Chairman’s Chatter – August 2015
The Ringing Foundation
On Saturday 8th of August the resolution was passed at the AGM of the Ringing Foundation to dissolve the company. The Association of Ringing Teachers has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the foresight, dedication and support provided by the Ringing Foundation. After the resolution was passed, I spoke at the meeting to share our gratitude to the RF and those who have served as Directors over recent years for all they have done to foster the improvement and development in the teaching and learning of ringing.
The Ringing Foundation had planned to support ART on a diminishing scale over the next four years. The majority of their grant funding paid for the ART Administrator – currently Rose Nightingale, who many of you will have had contact with. The employing of administrative staff has enabled ART to expand and to keep up with the huge demand for courses we have experienced by delivering a professional service to all our teachers and ringers.
As an independent and registered charity, ART therefore needs to be fully financially self-sufficient. Through Day Course fees, product sales, Membership subscriptions and the ART Supporters and ART LtR 50/50 CLUB, we are already well on the way to achieving this. But the ending of RF support still results in a significant drop in income for ART. If you are able, we hope you will be interested in the ART Supporters Scheme or 50/50 CLUB – both rewarding ways to support ART and help deliver a stronger future for change ringing.
Thank you if you already support ART in one or more of these ways.
ART Supporters Scheme
The ART Supporters scheme provides a framework and numerous benefits for individuals, groups, Associations or companies to support our work. ART Supporters programme has three levels based upon the annual or monthly donation, with the ‘Friend’ level starting at £5 per month.
There are currently 27 individuals, towers, groups and associations contributing to the work of ART in this way, and the number continues to increase.
ART LtR 50/50 CLUB
How many of your ringers have you got signed up to the ART LtR 50/50 CLUB? The cost for a year’s membership is now only £12, with quarterly prize draws where every Club member has the chance to win cash prizes. Plus, as half the money is donated to delivering ART and LtR projects, it supports improved ringing for the future too. It has helped raise over £500 so far this year.
You can help by getting all your ringers to sign up for the ART LtR 50/50 CLUB. All those who have a SmART Ringer username are eligible to join. The more people that join the Club, the bigger the quarterly cash prizes will be (especially the big Christmas draw!).
New Learning the Ropes website launched
Have you seen the new Learning the Ropes website? It has been recently designed by Sam Bolingbroke a young ringer from South Wales under the guidance of our IT guru Rob Parker. The purpose of the new site is to provide specific information to ringers and teachers interested in Learning the Ropes. It now provides user friendly information on all five Levels of the scheme as well as Learning the Ropes +.
» Take a look at the new Learning the Ropes site
Learning the Ropes +
This scheme for ringers who have been using the Learning the Ropes Scheme is now working well. Over 30 ringers have been awarded certificates through the scheme and 7 of these have rung their first peal.
» Find out more about the Learning the Ropes plus scheme
LtR on Facebook
The Learning the Ropes Facebook group is now very active, with ringers who are at the beginning of learning to ring using it a lot. There are nearly 150 ringers on it so far, so please encourage all your ringers who use Facebook to join the group.
» Join the facebook site for new ringers
New Committee members
We are delighted to welcome Alan Bentley and Lesley Belcher to their new roles on the ART Management Committee. Each Member of the Committee has a maximum tenure of 5 years, and over the next few years a number of the the early Committee Members must step down. Therefore, we need new committee members to continue to drive ART forward.
If you would like to come and help us with our Committee work or have anything else you would like to offer us please let me know – see previous page. There is loads to do and we need loads of people to assist!
» Meet the new committee members
Who is an ART Teacher?
There have been a number of recent online discussions about what entitles someone to the title ‘ART Teacher’. It’s actually not a term we use. Those who have completed one or more of the ART Training Scheme Modules are ART Accredited in that/those Modules. As a result, they are also invited to become ART Members and will have a membership card issued annually with their membership number on it.
Just attending a Module Day Course is not enough to become ART Accredited. The ART Training Scheme includes a skill development period after the Day Course as well as an online Theory Test. This period is to offer a Teacher and Mentor time to work together with a new ringer and have plenty of opportunity for exchange of ideas and development of teaching skills. When learning to teach a practical activity such as ringing, this structured skill development period is vital for consistent quality.
If you are working towards accreditation now, please do complete your Theory Test and arrange an Assessed Lesson. In this issue, we are highlighting our refined Accreditation process which presents no major changes but makes it simpler and clearer to achieve your ART Accreditation and be offered ART Membership.
Pip Penney