A New radio station created for people with dementia has become
the “station of choice” for some Care Homes.
The new internet radio station was launched by charity Music for
Dementia during the coronavirus pandemic to lift the spirits of people
living in lockdown with dementia.
It is free to listeners and available 24 hours a day, every day.
https://m4dradio.com/

​Economy Minister announces £1.7m to support online learning for people impacted by Covid-19
Date published: 12 June 2020
Topics:
·         Employment and skills programmes (including apprenticeships)
 
·         Skills strategies
Economy Minister Diane Dodds has announced an investment of £1.7 million for a range of online skills interventions to upskill and retrain people whose jobs have been impacted by Covid-19.

£1.7m to support online learning for people impacted by Covid-19
The funding will be used to deliver a range of online learning for individuals whose jobs have been impacted by Covid-19.
This initiative will create almost 2,000 free places on short courses, delivered by the local further education colleges and universities.
 
These courses are fully accredited and include opportunities from entry to postgraduate levels, focussing on skills identified by industry, including digital skills, essential skills, employability skills, and leadership and management.
In addition, a range of courses aligned to work in the health and social care sector have been funded. This is in direct response to the demands placed on this sector throughout the public health emergency.
All courses will be delivered online and participation will be flexible to fit around the busy lives of individuals, many of whom may be working from home or providing support to children or vulnerable relatives. All courses include an accredited qualification and be complete by the 30 November 2020.
Courses will be advertised directly by the colleges and universities and a full portfolio of the available courses will be included on nidirect website

Online Webinar
Wednesday 24 June  11am - 12pm
Volunteer Now is delighted to be partnering with
Change Your Mind and Inspire to deliver this webinar
 
WHO FOR?  The webinar is aimed at organisations that are supporting volunteers who are making or receiving calls with people who are vulnerable.
 
During COVID-19 many services have had to change their delivery methods or indeed new services have been developed.  These have included helplines, telephone befriending or check in and chat calls.  Volunteers have been instrumental in all of these services and organisations have had to deal with a variety of difficult issues arising from the calls.  Having the right policies and procedures in place as well as good systems for ensuring the emotional wellbeing of the volunteers is essential.  We are delighted to be partnering with Inspire to deliver this short webinar to explore 3 key themes:

1. Emotional support: supporting those who are giving and receiving advice, guidance and assistance.
2. Effectiveness: assessing the impact of dealing with specific issues through telephone support.
3. Ethical considerations: the importance of quality governance in administrative and clinical management (such as procedures/ policy documents, confidentiality, risk assessment, evaluation, training initiatives).

For each of these themes the emphasis will be to engage in ways to improve effectiveness of telephone support.  There will be time to share experiences and learn from each other with the aim of improving practice and the support we can provide to volunteers.
 
We would also like to explore with attendees the potential for a webinar with volunteers themselves to help them deal with challenging calls and look after themselves.
 
Please register your interest with Julie-ann.ashe@volunteernow.co.uk and joining information will be sent out the day before the event.  Numbers are limited but please express interest as we will run this again if there is demand.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, RoSPA have launched Accident Free, Avoid A&E, a new campaign aimed at helping our amazing frontline NHS workers by keeping people free from accidental injury.
We have accident prevention hints, resources and information for everyone, no matter their current situation.
😰Trying to look after children while working from home? Check out our keeping kids safe pages.
👵Worried about an older relative who's self-isolating? Find out how to ensure they don't have a fall.
🚴‍♀️Cycling more as part of your daily exercise? Then discover how to check your bike is in working order.
Remember: Prevent accidents, Protect your family, Help the NHS.
Check out www.rospa.com/AccidentFree