Hi everyone
I have just emerged from a week of self-isolation being one of the victims of the ‘ping’ epidemic. My PCR test was negative (thanks Lewisham – most efficient and fast!) but I had to stay in my garden for the week of blistering weather we had – could have been a lot worse.
Summer break
This is the last newsletter for the summer. We take a break over August but will resume in September – it’ll gallop by, but I know you’ll miss us.
I do want to pick up on John Austin’s kind words from last week’s newsletter – it really has been a super busy first six months of 2021 and the trainers have done wonders to get so much of our new virtual programme up and running. We designed and ran 10 virtual courses between January and July and trained over 150 people. Feedback through our online evaluation was good – we really appreciate your feedback, it helps us improve the course so please keep completing the form if you attend a course with us.
New volunteer trainers
I’m delighted to welcome some new faces to our training team:
Julia Cleary and Trevor Salmon from Wolverhampton
Kat Harclerode from Rotherham
Tracy Tiff from Northampton
Martin Whelan from Addenbrookes Hospital
It’s always great to have new people join the team, they bring new perspectives and experience that add enormous value to our offer.
Coming up in the Autumn
Among our autumn training programme offer you will find:
Meetings Procedures – a new, interactive, virtual course delivered as two 2.5-3 hour workshops, held virtually on Zoom. Delegates are required to attend both workshops.
- Workshop 1: 29 September 2021 – 09:30 – 12:30
- Workshop 2: 6 October 2021 – 09:30 – 12:30
This course is aimed at Democratic Services Officers who wish to further develop their understanding of the legal and governance framework within which councils operate and the practical application of this to the range of work areas undertaken by democratic services teams. The course content will be relevant both to those who are relatively new to democratic services and officers with a few years’ experience (6 months to 3 years’ experience of supporting meetings as a guide.) For more information and to book a place visit here https://www.adso.co.uk/event/part-1-meetings-procedures/?instance_id=302
Introduction to Electoral Services – a new interactive, virtual course delivered as two workshops held virtually. Delegates will be required to attend both of the virtual workshops.
- Workshop 1: Friday 24 September 2021, 9:30 – 12:15
- Workshop 2: Friday 1 October 2021, 9:30 – 12:15
This course is aimed at Democratic Services Officers and others who may work alongside Electoral Services teams and who wish to develop their understanding of the procedures relating to electoral registration and elections, perhaps with a view to becoming involved in the work to support the delivery of elections, the annual registration canvass or other aspects of electoral work. The course content will be relevant both to those who are relatively new to democratic services and officers with a few years’ experience. For more information and to book a place visit here https://www.adso.co.uk/event/part-1-introduction-to-electoral-services/
ADSO Autumn training offer – for details of all our autumn courses visit here – https://www.adso.co.uk/adso-training/book-your-course/
Early booking is recommended on all ADSO courses, as courses fill up quickly.
Training news – new areas
Training for senior DSOs
Julia Cleary and Trevor Salmon are taking on a piece of work to consider whether ADSO should expand its training offer with some opportunities for more senior DSOs. Over the autumn they will be talking to a number of members across the country to find out whether a separate offer would be of interest and what areas it might usefully cover as well as assessing demand. They will set up a chat in the Members Forum and be talking to regional representatives in order to identify a sample group of senior DSOs to seek opinions from. To contribute to this discussion in the forum follow this link: https://www.adso.co.uk/forums/topic/adso-training-for-senior-dsos/
Combined and Themed Authorities
We have just started some really exciting work with some of our representatives to ensure the content of our training is fit for purpose for participants from Themed and Combined Authorities. This will roll out gradually over the Autumn of 2021 and early spring of 2022. It’s a great opportunity for the trainers, who design and run the courses, to collaborate with volunteers from Combined and Themed Authorities – and a real exemplar of the good will and energy within our membership. Thanks to all those who are volunteering to contribute.
ADSO Annual Conference 2021 – Bookings open
This year’s annual conference will run virtually over two half days on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th November through LLG’s GoTo Webinar platform. Details of the programme and how to book on to the conference are available here.
School Admission Appeals
You may have seen that subject to Parliamentary approval, the temporary arrangements allowing school admission appeals to take place remotely are to be extended further, beyond 30 September. This should help in your planning of Autumn and Winter appeals, we will notify you further once the Parliamentary process is complete.
Free IIMC Webinar – Wednesday 15th September
We have just been advised of a free webinar being run by the IIMC which is open to ADSO members. Please see below.
NEW! FREE Webinar Hosted by IIMC and CivicClerk
Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Time: 6pm UK time
Title: Change is Good: How to Live It, Love It, and Lead It
The past 18 or so months have been anything but normal for essential clerks in local government. Shifts and changes needed to adjust to an unprecedented global pandemic – many of which were changes to processes, workflows, and were technology-oriented – have no doubt not been easy for most who are known for their consistency and reliability. If you’re exploring how these changes impact you and your role as a clerk or hoping to be a positive change agent among your peers, this webinar can help you identify strategies that you can use every day to lead your organization through change.
To register, please contact: Jill Jensen at jill.jensen@civicplus.com
Wishing you all a great summer and the GB team loads more medals – I am a Peloton convert!
Susan Biddle, Director of Training