NORFOLK PTS
INDUCTION FOR NEW CLERKS
Time:
Tuesdays 10, 24 April & 1 May 2024 from 7.00 - 9.30 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.
Date:
Wednesday, 10 April 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%
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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