The newsletter for Sutton’s Voluntary and Community Sector Winter 2016

In this issue: New Year resolutions, the people of Grove

house and apply for our Community Fund

thenetworker

Susanna’s column Welcome to the first edition of the Networker for 2016.

2016 is already shaping up to be a busy year, and we’ve

a number of training courses lined up and we’re already

busy planning what events and courses we will be

putting on in the new financial year.

Over the next few months we also want to come out

and visit as many of our members as possible and talk

to you about how we can support you as an

organisation, and what services we offer for free - if you

are not already making the most of your SCVS

membership, now is the time to think about where you

could do with some extra advice, guidance or support.

(see page 3).

We’re also in the process of updating our database

of organisations in Sutton at the moment, and in

particular we are interested in knowing whether your

organisation has any social media presence (see page

5). If you have changed your organisation’s phone

number, address, or started social media accounts

recently, please do get in touch.

We also continue to work towards making Grove

House a voluntary hub for Sutton. Our Grove House

Project Manager Jon has been researching the history

of the house as part of our Heritage Lottery bid and you

can read more about the people who lived in and

shaped Grove House on pages 6 and 7.

This issue of the Networker we also take a look at

some other ways you can take your organisation

forward in 2016, whether it is by looking at your

financial management in more detail (page 12), doing

extra training (page 4), applying for funding from the

Sutton Community Fund (page 10), recruiting

volunteers (page 5), achieving PQASSO accreditation

(page 9) or getting your work force more healthy (page

14).

In the meantime don’t forget to follow what we’re

up to by following us on Twitter (@SuttonCVS) and

Facebook (SuttonCVS).

Susanna Bennett

Chief Executive SCVS

thenetworker page2

In this issue Page 3 - news

Make the most of your SCVS

membership

Pages 4-5 - news

Training opportunities, recruiting

volunteers and updating our

database

Pages 6-8 - history

The people of Grove House and

some interesting facts about the

place

Page 9 - development

Sutton Community Works’

PQASSO journey

Pages 10-11 - money

Sutton Community Fund and a

new loo for the farm

Pages 12-13 - money

Get your finances in order for

the New Year

Pages 14-17 - Healthwatch

Sutton

New year, new you

Pages 18-19 - What’s on

Things to do in Sutton Feb-April

2016

Cover pic: - The new community

toilet at Sutton Community Farm,

funded by the Sutton Community

Fund

page3

news

Are you making the most of your SCVS membership? Did you know that as a member of SCVS you are entitled to receive up to 14 hours of support in a number of different areas SCVS’s membership offer provides an allocation of one-to-one support time to each organisation. Once members have used up their allocation of ‘free’ one-to-one support time (up to 14 hours in each financial year) any additional one-to-one support services can be paid for.

Additional support services We also provide one to one support services to meet the needs of your organisation, free of charge for an agreed number of days. The level of one to one support you can access free of charge (over each financial year from April - March) depends on the income of your organisation (your best estimate of your income for the current financial year). Income less than £49,000 - 14 hours free support Income £50,000 -£200,000 - 10 hours free support Income over £200,000 - 7 hours free support

Services offered As part of your free 14 hours support you can access any of the following: Governance Support Getting governance right is the key to a sustainable organisation. SCVS has been supporting voluntary sector boards for a number of years and can help with a number of issues ranging from choosing the right legal structure to business/strategic planning and trustee development. Securing a sustainable income and fundraising In an increasingly competitive environment Generating income is becoming a much more complex and time consuming challenge. We can help you develop a fundraising strategy and apply for grants. Developing your workforce For most voluntary organisations staff is their greatest expense and their greatest asset. We can help you make the most of your staff.

Demonstrating your impact and quality Demonstrating the difference your services make and measuring your effectiveness has never been more important. We can help you with measuring your impact, producing evaluation reports and achieving quality marks. Writing and implementing your policies and procedures Governance and sustainable fundraising start with good policies and procedures. We can help you get yours into shape. Financial Management Setting up and managing your finances can be time-consuming and getting this wrong can cost your organisation dearly. SCVS has a long history of providing financial services and we can help with all sorts of things from Charity Commission compliance and financial advice to computerisation of accounts and budgeting. Communications Telling people what you do and why you do it is vital to your success as an organisation. We can help you plan your communications, review your website and set up your social media. Once your organisation has used up its allocation of free hours, you can still purchase any of these services at a rate of £50 per hour. In addition we will continue to offer the following services on a chargeable basis only.

Chargeable services In addition to the free support services offered above we offer the following for a small charge: Subsidised training courses on subjects

ranging from fundraising to safeguarding.

End of Year accounts and Independent Examinations

Admin and photocopying services

CPS Payroll services If you would like to find out more about any of these services, and how we can help you, please get in touch on 020 8644 2867.

thenetworker page4

news

New year, new knowledge, new skills, new you! It’s a new year and the perfect time to

start looking ahead and think about

what new skills you want to pick up in

2016. In Sutton there are plenty of opportunities to

learn something new—here at SCVS we regularly

put on subsidised training courses on a variety of

subjects, as do a number of other organisations in

Sutton. If it is a chance to update your ICT skills

you are after, have a look at what is on offer from

Superhighways in South West London. Here are

just a few of the courses you could book onto over

the next couple of months…

Attracting and Connecting New Volunteers

Volunteer Centre, Sutton

Date: Tuesday 1st March 2016

Time: 10am to 12.30pm

Venue: Sutton Salvation Army

Cost: Free

Would you like to connect easily with local people

looking to share their skills and volunteer with

you?

The Volunteer Centre Sutton’s new free web-

based volunteer recruitment platform, Volunteer

Connect, allows organisations like yours to

promote its opportunities and communicate

directly with potential volunteers.

Find out more about what will be covered and

book your space (1 per organisation) - http://

bit.ly/20VCDJK

What charities need to know about

managing personal data

Date: Monday 7th March 2016

Time: 10.30am to 1.30pm

Venue: Granfers Community Centre,

Cost: £35 per person

Trainer: Paul Ticher, Independent Consultant

Whether large or small, your organisation is

likely to hold personal information about the

people you work with, your donors, or your

employees and volunteers. This means you have

an obligation to comply with Data Protection law.

Penalties for failing to adequately secure data, or

for other breaches of the law, can be stiff.

This session will provide an overview of the

Data Protection Act 1998, and discuss the

practical steps your organisation can take to meet

its obligations. We will also consider the recent

changes to acceptable fundraising practice, issues

around the use of cloud computing, and the

implications of the new EU Data Protection

Regulation. Book your place - http://

bit.ly/210I3TO

Superhighways is part of Kingston Voluntary

Action and has been supporting the sector's use of

technology since 1998. They offer fantastic

training sessions on all sorts of IT and digital

issues to voluntary sector organisations in south

London.

If you are not already aware of what they

offer, check out their training courses on their

website www.superhighways.org.uk. Courses

available over the next couple of months include:

Create easy infographics for impact Friday 11th March, 10am-2.30pm, Merton.

Excel for monitoring and evaluating your

impact Friday 18th March, 10am-2.30pm, Sutton.

So you need a new database? Thursday 14th April, 10am-12.30pm, Merton.

Getting started with audio capture and

editing Tuesday 10th May, 10am-2.30pm, Croydon.

news

page5

We’re getting more social... Do you have any social media accounts

for your organisation? If so, we want to

know.

Here at SCVS we maintain a database of

voluntary sector organisations in the London

Borough of Sutton. We now have the option to add

Twitter and Facebook accounts to the information

we hold.

If you have a Facebook or Twitter account,

please email your facebook ID and/or twitter

handle to us at info@suttoncvs.org.uk and we will

add your details to our database. This means that

if anyone asks us for your organisation’s contact

details we can point them towards your social

media accounts as well as provide email, phone or

website details. It also means that we can like

your Facebook page or follow your organisation on

Twitter, and share or retweet some of your

information too - all extra publicity for you. And

of course don’t forget to follow us on Twitter -

@SuttonCVS, or like our Facebook page -

www.facebook.com/suttoncvs.

Looking for great new volunteers to

start the new year.? Talk to the

Volunteer Centre Sutton who would

love to help.

Looking for great local volunteers? Volunteer Centre Sutton have launched their new

online volunteer recruitment web platform

Volunteer Connect on www.vcsutton.org.uk Local

organisations can advertise their roles for free at

http://www.vcsutton.org.uk/managing-volunteers

then click on "advertise your roles now"

Potential volunteers can set up an account,

find your role online then apply directly to you.

What does this mean for your organisation? It is easy to use and will enable you to promote

local volunteering and connect with potential

volunteers directly. We are excited by this

development and would love all local

organisations to join us in this new venture and

inspire our local community with great

volunteering opportunities.

Training workshop The VC Sutton Brokerage team are here to

support you with this change and help you make

better use of a new way of recruiting.

Look out for our workshop on promoting your

volunteering on 1st March, from 9am-12.30pm at

Sutton Salvation Army

For more information please contact the VC

Volunteering Team 020 8661 5900.

history

thenetworker Page 6

People of Grove House In the next couple of years we hope to

take up residence in Grove House as

part of a voluntary sector hub, and

start a new chapter in the building’s

history. However, the house has

already had a fascinating past and for

this edition of the Networker we

thought we’d take a look back at some

of the people who have already helped

to shape it. The house we know as The Grove was built in the

1820s by Joshua Ryle. He was born in

Macclesfield but moved south because family did

not approve of his marriage, in 1808, to Jannett

Farish. She was thought to be below him in rank.

Joshua acquired the Carshalton estate (now

roughly the area occupied by the park) from a

Benjamin Bailey who had borrowed money from

Joshua and was later unable to repay it.

Jannett died in 1821 and Joshua

commissioned the construction of the house for

himself and his 5 children.

When Joshua died in 1828 the house was

passed to his brother John, who later became the

first MP for Macclesfield after the Reform Act of

1832. This bill, also known as The Representation

of the People Act was introduced to make the

electoral system fairer and more open: to "take

effectual Measures for correcting diverse Abuses

that have long prevailed in the Choice of Members

to serve in the Commons House of Parliament".

The house was then held in trust until

Joshua’s eldest son, another John, was old enough

to manage the estate himself. John ‘the younger’

married a French woman named Louise Guiche.

In fact he married her twice, once in November

1859 in a Catholic church, and again in December

of the same year in a Protestant church. During

his ownership he rented the house to a number of

tenants.

Among them was a James Whiting who ran a

successful printing company – among other things

he printed lottery tickets and his own

newspapers. It seems that James was a

philanthropist and a man of social conscience; he

was a governor of the local home for ‘Deaf and

Dumb’ children, and he campaigned to ‘oppose the

exploitation of indigenous people in British

colonies’ – in other words he opposed slavery and

the slave trade.

Another tenant (and later, owner of the

house) was the Reverend William Albemarle

Cator, who was appointed Rector of Carshalton in

1845. William was a member of an influential

family, his father was an admiral, and he was

educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford. It

seems that William was quite a local character; a

sporting gentleman who was a good shot and a

fair athlete, to such an extent that sometimes his

sport took priority over officiating church services!

Th

e G

rove, p

en

cil d

raw

ing

from

18

69

Page 7

history

Revere

nd

Cato

r

He is also rumoured to have chilled his

champagne and wine by suspending it from the

nearby Leoni Bridge in the park.

Cator was also involved in the local

community – he was the first chairman of the

local school board and he supported the

introduction of sewers by the Epsom Sanitary

Authority.

After

William’s

death his

wife,

Aurelia,

continued to

live in the

area (at

Stone Court)

and it

appears she

carried out

extensive

improvements

to the whole

estate; among

which was to

supply The

Grove with

electricity

generated by

the Upper Mill

which she

purchased in

1887 specially for that purpose.

Among the later tenants and owners was

Samuel Barrow who lived in The Grove from 1895

until 1924. Samuel was a successful business

man, a partner in his father’s tanning and leather

business, he was chairman of other family

concerns, including an investment company, and

he sat on other boards including acting as a

Member of Council of the Federation of British

Industries. He, too, was a philanthropic man and

he played an important role in helping his local

community. He was President of the Carshalton,

Beddington and Wallington War Memorial

Hospital, also he was instrumental in raising the

money needed to build the Royal Female

Orphanage at Beddington and subsequently he

gave generously to help with its running and

maintenance. He was reported to have said that

his work at the hospital ‘was more dear to his

heart’ than any other.’ For this and other

charitable works he was awarded a knighthood in

1921.

Samuel also built the alms houses to the

south of The Grove (known as the Palliser

Houses) in memory of his son (another Samuel)

who died, probably of peritonitis, at the age of 13.

After the financial crash which followed the Great

War he was forced to sell The Grove and put the

house up for auction. Early in 1924 it was

purchased by the Carshalton Urban District

Council and the building has remained in the

ownership of the local council (now The London

Borough of Sutton) to the present day.

We are currently preparing a bid for

submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund

to secure The Grove for the future,

transforming it into a hub for the

voluntary sector whilst retaining its style

and charm as a well-loved focal point for

the local community.

Can you help?

Do you know anything about the history of

The Grove?

Do you have any old photographs of the

house, the park or the surrounding area?

Did you, or someone you know work in

The Grove? Would they like to share their

memories?

Then drop us an email at

grovehouseproject@suttoncvs.org.uk - we’d love to

hear from you.

Sam

uel B

arro

w, c

19

20

Volunteer Centre

thenetworker page

Local organisations

You’ve read all about Grove House and

the people who lived there, but the house

and its gardens are fascinating too… Did

you know….? There has been a watermill of some description next

to The River Wandle in Grove Park since Saxon times

– that’s over 900 years. It’s generally accepted that

the first recorded mention of a mill in the location is

in the Domesday survey of 1086.

The mill went through lots of transformations in

the following years and was mostly used to mill

wheat, corn and malt. The wheel that remains in the

park today was designed by the eminent 18th century

engineer and physicist John Smeaton, who achieved

fame for his work designing bridges, canals, harbours

and lighthouses throughout the 1700s.

In 1887 Mrs Aurelia Cator bought the mill. She

demolished the old building but retained the wheel

which was used to generate electricity for The Grove

House and Stone Court. At the time this was still new

technology and quite unusual for domestic use.

Grove House - did you know…?

There also used to be a bowling alley in Grove Park. Sometime around 1920 Samuel Barrow, who

lived in The Grove between 1895 and 1924, built a long thin building just to the south of the house.

He installed a two lane bowling alley supplied by the American company, Brunswick-Balke-Collender

Company. The company is still in

existence today, now known as The

Brunswick Corporation. In 2014 it

generated sales of 3.8 billion USD.

Although the alleys have long since

disappeared, the building remains

and is currently used as a pre-

school nursery.

If you’d like to learn more about

Grove Park and its history, or if

you have an interesting story to tell

about the area – or if you would

simply like to get more involved

with activities in the park, please

contact The Friends of the Grove

via Jon Ward at

grovehousepro-

ject@suttoncvs.org.uk

The bowling alley at Grove House

Th

e w

ate

r wh

eel

page9

Local organisations

Our PQASSO journey

Over the last year we have been

helping six Sutton organisations to

achieve accreditation from PQASSO.

Mark Tomlinson from Sutton

Community Works shares their

PQASSO journey with us.

We started the journey in March 2013 and finally

got accreditation to level one in September 2015.

At first faced with a manual with 12 different

assessment areas it did feel a bit daunting and of

course there is still the day to day operations of

the Charity to get on with. But often the

perception is greater than the reality and there is

no doubt we could have achieved this in less time.

There is a cost of time and also approx. £1500

to undergo the accreditation process although you

can do the process without accreditation. We

received some funding that covered the cost of

accreditation. We would do it anyway!

I would encourage any organisations considering

this to get stuck in and aim to do it in a year i.e.

one assessment area per month.

As we went through the process ably assisted

and encouraged by Razia at SCVS it became clear

we actually had many of the required documents

and policies in place. However, some of our

policies were implicit and the process helped

clarify and make them explicit by committing

them to paper. For example, a petty cash policy

and a reserves policy.

For some areas we hadn’t really formulated a

clear policy and this process helped us give

greater consideration to formalising a policy and

procedure. For example, the recruitment and

induction of new trustees in line with good

governance and skills required.

Once the review of each area is complete we

then had to forward a review document to our

assessor at PQASSO. Again perception is greater

than reality. It is easy to build an image of

someone doing an Ofsted and coming into find

fault and fail us! However, it was a good blind

date!

Sending all the documents to “our Graham”

did take a bit of time and you need to commit a

few hours in getting all the documents together.

The benefit though is now we have ready access

to all our key documents.

Graham did an initial assessment of these.

Clearly he was reasonably happy as we then

arranged a site visit. He came for the day and met

with me as Projects Director and our Chair of

Trustees both together and separately. He also

reviewed a few documents. For the most part he

wanted to hear from the volunteers and team

leaders of our various projects to assess whether

there was a good connection between our policies

and our practice. Thankfully there is!

We passed! It is a bit like an MOT. You can

fail but I think any critical areas would have been

picked up in your conversations with Razia at

SCVS or in the review documents sent to the

assessor i.e. before any site visit. Graham made

some constructive comments about areas where

we needed to pay additional attention to. So these

wouldn’t fail us but are “warning signs” or

perhaps better described as “areas for

improvement”. Again areas to make us better as

an organisation and we all want that –don’t we?!

So as an example we had good risk assessment

and management at the project level of Street

Pastors and Foodbank. However, at the Charity

level he encouraged us to do an organisational

risk assessment. This would include succession

planning and understanding the risks involved in

loss of funding to the organisation amongst other

areas. Another area would be to ensure there is

always a declaration of conflict of interests at

meetings.

I would thoroughly recommend voluntary

organisations engaging in this process. We are

not big. We have one full time staff member and a

part time worker, 120 volunteers, a budget not

yet in six figures and no offices. So size doesn’t

have to be an issue and the benefit is running an

organisation that takes and is seen to take good

governance seriously. This can only help in the

delivery and perception of our service externally,

to good retention of volunteers, to enabling

partnership working and gaining new funding.

If you want to get started on getting PQASSO

accreditation in 2016, contact Razia on 020 8641

9544 or email her at Razia@suttoncvs.org.uk .

There are so many reasons why working towards

PQASSO can only benefit you — not least being it

makes you more attractive to funders, so get in

touch now!

money

thenetworker page10

If you want to apply for money

from the community fund but

don’t know where to start with

your application, come along to

one of our free Sutton

Community Fund workshops...

Bring your project idea to one of these

free sessions and we will help you to

make a start on your application. The

session will also cover ways to gather

evidence using different sources and the

reasons why some funding applications

fail.

Wednesday 2nd March 2016

10am-12 noon Book your place

Thursday 25th August 2016

10am-12 noon Book your place All sessions take place at Granfers Community Centre, 73—79 Oakhill Road, Sutton SM1 3AA.

Have you made the most of the Sutton Community Fund? Do you have a project you would love

to take on, but just need the money

to make it happen? Then why not

apply to the Sutton Community Fund

for funding.

The Sutton Community Fund awards grants of

between £300 and £10,000 to projects that

benefit Sutton's residents. For example it can

provide staff, venue and event costs;

appropriate materials and equipment, and

publicity (both paper and digital) to support a

wide variety of projects. Grants awarded must

be used within 1 year. Applications are now

being accepted for the next round of grants.

The application process is quite straight

forward but it is important that you read

the guidance notes (available on our

website) before applying, and please make sure

that you have all the documents listed on the

checklist.

Over the past few years many Sutton

organisations have received money from the

Sutton Community Fund, which has enabled all

sorts of projects to be financed from an envirobus

to new windowns for a church, from training

people to deliver anti-hate crime sessions to

counselling sessions for young people, and from

new kitchen equipment to drumming sessions for

all ages. - the opportunities are endless!

If you need any help to complete your

application form, or you have any questions about

the fund, please call Jackie on 020 8644 2867 or

email her. We also run free workshops for people

applying for the community fund - the next one

will be on Wednesday 2nd March 2016.

The next deadline for applications is 5pm,

Monday 4th April 2016.

money

page11

Insta

lling

the to

ilet

The new facilities

In 2015 Sutton Community Farm

applied for a grant to construct an

improved compost toilet that is fully

accessible, hygienic and comfortable for

all visitors to the farm.

They wanted a new toilet to help the Farm to run

public events and promote the benefits of compost

toilets in the future. Volunteer feedback has also

shown there was a wish for new, more hygenic

toilet facilities on the farm, and so the Community

Farm turned to the Sutton Community Fund for

help.

Following a successful application the Farm

was awarded a grant to cover the cost of the toilet,

and its installation.

Since the installation of the compost loo the

Farm have made sure that everyone knows about

it, and have been quick to promote the benefits of

the alternative toilet on posters, in newsletters

and on social media. For example, did you know

that the water flush toilet devours 30% of the

UK's water supply, whereas compost toilets are

low impact solutions that use no water and

generate a natural, valuable and sustainable

product.

Over the course of a year the Farm has

around 1000 unique visitors, so that is a lot of

people benefitting from the new facilities!

A new loo on the farm

Make 2016 all about the money

thenetworker page12

money

Do you know how much money your organisation has today? Are you making the most of the money you do have? Why not make it your new year’s resolution to get your finances in order in 2016? Organisations are subject to ever greater public and legislative scrutiny and you need to make sure you are demonstrating effective use of your resources to your donors, trustees and beneficiaries. It can be a struggle to find the time to deal with all the administration around keeping your organisations finances up to date - you are only just finding time to juggle day to day activities, fundraising, recruiting staff and volunteers and dealing with that ever growing pile of bank, HMRC, Companies House and Charity Commission correspondence that just gets more and more daunting. You maybe have your annual return deadline looming or a funding bid that needs up to date accounts and you just don’t know where to start. Organisations we work with include Limited Companies, Registered Charities, social enterprises, CIC’s and member associations, all with varying needs. No voluntary

sector organisation is too small, or too big, for us to help! It’s a New Year so perhaps now is the time to start getting up to date and SCVS can help you do this. We have years of financial experience and can offer you:

Preparation of Annual Accounts - we can get

your accounts together from your data to a format that will enable formal audit to take place. Most, if not all, funders will need to see your last set of approved annual accounts and while you could have up to 10 months to submit these, it’s good practice to do so much sooner than this in order to give an up-to-date and current picture of your organisation.

Independent Examination - the Community

Accountant at SCVS is a Chartered Certified Accountant and is qualified to provide opinion on your annual accounts, a more cost effective process than an audit for almost all organisations.

Management Accounting - monthly or

quarterly reporting for your Trustees to provide progress reports or adhoc reporting for key meetings.

page13

money

Contact us today: t: 020 8641 9546 e: creativepayroll@suttoncvs.org.uk w. www.cpspayroll.co.uk

Payroll that stacks up Get CPS to manage your payroll and see how much time you could save

Focus on service delivery - getting us to sort out your payroll means that you can concentrate on what’s important for your organisation

Comply with current legislation - we make sure that pay is calculated correctly, and HMRC have all the correct up to date PAYE information for your organisation

No need to purchase specialist software or train staff - we are specialists in payroll and up to date with all the latest legislation

Submission of accounts to statutory bodies -

we are a HMRC registered agent for filing corporation tax returns and can also do your Charity Commission annual return if you are not IT savvy.

Support in setting up financial policies and

procedures - do you have suitable finance

policies in place such as dealing with risk, renumeration or reserves?

Support in implementing up to date

accounting software - many organisations are

benefitting from the use of cloud based software, especially Quickbooks Online, which allows many user log on via the web for a nominal fee monthly, and the Community Accountant is a registered Quickbooks ProAdvisor and as well as assisting you with the transfer of your accounts, can build tailored reports you can run at any time for your organisation

Financial training - up coming sessions include

budgeting for funding applications, reporting.

Sessions are run locally within Sutton or neighbouring boroughs and regularly, subject to demand. Keep an eye on our member ebulletins for upcoming events.

Payroll – SCVS has an in-house trading arm

dealing exclusively with payroll at competitive rates. For all these services – or anything else financial you need support with – contact Laura laura@suttoncvs.org.uk or on 020 8641 9548.

Free book-keeping session Laura will also be doing a short book– keeping session as part of the Small Groups Forum on Wednesday 16th March. At the end of this session, you should have an outline of what goes into a solid book keeping system – setting up your systems, the information you need to record and the documents you need to keep and dealing with your bank and petty cash accounts. Book your free place at the Small groups forum at http://bit.ly/1Q5aLho

thenetworker page14

Picture caption

Healthwatch Sutton

Body image film

The end of 2015 was a busy few

months for Healthwatch Sutton so we

wanted to take the opportunity to

update you on what we have been up

to.

Outpatient project at St Helier Hospital During October/November 2015 Healthwatch

Sutton volunteers visited various Outpatient

Departments at St Helier Hospital. Volunteers

spoke with patients about their experiences of

using the Outpatient departments and also took

time to look at the waiting areas of each

department.

Approximately 300 patients completed the

questionnaires which will be collated and

analysed. A meeting is set for 4th March where

members are invited to comment on the first

draft of the report. If you would like to attend this

meeting please email sara@suttoncvs.org.uk.

A report with recommendations will be sent

to St Helier Hospital. If you would like a copy of

the Healthwatch Sutton report please email

info@healthwatchsutton.org.uk

Patients who completed a questionnaire were

given the opportunity to be entered in to a prize

draw. The draw is now closed and the winner has

been chosen and will be announced shortly.

Inpatient Project at St Helier Hospital Healthwatch Sutton will be working in

partnership with Healthwatch Merton to

investigate the quality of inpatient services at St

Helier Hospital.

We will be holding a meeting on 9 March (see

back page for details).

If you would be interested in attending please

email sara@suttoncvs.org.uk. Alternatively, you

can email pete@suttoncvs.org.uk with your

feedback about your experience on a ward at St

Helier and Epsom hospitals .

Flagged up as a concern for Sutton’s

young people, body image is the

subject of a new film from Sutton

Healthwatch.

Healthwatch Sutton has received an

overwhelmingly positive response to their

short film highlighting the effects body image

has on young people. The short film shows

young people speaking openly about body

image and the negative effects it can have.

We hope to show this film to young people

in Sutton and capture their views about body

image with the intention to put together some

recommendations to support young people in

Sutton.

If you are connected to any local youth groups

who you think might be interested in

participating, please email

Pete@suttoncvs.org.uk

The film has been shown at a special Youth

Local Committee meeting in central Sutton and

then at the March 2016 Health and Wellbeing

Board meeting.

See the short film now at https://youtu.be/

xpJGn2OzGYI

page15

Healthwatch Sutton

It’s that time of the year when we all make New Year

resolutions to improve our health, with the best of

intentions. Rather than going it alone, why not get in

touch with LiveWell Sutton?

LiveWell is a FREE health improvement service available to anyone over

the age of 18 who either lives or works in the Borough of Sutton.

LiveWell can help you to work towards living a healthier lifestyle by

supporting you in eating well and improving your diet by;

Being more physically active

Monitoring your alcohol intake

Managing your weight

LiveWell can offer you a friendly FREE chat with trained Health Advisors, who will help you to set

and achieve your personal, health related goals. To book an appointment call the LiveWell team on

0208 2510 606, or email livewell@hrch.nhs.uk alternatively use the self-referral form https://www.live

-well.org.uk/sutton/services/book-an-appointment.aspx and the LiveWell team will get in touch.

LiveWell Sutton can help, they offer:

A FREE NHS help and support on a one-to-one

basis, by appointment and drop in

A confidential and friendly service

Stop smoking medication on prescription

LiveWell Sutton stop smoking programmes can be

delivered on a one-to-one basis or as part of a

group. Programmes cover:

Support & assistance to help you get ready to

stop

Advise and assist you on using the right

medication (products such as nicotine

replacement therapy)

Continued support they will keep in touch with

you by phone three months and six months

after you quit

Support can be given either as:

One-to-one support

Part of a group

Drop in services

Stop Smoking Clinics in Sutton

St Helier Hospital, Ferguson House, Springall

Annexe Wrythe Lane, Carshalton SM5 1AA

Fridays 1:30pm - 3:30pm (just drop-in)

Jubilee Health Centre, 2nd Floor Shotfield,

Wallington SM6 0HY Wednesdays 5:00pm -

7:00pm (just drop-in)

SCOLA Sutton St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1

1EA Thursdays 4:00pm - 8:00pm (call to book)

If you decide to make the first step to go

smokefree, LiveWell can help you the rest of

the way. Call 020 8251 0606 or email

livewell@hrch.nhs.uk to register for help.

New year, new you

Do you want to stop smoking?

Find out more about food labels, make

healthier choices when shopping and

eating out and improve your

knowledge on nutrition and the

importance of exercise.

Sutton Weight Management is a free weight loss

programme, commissioned by Sutton Council,

specifically designed to help people lose weight

and reduce the risk of developing a number of

health conditions.

The programme is free and open to anyone

aged 18 years and over, registered with a Sutton

GP or is a Sutton resident. There are twelve, 2

hour sessions run by a registered dietitian and

fully qualified exercise instructors. Sessions are

held once a week at different venues across the

London Borough of Sutton. Daytime, evening and

weekend courses are available and can be run in

other languages.

For more information please contact the

Sutton Weight Management team on 020 8251

0606 or email w2lsm@nhs.net

Healthwatch Sutton

Sutton Uplift is a free service for

anyone in Sutton experiencing

difficulties and symptoms related to

stress, anxiety and depression.

Sutton Uplift also offers a service to people who

are experiencing or recovering from other mental

health difficulties such as Psychosis and Bi Polar

Affective Disorder.

This free service is an innovative service

designed to support health and wellbeing in a

number of ways including:

Wellbeing support

Self management courses

Psychological therapy

Mental Health Assessments

Recovery Support

The service is available to people who are 18

years and over and live in Sutton or have a

Sutton GP.

Sutton Uplift works in partnership between

South West London and St Georges Mental

Health NHS Trust and local voluntary sector

organisations. They are primarily based at the

Jubilee Health Centre, East Building. However

some parts of our service do operate from other

community locations.

Types of support available Telephone, face to face and online support

Daytime, evening and Saturday morning

sessions

Group sessions in locations across Sutton

Interpretation facilities

Self-help resources

How to access support You do not need to be referred by your GP or any

other professional to access the services.

Self referrals can be made via:

In person - at the Jubilee Health Centre, East

Building

The website - www.suttonuplift.co.uk

Phone - 0800 032 1411

Email - ssg-tr.suttonuplift@nhs.net

Post - Sutton Uplift 1st Floor Jubilee East

Building, 6 Stanley Park Road, Wallington,

Surrey. SM6 OEX

Lose weight, healthily

thenetworker page16

These days, ’modern life’ can mean

that we’re a lot less active. The

Government’s Change for Life

campaign

With so many opportunities to watch TV or play

computer games, and with so much convenience

and fast food available, we don’t move about as

much, or eat as well as we used to.

Change4Life for your kids Nine out of 10 of our kids today could grow up

with dangerous amounts of fat in their bodies.

This can cause life-threatening diseases like

cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Change4Life for you By the time we reach middle age, the majority of

us could do with losing at least a bit of weight.

Being overweight isn’t just about the way we look.

It can lead to more aches and pains, problems

sleeping and people report a loss of energy and

confidence. It also increases our chances of getting

heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Middle age

comes to everyone – ‘middle aged spread’ doesn’t

have to.

Start making small changes now Why not make 2016 your year to start eating

more healthily and get active? The Change 4 Life

website from the Department of Health is packed

with ideas of how to make small changes which

will add up to big improvements in your lifestyle.

Top tips for

healthy

eating Eat a little

slower - It

takes time for

our brains to

register we’re

full, so try to

eat more

slowly. If

you’re eating with friends or family try pacing

yourself to the slowest eater.

Focus on your food - Eating distractedly, such as

in front of the TV, means we eat more without

noticing or even enjoying it. Swap the TV for the

table.

Aim to feel satisfied, not stuffed - Try eating just

one plate of food and don’t go back for seconds.

New sugar smart app You’d be surprised at the amount of added sugar

lurking in everyday food and drink - and it builds

up quickly over the day. Join Change4Life for

tips, vouchers and recipes.,

Get the app today and start scanning the

barcodes on food and drink packaging in your

home and at the shops you’ll be surprised to see

the number of sugar cubes in everyday food and

drink.

Try the sugar smart app at http://bit.ly/

hwssugarsmart, or visit the website at http://

www.nhs.uk/Change4Life to find out more.

page17

Healthwatch Sutton

Change4Life

what’s on

Feb – Apr 2016 The story of five villages Wed 24th Feb, 7.30pm

Carshalton

Wed 9th Mar, 7.30pm

Sutton and Cheam

Honeywood Museum,

Carshalton SM5 3NX

A series of illustrated talks by

John Phillips exploring the

history and development of the

villages that are now in the

London Borough of Sutton.

Tickets are £3.50 (£3.00 Friends)

for each talk. Please ring 020

8770 4297 to book

www.friendsofhoneywood.co.uk

Energy road show Sat 27th February, 10am-5pm

Morrisons, Sutton High Street

Come along to this roadshow

from Ecolocal and get

information and advice about

schemes to keep your home

warm, save money and energy.

Find out how a solar hot

water panel works, what depth of

loft insulation you should have

and how easily you can reduce

draughts in your home.

The Musicians by Patrick

Marber Thurs 3rd and Fri 4th Mar, 7pm

Riddlesdown Collegiate, Purley,

CR8 1EX

Performed by the SAVVY Young

Company as part of the National

Theatre's Connections Festival.

Tickets £8.

www.savvytheatre.co.uk

Reduced Shakespeare

Company:The Complete

Works of William

Shakespeare (abridged)

[revised] Tues 8th Mar, 7.30pm

The Secombe Theatre, Sutton

An irreverent, fast–‐paced romp

through the Bard’s plays, The

Complete Works of William

Shakespeare (abridged) was

London’s longest–‐running

comedy having clocked a very

palpable nine years in London’s

West End at the Criterion

Theatre!

Join these madcap men in

tights as they weave their wicked

way through all of Shakespeare’s

Comedies, Histories and

Tragedies in one wild ride that

will leave you breathless and

helpless with laughter.

www.suttontheatres.co.uk

Wallington Farmers

Market Sat 12th Mar, 9am-1pm

Wallington Old Town Hall and

Library Gardens SM6 0NB

Stock up on fresh, delicious local

food and drink at this regular

farmers market.

www.ecolocalmarkets.org.uk

Sir Walter Raleigh and

the Tower Sun 13th Mar, 2-5pm

Honeywood Museum,

Carshalton SM5 3NX

An event marking the 400th

anniversary of Raleigh’s release

from the Tower of London. An

afternoon of themed fun with

potatoes, ships, Crown jewels

and beheadings!

www.friendsofhoneywood.co.uk

South West London

Question Time Monday 11th April 2016, 7.15pm

The Secombe Theatre, Sutton

Do you feel strongly about an

issue that you want to raise with

your mayoral candidates? Are

you undecided about whom to

vote for in May’s mayoral

election?

www.suttontheatres.co.uk

The Sue Robson Fund

charity event Sunday 1st May

Carshalton Athletic FC

The family and friends of Sue

Robson are raising money for

The Brain Tumour Charity in

her name - Sue Robson fund –

and have already secured an

impressive £4669!

They are now organising a

May 1st Charity Event at

Carshalton Athletic FC - a great

excuse to all get together for an

evening to remember and to

raise more money for The Brain

Tumour Charity (all proceeds

will go to the Sue Robson Fund).

The evening will kick off at

7.30pm, tickets are £22 and will

get you a hot buffet dinner, live

entertainment and access to an

exclusive charity auction.

thenetworker page18

Chief Executive: Susanna Bennett

Communications and Admin:

Claire Avery

Jackie Parr

Development Team

Razia Sattar

Hilary Chisnall

Accountancy Services:

Glory Sivaraja

Laura Corney

Creative Payroll Solutions Ltd

(CPS):

Karen Adorjan

Tina Green

Grove House Project

Jon Ward

Healthwatch Sutton

Pete Flavell

Pam Howe

Sara Thomas

The Networker is the magazine of :

Sutton Centre for the Voluntary

Sector (SCVS)

Granfers Community Centre,

73-79 Oakhill Road,

Sutton SM1 3AA

www.suttoncvs.org.uk

020 8644 2867

info@suttoncvs.org.uk

@SuttonCVS

Registered Charity No: 1063129

contact us

page19

Feb – Apr 2016

thenetworker

facebook.com/suttoncvs

Training and networking

Training SCVS runs subsidised training throughout the year on all

sorts of subjects from crowdfunding, to fundraising to

governance. To find out what courses are coming up, just

visit the what’s on page of our website.

Forums

Shaping the future of our communities in Sutton -

Influencing the BME agenda in Sutton

SCVS is holding a forum in Sutton to bring together the

Black Minority Communities and those organisations

working with these communities to explore how to influence

decision making in the borough.

Thursday 10th March 2016, 9.30am – 1pm

Outcomes:

- a clear understanding of the national and local landscape

for BME engagement

- an opportunity to decide about the future of the BME

forum

- an opportunity to hear about new funding

- an opportunity to network

Speakers at the forum will include Adrian Davey, Chair of

the Equality and Diversity Forum, Farah Elahi, Research

and Policy Analyst at the national organisation Runnymede

and Sutton councillor, Cllr Nali Patel.

The forum will be followed by a light lunch, which will

be provided, and a chance to network.

If you would like to attend, booking is essential. You

can book your place at http://bit.ly/1musEIu

If you have any queries, or would like to see the full

agenda, please email razia@suttoncvs.org.uk or call her on

020 8641 9544.

Small Groups Forum 10am-12.30pm, Wednesday 16th March 2016

Book your place - http://bit.ly/1Q5aLho

Voluntary Sector Forum 10.30am-12.30pm, Thursday 17th March 2016

Book your place - http://bit.ly/1TaeoCM

All forums take place at Granfers Community Centre,

Sutton, SM1 3AA. For more information email

jackie@suttoncvs.org.uk