Up to March 2020
Before Lockdown
The DDA Education Committee (EdCom) were planning to organise several events this year, including:
- Rope splicing workshops
- ART Module 2F
- Ringing Up and Down in Peal (1 training session per district)
- A heavy bell workshop
- A Tower Captains’ meeting
The Education Committee representatives were tasked this year with organising one event each, and Peak had planned a session on good leading.
Since March 2020
EdCom Meetings
Since adjusting to the coronavirus situation and lockdown, The Education Committee has continued to meet monthly from May 2020 via Zoom.
It is great to keep in touch and think about how ringing may continue in the circumstances we find ourselves in.
District Ringing Masters are invited to attended our meetings.
Support for Going On-Line
It’s wonderful that many ringers are keeping active, mainly through virtual platforms.
EdCom provides learning opportunities via webinars and offering assistance with digital ringing aids.
Learning Methods – Webinars
How to learn Methods and understand Blue Lines
Five free webinars on learning methods and understanding blue lines including exploring place notation have already been run, attended by around 20 people.
Some attendee feedback:
- A really helpful explanation … of what a method is and … how they ‘work’ and can be learnt.
- Really enjoyable and useful.
- A real eye-opener.
A Learning Methods webinar can be run at a time convenient for you. Click here to book.
Practising Ringing at Home – Assistance
Assistance on practising methods at home, including which apps and tools can help you, is available for free from EdCom at a time to suit you.
RingingRoom – Assistance
RingingRoom
has proved popular to help retain interest and keep bands together.
It is fantastic for developing place-counting and listening skills and learning methods without the physical complication of bell-control.
EdCom introduced several Education Committee members to Ringing Room and, as a result, introductory sessions to RingingRoom have been run, proving particularly popular in the Peak District.
Recently the GHRC at Eckington re-introduced Saturday morning practices in October, on RingingRoom.
EdCom can provide free assistance on getting started with RingingRoom and/or Wheatley on request, through introductory RingingRoom sessions, with ringing helpers or technical support.
Click here for more information.
Keeping Ringers Engaged and Preparing to Ring Again
DDA members are encouraged to keep engaged with ringing-related activities that can be done at home and during lockdowns.
Three very comprehensive compilations of what to do and how to keep in touch when we can’t ring are available on the DDA website:
- May: Ringing Things to do during Lockdown
- June: More Ringing Things to do during Lockdown
- November: What To Do when We Cannot Ring
including links to:
- CCCBR Coronavirus Guidance including risk assessments and essential belfry checks to be carried out before ringing can recommence.
- Learning resources from CCCBR, ART and the DDA.
Tower Captains Meeting
The Tower Captains meeting planned for September 2020 at Mugginton has been postponed until 2021 and may be held on-line.
Survey
A survey to understand the return to ringing after Lockdown1 was sent to all towers. Unfortunately local Tier lockdowns were imposed the following day, which may have affected the results.
Here is a summary of the responses:
|
By District |
Survey Responses |
Ringing at Tower |
Not Ringing at Tower |
Risk Assessed |
Tower Ringers |
RingingRoom Ringers |
Handbell Ringers |
|
Central |
1 |
1 |
– |
1 |
5 |
– |
– |
|
Chesterfield |
9 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
34 |
23 |
11 |
|
Peak |
7 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
28 |
1 |
24 |
|
Southern |
9 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
44 |
16 |
5 |
|
TOTAL |
26 |
17 |
9 |
19 |
111 |
40 |
40 |