The Latest Bulletin

Stress is increasingly being recognized as a serious problem in the modern workplace. In this practice manual, Neil Thompson uses his decades of experience of helping people tackle stress to provide a clear and helpful guide to the key issues and lays the foundations for a positive and constructive response to the challenges involved. This is an essential guide for anyone wanting to keep pressures within manageable limits. Available for purchase along with many other books by Neil here or from the Avenue Learning Centre here.

Stereotyping can be seen as a very real danger when you consider how often we are fed inaccurate, distorted and oversimplified stereotypes by the media. There is therefore a very strong need to be ‘stereotype aware’ and try to makes sure as far as possible that we do not allow ourselves to be influenced by them. One such stereotype that I have come across time and time again is the assumption that certain people are likely to be hard of hearing and that it is therefore necessary to shout. Older people are a prime target for this type of stereotyping, but disabled people are not immune to it either. While the incidence of hearing loss is indeed greater in the…

Volunteers are being urged to do their bit to stop the climate emergency by grabbing a spade and signing up for the biggest mass tree-planting campaign in the UK’s history. Plots in suitable sites around the country are being prepared for 30 November, when the Big Climate Fightback campaign will start with pledges sought from 1 million people. Local groups are being encouraged to run tree-planting events and councils are being asked for permission to plant trees on their land, or outside schools and other publicly owned properties. Businesses are also being urged to plant trees on their own premises if possible. People without gardens or the means to plant their own trees are being encouraged to spot potential sites and ask…

Since 2017, Runnymede has been collaborating with the Centre for Labour and Social Studies to research race and class inequality in the UK and foreground a new way of talking about these issues so that: -      we build solidarity across struggles, sectors and movements -      we are better equipped to tackle structural race and class inequality The Race and Class Messaging Toolkit (2019) is an ongoing project aimed at providing language to build solidarity across difference and challenge ‘divide and rule’ narratives, for both advocates and the general public. Click here to read more

One year on from winning in the housing category at the Guardian Public Services Awards 2018, Heart and Home’s award is still proudly displayed in the office for everyone to see. “I can’t believe it’s been a whole year! I don’t want our year to end now,” says Pip Yaxley, multiservice manager for the host scheme. Run by the Benjamin Foundation in Norfolk and Suffolk, the service pairs up young care leavers with hosts who can provide them with safe and supported accommodation as they make the transition to independent living. It matches each young person with a house in their local area, close to their established support networks. Hosts range from single people to couples and families, but the focus…

Facebook page Facebook Social Work Focus group LinkedIn Twitter YouTube channel Neil’s website The humansolutions website Information about Neil’s online learning community, the Avenue Professional Development Programme

Stress is increasingly being recognized as a serious problem in the modern workplace. In this practice manual, Neil Thompson uses his decades of experience of helping people tackle stress to provide a clear and helpful guide to the key issues and lays the foundations for a positive and constructive response to the challenges involved. This is an essential guide for anyone wanting to keep pressures within manageable limits. Available for purchase along with many other books by Neil here or from the Avenue Learning Centre here.

Listening, of course, is more than just hearing. It is about paying attention to someone in a way that creates a genuine human connection. Sometimes that connection is enough to enable the person concerned to feel stronger, more confident and better supported in dealing with their difficulties. Listening is an important first step in terms of exploring potential solutions, but at times listening is enough on its own to find the strength to move forward positively. ‘Dadirri’ is a concept drawn from Australian aboriginal culture which refers to the type of listening that creates that all-important bond, listening that gives a strong and genuine message that we are concerned and that we are here to help without judgement. It could…

Too often, women remain treated as a homogenous group by researchers and policymakers, with the assumption of a single female experience. However, this one size-fits all approach means there are, in effect, millions of invisible women, who are not being seen or heard by policymakers. Factors such as race, faith, ethnicity, age, disability, sexuality, location and employment status can combine with gender to create distinct and particularly troubling experiences of discrimination and inequality - but this intersectionality is still largely being overlooked. As a result, valuable insight into the different experiences of women is often being lost. That is why the APPG on Sex Equality decided to focus its work on understanding what can be done by government to take…

Whatever you want to plant, whether it’s one tree in your garden or a whole wood, we can help. Every sapling that we provide is UK sourced and grown to minimise the risk of importing and spreading tree pests and diseases. Seeds are collected and stored in the UK, and they are all coded and batched so that we can track an individual tree. Over the next 10 years, we’re aiming to plant 64 million trees and we can’t do it without you. Click here to read more