ICoS - Staff Support

IslingtonCS and the London Borough of Islington are committed to providing a high quality professional service and learning environment. Our aim is to provide a positive learning experience and you can expect:

• Tutors / facilitators who have been selected for their expertise and experience.
• Course objectives that are clearly stated and met through a variety of training activities to suit a range of learning styles.
• Training and materials that are informed by research and best practice with reference to appropriate occupational or professional standards where applicable.
• Mutual accountability during events between delegates, their managers, trainers and Islington Council.
• Sensitivity to the experience and needs of all participants.
• Opportunities to give feedback. As part of our commitment for continual evaluation and improvement we may from time to time, observe part/all of an event and will give feedback to the learning provider from any such observations.

Booking

Your applications: It is assumed that line managers have the authority to act on behalf of their employer in authorising applications (where applicable) and complying with these terms and conditions. Where authorisation is not required you must have had the relevant discussion and have obtained the authorisation of your manager and organisation before booking a course. After you have made an application the course organiser will provide you with relevant course information, primarily using IslingtonCS. The delegate and their line manager are both able to logon to IslingtonCS and see the progress of applications.

Fair usage: Where courses are offered on a first come first served basis, we ask that organisations do not bulk book places. We reserve the right to cancel any confirmed places in such circumstances.

Your personal details:

• It is essential that users maintain their personal details and keep their profile up to date, for example, if you change your email address or employer. We cannot accept responsibility for information that is sent but fails to arrive. Line managers should also inform IslingtonCS when staff leave their organisation.
• Hand-outs: Delegates are responsible for downloading any course materials and, if applicable, bringing them to the course.

Expectations & Behaviour

Ground rules will normally be established for all delegates at the start of events, including issues of confidentiality and whistleblowing. We are committed to challenging discrimination and negative stereotyping of minority groups. We expect all of our staff and trainers to meet this commitment and provide an inclusive and safe learning environment.

Therefore we will:

• Challenge behaviour and language that is discriminatory;
• Avoid discriminatory language and stereotyping. If this is used, it must be justifiable in terms of facilitating learning, and not gratuitous;
• Promote positive images of traditionally excluded groups;
• Be open to criticism and learn from this;
• Make reasonable adjustments to meet special requirements;
• Involve people who use services in development;
• Include examples in learning interventions of good practice in supporting people from minority groups;
• Use positive shortlisting for people who identify as having a disability.

Trainers may act on any issue/practice/situation/concern either about, or raised by, a delegate in a training context. Initially they will try and resolve this with the individual concerned. If this is not possible then the issue will be referred to the course organiser. Any such matters will be dealt with in a timely, factual way with the delegate being informed of the course of action to be taken.

We ask you to:

• Notify us of any special requirements
• Challenge behaviour or language that you feel is discriminatory
• Ensure that all staff are given opportunities to access learning

If delegates have concerns about any issues they experience during the learning event they should discuss this with the trainer in the first instance. If this is not appropriate or unresolved then they should talk to their line manager who will contact the learning and development manager. We welcome feedback as part of monitoring the quality of our learning and development activities.

Attendance charges and payments

Charges: You will be informed of any charge that might apply either at the time of requesting a place via islingtonCS, or separately via email or telephone contact. Course charges may vary dependent on the course provider, the sector you work within or your employer. Any charges that apply will be confirmed to the applicant when the booking is made. Any charges will be issued against a team budget code for internal staff or where invoiced this will be to the organisation or invoice name and address entered on the personal profile.

Delegate cancellation, late arrival and substitution

Delegate cancellation: To avoid a late cancellation charge we ask for three working days' notice (i.e. Monday-Friday) for all cancellations; this gives us enough time to try and reallocate your place on the course.

Late arrival: In order that courses can start promptly, delegates are advised to arrive at least 15 minutes before the advertised course start time. It is at the trainer's discretion to accept late entry. Where late arrival results in delegates being turned away, the non-attendance fee will apply.

Multiple day events: It is essential that you attend all sessions of a course where it takes place over a number of days. Failure to attend the whole course will result in non-attendance charges being applied to each session missed and/or certificates not being issued.

Substitute delegate: In all circumstances, we are happy to try to accommodate an appropriate substitute from your service/organisation, please contact us prior to the event to organise this. We will except last minute substitutions on the day, please ensure the delegate makes the trainer aware on arrival and adds a note to the register indicating who they are replacing. Please bear in mind that the cancellation charges still apply should the substituted delegate fail to attend or arrive late.

Course cancellation

Course cancellation: It is our policy not to postpone or cancel unless:

• a minimum number of bookings (usually 6) is not received within 5 working days of the start date (please note that this decision is at the discretion of the course organiser)
• there are unavoidable circumstances, such as a sudden illness of the trainer or adverse weather conditions.

If a course has to be cancelled in either of these circumstances, all candidates will be contacted via email/telephone. It is therefore essential that colleagues registering for a programme of professional development provide relevant contact details.

Non attendance charges

Where training places are funded and attendance is offered free of charge:
Late cancellation or non attendance on the day will incur a standard fee, unless advertised differently, of £50 per session

For courses where attendance is chargeable:
Any non-attendance or late cancellation fees will be collected as above at £50 per session or for the course cost should it be greater. Where payment is required in advance via a debit or credit card, these payments are only refundable if the event is cancelled or not delivered.

Please note: Any applicable fees and charges that are invoiced to your employer will be governed by LBI's debt recovery process.

Course Pre-requisites

Where there is online learning or other preparation that must be completed before for the course: Failure to complete it within the required time may result in your course booking being cancelled and a non-attendance fee being charged.

Evaluation & certification

We ask you to complete an online post-course evaluation. In most circumstances, this will be sent and accessed via IslingtonCS. In order to ensure we provide a quality service we would ask participants to take the time to complete their feedback. In some circumstances we may withhold certificates until an evaluation request has been fully completed.

The trainer may ask you to identify how you are going to apply the learning at the event and some courses may have a more formal assessment .

We may also contact you or your manager to discuss what difference the training has made.

Certificates (excluding those issued by awarding bodies following a formal qualification) will be available online via IslingtonCS. In order to receive a certificate and not be subject to a non-attendance fee it is essential that all delegates complete the whole course and sign the attendance register available at the training event.

We continually review our services and welcome any suggestions for improvement.

Intellectual Rights/Copyright

Any hand-outs or materials provided via the IslingtonCS may be subject to intellectual rights/copyright. As such, materials are provided for personal use only. Should you wish to reproduce or reuse, please contact us to seek the relevant permissions