Jill Webb and Ann Van Dyke working in partnership to support a local charity

What happened?

Ann had been working with a local charity.  Over the years the success of the charity meant that the work had grown, and different funding streams had been used to support this.  The trustees were aware that they needed to get some of the paperwork and procedures up to  date, but being knocked back for a funding bid due to the safeguarding policy needing updating was the catalyst for this work.

What did we do?

We worked with the organisation on both a strategic and operational level.  The joint approach meant that the approaches ran simultaneously.

Ann worked with the trustees on the strategic level to facilitate ownership of any changes through the process.  We support the agreement of a strategic direction for the charity and the principles of formalising operations, all with the aim of supporting long term sustainability. This included our adopting a business planning approach, structure for the charity trustees, and an organisational framework for employees.

Jill worked at an operational level and scoped the policies and procedures that a charity with the remit to work with children with additional needs should have.  We then looked at the policies in place and reviewed these.  We developed new policies and procedures as needed, to reflect the growth and development of the charity. 

All this work was done virtually and in close collaboration with staff and trustees, to make sure that the policies were all workable for this charity and not ‘off the shelf’.

Together

We spent a day with trustees and volunteers bringing together all of our findings and to support an immediate need around safeguarding as one of the high risk areas.  We worked together to consider what safeguarding meant for this charity.  We then worked separately with volunteers and trustees to look at their responsibilities around safeguarding.

The final piece of work was to support all staff and trustees to gain a Level 2 certificate in Safeguarding.

During the day we also presented ideas and recommendations for discussion, and agreed actions for the trustees and coordinator moving forwards. 

What was the outcome?

The outcomes were:

• The charity now has a full set of policies and procedures fit for purpose and which reflects, formalises and protects the work of the charity
• All staff are trained in safeguarding
• The charity meets the requirements of the charity commission in relation to key policies and processes and particularly safeguarding
• The charity has an organisational structure fit for purpose which supports the distinct roles of trustees, employees and volunteers
• All trustees and staff felt heard and engaged in the review process
• Staff roles were reviewed and a new job description created for the coordinator
• A set of actions were created for the charity to continue the work and support sustainability moving forwards

What was the feedback?

“Ann and Jill brought objectivity and a fresh pair of eyes to a close knit charity which had been successfully run on good will, but needed formalising.  They created structure, processes and extensive set of policies, all whilst bringing key personnel with them.  They both made a serious and necessary process engaging, enlightening and fun! We are keen to maintain our relationship with both Ann and Jill and will commission both further safeguarding training as needed and business reviews annually” Sandy Lawrence CAAP Director