Society Handover training 2019 Sophie McDermott, Activities Officer

What is a Handover? What do you think a Handover is? Why do you need to do a good handover? Where should you start?

First, a year in review! How was this year? What went well? What needs to improve? Do you need all committee positions? Membership price

Second, start planning! Committee Positions? AGM? After the AGM? Planning it. Advertising it. Running it. After the AGM?

Committee Positions President Secretary Treasurer Vice president Social secretaries Specific event coordinators Media officer Charity officer Welfare officer Reps for marginalised groups General committee Change constitution

The AGM – Planning Date Venue University and SU room bookings Social after?

The AGM - Advertising 2 weeks notice All members have the opportunity to apply Must be a member Must be a registered student Must be on campus Explain time commitment and expectations Perks (CDM, ncl+, employability) Manifestos

The AGM 25% of members of 10- highest Time limit on speeches- stick to it Nominees who can’t attend Host Returning officer Voting Keep votes Must be a member to vote ALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS MUST BE ELECTED!

After the AGM – Immediately After Email Activities Officer with the results Email Society with the results Encourage those who didn’t get a place to stick with the society Meet with new committee Review it: What went well? What wasn’t so good? How to run a society Advice for the year

After the AGM – Meeting New Committee Sit down in one place and have a proper chat Review it: What went well? What wasn’t so good? How to run a society – what are our tips and tricks? Advice for the year – what would you suggest? WRITE A HANDOVER DOCUMENT If every committee member wrote just one side of A4 about key commitments, what went well, what didn’t go well, and how to deal with certain situations, we would never have a problem ever again!

Be Mindful This is really important. You need to explain to the people running/elected that this is a big role, and they are making a commitment. Be mindful of the role you are in, and be completely honest with anyone coming to talk to you about the role, and ultimately the person who is elected.

Third, the Handover Documents! These are all on the website: Society Constitution Society Information Sheet Society Officer Contact Details Safety Policy Safety Policy Receipt Risk Assessment Template Bribery and Finance Proforma

The Constitution This is a document that will set out the aims and objectives of your society and will prove that it’s available for all students here at Newcastle, as well as checking that it is different to other societies already set up here. “To assist future Committees in the production of a Constitution that outlines their duties, responsibilities and guidance’s which members are expected to abide by”, this document will set out the rules of the society, and you are welcome to deviate from the template – this is just the place to start! You MUST put effort into this. Any which are handed in with ‘template’ written on or [insert society name here] etc where no effort has clearly been made will be rejected and you will not be given an extended deadline to hand them in.

Society Information Sheet This provides the information that will go on the website. It includes a brief description of your society’s activities, the meeting days, times and venues, the society contact details and the risk level, which can be found in the NUSU Activities Safety Policy. It also requires a brief description of what the members can expect for their money.

Society Officer Contact Details This provides the Union with the contact details of the committee, so they know who to contact in any instance.

Safety Policy You must create this yourself using the Activities Safety Policy. In order to help ensure the safety of your future members we ask each society to produce a health and safety policy. This highlights what the safety arrangements will be for all your activities. Please speak with the Student Activities Manager, Mark Bennett, for more information and guidance. You can email him at: activitiesmanager.union@ncl.ac.uk

Safety Policy Receipt This is to state that you, and one other member of your exec, have read and understood the Activities Safety Policy, and that any procedures relevant to your society are implemented accordingly. “I acknowledge receipt of the NUSU Activities Safety Policy and I will ensure that all guidance and procedures contained in this policy that are relevant to our Club/Society activities, are implemented and followed by all Club/Society members and officials”.

Risk Assessment There is a reason why it is more than 1 A4 side. You MUST put effort into this. Where no effort has clearly been made will be rejected and you will not be given an extended deadline to hand them in. Each society needs to complete a detailed risk assessment to show they have given some consideration to what hazards are involved in their activities, and how these will be controlled. Please speak with the Student Activities Manager for more information and guidance (see details above).

Bribery and Finance Proforma NUSU and the AU specifically have an on-going problem with bars, clubs and promoters being associated with and sponsoring clubs and societies. Several social secretaries/committee members are entering into sponsorship deals where money paid is dependent on society members attendance at a particular bar or club; this may be as stringent as going every week to a certain bar and spending a certain amount of money at that venue. This raises several moral questions including whether or not there should be any link between joining a club/society and having to attend and drink at bars and clubs, this culture putting some students off sports or societies altogether. For these reasons it has been decided by elected representatives to pursue a policy of eliminating sponsorship deals linked to bars and clubs altogether to protect the sports clubs, societies, the integrity of their committees, and the reputation of the NUSU.

Other Forms Equipment List Safety Policy Signature List All equipment your society owns should be on this list. You should hand this over to the next committee with all the details on and they should continue to fill this out. Safety Policy Signature List On joining the club/society named every member of the club/society must read the club/society current Safety Policy and Risk Assessment and then sign below to indicate that they have done so. This document should be kept within the club/society and taken to meetings or training sessions for all members to have access to sign.

HANDOVER DEADLINE ALL 7 forms must be handed in by Friday 14th June 2019 To make things easier for you, this may be online by then wooo but even if it is, if you don’t have the forms in, you will NOT be running next year. And if they are late, then it is at the discretion of next years AO to cut your grants so beware! Other dates: Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th September 2019 will be Officer Training. Please inform the new Executive Committee they MUST be available on these dates! Friday 20th September 2019, provisional date for International Fair. Sunday 22nd, Monday 23rd, Tuesday 24th September 2019 will be Freshers’ Fair! To be able to sign up for this, your society MUST have handed in their documents by the above deadline.