That is thankfully no longer the case. You send proof of certificate and a little paragraph of your H&S experience to your regional h&s guy and they will grant you an exemption.
We have run one, we did this as having an H&S project like that was needed for our Gold Star to keep the H&S lot off our backs for 3 years.
5 years for gold isnāt it?
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Just seen on the Teams Calendar this was the case - two birds, one stone, itās brilliant!
Depends on your Region I suspect, ours told us 1, 2 & 3 years respectively.
I did the ELA tutor bits with my RA course. Knowing nothing about it really I enquired how we run the courses from wingā¦ radio silence.
If itās as thrilling as it sounds Iām glad Iāve never really followed it up!
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Hello everyone.
I hope that you are all well.
Some discourse in this thread directed towards Health and Safety and RA courses was brought to my attentionā¦. So āinto the Lions Denā I goā¦ā¦
I prefer not to adopt the anonymous approach, so here I am, the Regional Safety Advisor for South West. My Bader email will be easy to find if anyone wishes to address their concerns directly with me.
I have always stated that I am here to assist, and if necessary deal with any grumbles someone might have.
I will try and address some of the points and clarify some of the statements made that are not quite correct.
Thank You Sgt_RAFAC, I look forward to welcoming you to the MS Teams course, although I clearly wonāt know who you are. I hope you havenāt been put off.
Thank You Paracetamol and AlexCorbin for publicising the course.
Wdimagineer2b, sorry that you dislike the ELA and refuse to put any Cadets through the course, but as is stated within the ELA Mentors course; It is aimed at the younger cadets. It is very obviously not a NEBOSH Diploma level qualification, but gives young cadets an introduction to health and safety matters they may not be aware of.
It can be added to their first CV for their first Saturday job or part time job.
Everyone has to start somewhere.
As correctly pointed out by pEp, The British Safety Council designed the course for 14-19-year-olds, this qualification aims to raise their awareness of hazards in the workplace before they embark on work experience or their first job.
big_g using it for relevance to going on camps, the using the PPE is a great idea, and exactly what is encouraged. Thank You for that imaginative idea.
Gunner, Mr Donald Gordon has now retired as CESO (RAFAC), and has been replaced by a new CESO. Time to move on, he is no longer the CESO. The new CESO is receptive to good ideas. He is NOT Donald Gordon.
It can be as boring a course as the mentor decides to make it. OldNewbie GoodEgg, Moist_Van_Lipwig and pEp please take note.
Cadet ELA courses are delivered so that staff have the freedom to deliver it in their own way. It can be delivered in one session, or spread out into as many as are required. The Mentor has that flexibility of delivery. Thank You Intruder for understanding that, but Iām not a fan of using it as punishment.
For themajor; Youāre not quite correct with your statement; āItās pretty much the only way (running ELA courses) our RSA (SW) will award a gold starā¦ā
Please allow me to clarify, quoting direct from the SW Region Sqn folder guidance document sent to every SW Region Sqn.
A Gold Star is dependent very much upon being able to demonstrate a lengthy commitment to good health and safety practice, not just in the weeks leading up to an assurance visit. Where a serious safety concern is discovered, this alone may negate other good work. Some form of health and safety initiative is also required such as holding frequent Cadet Entry Level Award (ELA) courses, or some other health, safety or environmental initiative.
In 99% of visits, Sqns receive at least 4 weeksā notice of an Assurance visit.
Bronze Stars are valid in ACP5 for 3 years.
Silver Stars are valid in ACP5 for 3 years.
Gold Stars are valid for 4 years.
It was agreed with the RC (SW) about 3 years ago that the award of a Bronze Star being valid for 3 years, gave no incentive for a Sqn to strive for a Silver Star Award (or better) as the validity period was the same for Silver.
It was therefore agreed, and publicised in the SW Region Sqn folder, that Bronze would be valid for 1 or 2 years at the discretion of the RSA conducting the assurance visit. This may in future be a formal amendment to ACP5, or the Star Award scheme may be scrapped altogether. Nobody knows at this stage.
I believe that attendance on the RA Course is a requirement for promotion from Sgt to FS.
For Wdimagineer2b, no Gold Star has been withheld in SW Region because of a Sqn not completing the Cadet ELA award. It is only recommended and suggested as a good way of demonstrating the lengthy commitment to health and safety required for a Gold Star.
I am unsure what a āWing RAā course is, as I have never heard of such a course.
Even in the Donald Gordon CESO (RAFAC) era, a member of staff who held, at least the NEBOSH General Certificate could simply send a copy to the CESO with a brief overview of their experience and they were exempt attending the RA course. That is still the same protocol today, and has been for at least 5 years.
Thank You pEp for posting and advising everyone of this.
I hold H&S qualification above that required to complete the role of RSA. Some staff have higher qualifications, some have lower H&S qualifications. This is thankfully not a game of H&S Top Trumps though.
daws1159, If you run frequent ELA courses and maintain your H&S to a high standard, the LaSER RSA (and all RSAs nationally) will undoubtedly stay off your back for 4 years, not 3.
daws1159 and pEp; No Gold Star lasts for 5 years, but with the COVID19 lockdown, some Gold Star Sqns will probably end up with a 5 year gap between assurance visits, which is at the moment unavoidable.
Thank You one and all for giving up so much of your spare time to volunteer for the RAFAC Organisation in order to enrich the lives of the young people within your community.
Letās all stay safe.
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Just reminded me to actually book on to a RA course at somepoint
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Thanks for this comprehensive reply.
Could you point me in the direction of any materials/ways to deliver and award the ELAā¦
Is there a sharepoint link, Iāll give the materials a look and start to run it on sqnā¦ every time Iāve asked at wing level Iāve not got very far looking for how to actually run the award or forms to send off for certificates.
Thanks in advance!
Rick, great to see engagement from you on here. Weāre a grumpy lot which can put āseniorā people off engaging but your post has been really helpful. Thanks
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Thank you for taking the time to join and comment! Welcome to the forum.
I completely agree. Itās not the course per se I have issues with - let me explain where Iām coming from. First of all, I do think that H&S is important. Iāve completed the IOSH āManaging Safelyā course, and in my day job manage volunteers working in some fairly hazardous areas. So I absolutely get the need for H&S education in the workplace.
However, no cadet ever joined the RAFAC because they want to complete an ELA award. It might be useful. They might even enjoy doing it. But, when they walk through my Sqn doors, their questions are all about the flying, gliding, shooting, the RAF, and AT (usually in that order). Unfortunately, as an organisation, weāre getting worse at delivering those type of activities. Now, Instead of trying to address those issues, and provide comparable activities, the RAFAC has introduced things like STEM and the ELA.
The ELA, IMO, is something that should used as an āoptional extraā, on top of running our routine activities. Instead, weāre (certainly in my wing) being pressured to get every cadet qualified, whether the cadet is interested in doing it, or not.
And lets not forget that we only have a finite amount of time during the week with our cadets. Every time a non aviation related subject is introduced into the syllabus, it dilutes the focus of what we should be delivering that little bit more.
I applaud you for your passion, and for coming on here to offer a positive opinion, and in many ways, I feel that the ELA has a bad rep that is no way itās own fault. But unless the ELA course is redesigned and given more military or aviation themed content, I will struggle to see the relevance it has to our organisation.
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Welcome to the forums and thank you for the comprehensive reply. It really helps having someone in the organisation engaging on here, so it is a genuine thanks. And thanks for correcting my mistakes above.
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Whenever you plan on running an ELA course, establish which cadets are interested in attending the course. then email their names and dates of birth to your own Regional Safety Advisor.
I am temporarily covering for Scotland and NI, and LaSER during Lockdown, so any courses in those Regions should email me.
Your RSA will send you (when not in lockdown) a hardcopy workbook for each cadet for them to complete.
For lockdown ELAs, a sample PowerPoint Presentation is available, which I personally sent to each mentor when they plan on starting a course, but once youāve amended a Presentation to your own needs, that will be the one you use most often.
I would then end an electronic workbook for the cadets to be forwarded on by the mentor.
It is slightly easier in that they donāt have to draw their own signs, but identify what the signs mean that are in the workbook.
The rest is as per the hard copy books.
No problem. Contrary to popular beliefā¦ us RSAs are here to help.
I see your pointā¦ there is absolutely zero Health and Safety in Flying, Gliding, Shooting or ATā¦ ?
Oh hang on a minute! 
Iām not sure comments like that are in any way helpful.
You know perfectly well what M_V_L is saying.
I think youāre reading more into this than Rick meant. Please try and stay civilā¦
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The good thing about our system is that we donāt need the cadets to think about H&S. Every activity is risk assessed and approved prior to it taking place. We teach them everything they need to know to participate safely, and the staff are all approved to teach a specific activity. We have adequate supervision.
Iām not saying itās not desirable, but the day I need a cadet to have had prior H&S training before they shoot on a range that Iām running is the day that I need to hand in my range ticket.
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Welcome to the forum.
I disagree, especially considering itās one of those āeveryone is responsibleā type areas. Your shooting example falls a little flat when you consider that large parts of weapons training are health and safety related (donāt aim at someone, trigger discipline, no booger hooks in the bang box, etc) and youād also want them to be considering safe paths, ear defs, etc. So yes, you do need them to have H&S training before they go on the range.
The more cadets are able to self-police about what they should and shouldnāt do (H&S knowledge also empowers NCOs in their decision-making) - or even better, flag up issues that may have been missed that could cause an accident - the less mess we have to deal with. We canāt watch them 100% of the time and some of you lot are getting old with fading eyes, stumbling through the unit on your H&S inspections 
.
And I say that as someone who has a very questionable past with my personal H&S both as a cadet and staff. I would say it might make Rick wince, but perhaps he has some untold secrets from a previous life that would put me to shame.
@RickWhitehead welcome and thank you for swinging by. Seems like youāve had a relatively warm reception already and Iāve found your insight helpful. Part of the problem here is that there arenāt enough people at certain levels/in certain roles willing to take the plunge due to perceptions, but in reality when someone offers genuine engagement it is appreciated and relieves the tension.
This can be a very negative place, but that stems from duff gen, lack of comms, or lack of explanation regarding broader contexts. Someone taking the time to put us straight benefits everyone. Missing that leaves little choice but to vent and whinge which I think youāve alleviated very quickly and easily in this instance.
Weāve met a few times and Iāve always found you ādirect, but fairā (and even helpful 
).
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