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INDUCTION FOR NEW CLERKS

Time:

Wednesdays 9, 16 & 23 October 7-9.15 pm

Taking on the role of Parish Clerk can be daunting, particularly without prior experience and little opportunity for a full handover.  We'll share practical tips and key documents so that you can hit the ground running.


This is a three-part induction course held over three evenings online 

Date:

Wednesday, 9 October 2024

Venue:

Held online

Tutor:

Sara Campbell

Cost:

£80 for subscribers | £100 for non-subscribers

The course tutor, who is an experienced and practising Clerk, will take you through everything you need to get started, from understanding your role and legal responsibilities to getting to grips with the council's year.


In addition to attending our induction course, you will be able to attend any of our well-regarded and supportive Clerks’ Networking sessions and receive mentoring support for your first 3 months as a Clerk*.  This means that you'll be able to telephone and email us for support.  One of the Norfolk PTS team (Sara, Julie and Luisa) will call you once a week to ensure you are fully supported - we are all practising Clerks with many years of experience working for councils in Norfolk.


Our aim is to ensure that you receive the very best start in your role as a new Clerk.


*3 months starts from the date you book your place on this course


WEEK 1 – What is a Parish/Town Council?

  • Background

  • Understanding the Roles & Responsibilities of

  • District/Borough, County & Parish/Town Councils

  • Council, Councillor, Chair & Clerk/RFO

  • Employment

  • PAYE – overview of HMRC Basic PAYE Tools/payroll provider

  • Contract

  • Salary scales

  • Standing Orders

  • Policies

  • Yearly calendar


WEEK 2 – Meetings

  • Agenda

  • Clerk’s role at meetings

  • Correspondence

  • Co-option

  • Full Council Meetings, Committees, Working Groups

  • Public at meetings

  • Code of Conduct

  • Register of Interests and granting dispensations

  • After the meeting

  • Minutes

  • The two annual meetings


WEEK 3 – Finance

  • Powers and Duties

  • Financial Regulations

  • Understanding reserves

  • Budgeting and setting the precept

  • Cashbook

  • Bank reconciliations

  • Transparency

  • Risk assessments


This course gives an overview to some topics, so for a greater in-depth knowledge we recommend a Clerk attends the following Norfolk PTS training:


  • Preparing the year-end, including the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR), preparing for the internal audit

  • Preparing the Annual Budget and setting the Precept

  • Understanding the Planning System

  • Data Protection and Freedom of Information

  • All about Policies

  • Website Accessibility

  • Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA)

Notes:

We'll send you a link via email a day or two before the session is due to be held, so you can just click on the link to join in.

The satisfaction rating for this course is 100%

A lot of valuable information presented in a friendly professional manner involving everyone.

A lot of valuable information presented in a friendly professional manner involving everyone.
As a new clerk, this 3-session course has been an excellent start . It is a good beginning for all the areas that a clerk has to cover. I realise there is a lot more to the role of clerk but this is a good course to help begin to understand what needs to be done. Now need to put things into practise.

Excellent, very relevant & extremely useful. I have been in the position of Clerk for 4 months and the course gave me an overall picture of the role of a clerk within a typical year, also with insights of issues within other councils. It helped also with learning what is expected for the internal audit.

I got a lot out of the course which was well presented and had plenty of opportunities to ask questions. As a new clerk I found it was pitched at the right level and I enjoyed listening to problems and solutions which other members brought to the group. Thank you Sara.

This was a great introduction to understanding the role of the Clerk and the environment within which we work. I am completely new to the role, so starting with the basics provided an excellent base on which to build knowledge. I found discussing the 'Clerk's Year' really useful, particularly from the perspective of preparedness for the AGAR. The template examples are also great for reference.

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