2019 Membership System Updates
October 2019
GO – October shutdown
We have been told that the anticipated shutdown of GO sometime in October will not be happening. We are unsure whether it will happen at some stage and have been given no further details.
Continuous Membership
When ending or adding roles for both girls and volunteers please consider whether these should run consecutively with no gap in membership or service. The start date on an Active role can be changed if necessary but no changes can be made to an Inactive role. Do please think carefully about the dates that you use when ending or starting a role.
September 2019
Safe Space Level 2 Changes A Safe Space Level 2 has been simplified and the e-learning now includes an online assessment which replaces the need for a follow-up chat. Once a volunteer has completed their e-learning and assessment their GO record will be automatically updated to show this. The assessment has an 80% pass level and allows 3 attempts. If unsuccessful a face to face training should be offered.
If you have people who have already completed the Level 2 part 1 e-learning and have been waiting to do the follow-up chat, they can either redo the e-learning and complete the assessment or they can have the follow up chat which can still be recorded on GO in the usual manner.
GO – October shutdown We have been advised that there will not now be an October shutdown of one week as previously anticipated.
Historic Safeguarding Review - Deadline Information regarding this review should have been cascaded down via Commissioners. Commissioners need to return the review form to HQ by 20th September. This just confirms that you have contacted everybody in your Division/District.
Programme Changeover The programme changeover date was 22nd July. Everybody should be starting the new term following the new programme. You may still be able to source old badges and resources from volunteer shops, while stocks last. If your unit has badges and resources that it no longer needs the County archives will always welcome them.
July 2019
There are a few things that will still need attention through the summer…Sorry!
Ranger Unit Name Changes
At some time during the summer the names of all Senior Section units will be changed on GO to reflect the change to the new Ranger section. The words ‘Senior Section’ will be replaced with ‘Rangers’. This has implications for flags, bank accounts and other formal documents.
18-30 role changes
Changes need to made to the roles of any members aged 19-30 whose only role is as a Ranger member, as these will be ended by the end of the summer holidays. Please talk to your unit Leader or Commissioner about a suitable role. If you are not ready or are unable to commit to a volunteer role you can be given a County, Division, District or Unit Supporting Member role which can be reviewed at a later date. Leaders also need to think about those girls who will reach this age through the summer months.
Click here for more information
Historic Safeguarding Review
If you aren’t already aware, there is currently a historic review of Safeguarding practices and HQ are asking for any information about past incidents. All volunteers are being asked to send in any information that they have. Further information is being cascaded via Commissioners.
Programme Changeover Date
The programme changeover date is 22nd July. At this point you’ll no longer be able to view guidance on the old programme such as the Baden Powell award or badge syllabuses. The older programme and badges will be retired from the website and online shop. You will still be able to order resources over the phone and from volunteer shops, while stocks last.
June 2019
Membership Systems Support
The Membership Systems team are pleased to share that the large backlog of support emails has been reduced from over 3000 to under 500. This is largely due to two additional interns who joined the team in the New Year. With this extra support the team hope to resume a more timely response time to volunteers and members very soon. Thank you for your continued understanding and patience.
Leadership Qualification
When a volunteer completes module 1 to 3 of the Leadership Qualification they should be given the role of ‘assistant leader’. If they also complete module 4 they should be given the role of ‘leader’. This should be the case even if they are not going to be the main unit leader or leader in charge. There can be more than one leader in a unit. The role is equivalent to the modules they have completed, not their responsibility in the unit.
A Safe Space Level 3 requirements
Reports now reflect that the “one leader per unit” requirement, can now be a leader, assistant leader, or leader-in-training.
A Safe Space e-learnings
Level 3 e-learning has been moved to a new platform. The course will now automatically be added to GO records providing the membership number and email address are given exactly as it is written on GO.
Level 1 and 2 e-learnings may still take up to 2 weeks to show on your GO record. This is currently being looked into to make it an automatic upload as well.
Updated help files and resources
Since the beginning of 2019 we have updated or added the following help files and resources:
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- Contacting groups of volunteers (in line with the marketing list available)
- First Aid and A Safe Space
- Using the statistical reports
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Welcome pack
Since January we have been sending out a welcome pack for volunteers starting a new county role that gives them access to GO at a county level (excl. commissioners and assistant commissioners). This is an introduction to the role and provides a role description and some information to get the volunteer started in their new role. We’ve been asked to share this with existing users as they may still find this useful
GO bugs and issues page
To help keep you informed we will be updating the bugs and issues page on a monthly basis. This page can be found by logging into GO and clicking on the ‘Help’ icon in the top menu.
GO portal speed
GO has been experiencing some slow performance issues which have been affecting user’s ability to navigate the site, access certain areas and perform actions. Please be assured that we are working with our system partners and Microsoft to resolve these issues. We understand the frustrations this is causing and are grateful for your patience as we do our best to resolve the matter.
Historic roles and qualifications update
Updates to historic roles and qualifications are no longer being accepted as the deadline was 30 November 2018. We believe that all outstanding requests in Hertfordshire have now been actioned.
April 2019
Rangers and Ranger Unit changes
GO
At a date to be confirmed, during summer 2019, all GO records (unit level and individual member) will be updated in line with the following rules:
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- Any member of The Senior Section aged 14-18 (up until 19th birthday) will automatically become a member of Rangers
- Any Senior Section unit will become a Ranger unit
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Since this update will involve making The Senior Section member role in GO inactive, any member aged 19-25 inclusive who does not have another role in Girlguiding registered on GO will become inactive. We will send targeted communications throughout 2019 to remind and encourage members who will be affected by this to update their records accordingly.
The unit name given in GO will be updated at this time to replace ‘Senior Section Unit’ with ‘Ranger Unit’. This will have implications for anything pertaining to the unit name, such as the unit bank account, and further guidance will be issued to leaders of The Senior Section to help them anticipate the impact of this change during 2019.
During the academic year 2018-19 it will still be possible to create new units of The Senior Section. Since these will automatically turn into Rangers units when the system changes are made, this is how new Rangers units should be set up during this period.
Local commissioners will be asked to work closely with unit leaders to ensure they are planning for the change to Rangers and directing new members aged 18-30 towards the new opportunities available to them in readiness for the changeover.
A review of the current GO report available to commissioners of all members aged 14-25 inclusive in their area will be undertaken during the 2018-19 academic year.
Join us
Since Join us links directly to GO, it will not change until GO is updated as described in summer 2019. For new joiners this may be confusing, so work will be done on some additional text in the confirmation email sent to enquirers in this age bracket which explains the changes.
Recording Safe Space Level 2 Part 2
When the Safe Space Level 2 Part 2 chat has been carried out (by A Safe Space trainer or a commissioner with up to date Levels 1-3) please send the volunteer’s name, membership number and the date of the chat to the County Office, who will update the volunteer’s record.
Leadership Qualification and Leaders in Training
We are finding people on GO with a Leadership Qualification still in progress who have either left Girlguiding or have changed roles. If the volunteer has left Girlguiding altogether GO will usually mark the LQ and modules as Abandoned but if they change roles this doesn’t always happen.
Please help us to keep our data up to date by notifying county leadership qualification adviser if you end a Leader in Training role and the volunteer no longer wishes to complete the Leadership Qualification.
Membership Cards
New Membership cards have been sent out for this year. Please let county membership systems coordinator know if you have not received yours.
March 2019
Subscriptions • Live Invoices are now available to download, no amendments can be made. • Pay your invoice by posting your cheque and invoice payment slip to the address detailed on the invoice. • Payment must to be received by the Finance team by noon on Monday 1st April 2019. Please allow time for postage and administration. • Ensure that there are enough cleared/available funds in the unit’s bank account • Make sure the cheque is signed by all required signatories. • Invoices must be paid as they stand, no amendments can be made. • Please note the following dates: - 20 March: reminder email will be sent to the main contact of any level that hasn’t yet paid their official invoice. -Noon, 1 April: all subscription payments must be received in full by this date.
Historic roles and qualifications update HQ received a higher number of requests than expected and prioritised work on the subscriptions process. All outstanding requests will be actioned as soon as possible. As a further reminder, they do not update historic girl roles such as Rainbow, Brownie, Guide or Senior Section (soon to be Rangers).
GAW Qualifications Deborah Carroll is now responsible for adding GAW data to GO. This can include historic Going Away With qualifications which have been completed previously but were not added to records.
Recruitment Checks In line with our vetting policies, all adults over 18 who are returning to Girlguiding after a break of more than 12 months, must provide two satisfactory references. This includes volunteers who may have provided references in the past and young members who have turned 18 and returned from a break over 12 months.
Membership card run The next annual membership card run will resume in March. Please ensure your personal details, such as name and address, are up to date on GO. Please note, membership cards are printed in the preferred name that is listed on a GO record.
February 2019
Subscriptions
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- Trial Invoices are now live, please check that they are correct.
- If you are shown as paying for someone and you think you shouldn’t be, check their membership status and main role. You pay for all members who have their main role in your level. You do not pay for anyone whose membership status is Recognised Volunteer.
- You should not change someone’s membership status from Member to Recognised Volunteer without discussing with them first.
- The following are the next important dates:
- 12 February: a reminder email sent from Girlguiding to the main contact of any level that has not yet viewed their trial invoice.
- Monday 25 February (7pm): no more changes can be made to trial invoices.
- Tuesday 26 February (noon): official and payable invoices will be available to download.
- 20 March: reminder email will be sent to the main contact of any level that hasn’t yet paid their official invoice.
- Noon, 1 April: all subscription payments must be received in full by this date.
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GO Communications/Girl Enquiries
Please do not rely solely on the GO internal communication system to contact parents of girl enquiries. They do not get notification to their personal email and may not log in regularly.
Young Leader turning 18/ Letter of recommendation
As soon as a young member decides they want to volunteer, a letter of commendation should be sent by her leader or commissioner to the commissioner responsible for recruitment. This allows the commissioner to add and confirm the role on GO.
The letter confirms that the member is recommended as an adult volunteer and is suitable for the role. It should include:
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- Name and membership number of the person writing the letter
- Name and membership number of young member
- How the person writing the letter knows the young member
- Confirmation that they consider the young member suitable to volunteer
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The letter might also contain other relevant information - such as the young member’s interests, skills and experience - and any additional needs the person making the recommendation is aware of.
The letter should be written by a leader or commissioner who knows the young member and can make a commendation as to their suitability to volunteer. It should not be the same commissioner responsible for the recruitment of the young member and who authorises the new role to be added to GO. The person writing the letter must be prepared to be contacted by the recruiting commissioner should anything need clarifying.
The letter should be sent to the commissioner responsible for recruitment of the young member and authorising the new role to be added to GO. The letter can be sent as a hard copy or email. It should be marked confidential.
As the letter may contain personal information, you should follow data protection procedures when storing, sharing or sending it. The letter itself doesn’t need to be added to GO. As the recruiting commissioner, once you’ve confirmed that you’re satisfied that the young member is suitable - and their volunteer role can be added to GO- you should destroy the letter.
Full details can be found on this page: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/making-guiding-happen/policies/girlguiding-policies/recruitment-and-vetting-policy/recruitment-procedures/