Health and wellbeing

The Lowry has invested in a wellbeing service to provide mental health support for its 650 staff.

The Manchester venue has signed up for a wellbeing streaming service provided by Frog Systems to give staff access to expert videos, podcasts, films and digital resources around wellbeing as well as a directory of support organisations in the UK.

The Lowry said the streaming service will sit alongside an in-house counselling service and an employee engagement platform to "provide an holistic package of freely available support that staff and volunteers".

“It’s so important we continue to do all we can to support the mental health and wellbeing of our staff and volunteers,” said Julia Fawcett, CEO of The Lowry.

Phil Worms, CEO of Frog Systems, said: “It’s been a tough time for the arts in general in recent years and The Lowry has not been immune.

"We are delighted to support the staff and volunteers who are in turn helping The Lowry to brighten the lives of so many others in the wider community.”

Two music programmes designed to provide support to people with dementia and their carers have been launched by The National Academy For Social Prescribing (NASP).

The £5m Power Of Music Fund has been established to distribute small grants to grassroots dementia choirs and music groups, with support from organisations including Utley Foundation, Arts Council England and Music For All.

Applications for the fund open on 22 November 22, providing money to cover basic costs, including room hire, transport and refreshments. 

One grant of £500k will be available for a new Centre of Excellence, which will test new approaches to embedding music as part of dementia care, gather evidence of cost savings for the NHS, and design new models of care which could be scaled up and spread across England.  

Already active is the Music Can website, which aims to help people living with dementia, carers and practitioners feel confident about using music as part of care, offering a directory of support, playlists, music activities and advice.

The platform builds on recommendations from last year’s Power of Music report and has been led by Universal Music UK and developed by Boston Consulting Group.

Speaking about the launch, Charlotte Osborn-Forde, CEO at NASP, said: “Music can be a lifeline for people living with dementia and their carers, creating moments of joy and connection when so much else is hard to cope with. 

“It is the perfect example of social prescribing and something that can have long-lasting impact on people’s wellbeing and take pressure off the NHS. 

“But dementia choirs and local projects often find it hard to keep going from one month to the next, and they are rarely well connected to wider healthcare services, meaning lots of people miss out on the benefits." 

“We want to help make music a standard part of dementia care – with doctors, link workers, and others offering music-based activities and referring people to the Music Can platform.”
 

Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) has announced funding for 22 arts organisations across the country to deliver a series of community-based arts projects benefitting older people. 

The funding, which totals £169,994, is part of the National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme, an initiative funded by The National Lottery and Public Health Agency, which aims to tackle loneliness as well as promote positive mental health and well-being among older people through engagement with the arts.

Lorraine Calderwood, Community Arts Development Officer at the ACNI, said: "Research has proven that taking part in arts activities can raise self-esteem, confidence and motivation, as well as aid in relieving stress. 

"The National Lottery Arts and Older People Programme is committed to providing meaningful opportunities for older people to take part in arts activities, enriching their lives for the better. 

"The arts have a vital role to play in helping our older people find their voice, bring people together and promote positive physical and mental health.”

The vast majority of libraries across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are prepared to offer people a place to keep warm during the winter months, a survey has found.

The Guardian reports that research conducted by Libraries Connected found that 93% of the 57 libraries they contacted were prepared to offer free, heated spaces for visitors as part of a warm spaces scheme. 

Among those libraries offering warm spaces, 79% expect demand to be higher or about the same as last year, with no libraries expecting demand to be lower.

Arts Marketing Association (AMA) is trialling a four-day working week.

The trial, which began yesterday (2 October) and will run until the end of March 2024, will see the remote working organisation adopt a standardised Monday to Thursday, while retaining flexibility for staff to adjust their working pattern and days accordingly.

Full time AMA staff members will reduce their hours from 40 to 32 per week during the trail, with no reduction in salary.

The announcement sees the organisation become the latest in the cultural sector to adopt the working pattern, following in the footsteps of organisations such as Flatpack Festival and 64 Million Artists.

AMA Head of Operations and Events, Danielle Patrick, said equity was a big factor in the move.

“Typically, women take on more unpaid work outside of their paid working hours. At the AMA, we have a majority female team, so this helps to redress that balance," Patrick said.

"It gives staff more free time for leisure, supports those with children or other caring responsibilities, and benefits those with long-term health conditions.

“We’d like to thank Flatpack Festival for being so generous in sharing their experiences with us, and 64 Million Artists for being a source of inspiration.”

The Arts Council of Wales (ACW) has announced the reopening of its lottery-backed Arts, Health and Wellbeing Fund.

From the autumn, the fund will have a new focus. It will prioritise projects which aim to improve people’s health and wellbeing by connecting them with nature.

Partnerships between arts, health and nature organisations are encouraged to apply through the Creative Nature Programme, a collaboration between ACW and Nature Resources Wales.

“I am particularly happy to see this opportunity for the environment, health and cultural sectors to collaborate on projects that improve people’s wellbeing,” said Joe Roberts, a Lead Specialist Advisor at Natural Resources Wales.

“This truly embodies Wales’s unique approach to partnership working and we will learn a lot from the projects that come forward.”

Partnership bids from across the arts, health, social care, nature, environmental and third sectors are invited, as long as the proposed project includes a focus on nature and wellbeing, physical wellbeing, staff wellbeing in the health and arts workforces or tackling mental health and health inequalities.

Grants are for between £500 and £50,000, depending on the stage of the project. Applications are open until 20 September.