“Most people thinking about suicide don’t want to die, they want the pain to stop, recognising the signs that someone is thinking about suicide is critical as is the ability to listen and to support that person away from wanting to take their own life” Programme Overview: This 1 day in-person programme provides Learners with the foundational knowledge and practical skills needed to effectively intervene in situations where someone may be contemplating suicide. Designed for individuals across various professions and community roles, this programme equips you with the tools to recognise the signs of suicide, initiate life-saving conversations, and connect at-risk individuals with appropriate resources. Whether you're a healthcare professional, educator, HR personnel, or concerned community member, this programme empowers you to make a real difference. Key Learning Outcomes: Understanding Suicide and Its Causes: Gain insights into the complex factors that can lead to thoughts of suicide and suicide behaviours, including mental health issues, emotional distress, and societal pressures. Recognising Signs: Learn how to identify the verbal, behavioural, and situational indicators that someone may be thinking of suicide. Effective Communication Techniques: Develop skills to engage in sensitive and supportive conversations, helping to de-escalate crises and offer hope to those in need. Immediate Intervention Strategies: Acquire practical tools and approaches for providing immediate support, including how to refer individuals to mental health professionals and other resources. Ethical Considerations: Understand the ethical responsibilities involved in suicide prevention, including confidentiality, consent, and the importance of self-care. Programme Format and Duration: This is a concise, focused programme delivered in person and lasting 1 day. The programme includes a mix of interactive presentations, real-life case studies, and role-playing exercises to ensure Learners leave with practical, actionable skills. Who Should Attend: Anyone in a position to support individuals with thoughts of suicide, including healthcare providers, educators, HR managers, community leaders, and social workers. No prior experience in mental health or suicide prevention is required. Certification: Upon completion, Learners can gain the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Level 4 Award in Suicide First Aid®. This is a written assignment and upon completion Learners will receive an official qualification certificate from RSPH. Why This Programme Matters: By equipping yourself with the skills taught in this programme, you become a crucial part of the effort to reduce suicide rates and save lives. Every intervention can make a difference. We are incredibly grateful for the sponsorship of Jane Cattermole, from Mainly Mental Health which has allowed us to offer this training at a heavily subsidised rate.
PQASSO (Practical Quality Assurance Standard for Organisations) is a quality standard designed for the voluntary and community sector. Organisations can choose to use the criteria as a self-assessment tool or can go on to external accreditation and gain the Quality Mark at one of three levels, all of which are recognised and approved by the Charity Commission. This half day course provides an excellent introduction to this quality standard, which is now used by some statutory authorities as a pre-requisite for funding.
This half day course is designed for voluntary and community organisations and those involved in community development who need to write funding applications and want to ensure that their bids are clear, focussed and meet the funders’ criteria.
This half day course is designed to help participants learn more about the new legal form for charities, the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), which was introduced in January 2013. The session will set the context and background to the introduction of the CIO, explore its potential benefits (and weaknesses) when set against the company limited by guarantee structure and introduce the two constitution models – the Foundation version (where only trustees are members) and the Association model (where the organisation’s membership is wider). By the end of the course participants should have a deeper knowledge of the subject so that they are able to make a more informed choice as to whether this legal entity might work for their organisation.
This half day course is designed for new treasurers, general trustees and management committee members or staff who work in smaller organisations to understand the basics of how to manage the finances within a voluntary or community organisation. It covers all the essential issues ranging from drawing up a budget to ensuring that the organisation has sound financial procedures.
This half day or whole day course is designed to support both novice and experienced trustees in providing effective governance within their organisations. It considers their roles and responsibilities in general before looking at particular areas in more detail. The half day course covers all the essential information; the whole day session includes specific exercises and case studies to develop the participants’ problem-solving skills.
A half day course for those who find themselves taking and presenting minutes for different kinds of meetings. The session will provide practical tips on how to write minutes that are clear and more concise and how to save time during the minute-taking process. It will be a useful session for both novice and experienced minute takers.
This course, which can be run as a half day (3.5 hours) or a whole day course, is designed to help those who chair or participate in meetings to understand how to run effective meetings that are constructive, concise and actually achieve something! The course can be adapted to cover meetings in general or focus on specific types of meetings such as trustee, director or committee meetings, staff or project meetings.
This half day course looks at practical methods of saving time and prioritising work so that participants are more productive. It considers a wide range of strategies to overcome some of the physical and mental barriers for those working in an office or home environment.
This half day course is designed to help staff working in statutory agencies, and local representatives, understand the role of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), how the management of European funding for Social Inclusion is changing and requiring more partnership working, and the opportunities and issues that arise in working in partnership with the VCS.