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2022-03-31-accounts

R therham and Barnsley Mind Annual Report

2021 – 2022

Contents

3 Introduction from the Chair

5 CEO Report 6 Counselling Service 9 Adult Services 14 Children & Young People’s Service

18 Workplace Wellbeing and Training Service

20 Case Study

21 Fundraising Activities 22 Financial Statements & Treasurers Report 23 Contact Us 24 Who we work with

Rotherham and Barnsley Mind Annual Report 2021 - 2022

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Introduction…. From the Chair

In April 2021, as the financial year began, the country was beginning a phased exit from the Covid-19 lockdown measures. We continued, however, to face unprecedented challenges and an increased demand for our services. Although it would take many months before circumstances could be considered to have returned to ‘normal’, we found ourselves in the position of having weathered the storm and being well-placed to consolidate our position as a go-to provider of mental health support services.

That we found ourselves in such a position was down to the magnificent way in which staff, placement students, volunteers and trustees had adapted to the ever-changing challenges thrown up by the pandemic in 2020/21. Much of what we learnt during that period would be applied during 2021/22, as the effects of the pandemic continued to be felt.

Although the digital and virtual services introduced during the pandemic continue to be an option post COVID-19, we have seen an anticipated increase in demand for face-to-face delivery. Our on-going investment in staff development enabled us to introduce provision of Couples Therapy in April 2021 – an area of work that grew steadily during the year. Additional investment in Suicide First Aid training meant that by the end of the year we were in a position to start rolling out training to local businesses.

Unsurprisingly, fundraising activity and training delivery remained adversely affected during the year, although we did start to see increased activity in the latter part of the year. When the disruption that the pandemic had caused to the programmes of funding and grant-awarding bodies eventually abated, we were able to re-submit an application for funding of our COPE project to the National Lottery Community Fund. We received an early Christmas present when, on 16[th] December 2021, we received notification that funding of £317K over three years until March 2025 had been approved for our project addressing the increase in demand for mental health support arising from the pandemic. Applications for grant funding to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Health and Social Care, the European Social Fund and National Mind were also successful.

Much of the success of our funding applications was down to the fact that we continued to invest from our reserves in professional bid writing support from Competitive Solutions, with whom we have established a close and mutually beneficial working relationship.

Unfortunately, Liz Hopkinson, who had been recruited as Services and Development Manager in April 2021, left us in January 2022. We were, however, fortunate to appoint Mark Bridges to the post a month later to provide much needed support to our CEO, Rachel Siddall, to continue the diversification of our income streams, develop and promote existing and new services and ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery.

External recognition of the effectiveness of our work was received in December 2021, when Rotherham and Barnsley Mind was Highly Commended in the Mind Network Excellence Awards for its creation of bespoke workplace wellbeing packages for local employers, delivering mental health training in the workplace and to community groups, and its partnership working with the Rotherham Ethnic Minority Alliance and the YMCA young refugee and migrant service.

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Last year I reported that, despite the inevitable impact of the pandemic on our activities, thanks partly to Covid Business Support Grants, the HMRC Covid Job Retention Scheme and the increase in income from our work in schools, we had managed to achieve a surplus of income over expenditure of £25,000. This year, we have increased our work with schools to bring in a total income of £164,567 in comparison to £130,296 the previous year. Increases in income from counselling work and grants amounted to £320,669, up from £196,290 on the previous year.

You will find much information in the pages that follow to illustrate the range of services we provide to and for the residents and businesses of the Rotherham and Barnsley areas.

Given the difficulties faced and overcome during the course of the year, all our staff, front line and back office, counselling students and volunteers deserve tremendous thanks and appreciation. I must also thank my fellow trustees for their support and dedication.

The much-evidenced growth in demand for mental health support is still out-stripping the NHS’s capacity. Although spending on mental health is slowly increasing, it is highly variable across the country, and neither the Government nor NHS England determines exactly how much funding goes to mental health services in local areas. This is because each local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) determines its own mental health budget from its overall funding

allocation. The NHS Long-Term Plan includes a ‘new ring-fenced investment fund worth at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24’, but, like all spending commitments, timing and amounts are subject to both the whims and changing ideologies of those in power and the impact of national and global economic factors, including inflation.

In February 2022, in the light of the growing demand for mental healthcare, Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “We urgently need a fully funded mental health recovery plan, backed by a long-term workforce plan, to ensure everyone with a mental illness can get the help they need when they need it. Millions of children, young people and adults are seeking help from mental health services that are over-stretched and underresourced. The situation is critical. The Government cannot afford to neglect mental health recovery any longer."

How long have we been hearing this?

We will continue, whenever possible, to invest in our staff and improve the quality and range of services we provide to enable us to respond to and cope with the increased demand for them. Our success in meeting that demand will be dependent upon our ability to identify and access appropriate sources of funding, including grants and contracts, to support service delivery and attract fee-paying individual and corporate clients.

As always, our aim is to continue to deliver timely, appropriate, and effective mental health support to members of the community who need it.

Colin Mace

Chair of the Board of Trustees

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Chief Executive’s Report

2021 – 22 was a much more positive year for Rotherham and Barnsley Mind where we saw people attending our offices once again was a welcomed return. Whilst we learnt a great deal through the pandemic by adapting the way we work and moving to digital platforms, welcoming people back into face-to-face appointments is at the heart of what we do. Whilst remote delivery was a huge success and will remain a part of our delivery model bringing people out of isolation is a key part of moving forward post pandemic.

Since my time in post with Rotherham and Barnsley Mind I find that each year we continue to experience continued and new challenges for the charity and until a reform of mental health services takes place, I don’t foresee this improving. Yet despite this we continue to grow and support more and more people each year.

This year has been our most successful in diversifying income and securing new funding. In particular the children and young peoples service which has seen a growth in our school’s portfolio and also new funding streams secured to support these and new schools for both students and school staff with training interventions.

Funding received in the last financial year which helped us to upgrade parts of Osborne House in Rotherham allowed us to designate additional money to continue those upgrades into other areas of the building making it more efficient and sustainable. Replacing the boiler and re decorating the counselling rooms provided a much more welcoming atmosphere.

As we move into the next financial year we plan to continue with our growth and diversification so that we can offer a timetable of varied interventions with more group work and community activities.

As ever our success is built on great teamwork and commitment, without this it would be impossible to have achieved so much. My thanks go to every member of the team staff, volunteers, trustees, and student placements.

Rachel Siddall

Chief Executive Officer

Rotherham and Barnsley Mind Annual Report 2021 - 2022

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Counselling Service

Due to the huge impact the pandemic has had on people’s mental health we are pleased to say that this year we were successful in securing funding for various counselling projects across both boroughs which has meant our counselling service has more than doubled which we hope will continue…..

Alongside our ongoing Sliding Scale Service , we continue to provide support to clients referred through the Rotherham Social Prescribing Service managed by Voluntary Action Rotherham. We are proud to say that this will be the fifth successive year of funding allowing us to continue to deliver essential therapy support to clients with long term conditions. As a result of our client success and outcomes on the SPS project we have been given the opportunity to deliver a trial as a similar service to clients referred via ‘PCN Link Workers.’ Both these projects continue to prove invaluable in giving RBMind a presence in Rotherham and allowing us to work in conjunction with other service providers in the local area and reducing the already stretched resources of the NHS.

In early 2022 we began working in partnership with Crossroads Care Rotherham , to provide therapy support for ‘unpaid’ carer’s’ in the Rotherham area. The success of this project also saw brought us a new partnership with Making Space in Barnsley to deliver counselling for carers.

These funded projects have enabled our Counselling team to offer invaluable support to over 70 carer’s who offer selflessly to care for and support their family and loved ones.

Some feedback comments from clients who accessed this service.

“I really valued the session’s; they gave me time to talk about thoughts and feelings with someone who wasn't directly connected in a family or friend relationship.”

~~~~~~~

“Having someone not connected to me to open up and offload to. I have felt confident to open up and not feel weak. I feel like a weight has been lifted for the rest of the day”

We also ran a 6-month funded pilot supporting Students 16+ from Barnsley College . The college had found the counselling provisions already in place simply could not cope with the escalation of referrals and reached out to us for additional support, during this period we supported 30 students and also offered ‘crisis’ intervention to 3 members of staff. The success of the pilot allowed us to continue our partnership with Barnsley college and we look forward to the continued success over the next 12 months.

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Some feedback comments from students who accessed this service.

"I liked the way you left it completely up to me to decide what I wanted to talk about in each session. In other counselling sessions I have had, I have felt pressured to talk about certain things, but this was good because you didn't put me under any pressure at all or bombard me with loads of questions. It just felt like my time"

~~~~~~

"This has been perfect for me. I feel like it has turned me around. I was so down in the dumps but you have listened to me and let me say anything I needed to say without it feeling embarrassing. I'm ready to go now. I'm excited about the future and I'm going to smash it. Thank you very, very much"

RUSH House is another local charity in Rotherham we began working with in 2021. This challenging client group are being supported by both our Adult counselling and Children and Young Peoples Counselling teams due to the varied age groups.

Our MOD: Keeping Families in Mind being delivered in partnership with both Sheffield and Doncaster Mind’s has once again proven to be invaluable for those individuals who would otherwise have slipped through the usual pathways of mental health services which requires more complex and longer-term therapy.

As reported last year we were fortunate enough to be awarded Emergency Covid Funding via the Big Lottery to support 70 local people over a 6-month period

during the pandemic. The counselling and support provided has been predominantly for bereavement and loss. Bereavement through death, bereavement for those that have elderly relatives in care that cannot be supported directly by loved ones.

Isolation and loneliness have also been a major factor with many having had their stabilizers removed. Stabilizers being family and friends, social activities and groups through ours and other services that were no longer able to run face to face or that have required to take on a new platform for safety. Groups that were once outside socializing abruptly ended.

With this and other funding we were able to increase the number of people supported to 108 on this project alone.

The outcomes we achieved with this funding supporting our communities through this very challenging time provided us with valuable learning in the way we worked and allowed us to expand our delivery platforms from face to face delivery only to telephone and online platforms increasing our reach within the communities and

identify the change in individual needs. This learning also supported us in our main grant application to the Big Lottery for the ‘Cope Project’. We are extremely proud to announce that we were successful in this application and will begin delivery from the 1[st] April 2022, continuing to offer funded counselling support to those in our communities via one to one and group sessions.

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We also continue to offer bespoke specialist services including Couples Therapy and Anger Management which have both grown in demand over the past two years.

In 2021-2022 we delivered over 2,300 therapy sessions across all our counselling projects supporting over 1000 individuals.

We asked our counselling clients to score themselves out of 10 how they would rate their mental health before and after our support

In addition to the great services we offer to our client group, we also pride ourselves on being the provider of choice for students within our boroughs and further afield who are completing their counselling qualifications. Students working towards their qualification must complete a work placement in a relevant setting to gain competency and the required skills to qualify. Each year we offer opportunities for these students to apply for a tailored and bespoke work experience placement, which is supportive, safe and monitored providing mentoring, coaching and regular group and one to one clinical supervision.

Unfortunately, we only have the capacity to support a small number of placements each year and those that are lucky enough to secure one tell us how different and supported their experience is compared to those of other providers.

Throughout 2021 – 22 we offered 10 counselling students a placement all of whom are well on their way to achieving their level 4 qualification. It is important to give recognition to our counselling team and support staff who ~~as~~ always continue to offer a high-quality service to our clients, and we wouldn’t be able to deliver the impeccable service without them. We look forward to seeing what 2022-2023 has to bring, as we strive to continue growing our amazing counselling service and support more people in our community.

Tracey Stephenson

Counselling Service Lead

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Adult Services

In January 2022 we welcomed Audra to the team to lead on the Adult Services and particularly the new Thriving Communities Project.

Hello, my name is Audra, and I had the honor of being welcomed into the Rotherham and Barnsley Mind family part way through this financial year. Looking back over my time in post, it has been a real privilege to be part of what has been an undoubtedly successful year.

I joined Adult Services at a pivotal time, as £78,000 in funding had been secured through the Barnsley Central Area Council Challenge Fund. These monies enabled us to extend our core adult services and build a project with a strong emphasis on co-production and co-design.

Thriving Communities Project

Evidence shows that severe loneliness and poor mental health are often interlinked and experiencing either can impact the other in a detrimental way (Mental Health Foundation 2022). Here at Rotherham and Barnsley Mind we believe that no one should have to face a mental health problem alone.

Therefore, in April 2021 we set an ambitious agenda to provide a multi-faceted, accessible, inclusive, and welcoming service to those living lonely or isolated lives.

As a result, the Thriving Communities Project was created and has steadfastly adhered to its commitment to reach out to our communities and ensuring individuals receive the support they need.

Needs led assessment.

Every individual that requests support within our services are offered a needs led assessment. This ensures the beneficiary is put right in the centre of their own care. We work together to identify areas of challenge and strength and reflect upon current aims and goals. An action plan is then co-produced which captures the plan of support that has been agreed.

1:1 Support

Is currently staffed by qualified counsellors. Beneficiaries receive up to 6 support sessions either via telephone or in person with the aim to build confidence in moving towards group support. This also provides a chance to explore the reasons behind loneliness and create opportunities for people to discover their own solutions whilst being encouraged and supported to build individual networks of support.

One of our many beneficiaries was kind enough to share these words with us:

“I cannot thank Jane enough for the support she has given me. When we first started speaking, I was afraid of nearly everything. I have found the strength to start an online course to help my mental health, also registered for 2 more. Because of Janes continued support after years of staying in my home, I have been able to travel to see my grandchildren and also after a number of years I have also made 2 trips to the supermarket alone.... this was never something I thought I would be able to do. Thanks to this support my life is slowly improving. This support is absolutely invaluable to people like myself, but a massive thanks to Jane, she’s been a superstar helping me when I had almost given up! This service will be of invaluable help to people in the future, thank you again”. Rotherham and Barnsley Mind Annual Report 2021 - 2022

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Names have been changed to protect identities.

Befriending support

The befriending element of the project is volunteer led, and we are amazingly proud of our volunteers who selflessly give up their own time to help others. Our fabulous team of volunteer befrienders reach out to those in our communities that require a friendly listening ear. Some of those accessing our befriending service rarely leave their homes and may go days without speaking to another person. The service has been extremely well received and feedback suggests that those accessing the service look forward to their weekly check in and chat and appreciate that someone takes the time to call and listen.

Group offer

An identified area of need while co-producing this project was the lack of support for female only and male only groups to provide relevant support for those who attend. We now have a well-established group for females only that meet centrally on a weekly basis. The group is needs led and as such offers a diverse mixture of activities including social sessions, outside speakers and workshops, arts and crafts, meditation and resilience sessions and visits to other services for more specialist ventures such as flower arranging and cake decorating.

There is also a fortnightly men’s group that was extended to meet weekly from April 2022 as part of our newly established Eco Gym community initiative. This gives participants access to green space and will include a gardening plot to work and the opportunity to attend other green/Eco workshops.

We will also be addressing the needs of those who find it difficult to leave the house by offering an online support group. This is currently in the planning stages and anticipated to begin in May 2022.

Here’s what one of our group beneficiaries had to say about their experience on project:

“I was in a very, very dark place and saw no way of getting out of the hole- sad tearful. Mixing with other ladies who have the same problems makes me feel safe and at ease because they understand my issues, my mental health problems and I have been supported throughout from Rotherham and Barnsley Mind.

I can talk about anything (with people who care) and I look forward to my ladies group on Wednesday and could almost call it my lifeline. I am treated as a human being. Other therapy over the years has not worked for me. I always felt nervous going to these sessions and it was one to one, nobody in these sessions ever understood me.

I feel now that I am getting to a better place accepting the person I am now. But the caring I have had from Rotherham and Barnsley Mind has been invaluable. I would recommend to anyone with mental health problems to contact them. The support you get is brilliant.

I remember when I first picked up the phone and Jane answered, I could feel the warmth coming from her voice and it made me feel better. I have become a much more confident person, feel safe and knowing that if I feel I am going down again I can call Rotherham and Barnsley Mind. Talking helps, opening up, I know everything is confidential so I can say whatever I want.

If I couldn't have phoned Rotherham and Barnsley Mind, who would I have phoned? I was in such a dark hole, in bed, curtains closed, crying, feeling that nobody cared, but as soon as Jane answered the phone and said a few words my upwards journey began”.

Names have been changed to protect identities.

Rotherham and Barnsley Mind Annual Report 2021 - 2022

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Community workshops

We offer a variety of standalone workshops that we deliver both in house to beneficiaries and to stakeholders and partner agencies including:

Isolation workshop : This workshop contains concise information that helps others to understand loneliness and isolation and the impact that this has on people’s lives.

CBT workshops : Our CBT group sessions explore the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in relation to how we relate to and interact with others. Strategies are given to help change negative patterns and improve overall emotional wellbeing.

Mindfulness and wellbeing workshop : Our Mindfulness workshop helps the attendees to gather a toolbox of strategies to support their wellbeing. This includes practicing mindfulness and meditation and how to incorporate these on a regular basis.

Eco workshop : This workshop includes a brief informational overview on eco themes to generate discussions and ideas about how as individuals we can play our part and together make a positive impact in this area.

Signposting service

Our signposting service works with beneficiaries at all stages of their journey, from initial request for service through to warm transfer. We support people to access other external groups and services, make referrals as appropriate, and provide opportunity for other agencies to come into groups and meet participants before they move on. This provides a holistic approach to care and ensures that beneficiaries get the right support at the right time.

Volunteers

We currently have 5 volunteers who share their skills and experience to support our project, making a real difference to people’s lives.

We actively promote volunteering opportunities across Barnsley and have a robust recruitment process in place for volunteers which include recruitment, induction, training, support, and evaluation.

Our volunteers who are looking for employment are supported to explore paid work and job opportunities as a direct impact of their volunteering. We have already facilitated this transition into paid employment for one of our volunteers who has been supported to secure a position with another voluntary organisation.

We are proud to say that currently 22% of the staff force at Rotherham and Barnsley Mind began their employment journey as a volunteer with us. This represents substantial added value to the project and local labor market.

Here’s what one of our volunteers has to say about their experience of working within the project:

“I enjoy volunteering for R B Mind as it gives me the chance to help others by listening to their worries in life and being a friendly face in which they can trust.

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The knowledge and skills that I have gained whilst volunteering have allowed me to better understand the wants and needs of others. I feel this helps me in my life.

R B Mind have also provided lots of training opportunities. The recent Suicide First Aid training I attended was excellent.”

Added value.

During our first year we have managed to attract corporate sponsorships through high street retailer Primark (Barnsley) as part of their Staff Charity of the Year scheme. This sponsorship will continue into our second year providing more funds to support our work. Primark staff have also expressed an interest in volunteering within the project and attended one of our recent promotion events (photo below). This is a testament to their passion to champion the work we do.

Collaborative working

Our passion to develop local partnerships has shone through in the collaborative work we do. We are determined that wherever possible we will endeavor to work with other organisations to ensure that our activities to reduce loneliness provide the best possible resources for our communities. This has clearly been shown through our partnerships with The Recovery College and South West Yorkshire NHS Partnership Trust.

We will continue to increase the number of partners we work with in order to fulfil this important agenda. With this in mind we are currently partnering with 17 other agencies to bring together an event for World Mental Health Day. This will provide an excellent opportunity to work together for the collective good of our communities.

Quality as a priority

We champion the use of routine outcome measures to ensure beneficiaries receive maximum gains from the support on offer. Our desire to provide the best service possible to our clients drives the use of our measures. We measure loneliness and isolation at entry into service and re measure 6 weeks into intervention. We also use session rating scales across all our group and individual work to constantly ensure we are making a difference and providing a good fit for the client. We also periodically undertake client satisfaction questionnaires to capture the voice of those accessing project. Provided below is a selection of these completed measures.

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What a difference a year makes

Reporting on targets is a great way to assess how well we are progressing towards overall project aims and goals.

I could not be more satisfied by all that we have managed to achieve in our first year of commissioning. A fantastic team effort and the unwavering support of our volunteers and beneficiaries has enabled us to deliver an accomplished performance. Please see the data below:

----- Start of picture text -----
t has helped me
Really enjoyed today
tremendously
made my mental
got up and showered health 00 mes
today be er
taught me to have excellent session, feel
empathy so much be er today
----- End of picture text -----

Client 1

ONS Lonliness Scale

----- Start of picture text -----
How often do you feel lonely?
How often do you feel isolated from others?
How often do you feel left out?
How often do you feel that you lack
companionship?
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Score following intervention Score before intervention
----- End of picture text -----

University of California Los Angeles loneliness scale (ONS recommended measure)

1-4 low indication of loneliness/isolation 5-8 moderate indication of loneliness/isolation

9-12 high indication of loneliness/isolation

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Results from a recent client satisfaction questionnaire are as follows:

Children and Young People’s Service

Demand for our CYP services has continued to grow throughout the year. We successfully maintained all school contracts throughout the pandemic by adapting our provision to meet the needs of schools with delivery undertaken remotely. Additionally, we worked closely with our school’s contacts to ensure face to face delivery adhered to covid regulations. The increasing need for children and young people’s mental health support has seen us grow the number of schools we support, and the previous year has seen us deliver sessions to more children than previous years.

In addition to retaining those schools as in previous years we have also welcomed new schools on board which are detailed below.

The feedback we receive from schools remains very positive from both the children and young people and the staff who we develop relationships with, this is key to our success. This is largely thanks to the staff who are the face of the service on a daily basis.

As reported last year our CYP lead, Frankie went on maternity leave and returned in November 2021. During this the staff remained committed and pulled together to continue to make the service a continued success.

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Whilst other services returned to almost pre pandemic delivery the CYP service continued to experience challenges with so many government rules in schools. With the introduction of daily testing and class bubbles we needed to ensure that additional measures were introduced to ensure continued support and safety. The team worked well in embracing and adapting to the changes in covid rules and restrictions and I cannot thank them enough for all their hard work during this difficult time.

Referrals for children’s private counselling reduced during the initial impact of the pandemic due to young people preferring to be seen face to face however we adapted our offer to provide remote support at individuals time of need. As restrictions eased and we could see young people face to face again, the number of referrals returned to normal levels. We saw an increase in levels of referrals due to anxiety around covid or coming back into ‘normal life’. The young people and family appreciated the support and it being back to face to face. We delivered 3,787 to 570 children and young people across all our youth projects through the period of April 2021 and March 2022.

In our previous annual report, we reported the success of our joint partnership with the consortium for the Smiles for Miles project. This has been a very successful project and we have supported many young people through 1:1 and group sessions around self-esteem, confidence, and social media. We have also been able to adapt our offer working with children and young people attending schools that we have not previously been engaged with. This has been very beneficial to the schools to get an idea of how we work and how we can support them in the future.

The young people have benefited from the group sessions, especially with the impact which covid has had on them, realising that they are not alone in their feelings and there is support available.

Funding from the European Social fund was also secured through our partnership with Sheffield Futures and the Feel Well Work Well project was developed. This began in October 2021 and runs through to 2023. The aim is to support young people aged 18-24 who are struggling with their mental health, to return to work or to access college or higher education.

Schools we worked with in 2021 - 22.

Schools we worked with in 2021 - 22.
Aston Academy Oakwood High School
Aston All Saints C of E Primary Rosehill
BramleyGrange PrimarySchool St Mary's Catholic Primary,Maltby
BramleySunnyside St Thomas C of E PrimarySchool
Crags CommunitySchool St Albans
Goldthorpe PrimarySchool Thrybergh Fullerton
Horizon CommunityCollege Treeton
Kirk Balk Academy TrinityCroft
Laughton Primary Wath Central PrimarySchool
Mexborough St John the Baptist C of E Primary Willow Tree Academy
Milton School Winterhill Comprehensive School
Newman School

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As part of our service evaluation, we surveyed the children and young people who access our service the following questions.

  1. Did you get to access R B Mind’s service quickly? – 85% said yes

  2. Did you feel comfortable with your worker? – 93% said yes

  3. Were you able to speak openly and honestly with your worker? – 98% said yes

  4. Would you be happy to access the service again if needed? – 100% said yes

  5. Would you tell your friends how much the service helped you? – 84% said yes

  6. Do you feel better now that you have spoken to us? – 98% said yes

  7. Do you feel better about attending school now? – 81% said yes

Kirsty Hargadon

Children & Young Peoples Service Lead

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----- Start of picture text -----
“The sessions have helped me
understand my anger and know
how to control it.”
“I feel less anxious
and better about
coming into school.”
----- End of picture text -----

Quotes from our young people:

“It has been helpful sharing my problems and not coping alone.”

----- Start of picture text -----
“ “Before coming to the sessions, I had
It has been helpful
“It was useful to chat to Marie as she just accepted been struggling to sleep and having
sharing my problems me as I am. She sometimes made me look at stuff nightmares. After the sessions I know
and not coping alone.
from another angle which did help. She has been easy what to do to help me sleep and calm
to chat to.” down before bed.”
----- End of picture text -----

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Professional Training and Workplace Wellbeing

Training

Despite the lack of demand in our training services over the pandemic we are pleased to report that we were able to continue our arrangement with some of our local employers. Our partnership with CAPITA throughout 2021 -22 flourished and we delivered more sessions throughout this financial year than in previous years. The relationship with their customer management team grew and improved as our understanding of their needs developed and we were able to create bespoke interventions for their employees. Over the last 2 years we have trained over 300 mental health champions within the CAPITA group, alongside delivering workshops to their call handler colleagues, as the first point of contact for many of their customers.

Delivering sessions on resilience, mental health at work, self-care and children and young people’s mental health in the family unit. All these sessions had fantastic feedback with CAPITA colleagues joining the workshops from as far as India and South Africa. We were also asked to support colleagues living and working in Poland following the outbreak of the Ukrainian war by delivering sessions on anxiety and bereavement.

EFL and Mind Partnership.

As reported over the last 3 seasons the EFL has sponsored National Mind, unfortunately at the finish of this season that partnership has come to an end. This was a great opportunity for us as a charity to raise awareness amongst fans at football matches but also by visiting clubs community trusts, it has strengthened our relationships with the clubs for support and any future funding that may come our way to work in partnership. We would like to say a great thank you to all 3 clubs for their support over that period.

Accredited Training

Throughout this period and learning from the pandemic Mental Health First Aid England re designed all their packages to online or face to face delivery. This has provided us with greater reach and opportunities to cater for those who want to use a mental health provider and also a greater scope to deliver evening and weekend sessions, which are proving to be successful, and we plan to deliver more of these in the future.

SFAUSI

We are very proud to now offer Suicide First Aid – Lite which is a half day course and Suicide First Aid - Understanding Suicide Interventions which is a full day course accredited by city and guilds.

Despite the demand being low for mental health awareness over the pandemic we are starting to see the backlash of this in recent months and employers are now seeing the impact of isolation in their workforces.

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Feedback and quotes received from one of our Mental Health First Aid Courses

Confidence before 6.43
Confidence after 9.86
Knowledge before 5.71
Knowledge after 10.00
Lead instructor rating 10.00
Co-instructor rating 10.00
2 Likelihood of recommending the course 10.00

“Claire was an awesome tutor and made the course very enjoyable.”

“I would really like to thank Claire for her help and support throughout the whole course. I believe she has helped us all to have a greater understanding of the effects of mental health and more awareness of dealing with all the different types of Mental health issuesand also taking good care of our own health. I would fully recommend this course to anyone. Once again, I would like to say a big thank you to Claire.”

“The instructor was very good and a lot of knowledge very informative content, Claire is a great trainer, personable and engaging.”

“Very well-presented course from a Lady who is so passionate about the training she is delivering and keeps you constantly engaged.”

“This course has helped me to reflect on situations where I have dealt with a mental health crisis; understanding what went well and what could have been done better. Now I understand the steps to help people, some of which I have already been doing without knowing.”

Claire Rowley

Workplace Wellbeing Trainer

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Below is a case study that follows a beneficiary’s journey from assessment through to intervention outcomes.

Mavis was referred to the Thriving Communities Project due to the loneliness and isolation she was feeling after losing her husband just before the pandemic. She said they had been together 27 years and did not do anything without each other.

Mavis has a sister, that she sees once a week, who helps her with her bills and sorting things out. Mavis was lonely at home by herself most of the time and therefore had come to us hoping to meet new people and get out and about a bit more.

Mavis enjoys walking and gardening, but unfortunately as she lives in a flat this is not possible. Mavis was very anxious about mixing with others due to the pandemic. also saying she lacked confidence in herself and her abilities and would like to address this.

During her assessment with us Mavis decided that she would like some 1-1 sessions over the telephone. Within a few weeks of having these sessions she also started attending our ladies’ group. Her confidence grew so much in that group, and she decided to attend our workshops so that she could further build her resilience and wellbeing. We were also able to make a referral to Walking for Health, and she now attends a walking group some Fridays. Mavis also attends the Coffee, Cake and Confidence group that runs in her local community.

Mavis told us she feels better from all the interventions that have been put in place and that she is getting out and meeting more people. Mavis found that one of the other members of our Ladies Group lived near her and they now walk to the session together. It has been a real pleasure to support Mavis in her journey and to see how much she has grown in confidence over the past few months.

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Fundraising Activities

Fundraising activities are always difficult to organise in such a small charity and in pre pandemic times Rotherham and Barnsley Mind have always been willing to participate in and support community events to raise awareness. This continued to be the case following the lifting of covid restrictions and although these have still not returned to that of previous years, we have seen a small increase in awareness events.

Although a slow start in offers of donations, we have seen an uplift in enquiries towards the end of the year from kind donors saying they had experienced a better understanding of mental health due to being isolated through the lock down and we continue to be hopeful for the future as public donations really do make a big difference.

As ever I would like to say a special thanks to all our fundraisers this year including staff and volunteers who continue to support with organised events by pledging their time to supporting Rotherham and Barnsley Mind often in addition to their working hours.

We were also really pleased to take part in this years Rotherham show.

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Financial Statements and Treasurers Report

The financial year again proved a trying one for us to deliver effective mental health services and be financially successful with the aftermath of covid and inflation being on the rise. We have been very successful in our financial operations showing a surplus of £44,899 in unrestricted funds. This was due to an increase in grant funding due significantly to our bidding support team Competitive Solutions. There were also good contributions from our work in Schools, charged services training activity and donations. This success has enabled us to strengthen our Senior Management team by employing a Services and Development Manager to support and improve the delivery of our services to clients and satisfy our Funders.

Thanks are due to staff, management and trustees for their work throughout the year

Michael Marks

Treasurer

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Working for better mental health since 1977 & 1979… ...working as one since 2012

Barnsley Office:

BCVS Building 23 Queens Road Barnsley S71 1AN Tel: 01226 211188

Head Office: Osborne House

1-2 Highfield, Doncaster Road Rotherham

S65 1DZ

01709 919929

Visit us online or through on the web and social media at

www.rbmind.co.uk www.facebook.com/rotherhamandbarnsleymind/ https://twitter.com/rb_mind

If you would like to make a donation to enable our work to continue. Then please donate via Facebook, our website or on the following link.

Registered Charity Number 1147740

A company limited by guarantee number 3616409

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With thanks to our funders, partners and all those that have made donations throughout this year, these include:

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