Personally I think you are being too critical - ultimately you can tell cadets anything you like - you could tell them there is a space flight happening tomorrow. However the checks and balances in the system mean that the activity shouldn’t go ahead without appropriate approvals, planning, risk assessment etc.
I say this, but actually on second thoughts it would very definitely be subject to a check to ensure the nominal roll had been updated correctly prior to the activity to satisfy our need to have details available for the JCCC. I suspect (maybe unfairly, who knows) at least a portion of any activities approved in this way would fail that audit, driving back in a requirement to submit your activity with a list of cadets.
That’s different. Advertising something before being authorised is more acceptable than advertising something without IC and OC ticking their boxes.
That’s unacceptable to me, as once the event is approved it’s still possible to edit participants (Staff & Cadets) although not directing staff as their qualifications have been used to make an approval judgement.
Mandatory training should not be checked per activity, and should be maintained by the OC Sqn & WSC, this training is mandatory so must be done, if people aren’t prepared to do it - thank you and good bye.
As an activity commander, very early in the planning stage (Once facilities are confirmed) I’ll raise the SMS with all invited units followed up by a communication to call for Staff & also cadet nominations. Gaining the required staff and a number of cadets to deliver to is part of my planning process and I need this data to be able to submit the activity for approval.
I ave long raged against this, the system enables us to change the people upto the day anyway so what difference does it make the names being in their at the point of approval or not, I can take all the names off again the moment the box is ticked.
Plus how many activities where someone doesn’t turn up is the list on SMS get updated at the time? So the lost for the JCCC is wrong anyway,
All that’s required is for the authoriser to make very clear what the ratios and maximum numbers that they are willing to authorise for are. (And if it’s going to be in challenging terrain you can specify the experience/skill level expected of attendees too.)
I don’t get the concern with this either, before Cadet Portal when activities were advertised by email did people start digging around an SMS at the point of putting the list on the wall? Because that all sharing an activity to Cadet Portal is, it’s putting a list in the wall and telling people if you plan to drive Cadets to the event or not.
It may not get updated; the fact is it should be. The whole reason we are allowed to change attendees is to make this possible. Having a list of people who should be on the ground is better than having no list at all - even if 1 or 2 don’t turn up.
I think you might be missing my point - I’m saying that I’d approve without a list (as I agree with you, someone can tell me what they plan to do and I can approve on that basis). BUT - I have to go in post approval and check that there is a nominal roll there for JCCC.
I’ve thought for a while that SMS isn’t granular enough on the draft/approvals side.
I’d like to see a genuine draft mode (visible only to staff - perhaps even only staff for that event). That would stop Sqns jumping the gun and publicising events that are still waiting for staff to sign up, or other confirmations.
On the other hand, the Approved status is too restrictive: you can’t change details, even a broken Teams link, without returning it to draft.
But I’d not want a system that needs 3 sets of approvals either!
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You can’t share to Cadet Portal if the person creates it hasn’t allowed you to can you?
You can share an event to Cadet Portal if the originator has invited your unit.
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