Minutes of the VSS Health and Wellbeing Committee
Wednesday 12 February 2025
VSS Board Room, In-person
HWB Committee Members Present:
Sandra Horley (SH) VSS Board Member & Committee Chair
Catriona MacArthur (CMcA) VSS Board Member
VSS Officers in Attendance
Tara Lewsley (TL) VSS Head of Learning and Growth
Karen Morgan (KM) VSS Health and Wellbeing Case Manager
Deirdre Scullion (DS) VSS Health & Wellbeing Case Manager
Carol Carmichael (CC) VSS Community Partnership Manager.
Nicola Nugent (NN) VSS Head of Health and Wellbeing
Rosalyn Jones (RJ) VSS Human Resources Manager
Ciara Boyle (CB) VSS Health & Wellbeing Case Manager
Diksha Balodia (DB) VSS Business Support Officer (minutes)
A Apologies
None.
B Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of the previous HWB Committee meeting held on 29th November 2024 were agreed.
C Action Points
TL provided an update on the outstanding action points, noting all have been completed, in workplans or are on track for completion
D Clinical Governance (Verbal update NN)
The Child Safeguarding policy is currently under review and will be updated to incorporate a trauma-informed approach. The Clinical Governance framework and policy for Reporting Serious Adverse Incidents are also due for review. The updated policies will be ready for review by Health and Wellbeing Committee at the May 2025 meeting.
Client Risk Reporting – no safeguarding incidents were reported. No individuals were added to the unacceptable behaviours list.
CC further added that the Serious Adverse Incident training is currently being scoped with Community and Voluntary partners. No issues regarding clinical governance were identified or reported from partners.
NN advised the bi-annual review of Health & Wellbeing Policies within the funded organisations will take place in 2026.
E Training and Development
CC advised a 3-strand workforce development training programme was being developed for VSS staff to address the needs in the following areas:
1. PEACE PLUS training programmes.
2. Training for existing staff would be completed.
3. Needs analysis review of training needs across the sector would be undertaken to identify and address the emerging needs of the sector.
NN advised that the VSS Trauma I and II training should be included on the list of mandatory training modules in addition to the comprehensive 4-day training course with WAVE. Further, 2 VSS staff members would receive higher-level training to deliver training to other trainers, with the aim of sharing their expertise across the sector. CC advised that VSS are maintaining a catalogue of training available across the sector to enable better knowledge sharing following the completion of the needs analysis exercise.
Quality Mark Conference
KM shared updates from the conference and advised that it had been a great networking opportunity to display the VSS’s strengths and expertise as a sectoral leader. NN acknowledged KM and the team for their efforts in making the conference a success for VSS and the recent award.
NN presented the Trauma Informed Update, advising of progress against the various Action Points from previous Committee session. Updates are noted in the Action Points tracker. Some discussion followed around the various points discussed, and the following key points were noted:
- Trauma I and Trauma II training is on track to be completed for all VSS staff by March 2025, following the successful recruitment of new staff members over the last few months.
- VSS achievement of the silver level accreditation as a Trauma-Informed organisation was noted.
- NN advised that a Service-User Engagement Policy is currently under development to highlight the methods by which VSS engage and obtain feedback from service users and ensure their views are incorporated into the design and delivery of services. Furthermore, NN advised that an Inclusivity and Diversity Policy is currently being developed by the VSS HR Manager.
- Discussion followed about trauma-informed strategies and how they are being developed within the sector. VSS is currently developing a plan for sharing expertise with other organisations across the sector who wish to obtain a Trauma-Informed Quality Mark.
F Strategic Service Delivery Updates
F1 T/c (to include RTN, TPDPS and PEACEPLUS)
CC shared updates regarding T/c Community Partnerships. There has been ongoing engagement with service delivery partners to identify the best methods for service delivery going forward. A meeting will be held with partners in early March to discuss the new service delivery models following the completion of the co-design process.
PEACEPLUS
A new complement of VSS staff is in place under the PEACE PLUS programme and are working to build relationships with partners in this sector to understand the implications for partners from the introduction of the new JEM system by SEUPB.
HIA
NN shared updates.
HIA services are due their first 5-yearly service review. Terms of Reference are awaited from the TEO. Feedback about HIA services will be crucial in identifying the needs for improvement within HIA services. VSS to meet and discuss with COSICA.
The HIA Redress Board have begun their closure process. The application deadline is April 2, and efforts are focussed around completing as many Redress applications as possible within the deadline, resulting in a slow-down in services in other areas.
MBMLW
CB shared updates.
Work has been ongoing with the independent panel, and a Northern Ireland wide leaflet drop is planned to encourage victims and survivors to come forward and share their testimonies of lived experience. The panel will signpost them to VSS, and support services will be delivered in collaboration with WAVE.
Steering Group: WAVE and Adopt NI have formalized their partnership agreement for the delivery of MBMLW support services. A single point of assessment was decided upon to minimize re-traumatization of victims and survivors, and appropriate services can be provided following a single consultation. A follow-up meeting is due for March 25 to seek further updates.
Public Consultation: TEO have published the responses to its recent public consultation. It was noted that some aspects of the response could be challenging to read for some victims and survivors, pertaining to points around the nature of the public inquiry, and who should be included or excluded as a victim and survivor under MBMLW programme. It is expected that the parameters for the definition of victims and survivors under the MBMLW programme could prove contentious, with the potential for some victims and survivors currently being supported finding themselves ineligible in the future. VSS continue to raise this concern with the Truth Recovery Programme.
HCCA
NN shared updates following the meeting with the chair of the HCCA (Historical Childhood Clerical Abuse). The terms of Reference have now been finalised, and a lead researcher has been appointed to for the project.
Questions around why VSS does not provide support to HCCA victims and survivors was addressed citing the difference in approach between the VSS and HCCA in the support services they deliver to their clients - VSS provides a holistic suite of support service packages to the clients it supports, which goes beyond the listening ear services under the HCCA Terms of Reference.
It was noted that there are 3 streams of research under HCCA –
1. Safeguarding provisions for victims and survivors
2. Involvement of faith-based organizations
3. Historical role of schools
There is a call for a public inquiry into the role of Schools in the context of Historical Childhood Clerical Abuse, which could potentially have a significant impact on the sector in the future. Notably, there may be overlap between the victims and survivors of Schools, MBMLW and HCCA, based on the number of people who came forward to seek support following the leaflet drops for MBMLW.
G Review of needs-based service delivery
The Committee noted the Monitoring & Evaluation reports from the quarter, previously discussed at the Board meeting.
H Employee Wellbeing
RJ shared an update on the employee wellbeing activities in the quarter.
Following the successful recruitment cycle and the growth in the size of the organization, employee wellbeing is a key focal point at the minute. The efforts of the Employee Wellbeing group were acknowledged and appreciated.
Some of the staff wellbeing measures at VSS were noted as below:
- A full complement of 55 staff is now in place, which is a recent significant increase in the total number of staff members at VSS. As such, there is now a real opportunity to strengthen the employee wellbeing activity in a more strategic and integrated way
o Inspire counselling and external supervision is now available to all VSS staff.
o The employee induction and onboarding processes have been updated and streamlined with a well-defined checklist, and a plan describing the roles of HR and line managers.
o The importance of support across all levels of the organizational hierarchy in developing an inclusive and supportive organizational culture was noted by the committee.
- A new e-learning module relating to diversity and inclusion is due to be rolled out for all VSS staff.
An anonymous Employee Engagement Survey is currently being drafted to gauge the organizational position in terms of staff engagement and belonging. This will provide a benchmark against which future engagement levels are measured and will help to inform future HR/ SMT initiatives and actions to ensure employees are engaged and motivated, and to help mitigate the possibility of experiencing burnout or vicarious trauma.
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J Health and Wellbeing Committee Work Plan
The Workplan was noted for later discussion.
K AOB
A closed discussion followed between Senior Manager and member of the VSS Board.
Date of Next Meeting
The next VSS Health and Wellbeing Committee meeting is scheduled to take place on 22 May 2025 Via MS Teams.