Welcome to the June ASA Update
Welcome to the ASA Update for June. This month we’ve got information on the ASA Project Evaluation, Digital Champions, and Bitesize Learning on Doing Good Does You Good, and Pocket Mindfulness.
ASA Project Evaluation
This round of Advice Skills Academy funding finishes at the end of September 2019. We need as much feedback from people as possible to help with funding applications and planning for a second round.
The online survey has been already sent by email to you on Friday 24 May 2019 – please complete it by Friday 14 June 2019
If you have not already completed it, we would really appreciate it if you would take the time to complete the ASA project evaluation survey – it will only take about 5 minutes.
Please email contact@adviceskillsacademy.org.uk and we will send you a link to the survey.
Congratulations To The Following
More learners who have completed their accredited training have received their certificates:
Cynthia from The Women’s Organisation for completing her ILM Level 3 Unit in Managing Workplace Projects and to Lucy for completing her ILM Level 3 Unit in Leading and Motivating a Team Effectively.
Agnes, Andy and Danny from Citizens Advice Knowsley for completing their ILM Level 3 Unit in Leading and Motivating a Team Effectively.
Greg from Citizens Advice Liverpool for completing his ILM Level 3 Unit in Leading and Motivating a Team Effectively.
We’ve joined the Digital Champions Network – which provides online learning and other resources to help and encourage people to become Digital Champions. You don’t need to be a whizz at IT – the Digital Champions project is just a great way of developing your mentoring skills, as well as supporting people at work who lack skills and confidence in IT.
So far we’ve got 20 Digital Champions signed up, and between them they’ve completed 141 short online courses including things like:
- Digital Champions Essentials
- Using your role to help get people online
- Using government services online
- Helping someone with an accessibility need: working with people with learning difficulties and/or learning disabilities
So far the Digital Champions have supported 10 people through 12 support sessions.
There’s still time to sign up, so if you’re interested in joining the ASA Digital Champions project then email us at contact@adviceskillsacademy.org.uk
1 to 7 June is Volunteers Week. At advice giving organisations we all know the great work that dedicated teams of volunteers do to help advise and support people.
But if you’re a paid worker – have you ever thought about volunteering for an organisation?
Volunteering works best when you get involved in an organisation that does work that you’re passionate about – but even if you only occasionally volunteer, there are still real benefits for you.
Volunteering is now recognised as having a direct impact on health and wellbeing – for the volunteer – as it can help to reduce isolation, and boost your mood by feeling that you’re ‘giving something back’.
The Mental Health Foundation has produced a short, easy-to-read booklet – Doing Good Does You Good – which outlines some ways you can improve your wellbeing by doing good – including looking at Volunteering, Mentoring, Doing something for a good cause, and Random acts of kindness.
Mindfulness and meditation are great ways to help take a breather from our busy and stressed lives – but you don’t have to have 30 minutes to sit and do meditation. Some mindfulness exercises can be done in a few minutes – at work, at your desk, or on the bus.
There’s a simple mindful breathing exercise you can do at your desk, or in your staff room on your break, or why not try the Mindful Appreciation, and just identify 5 things during your day that normally go unappreciated.