How was this communicated to the cadets…
Via the email address recorded on SMS
which was set up when they were 12/13 and so could be their parents/family email address based on some of the email addresses I have seen on SMS!
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Was about to say the same. I won’t trust the legitimacy of the cadet email field until we have the cadet portal in place.
Also, the 3822A needs to be a bit clearer about what it is asking for with regards to contact details.
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Surveys will just go to parents.
Also on the cadrt portal front @james_elliott you might be interested in this…
I thought i had a one off a few months ago… but no, now i have 2.
That is cadets whose parents refuse to allow their child access to an email address aged 12.
Now, i explained about cadet portal. They said they still didnt want little jimmy and jane having an email until they were older. Highlighting all the “nastys” out there in the big bad world.
What exactly does a cadet to then for cadet portal? What is the contingency plan?
Also i have a few cadets who dont have a mobile phone of their own yet. Being 12 and parents being… parents.
Do we just use the parents email for cadet portal? If so, how do we change this when cadet bloggs gets an email of their own?
Argh…
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Interested in this too, as we also have cadets with no email, phone or access to social media. I have to admit I have been ‘that’ parent. Phones allowed when considered necessary and as an emergency contingency. Daughter now has an email, but its a school only one and has no FB access - at her request!!
We’ve got 4 cadets and associated parents/carers who don’t use email or have mobile phones, only landlines.
I have to admit I can empathise with the parents. There is a world of crap out there and parents struggle to protect their children and do what they can.
Mot kids seem to have a school email account which they send homework and receive things from the school/teachers, which we could use? Although I would personally sooner send something to a parental email be that personal or work as that way the parents get the info about the activity etc and avoids the pitfalls of everyone sees all SM.
It will be interesting to see what happens when Zuckerberg combines all the SM brands he has into one.
If the parents don’t want their child to have an email account, that’s fine, they can use their email address as the registered email account if they wish - it’s not ideal but SMS won’t know the difference. But all of the password resets etc will go to that account.
The staff need to brief the parents that Cadet Portal is the MOD accredited system to share information with cadets and that it brings a range of benefits which will help the cadet to maximise their engagement and opportunity in the ATC. It is secure and encrypted and all of the data resides on the Bader SMS infrastructure.
Cadet Portal does not replace good Sqn management and communication. I have heard people say things like “I don’t need to tell cadets about events because it will be on Cadet Portal” which is nonsense - and I think most people would recognise that. There is still a requirement to pass on information to cadets as part of final parade and training briefings. Staff will need to sign post just like they do when they say “the events list is on the noticeboard, put your name down”.
In extreme cases, and I think they will be rare but I am sure they will happen, there may be times where the parents won’t let cadets on Cadet Portal at home because but I think that can be overcome through proper briefings about Cadet Portal and assuring the parents as appropriate.
Show them the tool or a video of it, give them the FAQ document to read:
If that doesn’t work, let the cadets access Cadet Portal at the Sqn under appropriate supervision unless the parent expressly forbids that - which I find unlikely - it would be like them refusing to let the cadets use Ultilearn to do their exams.
If that doesn’t work, tell the cadet to come to the office to add their name to the event and the staff could do it directly on SMS. If you don’t want to do that, you could use a paper list - but that information will still have to be transferred to SMS which is what Cadet Portal is there to do to reduce your admin burden.
If the cadet doesn’t have access to the internet at home and doesn’t have a smartphone etc but he parents are happy for them to use Cadet Portal, let the cadet access it at the Sqn where I am pretty certain the overwhelming majority have internet access or ask if they can use it at school. Or print the events page and hand it to the cadet…I could go on.
Cadet Portal, as I keep saying, is the only approved and accredited web based tool to share information with cadets. The facts are that non accredited systems like social media are not approved and should not, following the letter of the regulations, be used - but it is appreciated that the RAFAC doesn’t offer an alternative to help you…yet. But when it does, I would expect a tightening of policy on non accredited systems.
I am confident that most parents will be reasonable about it - but for the rare cases where they are not happy, you are all intelligent people who can exercise initiative and you can make it work. We are trying to help, not hinder and we are not the enemy just because we volunteer for a project at Headquarters. It’s 2019, the Internet is part of our lives, young people (and parents) expect to have access to information through the internet…and I don’t think in this day and age that is unreasonable.
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Thanks for that.
But in other words, mums email address is ok.
Fixes their issue.
Cheers
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We’ve already setup a standalone laptop that cadets will be able to use in the office to access Cadet Portal for the very reason that not all do have universal access. The advantage of this is its also offers another computer for Cadet NCO’s / staff to use without getting in the way of myself or the Adj.
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