The Communication Consortium Faqsfor Organisations Considering Applying for Membership

The Communication Consortium– FAQsfor organisations considering applying for membership and application forms

Contents

History of the Trust

Who can become a member of the Communication Consortium?...... 2

What is your definition of ‘SLCN’?...... ………………..3

What is your definition of ‘not for profit’?...... 3

What is the difference between ‘Associate membership’ and ‘Partner membership’?

How do I decide which sort of member I should be and how does the Trust decide?.....3

What is the application process for joining the Consoritum?...... 4

When should I submit my application?...... 4

Annex 1: Application form for Partners Members...... 6

Annex 2: Application form for Associate Members...... 7

Annex 3 : Responsibilities of the Trust and Consortium members under the Communication Consortium MOU… 8

History of the Trust

The Communication Trust was established in April 2007 by Afasic, BT, the Council for Disabled Children and I CAN. They recognised that in order to make a lasting impact for children and young people, particularly those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), we need to work collaboratively and collectively.

The Trust is now a coalition ofover 50 not-for-profit organisations. Working together, we support everyone who works with children and young people in England to support their speech, language and communication. Our work focuses on supporting children and young people who struggle to communicate because they have SLCN as well as supporting all children and young people to communicate to the best of their ability.

Our 2007-2014 Impact Report includes the history of The Communication Trust and an overview of our work to date. You can access this here.

Our strategy for 2013-2017 is a core document and explains our vision, what we're aiming to do and our objectives to meet these aims. It also highlights our beliefs, values and approaches that shape our work. You can review the strategy here. Our Communication Consortium Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was updated in 2013 to reflect the strategy.

The information below should answer most organisations’ questions regarding how to apply to become a member of the CommunicationConsortium, but if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch a member of the Consortium team by emailing our enquiries inbox on or by phone on 0207 843 2526.

Who can become a member of the Communication Consortium?

Not-for-profit organisations with an interest in children and young people’s communication that have been operational for a minimum of 12 months can apply to be members of the Communication Consortium.

As a member of the Consortium you will become part of the collective voice of the sector. You will receive regularConsortium newsletters and will have the opportunity to attend Consortium meetings and input your expertise into our collective work around children and young people’s communication. For more about our Memorandum of Understanding and the responsibilities of the Trust and members of our Consortium, please see Annex 3.

There are three types of membership of the Communication Consortium:

Strategic members- These are the founding members of the Communication Trust and the two Consortium members voted onto the Programme Board
Partner members- These members meet all the criteria for membership – that they are not-for-profit, their reach is national and the primary purpose of their work with children focuses on ensuring children and young people, particularly those with SLCN, are enabled to communicate to the very best of their ability
Associate members- Whilst being not-for-profit organisations and able to sign up to the conditions of membership of the Consortium, these are members who do not have a national reach or whose work with children does not have a primary focus on speech, language and communication or SLCN. They are however, able to contribute to the cause

What is your definition of ‘SLCN’?

For the purposes of the Trust and its Consortium membership, we define SLCN as speech, language and communication that is not progressing along expected patterns of development.

What is your definition of ‘not for profit’?

By not-for-profit The Trust means a registered charity, a social enterprise or Community Interest Company (CIC) - so profits either go back into the charity or programme of work and not to the Director/shareholders.

What is the difference between ‘Associate membership’ and ‘Partner membership’?

The way the Trust works with associate members and partner members is very similar. All members receive Consortium newsletters, will be able to attend all meetings, if they so wish, and will be able to participate in all events.

However, the Trust has a contractual responsibility with the Department for Education to support the not for profit SLCN sector, and as such, we will always offer contracts of work and opportunities to engage in programmes when there is a financial implication to partner members exclusively in the first instance. If there isn’t take-up from Partner members, we will then offer these opportunities to Associate members.

Only partner members will be able to be elected as Strategic Members to the Programme Board of the Trust.

Associate members will have the option to opt out of the public affairs and lobbying work of the Consortium in contrast to Partner members who are opting in by default.

How do I decide which sort of membership I apply forand how does the Trust decide?

When applying for membership of the Consortium, potential members are asked to read the information on the categories provided in this document and decide what is most appropriate to their organsiation.If you would like to discuss which type of membership is most appropriate to you, please get in touch using the contact details above.

Once the application has been submitted, the Programme Board will receive the application in advance of their next meeting for consideration. They discuss each application individually and make a final decision and can decide to accept the application as is, to reject it or to request the membership applied for is changed (for example from partner to associate).

What is the application process for joining the Consortium?

Organisations need to apply as Partner members or Associate members based on the criteria and following the process outlined above.

You will need to complete one of the application formsgiven at Annex 1 and Annex 2 of this document depending on which type of membership you are applying for. In your application you will need to state whyyou would like to join the Consortium and clarify how you fit the membership criteria.

When you’ve completed the relevant application form, email it as an attachment to The Trust . Below we provide a list of meeting dates and deadlines for application submissions.

Once we’ve received your application, it will be sent to the Programme Board who will review it at their next scheduled meeting and make a decision on the outcome.

If your application is successful, a member of the Trust team will be in touch to send you the Consortium Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),which formalises the roles and responsibilities of The Trust and Communication Consortium member organisations and also provides information on operational protocols including our expenses policy. There are two MOUs – one for Partner members and one for Associate members. We will also arrange an induction meeting at this time and request some key information about your organization to update our records and website.

If your application is unsuccessful, or the Board decide your organisation better fits a category different to that applied for, a member of the Board or Trust team will be in touch to inform you and provide an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

When should I submit my application?

Foryour application to be considered by the Programme Board, we will need to receive itby the dates outlined below.

Please email your application to

For consideration at Tuesday 28th March meeting, submit by Friday, 17th March.

We aim to contact all applicant organisations within two weeks of the meeting with an update on the outcome of the application.

Annex 1: Application form for Partners Members

Please describe how your organisation matches the criteria: (200 words)

The organisation must support children’s communication development

The organisation must be a not for profit or charitable organisation which has been operational for a minimum of 12 months
The organisation much have national impact
The organisation must agree to sign up to the duties, roles and responsibilities of the Consortium

Questions to complete

Why do you want to join the Communication Consortium? (200 words max)

How can you and your organisation contribute to the work of The Communication Trust? (500 words max)

How do you support children with speech, language and communication needs in your work?

Are there any projects that The Trust is currently managing that you would like to contribute to? (max 200 words)

Please send your application to -with the subject heading ‘Application for the Consortium – organisation name’

Annex 2: Application form for Associate Members

Please describe how your organisation matches the criteria: (200 words)

The organisation must either support children’s communication development locally (i.e not nationally) or undertake work with children that does now have a primary focus on speech, language and communication or SLCN but does enable it to contribute to the cause.
The organisation must be a not for profit or charitable organization which has been operational for a minimum of 12 months.

The organisation must agree to sign up to the duties, roles and responsibilities of the Consortium as an Associate member

Questions to complete

Why would you like to work with The Communication Trust? (500 words)

2.How do you think you could work with the Communication Trust? (200 words)

Please send your application to –with the subject heading ‘Application for the Consortium – organisation name’

Annex 3: Responsibilities of the Trust and Consortium members under the Communication Consortium MOU

Partner members

Responsibilities of The Communication Trust

Under this MOU, The Communication Trustcommits to undertake the following activities:

-Work to ensure that we jointly deliver the strategic objectives;

-Work within the Operational Protocols agreed with the Programme Board and Communication Consortium;

-Share the latest information on speech, language and communication through aregular Consoritum newsletter with key policy updates;

-Communicate the latest Trust developments including new resources and programmes of work via the newsletter for input and feedback;

-Hold at least 6 Consortium Meetings a year, as well as additional meetings as required due to urgent policy or programme developments;

-Offer opportunities to promote member organisations to key members of the children’s workforce and the Trusts’ database (containing over 30,000 contacts at time of issue of this MOU);

-Offer opportunities to relevant Consortium members to work jointly with the Communication Trust to deliver projects;

-Promote members of the Consortium on the Trust’s website and other promotional materials;

-Respond to key government and other policy consultations on behalf of the Consortium. All responses will be developed in consultation with the Consortium, and will be submitted on behalf of all partner members unless members opt out of a particular response.

Responsibilities under this MOU, The Communication Consortium member

Under this MOU, the Communication Consortium member commits to undertake the following activities:

-Work to ensure that we jointly deliver the strategic objectives;

-Promote the values of the Trust in all joint working;

-Promote the work of the Trust and our key messages ;

-Operate within the Operational Protocols;

-Receive and digest the latest information on speech, language and communication through aregular Consortium newsletter with key policy updates;

-Provide feedback on the latest Trust developments when requested through the newsletter;

-Attend Consortium Meetings and additional meetings as required;

-Provide content on their organisation in order to be promoted to the children’s workforce and the Trust’s database;

-Provide information on their organsiation in order to be promoted on the Trust’s website and other promotional materials;

-Contribute evidence and opinion on key government and other policy consultations in order to develop joint responses;

-Communicate internally to senior manager that the organisation is part of the Communication Trust and ensure that there is an understanding of what we do and your charity’s involvement;

-If commissioned to deliver a project, the said Consortium member will agree to a separate service level agreement for the specific project.

Associate members

Responsibilities of The Communication Trust

Under this MOU, The Communication Trustcommits to undertake the following activities:

-Work to ensure that we jointly deliver the strategic objectives;

-Work within the Operational Protocols agreed with the Programme Board and Communication Consortium;

-Share the latest information on speech, language and communication through aregular Consortium newsletter with key policy updates;