...in the Garden of England...
TRAINING - STATEMENT OF INTENT
Adopted 6th October 2008
Ditton Parish Council is committed to ensuring its staff and councillors are trained to the highest standard and kept up to date with all new legislation. To support this, funds are allocated to a training budget each year to enable staff and councillors to attend training and conferences relevant to their office.
Ditton Parish Council employs eight full-time staff and 8 part-time staff, plus casual bar staff as required for functions. Its training needs will therefore cover many different areas and impose additional training responsibilities on the council in managing the health, safety and welfare of its staff.
The Personnel Committee will be responsible for monitoring and meeting the training needs of staff and managing the budget. Staff training will be identified by the Clerk through the annual appraisal process and the cost and training provider investigated. A training schedule will then be prepared and submitted to the Personnel committee for approval to ensure the training is relevant and fit for purpose.
Training requirements for councillors will usually be identified by the Chairman and Clerk and opportunities to attend courses will be investigated by the Clerk and brought to the attention of the full council.
Grounds staff, bar staff and caretaking staff will require specialised training in their respective fields. Such training will be identified and either be carried out in-house or by specialist training centres as is appropriate.
The principles of the National Training Strategy for Town and Parish Councils, is recognised as an excellent strategy for both administrative staff and councillors. All new members of administrative staff will be expected to undertake the ‘Working With Your Council’ course and senior officers will be expected to go on to take the ‘Cilca’ and Local Policy Certificates.
The Council will pay the annual subscription to the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC) to enable staff and councillors to take advantage of their excellent training courses and conferences.
The Clerk will be expected to attend all relevant training days whenever possible and other members of staff and councillors will be expected to attend training days which are relevant to their office.
New councillors will have an induction meeting with the Clerk and will be provided with an information pack containing the documents as set out on the attached list.
It is recognised that it may be difficult for some councillors to attend training during the daytime because of their work commitments. Councillors will, however, still be encouraged to attend training provided by its partner authorities and KALC and attend conferences whenever possible. In-house training during an evening will be considered wherever possible, to enable all councillors to attend.
All training undertaken will be evaluated by the Personnel Committee to gauge its relevance, content and appropriateness. All training presentation papers will be retained and used for in-house training and information sharing.
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INFORMATION PACK FOR NEW COUNCILLORS
Contents
- The Good Councillors Guide
- Briefing for New Councillors
- Members List
- About Being A Parish Councillor
- Training Statement of Intent
- Meetings Timetable
- The Parish Councils (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2001
- Estimates
- Standing Orders
- Financial Regulations
- Committee Terms of Reference
- Parish Council Powers
- Data Protection Policy
- Equal Opportunities Policy
- Health & Safety Policy
- Disaster Recovery Plan
- Community Engagement Strategy
- Information Leaflets
- Minutes of Parish Council Meetings - Limited to the previous month
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Parish Council Office • Ditton Community Centre • Kilnbarn Road
Ditton • Aylesford • Kent • ME20 6AH
Telephone: 01732 844749
Fax: 01732 845572
Email: clerk@dittonparishcouncil.gov.uk