//Rotherham Council has been delivering against the commitments in its Housing Strategy for 2019-22, now the Housing Strategy is being refreshed to set out the key priorities for 2022-25, and Rotherham Council are asking for your help in shaping this.
Please complete the electronic survey by 21st January 2022.
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//Full time, permanent | Salary: £36,274 + 6% pension contribution
Responsible to: Chief Executive Officer
RotherFed is looking for an organised, motivated and community-focused Project Manager to lead Changemakers, our 3-year National Lottery funded community-led environmental sustainability project.
This exciting role will support communities to take practical climate action, reduce energy costs, improve living conditions and strengthen residents’ voices on climate issues. You will manage a small delivery team, work closely with local partners and help develop a scalable model for resident-led environmental action.
About the role
We’re looking for someone who has
If you are passionate about supporting communities, tackling inequality and helping residents take action on climate and energy issues, we would love to hear from you.
How to Apply
For further details and to request an application pack, please contact: Sarah Fletcher on 07538 625113 or email sarah.fletcher@rotherfed.org
Key dates
Closing date for applications: 7th September at 10am
Interviews will be held on: 8th September
//Full-time, permanent | 37 hours per week | Salary: £26,363 | Based across Rotherham
RotherFed is looking for a motivated and community-focused Community Engagement Officer to support residents across Rotherham to take part in Changemakers, a three-year community-led environmental sustainability project funded by the National Lottery.
This is an exciting opportunity to work alongside residents, community groups, volunteers and partners to support practical climate action, reduce energy costs, improve local environments and help people have a stronger voice on climate issues affecting their communities.
About the role
We’re looking for someone who has
If you are passionate about supporting communities, tackling inequality and helping people take practical action on climate and energy issues, we would love to hear from you.
How to Apply
For further details and to request an application pack, please contact: Sarah Fletcher on 07538 625113 or email sarah.fletcher@rotherfed.org
Key dates
Closing date for applications: 7th September at 10am
Interviews will be held on: 8th September
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//Thanks to National Lottery players, Rotherham Federation of Communities has received more than £285,000 of life-changing funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. The funding will be used to deliver an inspiring, community-led programme that supports and empowers local residents to design and award small and medium grants that aim to enhance local services, build skills and confidence, and strengthen community life across Maltby.
This has been awarded from The National Lottery Community Fund’s new “You Decide” programme – involving communities directly in decisions about funding good causes. You Decide is key to the funder’s efforts to put community power, agency, and control at the heart of its funding in England – supporting communities to live happier, healthier lives. This truly life-changing funding has been made possible by National Lottery players.
We will establish a local grants panel that gives community members the power to decide how funding is allocated. A tiered programme of small and medium grants will be introduced, providing accessible opportunities for local groups to apply for funding that strengthens their communities. This participatory approach will deliver improved outcomes for residents, foster a sense of local ownership, enhance community-led support, and build stronger connections and resilience across Maltby.
//By The Ripple Effect Team, Sam Dixon
“WOW Rotherham celebrates women, girls, trans and non-binary communities of Rotherham.”
Since 2022, the WOW (Women of the World) Rotherham festival has brought the community together to celebrate women, girls, trans, and non-binary people. Open to individuals from all walks of life, the festival focuses its celebrations on culture, community, and entrepreneurialism.
The vibrant weekend featured a diverse host of activities, events, talks, debates, and live entertainment.
To bring people together through creativity, the Rotherham Ripple Effect joined forces with the team from REMA (Rotherham Ethnic Minority Alliance) to provide interactive, accessible activities for all attendees. The collaborative space was buzzing with energy as visitors decorated cakes, crafted stick puppets, and painted suncatchers. A talented Henna artist also joined the team, sharing positive energy and good fortune through stunning, bespoke designs.
We had a world map displayed where people could come and put a pin in the map of where they were from. Rotherham Ripple Effect was introduced lightly; one particular lady was interested in listening to what the project is about and said it sounded like it was a very good project and was needed. She was asked if she wanted to be involved at some capacity and stay in the loop about the project to which she was not overly enthusiastic about so I gave her a leaflet and told she could reach out if she had any more questions about the project. It seems the people who show interest in the work we are doing are on a spectrum. There are people who tell us the project sounds brilliant yet still don’t really want to be involved or stay in the loop about it. They just like projects like this exist and it gives them some sort of peace. Overall, the festival was a true reflection of what Rotherham can achieve when the community pulls together. It served as a powerful reminder of how vital it is to stand together, celebrate diversity, and support women and the issues that affect them every single day.
//By The Energy Know How Team, Sharon Smith, Lynn Clarkson and Madiya Shokat
We met an attendee of the Rawmarsh foodbank. It was confirmed that there were also a partner and two young children living in the council property. The attendee has anxiety and depression. They pay for utility bills by direct debit and confirmed that at the moment they have debts, we discussed The Citizens Advice bureau (CAB) who may be able to assist. The attendee was happy to be referred to CAB at the foodbank. We discussed energy saving measures and Green Doctor services. The attendee confirmed that they have draughts from the windows and would like any help or advice with this. The attendee was happy for me to send her contact details to Green Doctors. We also discussed Rotherham Councils (RMBC) newly launched crisis scheme where Rotherham residents could get between £80 and £200, subject to criteria. The attendee consented to contact details been sent to RMBC crisis scheme team for contact.
Time was spent trying to get to know the attendee and the family circumstances as well as discussing energy and how they could save energy and money by adopting some measures discussed like not leaving electrical items on standby. The family have health struggles as well as financial and they were referred to Citizens Advice and RMBC Crisis scheme to offer further support.
//By The Ripple Effect Team, Sam Dixon
Mental health doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it impacts every layer of our daily lives, influencing how we think, feel, and connect with the world around us.
Mental health challenges can affect everything from physical wellness and sleep patterns to a persons’ ability to maintain employment, pursue education, and navigate daily life. The collective mental well-being of individuals in a community shapes the strength of it. When mental health needs go unmet, communities experience deeper social fragmentation, increased pressure on local healthcare and support services.
Around the national mental health week staff and volunteers from REMA and the Rotherham Ripple Effect supported community sessions to help individuals recognise how their community can support better mental health. These sessions also show another example of the things that bring us together rather than divide us.
Yoga session and coffee morning. – Yoga uses a combination of movement, controlled breathing and meditation that helps to promote better sleep and improve stress levels. This session concentrated on breathing and relaxation, showing participants techniques they can use in their everyday to re-focus and re-centre themselves.
Pilates session – Pilates is a form of exercise designed to engage with and improve core muscle tone, which helps improve posture, ease back and joint pain and boost flexibility. Alongside mindful breathwork this activity will help to reduce stress. The session covered exercises that could be replicated at home with firm reminders to never over stretch yourself beyond what is comfortable, and the importance of warming up and cooling down.
Walk with Ladies group – Ladies who attend Fridays toddler walk as well as other ladies from the community attended this walk. It was great to see the ladies bring along their toddlers in pushchairs and take part. The walk was full of life with everyone chatting away. It was a good way to interact with women and get to know them on a better basis. A Sudanese Lady Neelam spoke to was sharing her child’s love for biryani, a Pakistani Asian dish so we talked around this. She shared with Neelam her story about how her husband travelled by boat to this country and how she had to wait 12 days to receive news from of his safety. She explained how she didn’t know if he was dead or alive which is exactly the kind of heart touching stories we are looking for on Rotherham Ripple Effect project. I told her about our project and hinted at if she wanted to be involved in any way, maybe telling her story. She was ecstatic about wanting to share thing so I will keep that rapport with her and see how and if she can and wants to be involved and how to do this in the most comfortable way.
Rother Valley Country Park – Two trips were lucky enough to visit the local reserve at Rother Valley. But they had very very different experiences. The first group experienced temperatures of around 13 degrees and winds, it was “freezing”, whereas the second group had a lovely sunny day and no coats were required.
Engaging in these trips has given Neelam and Sam a chance to get to know the groups better as well as them getting to know us. This was successful with the Kashmiri women’s group as all the ladies were receptive to us and talked to us about many different things and we build rapport with multiple ladies who we hadn’t known before.
The first trip with the ladies’ group from the Unity Centre focused on a walk round the lakes for those that were able, shared food and a Tai Chi session that helped all attendees feel relaxed.
Unfortunately, the same level of rapport wasn’t quite possible with the Kurdish group although we got to know the leader of the group a little better which is good as she has a good connection with the group. The group seems very closed off and enjoy staying in their own bubble and celebrating their own culture. The language barriers also make it hard to talk to many of the ladies as they know very little English. It was still worth going as lots of ladies still saw us and will hopefully recognise our face in the future and know who we are when we put more events on.
We are learning from our experiences from this project that communities that come from historical backgrounds of prejudice and persecution have a harder time opening up to outsiders and view services with distrust. With these communities it is important that we recognise these facts, try to learn and understand the background, and spend time engaging with activity with no specific pressures.
//By The Energy Know How Team, Sharon Smith, Lynn Clarkson and Madiya Shokat
We first met Mr O in March 2026 at the social supermarket in Rotherham, where he previously volunteered and now attends because he cannot afford enough food.
During a general conversation about saving energy, he mentioned arrears on his British Gas account. We emailed him a link to the British Gas Energy Trust so he could apply for support. Later that day, Mr O replied asking for help to complete the application, which we agreed to provide. We then arranged a further meeting for the following week.
Mr O is a tenant of Rotherham Council and had always had prepayment meters for his energy, he limited his consumption to what he could afford whilst maintaining a debt repayment on his electricity. Back in December 2024 his gas meter was replaced with a new meter which he assumed would offer the same prepayment facility however although it appears from the photograph, to be a prepayment meter, it is not in prepayment mode, and his in-house display confirms this.
Mr O has attempted to get this sorted and made a few calls to British Gas. Mr O has several health issues including a disability which makes using the telephone very difficult for him and he cannot always get his message across clearly – his speech difficulties means that face to face contact is easier. He also has a hole in his heart and suffers from anxiety which is being exacerbated by his current situation.
As a result of the meter not being set up (and still not working) in prepayment mode, Mr O now has gas arrears of over £1200.00 which he cannot afford to pay.
He receives Universal Credit but gets no additional money for his health issues as he is considered fit enough to work. He receives less than £350 per month for his Universal Credit Allowance after rent and water – due to a court order and water arrears – are deducted from which to pay his energy bills, food and all other household expenditure.
He has had financial difficulties before but worked hard to clear these and had only water arrears and electric until this issue with his gas.
He is receiving phone calls almost every day about his outstanding balance and this is impacting on his anxiety. He has asked the operatives at British Gas to remove the gas supply to stop the calls, this cannot be an acceptable resolution.
We have undertaken the following actions to try and help improve Mr O’s situation: –
He has tried to switch to an alternative provider to get a prepayment meter that works so he can ration his usage to what he can afford – this switching request has been declined, and he cannot currently afford a repayment plan.
He is on the priority services register and has multiple health issues, and his health is deteriorating because of this situation.
Due to our support:
All that is left to sort is to request (again) that Mr O’s prepayment meter be put into prepayment mode to allow him to top up his gas going forward and to prevent this situation from arising again. British Gas have been emailed this request, and we are awaiting their response.
