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Training

  • What steward training is available and is it essential for me to attend ?

    Festival organisers and an increasing number of local licensing authorities require us to provide event stewards who are trained to a minimum standard. Because of this requirement, it is now compulsory for all first- time Oxfam stewards and previous Oxfam volunteers who've not attended an Oxfam training session over the last four years to attend one this year.

    Dates for these sessions are available on the application form. Training is held in various locations around the country. So please book onto a training session when you complete your application if you have not been trained before or did not attend training in 2009, 2010, 2011 or 2012.

    Please make sure you book yourself onto a training session that is before your first festival, and that you can make arrangements to get to and from the training session.

    As we have tried to provide training sessions around the country, we hope that you will be able to attend one of the sessions. However we do not expect you to travel an unrealistic distance from your home to attend training. For example, if you live in Manchester and those sessions are full, please don't book onto the Bristol session, but select the relevant option to say you can't attend and someone from the Oxfam Festivals Office will get in touch with you about this. Please be aware your stewarding place is at risk until you are confirmed as being booked onto a session.

    We intend that supervisor training will come in two types this year.

    For anyone who wishes to be in any kind of supervisory role at Glastonbury Festival this year it is compulsory to attend a Supervisor's training course. These will be held on site at Glastonbury on the 25th June in the morning and afternoon, and you must attend one or risk losing your supervisory role. This is at the request of Glastonbury Festivals management and includes specific information about the Glastonbury ticketing system.

    After the success of recent one-day conferences we also hope to run a one-day supervisors' conference this year. As ever, this will not cover the basics of stewarding or replace stewards training - it is designed for those who wish to improve their supervisory skills. To be a supervisor you must have up to date steward training, too (which means that you attended steward training in, 2009, 2010 or 2011, 2012 or that you have booked onto a session for 2013

    For more information about the Supervisor training please see the questions at the end of this section.

  • I'm a previous steward but have not attended training before, do I still need to attend ?

    Yes. If you have stewarded before but did not attend training in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, it is essential as mentioned in the above question for you to train this year so that you are fully equipped for your stewarding role.

  • Can I book onto a training session even if I have attended training in the last four years ?

    Training is only compulsory for new stewards and stewards who have not attended training in the past four years.

    If you have up to date training you do not need to book onto a training place this year. We appreciate that some stewards may feel more confident if they are able to attend a refresher course, if this is the case please contact the office on 0300 200 1266 and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

  • I went to on-site training in 2012 but am doing a different festival this year, do I need to retrain?

    No. 'On-site' or near-site training is valid for four years for any festival. Anyone who attended near-site training last year does not need to train again this year, even if they are applying for a different festival. You will have learned the necessary stewarding skills at this training and from stewarding with us and will pick up the specific information for a different festival at your onsite briefing and from your supervisor.

    If you would feel more confident attending a refresher training then please call the office on 0300 200 1266 to discuss your needs, rather than booking onto another training course. The training courses we provide are prioritised for new stewards and those with out of date training.

  • What if I've booked training but now cannot attend ?

    Steward training is compulsory for new stewards and stewards who have not attended training in the past 4 years. If you have booked a place at training and now cannot attend, please see if there is an alternative training session which is convenient for you on our application form.

    Click the "apply now" button and use the top tabs to navigate straight to Stage 6 to see training sessions and times. Then email us at stewards@oxfam.org.uk to let us know which session/s you could attend and we will swap you if there are spaces. If the session that is most convenient is showing as full, then please let us know as there may be a cancellation in which case we could squeeze you onto it. In this case, please supply a second choice in case we can't squeeze you into the preferred session.

    If you swap to another training session with more than 7 days notice, there will be no admin fee and your stewarding place will not be affected, as we hope to be able to fill your training space with another steward.

    If you can't make it to training at the last minute because of illness, or some other unavoidable complication, you must let us know, and if you provide a valid sick note or other documentary evidence we will consider your case regarding charging you an admin fee.

    If you have booked a place at training and do not attend without contacting us to let us know, an admin fee of £20 will be applied and we may cancel your stewarding place, as we won't know if you can be relied upon to turn up to the festival. You must tell us if you cannot go to the session you have booked and we can then discuss alternative arrangements for you.

  • Can I swap my training session ?

    Yes, this should be possible, please see guidance in the above question with regards to checking what sessions are available on the application form and getting in contact with us.

    There is no admin fee if you let us know that you would like to swap to another training session at least seven days before your original session.

  • Can I get a lift with other stewards to the training ?

    Other stewards may be travelling to the same training session, and able to lift share. Try the steward's forum or the Oxfam Festivals Facebook page for other stewards who are looking to lift share.

  • I can’t get to a training session but my friend has attended, can they pass the training onto me?

    No. Every steward must attend a full training session themselves and not rely on a friend or relation to tell them about it.

  • Where are the training sessions taking place ?

    Only the town is named on the application form. If you book a place at a training session when you apply, you will be contacted around 10 days before your training sessions with specific details of the session you booked onto including the address, directions of how to get there and any other information about the training session.

    When you receive this email, please read it carefully and keep it as it contains all the details you need to know about your training session.

  • I'm not booked onto a training session, but my friend is going to one, can I just turn up with them ?

    No, please do not attend a training session if you have not booked a place, as numbers are limited. We will be in touch 14 days after your application if you have not booked a place at a session and should have.