Welcoming Spaces in Barnsley – organisations encouraged to register their offer

We are developing a network of Welcoming Spaces which will be available to people wishing to use them over the winter months, until 31 March 2023.

We are using our own buildings, such as libraries, museums, family centres, and Berneslai Homes buildings.

We know that many of our partners across Barnsley already provide this type of facility, so if this is you, we’re asking you to consider registering your facilities and/or services to let our residents know how to access the Welcoming Spaces near them.

All of Barnsley’s Welcoming Spaces will be registered on an external site (not managed by the council) www.warmwelcome.uk/ and details of how to register your activity can be found at www.warmwelcome.uk/get-started/signup

There’s also more information on registering at www.warmwelcome.uk/faqs

All Welcoming Spaces will operate within the following principles, which is intended to help local people who want to use them to know what to expect when they step across the threshold of a Welcoming Space building: a guarantee of respect, dignity, and warmth.

You’ll get a warm welcome

Every time you come to a Welcoming Space, you’ll be given a warm welcome from the staff and volunteers there.

Everyone is treated equally, with dignity and respect

Everyone has a right to be warm, so everyone in a Welcoming Space treats people, and is treated by people, with dignity and respect.

Your Welcoming Space will be a safe space

Your Welcoming Space will stick to the safeguarding policies that it always uses, and it will stick to food hygiene rules too.

We’ll not tell anyone about you needing a Welcoming Space

If you want to share the reasons you need a Welcoming Space, someone will listen, but they won’t tell anyone else unless you give them permission, or they must because of their safeguarding policies.

It doesn’t matter why you need a Welcoming Space

Every Welcoming Space is a non-judgemental space; whatever the reason you have for needing to come in, you’ll be treated the same and never judged.

Welcoming Space participants will be expected to adhere to their own safeguarding policies and ensure that all staff and volunteers are briefed on these procedures. Participants are also responsible for making sure their entry on the website is kept up to date and any changes are communicated through your own usual channels.

As a Welcoming Space, you can access assets to promote your building including a window poster and social media assets, to help you with promotion, which can be found on our

Help to share our messages page.

Further guidance on setting up a Welcoming Space can be found at: Warm Welcome Network – Step By Step Guide.

A more in-depth guide has also been compiled by CILIP, the library and information association, and is available to download at www.cilip.org.uk/page/warmspaces2022