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Chester University Counsellors’ Community (CHUCC).
The Guide to your NEW society 2014-15
Is there going to be a counsellors society continuing at the University? The Answer is YES.
It was clear from the feedback you gave us that there is sufficient support to run the society
and we have based the society on your feedback.
The society will hold 6* meetings from October to May. There will be four evening meetings
and two workshops held on a Saturday by popular demand.
The meetings will be held on Thursday evenings, coffee/tea available from 5.45 pm, start at
6.00 with a 7.30 finish. (The time is negotiable – to be discussed with members at the
inaugural meeting). The room will be CBB117 (Best Building) unless notified otherwise.
The Society Calendar is as follows:
Thursday 16th October - 5.45 for 6.00pm.
Saturday 29th November 9.30 - tbc.
Thursday 8th January - 5.45 for 6.00pm
*Thursday 19th February -5.45 for 6.00pm
*Thursday 26th March- 5.45 for 6.00pm (Meeting and AGM)
*Saturday 9th May 9.30 - tbc.
} subject to society viability
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Please note that dates may be subject to change particularly where it involves speaker
availability (workshops) but we will endeavour to notify you of the change as soon as
possible.
As outlined in the consultation the Thursday evening meeting format could include:
 Coffee/Tea at 5.45pm for 6.00 start.
 A presentation from students who have completed their dissertations or
 A presentation from local relevant organizations/individuals
 A group discussion on counselling ‘hot’ topics or dilemmas.
 Books etc ‘not to be missed’ recommended by group members.
 Information sharing.
This is only a suggested initial format, the group can create its own according to the needs
of the group.
The Saturday workshop will be an opportunity to invite a speaker from further afield on an
identified topic. This may be a morning or an all day session depending on the topic and
finances!
Both the meetings and the workshops count as CPD and certificates will be issued. We will
send you out a reminder for each session and ask you to email us back to indicate your
intention to come for catering and administration purposes.
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Our Aims in a nutshell.
We aim to provide a forum for current and past students/staff to: extend knowledge and
practical awareness of a range of issues/topics relevant to counselling; provide an
opportunity for informal discussion; and to foster a community.
Who can join?
Any current or past student/staff member of Chester University.
How to join?
Every member of the society needs to pay a membership fee annually to join. The cost is
£10. This is a key contribution to financing our meetings/workshops and insurance. Also the
CSU financial contribution is dependent on us having enough members to make a society
viable.
To join the society go to www.chestersu.com to pay your membership/duty of care (DOC)
online and follow the instructions on how to get your card. At the time of writing this guide
they are changing the system to make it simpler but it should be on their website shortly.
In addition to the above CHUCC membership card, past students will need to get a Life
Membership of Chester Students’ Union. This is a one off payment of £10. You get this by
going to www.chestersu.com , click on first red icon ‘Your Union’, 2nd column click on Life
Membership and then click on Application for Life Membership.
How much will the meetings cost?
The Thursday evening meetings will be £5 per meeting for each member and includes
refreshments. Each meeting will count as 1.5 hours of CPD.
A Saturday morning workshop will be £10 per workshop for each member and will count as
3 hours CPD. If it’s an all day event this would require some increase in the cost depending
on the speaker and will count as 5 hours approximately. Both would include refreshments
but not lunch.
We hope you feel that this is good value, affordable CPD.
*We are very grateful to the CSU for supporting us financially. They have been generous in
helping us as a society to get started with the caveat that in January they want to review the
society to see if it is viable. If we have sufficient ‘card-carrying’ members and we have
reasonable attendance at the first 3 sessions we will have demonstrated that we are a viable
society and therefore they will continue to financially support us for the remaining half of
the society year (3 sessions).
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At the inaugural meeting on Thursday 16th October 2014 we will present members with the
financial details of expected expenditure and income including the CSU grant in the interests
of transparency and ownership.
What happens next?
You do your bit by signing up for the society membership and
maybe spread the word about the new society to any eligible people you know who might
be interested.
In the meantime we will be
 Planning the input for the first few sessions.
 Attending Committee and First Aid Training
 Publicizing our new society through posters, fliers, SU website and attending
Freshers Week.
What can we expect at the first meeting?
As it will be the inaugural meeting of the new society we will be consulting you about
meeting times, ground-rules, format etc. You have given us suggestions for topics so we
will be drawing on that list certainly for the first few sessions.
Who are the committee members?
At the moment we are an enthusiastic duo.
Veronica Colam – President and Communications Officer.
Angela Fox - Vice-President.
However we welcome anyone who would like to join us and contribute in some way. We
are particularly short of a ‘Techy’ officer.
Who to contact?
Please contact Veronica Colam at 1124854@chester.ac.uk or
unicounsellorssoc@outlook.com if you have any queries about the society.
September 2014.