Neighbourhood training



WTP is still providing free and subsidised training!
For future ease of reference, these will always be advertised in orange, and the fully charged-for courses will always be advertised in blue.  Please see the orange section of the website for current free and subsidised courses, or let us know your training needs.  We are continuing to fundraise for these services.  To help provide evidence for future funding, please do complete the on-line survey which comes with a prize draw:

WTP has been busy working in partnership with all our colleagues in other support organisations to develop and offer training.  So far we have organised, amongst other things, training for different groups to help them secure community assets, training for Black and minority ethnic groups, Internet broadcasting for Whitehawk, and two events on Localism (see below).  We are planning community newsletter courses, first aid, food safety and health & safety, book keeping, fundraising, and a series of briefings for committees.  Will also be supporting Safety Net’s safeguarding courses with venues and the Community and Voluntary Sector Forum’s Small Groups Network with practical workshops.

Upcoming Courses

No events

Localism Project

24th November 2011 6.00 – 8.30pm Community and Neighbourhood Decision-Making / Neighbourhood Councils

1st February 2012 10.00am – 4.00pm Community Rights Made Real / Localism

WTP has funding from Brighton & Hove City Council to deliver training and events that support communities in the city to understand and engage with the government’s localism agenda and parliamentary bill.

There are four key themes:

  • Neighbourhood Planning: a bottom-up approach to planning for the future of an area led by the community. Communities now have a real opportunity to develop plans and shape proposals for the places they live in. But many questions have been raised: what is a neighbourhood? How do we produce a plan? Who is responsible for preparing them?
  • Community Right to Build: communities will be given the power to develop and approve the building of homes and other community space as long as it achieves 90% support in a local referendum. The benefit of development is intended to be retained by the community, for the community, through a ‘streamlined, light- touch neighbourhood planning process’.
  • Community Right to Buy: The Right to Buy covers assets (land and buildings) only. Under it a community may bid to take over a building (e.g. a library) but it would need to use the Community Right to Challenge if they wish to bid to take over the service that operates from the building (e.g. a library service).
  • Community Right to Challenge: the Right will give local communities the ability to register an interest to bid to take over a local public service which they would like to run better or differently.

The Localism Bill was introduced 13th December 2010 and went through a second reading on 17th January 2011. A consultation on the details of both the Community Right to Challenge and the Community Right to Buy will run in parallel with the Bill’s passage through Parliament. These descriptions are taken from the Urban Forum Website. For full briefings on these areas of the Localism Bill and other government policy that will affect local communities go to: www.urbanforum.org.uk/briefings/

Money in Mind

The Money in Mind project aims to help small community and voluntary groups in Brighton & Hove manage their money better. All money in Mind services are free for groups with an annual income below £35,000, based in Brighton & Hove. There  are a number of services on offer including;

  • Online info
  • Training
  • Examination of accounts
  • One- to- one advice

There is a free accounts system available. DOWNLOAD ACCOUNTS SYSTEM. The resource centre offer free technical support for small groups so please give them an email if you want to start using this system. Give the resource centre a ring on 01273 606160 or visit www.resourcecentre.org.uk/money-in-mind for more info

More About Our Courses

WTP works free of charge with community groups in priority neighbourhoods to help group members to identify the training needs that will build on their existing skills, increase their capacity to deliver more successful activities and services, and improve the quality of life in the local area. WTP can help community groups and activists draw up a training action plan; explore with them the best way that those training needs could be met; and develop tailor made training or workshops with people from a range of groups in their neighbourhood who have shared training needs or are at a similar stage of development.

“We were untrained and without a clue about how to manage staff or anything about legal responsibilities. Now everyone on the committee is clear about their responsibilities and everyone does more”

The training that is delivered can vary from a half-day workshop or a one-day course, to a ten half-day accredited course which is planned around the needs of the participants. Our training and workshops use fun, interactive activities, which also identify any support needs that participants may have, including numeracy and literacy, childcare and other carer support needs. A key aim of our neighbourhood training work is that through people having a positive and directly relevant experience of learning, they are then encouraged to participate in further learning to support personal and group development and to further build the capacity of community groups and fora to improve the quality of life for local residents. This might include accessing our short course programme and/or our community leadership programme.

“After we had accessed the training set up for our community groups, we were confident to attend further training” – Course participant on tailored training

The types of courses that are often delivered are:

  • Setting up and running a community group
  • Aims, objectives and planning
  • Committee skills
  • Fundraising for small groups
  • Introduction to bookkeeping
  • Chairing a meeting
  • Confidentiality and boundaries
  • Dealing with difficult situations
  • Writing a constitution
  • Producing a community newsletter

These courses are examples of the types of courses that resident groups often identify that they need, but the possibilities are endless, as long as they support communities to develop.