NCVO review of mermaids

[Theeyeballsinthesky]

Mermaids brought in NCVO (national council of voluntary organisations) to do a review

I’ve only had a chance to scan quickly but there’s some really basic stuff that hasn’t been going on eg trustee job roles, trustee induction. that sort of stuff usually gets you chucked out at stage 1 with funders like the lottery. Clearly mermaids were subject to a different set of criteria than other charities

It also astonishingly says mermaids board has high skill levels in safeguarding and risk management 😳

https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/high-trustee-turnover-at-mermaids-has-weakened-confidence-says-ncvo-review.html

Wow. They claim to have high levels of safeguarding expertise despite the evidence that they appointed a trustee with an open interest in paedophilia and failed to spot an employee working with children who had an online display of images of his penis / genitals.

I'm not sure this tool involving extensive self evaluation is quite as rigorous as they all boast about?

Well I need a good laugh so if this report states that mermaids has any safeguarding let alone "mermaids board has high skill levels in safeguarding and risk management" then it should be a really good one

'trustee job roles, trustee induction.'

😶

Oh, I missed this:

https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/mermaids-chair-to-step-down-amid-hostile-external-environment.html

Belinda Bell is stepping down ...

And:

'Mermaids confirmed that it has decided not to appeal the First-tier Tribunal’s judgment in July
that dismissed its right to challenge the charitable status of the LGB
Alliance.'

'The charity said it hoped to appoint a new chair in the coming months.
The charity is currently without a permanent chief executive.'

In other news, rodent managers note that recruitment of on-board Rattus Rattus support animals for a new cruise ship, HMS Leaky Sieve, is proving 'challenging'.

Oh I missed that too @ArabeIIaScott

it does seem that the interim ceo is trying to bring a level of professionalism to the organisation but I’m furious at the amount of money thrown at them over the years when it was obvious they were a car crash! So much for funders carrying out due diligence when the charity has friends in high places

I'm curious to see if they can find another chief executive. I mean, who would want the job?

They may have high levels of skill in safeguarding but they choose not to use them

Lets see what the Charity Commission have to say. That will with any luck be the final nail in this shit show of a charity.

And you know how to reduce Trustee turnover? Stop appointing nonces.

Even the headline is misleading - "High trustee turnover at Mermaids has ‘weakened confidence"?
Really?
I'd have thought that the paedophile scandal, inappropriate behaviour by an employee, the previous data breaches and lack of safeguarding on their forums were far more responsible for the weakened confidence? But I suppose that's only if your priority is the safety & welfare of children as opposed to the demands of adults employees & trustees?

I would have thought that given the origins of Mermaids, ie a one woman crusade, and the level of criticism etc., that the first thing they should do is consider should they exist.

These Trustees without professional experience, but personal identity to the Mermaid project are justification for keeping it going.

It has never been established that it is qualified to give advice to other organisations etc., and if anything should just be what it is, a single issue campaign.

The egos of those who want to be associated with it because it has had a high profile aren't a justification to keep going. 12 Trustees? Typical NCVO with their top down corporate concepts.

And I think if Mermaids existed for any other issue that the trans agenda this is what NCVO would have said.

Seems they are struggling even to meet the recommended number of trustees.

Should have added not forgetting that the founder of the whole project has been pushed out as a liability and why would anyone think they should continue this as a legacy project to a woman who arranged for surgical procedues in another country.

Such is the power of the trans agenda that nobody, not even the nit picking are you valid NCVO thinks it could say that.

But have done to many other groups.

The same Belinda Bell who came out with this gem at the Mermaids v LGB Alliance case:

‘I’m not sure that people come out of the womb with a sex’

Absolute state of her, good riddance.

Totally agree @IwantToRetire NCVO would be far more robust and have been with other organisations

To be fair to the NCVO - they have identified the major problem of Mermaids appointing activists who are so "subjective" about this issue that they have difficulty in controlling themselves in a manner that befits being a trustee of a children's charity:
"Ultimately having trustees who are personally invested is of huge benefit to Mermaids as an organisation, and that investment should not be compromised in favour of objectivity. Mermaids should instead look to support trustees in balancing their personal opinions and experiences with the wider needs of the organisation. It is also important that trustees feel able to challenge each other and the organisation without this being perceived as subjective".

The report very helpfully recommends an article to read: "How to control your emotions during a difficult conversation" with techniques to put emotions into context.

So they did spot one of the elephants in the room - just as Cass did at GIDs. The negative impact of out of control trans activists pushing their personal ideology / demands at the expense of others.

'The report very helpfully recommends an article to read: "How to control your emotions during a difficult conversation" with techniques to put emotions into context.'

😶

Do we know when the outcome of the Charity Commission review will be issued?

I bet the Board meetings were a thing of joy 😆 SG plus a bunch of emotionally over invested trustees lacking in objectivity. They should have sold tickets!

I read somewhere that before SG got involved it was actually a really helpful organisation where they assumed that most gender non confirming kids wouldn’t be trans when they grew up.

Sarah Vibert (she/her) joined NCVO in 2020 and became their CEO in 2022.

In 2019 she posted these critical tweets about LGB Alliance and recommended Mermaids as a charity.

Then in January this year, Mermaids appointed NCVO to conduct an independent review into their governance.

How very...interesting.

Flagging to @glinner

Indeed. While adults with interests not commensurate with safeguarding children ran amok.

Yes you’re right @MrsOvertonsWindow its not funny really but honestly it really is no wonder no sensible strategic decision making or risk evaluation took place in an environment like that.