Just had a slight disagreement with my Wing FT Officer, he is arguing that only FTAI Staff count as “staff” for the purposes of staff to cadet ratios for FT.
I argue that ALL staff count towards the supervision ratios, but FTAI need to be present to instruct.
Thoughts?
Baldrick what does FT mean???
Technically he is correct when it comes to ratios it is a pain in the ■■■■…
For Adv. Trg each BEL qualified instructor can look after 8people but normally our wing advise 6.
So each BEL person has 6 cadets assigned to them, we then pair up where possible 1male and 1 female
BEL instructor To allow us to take 12cdts mixed.
Any additional staff are clearly marked for driving and support duties there for don’t come under the Remit of the Bel instructor.
I have SAAI qualification also and there is maximum number of people allowed per instructor (can’t remember) like wise to maximise places for cadets we allocate staff to driving and support duties so that officially the additional non qualified staff don’t become part of the numbers for the instructor
The way I read the policy is that Authorised Instructors (AIs) are the only staff on an FMST BDE/ADE to supervise cadets as they have met the qualification criteria at para 17 of the policy i.e. they have a working knowledge of the subject and the PAM as well as a qualifying MOI ticket such as WI/SAAI etc etc.
Supervision ratios, the way I read the pam is one qualified AI to 20 students in a classroom lesson, 1:8 for daylight training and 1:4 at night. In other words, I think I agree with your Wing FT Officer.
…however, that is just my interpretation - the policy document is not (as ever) particularly clear…but I would err on the side of caution…
FT is Fieldcraft Training. Different rules apply from AT.
Further to that, I suppose if you think of it like this:
I am a BEL3 qualified person. I can (according to ACO policy) supervise 1:10. If I have 10 cadets and 1 member of unqualified staff, I am outside of my remit…I would apply this logic to FMST…
[quote=“xab” post=17976]Further to that, I suppose if you think of it like this:
I am a BEL3 qualified person. I can (according to ACO policy) supervise 1:10. If I have 10 cadets and 1 member of unqualified staff, I am outside of my remit…I would apply this logic to FMST…[/quote]
I’ve asked now 4 other wings in my region and they all interpret it the same as I do. The relevant section is this:
[quote=“ACP 16 Chapter 1”]
Safe Training
11. For training to be classed as Safe there must be:
a. Effective supervision in place, formal briefings and correct instructor to student ratio. All FT exercises are to have an EC and appointed Authorised Instructors (AIs).
b. The recommended staff student ratio for FT is: classroom lesson 1 to 20, practical lesson in daylight 1 to 8, but 1 to 4 at night.
c. Authorised training staff, suitable and sufficient risk management in place in line with GRAs, supported by efficient administration including an EASP and MEL if deployed away from a sqn environment. [/quote]
I would argue that Staff in b. means just staff. i.e. everyone (and including Staff Cadets). If they went to the trouble of defining FTAIs in part a. They could quite easily have done so in part b.
Therefore an exercise needs an ACO, FTAIs, and staff. It is the sum of all staff who form the basis of the ratios. Not just the FTAIs.
As the former Wg FMS Officer for my old Wing, I would suggest that Xab is correct in his statement. I interpreted ACP16 staff ratios as being authorised staff only and ‘authorised’ meant being an instructor with the qualifications as stated in the ACP.
I appreciate its a ball-ache in a lot of cases but I somehow get the feeling that in light of recent happenings, the criteria for fieldcraft staffing is going to get a whole lot tighter…
I agree with Baldrick, and that’s certainly the interpretation I get from our wing.
You need “approved” instructors to actually teach the subject, but any old body will do for supervision levels.
Same here - I’ve seen loads of activities approved for, say, 32 cadets where there are 8 staff and only three or four are FTAIs (and clearly listed as such on the admin order).
Our Wing interpret it the same as Gunner does and that’s certainly the way it reads to me.