Hello everyone! I hope I am in the right place to ask my first question. We are currently forming a new Civ Com Committee and the parents have asked if we can have our meetings the same night that the Cadets are on. We were told no but one of the staff said this was incorrect and we should take a vote at our next meeting and if we do agree then this should be carried forward. It would certainly make it easier for us parents to have it on a Cadet night so if someone could please advise of the correct procedure, I would be very grateful. Thank you
Things to consider if having it on the same night as cadets parade;
The OC isn’t doing 3 nights in a week 
Do you have room for the Civ Com to be meeting without affecting the planned parade night?
My Squadron hold their Civ Com meetings in one of the classrooms on a parade night for ease. Just depends on the amount of room you have for Cadets and Civ com to be there on the same night 
We used to hold ours on separate nights but if you have the room, holding them at the same time makes it easier for everyone.
As long as you are escorted there should be no problem.
If you have a busy squadron you may find that they cannot easily spare the space to house you. In addition, there might be concerns about so many non-cleared adults working in the same environment as the cadets (being a parent isn’t a special licence to work with other children)
I do realise that it may be easier for the OC to attend if it is on unit, and that other information may be more readily available to you.
If you could find a nearby location for the meeting it would avoid those conflicts.
There is no reason not to have it on a parade night. As long there is space on the unit, there is enough staff to cover the CO being in the meeting and it dose not impact on the cadets there is no reason why not.
There is a bigger question here and your wording was just be a figure of speech but what happened to the old committee?
If you are reforming a committee as there is no old committee then best of luck you have a lot of work a head of you. A strong sqn needs a good committee
If you are forming a now committee to replace another sitting committee then you are in for some interesting times a head of you. There has been much written here about the legalities of committees and one case in particular a few years ago where one committee was forcibly replaced and the legal ramifications of this.
I do hope it is the former and not the latter.
Why should they need escorting, to stop them stealing something?
Our civ com do this all the time and, while I understand the logic, as a busy squadron with lots of cadets and not enough rooms this causes us major headaches in terms of planning, especially now the evenings are colder and darker.
Make sure if you do have them the same night that you liaise with the training officer well in advance so they know when you’re next coming down.
Wow!!! Thank you all for your replies.
We are all already or in the process of being PVG checked.
We are the Wing Head Office and have a boardroom where we hold our meetings, so space is not a problem.
The Squadron has not had an active committee for 2 years and the last member resigned when we had our first meeting.
We are still trying to set up because our Chair has now resigned, so I think we are back to square one. I have no doubt the next few months are going to be very challenging, in fact they already are and there is no doubt now that I have found this forum and know how helpful you all are that I will be asking lots of questions and doing a lot of reading. I was nominated as Co Treasurer but it may be that positions will have to be moved about.
I am not adverse to hard work and I am hoping that we can do well by the Cadets but in every Committee there has to be an element of trust and I am not feeling that just now…as I said I have been told no to the meetings on the same night buy you guys are saying yes it is possible and allowed. Which is really what I wanted to hear.
So once again, thank you, I am sure I will be back here soon.
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I don’t know what the staffing levels are like at the squadron, but might it be that the OC would be busy running the squadron or delivering training during squadron nights, so not able to attend as an ex-officio member as he is entitled to do.
I have been reliably informed that there are enough staff to cover him for an hour or so while we go over things with him. He doesn’t need to be there for the entire meeting, does he???
We’ve had CWC meetings on parade nights for years, we used to have it at the chairman’s house, but at times it was a bit like the family meal in the advert for finding seats.
It can be a bit awkward at times but it works on several levels :
As OC I’m not giving up another night, selfish maybe, but that’s how it is.
When parents have been on the CWC, they lose the excuse to not attend and if some are at a loose end they can sit in.
If a member of staff has a suggestion or idea for something it’s far easier for them to be invited to tell the CWC, rather than mentioning it to me for me to try and remember the nuances/cost of whatever it is
If staff are owed money they can bother the treasurer
If there are cheques/cash for camps etc the treasurer can pick them up
Finally and most importantly the cadets (and staff) get to see the CWC and vice versa. When I was a cadet the CWC was a bit like a fabled animal, spoken of but seldom if ever seen. I can see this going against the grain with some, but this is important IMO, as we are all part of it. At their request they are all DBSd, to the point that 4 have 3 current DBS’ and one has 4. Not that this means anything other than they haven’t been caught, like anyone with a current DBS.
As for running the squadron, attending CWC meetings is an intrinsic part of this. There does in some quarters seem to be a thinking that the OC will be sitting in their office fielding complaints and concerns from cadets, parents or staff, dealing with other problems all the time and sitting in front of a computer screen, wiping everyone else’s backside every single night. Wrong and so far wide of the mark on so many levels. In all my years and squadrons I’ve been on, I’ve never experienced or heard of that sort of thing going on.
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Thank you Teflon .Can the staff be invited in randomly or is this just at the OC discretion? We are trying to organise a staff and Civ Com meeting but finding it difficult to pin down a date from the OC.
I (not OC) have attended a few in the past, but either to represent the OC who was away, or because I had specific input to a discussion.
Typically you won’t have a bunch of staff there. The OC will represent the whole staff side but has no vote, while the Padre, also with no vote, represents something else.
I ask staff to come in when they have an idea etc, as they are better placed to speak about it than me.
So far, I get the impression that the OC does not want the staff to be involved with the meetings although I think it would be a brilliant idea to have a long term member of staff, who knows so much, give us ideas compared to a newly appointed OC, however being new myself, I am not sure how much as a committee we are allowed to push the issue.
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In the new order of Squadron Associations, I’m not sure the OC has any say who attends and who doesn’t, as all staff and parents are de facto members of the Association and if I understand correctly can vote, with the exception of OC and Padre.
I learned by past mistakes and forgetting when relaying other peoples ideas, so I now drag the staff in. Saves me having to do it.
Most staff make a mistake of not working with CWCs and fail to see how a harmonious relationship benefits the whole squadron and prevents some of the childishness that can and does go on. The irony is a number of staff join the committee when they hang up their uniform.
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Teflon, thank you.
Mainly because ofthe DBS implications.