For new community groups
Cambridgeshire County Council has of a list of lead local groups offering support to people during the crisis and Cambridge City Council has a list for the City. Please check if there is already a group in your area and offer them your support. If there is not a group in your area and you decided to start one please let your local council know you are operating so they can signpost people to you.
Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK now has groups set up all over the UK with neighbour groups setting up under its umbrella using whatsapp and face book. To find a local group or set one up see their webpage https://covidmutualaid.org/ They also have some useful guidance on safeguarding, risk assessment and data protection to keep everyone safe. You can also contact us here at CCVS if you want to talk anything through enquiries@cambridgecvs.org.uk. There are some useful short information films on safeguarding, tips on managing volunteers and things to consider when telephone befriending on the Support Cambridgeshire website https://www.supportcambridgeshire.org.uk/coronavirus/
Safeguarding
The Government have now produced Safeguarding Factsheet:Community Volunteers during COVID-19 outbreak and Coronavirus:How to help safely. This includes guidance on whether criminal records checks are required.
The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Safeguarding Adults & Children Partnership Boards have produced a Power Point presentation on Safeguarding for community volunteers which gives a comprehensive basic outline of what most volunteers will need to know to safeguard adults and children. Each group should appoint a safeguarding lead who familiarises themselves with this information. Volunteers relate their concerns to the safeguarding lead who passes the information on (unless it is an emergency when the volunteer should ring 999)
If you have concerns that a child may be a risk of harm call:
If you have concerns that an adult may be at risk of harm call:
We have produced a a guide to Keeping eveyone safe which looks at safeguarding and practical ideas on issues such as handling money and collecting prescriptions safely and Support Cambridgeshire have a useful video for volunteers Safeguarding Advice
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Adults and Children Partnership Board has started to develop a suite of virtual training that will be available free of charge for anyone to access.
A new page has been added to the website to include all the free virtual learning resources and webinars.
Safeguarding Adults and Online Abuse around Covid-19 and Safeguarding for Community volunteers are available now
Data Protection
The regulator responsible for data protection The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) have produced a really useful blog Community groups and COVID-19: what you need to know about data protection To operate as an effective group ICO acknowledge that community groups will need to handle sensitive personal data and this guide will help you do that safely and legally.