I wonder if there could be a process put in place for CCF to ATC transfer at the end of Year 11 (I assume there isn’t?) It could be a way to bolster numbers of senior cadets in community units where there is typically a drop off in numbers or attendance post 16 anyway.
Does the ACF run anything similar, given state school/CEP units are mostly Army?
Which is a waste of talent / resources
What about the CFF in Post 16 deduction?
Join the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) at Llandarcy Academy of Sport
Lots of questions about this especially most post 16 courses are aimed at experienced cadets for further development and not new joiners to the organisation
Interesting one
Does indeed raise a lot of questions. How common are units in post 16 settings?
Not common I think (without properly checking the data… but I’ve not heard of many).
A process to ensure we don’t lose those cadets at 16 would be a good idea. I’ll raise it - there may already be a plan. Of course, that would also apply to the other CCF branches and their community counterparts.
Locally, most of our State CCFs have sixth forms with the option to stay on for the CCF in post-16 provision. There are a handful of UTCs (14-19 education) with CCF units. Our independent CCFs largely have post-16 provision attached in some form or another. I can only think of one general FE college with a CCF - but there maybe more nationally.
Most of our local FE Colleges (and some sixth forms) offer BTEC Public Services though - irrespective of CCF presence. Some of them even dress up in uniforms for it… sigh.
Most of our local FE Colleges (and some sixth forms) offer BTEC Public Services though - irrespective of CCF presence. Some of them even dress up in uniforms for it… sigh.
These people who dress up in uniform to deliver training to young people. Terrible.
Do the UTCs allow cadet service beyond NC Y13? I need to check JSP814… CCF service usually ends at the end of that school year but I don’t know what happens if the ‘school’ goes to 19.
Replies to my post start to indicate the structural complexity of the CCF(RAF) piece without even getting into the CCF(A), CCF(RN), CCF(RM) and RFCA interactions. While different ATC Regions are impacted by a range of issues (population/distance from AEF/VGS/ constraints of cross city travel etc) at least the basic organisational building blocks are the same. Lets hope the supporting structure that emerges is trailed / tested against the ground truth before going fully live.
It’s not happened yet but I’ve wondered about what happens if someone is held back a year, you could easily have a 19 year old cadet in those circumstances.
To be honest, whilst they are notionally 14-19 provision, most finish at the end of Year 13. Looking at the data infront of me, I’ve got 8 in Year 14 at one UTC, and 3 at another.
In the main (and depending on the context), if they are still there in Year 14, I’d be recommending they sack off CCF and focus on finishing their qualifications! 
A simple way of flagging the option, transferring records, and no silliness around rank.
I’ve known OCs make transfers drop a rank at their new units.
I’d stick my neck out and let L/Cpls retain rank at least on unit
Although I don’t agree when OC’s automatically demote people who transfer to their unit it needs to depend on the actual candidate.
I had a lad on my old unit who was both CCF(RAF) and then joined us.
While nominally he had quite a while in the Organisation and on paper he was Leading Classification etc. His unit didn’t wear Blue Uniform they just paraded in MTP. They also didn’t do any PTS so he he had done far less from a syllabus point of view than even my Cadets with less than 6 months service.
If he had been an NCO amd has been allowed to retain his rank how would that have affected the morale of the existing Cadets who were working hard trying to get to the standard required for promotion when he turns up with a blank brassard and no idea how to wear his uniform? (Or do drill at which he was awful).
You can’t expect the average Cadet who only does 30 parade nights a year to be the same as the average Cadet who is doing 100 nights per year. (There will of course be exceptions at both ends of the scale). Our CCF Cadet is now one of our best Cadets, he has a distinct advantage that he does an extra 30 parade nights per year and has double the chances for Camps and flying etc.
This is not a dig at the CCF it’s the objective reality of where we operate.
I think this is fair. The starting point should be keeping track on transfer but it’s a simple fact that different units promote on a different basis and in some CCFs promotion is based on length of service/year group. It shouldn’t be, but in some it is so I think there will be times when dropping rank is necessary. How the cadet responds to that will speak volumes about their readiness for promotion
This is just as bad as demotion on transfer
It’s also explicitly forbidden, but if the Army section does it, it’s hard to hold the line.
I think that retention of rank should be assumed if the rank has been correctly recorded on Westminster and isn’t a local acting rank. But of course you’d have no way to verify that…
Are we not simply talking about regional changes?
Might make sense to split topic
When it comes to the changes my wife’s opinion is Que Sera, Sera.
She says we (the people at the sharp end) have no say and highly likely the decisions have been made.
We just have to work with whatever comes of it. Pound to penny the people making the decisions don’t care or give a stuff about the effects.
Is the CLC Frimley course still running?