Helen Tagg
Chair |
Melissa Barker-Simpson
Rep |
Karen Hall
Training Rep
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Hi and welcome to ASLI North East. We cover quite a wide area - from South Yorkshire up to the borders of Scotland!
The morning session is a meeting discussing ASLI business and then during the afternoon we usually hold a dedicated training session/discussion group using expertise within the group and also buying in external trainers. We are an active group and anyone working as an interpreter or CSW in whatever setting is more than welcome to come along.
Group: North East Region
Report Author: Helen Tagg (Chair)
Date of report: 3 June 2008
1. Current Membership of your group:
6 Associate Members
1 Corporate Supporter
62 Full Members
2. Your Contact email: northeast@asli.org.uk
3. Summary of recent Events including attendance:
At the AGM, we had a change in Chair - (Granville Tate stepped down and Helen Tagg stepped up) - and one of the Representatives - (Paul Hann stepped down and Karen Hall up): A huge thanks to both of them for all their work for our Region, and also a big thank you must go to Melissa Barker-Simpson who agreed to stay on as Representative for another round.
In early 2008, a proposal was put to our members to see if they felt the Region should be split in to North and South areas. 17 people replied and the majority voted in favour. We now need to decide how this is taken forward and there is currently a consultation with members within the Northern section to canvas their views further. Currently, it seems that there is not a desire to formally create 2 separate ASLI Regions with their own Chairs/Reps etc.
4. Summary of recent significant contacts, networking, meetings:
We had a well-attended meeting in Leeds on 10th May 2008 where we discussed;
a) The ASLI AGM and the use of BSL. Those who attended were generally positive about having BSL as the language of the AGM, with a few suggestions for practical improvements (eg. letting people know in advance; improved seating and lines of sight; easier access to headsets).
Problems and comments to take back to the Executive Meeting in June
The potential split of our Region (see above)
Training issues
We finished with a session of "Questions for Our Colleagues" where we discussed both professional and light-hearted questions from us all.
5. Meetings planned in 2008:
27th September 2008, 10am in York : ASLI Meeting + training based on Looking After Ourselves / Lone Worker Safety
28th November 2008, from 4pm in Leeds : Meeting / Social Event which will lead on to a (early!) Christmas meal
6. Events planned for 2008/2009
* We aim to hold the well-respected 2-day training event on Co-Working in early 2009, run by Chereme and arranged via the ASLI Training Group.
* Once the date for this training is confirmed, we will arrange one more North East Regional Meeting for 2009 to be held in Sheffield.
7. Dates for the ASLI Calendar:
27 Sept 08 : North East Regional Meeting in York
28 Nov 08 : North East Regional Meeting & Christmas Meal in Leeds
Region : North East
Report Author: Granville Tate, Chair
Date of report: 12th February 2008
1. Current Membership
Full: 53
Associates 7
Student: 4
2. Contact email: gtate@btinternet.com
3. Summary of recent Events including attendance:
12 January 2008
York Deaf Child and Family Service
Lime Trees, 31 Shipton Road, York YO30 5RE
10.00am – 1.00pm
Attending:
Ann-Marie Bracchi, Karen Hall, Alexia Blohm-Pain, Malcolm Pyle, Julie Thompson,
Trudy Field, Vicky Crawley, Jill Robinson, Karen Turner, Fiona Hudson, Julie Thompson,
Margaret Musgrave, Anne Maria Rudkin, Faye Jamieson, Kim Homewood, Paul Hann,
Granville Tate
Four non-members attended (£10.00 fee)
Apologies received:
Kathryn James, Alan Haythornthwaite, Jill Searson, Helen Tagg, Sarah Pearson, Melissa
Barker-Simpson.
(Note: Thank you for contacting me before meetings to say either you are coming or
apologies – this is always useful for planning. GT)
10.00 – 10.30am
ASLI Business:
The first 20 minutes was a discussion regarding the debate about whether we should
split into two regions and the need to appoint a Chair for the NE Region for the next 2
years .
This is the information from ASLI Secretary:
To nominate someone for a Regional position you must be a voting member OF THAT
REGION, must complete the Regional Nomination form (www.asli.org.uk > AGM Documents > Regional Nomination Form), obtain the
nominee's details as indicated on the form and post it to:
secretary@asli.org.uk NO LATER THAN 2pm FEBRUARY 23rd 2008.
After February 23rd, all nominations will be announced. If a single nomination has been
received for a position, that nominee is automatically appointed. If more than one
nomination is received, voting will commence, by postal ballot. Ballot forms will be
issued at that time.
Please note that the election of Regional Representatives will be conducted by your
current Regional Chair and does not form part of the procedure above.
10.30 – 1.00pm
Mandy Barker, Kathryn Turner, Vicci Ackroyd
Interpreting issues in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Mandy Barker is Social Worker/Project Manager
Kathryn Turner is a Clinical Psychologist
Vicci Ackroyd is an interpreter at Lime Trees.
Emma Atkinson is a Family Support Worker
We were given an explanation of CAHMS and the wide range of problems CAHMS deals
with such as Psychosis, Depression, Anxiety, Obsessional behaviours, Phobias, Eating
Disorders, Attentional problems, Self harm, Conduct Disorders, Family Problems,
Developmental Disorders (including Autism Spectrum Disorders and Learning
Disabilities).
This led into an explanation of the Specialist CAMHS for deaf children and York Deaf
Child and Family Service covering the North East and North West.
We then moved on to the use of interpreters in mental health and the specific issues for
us. We split into groups for a role-play of a mental health review meeting around a Deaf
young person who uses some BSL. In the role-play we had a Hearing parent with very
limited sign language, a Psychiatrist, a Teacher from school, a Deaf support worker (who
supports the child), and an interpreter.
Thank you to Mandy, Kathryn, Vicci and Emma for an enjoyable and instructive
workshop.
Note: Mandy offered the venue for future NE ASLI meetings in York
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Venue and costs for the York workshop/meeting from NE ASLI funds
Expenditure:
Room hire: £60.00
Trainers: £140.00
Total: £200.00
Income:
4 x non-members at £10.00 each = £40.
5. Meetings planned in the next 3 months:
Next Meeting: 23rd February: Leeds Centre for Deaf People
Business Meeting
Last year we decided this would be our ‘End of year planning meeting before AGM April’.
We should have some idea of Motions by then for discussion. We also need to see
where we are with the elections for the NE Chair and choose new reps. We will know by
then the result of the splitting debate and if we will change to two regions or stay as one.
Put the date in your diary and come along.
6. Events planned in the next 3 months:
None
7. Dates for the ASLI Calendar:
23rd February: NE ASLI Business meeting, Centenary House, Leeds
The NE Region had a vote about splitting the Region. The results were as follows:
TOTAL REGION VOTES: 23 from 60 (Full and Associate members) = 38% of members
voted
YES: 18
NO: 1
NO PREFERENCE: 4
Therefore 18 from the 23 who responded voted YES. This is 78% YES preference (of
those who voted).
However, broken down between members who live in the north and south of the NE
ASLI REGION
North of Region (Darlington upwards) = 3 / 5 ( = 60% YES)
South of Region (South of Darlington) = 15 / 18 ( = 83% YES)
In terms of the NORTH of the Region as a whole (Darlington upwards):
There are 18 voting interpreter members (16 Full members and 2 Associate members)
There were 5 members who voted (5/18 = 28%)
The YES votes were only 3 / 5 ( = 60%)
The YES votes are mainly from the members in the south of the region. There are only 3
YES votes from the north of the region.
Even though a simple democratic outcome would mean the NE ASLI Region will split it
still may be unrealistic to go ahead based only on this small number of YES votes in the
north. Do the 18 ASLI members in the north of the region really want to organise
themselves as an ASLI Region? Will someone come forward to be a Chair and
representatives to organise the region and liaise with the NEC? Most of these 18 are
also part of the NEIN group who meet in Gateshead (an independent interpreter group).
Even if there are a couple of people coming forward to be Chair and rep will the
members meet as ASLI? Is there a good reason to set up an ASLI Region if the NEIN
group continues to meet? Is it viable to have two interpreter groups in this area?
Probably the sensible approach is for the 18 members in the north of the NE ASLI
Region to be asked if they have a nomination for a Chair. If they do not the Chair and
members of the south of the region would still need to be mindful of the ASLI members
in the north. In effect the region would still be a NE Region.
Granville Tate
NE ASLI Chair
November 2007
The NE Region has four meetings/workshops per year. We aim to rotate around the region.
June 07 - Jules Dickenson - Research into Workplace interpreting.
Sept 07 - Francis Murphy New Interim BDA Chair. BDA. The presentation and discussion included new BDA directions, EFSLI context, collaborative working and building links.
Summary of recent significant contacts, networking, meetings:
The Chair and reps attended Regional meetings and NEC meetings.
The Chair liaised with a member regarding booking of interpreters for recently introduced Speed Seminars. A letter was drawn-up from the NE Chair to support member in approaching the organisers to give reason for two interpreters being needed for the two and half hour intensive sessions.
The chair liaised with a member regarding a booking agency and its awareness of BSL/English interpreting qualifications.
The Chair and a rep developed proposals for the NEC to discuss:
Proposal 1: Develop more domain Codes underpinned by the ASLI generic CoPC.
Proposal 2: A model for clear developmental categories of Associate and Full member qualifications:
A. Achieve initial University interpreter qualification - beginning level -Associate membership
B. Compulsory Experiential period (2 years min / 4 years max)
C. Enter for Full member qualification status
(Optional as either additional HE or portfolio based NVQ)
Proposal 3: The need for an ASLI Complaints procedure for internal grievances complaints and for a complaints procedure for the public against ASLI (the organisation) or an individual member.
Proposal 4: To ensure ASLI builds in Annual Conferences as part of its ongoing remit and continue to have them in the Regions (and not become exclusively or predominantly in London)
Meetings planned in the next 3 months:
January 12th 2008 – York (we are in discussions with a possible guest)
February 23rd 2008 - Leeds (End of year planning meeting before AGM April)
May 2007
NE ASLI Meeting
24th March 2007
Ramada Jarvis Hotel,
Shipton Road,
Skelton,
York,
Y030 1XW
10.00am – 12.30pm
Attending
David Wycherley, Helen Tagg, Karen Hall, Jill Robinson, Howard Beck, Sarah Pearson, Alexia Blohm-Pain, Ann-Marie Bracchi, Trudy Field, Vicky Crawley, Julie Thompson, Paul Hann , Melissa Barker-Simpson , Granville Tate
Apologies received:
Margaret Bairstow, Judith Collins, Anna Gehrke, Jill Searson, Alan Haithornthwaite, Sara Cross, Tony Beckett, Catherine Moxon, Vicci Ackroyd, Julie Fletcher
Planning Special: informal am meeting plus lunch
NE funds were used to book the venue and pay for lunch to encourage a good turnout of NE members and Affiliates. We were successful in this as 14 of us came along.
10.00am until 12.30 then Buffet lunch
Agenda Items
1. A NE Region letter has been developed for use by the Regional Chair in contacting services that book people to ‘interpret’ without the appropriate education/skills/training. It has been checked for legal issues by the ASLI solicitor. The letter was discussed and it was thought to be a good way of approaching this issue for our Region. Members thought that we should have a hierarchy of ways to respond to this issue. In the first place any member could approach a booking service informally if the service was engaging unqualified people. If this was not having any success then the Regional Chair could be approached and if it was felt to be appropriate then the letter from the Regional Chair could be used. Members also thought that a response from ASLI nationally should also be developed for the times that the Regional level of engagement was not having any success. This could be part of the responsibility of Public Relations person at Operations Group level. The NE chair had a brought a similar proposal unsuccessfully to the NEC. NE members feel very strongly it should go back to the NEC. The Regional Chair will take this as an action point for the NEC.
2. A questionnaire had recently been circulated to the NE about future workshops and where we should have them in the Region. The responses are below. There were 18 responses from a possible 57 Licensed or Associate members, 69 including Affiliates and Students. The responses about where to meet probably mostly reflect where the people live who responded. You will see from our next workshop on June 2nd that we will meet the request of members who wanted a session on interpreting in the workplace. We hope to arrange workshops on 2 of the other topics. Our plans for venues for the rest of the year also reflect the responses.
3. Meetings for the coming year:
June 2nd – Leeds
Provisional dates and places for your diary:
September 22nd - Sheffield
January 12th 2008 - York
February 23rd 2008 - Leeds (End of year planning meeting before AGM April)
4. Planning for June 2nd in Leeds
The workshop will be 10am – 1pm then buffet lunch.
An email will be sent to the Region asking who will attend.
Alexia to organise interpreting.
Chair to book venue and lunch.
5. Motions for AGM:
Only the Resolution concerning the AGM quoracy was discussed. We were very strongly in agreement that quoracy should be left at 15% for reasons of better democratic involvement by finding ways to encourage members to attend the AGM – this is not a problem when they are planned in conjunction with an annual conference. This is contrary to the advice coming from Operations Group/Directors.
AOB:
Members brought up again, as they had done at a previous meeting, the absence of an ASLI Conference with this years’ AGM. They also linked this to the previous item of ensuring quoracy at AGMs. The NE Chair had twice put it on the NEC agenda to be moving on planning for next year but both times it was not discussed. A statement to the NEC was created at the meeting as follows:
The ASLI North East Region would like to:
a) express its strong disappointment that there won't be a Conference in 2007 alongside the AGM and,
b) request information about 2008, including a guarantee that appropriate processes are put in place at the first NEC meeting after the AGM, so that future conferences will be arranged.
Thanks go to:
Mel for organising today with the Hotel.
Alexia for the questionnaire work.
Helen for contacting Jules Dickinson for the next workshop.
Next meeting: 2nd June, Centenary House, Leeds, 10.00am – 1.00pm
Jules Dickinson: PhD research into ‘Workplace Interpreting’.
Buffet Lunch provided
Meeting finished 12.30 for buffet lunch
Venue and costs for today’s meeting
£375.00 (from NE funds)