Common Ground Meetings

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Common Ground meetings are relaxed, informal, friendly, informative, stimulating challenging discussions & are central to making us a strong, inclusive, dynamic network. Share your knowledge and learn from the experiences of others.

Befriending Network Scotland provides Common Ground meetings so that befriending staff or committee members can meet others involved in befriending projects locally, discuss and explore topical issues around befriending, and contribute to good practice in befriending at a national level.

Common Ground Meetings around the country feature the same agenda items, but also allow time for local issues to be raised. At the end of each series of Common Ground Meetings, we produce comprehensive notes-so you can find out what other befriending projects across the country have been talking about!

Common Ground Meetings take place in March, June and November.

Details are sent to members a few weeks in advance. Meetings are held in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Dundee, Galashiels and Aberdeen. In addition we take one meeting to a different location with each round of meetings and hold a teleconference for those unable to attend meetings.

Each meeting covers 2 best practice discussion topics and notes are then compiled from the round of meetings and distributed to all members.

Agenda

Safety at your project

With the new Protection of Vulnerable Groups scheme announced for launch in Scotland on the 30th November, BNS thought it would be a good time to discuss with projects their attitudes to safety. Why do befriending projects need to be concerned about safety and whose safety do they need to be concerned about? What steps do projects take to ensure the safety of their clients? And what about steps to ensure the safety of volunteers? What reassurance do projects think schemes like PVG give them and is there any downside to these schemes? How do projects make decisions about the suitability of volunteers with criminal records? And sometimes can fears about safety go too far?
For current info on PVG see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Young-People/children-families/pvglegislation/News/SpecialIssue

How to raise your profile

Does befriending, or does your project, have a profile in your local community or is befriending the sort of thing you only know about when you need it? Why might projects want to raise their national or local profiles? And who do you want to raise your profile with? How should projects present or explain what they do? Is there a downside to having your profile raised?
The Mentoring and Befriending Foundation have launched a national campaign which they have extended to Scotland and the aim of the campaign is to raise the profile of befriending. This common ground meeting will tell you how your project can join in.

Book now

24 AugAberdeen - Tuesday 24th August, 10am-noon
Befriend a Child, 9 Bon Accord Sq, Aberdeen, AB11 6DJ
24 AugFalkirk -Tuesday 24th August 2010, 10am-12noon
FDAMH, The Victoria Centre, 173 Victoria Rd, Falkirk, FK2 7AU
24 AugGlasgow - Tuesday 24th 2010 2.00pm-4.00pm
Epilepsy connections, 100 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6DH
25 AugEdinburgh -Wednesday 25th August 2010, 10am-12.noon
Rutherford House, 1 Hill Street, Edinburgh EH2 3JP
25 AugDundee - Wednesday 25th August 2010, 10am-12noon
Number 10, 10 Constitution Rd, Dundee, DD1 1LL
26 AugInverness - Thursday 26th August 2010, 2.00pm-4.00pm
Befrienders Highland, 2nd floor, 19 Church St, Inverness, IV1 1DY
27 AugNewcastle - to be confirmed
Age Concern Newcastle, Mea House, ellison Pl, Newcastle, NE1 8XS
30 AugTeleconference - Monday 30th August 2010, 10am-12noon

If you're not a member of Befriending Network Scotland and you would like to attend a Common Ground Meeting, please email susan@befriending.co.uk.

Testimonials from previous clients

“The common ground meetings are an invaluable support to us. Working for a small, independent project, we only have each other to bounce ideas off and it's great to network with others and share ideas, discuss good practice and learn from BNS experience. It's also really good to hear what's happening locally.”

Download Meeting Notes

Download the latest meeting notes here:

Suggest a topic

Is there a topic that you'd like to discuss in a Common Ground Meeting? Let us know – email your suggestions to susan@befriending.co.uk.