Conference, AGM and Awards
At ADSO HQ, we are very much looking forward to our first virtual conference, together with our 2021 AGM and the awards ceremony.
Bookings for the conference on 25th and 26th November can still be made here: ADSO Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony 2021 – ADSO. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the conference. Please get your bookings done by 12th November at the latest.
The AGM and Awards ceremony on 25th November are free to attend for all ADSO Members and all completing learners. We will be sending out the link and joining instructions soon.
Many of you will have seen that we are introducing all of our shortlisted nominees for the Rookie and Distinguished Service Awards on our website and social media channels. I’m delighted for all of those who’ve made the short lists and the excitement is really starting to build ahead of the awards ceremony on 25th November. It promises to be an uplifting and inspiring celebration of the wonderful talent in our sector.
Virtual Meetings
You will have seen the recent survey on the return to in-person meetings being conducted by the LGA. I hope this leads to a further case being made to Government to change the law to allow virtual meetings, as ADSO has campaigned for since the beginning of the year. The comments made recently by the new Secretary of State, Michael Gove MP in the Local Government Chronicle gave us some encouragement that there had been a change of heart within the Department. We have also just received the letter below from the Minister of State, Kemi Badenoch MP and are currently considering its contents and will provide a more formal response as soon as possible.
Letter from Kemi Badenoch MP to ADSO – 4 November 2021
extension: pdf
IIMC webinar
I attended a webinar on 4th November run by IIMC on Covid resilience and wellbeing. It was great to be part of a discussion group with Matt Makin from East Suffolk Council together with colleagues from North America talking about how we’ve all dealt with lockdown, virtual meetings, the return to physical meetings and our mental and physical wellbeing during that period. Thanks, Matt, for your great contributions to the discussion.
School Appeals webinar
There’s still time to register for the free ADSO webinar on School Appeals, which takes place on 10th November between 11.00am and 12 noon. See the link here: School Appeals: Best Practice webinar
South East Employers and ADSO Advanced Democratic and Committee Administration course
There are still some places available on this highly-valued course. The two-day programme is scheduled to take place on 12th and 13th January 2022 on a virtual basis using Zoom. Joining instructions, programme and all advanced documents and handouts will be sent to delegates in early January.
To book a place on the programme for you or a team member use the link below: Advanced Democratic and Committee Administration Virtual Programme – South East Employers (seemp.co.uk)
Peter Sass, Vice Chair