If you missed the opportunity of the sold out Scottish Men’s Sheds Association national online conference on the 21st January 2021 you can now enjoy an edited version of the first half of the conference.
Big thanks for all the Sheds input, Tim Green (Age Scotland Men’s Shed Development Officer), Dr Dani Kelly (Glasgow Caledonian University), Maurice Corrie (Cross party Armed Forces & Veterans Chairman and MSP) and our SMSA Trustees.
Listen to how the Sheds have fared over the last 10 months of the Pandemic, our new Emergency Shed Funding, the ground breaking Pathfindr safe distancing assistant now available through the SMSA for free to all Scottish Men’s Shed members and lastly the latest status of the SMSA Reopening Shed Guidance.
Men’s Shed Govan is organising a series of free, live, online discussions with Scottish authors exclusively for Shedders in Scotland!
Their first author is Glasgow’s award-winning, multi-million selling, crime fiction writer – Chris Brookmyre. Chris will be talking about his new book “The Cut”.
The first event will take place on Wednesday 10th March 2021 at 7-8pm on Zoom and is FREE TO ATTEND.
REGISTER FOR THE EVENT
REGISTER FOR YOUR PLACE TODAY. Register early to avoid disappointment as spaces are limited. You will then be sent the Zoom link and any joining instructions.
HAVE A QUESTION FOR CHRIS?
The last 20 minutes of the evening are open to audience members asking questions directly to Chris. If you have a question for Chris, please email it to greg@fredfertang.co.uk. It cannot be guaranteed that everyone will get to ask their question but they aim to get through as many as possible.
Men’s Shed Govan is excited to be joining fellow Shedders from all over Scotland and look forward to meeting you all online!
Today (Thursday 18th February 2021) at 5.05pm, The Scottish Parliament debated on the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement during Members’ Business led by Maurice Corry MSP alongside four-minute speeches from Kenneth Gibson MSP, Rona McKay MSP, Stuart McMillan MSP and Christine Grahame MSP.
The debate is in reference to the ‘Scotland’s Men’s Sheds Movement’ motion (S5M-23991) lodged by Maurice Corry MSP on the 27th January 2021.
During the course of the pandemic, many Men’s Sheds adopted new ways of conducting meetings by carrying these out virtually. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is advising that the governing documents of some charities do not allow for this online approach and therefore must be updated.
On the 30th September 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Meetings of Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 made legal provision to enable ‘virtual’ methods whether or not governing documents permit this. These temporary provisions were extended until the 30th March 2021.
OSCR is advising charities that this is likely to be the last extension to these provisions. Therefore, it is vital that Sheds make sure they are ‘future-proofed’ in terms of being able to conduct meetings virtually by allowing for them in governance documentation.
SMSA’s Shed-specific Constitution template
SMSA has worked with OSCR to revise its Shed-specific Constitution templates available to Sheds across Scotland:
Generic – Men’s Shed Template Constitution – Available in the SMSA Resource Library (member log-in required) under Open Sheds and Shed Development.
Ownership – SCIO Community Asset Transfer building ‘Ownership’ Constitution – Available in the SMSA Resource Library (member log-in required) under Open Sheds and Shed Development.
The changes advised by OSCR were to include the wording ‘in person and virtual’ into four different places. The above templates have been updated to reflect these recommendations.
These documents are in an editable format for your benefit and are not to be changed in any other way than adding your personal Shed charity criteria for OSCR submission. If you have adopted our SMSA/OSCR approved Shed constitution you MUST update it to this format to remain operational and legal after the March grace period. Sheds then need to notify OSCR, send the Regulator a copy of the revised constitution and ideally, the Resolution (e.g. Minute of the Board passing of the change).
If your Shed requires support, please contact Jason Schroeder, SMSA Executive Officer at ceo@scottishmsa.org.uk or call 07397382533.
SMSA is delighted to present Edition 19 (February 2021) of The Scottish Shedder to our members and supporters.
Inside this issue:
SHED IN THE SPOTLIGHTA PERSONAL STORYSHED LIFEFUNDING SUCCESSSHED PROJECTS
SHED IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Garnock Valley Men’s Shed David Gardner, Vice-Chair of GVMS, shares their Shed’s journey and the news that their transfer of ownership and a 25-year lease was secured just before Christmas
A PERSONAL JOURNEY: Richard Potts of Paisley Men’s Shed Richard Potts shares a personal snapshot of his community garden design and construction projects since joining the Shed in the summer of 2019
SHED LIFE: Kirkmuirhill and Blackwood Shedders take to the great outdoors Members of Kirkmuirhill and Blackwood Men’s Shed receive the breath of fresh air they needed to plant 420 trees from the Woodlands Trust in their local community – allowing them to progress with an outdoor project, exercise and reconnect socially
SHED LIFE: Construction well under way at Inverurie & District Men’s Shed’s Horticultural Centre Members of the Inverurie & District Men’s Shed began the big dig to prepare the ground at their new allotment site at Souterford after receiving a wealth of support for the project from funders, local companies and individuals
FUNDING SUCCESS: Alford and District Men’s Shed receives green cash boosts Alford and District Men’s Shed has received several cash boosts aimed at tackling climate change and boosting Scotland’s green recovery from the pandemic. Their recent application to the Community Climate Asset Fund will now enable them to get electric bikes and trailers to move further with their low carbon project in their community
SHED PROJECTS: Pentlands Men’s Shed When SMSA got wind of teepees and buses being created by a Scottish Shed, we just had to get in touch to find out more! Pentlands Men’s Shed has been taking time in lockdown to pursue some local community projects with a difference
Any much more…
What do you think of The Scottish Shedder?
SMSA is keen to hear what you think of the publication and has created an online survey to gauge your thoughts and opinions. Your feedback is appreciated to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our readership.
In lockdown, the SMSA is still advising all Sheds to remain closed—until further guidance is issued from The Scottish Government. The Association has taken this time to consult with its Shed members and partner organisations on its reopening guidance that it has been working on for several months.
The guidance (containing a 16-page document, risk assessment, new member registration form, shed visit rota, track and trace form and a cleaning checklist) provides advice and examples only for Men’s Sheds in Scotland on steps and safety measures in relation to Covid-19 to follow to safely reopen their doors again when the time is right.
SMSA wishes to thank everyone that took the time to respond to the consultation including our Shed members, Healthy Working Lives, Public Health Scotland, Age Scotland and the Scottish Government. SMSA is now currently collating all of the feedback received and will revise the document accordingly.
This guidance is by no means definitive and is something that will be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis over time.
Recently policy has focused on the role of community-based organisations and the ways that they are tackling local health issues, such as social isolation and loneliness.
Men’s Sheds have been recognised for the health and wellbeing impacts they have on those who use them, therefore, questions have been raised over their ability to become deliverers of formal healthcare to ‘hard to reach’ men in communities.
With this in mind, a study was conducted with Sheds in Scotland to identify challenges to Shed sustainability and development that may affect their ability to deliver formal healthcare.
Findings showed that a reliance on ageing and retired volunteers to undertake operational tasks and generate income to fund activities affected the ability of Sheds to sustain and develop.
Shed members also did not wish their Sheds to become formal healthcare deliverers, preferring to keep their activities informal and flexible to fit with the needs of their members.
In conclusion, although Sheds are recognised for their health and wellbeing benefits to men, policymakers must recognise that formalising their activities might detract from the Shed’s primary aims. Therefore, there must be a consideration of tensions that exist in placing expectations of Sheds to expand their remit and formalise into service delivery.
SMSA’s ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year 2020’ winner, The Inverclyde Shed, has featured in the Comic Relief: Red Nose Day 2021 national campaign for the first time.
The Scottish Men’s Shed movement continues to grow daily and two things are always guaranteed in a Men’s Shed… a cup of tea and a belly laugh! It’s the glue which binds the men together.
It’s simple to make a safe donation to support the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) using your credit or debit card, PayPal, a CAF Charity Account or CAF Charitable Trust.
When you make a donation, your name and address will be passed onto SMSA (unless you choose to remain anonymous). Keeping your identity to yourself is easy – simply tick the ‘Donate anonymously’ box when you select your donation amount.
Thank you for supporting the SMSA to save the Sheds and ultimately, save lives!
The SMSA has been trialing the Pathfindr Safe Distancing Assistants in ten Scottish Men’s Sheds – made possible with funding from its partnership with the Scottish Community Alliance. Due to the success of this trial, the Association has now received full supported funding from The Scottish Government to roll this out to other interested Sheds across Scotland.
Moffat Men’s Shed demonstrates Pathfindr devices
Check out Moffat Men’s Shed’s video demonstrating the Pathfindr Safe Distancing Assistants in action at their workshop.
The clip (filmed before the second lockdown) shows this simple piece of kit – available for free to SMSA Shed Members – being used to assist with training and awareness of social distancing.
The device which can be worn around the neck or clipped on to clothing emits a short audible or vibrating alert when another wearer is detected within 2 metres, advising both wearers to check and increase their distance.
The range can be changed from its pre-configured 2m, as a result of revisions to the legislation. This effective piece of technology has no complicated set up, no software to install and no training.
If your Shed would like to request some devices from the SMSA for use when lockdown measures ease, please complete this short online form.
