The ART M1 Day Course is almost upon us; there are 11 students, hopefully it will be an educational and enjoyable day. Booking for this course has now been taken offline and the personalised course packs are being prepared. Having corresponded with the students there is a feeling of enthusiasm building which gives me hope for teaching new recruits in the future. The attendees are in for a treat on the refreshment front with a two-course hot lunch and an array of cakes in the afternoon, hopefully they will be able to stay alert.
The ART Follow Up morning is all prepared and has been well advertised. I have opened it up beyond those who attended the ART M1 at Seend last October to anyone who wants to learn more about ART and the courses and who might consider attending a course in the future. Alongside teachers we are also inviting learners who have been taught by teachers using the ART Learning the Ropes scheme to come along and share their experiences with us. The venue, timing and provisional programme for the event is:
ART Teacher Training Scheme Module 1 Follow – up
Teaching Bell Handling – Discuss your progress – interested in teaching this could help.
Date: 18th October 2025
Venue: The Church of The Holy Cross, Seend, SN12 6NR
Course leaders: David Hacker and Len Roberts
Provisional Programme
- 10-00 – 10-15 Coffee/Tea – Introductions
- 10-15 – 10-30 The ART Scheme, Website, Resources, the ART Ethos, Safety & Safeguarding
- 10-30 – 11-00 What is causing you problems – What has gone well – What has not gone well
Possible topics – Recruitment, Intensive training or weekly practices, Stages of
bell handling, Lesson plans and record keeping, Assessment and Accreditation.
- 11-00 – 11-30 Practical – What do you wish to refresh?
Some ideas – Raising and lowering, coil release and coil making, Handstroke,
Backstroke, Putting it all together.
- Refreshment break Tea/Coffee/biscuits
- 11-45 – 12-30 Learners experiences – Share the following and more.
The high and low points of learning, gaining confidence, receiving encouragement, using the ART website and advantages of on-line resources.
- 12-30 – 12-45 The importance of Observation and Feedback
Giving demonstrations, using your Mentor to observe and demonstrate,
Feedback, the importance of making it constructive, Whole-Part-Whole.
- 12-45 – 13-00 Wrap up – Questions
Although this is a free event voluntary donations towards the cost of using the facilities at Seend and providing refreshments would be welcome. If people are coming it would be useful to know to supply provisions for refreshments, just drop me an email, there is no restriction on numbers.
The ART M1 Day Course at Preshute next March was full before the restricted booking time ran out. Currently it is open for general booking, without the need of a PIN, where names of prospective students who register are entered on a waiting list, if a registered student drops out those on the waiting list will be offered that place on a first come first served basis. I have had a meeting with the authorities at Preshute, all is looking positive for another good course, again with some good refreshments to keep the students and tutor sustained throughout the day.
David Hacker
