Smart Training

Mission & Vison

Have you ever wondered why some organisations are able to recruit new members easily? Why do some groups find fundraising simple? One reason is that they are clear why they exist and what they hope to achieve. This session will help guide you to co-create a vision and mission statement for your group, facility or company to help focus your activities. Get a smart start with our Vision and Mission session.

Safeguarding

We will help you to gain an understanding of the term safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults and how to apply it. This session is designed to assess your safeguarding delivery and meeting the legal responsibilities that EVERY group, committee, organisation, company face.

Be smart and don’t take a risk with safeguarding.

Neighbourhood Development Plan Training

We design and deliver Neighbourhood Development Plan workshops for parish and town councils. This training is delivered in partnership with an expert Planning consultant who has extensive experience supporting councils in the successful delivery of Neighbourhood Development Plans. All training will be tailored to your organisation.

The training helps to:

• Increase knowledge of both the benefits of the Neighbourhood Development Plan and its limitations as well as other tools councils can use to shape their community’s development.
• Enhanced understanding of the Neighbourhood Development Plan process and the legislation governing its delivery.
• Enable councils to understand the resources , skills and experience required for successful delivery.
• Enable councils to develop a clear plan for community consultation and engagement throughout the plan development.
• Provide information on support available to councils including funding, further training, professional support and other resources.

Diversity and Inclusion training

We design and deliver specialist Equality and Diversity training workshops for trustees, staff and volunteers at all levels and across all strands of diversity including cultural awareness. Where possible, we will deliver this training in partnership with our colleagues at ‘Somerset Diverse Communities’ as well as other relevant agencies.

Diversity and Inclusion training helps to:

• Enhance awareness and understanding of the value of an inclusive workforce/meeting the needs of diverse service users, volunteers and staff.
• Enhanced engagement of staff and volunteer teams.
• Enhance knowledge of good diversity and inclusion practice in your organisation.
• Ensure trustee boards/management committees are meeting your legal obligations.
• Improve your outcomes as an organisation.
• Demonstrate your commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Funding Advice

There comes a time when you’ve begged, borrowed and called in every favour you can to get your project going and you just need some funding to take it on to the next stage. Smart can help you identify the most suitable way to raise money whether that’s through writing applications to funders, crowdfunding or community fundraising – or most likely, a combination of them all. Break through the jargon and understand the best way of completing application forms, what we mean by “evidence the need”, make sure any money gained is spent appropriately and top tips for monitoring and reporting your successes.

Community Resilience

We’ve worked closely with our networks of village halls, social enterprises and community groups throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and during the Somerset Levels flooding in 2014. This session looks atfuture-proofing and planning ahead for natural disasters and public health emergencies, and how you can take the necessary steps to be ahead of the game.

Marketing & Communications

There’s nothing more important than getting your message across. From writing press releases for your local paper to making the most of social media, pick up tips, tools and confidence with your communications. If you don’t know where to start or want some pointers on best practice, this training course is for you.

Creating a Social Enterprise

So you’ve got an idea you think could make the world a better place. Even better, you think it can make money. How do you go about turning your idea into a real business? This course will help you understand what a social enterprise is and whether it’s right for you, help you understand how best to consult with your community and who to get involved as you create your new business. What is a social enterprise, is a social enterprise appropriate, consult with your community, create a new business, who to get involved.

Parish Council

As our most local level of democracy, parish and town councils play an important role in communities across the country. Smart training will work with you to explore how to engage effectively with your community whether that’s on services, development or culture. Parish Councils and Community Buildings are often the cornerstone of a community: we can help you understand how to maintain a good relationship with your community facilities and make the most of your shared resources.

Governance

Whether you’re a voluntary group or a social enterprise, we look at the most appropriate legal structure to meet your requirements, such as a community group, charity, Charitable Incorporated Organisation or Community Interest Company. Starting off with the correct governance is vital for funding applications, appealing to grow a committee and ensures you’re working correctly to your legal document

Policies & Procedures

Often forgotten about but critically important: your framework of policies and procedures not only reflect your values and organisational culture but are an obligatory requirement of many funding applications. Get your policies and procedures are prepared, reviewed, completed and implemented.