On 5 May, South Northamptonshire Council, like many local
authorities, is holding its local elections. Councillors for the
District, Town and Parish Councils will be elected, and South
Northamptonshire Council is encouraging residents to think about
standing as a candidate. As a Councillor you would:
-
help shape the future development of the
district or parish;
-
influence what goes on in the local area; and
-
represent local community views.
“Anyone who lives or works in South
Northamptonshire can become a Councillor, and standing as a
candidate in the local elections is a real way to make a difference
in the local community.”
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1. The role of a Councillor is to represent the
views of local residents. They are there to make sure that the
council’s services meet the needs of everyone who lives, visits and
works in South Northamptonshire and its individual Parishes.
2. There are 42 Councillors for South
Northamptonshire Council, representing 27 Wards (Wards are
represented by one, two or three Councillors). Across South
Northamptonshire there are 72 Parish Councils with a total of 580
seats to be contested.
3. If the number of candidates standing is less
than (or equal to) the number of seats assigned to that Ward or
Parish, the candidates will be elected uncontested, and a vote for
those seats will not take place.
E-learning:
new online tools to help community leaders
On 1 April 2011 the
National Association of Local Councils
launched
the first ever suite of e-learning courses aimed at supporting local
(parish and town) councillors. The new e-learning courses are a
unique online one-stop shop for introductory training for local
councillors and have been purposely developed as part of the
National Training Strategy (NTS) to compliment existing tools and
provision.
Working with Learning Pool, a leading e-learning organisation, we
have developed a website designed to house interactive learning,
which you can find at
http://www.ntselearning.co.uk//
Access to the e-learning (hosted in our Dynamic
Learning Environment) is free and whilst all users need to create an
account, there is no fee for using it. On the homepage look to the
top right-hand corner to ‘create an account’. A helpful ‘top tips’
guide to accessing the courses is also on the homepage to assist
you.
There are currently 2 induction courses
available: one for recently elected local councillors (or
experienced local councillors who want to update their knowledge);
and a bite-sized module for people considering becoming a
councillor. This first course consists of five modules, all based on
the sections of the Good Councillors Guide, with a short quiz at the
end of each section. So please sign up and have a go!
This new suite of courses is part of the broader
package of training available through the revised NTS. The new
Strategy aims to encourage a variety of training to suit individual
and local needs and circumstances. Hence the e-learning modules
compliment but do not replace or compete with other routes by which
local councillors might access training and development. It is
intended that e-learning will provide an introductory level of
training that will encourage and enable more local councillors to
take part in comprehensive face-to-face training and view the online
courses as just one element of the training essential to becoming an
effective and good councillor.
If you are having problems
with the site please let Learning Pool support know via telephone on
0845 543 6033 or via email at
support@learningpool.com
For more information about the e-learning courses and the NTS,
contact Victoria Pymm
on 020 7290 0314 or via email at
victoria.pymm@nalc.gov.uk
