RRAVS | Rayleigh and Rochford District Association for Voluntary Service

Healthy Family Relationships Small Grants

admin — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:32:08 +0000

As part of Essex County Council’s ongoing commitment to supporting families, the Healthy Family Relationships (HFR) Grants Programme is now open for applications. This initiative offers funding to community organisations that have completed training in Healthy Family Relationships (HFR), Non-Violent Resistance (NVR), or Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC). Funding will support the delivery of local activities that help families build stronger, healthier relationships and reduce family conflict.

Community Grant B
• Up to £2,833.83 per eligible organisation
• For newly trained organisations, emerging providers or organisations wishing to test innovative approaches
• Delivery must be provided over a minimum 6-week period
All funded activity must be completed and all grant funding spent by 31 March 2027.

Healthy Family Relationships Small Grants – Now Open
Are you a community organisation passionate about helping families thrive? Essex County Council is offering funding to support local projects that promote healthier family relationships and reduce conflict within families.
If your team has completed training in Healthy Family Relationships (HFR), Non-Violent Resistance (NVR), or Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC), you may be eligible to apply.

Funding can support:
• Healthy Family Relationships (HFR), Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) and Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) programmes
• Workshops or discussion groups that strengthen communication and reduce conflict
• Peer support groups that build connection and reduce isolation
• 1:1 support to help families embed positive relationship strategies into daily life

What are HFR, NFR and RPC
HFR: Training that helps families build stronger, healthier relationships through early intervention and whole-family approaches.
NVR: A parenting approach that promotes non-violent communication, connection, and parental presence to manage challenging behaviour. RPC: Training that supports parents to recognise and reduce conflict within parental relationships and understand the impact of conflict on children and young people. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the programme period.

Application
Applications submitted by the 15th of each month will be reviewed, and applicants will normally be notified of the outcome within approximately one week. Full details of the funding criteria and application process can be found in the Healthy Family Relationship Grant Prospectus and Application Form.

For further information regarding eligibility or the application process, please contact: HealthyFamilyRelationshipsCommissioning@essex.gov.uk

Application Deadlines
Friday 14^th August, 2026
Tuesday 15^th September, 2026
Thursday 15^th October, 2026
Friday 13^th November, 2026
Tuesday 15^th December, 2026
Friday 15^th January, 2027

Please email HealthyFamilyRelationshipscommissioning@essex.gov.uk to request an application pack

Telling Your Story

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 14:12:08 +0000

Telling Your Story workshop to map pathways from activities to impact, identify assumptions, and align outcomes with strategic goals.
Every local organisation has a story to tell. This practical programme will help you explain yours clearly, confidently and in a way that funders, partners and supporters can understand.
The programme is designed for small charities, community groups, faith groups, volunteer-led organisations, and emerging local projects. No previous experience of evaluation, impact reporting or Telling Your Story is needed.
You will learn how to explain:

what need your organisation is responding to
who benefits from your work
what difference you make
how you can evidence that difference
how to use your impact story in funding bids, reports and planning

The programme includes two half-day workshops and a short piece of work between sessions. Participants must be able to commit to the full programme.

Workshop 1: Thursday 15 October, 9:30am–1:00pm
In-person session introducing practical tools including Telling Your Story, logic chains and evaluation frameworks. You will use clear examples and simple templates to start mapping your organisation’s impact.

Between sessions
You will draft or refine an organisation-level Telling Your Story or Logic model and a project-level model, with light-touch feedback to help strengthen your thinking.

Workshop 2: Thursday 19 November, 10:00am-2:00pm
An online practical review and implementation session to improve your draft models and show how they can support funding applications, funder reports, project planning and conversations with trustees, partners and stakeholders.
By the end of the programme, you will have greater confidence in telling your organisation’s story, clearer language to describe your impact, and practical tools you can keep using.

Please note: A £10 deposit is required to secure your place and will be fully refunded upon attendance, details will be emailed seperately. Please register on both dates. Once your place has been secured, a questionnaire will be sent to you for completion before attendance.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1993133959326?aff=oddtdtcreator

Woodland Trust MOREwoods Scheme

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 14:05:13 +0000

The MOREwoods scheme funds up to 75% of costs (trees, protection, and expert site advice) for self-planted projects, or up to 60% if using a Woodland Trust contractor for areas over 1 hectare.
Eligibility
Landowners & Tenants across the UK (tenants require landowner permission or a 10-year+ lease).
Project Scale: Minimum 0.5 hectares planted with at least 500 trees (density of 1,000–1,600 trees/ha). Can be split into smaller blocks (min 0.1ha each).
Exclusions: Excludes restocking existing woodland or recently felled areas.

Key Dates & Timeline
Applications: Open year-round.
Processing: Takes 2–8 weeks for initial review, plus 4–12+ months for site visits and planning.
Tree Delivery: Executed during the UK planting season (November to March).

Holiday Activity & Food Programme

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:52:53 +0000

The Essex ActivAte summer programme provides a wide range of free and low-cost holiday activities for children and young people across Rochford and Castle Point, helping them stay active, healthy and engaged throughout the school summer holidays. Funded through the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme and delivered by Active Essex in partnership with local providers, the initiative supports young people’s physical, mental and social wellbeing while school is out.

The programme offers a diverse mix of sports, creative workshops, enrichment activities and food education sessions. Young people can take part in activities such as football, multi-sports, swimming, performing arts, outdoor games, arts and crafts, sensory play and team-building challenges. Alongside these activities, participants receive a nutritious meal, helping to ensure that children have access to healthy food during the holidays.

Essex ActivAte primarily supports children who receive income-related Free School Meals, while additional places may be available for young people from low-income working families or those who may be vulnerable to inactivity or social isolation. By providing safe, supportive and engaging environments, the programme helps reduce barriers to participation and gives families valuable support during the long summer holidays.

Download details of the activities below.

Council Agrees Next Steps for Mill Hall and Freight House

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:48:03 +0000

Rochford District Council has outlined immediate plans for two key local community venues following a recent committee meeting:

Mill Hall Arts & Events Centre: The Council will continue managing the venue directly for now, focusing on cutting costs, boosting income, and exploring long-term operational partnerships.
Freight House: A two-month extension has been granted to explore a potential Community Asset Transfer with Rochford Town Council and hold deeper discussions with two leading external operators.

Dedicated task groups have been set up to oversee both projects and report back within two months. Residents are also invited to share their thoughts on local services and assets via the upcoming Council Budget Survey opening this month.

Healthy Family Relationships Grants Programme 2026–27 – Applications Now Open

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:45:52 +0000

As part of Essex County Council’s ongoing commitment to supporting families, the Healthy Family Relationships (HFR) Grants Programme is now open for applications.

This initiative offers funding to community organisations that have completed training in Healthy Family Relationships (HFR), Non-Violent Resistance (NVR), or Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC). Funding will support the delivery of local activities that help families build stronger, healthier relationships and reduce family conflict.

Funding is available through two grant programmes:
Community Grant A
• Up to £12,000 per eligible organisation
• For established organisations with a proven track record of delivering Healthy Family Relationship interventions
• Delivery must be provided over a minimum 6-month period
Community Grant B
• Up to £2,833.83 per eligible organisation
• For newly trained organisations, emerging providers or organisations wishing to test innovative approaches
• Delivery must be provided over a minimum 6-week period

All funded activity must be completed and all grant funding spent by 31 March 2027.

Healthy Family Relationships Small Grants – Now Open
Are you a community organisation passionate about helping families thrive? Essex County Council is offering funding to support local projects that promote healthier family relationships and reduce conflict within families. If your team has completed training in Healthy Family Relationships (HFR), Non-Violent Resistance (NVR), or Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC), you may be eligible to apply.

What are HFR, NFR and RPC
HFR: Training that helps families build stronger, healthier relationships through early intervention and whole-family approaches. NVR: A parenting approach that promotes non-violent communication, connection, and parental presence to manage challenging behaviour.
RPC: Training that supports parents to recognise and reduce conflict within parental relationships and understand the impact of conflict on children and young people.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the programme period. Applications submitted by the 15th of each month will be reviewed, and applicants will normally be notified of the outcome within approximately one week. Full details of the funding criteria and application process can be found in the Healthy Family Relationship Grant Prospectus and Application Form.

For further information regarding eligibility or the application process, please contact: HealthyFamilyRelationshipsCommissioning@essex.gov.uk

Application Deadlines
Friday 14^th August, 2026
Tuesday 15^th September, 2026
Thursday 15^th October, 2026
Friday 13^th November, 2026
Tuesday 15^th December, 2026
Friday 15^th January, 2027

Going to University or College? Protect Yourself Against MenB!

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:10:37 +0000

MenB disease causes life-threatening meningitis and septicaemia. To stay safe before term starts, eligible young people need two doses of the MenB vaccine. Don’t wait—NHS Essex has set up local pharmacy vaccination points across Mid, North East, South, South West, and West Essex.
Find out if you’re eligible and book your appointment at a pharmacy near you: https://www.essex.icb.nhs.uk/news/protect-yourself-against-menb-before-university/

Making It Count Steering Group

admin — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 13:31:36 +0000

Creative Lives are inviting people to join the Making It Count Steering Group, a project run by Essex County Council and the University of Essex.
The project aims to develop a practical toolkit to help community organisations, charities, commissioners, and public health teams understand and show the difference their work makes.
We would like to hear from Organisations (e.g. community groups, food banks, or wellbeing activities) that support health and well-being within the community in Essex.

There are several different ways to get involved, including:
• Steering group
• Focus groups
• Workshops
• Testing

If you are interested, please take a look at the attached PDF (below) for more information about the project.

Emergency First Aid at Work – 4 November

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:55:24 +0000

Emergency First Aid at Work – Wednesday 4 November 2026 – 9am – 4pm
We are running another Emergency First Aid At Work sessions on Wednesday 29th July 2026 to be held in the Cloister Room, The Parish Centre, Rectory Garth, Rayleigh, SS6 8BB, from 9am until 4pm with a break for lunch (not included), tea, coffee and water will be available.
This course covers the role of the first aider, CPR, use of a defibrillator, choking, caring for an unconscious person, shock, seizures, bleeding, burns, scalds etc. It is all classroom based and is equivalent to a level 2 qualification. You will receive a certificate at the end of the course. First come, first served. Price is £50.00 per delegate, non refundable however the name of the delegate can be changed.

Please email for further information or alternatively click on the date below to book a space. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/emergency-first-aid-at-work-tickets-1991691097688

Rayleigh Inclusive Dementia Community

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:23:08 +0000

RRAVS is proud to support the Rayleigh Inclusive Dementia Community an Alzheimer’s Society accredited initiative for those living with dementia and their carers. The initiative is supported by local councillor Elizabeth Brewer and colleagues who have been working closely with the national charity to promote a wide range of local resources. From coffee mornings and social activities, to church services, exercise sessions, specialist holidays, transport and even music and singing, there is something for everyone. Many opportunities are supported by our district’s amazing dedicated volunteers.
A full resource list may be downloaded below, please share this information and feel free to contact us should you need any further information.

Friends and Memories Café (at Trinity Church)
A warm, understanding space offers a safe, judgment-free environment for individuals living with dementia and their carers. Connect with others walking a similar path, Share experiences and helpful resources, Relax with refreshments and friendly conversation. Download the full list of dates below. Free car parking available – Contact Elizabeth Brewer for more details cllrelizabeth.brewer@rayleightowncouncil.gov.uk Telephone: 07368 657397.

Dementia Devices – Tap your phone to get them home
Are you worried about a loved one with Alzheimer’s or Dementia wandering? If your loved one is a Rochford District resident and has
been diagnosed with a form of dementia, you are entitled to claim your free Dementia Buddy device. For more information and to claim please email info@rravs.org.uk or telephone 01268 772796. Download more information below.

If you need any further information about any of these resources please contact us info@rravs.org.uk or telephone 01268 772796.