Membership System Updates 2018

December 2018 Systems Update

The following information is relevant to all volunteers and units.

Preparing for Annual Subscriptions

With the annual subscriptions starting from noon on 29 January 2019, now is the time for all levels to start preparing their membership records on GO. Units can begin checking their subscriptions due report on GO and make the relevant amendments to their list of girls from now. If there are any volunteers that you should/shouldn’t be paying for in your unit, please let your Commissioner know.

Please read the Preparing for Annual Subscriptions helpfile in the Help zone of GO. This should answer most of your queries regarding a unit’s membership list.

Helpfiles

The following helpfiles are new and available in the Help zone of GO:

Using the Directory (NEW OCT 18) – this contains information about how to use the internal messaging function to contact other volunteers in your county.

Queen’s Guide Award (NEW OCT 18)

Duke of Edinburgh Award (NEW OCT 18)

Managing Volunteers - We’ve consolidated the managing volunteer enquiries and existing volunteer help files into one

Qualifications and Awards – We’ve also consolidated the two separate qualifications and awards helpfiles into one

E-learnings

We have received many queries about logging into GO in order to complete the Safe Space e-learnings. If you are having difficulties logging into the GO membership system, you can complete the e-learnings from the Girlguiding website directly without needing to login. At the end of the course you will need to fill in some information, such as your membership number, which will link it to your GO record.

GO access

As a reminder, the GO system is only available to parents when they first make an enquiry for their daughter to join Girlguiding. They can use the system to message the unit where they have enquired, amend personal details and transfer their daughter’s enquiry to another unit. Once their daughter has become a member, the parent’s access to GO is removed. The girl’s record must then be kept up to date by her unit’s leadership team.

The following information is relevant to District, Division and County Commissioners and ID Verifiers in your County.

Subscriptions

The levy adding period for subscriptions has now started. All level’s will have until Noon on Friday 18 January 2019 to add their levy and amend bank details. You’ll need the following information to hand when adding the levy information:

        • The levy amount you’d like to collect per person (e.g. £1.50 for your District or Division or County not £34 as total cost per member)
        • The account name, account number and sort code
        • If it’s a building society, don’t forget the reference number (it’s advisable to check the details with the building society with regards to receiving bank transfer payments).

If you are collecting a levy, then don’t forget to share this amount and what it’s for with your local volunteers.

Disclosures

Young members turning 18

If a Young Leader is entering into an Adult Leader role once she turns 18, she will require a letter of commendation from either a Leader or Commissioner who knows her and can reasonably determine her suitability to volunteer.

The letter should then be sent to a Commissioner. However, if the Commissioner is the writer, they can send it to another Commissioner such as division, or district.

The process of recording the letter on GO is still being finalised, but if the commissioner is satisfied with the letter of commendation, they can add the role on their GO record.

For more information visit the Recruitment and Vetting procedures pages of the Girlguiding website.

What updates are the DBS making?

In August, the DBS had announced a further round of ID changes that would be launched on 3rd September 2018 and would run in parallel with the existing guidelines until 3rd December 2018.

Here is an update on the status of the project and an indication about when we the changes will roll out across all of our systems.

What is being changed? The DBS has introduced new ID documents in group 2b and some changes to primary documents that can be provided by non-EEA applicants in paid work or in programmes of study, these updates will of course be introduced into the system.

We have also taken this opportunity to improve other areas within the system. This includes the questions which establish the applicant’s nationality and determine the route by which their ID will be verified. We’ve also reviewed the guidance in other areas of the system, this includes the ID matrix and text displayed in the volunteer information button.

When are the changes being made? Our data suppliers are in the process of developing and testing across the systems to ensure the smooth delivery of these changes. We therefore anticipate being able to roll out the changes between 19th and 27th November.

November 2018

GO Commissioner Update Training Notes:

Changes to GO

There have been quite a few changes to GO over the last few months. It’s very important that you read the Girlguiding and County newsletters and follow the links to read in full. Do also encourage other volunteers to read them too. This is the way we are made aware of most changes.

GO Help files

Do look at the help files in GO

Check the Bugs and Issues updates

Check New Help files (highlighted with date added)

Watch relevant videos

Your Profile - GO communications

Most will be automated emails but there may also be communications from parent enquirers or other volunteers. You don’t always get a notification of a new communication, you need to get into the habit of checking. Ignore numbers, unfortunately these are currently incorrect.

New volunteer enquiries

New Volunteer Reminders

District main contact should receive a personal email (not a GO communication) when a new enquiry is received.

Mark as contacted once you have sent an email, letter or have spoken or left a message by phone. Don’t ignore reminders. Reminders start after 7 days and will continue weekly until marked as contacted or referred. Reminders also escalate up through the commissioner levels with County Commissioner notified after 1 month.

Referees

Check referee responses at Volunteer Enquiries/Awaiting Recruitment Checks/View Individual/See Referees. Chase after 14 days. Ask referees to check spam etc and resend if necessary. A referee who has not responded after 60 days may be declined. They may also be declined if they do not fit the required criteria. A maximum of 4 attempts are allowed to gain 2 successful references. For referee criteria look at Recruitment and Vetting Procedures

Girlguiding Code of Conduct

Please make volunteers aware of the Girlguiding Code of Conduct which all volunteers commit to uphold.

Returning Volunteer

To find a membership number for a returning volunteer look at Individuals/Previous Members for a level in which they previously held a role, which is in your area. Useful to find girl members who have moved on. If not in your area contact County Membership Systems.

DBS Checks/Re-Checks

Look at Role Tables to see which roles need a DBS check

ID Verifier must meet face to face and must see original documents, not photocopies.

We recommend that volunteers complete the personal information whilst with you. If you do use the invitation to login at their convenience do check and follow up to make sure that it is done. Many checks sit awaiting personal information for a long time.

Don’t ignore the reminders. A volunteer could be suspended if a check is not done within the given timescales.

GO Login

A new volunteer should receive an email with their login to GO invitation, shortly after their role is created

YLs, DofE and other young volunteers

DofE – There is no longer a County form required. This is picked up by County adviser from National DofE database. Role - Young leader or Young External Volunteer depending on membership. D of E Award can only be entered onto GO if the qualification has been completed through Girlguiding.

DofE – Can start DofE at 13 but cannot volunteer with Girlguiding at this age unless they are a Guide. Then they can be a Rainbow or Brownie Helper. If they are not a Guide, then they cannot volunteer until they are 14.

New Young Leader - Complete County Young Leader form. Office then send a welcome letter and information.

Becoming an Adult - Commissioner Management/Becoming an Adult. YLs and Young External Volunteers names are included 12 months before role expiry date. Chat with UL or CM to determine next step. Mark ‘Becoming an Adult’ review as completed. References not required but letter of recommendation required from Unit Leader or CM to confirm suitable to continue to adult role. As yet we do not know what we are supposed to do with this letter, DC should hang on to it for now until we hear anything further. An 18-year-old will not not need references if they are returning after a break of less than 1 year.

Adding adult role - it is possible to add a role with a start date of up to 1 month in the future so no need to wait until they have turned 18. Set end date for current role and start date for new role as 18th birthday. Current role must then be deactivated at some point after the 18th birthday.

DBS - if required, can be done 60 days in advance of 18th birthday if attending a residential or event at which they will turn 18. Need to contact HQ for DBS request to be created.

Leaders, Assistant Leaders and the LQ

Leader/Assistant Leader changing Section/taking over unit

        • Check that she has the correct qualification for the section. Will need to do Mod 1 of the LQ if not done previously or has been out of that section for more than 3 years.
        • If taking over a unit as Leader in Charge must have Mod 4 of the LQ as well as Mod 1 for that section.
        • If need an extra module, have not previously done the LQ or have been out of a Leadership role for more than 3 years - add Leader in Training role using membership number. When the role is showing as Active, complete the County Leadership Qualification form for a mentor to be appointed.
        • LQ book is sent to mentor, who is appointed by County as soon as possible after a New Leader form has been received. A mentor should aim to contact the mentee as soon as they receive the book.

  LQ Completion

        • Modules 1 – 3 completed – add role as Assistant Leader
        • Modules 1-4 completed – add role as Leader.
        • Role does not dictate status in unit. Leader designated as Leader in Charge is shown on Unit Details.

Active Pending Roles

        • If a role is Active/Pending (for more than 20 minutes if new) check whether
          • DBS has expired.
          • Maximum role date has been reached. Check the permissible role length on the Role Tables.
          • Extend role if possible.
        • If role cannot be extended
          • Check membership number
          • Check where main role is held
          • Check if Main Contact for level
          • Under Volunteer Roles, find role
          • Deactivate Do not edit role and add end date. This will simply make the role Active Pending, it will not deactivate it completely.
          • Add new role if required.
          • Check that main role is where it should be – if you deleted the main role, Go will have automatically assigned another role.
          • Check that Main Contact is as it should be. When you deactivate a Main Contact’s role GO will automatically designate next eligible person with earliest role start date. You will need to change this if it is not correct after roles have been changed.

Safe Space

The level of Safe Space training needed for every role can be found on the Role Tables.

Home Contact - should be recorded on GO (can be Occasional Helper which does not need a DBS) and needs Level 1 Safe Space which can be completed online. You do not need to be logged in to GO to complete the e-learning but you will need to add your membership number at the end of the session, to make sure it is updated to your record.

Encourage volunteers to do SS level 1 and 2 e-learnings. Level 2 conversation can be done by Commissioner or Trainer who has level 3 and 4. When chat has taken place email County Office with name, membership number, date of conversation.

Subscriptions Process

Subscriptions 2019

Girlguiding £15.50, Region £9.25, County £8.50. Total £33.25.

Setting a Levy - Main Contacts for Districts and Divisions should have received an email with instructions on how to add their own levy. Please consider this carefully and do not add a levy unless it is needed. Districts/Divisions should not hold excessive amounts of money.

Membership Status - Check membership status now for roles that have optional membership

Recheck when trial invoices come out and again before they close.     

Opening and Closing Units

Opening a New Unit

        • Discuss viability with DC and DivCM.
        • Check List of closed units on GO or email County Membership Systems to see if there is a suitably named unit to re-open
        • Complete County New Unit Form
        • DC can set up new unit or mark closed unit as reopening but please inform County Membership Systems
        • Do not open bank account until title is approved
        • Complete County New Unit Grant form which will be sent from County once approval has been given. Must be claimed within 3 months of first unit meeting
        • Apply for other grants from Girlguiding via Anglia and Trefoil Guild. These also have time limits

Closing a Unit

        • Discuss with DC - DC can set unit to ‘closing’ but please make sure County Membership Systems knows. Currently awaiting response from HQ about how to remove unit from map to prevent new enquiries.
        • Unit Leader organises transfers if required and deactivates all girl roles. Girls transferring are normally taken as having priority over waiting lists
        • Unit Leader refers any girl enquiries
        • DC – once all girl records deactivated, deactivates volunteer roles
        • DC/UL – ensure accounts completed, bank account closed, balance moved to District account, ring fenced for 1 year in case the unit re-opens.

RENS

Check carefully

Check DBS is in date for all residential volunteers and for home contact

Advisers do not have access to check qualifications, this is the responsibility of the Commissioner.

Going Away With Licence and it’s modules are listed on GO. GAW modules will, in future, be recorded with modules in progress and mentor – similar to LQ.

County adviser appoints mentor for assessment and needs to know early in the process.

Do not sign a REN until after it has been checked by the appropriate adviser. A commissioner’s signature gives the go ahead for the event regardless of advice given by an adviser.

Accounts

Remind ULs that this is a legal obligation, the Charity Commission are getting much more active about checking voluntary organisations.

Signatories - all signatories are expected to be on GO – holding roles as leader, assistant leader, leader in training, unit helper or a volunteer can be appointed as unit treasurer. The role can be held by a recognised volunteer but if new to Girlguiding does require them to register on GO, complete DBS check and provide 2 referees. For a unit it is recommended that the local commissioner is a signatory on the account and there are at least 3 signatories with only 2 required to sign at any time.

As leaders change or in particular leave Girlguiding, the bank mandate should be updated. County Office need to be informed of all bank account details and any future changes to bank account mandates and/or signatories.

Programme Recording/Girl Records

Contact Details - can only be seen by Unit Team and Commissioners (for emergency use only). Others may be able to see girl names on Individuals tab in the unit or on the Subs Report but no other information.

Recording girl badges on GO – Do use the Help files and videos on GO, e-learnings and webinars (Learning Opportunities, My Events, Help pages)

Record promise date on GO – Young Member Roles/Edit Role. This will help future leaders as girls move sections.

Death of a member

Do not deactivate any roles. Only HQ can prevent the automatic emails that would be sent from GO on the deactivation of a role. Inform relevant Commissioner, County Commissioner, County Office and Hertfordshire Membership Systems. Email Membership systems at HQ with title ‘Death of a Member’ or phone on 0800 999 2016.

What you should be doing now

        • Check that all units have entered unit capacity. This is only a guide to possible spaces and not set in stone. A unit can have fewer girls or can have more

On a regular basis

        • Check for any Active Pending roles in your District/Division - are they all being dealt with?
        • Check Disclosures for new/recheck DBS checks
        • Monitor Girl and Volunteer enquiries
        • Run your First Aid Report (found under Learning)

Where to find……

Unit Roles/Membership Required/Maximum Terms/DBS Required/Safe Space Required/GO Access

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/membership-administration/unit_roles.pdf

Vetting and Recruitment Policy

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/making-guiding-happen/policies/girlguiding-policies/recruitment-and-vetting-policy/recruitment-procedures/

The appropriate vetting checks relevant to their role should be started within two months of commencing or by their fourth time of volunteering, whichever is sooner. Started means that references have been requested and (where the role requires it) the disclosure check is submitted.

Reference process for adult volunteers

The enquirer needs to have two personal or character references (not ones from an employer). They must give the name and contact details of their two referees as part of the application process. Only one referee may know them just through Girlguiding.

The enquirer must have their referees’ permission to give their contact details to Girlguiding, and the referees must also understand what is being asked of them.

Girlguiding HQ sends the referees a questionnaire by post or email for them to fill in. A letter or reference in any other form will not be accepted, unless it has been pre-arranged with HQ Compliance team. For example, to accommodate the needs of the referee under the Equality Act 2010.

The following must also apply for a reference to be acceptable:

        • The referee must not be a relative. This includes being related to someone through your spouse or partner.
        • The referee must be over 18 years of age.
        • They must have known the enquirer for a minimum of one year and been in contact within the last six months.
        • They must know the enquirer well enough to be able to competently answer the questionnaire.
        • The questionnaire must be fully completed.
        • They must be able to state that they recommend the enquirer for volunteering with Girlguiding and confirm they do not know of any reasons why they are not suitable to volunteer with children.
        • They must confirm that the information they have given is true to the best of their knowledge.

The reference must be received within 60 days of the request being sent by HQ. If not, it may be declined. HQ Compliance team may contact the referee if they need details to be clarified.

Transition from Old Programme to New Programme - Gold Awards

For girls caught up in the changeover, there is a temporary alternative route to ensure they are still able to achieve the section Gold award if they wish to, and experience the celebration and value placed on it by the organisation.

These temporary arrangements will be in place from the beginning of the 2018/19 academic year until the end of the 2019/20 academic year so that the timing of a unit’s changeover to the new programme doesn’t affect a girl’s ability to follow this temporary alternative route.

Details of changeover requirements for Gold Awards using the old programme can be found under ‘Running the programme in your Unit’ in the following page. There is a link for each section on the page.

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/making-guiding-happen/programme-and-activities/the-girlguiding-programme

County Forms

County YL Registration, Leadership Qualification Registration, New Unit Registration forms

are available on the Girlguiding Hertfordshire website or from Membership Systems Support.

Contacts

GO Queries/Membership Systems Support - [email protected]

County Office – SS Level 2 Conversations, 1st Response Qualifications - [email protected]

Programme/GO suggestions - [email protected]

Lost/Missing Logins – HQ - [email protected] or preferably phone 0800 999 2016

How to password protect MS Word and MS Excel Documents

This is a difficult thing to tell people as people’s computers may be set up slightly differently. However, in general you should be able to do the following:

In both MS Word and MS Excel

        1. Select the File tab, usually at the top left of the document.

elect the Info tab, usually at the top of the list of options.

        1. Select Protect Document from the options displayed.
        2. Choose Encrypt with Password.
        3. Enter password
        4. Re-enter/confirm password.
        5. Close the document.

Your document will now be encrypted and will require a password to re-open. When sending by email send the document in a separate email to the password.

Glossary

Volunteer Roles vs Individuals – Volunteer Roles contains one entry for each role in this level. Individuals contains one entry per person whose main role is in this level. If you cannot see Awards and Qualifications on a Volunteer Role, check that you are on the correct level of access.

November 2018

Commissioner, County, Division and District Administrator and ID Verifier Update Trainings

There will be update trainings held on the following dates for holders of the above roles:

Thursday 8th November - Abbey Primary School, Grove Road, St Albans, AL1 1DQ

Tuesday 13th November - Hertfordshire Guide Centre, Cottered, Buntingford, SG9 9QP

Thursday 15th November - Sele School, Welwyn Road, Hertford, SG14 2DG

Monday 19th November - Galley Hill School, Galley Hill, Hemel Hempstead HP1 3JY

Please book via the [email protected] email address.

There is also a session at the County Training Day on Saturday 17th November. For this session only please use the application form available on the Girlguiding Hertfordshire website.

Running the New Programme

Click here for Guidance Notes For All Leaders

Click here for Changeover Guidance for Rainbows

Click here for Changeover Guidance for Brownies

Click here for Changeover Guidance for Guides

Click here for Changeover Guidance for Rangers

DofE Volunteers

Please note that although the age for starting the DofE qualifications has changed to age 13 this does not apply to the age for those wishing to volunteer with Girlguiding which remains at 14.  Girls under the age of 14 who wish to volunteer must be Guide members and be attached to units as Rainbow or Brownie Helpers.

Subscriptions Process 2019

The attached Subscriptions 2019 Business Process shows all the main steps that you need to know about the process.  You will be able to download this from the Girlguiding website www.girlguiding.org.uk/subs from the week commencing 5 November 2018.  This webpage will also include some frequently asked questions. We strongly recommend that all volunteers keep an eye on these pages and reads this information to familiarise themselves with the process.

Your level’s Subscription 2019 Trial Invoice will be available from noon on Tuesday 29 January 2019 until 7pm on Monday 25 February 2019. During this four week period you should check the number of active members on the trial invoice is correct and amend any records via GO if required. No invoice changes can be made after 7pm on Monday 25 February 2019.

If you require assistance with updating members GO records please visit the Help Zone within GO. Remember, girl roles can be updated by the unit Leader, Assistant Leader, Leader in Training and Unit Administrator. Volunteer roles in the unit team can be updated by the District/Division/County Administrator, Assistant Commissioner, Commissioner and Secretary. Please be reminded that it is your responsibility as the unit’s main contact to ensure the accuracy of the unit’s membership information on GO.

Your level’s Subscription 2019 Official Invoice will be available from noon on Tuesday 26 February 2019 and payment must be received in full by noon on Monday 1 April 2019. Please make sure you have enough funds available for your payment to clear.

If you need any further assistance please contact your Commissioner or County GO Coordinator for help.

October 2018

County New Unit Grant Form

• New units are eligible to apply for a county grant of £100. • The unit has to be registered on GO. There is a county form which has to be now submitted to Sheila which is signed by the district and division commissioner to confirm the unit is needed and will be viable. New units can now be set up locally on GO but still have to be confirmed at county level before becoming active, if the unit is set up in this way then we still ask for the form to be completed. • The form asks for meeting place details and also the leadership team so we can check if any extra LQ modules need to be completed. • The form states that no bank account should be applied for until the title of the unit has been confirmed. There are Girlguiding guidelines as to how the title is worded and we also check if there is a suitable unit that can be re-opened. • Once the unit is registered then the unit leader is sent a form to apply for a county grant. The form is signed by the division and district commissioners. The grant can be paid to a unit or to a district and the revised form asks for the bank account details and the signatories, so that the grant can be paid by bank transfer. The completed form is sent to the county treasurer who arranges payment of the grant. There is now a 3 month time limit from date of first unit meeting for applying for the grant.

DofE age change see Girlguiding newsletter 26th September

After a successful pilot, 13 year old Guides can now start their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in the school year they will turn 14. If you have any questions, speak to county Duke of Edinburgh adviser. Please note that there is no change to the age at which Young external volunteers can offer service, this remains at 14.

GO/Help/Bugs and Issues

Added additional reason for leaving – Contacted -no response from enquirer Added spouse or partner as emergency contact relationship option

Deceased members

As a reminder, when a member has passed away, their role should not be ended on GO as this will trigger communications about a member leaving Girlguiding. The process and best course of action is to contact the membership systems team at [email protected], with the subject: Deceased Member. We will deactivate their GO record and stop any communication background processes.

We do however recommend advising the family that although the record will be updated immediately it is possible that due to data extract and mailing timings an issue of the guiding magazine may be received.

Historic girl roles

Girlguiding are unable to action any requests to add an inactive historic role for a young member. If you would like to make a system suggestion for adding historic girl roles, please email [email protected].

If you discover that a girl’s historic/missing role is recorded on another membership number, please send an email with the girl’s name and both membership numbers to [email protected] so we can merge the records together.

Anniversary badges can still be awarded to girls without the badge being recorded on GO, even if the girl’s time in Guiding is showing incorrectly. The programme tool is available to help you manage young member achievements but should not stop you from awarding.

If you have any questions about the new programme, please contact [email protected].

Statistical Reports on GO

As it has been a year since the current (statistical Summary, Enquiry, Qualifications and Qualification Modules Reports) were launched it is now time for them to be reviewed. Although we will be reviewing all statistical reports, the main focus will be on the Qualifications and Qualification Modules Reports. To help us we would love to hear your views on these, if you have any suggestions on how we could improve any of these reports please let us know by emailing us at [email protected]

Help Files

Following feedback from the GO launch evaluation and systems event we’re looking at what changes we can make to ensure the help resources we provide are as useful as possible to the majority of users. We have a few help files in the pipeline and we’re also looking at how we can better format the help page for maximum benefit. We’ve already created a new help file called ‘Using Statistical Reports’ which provides you with instructions to aid you in using the ‘statistical summary’ and ‘enquiries’ reports and this is now in the Help Zone under the Commissioner and Administrator section. An overwhelming commonality from the evaluation was that users did not know the help zone is there. We’d be really grateful if you can remind volunteers in your area to look there first for help in completing the usual tasks.

Learning Resources

Girlguiding have started to look at resources that can be used by those delivering a GO training session, but also by those who would like to self-learn. With this is mind, we have created a workbook and answer sheet around the programme recording tool and provided the common tasks that units will be completing. Again; these resources can be found in the Help Zone under the ‘For Trainers’ section. If there’s a workbook you’d like to see, please email this to [email protected] so that we can look into the topics most requested.

Disclosures Update

DBS Checking and amending applicant details i.e. name

As a reminder, an applicant’s basic details are pulled across from their GO record. If you notice that their details were not correct on GO i.e. their name is not their official name, or a middle name is missing, you can edit the information on the disclosure application. It is important that both yourself and the applicant check and confirm the details that have been entered before submitting the application.

Once you have clicked on the applicant’s name and chose your preferred option to begin the application, you are then asked to confirm the applicant’s details. At this point ID Verifiers are able to amend any incorrect spellings or missing names. See the screenshot below for clarity.

Changes to DBS

In January the DBS introduced changes to their ID checking guidelines to align the ID checking process for non-EEA paid applicants with Right to Work.

On 13th August the DBS announced a further round of changes following clarification from the Home Office on a number of points.

What changes are the DBS making?

The DBS has introduced a number of new ID documents:

  • An Irish Passport Card has been added to group 2b. This can’t be accepted in conjunction with an Irish passport.
  • A Permanent Residence Card issued by the Home Office to the family member of a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland can now be used by non-EEA applicants in paid work.
  • A Positive Verification Notice issued by the Home Office Employer Checking Service to the employer or prospective employer, which indicates that the named person may stay in the UK and is permitted to do the work in question can now be used by non-EEA applicants in paid work..

Non-EEA applicants no longer need to supply a passport in support of the following documents:

  • A current Residence Card (including an Accession Residence Card or a Derivative Residence Card).
  • Immigration Status Documents.

September 2018

The following information is relevant to all volunteers and units in the County

Marketing Preferences

Girlguiding and Girlguiding Anglia have edited their e-newsletter in line with GDPR regulations. Please log in to GO/My profile/ Marketing preferences and update your preferences including Regional information . Remember to click submit button to save your preferences.

Transferring girls to the next section

In preparation for next year, unit’s may be starting to transfer girls up to the next section. As a reminder, a girl’s role should be ended (made inactive) when she has left the unit. By not doing this it will stop her new unit from being able to add the girl to their active young members list.

When adding a girl to an active list, confirm the role cannot be completed if the start date entered is more than 30 days in advance. If a girl will be starting in the new term, she will need to either remain on the unit’s waiting list or updated to the meeting arranged stage. Please remember that a girl’s role should not be confirmed until after she has attended her second unit meeting.

Programme Renewal – Recording Tool

On 24 July the programme recording tool went live. This is the first iteration of the tool and the team will be looking for ideas on how to improve this, please encourage volunteers to email their suggestions in to [email protected]

To support this development, you can find a help file and videos in the help zone and it is also linked to within the programme area.

Programme Renewal – Webinar sessions

The national programme renewal webinars can be found for sign up on the ‘Learning Opportunities’ page. There is also a webinar to support this process and it can be found on the ‘Learning Opportunities’, ‘My Events’ and ‘Help’ pages.

Help Files – Updates

The following help files have been updated and are now available in the GO Help Zone.

Unit Checklist – this includes the basic steps for recording the programme on GO.

Preparing for the start of term – this includes the steps to be completed each term for recording the programme.

Young Members – these six help files have become one bigger help file, it includes information about the programme, recording the promise date for a girl and the six/patrol they are in. We’ve also broken the instructions into more sections to clarify some of the processes.

The following help files are brand new and are now available on GO.

Programme Recording - this includes the instructions for recording the programme.

Webinars – this includes information on how to sign up to a webinar, check the software and how to join the webinar on the day.

Incorrect roles on GO for Young Members

We have had reports where young members are appearing on a waiting list with the wrong section under ‘Role Type’, e.g. showing as a Rainbow on a Brownie unit waiting list. This was caused by a bug in the system which had already been resolved. Unfortunately, our fix could not amend records which had already been affected and so we need to amend these manually when reported to us. Please let us know if you come across any young members with this issue by emailing [email protected] using the subject ‘Wrong Section’ with the young member’s membership number and name so we can fix it for you.

For Commissioner role and ID Verifiers

Changes to Recruitment and Vetting Procedures

Note from Mary -this all that we have been told so far about these changes – watch out for further information about when the changes will be introduced and what happens to the letter required for a volunteer turning 18.

From early September Girlguiding are making some changes to their policies, to clarify and streamline the recruitment and vetting of new and existing volunteers. The changes are designed to provide better support for commissioners and enquiry co-ordinators and provide clearer information for those of you who are already volunteers, and those who are keen to get started.

What are the key changes? 

Referencing for young members

Young members who would like to volunteer on turning 18 must provide a letter of commendation from their leader or commissioner and have an informal meeting. This is if they have been active in guiding in the last 12 months.  If they have not been active within the last 12 months they will need to provide references in the same way as an adult enquirer.

Note Young Leader roles appear on the district commissioner management/becoming an adult list up to 12 months before their 18th birthday. Once the YL role has been reviewed and ended or updated then using the action button/click ‘Mark YO review complete’ to remove record from this list

Response time for new volunteer enquiries

Girlguiding are also changing the time where those enquiring about volunteering can expect to hear back from us from 21 days to seven days. If new volunteer enquiries don’t receive a response in this time, there’s a new process for following these up:

        • After seven days, commissioners or enquiry coordinators will get an automated reminder that there’s an enquiry waiting.
        • After 10 days, a message will go to the next level commissioner to notify them. Both they and the main commissioner/coordinator will receive weekly reminders from this point.
        • If the enquirer hasn’t been contacted after a month, we’ll send a note to the county commissioner to let them know.  This will mean that new volunteers are given a warm welcome from day one, bring us in line with their expectations, and give volunteers increased support from their commissioners if they haven’t been able to respond to enquiries – if they’ve been unwell or on holiday for example. Girlguiding trialled a shorter response time during the Improving Access to Guiding project, in participating districts in the pilot county, Essex West. This had a positive knock-on effect on the overall joining time (from enquiry through recruitment checks to membership/registration on GO), reducing the process from an average of 11 weeks to eight.

A Safe Space Training – old version

From the 31 July 2018 you will no longer have the option to add the old version of ‘A Safe Space’ on GO as these should not have been run since December 2017.

Volunteers should be completing the relevant A Safe Space Level 1 – 4 Training for their role. More information about the A Safe Space Training can be found on the Girlguiding website … Making guiding happen > Learning and development > A Safe Space

Managing Disclosures on GO

The disclosures section has recently been updated on GO. You will no longer see the lists showing disclosures expiring in 4 months and disclosures expiring in 2 months. These have been removed to provide a simplified view and process for managing disclosure checks.

All volunteers who require a disclosure check for their role will appear in the list named ‘All New Disclosures’ within the ‘Disclosures’ section of GO. This includes volunteers who need a disclosure for the first time and existing volunteers who need a recheck.

When a volunteer has started their disclosure application their name will move to the ‘All Ongoing Disclosures’ list. Once the disclosure is complete they will no longer appear in the Disclosure section of GO.

Cancelling DBS Checks

There is a new process to remove the unwanted DBS disclosure checks from the disclosures site. Please direct the checks which need to be removed to HQ by emailing membership systems at [email protected]. In the email please provide the volunteer’s name and membership/enquiry number and the reason the check needs to be removed. This may be because it is a duplicate application or that the individual has left Guiding and no longer needs to complete a disclosure. If you cancel the ‘Disclosure Requested’ application on the disclosure system, and the volunteer still has a role that requires a DBS on their GO record the system will generate a new application request within two hours.

 

DBS - New Application Button

As a reminder, ‘New Application’ button has now been removed on the Disclosure system for District, Division and County ID Verifiers. This is to reduce the amount of duplicate applications on the system and to make sure that ID Verifiers are completing checks via the ‘Disclosure Requested’ records for the applicant.

ID Verifiers can only start a DBS application on the disclosure system if the volunteer’s ‘Disclosure Requested’ record is within the area that they are the ID Verifier for.

If a check needs to be completed by an ID Verifier from a different area, the County Coordinator for ID Verifiers will be able to initiate an application via the ‘New Application’ button and select the relevant area for where the ID verifier is. This process will invite the applicant to choose their ID and the ID Verifier will be able to see and continue with the check with the applicant. Please note to complete these steps you will need to enter the applicant’s date of birth, email address and membership number to proceed.

If ID Verifiers are unable to help with this the Disclosures team can create a DBS application for them also during normal office hours. They should provide the name of the volunteer, their enquiry/membership number and the ID verifier’s membership number. This can be requested via phone 0207 592 1822 or email to [email protected].

May 2018

Information for all volunteers and units

GO Help Zone

Please continue to use the help files and help videos in the Help Zone of GO.Based on questions and feedback the systems team have received, the following related help files were updated during March and April:

        • The LQ Process
        • All Young Member processes
        • Tables

Four new help files were also created to help with different related processes:

        • Adding Rainbow/Brownie Helpers*
        • Removing Rainbow/Brownie Helpers*
        • Going Away With… Qualification
        • First Aid & A Safe Space

Help files are continuing to be reviewed and there are several help files currently being written; these help files include one focussing on Peer Education, one for communications that are sent from GO and also some of the qualifications which will be split into separate help files. *As a reminder, when adding a Rainbow/Brownie Helper role to a girl’s record they must have an active Guide role. The Rainbow/Brownie Helper role will need to be added by the Rainbow or Brownie unit. Once the girl leaves Guides and her role is made inactive, her Rainbow/Brownie Helper role will automatically end also.

Young Member Enquiries

GO access is available for parent/carers of enquirers only. Once a girl becomes an active young member their parent/carer no longer has login access to their daughter’s GO record. It is the unit team’s responsibility to update a girl’s details on the parent/carers behalf.

Transferring a young member

When a young member wishes to transfer to the next section, the current unit team should complete this action on GO by clicking on the ‘Transfer’ option on the girls record and selecting the desired unit from the map. This then sends the girls interest to the next unit so that they can make contact with the parent/carer and complete the required actions to add the young member to their waiting list or active list. Please note that this action will not end the girl’s role in her current unit. If she is no longer attending your unit meetings, as her current unit you will need to end/deactivate her role with you. Her new unit will not be able to add her new active role to their unit if this has not been done by her current unit. They will however be able to add her to their waiting list until she is made inactive by her previous unit.

Generating Forms

When generating forms within GO, they are put into a processing queue in the system, which could take up to 10 minutes to be processed. For data security and system memory capacity, generated forms are deleted from the system after 20 minutes. However, the forms can be regenerated again at any time.  If a form is taking too long to generate it will unfortunately be cancelled and will need to be requested again. This is usually due to internet service speed or the amount of data needed to be generated onto the forms. Our technical development team are looking at how this can be improved.

Alternatively, please remember that all  forms are  available to download in blank formats from  the Girlguiding website www.Girlguiding.org.uk > Making Guiding Happen >Forms and Resources > Forms and Resource Library.

Updates for all district and division commissioners and administrators and ID verifiers

Disclosures Update

New Application Button

The ‘New Application’ button has now been removed on the Disclosure system for District, Division and County ID Verifiers. This is to reduce the amount of duplicate applications on the system and to make sure that ID Verifiers are completing checks via the ‘Disclosure Requested’ records for the applicant.

DBS applications for Girlguiding volunteers can only be started in the Disclosures site when an application has been triggered by the volunteer’s role in GO. For new volunteers, the application will be triggered when a role (that requires a check) has been selected on the enquiry record in GO. For existing volunteers, the application will trigger when their current DBS is within four months of expiring.

If a DBS has not been started after 90 days, the system will automatically cancel the check and trigger a new disclosure request if on their GO record they still have an active or active-pending role that requires a check.

To locate the volunteer’s application on the Disclosure system search for their first name and surname in the Applicant Search box. This will only work if your ID Verifier role is in the same level where the volunteer’s ‘Disclosure Requested’ record is located.

If a check is being completed outside of the area where the ‘Disclosure Requested’ record is, please contact your County Coordinator for ID Verifiers as they still have access to the ‘New Application’ button. They will be able to use this to invite the applicant to choose their ID and will be able to select the relevant area for that ID Verifier to see and continue with the check.

If you are unable to reach your local County Coordinator for ID verifiers, the Disclosures team can create a DBS application for you. Please provide the name of the volunteer, their enquiry/membership number and the ID verifier’s membership number to [email protected].

Disclosure Checks for Under 18 Year Olds

It is Girlguiding policy that Disclosure checks can only be conducted for volunteers when they are aged 18 and above in a role that requires a disclosure check. An exception to this policy is when a young volunteer will be turning 18 just before or during an event in which she is volunteering. In this circumstance, it is permissible for this check to be done while she is 17 and within 60 days of her 18th birthday.

As GO will not automatically trigger a disclosure request, commissioners will need to email [email protected] to approve that the check can be completed and create a record on the Disclosure system to be initiated.

March 2018

Information for all volunteers

Invitation emails to GO

We are continuing to send out invitation codes to all volunteers on GO with an email address if they have not yet logged in. These are sent from a ‘do not reply’ email account so please ensure the spam folder is also checked.

We advise that all volunteers log in to GO, check their details and add an emergency contact.

If an individual does not have an email address recorded, please update this within GO. The system will then automatically send an invitation code to them.

If an invitation code has not been received please email [email protected] with the subject ‘Access Code Request’.

Further information for all units

Top Tip for GO

Did you know that you can search on any table using the search box above it? You can search on any of the columns with a blue heading.

Don’t forget to use the wild card () to search on part of the information. For example, you would like to find anyone with the name Ann Smith, but you are unsure as to whether it’s spelt with an ‘e’ use Ann smith and you’ll find anyone with the name Ann Smith, Anne Smith, Annabel Smith, Annie Smith, Anna Smith and so on.

Rainbow & Brownie Helpers

Don’t forget to ensure you add any Guides who help at your Rainbow or Brownie unit. You can do this by using the following instructions, which can be found in the Rainbow/Brownie Helper help file in the Help Zone. As a reminder these roles can only be held by an active Guide.

        • Click on Unit Leader > My Units
        • Click on your unit’s name
        • Click on Young Member Roles
        • Scroll down the page to the second table
        • Click on the ‘Add Rainbow/Brownie Helper’ button
        • Enter their membership number or name and date of birth
        • Click Search
        • In the table below, click on the action arrow and Transfer In
        • Change the start date if required and click ‘submit’

If you have a young volunteer aged 14 plus who is not a Guide, your Commissioner will need to add them with their volunteer role (e.g. Young Leader or Young External Volunteer) to your unit.

Invoice payments

Don’t forget that we need to receive your unit’s subscription invoice by noon on Tuesday 3 April 2018. Please ensure that there are enough cleared funds in the level’s bank account for the cheque to clear. Once payment has been received the level’s invoice status will show as ‘Payment being processed’ for 5 working days (i.e. excluding weekends and bank holidays). After these 5 working days, the invoice status will change to ‘Paid in full’ if the payment has cleared, the level’s main contact will receive an email to confirm this. Please remember to print or save the official ‘Paid in Full’ invoice as a receipt for your unit’s financial accounts.

After the 3 April, payments will no longer be processed centrally (by the Girlguiding Trading Finance Team). Any outstanding payments will need to be managed and collected by the County responsible.

Further information for District and Division Commissioners in your County

In addition please read the information for all volunteers and information for all units.

Young Leaders completing their Leadership Qualification

There has been some confusion around Young Leaders aged 16 to 18 who are completing the Leadership Qualification and how this should be recorded on GO.

These volunteers should be added as Young Leaders as this is the role they hold. Then complete and submit county Leadership Qualification form to request an LQ mentor

Long Service Awards

Long Service Awards must be added at County level as they are given at the discretion of the County Commissioner. GO allows you at District and Division level to see who is due so that you are also able to celebrate these achievements.

To see what roles count towards the length of service calculation, take a look at the relevant ‘Access levels’ document at https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/making-guiding-happen/running-your-unit/membership-administration/how-to-use-go/access-levels/

Volunteers age 75

There is no longer a requirement for volunteers who reach the age of 75 to complete an insurance disclaimer form. They can continue with their volunteering role.

Historic Roles

If a volunteer believes they are missing historic roles, then please ensure the following information is sent to [email protected] with the subject: Historic Roles.

Role held:

Name of volunteer and GO number

Name of unit/district/division:

Date from:

Date to:

Invoice payments

Please encourage any levels whose official invoice status is ‘Unpaid’ to make payment as soon as possible and ensure that there are enough cleared funds in the level’s bank account for their cheque to clear. Payment must be received by the Finance Team (Trading Service) by noon on Tuesday 3 April 2018. Please offer support to levels that maybe struggling to pay their invoice in full or send their cheque.

Once payment has been received the level’s invoice status will show as ‘Payment being processed’ for 5 working days (i.e. excluding weekends and bank holidays). After these 5 working days, the invoice status will change to ‘Paid in full’ if the payment has cleared, the main contact for the level will receive an email to confirm this. Please remind levels to print or save their official ‘Paid in Full’ invoice as a receipt for the financial accounts.

If there are any queries with a level’s payment their invoice will display as ‘Problem with payment’, the level’s main contact will be sent an email with full information about the problem and how to resolve it. We cannot discuss this with anyone but the level.

Levels have until the noon on 3 April 2018 for their payment to be received. After this date payments will no longer be processed centrally. Any outstanding payments will need to be managed and collected by the County responsible.

Levy repayments

These will be made to all collecting Districts, Divisions and Counties on 20 April 2018 by electronic bank transfer to the level’s bank details (recorded on the Subscription system when entering their levy amounts). The association amount of £15.00 will be deducted from the Counties/Country & Region levy repayment for every member who has not been paid. This will mean that your County/Country & Region will invoice you directly for these payments.

Subscription reports

Please remember to use the ‘Reports’ tab on the Subscription system which is available to District, Division and County users, including the level’s Treasurer. This report updates each day to show the payment statuses of all invoices in the level and includes summary totals. The report can be used to monitor these payment statuses and offer support where needed to levels. You can also download a level’s invoice by clicking on the level’s name.

Disclosure Checks

You should be allocating the ID Verifier to the applicant on GO using the following instructions which can also be found in the help file V4: Disclosure Process.

1) Click on the ‘Commissioner/Level Support’ button at the top of the screen and then on ‘My District Roles/My Division Roles’ from the drop down. Click on the relevant level from the list of levels on the screen.

2) Click on the ‘Disclosures’ tab along the top of the screen.

3)  Click the actions arrow beside the application and choose ‘View Disclosure’.

4) In the pop up window, click the magnifying glass beside ‘ID Verifier Selector’ to assign an ID Verifier to the applicant.

The ID Verifier can now see the relevant information in the ID Verifier zone (more information about this can be found in the ID Verifier help file).

Deceased members

If a member locally passes away, please could we ask that you forward us the membership number as soon as possible so that we can ensure the relevant actions are undertaken. Email [email protected]  and [email protected]  with the subject ‘deceased member’.

November 2017

National Support We’re now almost two months in and since launch more than 33,700 volunteers have set up their account to use GO. We’ve responded to more than 16,600 support calls and emails. The systems team is available by phone Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on 0800 999 2016 or can be emailed on [email protected].

Access Issues

I haven’t received my invite code We have now re-sent the invitation codes to all volunteers who have not yet set-up their access to GO. To receive this you would need to be holding an active role that gives access and have an email address recorded. If you still haven’t received this, please email membership systems with ‘Access Code Request’ as the subject.

I can’t remember the answer to my authentication question Please ring the team Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm so that we can confirm identity and reset the question and answer. You’ll then be able to log in and change this as required on your profile.

I can’t remember my username and/or password Use the ‘Forgot Your Username’ and/or ‘Forgot Your Password’ on the login page to request a reminder of your username and a link to reset your password.

I’d like to change my username Please email membership systems with ‘Change of Username’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, please include the current username and the new username so that we can make this change.

For unit volunteers

Preparing for Subs 2018 It’s time to start checking your unit’s records and getting things corrected as soon as possible. Use the attached step by step instructions to check your details and ensure the updates are made as required. A reminder that the national amount for Subs 2018 is £15, your Country/Region, County and Division/District may be adding additional levies for their running costs.

Current bugs being investigated Don’t forget to check the bugs and issues page on GO, this provides the most up to date information about issues we’re experiencing with GO; access this via the Help Zone.

The key bugs we’re investigating related to units are:

  • The number of active girls in the unit is not showing correctly
  • Not able to refer an enquiry at the ‘Contacted’ stage as the update button goes missing. While being investigated, you can do this from the ‘All Enquiries’ page instead.

Help Files We’ve started reviewing the Help Files based on your feedback and have already updated the following:

  • unit checklist
  • transferring a young person
  • postpone/abandon a qualification.

We’ve also added a new help file called ‘Reporting’ and this shows the reports used on the old Go! and Join Us systems and where to find the information now on GO.

Don’t Forget A girl needs to have her role ended in her previous section before her new Leader can add the new role. This is completed using the ‘End Role’ option on the action arrow.

It’s not possible to edit the ethnicity or preferred language for a young member, the parent can do this while they are an enquiry. We’re discussing this again with the inclusion team about who can update this information.

For Commissioners

Please share everything above (for all volunteers and for unit volunteers) with Commissioners as well as the following:

Preparing for Subs 2018 We are currently preparing the Subscriptions site so that local areas can add their amount and check bank details for the 2018 Subscriptions process. Please keep an eye on your communications for when this launches. All levies will need to be added by noon on Friday 5 January 2018. If you have decided not to collect a levy then you will not need to enter anything on the Subscriptions system, as all levies are set to £0.00 by default.

When the system launches, you’ll need the following information to hand when adding the levy information:

  • The levy amount you’d like to collect per person (i.e. £1.50 for your District or Division not £34 as total cost per member)
  • The account name, account number and sort code
  • If it’s a building society, don’t forget the reference number (it’s advisable to check the details with the building society with regards to receiving bank transfer payments).

If you are collecting a levy, then don’t forget to share this amount and what it’s for with your local volunteers. In the attached document you’ll find more information about how to complete some of the common requests for changes on GO that affect the Subscriptions process (e.g. changing a main role, or membership status).

Any questions about the subscriptions process can be sent to [email protected].

Current bugs being investigated Don’t forget to check the bugs and issues page on GO, this provides the most up to date information about issues we’re experiencing with GO; access this via the Help Zone.

The key bugs we’re investigating related to Commissioners are:

  • The number of active girls in a unit is not showing correctly
  • It is currently only possible for a Commissioner or Commissioner Designate to add a Commissioner or Commissioner Designate role
  • If trying to refer a volunteer to another area from the ‘Contacted’ stage the update button goes missing; in the meantime, you can do this from ‘All Enquiries’
  • Unable to see contact details for a girl in units; we’re investigating this at the moment.

Historic Roles We’ve had lots of queries about the adding of historic roles, these need to be added nationally, and need to be emailed to us by the County Commissioner, GO Coordinator or Enquiry Coordinator as approval of the role being added.

September 2017

Now that GO is live, we would suggest you check your details in the My Profile area to ensure your personal details and your emergency contact information is up to date. There are lots of help files and videos in the ‘Help’ zone on GO.

If you have any questions about GO contact [email protected]. For County enquiries please email [email protected].

Girlguiding Headquarters have also created a list of some key tasks that they would advise you complete. This will also help you to familiarise yourself with the upgraded system.