Why have I been sent paper forms for cadets to fill in, to attend drill and ceremonial then?
Yeah. This is exactly what I have done for each camp.
My point is we shouldnāt have to.
The bid mechanisms for many of those camps make their early inclusion on CP little more than a potential admin nightmare at the moment.
After bidding, events may (should) appear and be populated
The RIAT camp event is a good example of an admin nightmare.
I donāt know. I certainly havenāt been sent them and we are in the same region.
I think people just need to clam down a little bitā¦ no need to be rude to each other when everyone is experiencing different problems. Iām sure people are able to discuss things in a mature manner. 
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I will when next at Sqn take a photo of the form and pm it to you.
I like cheese.
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If I was your wexo, monitoring the rubbish you spout would likely be a large part of my job.
Iām simply providing some reasons why things might not be as you want them to appear.
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Iām assuming people understand this is an issue!
While Portal is doing some good work, it is absolutely not always the best way to handle every activity.
Iād like to see a Read-Only activity capability where details can be publicised but management of the attendee list is performed directly by the organisers (or by directing staff)
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So far Iām finding that the same lack of signup on A4 sheets is persisting on Cadet Portal. The only difference now is that I canāt glance at the sheet when I take over the parade and go on to say āThere are only four names on thisā¦ You all say that you want more [x,y,z]ā¦ Well, here it is. Sign up!ā
Iāll still be pushing for names for mandatory events like the Drill Competition and Parades; and for squadron events which need numbers to be viable, but now Iāve simply decided that Iām really not bothered whether cadets sign up for other stuff outside the Sqn or not.
Iāll put it out there and give occasional reminders but if they miss out itās their own fault.
We had 4 cadets bid for annual camp this year, out of nearly 40 on the books.
Fine. Those 4 cadets are all going to camp. Everyone else had their chance and canāt say that I didnāt remind them.
Equally, if Iāve got no takers for events such as, I donāt knowā¦the Wing cross-countryā¦ because none of my cadets want to get up early to go running around in a cold, wet field, in Novemberā¦ I really donāt care.
As I said somewhere else, I think the key to operating with Cadet Portal is a healthy dose of NOMFUP.
My advice to anyone still operating a facebook group &c to publicise these things would be to start migrating away from that sharpish. You donāt want parents to expect that theyāll continue to be spoon fed because sooner or later you can bet that a cease and desist will come from HQAC telling us that we are not allowed to maintain these types of groups. Get them into the habit of using Cadet Portal ASAP.
The parent access to Portal is dead simple - they sort out their own lives by talking to their children.
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The WEXO cannot add anything to Cadet portal. The publication of all events to Cadet Portal can only be completed by each unit.
I would not consider the WEXO responsible for adding the Camp as an Event on SMS, unless they were the CC.
IAW with ACTO 10 āIt is mandatory to use the Bader Squadron Management System (SMS) to record all events involving RAF Air Cadets (RAFAC) cadets and Cadet Forces Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) which take place away from unit premises.ā
Once on SMS you can publish to your cadets with Cadet Portal
I mean, thatās all great, but itās hardly an admin reduction, is it?
I think itās a nice thing to do and is easy to administer.
The reduction comes from not having to print endless TGās/JIs etc.
The cadets sign up, or donāt and print their own paperwork.
They should both be on SMS so there should be no reason they canāt be pushed to CP.
It might require some Wing level policy e.g. to decide that WSO such-and-such creates the Camp events; and whether the Wing Aviation Officer creates AEF events, or delegates them to an āOrganising Sqnā for each detail.
Frankly, if you are taking cadets to AEF and itās not authorised and recorded on SMS I think youāre setting yourself up for trouble.
I keep noticing people saying that AEF doesnāt have to go on SMS, or that āonly the transport bitā doesā¦
Iām convinced thatās polldarks.
Thereās a specific event category for it which I think makes the intention pretty clearā¦
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OMG a fellow staff member of this fine organisation who isnāt a trophy hunter 
Iām not keen on it myself but we have staff members who pusā¦actively encourage our little Johnnyās and Janeās to at least make an appearance to make up the Sqn points 
Yeah we have that too.
Iām in two minds about it: on the one hand it can build a bit of competitive team spirit amongst the cadets but equally it can be a bit soul destroying if you know youāre turning up without any expectation of winning just to earn points.
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I look at it thus:
Iām not sporty and have no intention of forcing uninterested cadets to attend optional sports events.
But I do have a good Sqn sports officer who is sporty. We run at least one sports night per month and weekend orienteering is also popular with many of the cadets.
Where we are going to be attending an event anyway (such as the Athletics which is usually fairly popular and in which we tend to do well) Iāve got no issue with encouraging (in the true sense) additional cadets to come along as well. They are often happier to give it a go supporting the squadron on a day out with their mates.
But for events like the cross-country which are not traditionally popular amongst my cadets I see no point pushing people to turn out for the sake of it. Not least of all because I donāt want to get up eary and stand around in a cold, wet, field either!
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Where of you find the event category search? Am I having a senior moment? 