Ringing Forums

The benefits are that the project is funded quickly and time isn't dedicated to protracted discussion. — Jonathan Frye

Where's the fun in that? :joke:

ART's model of paid administrative support seems to have been extremely successful. — Jonathan Frye

It does but I suspect that was the administrative cart following the successful horse rather than the other way around. At present the focus seems to be about how to fund things that don't even exist yet. Something, something, something, indians, chiefs...

I suspect that was the administrative cart following the successful horse rather than the other way around. — John de Overa

The first part-time paid administrator was employed very early on in ART's journey, in a significant departure from the usual ringing way of doing things. My memory is that this was enabled by the Ringing Foundation funding. I believe its one (but not the only) of thing things that has enabled ART to grow and deliver on its ambition so well.

At present the focus seems to be about how to fund things that don't even exist yet. — John de Overa

This is exactly my point. Putting in place the financial support before it is needed allows you to be quick and nimble in supporting the projects when they come.

interesting, thanks for the information. My concern around funding is not it being discussed, it's that it seems to be the primary focus at the moment, along with branding, marketing and so on. I don't think those should a priority when the fundamentals - increasing the numbers and competency of people at the end of ropes - seem to be getting far less attention. It's the prioritisation that I'm concerned about, not the long-term task list.

Please can someone explain (i) where the figure of £11,650 in the cashflow forecast model to set up a recruitment portal comes from? and (ii) why it appears that it will take two years to become operational, when a further £66,600 will then be spent on forwarding on enquires to teachers?

Am I the only one suffering from Deja-vu here? Over a quarter of a century ago the Central Council and its Education, Ringing Centres and Ringing Trends committees spent a lot of time discussing the demographic time bomb and the need to improve the teaching of ringing. In an action reminiscent of the then attitude by some to climate change, in 1999 at Lincoln the CCCBR agreed not to proceed further until the “…Instructors Guild is fully established nationally and is working well”. Roll on a decade and in 2009 the CCCBR agreed to invest £10,000 in a Ringing Foundation project known then as ITTS, which later became ART.

Now, fifteen years later, ART is fully established internationally and is working very well. It is self-financing and currently employs three part-time paid staff. ART has developed the Learning the Ropes scheme, with an attractive website aimed at new ringers and teachers, and published a complimentary and attractive suite of publications, with modern colour graphics, aimed at new ringers and their teachers. It is also working hard to launch a new on-line learning portal this autumn.

As part of their duties, ART’s paid admin staff triage learn-to-ring enquires that come through its website and forward them on to an active teacher who lives close by, whether this is an ART member or another known teacher, who is not an ART member. They are also able to survey and monitor the progress of these enquiries. Therefore, by CCCBR and ART working together, making the process more transparent and allowing non-ART members who meet a basic minimum standard (not necessarily those needed to become a full ART member) to be added to the wider list already operated by ART, it should not take very long for any new recruitment portal to become operational. This would be a win-win for both organisations.

Therefore, I hope that CCCBR is not proposing to increase affiliation fees in order to re-invent the wheel, and replicate what ART is already doing successfully. Surely there is a need to learn from all the discussions that have previously taken place and build on all the work that has been done by past and present CCCBR members over at least the last quarter of a century. The CCCBR shop still sells publications for teachers and learners that were written up to half a century before ART and Learning the Ropes. Perhaps now is the time to acknowledge that ART and Learning the Ropes are the mainstream, and finally move forward. This will then free up CCCBR to focus resources on those other things that can only be done centrally.

I did not now Roger was making this comment & did not see it until I had posted:

https://www.ringingforums.org/discussion/439/is-art-the-answer-to-recruitment-training-retention-expand-art-carefully-from-now-to-deliver

We are both are saying - use & expand ART.

What could be a better solution than using a proven current solution?

I think what it sounds like you need is a comprehensive book for how to run multi-band intermediate methods practices, starting from a base of maybe two or three fluent method ringers, aimed at groups which are mainly at the lower levels and need to progress without having a strong band around them. Step by step, a bit like ART. There could be Zoom mentoring systems for the local leaders to get advice on how to progress etc.

I think that's a very sound idea and certainly would help, particularly the step by step part. My home tower is going through that sort of transition at the moment, with a mix of longer standing By The Bell Numbers ringers and newer recruits who I relentlessly remind that Places Are The Only Way from the very start.

There are materials out there already that could also be referenced as resources, for example The Whiting Society's How to Learn Methods booklet. Whilst there's lots of "How to learn X Minor" material available, there's much less available for how to set about learning methods in general, both as a group and individually.

I think what you propose would probably enable towers to get to around the level of touches of Oxford TB Minor and similar. From personal experience, it can be a big step up from there to Surprise Minor, and then Major. For that I think you'd need a band of at 7-8 Surprise Major ringers, two learners in at the same time is about the maximum, and you need a lifeguard standing by as well. Ringers at that level are getting harder to find, here at least - but then again, the proportion of "improvers" who want to take on that level is lower as well.