The College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section

URGENT!!!

We need your skills on the NEC for the

Role of Treasurer

Have you got a methodical way of thinking, have an eye for detail, and can ensure decisions are followed up - yes of course you have because you are a children's Occupational Therapist. In addition are you in a position to contribute to the smooth running of the Specialist Section by being part of a lively committee?

Following the resignation of the our last treasurer who brought our finances up to a very healthy position, we are currently without a treasurer on the National Committee and in need of a person to step into this essential position as soon as possible.

The main role of the treasurer is to have a general financial oversight for the committee. Financial planning and budgeting is the responsibility of the Chair and treasurer, with the support of the whole committee, as a way of ensuring that we spend the Specialist Section's money on what our members have identified as priorities in the business plan. The treasurer also needs to hold the evidence that we are spending money on running the organisation effectively through banking and record keeping of invoices.

You will work most closely with the Chair, the Regional reps coordinator and the conference planning committee.

You will also be required to be one of the 3 signatories on the committee.

There is free training provided by COT available on the 3rd Dec 2008.

If you are interested in this role then please contact Louise Nicholl, at Louise.nicholl@awp.nhs.uk

The Children, Young People and Families 2008 Conference

A one day conference focusing upon communication.

Date - Monday 17th November 2008
Venue - Jury's Inn, Birmingham Communication Matters flyer (51KB *)
Cost - £80 Conference booking form (61KB *)
Programme - The one day conference will consist of presentations and workshops (46KB *)
Key Note Speaker - Humphrey Hawksley, a BBC foreign correspondent whose work has taken him all over the world.

There will be opportunities for networking with regional representatives and clinical forum leads. As well as an update of the clinical advisors posts and the specialist sections AGM.

If you would like any further information, please contact NEC committee member Kim Bailey - kim.bailey@btopenworld.com

We look forward to seeing you there!

Conference page

Membership Renewal

We apologise for a delay this year in processing membership renewal for 2008/09.
This is due to changes in the membership form. Members will be receiving renewal forms shortly.
If you have any questions in the meantime please contact the specialist section chair – Louise Nicholl.

NEC Vacancies

Do you want to contribute to the development of your profession at a national level?
Have you got good organisational and communication skills?
Do you like working part of a dynamic team?

We are currently looking for members to join the COT Specialist Section Children,Young People and Families National Executive Commitee. This is a great opportunity to contribute to your CPD, build on your strengths, and develop new skills whilst working as part of a team. There is a variety of roles that will become vacant shortly including support to the assistant regional co ordinator, assistant CAMHS rep membership link, and treasurer, and we will be voting on these at the AGM 17^th November 2008.

If you do not feel ready to be a full member then you can also join as a co opted member where you can be in a supportive role for up to a year and then apply for a full NEC member.

We meet 4 times a year (one of which is an away weekend) however the majority of our business is done via e mail. Location of the NEC meetings depends on the members. ALL expenses are reimbursed by CYPF.

There are role descriptions for all the current full NEC members available. Look at the business plan on the website and journal to see if there are projects you feel you could contribute to. There is training available provided by COT for specific and more general roles. If you interested in any of the roles or want to be a coopted member then please contact Louise Nicholl (01225 786730 or Louise.nicholl@awp.nhs.uk)

Nomination form (16KB *)

Membership Payment - Have you cancelled your Standing Order?

Since 2007, COT have not accepted membership payments by standing order. Some members however, are still paying by Standing Order (as well as by cheque), so please check that this is not you! If you do still have a Standing Order set up, please contact your bank to cancel this as soon as possible. All membership payments should be made via cheques payable to COT SS CYPF.

Clinical Advisors Posts

• Have you been qualified as an occupational therapist for more than 5 years?


• Have you worked in your area of children's services for at least 3 years?

If you can answer 'yes' to these two questions then read on...

Children, Young People and Families Specialist Section needs you!

We need therapists who can demonstrate experience and sound knowledge of their particular field of practice to:

• Provide information and opinion to consultations from national and professional agencies
• Inform responses to queries from members providing representative and evidence based information.
• Support the work of the NEC and the COT Practice Development Manager responsible for Children.
• Identify skills required and training needs for your area of practice;
• Inform the development of excellent clinical practice for your area of practice.

The COT Specialist Section Children, Young People and Families is the first specialist section to develop these roles. You can be contribute to us developing benchmarks for good practice.

The Specialist Section will provide induction, training and ongoing mentorship for these exciting and dynamic posts. These roles will provide a significant contribution to your CPD portfolio so what are you waiting for?

The specialist section will provide induction, training and mentorship for these exciting and dynamic posts, as well as help you to use this opportunity to evidence your CPD portfolio.

Interested in finding out more???

Please contact Louise Nicholl or Jackie Casey to find out more.

The specialist section NEC looks forward to answering any queries and to receiving your application.