Over the last year, the Democratic Finance team has been exploring the community bond landscape in Scotland and across the UK. We knew of a handful of examples of community bonds (a type of debt security issued by community groups) in Scotland, and we knew that they were being used extensively in community renewables in England on platforms such as Ethex, but we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of what community bonds looked like in practice, what they were used for and who was using them. This will help us develop the Democratic Finance Scotland programme and ensure that we understand the demand for this type of finance in Scotland and how we can best support groups access it, if there is indeed demand.

We’re publishing two documents today:

• A brief summary report looking at what community bonds are, who can issue them, and a high level summary of our findings on what community bonds look like across the UK and in Scotland,
• A full report for those of you who like to dig a little deeper into the data.

This research has highlighted some areas that we’d like to explore further. We can see that the use of community bonds in Scotland has been quite limited to date in comparison to England – we have some hunches about why that is but more research could open this up further. We would like to compare this type of finance to commercial and social investment, as well as community shares to understand why people choose to use this type of finance as well as/instead of others, and in what circumstances. This will help us understand when we could suggest this to groups we’re working with as we explore their democratic finance options.

 

We can also see that there’s a need to raise awareness about this type of finance in Scotland as part of a suite of democratic finance options, and discuss whether this is a type of finance that groups would be interested in, and could see the use for alongside options more commonly used in Scotland such as community shares or social investment. That’s why we’re planning to run a session for DTAS members and clients of the DF programme in September to present this research in a bit more depth, with a discussion about whether groups can see the application of this type of finance to situations they’ve faced historically or projects they are currently developing.

 

Look out for more information on this session on the DTAS Eventbrite and we’ll send a reminder out nearer the time. In the meantime, enjoy the reports and fire over any questions to laura@dtascot.org.uk

 

Last week I did work experience at Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS).   During my time I attended the Scottish Towns Partnership summer session in Stirling with DTAS CEO Pauline Smith and I wanted to write some of my reflections and how it relates to the social media ban for under 16s and AI.

“My generation never really experienced thriving town centres as places to meet friends and spend time and we have online to buy things at the touch of a button….If we are serious about helping young people spend less time online, we also need to rebuild the places where real life happens.”

Read more here  If You Want Us Offline, Give Us Somewhere to Go

A Week in the Life of Amy: How Development Trusts Look After Their Staff

Most small charities and development trusts are stretched. Limited budget. Big ambitions. Small teams doing massive work. When you’re in survival mode, it’s easy to ignore something important: looking after your own people.

But here’s the thing. If your staff are burned out and unhappy, everything else falls apart. Your work suffers. Your impact shrinks. People leave.

That’s why DTAS has a Wellbeing and Learning Officer. Amy does that job. She works with development trusts across Scotland on their wellbeing and culture challenges. She also works on DTAS’s own internal wellbeing, equity and diversity, and developing resources that help the sector. It’s all mixed together—some days member-focused, some days internal, some days both.

We asked her to walk through a typical week. Here’s what she does.

Monday: Understanding What’s Actually Happening

Amy’s back from holiday. First thing—she doesn’t dive into emails. Instead, she sits down and plans her whole month. What matters most? Where should she focus?

The morning goes into analysing DTAS’s staff survey. This is real work. People have answered questions about their jobs, their stress levels, whether they feel supported. There’s loads of detail in the responses.

It takes a few weeks to go through properly, Amy explains. There’s so much useful information, and we want to make sure we don’t miss anything.

If you don’t ask your staff how they’re doing, you won’t know they’re drowning. The survey tells DTAS what’s working and what isn’t.

Tuesday: Turning Numbers Into Decisions

Tuesday is about getting the survey report ready. Raw numbers are just numbers. The People, Wellbeing and EDI meeting is on Thursday—that’s where the real conversation happens.

Amy writes the report. She pulls out what matters. She explains what it all means in a way that makes sense. By Thursday, Amy and the Head of Central Support Services, Kay, will read it and talk about what DTAS should actually do about it.

Those recommendations then go to the Senior Staff Team, who decide what DTAS commits to.

She’s also working on DTAS’s Annual Review—the report we share with members. It shows what we’ve done, what we’ve learned, where we need to focus next. This stuff matters even if nobody’s watching.

Wednesday: Making Sure Everyone’s on the Same Page

Wednesday is meetings and coordination. One thing stands out: planning the relaunch of Come Dine with DTAS.

This is just staff getting together for a meal, outside of work meetings. Sounds simple. But it matters. When people connect informally, teams get stronger. People feel less alone. The whole organisation feels better.

Culture doesn’t happen by accident, Amy says. You have to actually create the space for it.

She also attends the Central Support Services (CSS) weekly team meeting. The internal wellbeing part of her role is relevant to that team, so she’s there to hear what they’re working on and how it connects to the wider organisation. It’s about making sure everyone working on different parts of the organisation—member support, central services, wellbeing—is talking to each other. That Amy isn’t working in a bubble. That the efforts join up.

Thursday: In the Office

Thursday, Amy’s in the office. Deliberately. Working from home is fine most of the time. But sometimes you need to be in the same room as people.

She has a team meeting with Member Support colleagues spread across Scotland—some in the office, some joining in remotely. It’s a hybrid meeting where people share what they’ve been working on with members. What challenges they’re seeing. How things are moving forward.

One-to-one with Errin, Head of Member Support. Real conversation about where Amy’s role is going. What DTAS should focus on next.

In the afternoon, Amy and Kay plan the year ahead. They look at what worked last year. They look at what the staff survey says. They decide what to focus on. The table gets covered in post-it notes—ideas, priorities, themes. It’s messy and visual and it works. There’s something motivating about it, Amy says. About seeing everything laid out. About making decisions together. About knowing that what you’re doing actually matters and will shape how the organisation moves forward.

This is invisible work. No one sees it. But it’s where real change happens.

Friday: Talking to Other Organisations

Friday’s about the Funders Plus Forum. That’s a group of funders and support organisations that work together to understand what is happening for grantees across Scotland’s third sector.

This quarter they’re asking: do charities struggle with staff wellbeing? And if they do, what could the sector do together about it?

Amy’s preparing for that conversation. She’s got data. She’s got evidence. She’s ready to say: yes, this is a real problem. Here’s what we’re seeing.

What Amy’s Week Shows

If you just skim Amy’s calendar, it looks like meetings and reports. But there’s something underneath.

She listens to what DTAS staff are telling her through the survey. She takes that information to the People, Wellbeing and EDI meeting on Thursday, where actions are suggested. She makes sure different parts of the organisation are talking to each other. She feeds what she’s learning into bigger conversations with other funders.

That’s what looking after your organisation actually looks like.

Most development trusts know they should care about their staff. But many don’t know how to start. They don’t have data. They don’t have a plan. They’re not sure if their problems are unique or if other organisations struggle the same way.

That’s where DTAS comes in.

Why This Actually Matters

This is obvious but easy to forget: if your staff are exhausted and unhappy, your work gets worse. Your impact shrinks. People leave. You have to start over again with new people.

The evidence is clear. Organisations with happy, supported staff do better. They keep people longer. The work is better quality.

Yet most development trusts treat wellbeing like a nice extra. A wellness app. A team away day. Not as something central to how they run.

Real wellbeing isn’t like that. It means asking your staff how they’re doing. Listening to what they tell you. Making changes based on what you hear. Doing it consistently, not just once.

Three Things Amy’s Week Shows

1. Ask before you fix. Amy spends weeks going through the survey properly because you need to understand what’s actually happening before you decide what to do. Guessing doesn’t work.
2. Leadership has to be on board. If the people at the top don’t care, nothing changes. The meetings and planning sessions Amy does are about making sure leaders understand the problem and commit to solving it.
3. Culture needs real investment. Things like Come Dine with DTAS aren’t fluffy extras. They’re how people connect. They’re how organisations get stronger. But they don’t happen by themselves. Someone has to make them happen.

How to Start

If you work in a development trust and you’re thinking about this, here’s what matters:

Ask your staff how they’re doing. Really ask. Listen to what they say. Make at least one change based on what you hear. Keep doing it.

Get your leadership team in a room. Talk about what matters to you. Make actual decisions about how you’ll look after your people.

Create space for connection. Informal stuff. Not more meetings.

That’s it. You don’t need a massive budget. You need intention and consistency.

Ready to Build Better Organisational Wellbeing?

If this resonates with you—if you know your development trust needs to focus on staff wellbeing and culture but you’re not sure where to start—DTAS is here to help.

Our Member Support team works directly with development trusts across Scotland. We can help you understand where your organisation stands, develop a realistic plan, and support you through the change.

Whether you’re already a DTAS member looking to deepen your engagement with our wellbeing work, or you’re interested in becoming a member and accessing our full range of support services, we’re here.

Learn more about DTAS Member Support | Find out about DTAS membership

 

Infrastructure that works for Scottish communities

The Scottish Government’s new Infrastructure Investment Plan (2027–2036) and the supporting Needs Assessment are setting the direction for how Scotland invests over the next decade.  We recently responded to the consultation Draft Infrastructure Strategy 2027-2037 – Scottish Government consultations – Citizen Space

There’s a lot to welcome in both documents including a long-term approach and  importantly, a recognition that infrastructure investment needs to be more place-based.

But, community-led infrastructure is not being recognised strongly enough.

Across Scotland, development trusts and community enterprises are already delivering the outcomes the strategy is aiming for. Communities are:

• Repurposing public buildings
• Delivering affordable housing
• Developing renewable energy projects
• Managing land and local assets
• Creating local economic activity

In our consultation response, we made the point that communities should not just be seen as consultees, but as delivery partners, asset owners and long-term stewards of place.  A genuine place-based approach has to put community leadership and ownership at its centre.

We also challenged the continued focus on “driving economic growth” as a central outcome.  Instead, we suggested approaches rooted in community wealth building, wellbeing and inclusive local economies because that’s what many of our members are delivering every day.

The upcoming Live Needs Assessment process is a real opportunity to do things differently and we will actively promote this with our members going forward. Community organisations are often the ones identifying local need, filling service gaps and finding practical solutions.  That knowledge and experience needs to shape infrastructure planning from the start and ongoing over the 30 years that this needs assessment is live.

If Scotland is serious about resilient places, net zero and long-term stewardship, then communities need to be recognised as core infrastructure partners.

At DTAS, we look forward to continuing that conversation and ensuring community-led enterprise is part of Scotland’s infrastructure future.

Read our full response here  Response final

Looking Ahead by Pauline Smith, DTAS CEO

This review is not about judging manifestos, it is about setting out, clearly what communities across Scotland say they need in order to flourish and where those needs intersect with the current political debate.

What stands out is that community‑led development is no longer marginal and the language of place, participation, fairness and transition runs through many party manifestos.  That matters and it reflects the progress and drive of communities over many years.

What matters just as much is what happens next.

The experience of development trusts shows that communities succeed when they are trusted with responsibility, backed with long‑term support, and given real control over assets and decisions.  Where those conditions exist, communities deliver whether that is housing, vital social services, climate action, local enterprise or cultural or economic renewal.

DTAS is ready to work with the next Scottish Government and our focus is practical and embedded in the needs of the communities we work with.  Getting the systems right so community‑led action is viable in every part of Scotland, not just in spite of the odds or through necessity but because grassroots community-led action and delivery works.

The DTAS manifesto sets out that offer clearly and it is grounded in what communities are already doing and in what they are ready to do next.  With the right partnership between communities and government, Scotland can build an approach that is local, democratic, sustainable and fair – not as an aspiration, but as the best way to do things.

 

Read our full review here – Party Manifesto review Apr26 v2

Spring 2026

Hello and welcome to the Spring Edition of our newsletter. This year’s conference is filling up fast!

Join us for another year of knowledge sharing, networking, workshops and study visits, on 1st-2nd September, at Glasgow Caledonian University.

In lieu of a conference dinner, this year we’re excited to invite delegates to an evening reception with drinks and canapés. Hosted at the conference venue, this is included as part of your conference ticket. We look forward to seeing you there!

Full details and online booking

New Resource – Operational Plan Toolkit

We’re pleased to announce this brand-new resource! Available to DTAS Full and Provisional Members, our new Operational Plan Toolkit supports your Development Trust turn your vision into practical actions.

This toolkit is designed to help bridge the gap between “what we want to achieve” and “how we’re going to achieve it”. It guides you through creating a clear operational plan that everyone in your organisation can understand, follow, and feel confident about delivering.

To find out more contact your Member Support Advisor.

 

Do you have meeting or coworking space that has underused capacity?

Connected Hubs Scotland provides a free platform to promote community-based coworking and meeting spaces. It aims to:

• connect the operators of independent hubs across Scotland,
• enable mutual support and collaboration,
• increase the marketing of each space, whilst reducing the administrative burden.

To find out more and get included on the online map on the website, get in touch with polly@dtascot.org.uk.

Learning and Networking

Upcoming online events

Two upcoming webinars for Provisional and Full DTAS:
– Making the most of your DTAS Membership, 29 April, 10am-Noon
– Governance Essentials, 5 May, 10.30am-Noon

And for DTAS Members plus any community group managing a community facility, check out our Facilities Management Webinar Series:
– Facilities Management Risk Assessments: A How-To Guide, 28 April 10-11am
– Facilities Management Training 2026 – Two-day accredited training programme
– 8 & 15 May SOLD OUT – Join wait list
– 28 Aug & 4 Sept SOLD OUT – Join wait list
– 13 & 19 Nov SOLD OUT – Join wait list
– Facilities Management Day to Day: What You Need to Know, 26 May 10-11am
– Facilities Management Health & Safety Compliance, 30 June, 10-11am
– Facilities Management Operational Budgets, 28 July, 10-11am
– Facilities Management Fire Safety, 25 August, 10-11am

Follow the DTAS Eventbrite page to ensure you don’t miss out on more events being added in the new year!

Regional Gatherings

Supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, our first Regional Gatherings of the year brought together over 30 people from Development Trusts  across Perthshire, Stirling, Dundee and Angus. Thank you to the amazing Comrie Development Trust for hosting and showing us around their Cultybraggan Camp, and to Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust‘s Development Officer, Steve, for his presentation on their “whole town approach”.

DTAS Member Support Advisor, Chris Sanderson, commented: “ BRDT is a great example of a community-led organisation working to make their town stand out and be noticed and we very much appreciated Steve’s insight gained from more than a decade of experience volunteering and working in the sector.

Development trusts, like so many other community organisations, face challenges both on a day-to-day and a more strategic level and it was really valuable to hear how BRDT faces these challenges and discuss possible solutions.”

 

Our next Regional Gathering is in the Scottish Borders, hosted by Burnfoot Community Hub in Hawick on Wednesday 6th May. All DTAS Members and aspiring Development Trusts welcome!

Sign up for our next Regional Gathering

And follow us on our Eventbrite page to hear about Regional Gatherings being planned in Fife and East Ayrshire.

Community Ownership

New Route Map to Community Ownership

The Community Ownership Support Service New Futures programme has produced a Churches Route Map to Community Ownership. This tailored resource guides community groups through the process of purchasing a Church of Scotland owned building.

Churches Route Map to Community Ownership

Crowdfunding guide for community groups

Together with Democratic Finance Scotland the New Futures Programme have also launched a new Crowdfunding resource for community-based groups in Scotland who are considering taking ownership of a former place of worship.

The resource explains to communities their options, obligations and opportunities regarding crowdfunding.

Although it has Church groups in mind, this resource is useful for any community group looking to undertake a Crowdfunder.

Crowdfunder Guide

Democratic Finance

A Decade of Community Shares

Over the past decade, DTAS’s dedicated community shares programme has supported 70 community share offers, raising over £21 million from 21,468 investor members.

From wee community shops pivoting to linchpins during the pandemic to pioneering community energy projects – we’ve been constantly inspired by these resilient community businesses, run by folk with generous spirits and creative minds.

We’re celebrating the success of this unique form of democratic finance in a new report: ‘A Decade of Community Shares in Scotland’ – packed with juicy data and inspiring case studies.

And you can get in touch via info@democraticfinance.scot to explore community shares and other democratic finance tools!

Research and Policy

Democracy and democratic governance are common themes of our policy work recently.

We launched the DTAS community-led manifesto at the end of last year for all influencers and changemakers who want to see communities empowered to shape their own futures. And we’re currently pouring over all manifestos to see where political parties show their commitment to stronger local communities.

From initial readings we’re pleased to see that some parties have responded to our call to action for a fair energy deal, as part of the Scottish Community Coalition on Energy (SCCE).

In terms of Local Democratic Reform the Scottish Government has just released its Democracy Matters Route Map towards potential new community governance arrangements. DTAS continues to work with the Scottish Government to inform and progress next steps.

For over 10 years, DTAS has been at the forefront of conversations about local democratic reform in Scotland—making the case that communities should have more say, more control and more power over the decisions that affect them.

From community asset ownership to participatory approaches and community-led governance, development trusts have been showing what meaningful local democracy looks like in practice, not just in theory.

Local economic democracy is another area key area where DTAS has an important voice. Our CEO, Pauline Smith explains,

“At DTAS we’ve always believed that communities should have the power to shape their own economic future. That’s why we’re proud to be part of the new Inclusive Democratic Business Models (IDBM) Alliance Scotland, chaired by Neil McInroy

This alliance is about connecting democratic control at the community level with wider economic systems, so that power, ownership, and wealth are shared more fairly across Scotland. DTAS is there to make sure the voice and experience of development trusts and the communities behind them are part of shaping this important agenda.”

Find out more from Pauline here

Winter 2025

Foreword

by Pauline Smith, Chief Executive

Hello all, and welcome to the Winter Edition of our newsletter,

As we near the end of 2025, I’d like to take the opportunity to ponder on the past, present and future here at DTAS.

Looking back, the past (busy!) year has been about continued growth, resilience and impact. DTAS has supported communities across all corners of Scotland through challenging times, but also exciting times of growth and development. Our 2024/25 Annual Review shares how our work developed over the last 12 months.

A key development for us this year has been the creating and launch of the Resilience and Recovery Programme. Launched in October, the programme combines tailored support, training and grants of up to £100,000, providing a clear pathway for participating organisations to build long-term resilience. This programme is open only for DTAS full and provisional members.

And looking to next year and beyond, this week we launched the DTAS Community-led manifesto. This is for all who want to see communities empowered to shape their own futures.

Based around five pillars for change, it sets out practical, systemic reforms and actions that can be embraced by any political party or government committed to stronger communities and a healthy and wealthy Scotland:

1. A sustainable and supportive environment for communities
2. Developing local democracy
3. An inclusive, sustainable, wellbeing economy
4. Land reform and community ownership
5. A just transition and climate action

Read our manifesto here

The Workplace Wellbeing Support Service is open for referrals!

Available to all Provisional and Full DTAS Members – Whether you’re looking for tailored resources, engagement sessions with your team or just general support our Wellbeing & Inclusion Coordinator, Amy, can help.  If you’d like to start focusing on your staff wellbeing, scan the QR code or email Amy directly on amy@dtascot.org.uk.

 

Stronger Starts funding for projects supporting children and young people – Apply Now!

Tesco Stronger Starts  funds thousands of local community projects across the UK to support children and young people with a stronger start in life to apply. A wide range of projects fit the bill – improving school playgrounds, growing and food projects, outdoor play and purchasing kit for healthy activities. A current priority is projects with a food element (e.g. providing a healthy snack or lunch).

The scheme provides grants of up to £1500.

Applications are needed now, particularly for projects in Scottish towns and villages.

Visit Tesco Stronger Starts Grants | Greenspace Scotland to find out more or to apply.

Learning and Networking

Upcoming events

Follow the DTAS Eventbrite page to ensure you don’t miss out on more events being added in the new year!

The importance of peer learning

Thank you to all this year’s four Regional Gathering hosts – Arrochar and Tarbet Community Development Trust, Roystonhill Community Hub,  Huntly Development Trust, and Castle Douglas Development Forum – for sharing your learning with so many DTAS Members and aspiring Development Trusts.

Look out for our 2026 Regional Gatherings, which we’re planning in Perthshire, Scottish Borders, Fife and East Ayrshire.

Democratic Finance

Brig Inn pub

The Brig Inn Pub & Hub Ltd recently launched their Crowdfunder to raise £30,000 to enable the purchase of their village pub. The money raise will boost a grant the group have received towards the purchase from the Scottish Land Fund. Find out more!

Fountainbridge Canal Community Development Trust

In more Crowdfunding news, Fountainbridge Canal CDT in Edinburgh have recently launched their crowdfunder to raise the final funds needed to replace the iconic Lochrin Belle with an electric barge, which is expected to save 1.7 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. Watch their Crowdfunder video to learn more about them transforming their community canal boats to electric!

Edinburgh Community Solar Co-operative

Edinburgh Community Solar Co-operative are celebrating 10 years of generating clean, community-owned electricity in the city: and they are getting ready for their next major solar project.

Launching in January, Edinburgh Community Solar‘s share offer is seeking to raise £1.5 million to establish solar panels on 15 sites across the city including schools, community hubs, and leisure centres. Stay tuned for this exciting offer going live!

Community Energy Launchpad

On the Tuesday 13^th January, The Democratic Finance team is hosting an information session for DTAS members, DF & COSS clients on the newly launched Community Energy Launchpad.

The Launchpad is a programme of support delivered with Community Energy Scotland. It provides early stage support to communities interested in learning about community energy and exploring the options available. Register for the free event here

Democratic Finance Support

The Democratic Finance team offers groups a range of support around:

• community share offers
• community bond offers
• Local legacy campaigns
• Crowdfunding

We are also exploring one-off community lottery campaigns. If you’d like to be part of our working group please get in touch – info@democraticfinance.scot

Research and Policy

Community Wealth Building PhD

A PhD research project is underway at Glasgow Caledonian University in collaboration with DTAS. It is investigating CWB’s development, implementation and impact, with a particular focus on the role of community organisations.

Complete this short survey as part of this research and be entered into a Prize Draw! You do not need to be familiar with CWB to take part. Survey takes 5 minutes.

Your responses will contribute to the development of DTAS support services and advocacy as the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill progresses through parliament.

Complete Survey and enter Prize Draw

Community Right to Buy Review

Over the summer there was a consultation on community rights to buy which DTAS and many of our members responded to. The Scottish Government’s Community Right to Buy consultation analysis is now published and is informing their ongoing review of community rights to buy.

Summary of key findings:

• Combining the existing rights to buy: Respondents were asked for their views on merging the three compulsory rights and opinions were divided on this. Specifically, 36% supported a merger, 29% were opposed and 27% were unsure. Respondents’ hesitation focussed on which of the rights would be merged, especially in relation to crofting.
• Community body structures: Respondents were asked for views on the proposition that the residence and voting eligibility requirement be reduced to anything over 50% of the community. Sixty percent supported this proposal, citing difficulties in securing participation, especially in urban and remote areas
• Petitions and ballots: Most respondents supported reduction in some levels of community support and turnout. Whilst majority agreed that votes against should be considered to ensure fairness. However, opinions varied on implementation, with support for adaptable thresholds based on community size and type
• Late applications:  Mixed views on this, including support levels, compliance, business plans, and sale prohibitions
• Third-party purchasers: Respondents were generally supportive of allowing third-party purchasers under compulsory rights with a strong emphasis on safeguards
• Option agreements: Majority favoured public registers of option agreements. Broad support for community applications to remain valid if options are not exercised. Plus support for restricting the types of option agreements that impact on community right to buy, but legal concerns were also noted
• Appeals: Majority  supported extending the appeal period, with suggestions ranging from 28 days to 6 months, to allow for informed decisions
• Registration Period: Fifty-seven percent of respondents favoured extending the registration period for registrations under Part 2 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 from the current five-year period. A large number favoured increasing from 5 to 10 years, with some suggesting simplifications could be made for renewals if it was not extended.

Published responses to the Scottish Government Community Right to Buy Consultation Review are here.

Member Offer

90% off Xero for 6 Months

DTAS members can claim an exclusive discount on Xero accounting software via our special link.

Please note: Xero is just one option — we encourage members to do their own research to ensure it meets your needs.

Claim Your Xero Discount

And finally – Lost and Found!

Have you lost a beautiful pen?

We’ve recently discovered a Montblanc pen in our office pen box – we suspect it may have been left behind at the DTAS Conference or during one of our workshops. It’s a lovely pen and we’re sure its owner is missing it! If you think it might be yours, please get in touch and describe it – we’d be delighted to reunite you with it.

It’s October 10^th and World Mental Health Day!

At DTAS, workplace wellbeing is imperative to our culture and the way we work. We’ve spent almost 4 years developing our understanding of the needs of our staff and how we can support them to provide an effective service for our members.

We recognise that looking after your wellbeing at work can feel really difficult at times, especially working in the third sector with the world everchanging. This World Mental Health Day, we wanted to learn from our staff and share their stories with the intention of inspiring others to take steps to look after their wellbeing at work.

So, we asked our staff the following questions:

• Do you have specific techniques for keeping yourself well at work?
• Do you support your colleagues with their wellbeing in a specific way?

Here are some of the great stories we received:

It’s so inspiring to hear that staff are supported by one-another and feel confident and comfortable to implement techniques that best suit their needs.

 

Our Wellbeing & Inclusion Coordinator, Amy, is always keen to hear stories from others on how they look after their wellbeing at work. So whether you’re a DTAS member or not, get in touch and tell Amy your tips and techniques at amy@dtascot.org.uk.

 

So, what else are we doing this autumn and winter to get us through those cold and dark months. A couple of key things to highlight are:

• We’ve reintroduced the DTAS Move Club. This is a way for us to make the most of the daylight as the nights get darker! There are two ways to get involved in this:
  • Once a week, some of us head off for a leisurely lunch time walk from the office to chat and hopefully enjoy some sunshine.
  • For those not in the office, they can share a story time/photo of their move club activity wherever they are based into our internal messaging system. We’ve received some beautiful sunny photos of the Highlands in the past!

• We are continuing to run our internal Wellbeing Focus Group and EDI Group.
  • These are staff led initiatives where we facilitate a safe space to come together and talk about important topics that we think DTAS could focus on.

• We are creating specific wellbeing focused resources, such as our formal Wellbeing Induction. This resource is useful for new staff members but is also a valuable tool for existing staff as it collates everything workplace wellbeing related into one easy read, visual document.

 

Don’t forget that we have our Workplace Wellbeing Support Service!

Facilitated by our Wellbeing & Inclusion Coordinator, Amy, the service provides tailored support to DTAS members and is available to development trusts that would like to focus on promoting the positive wellbeing of their staff team.

If you are a DTAS member and this is something you think you could benefit from, please visit our website for more information – Member Support – DTAS