Phones

The new phone system at National Office is up and running. It’s the same as the old one (mainline 01926 492915) but there are now options when you call in to help direct your call. 

Dressage Anywhere

RDA classes for Dressage Anywhere have reopened. The schedule for October is now live and there is a range of led, independent, VI and graded tests available. www.dressageanywhere.com/Competitor/EnterCompetition/601

Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Duke of Edinburgh Awards are researching the amount of DofE volunteering that has been happening since lockdown. If you have DofE candidates signed up with your group, please complete the survey if you can – even if there hasn’t been any activity. Thank you. www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RDADofE2020

Starting with some sad news. This last month saw the passing of two RDA ‘greats’, Sister Chiara Hatton-Hall and Miss Liz Dendy.

Sister Chiara was one of our founders, attending the very first meeting of the ‘Advisory Council for Riding for the Disabled’ that the BHS set up in April 1964.  She was the first Chair of the Training Committee and created much of what we now recognise as the basis of our excellent Coaching support.  She helped to set up FRDI (which became HETI and brings together RDA-type organisations around the world) and was respected across the globe. 

Liz Dendy was Chair of RDA in the 1990s, skilfully steering us through the transition towards Federation, which many of you will remember. She was instrumental in setting up the International Paralympic Committee, and was a champion for disability sport worldwide.

We owe them a huge debt of gratitude and our thoughts are with their families.

Phone system down on Friday pm

There will be a new phone system at National Office from Monday 5 October (No change to phone numbers). This will be set up from 2pm this Friday.  If you need to contact the office between 2 and 4 pm on Friday, please use the group support email (groupsupport@rda.org.uk) or call 07599 236 036.

AGM and Voting papers

Next week your group will receive voting papers for the virtual AGM on 6 November. Please complete and return your responses as soon as possible.

Government Kickstart Scheme

You may have heard that the government has created a new scheme to encourage and support employers to create work placements for young people in England, Scotland and Wales.  The Kickstart Scheme pays the costs for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment to be employed part time for 6 months.  The placements should support young people to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme.

There is a minimum number of 30 people who must be enrolled on the scheme, although you can do so as part of a consortium, so RDA UK is looking to see if there is enough interest from groups for us to take this further. You can find out more about the scheme and how to register your interest here: myrda.org.uk/government-kickstart-scheme/

New Coaching Lead

Karen Thompson has taken on the role of Coaching Lead for RDA UK. Karen replaces Sue Adams-Wheeler, who has stepped down after 9 years in post. Sue led on many changes in coaching including the new Coaching Pathway and we are hugely grateful for her leadership and experience throughout her time in the role. Karen runs Kesteven Rideability in the North Midlands, and is County Coach and Regional Dressage Rep for North Midlands. 

Virtual Windsor

Congratulations to all the RDA riders who took part in the first ever RDA Dressage Challenge at Virtual Windsor Horse Show, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The overall winner, Elise Coubrough, and the highest placed in each grade will share in the £1,000 worth of vouchers kindly donated by Wychanger Saddlery. You can find all the results from the weekend here: virtual.rwhs.co.uk/results/

Survey about activity levels and closure

I’ll be closing this survey at the end of this week, so please take part if you haven’t already. It takes about 5 minutes and will give us valuable information to help us support you better in the coming months. www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RDAActivityLevels

Brilliant Person Awards

Our Brilliant Person Award closes this weekend, so there’s just time for your entries. Visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9L6QD99

BBC Sports Personality of the Year – Unsung Hero Awards

Nominations are open for BBC SPOTY, which this year also features the ‘Captain Tom Young Unsung Hero’ award. More information and entry details here: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/27037119

You may have heard that the government has created a new scheme to encourage and support employers to create work placements for young people in England, Scotland and Wales.  The Kickstart Scheme pays the costs for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment to be employed part time for 6 months.  The idea is for the placements to support the participants to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme.

There is a minimum number of 30 people who must be enrolled on the scheme, although you can do so as part of a consortium, so RDA UK is looking at the possibility of doing this to support your Group, if this might work for you.  

What funding is available

Funding is available for:

• 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week
• associated employer National Insurance contributions
• employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

There is also £1500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.  RDAUK may charge you a proportion of this element in order to help fund a co-ordinated approach to the training program required by the scheme.

How to get the funding

Funding is available following a successful application process.

Who can apply for funding

Any organisation, regardless of size, can apply for funding.

The job placements created with Kickstart funding must be new jobs. They must not:

• replace existing or planned vacancies
• cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment

The roles you are applying for must be:

• a minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months
• paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group
• should not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement

Each application should include how you will help the participants to develop their skills and experience (RDAUK may be able to provide a co-ordinated approach to this training) including:

• support to look for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals
• support with CV and interview preparations
• supporting the participant with basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping and teamwork

Once a job placement is created, it can be taken up by a second person once the first successful applicant has completed their 6-month term.

To find out more about the scheme visit www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme

At the moment we are just looking for groups to register their interest, to find out if we could meet the criteria for 30 people through our ‘consortium’. If you think your group might be interested, please email Peter Dean at RDA National Office at pdean@rda.org.uk 

This is the first of what will become a regular weekly email to all RDA Group Chairs and Contacts.
The emails will usually come from me, and I hope you will feel happy contacting me directly if I can be of help. That said, outside of communications, publicity and PR, you will quickly reach the limit of my knowledge, so please continue to use your usual contacts for other things.

Update your details
This is a great opportunity to help us update our records. If you are no longer Group Chair or the designated Group Contact, please email info@rda.org.uk and let us know – ideally with the name of your replacement.
I know lockdown prevented the publication of this year’s handbook. As an interim measure, I am going to get the current contact information for each region into an electronic format and circulate that as soon as it’s ready.

Government announcement Tuesday
The devolved government announcements on Tuesday brought no specific changes to our current guidelines. Remember that myrda.org.uk is being kept up to date with the latest information. If something changes that affects the whole organisation or needs immediate action we will of course email you as soon as possible.

Chief Executive webinars
Throughout lockdown, RDA Chief Executive Ed Bracher has recorded a series of webinars about how we have been tackling the challenges of COVID-19 and its impact on RDA. You can watch the latest one – and catch up with previous webinars – on our You Tube Channel at www.youtube.com/RDAnational. A transcript of the latest talk is also available, so please let me know if you’d like a copy.

Virtual Windsor
Tomorrow at 2:30pm is the RDA Dressage Challenge Class at Virtual Windsor Horse Show, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and prizes from Wychanger Saddlery. Congratulations to all who entered, and especially to those who made it into the top ten! Tune in to watch it ‘live’ – with commentary from our very own Dressage Lead John Robinson – at https://virtual.rwhs.co.uk/

Survey about activity levels and closure
Please don’t forget to complete our survey into activity levels and continued group closure if you haven’t done so already. It takes about 5 minutes and will give us valuable information to help us support you better in the coming months. www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RDAActivityLevels

RDA UK volunteer vacancies
We have several vacancies for Regional and County volunteer roles. If you, or someone you know, would like to find out more about being an RDA UK volunteer, please contact Faye McKenning at National Office on fmckenning@rda.org.uk .

Brilliant Person Awards
There’s still time to nominate someone for our Brilliant Person Award. Visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9L6QD99

Have a good week and stay safe.

Best wishes,
Caroline
Caroline Ward
Head of Communication & Insight, RDA UK
01926 405968
cward@rda.org.uk

RDA National Office, Shrewley, Warwick

RDA is a leading national charity, dedicated to enriching the lives of disabled people through horses and our team at national office work closely with our network of national volunteers to ensure RDA Groups are able to provide an excellent experience for those who take part in our activities.

About the role:

We are seeking a new member of staff to play a key role in supporting RDA Groups in developing the excellent service they provide to our participants. This role is an opportunity for someone who prides themselves on their ability to engage with key stakeholders and has strong project management and organisational skills.

The main responsibilities of the role include leading in four key areas:

• Delivering against the RDA UK Growth Plan
• Managing the recruitment of new RDA Groups
• Supporting existing RDA Groups in setting up their governing documents to best fit their future needs
• Overseeing and administering the delivery of a Sport England funded programme, Accessibility Mark.

It is important that you are a confident communicator with exceptional customer service skills as you will be providing advice and guidance to our volunteer workforce on a regular basis.  We also value adaptability; someone who will enjoy working on new projects and the challenges associated with a varied workload.

This is a temporary role, providing maternity cover, working 34 hours per week (09:00-17:00 Monday to Thursday, 09:00-16:00 Friday, with one hour for lunch), although flexibility will be needed leading up to events with extra hours covered by time off in lieu.

Salary is £25,000 (pro rata) per annum.

Please ring 07493 394237 or email cmilican@rda.org.uk for a full job description, or send your CV to cmilican@rda.org.uk .

Closing date for applications is Tuesday 30^th June.  

We are looking for the successful person to start, for a handover period, by mid-August if possible.

Job Description Group Development Manager (Mat Cover) 2020

Government advice

Following the meeting of the Government’s Cobra committee yesterday, when it was agreed that the UK will move to the ‘delay’ stage of its response, RDA’s policy is that Groups, volunteers and participants should continue to refer to and follow the current official Government advice. You can find this, and more information, here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public. This page will always contain the most up to date information. We will therefore not be reprinting this information in our own messages, to avoid out of date advice circulating.

The NHS website also provides guidance on the symptoms, how the disease is spread, and how to avoid catching or spreading germs. You can view this at www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ 

RDA specific information

While our advice as a nationwide organisation remains in line with the Government’s position, individual groups, volunteers and participants must feel able to make decisions based on their own specific circumstances.

In order for your group to stay open:

• Everyone must have the ability to wash (or sanitise) their hands in line with government/NHS guidelines
• Ensure that your volunteers and participants don’t feel under any obligation to attend if they have concerns
• Respect the feelings of everyone at your group and take their concerns seriously

In addition:

• There is a leaflet for visitors to your site that you can download here and use if you wish VisitorAdviceCorona Virus 
• You may wish to talk to your schools, care providers or other groups about their plans and if they are happy to continue coming

If your trustees decide to suspend the group

• Please email us at info@rda.org.uk to let us know so we can keep up to date with the changing situation nationally.

Groups with paid employees

It seems likely that, as the situation escalates, employees will be asked to work from home. This may have an impact on your ability to look after your horses. The government has not issued any advice about this yet. We will let you know as soon as this changes.

In the meantime, ACAS is regularly updating its website with useful advice and information for employers and employees. https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus

Regional Qualifiers and National Championships

Government advice does not currently restrict gatherings or events on the scale of our regional qualifiers and championships. We are reviewing the situation, but for the time being please assume they are continuing.

National Office

We remain open for business as usual, so please contact us with any questions or concerns. If the office has to close we will inform you as soon as possible. You can contact the office on 01926 492915 or email info@rda.org.uk.