UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Process of sharing notes with the facilitator team
WHY:
The point of this system is to set the facilitator team up as best as possible. This process is to share information which prepares the facilitating team for an upcoming workshop. It is to makes their day to day job easier which leads to a better and more impactful experience for the students. The key thing here is not just to flag problems or abnormalities, but to also provide a solution to these things. This is HOW we set the facilitating team up well, flagging problems with them does not serve them, providing a plan does.
HOW:
This process requires you to lean on your experience from facilitating UPP workshops and share your thinking around possible problems and solutions within our workshops.
At times there will be nothing to share with the team as it seems like a “standard day”. When there is information to share we do so. This system is to share the notes you have already created, or to share newly thought of plans, of based on your thinking so that when these notes are shared with our team they are as prepared as they can be. At times there will be no notes to share for some bookings as they seem like a “standard day”. However, when applicable notes have been created or you see something that seems a little abnormal or different about a day there needs to be a plan shared with our facilitators to set them up well.
While following the below process it is crucial to flag anything you are unsure of with the HOT or Director so that nothing is missed. When following this process in the initial phase ensure to CC the HOT in any notes shared with the facilitator team until advised otherwise.
USE THE BELOW PROCESS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE “SYSTEMISED TOOLS FOR WORKSHOP TIMING” IN THE UPP TEAM HANDBOOK.
WHEN:
Before following the below process open the calendar a week in advance from when the workshops are taking place. Look through day by day, one workshop at a time, and follow the process below.
While following the below steps ensure you are recording the information as you go to share it all at once with the facilitating team via email.
Step 1: checking session times
When checking session times you want to flag anything abnormal. This could include session times being too short or too long, as well as whether there are more or less sessions than normal (for example a 3 session Positive Peer Relationships workshop).
When sharing these notes you are not just flagging that there is abnormal session times, but providing the plan to run with. For example, if there is a shorter amount of time than usual specifically explain what will be cut, if sessions are longer than usual specifically explain how you expect the team to fill this time.
For example, for the ASPIRE HIGHER workshop below (right side), a plan around a large third session may be:
Big S3 - 2 rounds of cheerleader, add "the ball game" before through the hoop, add a TTYPA after through the hoop, do both sides of worksheet, finish with another round of shoutouts if needed.
Step 2: Checking year level and student numbers
Here you are checking what year level the team is working with and how many students they expect to attend. Things you may look for here include:
Large group numbers (do we require more equipment?)
Small group numbers (How will this affect timing? A group of 25 gets through things quicker than a group of 250. Does anything need to be added?)
If there are multiple year levels participating are we sure that no students have seen this content before?
To check this, search the school name in the UPP Calendar and go through past workshops with them to look for whether a year group that we are working with in the upcoming program has participated in this workshop / session previously
Step 3: checking venue
Here we are checking the venue for any flags. Sometimes the venue will be off campus in which case we will need to flag this, see below example:
If there is nothing abnormal about the venue proceed to the next step.
Step 4: checking school flags
Here you are checking for any “Flags” in the calendar. These are often for behaviour or some difficulty working with the school. Most schools have no flag, however when you see an Orange or Red flag this needs to be shared with the facilitator team. If you are unsure of why a flag is there be sure to ask the HOT or Director for more information before providing information and tools to the facilitator team.
Step 5: checking previous years facilitator notes
Here you are checking whether any facilitator notes from previous years still apply. If these notes still apply then they should be shared with the facilitating team, if they do not still apply then they should be removed from the calendar event.
These notes may include but are not limited to:
Plans to overcome issues with session times (Adding or removing anything from sessions, adjusting workshop structure, etc.)
Tips on where facilitators should park their car on arrival
Run sheets for the day for certain workshops
Problems around the venue / space being used for the workshop
Step 6: checking notes from the school contact
Below / within the Facilitator Notes section that you have just looked through you may come across any notes from the school contact. If these notes still apply then they should be shared with the team, if they are not then they should be removed from the calendar event.
These notes may include but is not limited to:
Things a facilitator needs to bring to the school (Photo ID)
A direct phone number for the contact
Information about a specific school policy
Step 7: Updating the calendar information
Once the above steps have been completed the calendar event information needs to be updated via our admin staff.
To update the calendar event information follow below:
Click the mail icon in the calendar event
Remove facilitating team from recipients, add Admin and HOT as recipients
Type all notes from following the above steps. Things to note:
You do not need to add anything that is already in the calendar, however you may want to adjust the year of the notes - ie. 2021 to 2023 notes)
You may ask admin team to remove any notes that are no longer applicable to current workshops (outdated notes, as mentioned in Step 5 & 6)
Send email
This should be done prior to any information being shared with the facilitating team. This ensures that the notes are in the calendar first and the team can see this when they get your email.
step 8: sharing the information with the facilitating team
Once the calendar has been updated we need to share this information with the facilitating team.
To share the information with the facilitating team simply copy the notes that you have shared with the admin team into another email. When doing so follow below:
Click the mail icon in the calendar event
Ensure the recipients are the facilitating team members for the workshop and HOT
Include all notes that need to be shared
Send email
STEP 9: Planning your next facilitator notes sharing time
After sharing all notes for the week you were looking at you need to plan when you will follow this process next.
A general rule here is that facilitator notes for a week need to be shared by EOD Thursday the week prior (this is the absolute latest this can be done, Wednesday is usually a good day to do it) to give the team a day to respond (and ask questions if needed) before the weekend.
Before finishing this task look at your personal calendar for the next week and delegate time to following this process for the week after. Ensure this fits with your schedule by considering the following:
Do I have an office day on Tuesday - Thursday?
If not, What schools am I in? Will I have time one afternoon between Tuesday - Thursday to follow this process?
If not, can I assign time one night between Tuesday - Thursday to follow this process?
If no, do I need to discuss a plan with HOT to get this done?
Opportunity to arrange office time?
Polite delegation to a competent / experienced team leader?
Once you have planned the next time this will be done place it in your calendar. Until advised otherwise invite HOT to these calendar events.
