Training needs assessment (TNA)

It is essential that you establish when the right time is for you to start to study CiLCA.  Things you need to consider are:

• do you have sufficient experience (we recommend 12 month's in post minimum)

• do you have the knowledge you need - so what other training have your undertaken?

Learning Agreement

The Learning Agreement provides the opportunity for the trainer, the candidate and the council to record their commitment to play their part by documenting a clear statement of responsibilities with regard to CiLCA.

SALC require all learners to provide a signed copy to them at the start of their learning journey so that this can be held on record for the duration of the study period.  The document can be downloaded from the link above. 

Next steps following this introductory session

If you decide not to immediately proceed with CiLCA -  discuss options with your council for further training and, if necessary, and agree (budget/time allowance) for more focussed learning and add this to your performance review documentation/training requirements with achieveable and realistic targets.  Remember the -  Development pathway for council officers | SALC Website

If you decide to proceed with CiLCA - sign the learning agreement, consider/discuss and agree with your council the timeframe (you may prefer to put this off a few months for example), how you plan to organise your time, the support you will need from the council including agreement to set out of office on emails, designating a day of the week, project support (if necessary) etc.

Once you are ready to start:

• check out the dates of SALC workshops - via events published on the member portal

• apply to the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) via their website SLCC | Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA) - this page includes information on current fee.  If you do not have an SLCC account you will need to create one first.  You do not need to be a member of SLCC to create an account.
  

• You will receive an invoice which will need to be paid asap.

• On receipt of payment the CiLCA Administrator will confirm your application and register you with Ascentis and EMMA at the next registration date: - 01 Feb/01 April/01 June/01 Oct/01 Dec.

• You will receive confirmation by email and a login to EMMA.  This is when the 12 month timetable begins for completion.

Personal statement 

This comes at the start of the Portfolio and introduces you to your assessor.  The assessor will use this to understand the context in which you are working, including information about your organisation and your role.  It is also an early opportunity to see if you can follow instructions on writing concisely.

So what should you include in your personal statement?

• your role

• professional background

• length of time in post and in the sector

• your council including income, functions, number of councillors

• the community - eg is it rural or urban

Link to guidance on the personal statement

You will need to download the form when you have access to EMMA.

Portfolio Guide

You should download the current Portfolio Guide from the link above and always have this to hand at future workshops.  It contains a lot of information that will be useful to you and help inform your decisions about undertaking this qualification route.  

This workshop will provide explanations as it goes through the Guide giving you an opportunity to ask further questions or comments.  Use your Guide as a personal reference document, make notes and comments on it. 

Occupational Standards

These are explained on p. 15 - 17 of the Guide - in that 22 occupational standards provide a basis for the 30 learning outcomes.  There are 5 CiLCA Units and between 3 and 9 Learning Outcomes (LOs) which correspond with the themes of the occupational standards.

Occupational Standards describe what a person needs to do, know and understand in their job in order to carry out their role in a consistent and competent way.  They suggest best practice and the values of a job.

The role of Proper Officer, Chief Officer or Clerk to a local council is a recognised profession.  The scope of the work undertaken in the clerk's profession is diverse but all local councils operate within the same legal, financial and procedural framework and share the same purpose of democratically representing a local community.  Differences depend on the size of the community served by the council and its level of activity.  

CiLCA tests your skills, knowledge and understanding for meeting these occupational standards.  A clerk is a valuable investment for the local council, especially when they are qualified.  However a clerk is valued for many attributes in addition to qualifications.  These overarching values are resourcefulness, objectivity and integrity.

Themes - Units - Learning outcomes

1. The core role - comprising 4 learning outcomes (LOs)

2. Law and procedures - comprising 9 LOs

3. Finance - comprising 7 LOs

4. Management - comprising 3 LOs

5. Community - comprising 7 LOs

Timetable for completing 

You have one year to submit your Portfolio from the date of registration.  It is recommended that you do not apply for CiLCA until you have completed this introductory session.  Depending on the state of your council's documents and the provision of training, your Portfolio could take from six months to a year to complete.  

EG: if you complete one learning outcome per week, it will take you seven months.

You are required to submit all units of your portfolio within one year of registration and to pass all the units within fifteen months.  You can seek a three-month extension if you have a sound reason (such as illness).  You apply by email to the CiLCA Administrator.  If you still cannot complete, you must re-register and pay an additional fee.  It is essential to have a final deadline.

Managing your time is one of the biggest challenges and SALC advocate that candidates plan ahead and think carefully about how they will manage their normal workloads alongside their study periods.  Page 6 of the Portfolio Guide gives a full explanation of how credit values and time associated with each learning outcome is established.  

In general it is estimated it will take up to 200 hours and some of this time might be attributed to being part of your normal hours.  Over a year, 200 hours is about four hours a week.  In practice candidates often tell us that it can take longer than that so make sure you dont under-estimate the time commitment.

Think about setting a day a week for CiLCA, make sure your councillors and other colleagues know this is your study time, set an out of office for your email and do all you can to create an environment where you will not be disturbed.

The assessment process inc. EMMA

EMMA is the online portal that you use to upload your Portfolio onto.  There is a short film that explains what EMMA looks like and demonstrates how you upload for each Unit.

The film is based on the older Portfolio and we recommend that you upload Word documents rather than typing direct into the fields that the film shows you.  EMMA accepts pdfs, Excel and Word documents which are annotated. 

Preparing your submission, organising your work and monitoring progress

When preparing your work for the first submission it is useful to organise your electronic folders to match each unit and name each of the sub-folders to match the learning outcomes.  This makes it much easier to upload.  You upload the individual items not the whole folder.  You hit the submit button when you have uploaded all the learning outcomes.

Yu can ask your trainer to take a brief look at some of your work, but not all of it.     You can keep a record of your progress by downloading the progress sheet - see the link above.

The assessor

The assessor remains anonymous to protect assessors against being overwhelmed by messages from learners.  Section 4 of the Portfolio Guide explains their role in detail but key notes are highlighted below:

• you should submit one unit at a time to benefit from assessor feedback

• the assessor checks work against assessment criteria and decides whether they pass

• if something is missing, or there are significant errors, work will be referred

• the assessor gives feedback to encourage the learner and, if required, to help the learner understand what they need to improve

• learners can have a second attempt

• if a learning outcome still doesn't pass, the unit is locked until all five units have been completed.  The learner fills in a referral form (from the SLCC website) and pays a fee.  The CiLCA Administrator unlocks the unit(s) and the learner can have a third attempt

• learners need to note that multiple referrals or a third referral may lead to a requirement to undertake further training or mentoring

• learners have one year from the date of registration with EMMA and Ascentis to complete their first submissions on all five units.  They then have another three months in which to complete referred work and pass CiLCA.  If they are unable to pass within fifteen months they will be required to apply and pay again.  They can have two separate shots at CiLCA.  A third is not permitted unless there are exceptional circumstances

• learners maybe able to get a three-month extension to the year if they have an acceptable reason (p. 6 of the Portfolio Guide). 

Management of the CiLCA qualification

The Improvement and Development Board (IDB) and the National Training Advisory Group (NTAG) are responsible for strategic oversight with operational reviews in the hands of a group representing both England and Wales the "Ops Group".

The Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) is the approved delivery centre for CiLCA and the secretariat is provided by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). 

Officers at SLCC manage the education and administrative team including the Academic Leader, the Internal Quality Assurance Verifier and the CiLCA Administrator.  Their roles are:

• Academic Leader - advises on the academic integrity of the qualification.

• The Internal Quality Assurance Verifier - manages the CiLCA assessment process and the assessors who mark the portfolio.

• The CiLCA Administrator - liaises with candidates and assessors, manages EMMA and keeps all the records.

Ascentis is the accreditation body for CiLCA and monitors quality as well as awarding Certificates.

County Associations, like SALC, support and manage local training provision and often provide training and mentoring as a recognised CiLCA trainer.