Resources available:

Group Liaison and Support	Existing and new Group Leaders are supported by nominated volunteers who form our Group liaison and Support team. They deal with group management enquiries for specific group sectors, setting up new groups and taster sessions and can help Group Leaders to resolve any day to day group or member issues. If you are unsure who your group sector contact is and how to get in touch please send a message to Admin and Group Support enquiries.
Group Leaders Handbook	This is issued to new Group Leaders to provide all the information you need to manage your group safely and in accordance with relevant rules and legislation. If you have mislaid yours please contact Admin and Group Support enquiries to request a copy.
Documentation	Our Policies, Procedures and Forms page has the latest policies, u3a insurance cover note, incident report forms and activity risk assessment forms for Group Leader use and reference.
Subject Advice	There is a network of over 70 national Subject Advisers whose role is to provide advice on both the setting up of a group in their particular specialty and the sustainability of ones already in existence, which may benefit from new ideas or a different approach. Click on Subject Advice to access this free service.
Loan equipment	Stanway u3a has the following items and services available that Group Leaders can borrow: - Projector with HDMI and USB ports, plus a large projector screen. Ideal if you want to share documents, photos, a video clip or PowerPoint presentation related to your interest or discussion group. - Windows laptop with Office suite, for use with the projector. - PA sound system with microphone, built in radio, CD/DVD player and USB port. Contact Tech Support to enquire about using any of the above.
Zoom Licence	Consider using Zoom in addition to meeting face to face. Stanway u3a has a paid Zoom Pro account that Group Leaders can access free. Visit our Using Zoom page which shows our Zoom account availability and guidance for new users. For further information send a request to Zoom Enquiries.
Private Facebook Groups:	Stanway u3a has a Facebook page and we are able to set up a new Group Page for you that only your group members can access. Facebook Groups can be used for exchanging ideas, resources, sources of materials, keeping in touch and developing online initiatives to keep your members involved. If you are interested send a message to our Website Manager.

Group management tips

• Emailing your group members:- please follow the guidance in Using To, Cc and Bcc in emails to protect member email addresses from inadvertent disclosure.
  
  
• WhatsApp - Some Groups have established a WhatsApp group as an alternative to emailing updates and information to group members or sending last minute meeting cancellations. Most smartphones can use WhatsApp, it is free to use and you can stay in touch by text and sharing photos/videos. You can also make free audio and video calls and there is a desktop version. Download from your App store or visit WhatsApp and there is advice at: Make A Call On WhatsApp.
• Be aware that members of WhatsApp Chat groups can see everyone else’s phone number and may be a privacy issue, ensure you get member's agreement that their phone number will be visible.
• Consider using a Broadcast list instead, if WhatsApp is being used just to send information out to group members and not to promote group discussion. Broadcast list messages are sent individually and other members cannot see who else is on this list or any information about them (similar to a Bcc email). There is no facility in a Broadcast list to have group discussions or reply to all, replies go solely to the sender. For more information see: How to use broadcast lists | WhatsApp Help Center
  
  
• U3A - Keeping In Touch Facebook Page - if you are on Facebook why not join this private group set up by the Third Age Trust during Covid-19 lockdown as a means of bringing members together. Due to its popularity it is now a permanent feature with over 5000 members from u3as across the UK and even from abroad! Members are sharing information, advice, ideas, photos, quizzes, jokes, discussion topics, and more and are interacting with fellow u3a members they would otherwise never come into contact with. Someone out there may be running similar groups as you and had queries answered and advice given on issues you may have also experienced.