Events Calendar

Become an Effective Parish Councillor : Understanding Your Role and Impact
Are you newly elected, or simply want to understand how your local council works?
Join our Parish Councillor Training Session - an interactive and informative workshop designed to help you make a real difference in your community.
In this session, you will:
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of a parish councillor
- Learn the basics of local government structure and how decisions are made
- Explore meeting procedures and effective community engagement strategies
Whether you are just starting out or looking to refresh your knowledge, this session will give you the confidence and insight to serve your community effectively.

Creating & Publishing Accessible Documents & Content for Parish & Town Councils

Presenter: Mark Tomkins, Parish & Town Council Website, Accessibility & .gov.uk Expert, Aubergine

Description:
In this session, Mark focuses on the practical side of producing and publishing accessible documents and content. Learn how to ensure your agendas, minutes, policies, and notices meet accessibility standards and how to choose the right file formats, document structure and publishing techniques and setting up templates to save time. Mark will demonstrate how to align your practices with Assertion 10 requirements, including proper documentation under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Transparency Code for smaller authorities that’s accessible and useable by everyone.

As a Parish or Town Council Clerk, you're responsible for producing key documents such as agendas, minutes, and reports—and ensuring they are accessible to all members of your community, including people with disabilities, is not just good practice, it's a legal requirement.

In this practical training session, you’ll learn how to create and publish council documents that are both compliant and inclusive. You’ll discover how to:

 Format agendas, minutes, and reports in Microsoft Word for accessibility

• Convert documents into accessible PDFs for online publication
• Adding structure to documents = Using headings, alt text, text-formatting, tables, and colour effectively to support assistive technologies
• Run simple accessibility checks using built-in tools in Word and PDF editors
• Apply practical publishing techniques to meet WCAG2.2AA and Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations standards

Whether you're preparing for a council meeting or publishing documents online, this webinar will equip you with the tools and confidence to make sure your documents are clear, inclusive, and accessible.

✅ A must-attend for clerks managing council websites and document uploads