DERBYSHIRE LANDSKILLS ANNUAL REPORT 7 October 2021
From 1 August 2020 to 31 July 2021 127 (71) training days have been arranged with a total of 273 (256) candidates undertaking 69 (46) courses. The training courses comprised of 42 (20) Chainsaw, 8 (9) Pesticides, 2 (3) Telehandler, 6 (6) ATV, 4 (3) Tractor Driving, 0 (1) 360 degree Excavator, 2 (1) Woodchipper, 4 (1) Basic Tree Inspection, 1 (0) Brushcutter, 0 (1) Grey Squirrel and 0 (1) Aluminium Phosphide. It has been a very challenging year for training and assessing. We were classed as a key service and allowed to continue training however the strict Covid-19 regulations severely impacted the ability to provide the service we would have liked to. Course numbers were drastically reduced; in many cases one to one and the PPE requirements and disinfection protocols had a major impact. Derbyshire Landskills did qualify for one Council grants during Lockdown which was well received but unfortunately there were no others which we were eligible for.
The Arable Study Groups met as usual throughout the summer.
.
Since 1 August 2020 to 31 July 2021, a total of 208 tests were registered compared with 308 during the previous year. 32 (102) Sprayer, 74 (73) Chainsaw, 23 (36) Brushwood Chipper,17 (12) Brush Cutters, 8 (19) Transport of Animals (short distance),15 (2) Transport of Animals (Long Distance), 1(12) Tractor Driving, 5 (16) Mowers, 3 (6) Hedge Trimmers, 13 (1) Forklift truck, 8 (3) Stump Grinder, 6 (2) ATV, 0(4) Aluminium Phosphide, 0(6) Plant, 0(12) Abrasive Wheels, 1(1) Leaf Blower, 1(1) Vet Meds, 1 (0) Sheep Dip..
The vast majority of the assessments have been arranged through our own training, however other providers we have worked with including Derby Council, Futures Greenscapes, Bowrings, Anyella Chicks, Cullingworths Chickens Ltd, National Trust, Severn Trent and Wildwood Forestry.
Mrs Scott has continued to be invaluable for her advice and support as Chairman of the Committee and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you! The past year was unprecedented in the demands placed on working and personal lives and it is hope that some kind of normality is able to return in the coming months.
I would like to highlight the difficulties experienced with working with NPTC City and Guilds. They have now tightened their GDPR working practices and Centres can now only view their own candidates on the registration system. We cannot check previous qualifications and only candidates can ring City and Guilds to obtain previous candidate numbers. This is leading to a lot of duplications and additional work. The registration system has been overhauled and for 2 months was virtually unusable with screens over printing themselves. All assessment details now have to be uploaded to their system to generate the assessment paperwork and we then upload results to the system on completion. This as you can imagine has tremendously increased the workload. Lantra now e mail certificates to centres for distribution; we all imagine NPTC will do the same. The response by both awarding bodies to the concern over the additional work now expected to be undertaken by Centres is to put their registration prices up. We have asked for a meeting of centres with the awarding body but so far this has not been agreed.
All Assessors have up to date copies of the Centre Policies and CVs are requested from all new Assessors to be held on the Centres’ files. It is noted that CPD must be held for each Assessor working for the Centre. The rolling programme of Assessment observations and paperwork sampling continues and the Centre has undergone successful Lantra and NPTC Audits.
TREASURERS REPORT FOR AGM 7 OCTOBER 2021
The Accounts and report will be circulated at the meeting
The figures have been checked and signed off by Mr A Bowry of AB Accountancy Services, Bolsover.
DERBYSHIRE LANDSKILLS
Receipts and Payments Account for the Year Ended 31 July 2021
| Receipts Test Fees Training Fees NPTC Registrations Lantra Registrations Study Group Equipment Hire Work Books Mileage Nat. West Bonus Saver Interest Lloyds Dividend Bolsover District Council Grant Payments Examiners Fees Instructor Fees Secretarial Expenses Telephone/Internet Stamps NPTC Registrations Lantra Registrations UK Rural Skills Membership Lantra Membership BALI Membership UK Rural Skills Registration CDS Insurance Auditor's Charges Fee Refunds Advertising/Trade Stand Website and Computer Costs Hire of Facilities Training Material Stationery Equipment Debt Collection Data Protection Excess of Income over expenditure STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES AS AT 31 JULY 2021 Accumulated Reserves at 1/8/20 Excess of Expenditure over Income TOTAL Represented by: - Nat West Current Account Reconciled Nat West Bonus Saver TOTAL |
2021 24,553.70 £ 36,862.78 £ 10,097.70 £ 4,055.00 £ 30.50 £ 1,500.00 £ 77,099.68 £ 11,143.17 £ 25,051.32 £ 16,228.50 £ 1,014.83 £ 311.92 £ 6,578.00 £ 3,749.50 £ 180.00 £ 540.00 £ 6.00 £ 954.92 £ 480.00 £ 1,100.00 £ 904.00 £ 580.70 £ 383.03 £ 53.50 £ 48.33 £ 40.00 £ 69,347.72 £ 7,751.96 £ 33,667.74 £ 7,751.96 £ 41,419.70 £ 25,715.04 £ 15,704.66 £ 41,419.70 £ |
2020 22,293.70 £ 20,588.00 £ 13,043.72 £ 2,568.00 £ 40.00 £ 31.50 £ 23.31 £ 3.49 £ 58,591.72 £ 15,407.00 £ 11,887.59 £ 16,842.13 £ 999.99 £ 259.50 £ 12,833.00 £ 3,932.50 £ 180.00 £ 516.00 £ 42.00 £ 680.04 £ 480.00 £ 626.00 £ 844.00 £ 479.35 £ 68.98 £ 100.93 £ 52.50 £ 653.00 £ 66,884.51 £ -£8,292.79 41,960.53 £ -£8,292.79 |
|---|---|---|
| 33,667.74 £ |
||
| 17,964.51 £ 15,703.23 £ |
||
| 33,667.74 £ |
Derbyshire Landskills
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 7 October 2021 at 7.30 pm Via Zoom
1.
Apologies
Mr K Emery, Mr D Hale Present
Mr D Boddy, Mr A Critchlow, Mr P Edge, Mr M Ekin, Mr J Hall, Mr S Hunt, Mrs M Scott and Mrs J Twilley.
2 . Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 3 November 2020
The minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated and were accepted as a true and correct record. They were agreed by the Chairman accordingly. Proposed Mr Hall, seconded by Mr Boddy and accepted accordingly
3. Matters Arising Out of Minutes
(a) Arable Study Groups
The Arable Study Groups had met virtually on 2 occasions at the start of the season and then in person for the remainder. It has been difficult to obtain registers for all of the meetings and Mr Frost had been contacted regarding this. Dates for meetings were released at very short notice; they were circulated on a WhatsApp Group but not all members were able to access this. An additional issue has been that NPTC have experienced staffing difficulties over the summer and had a considerable backlog. An invoice has not been received and therefore group members have not been invoiced for the year. Going forward it would be ideal to set a programme of meeting dates up in advance so that these can be circulated and registered with NPTC and the correct registers obtained ready for the meetings. Invoices can then correctly be issued to members in April as previously. Mrs Scott agreed to write to Mr Frost.
Mrs Scott
4. Secretary’s Report
A copy of the report had been circulated and comments were invited. The figures were reasonable and comparable to the previous year. Mr Hall proposed the Annual Report, seconded by Mr Edge and it was adopted accordingly
5.
Treasurer’s Report
A copy of the report was circulated and comments were invited. Derbyshire Landskills had made a profit over the year of £3107.01 which was surprising considering the difficult working conditions under Covid-19 restrictions. The adoption of the report was proposed by Mr Ekin and Mr Boddy seconded it. The report was accordingly accepted.
6.
Election of Officers
6.1 Chairman – Mrs Scott Proposed Mr Hall Seconded Mr Edge 6.2 Vice Chair – Mr Hall Proposed Mr Edge Seconded Mr Ekin 6.3 Secretary/Treasurer – Mrs Twilley Proposed Mr Hall Seconded Mr Boddy 6.4 Sprayer Representatives – Mr Ekin 6.5 Chainsaw Representatives – Mr Hunt and Mr Emery 6.6 Committee – Mrs Twilley as training advisor, Mr Hall for the NFU, Mr Ekin for Broomfield. 6.7 Co-options – Mr Edge and Mr Hale (hedge laying) 6.8 Training Representatives – Mrs Scott, Mr Brown, Mr Boddy
A replacement had not been secured for Mr Hunter. This was discussed. It was agreed to give it further thought and revisit the item at the next meeting.
Proposed Mr Boddy
Seconded Mr Ekin Elected En Bloc
7.
Update on Quality Assurance Issues and Policies
| 7.01 | Equal Opportunities and Access Policy |
|---|---|
| 7.02 | Appeals and Disputes |
| 7.03 | Customer Services – evaluation and effectiveness |
| 7.04 | Marketing Plan and Review |
| 7.05 | Awarding Body Documentation – Tech News etc. |
| 7.06 | Health & Safety – Risk Assessment |
| 7.07 | Child Protection Policy |
| 7.08 | Data Protection Act |
| 7.09 | Quality Assurance Policy |
| 7.10 | Cancellation Policy |
| 7.11 | Malpractice & Maladministration Policy |
| 7.12 | Substance Misuse |
| 7.13 | Conflict of Interest |
| 7.14 | Recognition of Prior Learning |
| 7.15 | Registering for Another Instructor |
| 7.16 | Covid-19 Policy |
Proposed Mrs Scott, Seconded Mr Edge. The policies were accepted accordingly and would be updated and circulated to all Assessors accordingly.
8. Renewal of Agreement Regarding Broomfield Students
Mrs Scott had replied to Mrs Swan’s letter regarding the continuation of the agreement. Mr Ekin confirmed that Mr Jon Collins had now taken over from Mrs Swan. As the College now had centre status it was difficult to see how the agreement would continue. Mr Hall proposed that the agreement should be allowed to lapse with the option to continue in the future should there be a requirement for it and this was agreed. Member agreed that other options could be explored to fund Derbyshire students as the college no longer wanted the funding. Mr Ekin confirmed that students not eligible for college funding were referred to Derbyshire Landskills. Mrs Twilley stated that the fees charge by Derbyshire Landskills were much lower than the college and surrounding centres and therefore were giving access to training.
Proposed Mr Hall Seconded Mr Edge
9. Examiner’s Fees and Secretary/Treasurers
9.1 Examiner’s Fees
Discussion ensued regarding the current fees as some centres had increased their fees. Assessors present felt that the fees were reasonable. It was agreed that the Examiner’s fees should remain unchanged. This was agreed. Proposed by Mr Hunt, Seconded Mr Hall.
9.2 Secretary/Treasurer’s Fees
It was agreed the Secretary/Treasurer’s Fees should remain unchanged. Proposed Mr Hunt, Seconded Mr Ekin
10. Test Fee Update
It was agreed to leave the assessment fees unchanged. Proposed Mrs Scott, seconded Mr Hall
11. Any Other Business
- (a) Thank you
Mr Hall expressed his thanks on behalf of the Committee to Mrs Scott and Mrs Twilley for keeping the Centre running through challenging times.
12. Date and Time of Next Meeting
The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 6 October 2022
The Meeting Closed at 8.25 pm