Month: February 2019

Village Halls and Community Venue 2019 Conference a Great Success

Posted on by Julie

We ran our 2nd Tees Valley Village Halls and Community Venue Conference at Middleton St George Community Centre, Darlington on 24th January 2019 to celebrate #VillageHallsWeek.

We are proud to support the volunteers running community buildings in the Tees Valley. Without their dedication, skill and expertise these facilities would close down and be lost forever.

On the day of the conference we celebrated the diversity of these community buildings, shared experiences from those involved ‘on the ground’ and applauded the volunteers at the heart of these local enterprises.  We provided a range of speakers, networking opportunities along with a hot buffet provided by Cafe Create, Age UK North Yorkshire and Darlington.

Don’t miss out, keep the date for next year 23rd January 2020 free in your calendar.  Thanks to all our partners and valued speakers who gave great insight and made it a very informative day.

Hall Mark Success – Congratulations Ingleby Barwick Village Hall

Posted on by Julie

Congratulations goes to Ingleby Barwick Village Hall, Rita Lawson, Chief Executive, TVRA and Martyn Ingram, Norris and Fisher Insurance Brokers Ltd  presented Pauline Stainthorpe, John Myers, and Tim Wilson from Ingleby Barwick Village Hall their well deserved Hallmark Level 1 and Level 2 certificates at our annual conference. It is always encouraging to be able to recognise the hard work and dedication of all those involved.  Not least a big thank you to the Peer Visitors Hugh Jackson and Brian Wake from the Tees Valley Halls Network.

Hallmark Accreditation – Could this be Your Hall?

What is it?

Hallmark is a nationally recognised quality assurance scheme designed for community buildings.  It aims to:

  • support, establish and reward good practice
  • encourage improvement in established customs and procedures
  • obtain recognition from other bodies for the standard of management of community buildings

How Hallmark works:

Any village or community hall is eligible to apply for a Hallmark award. Hallmark uses a system of trained peer visitors who use standardised check sheets to assess performance and provide an external validation of achievement. The peer visitor is overseen by the Village Hall Adviser from TVRA.

There are three Hallmark levels:

  • Hallmark Level 1- Focuses on the management and administration of the hall.
  • Hallmark Level 2- Health, safety, security and licensing.
  • Hallmark Level 3- Requires the hall to have a community and social awareness, with forward planning and communication being key.

Hallmark awards last for three years and need to renewed after that time.

Hallmark is a good health-check of your hall and your governing documents. We can help you prepare for your peer visits by providing advice and information on every step along the way.

How much does this cost?
At the moment TVRA is able to provide this service free of charge.  A review is currently taking place and a small administration fee may need to be introduced.