of Stories spotlights, celebrates and promotes the wealth of stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland. Stories are vital to every part of Scotland. Every community has its own tales to tell, places to highlight as inspiration for well-known books and films, visitor attractions that showcase our literature, poetry and storytelling heritage and all kinds of places and spaces where stories, old and new, can be enjoyed.
The Story Wagon will tour: Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire; Greenock, Inverclyde; Lochgelly, Fife and the Western Isles, gathering real life stories from the public. Luke Winter, Navigation Officer of the Story Wagon, will be joined by a team of digital storytellers, filmmakers and podcasters producing content in English and Gaelic.
Story Wagon stops:
Monday 18 April to Friday 22 April, North Ayrshire
Monday 25 April to Friday 30 April, Inverclyde
Monday 23 May to Friday 27 May, Fife
Monday 30 May to Friday 3 June. Western Isles – Barra, South Uist and Eriskay, Benbecula and North Uist.
Culture Minister Neil Gray said:‘Every community has a story to tell and it’s exciting to see Scottish Book Trust working with local libraries to bring these to life as part of their Community Campfire residences.
‘Our partners, Scottish Book Trust, have a fantastic track record when it comes to using stories to transform lives and I’m sure those that emerge from this project will make an important contribution to Scotland’s Year of Stories.’
Luke Winter, Navigation Officer of the Story Wagon,(top)said:‘I’m incredibly excited for Story Wagon to be visiting four areas of Scotland with Scottish Book Trust as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories with EventScotland.
“As craic catalysts, Story Wagon encourages people to explore and create stories. The Your Stories programme from Scottish Book Trust has done a brilliant job of collating treasure troves of stories across Scotland over the past fourteen years.
“We are incredibly excited to be joining with them to meet with the public across Scotland and to help collect personal stories from the extraordinary times we’re all living through.’
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “‘The Your Stories programme has always been a cornerstone of Scottish Book Trust, giving a platform for the public to share personal experiences and for some, be published for the first ever time.
Through the Community Campfires residencies project, we will be able to connect directly with these important stories and share them with a wider audience. We’re grateful to EventScotland for funding this programme and we look forward to celebrating stories from North Ayrshire to North Uist.’
Each residency will conclude with a celebratory ‘community campfire’ for each local authority. These events will allow the public to come together and share their stories through a wide variety of formats such as print, audio and film.
On Friday 1 April, Scottish Book Trust will open their national Your Stories project, which encourages the public to submit their real-life experiences, tied in to Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
A selection of these stories will be published in a free book that is distributed during Book Week Scotland (14–20 November 2022). Information about submission will be shared on Scottish Book Trust’s website.
A Scotland’s Stories: Community Campfires flagship event will also take place during Book Week Scotland, celebrating the stories gathered across the country.
On the 27th February, Buy Rope donated a full day of profits (£107) to an East Lothian based charity called Winton Foundation for the Welfare of Bears to celebrate International Polar Bear Day.
The Winton Foundation for the Welfare of Bears was launched in 2010.
The Foundation is working to raise awareness and collect funds to support projects around the world to help 8 species of bears, such as polar bears . They are part of the global network working to help end the abuse and exploitation of bears throughout the world and to provide care for them following rescue.
Lesley Winton BEM, Founder and Director, said: “The polar bear organisations we have supported in the past have been Polar Bears International and Cochrane Bear Habitat.
“We are supporting the work of Polar Bears International, based in the United States and dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the Polar Bear and its habitat through research, stewardship, and education. Polar Bear International provides scientific resources and information on Polar Bears and their habitat to institutions and the general public worldwide.”
International Polar Bear Day is an event launched by Polar Bear International with the aim of raising awareness of the danger climate change is posing on these arctic animals.
The date of the event coincides with the time of the year when polar bear mums and cubs are snug in their dens – their safety being another concern for activists. This celebration encourages people and companies to find ways of reducing their carbon footprint, therefore taking a stand against global warming.
Buy Rope is dedicated to helping those in need. They decided to support a different organisation each month by organising a fundraising event.
Bridgerton and Emmerdale star Simon Lennon has become the 3,000th person to pledge their support to this year’s Walk for Autism campaign, which kicks off next week.
The Scouser will join participants from up and down the country to take part in the event, which is in its fifth year, with Autism Initiatives hoping it will be the biggest one yet, with more than £200,000 in sponsorship being raised so far.
Those involved will walk 10,000 steps per day for eight days from March 26 up until World Autism Acceptance Day on April 2 to raise funds that go towards providing vital support and community projects for autistic people and their loved ones.
Last year, the campaign collectively saw an impressive 194 million steps walked and raised more than £621,000, making it the most successful year to date.
Simon said: “I’m so happy to be involved in Walk for Autism again – it’s a really fantastic initiative that not only provides essential funds for projects but also promotes autism acceptance and understanding more widely.”
Walkers can sign up on the charity’s website and begin their fundraising straight away, with Walk for Autism providing helpful tips on some fun and varied ways to raise money.
Head of Enterprise at Autism Initiatives Jon Gordon said: “We are delighted to reach 3,000 signups for our fifth annual Walk for Autism campaign and would like to thank everyone – including Simon – for doing their bit.
“Every year continues to show us just how amazing people are and how willing they are to support others; despite how tough the last few years has been for everyone.
“Passing these milestones is really important, as the money that is raised funds innovative specialist autism projects across the UK and Ireland.”
Autism affects more than 700,000 people in the UK and Ireland each year. Walk for Autism is a campaign led by charity Autism Initiatives Group who have been working to improve the lives of autistic people and their families since 1972.
A wildfire warning has been issued by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the weather pattern over the next few days is dominated by high-pressure and strengthening winds.
The warning starts today, Sunday 20 March, and lasts until Wednesday 23 March.
• West and North-East Scotland EXTREME
• Rest of Scotland HIGH to VERY HIGH
At this time of year, in mid-March, there is a lot of dead grass and heather left over from last year which can dry very quickly. People who live, work or visit rural areas are being urged to exercise caution.
Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Bruce Farquharson, the SFRS Wildfire Lead, said: “Over the next few days in high risk areas, fires could burn and spread with very high intensity due to the weather conditions.
“We know how damaging wildfires can be to the environment, wildlife and nearby communities. “We are asking people to act responsibly when enjoying the outdoors and please think twice before using anything involving a naked flame.”
The Prime Minister and the Chancellor order new crackdown on cross-Whitehall waste to drive efficiency, effectiveness, and economy across government.
The drive will be spearheaded by a new Chancellor-chaired “Efficiency and Value for Money Committee” that will cut £5.5 billion worth of waste – with savings used to fund vital public services.
As part of the crackdown, the annual NHS efficiency target will be doubled to 2.2% and “quangos” will be expected to find at least £800m which will be pumped back into public services.
A CROSS-WHITEHALL efficiency crackdown to cut £5.5 billion of wasteful spending was announced by the Chancellor today (Sunday 20 March).
At the request of the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak will spearhead a new drive on efficiency, effectiveness and economy in government spending to ensure departments are delivering the highest quality services at the best value.
The crackdown will be driven by a new Chancellor-chaired Efficiency and Value for Money Committee that will ensure the 5% efficiency target set at the 2021 Spending Review is met across Whitehall and scrutinise strategies to prevent fraud and error. The move will save a total of £5.5 billion with the money being pumped directly back into vital public services.
As part of the renewed drive, the Chancellor said the NHS efficiency commitment will double to 2.2% a year – freeing up £4.75 billion to fund NHS priority areas over the next three years
These savings will be made through a range of programmes including the digitisation of diagnostic and front-line services, which has been shown to reduce cost per admission by up to 13%, improving the efficiency of surgical hubs and developing digital tools to cut time spend by NHS staff on admin tasks.
Surgical hubs improve efficiency by separating emergency and elective care, so more patients can be seen in a given amount of time, improving value for money without impacting patient safety.
This increased efficiency target will ensure that the record funding settlement of £188.9 billion a year by 2024-25 for the Department for Health and Social Care is delivering the best possible value for money for the taxpayer, the money saved will be used to fund front line NHS priorities.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said: “During these challenging times it’s vital that every single penny of taxpayers hard-earned cash is being spent well.
“The current level of waste across government is simply not acceptable – which is why we’re doubling down on wasteful spending and launching an efficiency drive to make £5.5 billion worth of savings.
“That money will then be pumped directly into the world class public services that the British people deserve “
The crackdown will also see a review of Government Arm’s Length Bodies or “Quangos” who will be expected to save at least £800m from their budgets.
The Arm’s Length Body Review will see savings come from better use of property, reduced reliance on consultants, increased digitisation and greater use of shared services, as well as the use of benchmarking to drive efficiencies.
The Treasury will also launch a new Innovation Challenge to crowdsource ideas from civil servants on how government can reduce waste and improve public services, with winners selected this Summer and best ideas becoming Government policy
This new Committee comes ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement on Wednesday (23rd March) where the Chancellor will update Parliament on his plan for the economy in response to the OBR’s latest economic forecasts.
“When are you opening?” we hear you ask. We can only repeat that the keys are on their way. We are still working towards a handover on 31st March, but legal processes can be lengthy as well as tiresome and frustrating and have to be gone through, whether we like it or not.
Even if the date does slip into April and the next financial year for some reason, we have been assured by the Scottish Land Fund that the allocated funds will be held for us and handed over as soon as the legal requirements are completed.
The Heart will spring to life soon.
Look out for the Heart of Newhaven Community banners which are now on the old school railings!
The City of Edinburgh Council has given us permission to display them on what is technically still its property, as its commitment to the handover process and hopefully the sight will reassure the whole community that plans for our collaborative, intergenerational community services and activities will start as soon as possible.
As we prepare to take over and operate the site, we are pleased to soon welcome three new trustees to the board. Mike Douglas, Emma Hendon and Layla Robinson have already been working hard with our current trustees and volunteers in our various working groups and have much to contribute. Between them, they bring years of experience in the world of business and finance, as well as the care sector and other charity work.
You can read more about them on the About Us page on the website soon.
Have you visited the Restoration Forth exhibition currently on at the Botanic Gardens until 24th April? The Heart is one of five chosen local community hubs supporting the project and our information board is right at the heart of the exhibition.
On view are many of the wonderful squares that people have created, including Ian Marshall’s vision of Newhaven made with liner pen and watercolours.
We look forward to curating our own exhibitions and science-based projects once we are installed in the Heart.
New survey identifies that young carers need a break
Carers Trust Scotland calls for more support for young carers after survey finds many feeling stressed, lonely and worried
More than one in five (22%) of young carers and young adult carers responding said they feel unable to take a break from caring and 31% don’t get enough rest or time for themselves.
More than half (54%) of young carers and young adult carers that responded said the amount of time they spend caring per week had increased in the past year
At least a third of respondents said their caring role resulted in them either ‘always’ or ‘usually’ feeling ‘worried’ (36%), ‘lonely’ (33%) or ‘stressed’ (42%)
47% of young carers and young adult carers responding to the survey said they ‘never’ or ‘not often’ got support from their school, college or university in balancing study with their caring role
Findings from a new Carers Trust survey reveal how an alarming lack of support, coupled with a dramatic rise in time spent caring, is leaving many young carers across Scotland feeling ‘lonely’, ‘exhausted’, ‘worried’, ‘burned out’ and ‘stressed’.
The findings were published to mark Young Carers Action Day, an annual event led and organised by Carers Trust to raise awareness of young carers and the challenges they face.
Carers Trust recommendations
Carers Trust Scotland is responding to the survey findings by calling for action to address isolation among young carers and young adult carers. Recommended action includes:
· More commissioned breaks and respite for young carers and young adult carers. Carers Trust Scotland are calling on Scottish Government to introduce a right to access the regular breaks they need to support positive wellbeing, reduce social isolation, and live a fulfilled life alongside caring.
· The Scottish Government to do more to monitor how local authorities are meeting statutory duties to identify and support young carers.
· Education providers, whether schools, colleges or universities, need to take a more integrated and collaborative approach to support. This includes working in partnership with the NHS, local authorities and local carer organisations.
Survey Findings
More than half (54%) of the young carers (aged 18 or under) and young adult carers (aged 16-25) responding to the survey had experienced an increase over the last year in the amount of time they spend supporting siblings and parents with care and support needs.
And one in five of those reporting an increase said they were caring for as much as 20 to 49 hours more per week.
Even before Coronavirus, pressures on the health and social care services meant increasing levels of caring responsibilities were falling too heavily on young carers’ shoulders.
The impact of this overwhelming burden of responsibility was made clear in many of the written responses to the survey.
One young carer said:“I’m more stressed and anxious and I just feel like I need a break”.
Another said: “It’s too much pressure and responsibility for something I didn’t choose.”
And a third young carer revealed: “It affected my friendships as they didn’t understand why they couldn’t come inside the house.”
Coronavirus exacerbates existing pressures on young carers
Those pressures have been greatly exacerbated by the pandemic. Many essential services for those being cared for by young carers were closed because of lockdown. That left young carers and young adult carers to take on even further caring responsibilities.
And while the pandemic is moving into a less acute phase, Covid continues to negatively impact the lives of young carers and young adult carers across the UK. As a result of the pandemic the survey that:
59% said they felt more stressed
52% said they felt less connected to others
46% said their education was suffering
44% said their mental health is worse
41% said they were concerned about their future prospects.
This sense of anxiety in a context of loneliness and isolation is revealed in just a few of the written responses:
‘I never got a break in almost 2 years, I worked hard to keep mum out of hospital as I was scared what would happen if she went in. I never get any thanks or praise for what I do …”
“Feels never ending, I’m getting angry all the time with the person I care for although they haven’t done anything because I feel so on edge unable to have a break or get away.”
“My mental health is awful, and I really struggle to take time for myself at home. The only time I have away from my family is at school but I don’t even like going to school because I get so nervous for everything and I’m always so exhausted.”
Responding to the survey findings, Carers Trust’s CEO, Kirsty McHugh, said: ‘These stark findings underline the plight of young carers. Too many are left unsupported, struggling to access the services they need with knock on effects to their education, mental health and well-being.
“We need more investment in social care generally and local care organisations specifically to relieve young carers of the overwhelming pressure so many are under.
“In addition, the NHS must ensure its mental health services prioritise young carer support. Otherwise young carers will continue to be left alone to cope with complex problems and responsibilities that would overwhelm most adults, let alone young people.”
