What do you know about CAS Quality Standards? If you are reading this as a Voluntary, Community, Faith or Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisation in Suffolk I am sure you are juggling a hundred competing priorities, diligently ensuring that your service users get the best outcomes and that all of your stakeholders are happy. The thought of adding something else to your to do list is probably the last thing you want to hear.
It is for this reason that taking part in a Quality Standard accreditation may seem a reach too far, after all combing through policies and procedures doesn’t sound the most exciting way to start your day, we get it!
But hear us out if we could show you that taking part in the Quality Standard would provide you with a wealth of future opportunities from funding, improved trusted relationships to service user safety would you think again?
We wanted to ask those who have taken part in the accreditation process if it was really worth it, so we sat down with Liz Jenkins CEO of Alumah. Alumah are a community-based charity in West Suffolk who work with individuals of all genders and aged 7 years upwards, they work closely with partner agencies to support and educate victims and survivors who have experienced relationship abuse.
“I see my story as a story of hope and it’s coming from that place where I didn’t know if I was going to wake up in the morning, I didn’t know whether I was going to be killed that day, I didn’t know if I’d see my children again” The words of a survivor of relationship abuse.
What struck us during this conversation was the passion, dedication and knowledge that Liz had about the issue of relationship abuse and the role Alumah plays supporting families as a whole. The quote above from a survivor of relationship abuse goes to the center of why this charity exists but what Liz also conveyed to us was the ripple effect relationship abuse has on families and communities at large. It really does take a village to combat these issues which is why Liz and her team work in the community including schools.
Alumah are a busy, local charity working directly with vulnerable people in crisis situations so why did they decide to allocate some of their valuable time taking part in this accreditation process? We asked Liz to tell us what difference the accreditation has made to her, this is what she had to say.
“We do believe we had literally saved this person’s life because the threat was so great”
Perhaps the most important concern of any charity is ensuring the safety of those they work with from staff, volunteers and service users. The CAS Quality Standard has a large focus on safeguarding. Policies and procedures are carefully reviewed to ensure they are effective and relevant. Liz bought this to life by telling us of a time when a safeguarding issue arose whilst she was unavailable. The staff member involved knew exactly where to find the safeguarding policy and procedure and was aware of what actions needed to be taken as a result of going through the accreditation process. This allowed the staff member to act quickly and it is believed the results of this fast action saved a persons life!
The CAS quality Standard ensure that these policies are more than ornamental but an effective tool to ensure that action can be taken quickly. This not only brings confidence to Staff and Trustees but also to funders, external colleagues and most importantly service users. Liz explained, “I think when people can put their policies, procedures into that perspective of it’s what we do to keep people safe, it’s what we do to keep ourselves safe, it’s what we do to give our organisation a chance to be sustainable”
Trust and safety are two themes that come out regularly as benefits of those who have taken part in the accreditation process. Trusted relationships are key to the success of all VCFSE groups. From the funders who need to trust you are compliant, from the staff who need to know you will consider their wellbeing and the external partners you co-produce work with. Our Quality Standard will show others that you have given time and energy to ensuring your organisation is safe and robust.
The service user will trust you if they feel safe and sometimes just seeing that accreditation certificate hanging on the wall helps with this, Liz explains, “We moved rooms recently, we made sure our certificate was on the wall these simple things don’t just help us with funding, it helps the client feel safe too. They know that they are in safe hands when they walk into the building”
Funding as you may expect is also one of the main reasons VCFSE leaders take part in our Quality Standards. It can often be hard for smaller charities to compete with larger organisations, one way to show that you are a ‘safe bet’ when it comes to funding is to hold our accreditation.
We asked Liz if the accreditation had helped her funding applications, “Actually I’m just completing a grant application form at the moment and they’ve asked if we have got any quality marks and I’m able to say YES!’ Liz explained that it really adds weight to the application “that we’ve got all our governance in line and that they know that we’ve been evaluated by a big organisation. It is important for us to know that we are in line with what the county are wanting around safeguarding specifically as that’s the main thing we do”.
So what of the process, is it really as bad as you imagine, here is what Liz had to say, “if someone gave you a blank sheet of paper and said write down everything you think you need, you’re only ever going to come up with what you already know. Whereas actually, if someone else gives you a big sheet of paper with lots of points to address, even if you go why do I need that or I don’t need that? It makes you think and go, well, actually, yes, I do need it”
What many say to us is that this process really gives them the space to spend time thinking about the big issues within their organisation. Not only does it give you time but you also have the support of our team to walk you through the process and help you answer any questions you have.
If you have been thinking about taking part in the CAS Quality Standard why not get in touch with us today email [email protected], you can find out more here.
You can find out more about the amazing work of Alumah here www.alumah.co.uk/
