Example Local Welcome / Info

Example – local welcome / info

Stroud Valleys Woodcraft Folk

Running your group

This document should provide all the information you need to run a group. If there are any omissions please contact the District Co-ordinator.

Your group holds a file with all the resources you need to manage your group. The District Co-ordinator will provide additional resources each term and update policies and contacts when applicable. This file should be available at every session.

You can find documents and information required to run your group on our website

www.stroudwoodcraft.org.uk

·  Health and membership form

·  Financial return form

·  Register form

·  Key contacts

·  SVWF calendar

·  Programmes

·  Minutes of meetings

Further information and resources can be found on the national website at

www.woodcraft.org.uk.

·  Policies

·  Group handbooks

·  Session ideas and resources

·  Training resources

·  National events

SVWF Committee

Membership Secretary / [insert name,email, postal address,phone number]
Treasurer / [insert name,email, postal address,phone number]
District Co-ordinator / [insert name,email, postal address,phone number]
Chair / [insert name,email, postal address,phone number]
Website/
Google group help / [insert name,email, postal address,phone number]
Inclusion/Guardian Contact / [insert name,email, postal address,phone number]

Please ensure inserted here are up to date copies of

All group contacts

Venue information

Key Group Roles

In order to devolve responsibilities as far as is practical it is recommended that each group elect 4 leaders to take on certain aspects of running a group. These are:

Group Leader

Group Finance Leader

Group Membership and Attendance Leader

Group Activities Leader

Group Guardian

The roles are described below. If you have any general questions please contact the District

Coordinator and for specific questions contact the person indicated for each role.

Group Leader

Your group should elect a main group leader. They must be CRB checked. If the contact changes at any time please contact the District Co-ordinator.

The Group leader will:

·  Be the first contact for the District Co-ordinator for all general District issues

·  Organise termly planning meetings for the group

·  Book a venue for sessions and ensure SVWF is invoiced directly through Treasurer

·  Be responsible for the venue key

·  Make sure the roles of finance, membership and activities leaders are elected

·  Update the group file with resources sent to them by the co-ordinator

·  Update group contact details in the group file

·  Create a ‘phone tree’ for the group

·  Ensure a first aid kit is available at sessions

·  Encourage and support parents in getting involved and taking a role: ensuring they fulfil a commitment to helping at sessions at least once a term

·  Make themselves available for queries from the group

·  Attend district meetings once a term or ensure another person from the group will attend

·  Liaise with Co-ordinator about SVWF events and disseminating information to the group

·  Liaise with Co-ordinator about wider WF events and disseminate information to the group

·  Potentially represent SVWF at Regional and National WF meetings

·  Be aware of the policies of WF

·  Be a signatory on the SVWF bank account

Group Finance Leader

Your group should elect a Group Finance Leader. They do not have to be CRB checked.

If you have any queries regarding finance or if your Finance Leader contact changes at any time please contact the Treasurer.

The Group Finance Leader will:

·  Keep a record of all purchases made by group members

·  Keep the subs carefully and ensure they are recorded as paid

·  Fill in a group financial record sheet on a termly Group Financial Report sheet

·  Return the completed form and cheques promptly at the end of each term to the Treasurer

Notes on filling in Group Financial Report sheet

·  Enclose all receipts for expenses in the labelled envelope provided.

·  If you do not have a receipt for a purchase, fill out a purchase receipt when reimbursing the purchaser.

·  Cash held at end term over £20 should be returned as a cheque payment. This should be added to other cheques in Total Cheque amount in the Subs section.

·  Return the form and receipts promptly in the stamped addressed envelope provided at the end of term.

·  Please be careful when providing final figures. The treasurer will rely on these for her accounting.

Notes on budgeting

·  The group should spend no more than 50% of subs income on sundries and outings.

·  Hall hire should be invoiced to the Treasurer. Do not pay directly.

·  Hall hire is limited to 30 sessions per year per group – you can decide when to use these.

·  You can fund-raise at any time for additional outings.

·  A budget for arts/crafts materials will be allocated in addition by the treasurer subject to funds available at the start of each term.

Group Membership and Attendance Leader

Your group should elect a Group Membership Leader. They do not have to be CRB checked. If your Membership Leader changes at any time please contact the Membership Secretary.

The Group Membership Leader will:

·  Be the first contact for the Membership secretary on all membership issues

·  Administer the SVWF website group membership list (training available)

·  Administer the SVWF website membership waiting list for the group

·  Be the first contact for new members in their group and give them a New Members welcome pack

·  Ensure that all group members have filled in a Health and Safety form for each child and that these are filed in the group file and kept updated.

·  Ensure the Group Register is kept up to date and completed each week

·  Flag up issues on attendance

·  Send the Register at the end of each term to the Treasurer along with the group financial return.

·  Keep a record of group members with CRB checks in the group file.

Notes on Attendance

·  Attendance should be flagged up if a child is attending less than 50% of sessions.

·  In this event the Group Membership Leader should make a phone call to the parent to ascertain reasons for low attendance and to discuss whether the child wishes to continue attending sessions.

·  If the situation cannot be resolved by the Group Membership Leader the Membership Secretary will take up the issue and should be contacted by the Group Membership Leader.

·  If a child wishes to take a term off Woodcraft they will be taken off the list with the understanding that if they wish to return this will be via the waiting list. It is their responsibility to join the waiting list either on the website or by contacting the Membership Secretary.

·  The Membership Secretary will review attendance termly and discuss any issues with the Group Membership Leader.

Notes on the Group Register

·  This document can be downloaded from the website so you can fill in and change names without handwriting information each term.

·  The leader responsible at each session should tick those attending and record subs collected at that session.

·  The Group Financial Leader should add each child’s subs paid at the end of term and complete the total paid/total owing columns. They should use the total paid to inform the Subs total on the Group Financial Report sheet.

·  Recommended subs are £1.50 per child, siblings £1 per session, at your discretion.

·  You should use your discretion as to whether subs owing are chased or not. Make a note of any information of this kind on the back of the sheet for the Treasurer.

This form will inform the treasurer of numbers attending your group and will help with financial planning and budgeting. It will also be passed on to the membership secretary. It is therefore an essential piece of information.

Notes on New Membership

·  The New Members pack includes a Woodcraft Folk membership form, health form and information about obtaining a CRB check. Please contact the District Co-ordinator when you need more packs.

·  New members are obliged to join WF and should do this directly to WF using the form.

·  All new members are obliged to fill in a Health and Safety form for each child.

Notes on CRB checks

·  CRB forms will be made available by the Membership Secretary.

·  While CRB checks are not obligatory for all volunteers it is strongly recommended and should be encouraged by the Group Membership Leader.

.

Group Activities Leader

Your group should elect an activities leader. If your Activities Leader changes at any time please contact the District Co-ordinator. If you require resources such as song books or need to be put on the scrap store list please also contact the District Co-ordinator

The Group Activities Leader will:

·  Attend termly planning meetings

·  Allocate group members to lead and support specific sessions

·  Distribute termly programmes to group members

·  Post termly programmes on the SVWF website (training available)

·  Post activities and ideas for sessions to share with other groups on SVWF website

·  Research possible activities and resources on the WF website and share these at planning meetings.

·  Use any budget allocated by the Treasurer for craft materials

·  Hold song books

·  Hold general craft materials

·  Be on the scrap store list of SVWF users

Group Guardian

If your Group Guardian contact changes at any time please contact the SVWF Inclusion Contact, amend your file and website details.

The Group Guardian will:

·  Support new members, adults and young people to take part in activities

·  Support the work of SVWF to take an inclusive approach

·  Engage in available training to underpin knowledge, skills and understanding of inclusion and behaviour management

·  Flag up issues pertaining to inclusion, participation and behaviour to the SWVF Inclusion Contact

·  Be a known point of contact for issues and concerns of adults and young people

·  Be familiar with the local safeguarding policy and procedures and make others aware of it

Notes on supporting members:

·  Be available for parents and carers to talk to about children’s specific needs

·  Flag up any issues on group register in Flags and make a note of issues on the reverse- this should be practical things such as food allergies, which should be given on the health forms.

·  Ensure children’s specific needs are met and communicate those needs to other volunteers in the group to ensure those needs are met in their absence

·  Consider using “All About Me” activities to encourage sharing of needs by children and adults

Notes on inclusion:

·  Let new members know about your role, supported by the new members pack

·  Help people to feel welcome and included, adults and children. Inclusion is about consciously being available to everyone and noticing what people prefer. We can be different; inclusion isn’t about participating in everything.

·  Encourage group leaders to plan activities between different woodies groups & DF’s - this encourages thinking about each other.

·  Encourage inclusive thinking in activities planning - aspire to working with another group outside woodies from time to time

·  Think about including children where parents may need the support to get them to sessions, and perhaps may not be able to take a role in sessions.

·  Encourage people in your group to consider appropriate boundaries where needed for disruptive behaviour, but also allow people to be in the group in different ways

·  Children and young people need other adults in their lives, you can make it known that you are available

Notes on safeguarding:

·  The local safeguarding policy is the default document for any issues around safeguarding

Woodcraft Folk Policies and Procedures

The relevant policies for running a group are in the Group File. These are:

·  Code of Conduct

·  Volunteer policy

·  Whistle Blowing procedure

·  Equal Opportunities policy

·  Disputes and Complaints procedure

·  Health and Safety policy

·  Safeguarding procedure

·  Safeguarding policy

These and all other available policies and procedures can be seen on the WF website.

In addition

·  SVWF has its own constitution, in the file.

·  SVWF has its own local safeguarding policy and procedures, in the file

·  SVWF has its own policy on child care costs which is as follows

o  A budget of £75 per year is allocated to each group to support parents and carers to attend group planning meetings

o  A budget of £75 per year is allocated to the District to support parents and carers to attend termly District meetings

o  Costs will be reimbursed based on a reasonable hourly rate for child care, to be discussed from time to time by the committee. This to be no less than the minimum wage.

Sessions

Please note:

·  During a session no adult should be alone with a child who is not theirs without informing another adult ie when taking a young child to the toilet.

·  There must be 2 members present that are both CRB checked

·  There must be 1 adult to 4 children for the 2-3 year old age range

·  The maximum size for a group is 25 children. 20 is recommended

·  The local safeguarding policy is the default document

Structure of a session

·  The children can have open play whilst everyone is arriving.

·  The parent leader for that particular session should call all the children together and sit in a circle.

·  Start with The Envoi Song (or Sun goes up for Woodchips)

·  Start the circle time with names, news and views

·  The parent leader then talks about the main activity for that session.

·  Games can intersperse the activity and the snack can follow at an appropriate time.

·  Close the session with a circle and the song ‘Link Your Hands Together’, finishing with ‘Ish Ash Osh Peace’!

Training

Leadership training

This is supported by the Woodcraft Folk and runs in most districts a few times a year. It is an extremely useful and enthusing insight into running groups and becoming involved in the wider community of The Woodcraft Folk. There is a PDF training document available and, along with this document and the various other standard documents we have is sufficient to enable a group to start up and run (in the absence of some formal training course).