CMS and Course Reporting

Provider Account

Provider Information
If you are the owner of a provider account you can add general information about the organisation. This information is public and helps potential candidates and participants gain a better understanding of the provider's setup. It is also possible to add a company logo ('Profile Picture').

Linking to Social Media
Providers can link Twitter and Facebook accounts to their CMS profile.

Adding Course Directors, Tutors and Staff
Providers can link multiple members of staff to their provider account. If these staff hold course director/tutor approval a cost is incurred. Linked staff are able to create courses, view candidate bookings (incl. DLOGs), view course reports and past events.

Course Creation

Requirement

• All courses must be created on CMS as soon as possible and at least 10 days in advance of the course start date.
• Candidates and participants must be added as 'bookings' on courses as soon as possible to subsequently hit 'minimum numbers' 5 days before the course start date.
• Mountain Training understand exceptional circumstances can occur. In these cases a technical officer should be informed prior to the course start date. All communication should be recorded in 'Confidential Comments' on the course report form.
  

Creating courses
When creating courses providers must ensure all relevant sections are completed to ensure candidates and participants are well informed.

'Event type':
Please choose the 'Event Type'. In this case a 'Course' 'Provider' If you are linked to multiple providers you will need to select the appropriate one. 'Event Category' Events can only be created for schemes the provider has current approval for.

Course dates:
The course dates selected should give the start and the end of the course. In the case of module courses the start date of the first and the end date of the last module should be used. Directors and tutors should add an explanatory note in 'Confidential Comments' in the course report form.

Course location:
CMS will default to the course provider's address. If the course is being delivered away from this address the location should be changed.

Details:
To be completed as appropriate. By ticking the 'Private' box the course will not be displayed on the public side of the website. Providers may include links to relevant sections of their own website for more course and booking information.

Providers have the option to input two prices. One for ‘Course Cost’ and the other for ‘Residential’. Providers should include details regarding what is covered in the course fee. If prices are set as £0, they will show as FREE, bookings cannot be added if a price is not set.

Course programme details can be added in the 'Notes' box.

Files:
Relevant files can be uploaded for candidates or participants use prior to course attendance. This may include a course programme, booking terms and conditions and location map etc.

Enquiries:
Candidates and participants are able to submit an enquiry about a particular course via CMS. Enquiries are viewable in the 'My Course Enquiries' section of the provider account.

Bookings:
Once a candidate or participant confirms their place on a course, course providers are able add them as bookings by use of the 'bookings' tab. By searching with the MTID number the correct individual can be selected without mishap. MTID numbers can be supplied by the candidates or participants at the booking stage.

CMS will only allow candidates or participants to be added as bookings to a course if they are registered for that scheme. For leadership award assessment courses they must have a training record for that scheme. If an error appears ‘this person is not allowed to be booked onto this course’ then it will be for one of the reasons above. Providers should contact the customer services team for further guidance if required.

Once candidates and participants are added they will receive an auto-email informing them that they are now booked on the course. The number of places available on the public course finder will subsequently update.

Create Course Report

Course reports can be created after the course has begun. Select the ‘Create Course Report’ option from the 'Bookings' page to do this. A course director or tutor must then be selected from the list.

Course staff and observers
Following selecting a course director or tutor, course staff and 'observers' (if appropriate) may be added to the report. Searching by MTID number avoids mishap when searching for individuals. Only approved tutors can work on skills scheme courses.

Day Reports
'Day Reports' can be completed at the end of each day. Directors or tutors should include as much information as possible for each section and refer to syllabus headings.

SKILLS SCHEMES

The ‘Valley Base/s’ is where the day started (e.g.Kirkby Stephen Cafe).

The ‘Venue’ is the general area where the group went (e.g. Birkdale Common).

The 'Syllabus' box should include the key aspects covered during the day. Tutors are welcome to 'cut and paste' from the relevent syllabus and remove the sections they did not cover e.g.Planning, Clothing and Equipment, Navigation in the hills.

Basic information about the day should be included in the 'Notes' box. In the case of the skills schemes this should include a brief outline of the route taken and any notable experiences which positively added to the quality of the course e.g.Navigated in poor weather to Nine Standards and returned via Pothill. A meeting with a council access officer prompted a good discussion.

WALKING LEADERSHIP AWARDS

The ‘Valley Base/s’ is where the day started (e.g.Ogwen Cottage).

The ‘Venue’ is the general area where the group went (e.g.Glyder Fawr, Snowdonia).

The 'Syllabus' box should include the key aspects covered during the day. Directors are welcome to 'cut and paste' from the relevant syllabus and remove the sections they did not cover e.g. Leadership (1.4), Hazards of steep ground (4.1), Navigation (2) and Access and the environment (3)

Basic information about the day should be included in the 'Notes' box e.g. Followed Y Gribin up from Cwm Idwal, walked over Glyder Fawr and down via the Devil’s Kitchen using a 1:40k map.

CLIMBING LEADERSHIP AWARDS

The ‘Base’ is where the day started (e.g. Tremadog Cafe).

The ‘Venue’ is the general area where the group went (e.g. Upper Tier Tremadog).

The 'Syllabus' box should include the key aspects covered during the day e.g. Personal climbing skills (1.5), Group management (3.2) Equipment (1.1) Belaying (1.3)

Basic information about the day should be included in the 'Notes' box e.g. A theory session reviewing equipment and group managment strategies was delivered before leaving for the crag. The crag was quite busy prompting good discussion.

Please note:
Please do not add anything into the 'Day reports' that could, in the candidate or participant's opinion, compromise the validity of the course or be considered grounds for a complaint (e.g: We only had time for a couple of navigation legs each. Everyone was finding it really hard to understand the skills involved). The 'Confidential Comments' section is more appropriate for recording senstive information or feedback.

Confidential Comments
Mountain Training encourages directors and tutors to use 'Confidential Comments'. This is only viewable to the provider's linked course staff and Mountain Training. Comments should include any notable events and a general overview of how the course went. Please save all input using the ‘save’ icon.

Course Results - Leadership Awards

Candidates must be debriefed in advance of submitting the course report. Providers have up to 21 days to submit a course report, which allows for candidates to submit further information if necessary. Once submitted, Mountain Training technical staff have up to 10 days to process the course report, in line with quality assurance. Once the course report is processed by Mountain Training the candidates will receive an email with their course result. Please note course reports may take up to 10 working days to be processed, once submitted.

Awaiting Accreditation is the default result for candidates on course reports. Course directors must change this result to one of the following:

Completed:
The candidate attended and completed the training course.

Pass:
Used for successful assessment candidates. Directors do not need to include comments for candidates with a Pass result. The Pass result is also used for candidates deemed competent who have attended the Expedition module in full.

Defer:
Used where the candidate has generally performed well and has shown the necessary experience and attributes, but where complete proficiency has not been attained in certain aspects of the syllabus or where a lack of experience has been identified.

Defer - First Aid ONLY
Used where candidates demonstrate competency in all syllabus areas with the exception of First Aid. Please do not use this result if the candidate has been deferred for lacking competency in other syllabus areas.

Fail:
Used where the candidate’s performance has been generally weak, or the necessary experience and attributes have not been shown. A complete assessment course will need to be attended.

Exemption:
Candidates with substantial experience who apply for exemption from the training course, approved by Mountain Training, will receive an ‘exemption’ result. Exemptions are only issued by Mountain Training. Please see here for further information about exemption.

Not yet completed:
This result should be used for candidates who do not complete the required hours for a course. In all cases an action plan should be created for the candidate and the detail recorded in 'Confidential comments' e.g. Sam did not attend day 2 of the course due to personal circumstances. Sam needs to attend a further mountain day with a focus on Leadership skills (1.4) and Hazards of steep ground (4.1)

Withdrew:
This result should be used for candidates who withdraw themselves from the course. The candidate is required to undertake the course in full.

Did not show:
If a booked candidate does not attend the course, this result should be used.

Course Results - Skills Schemes

Participants should receive onward advice in advance of submitting the course report. Once submitted, Mountain Training technical staff have up to 10 days to process the course report, in line with quality assurance. Once the course report is processed by Mountain Training the participants will receive an email with their course outcome. Please note course reports may take up to 10 working days to be processed, once submitted.

Awaiting Accreditation is the default outcome for participants on course reports. Tutors must change this result to one of the following:

Completed:
The participant attended and completed the skills course.

Not yet completed:
This result should be used for candidates who do not complete the required hours for a course. Please add a note on why this was the case in 'Confidential Comments'. Participants may wish to complete the course in the future and therefore will need guidance on how to do so.

Withdrew:
This result should be used for participants who withdraw themselves from the course, while the course is ongoing.

Did not show:
If a booked participant does not attend the course from the start, this result should be used.

Writing Defer and Fail Reports - Leadership Award Schemes

When a candidate's performance merits a defer or fail result the written report submitted becomes the formal record. All relevant information must be included to support the deferred/failed candidate and the assessor who conducts the re-assessment. Feedback is individualised and should relate directly to the candidate in question.

In many cases, course directors believe that candidates may benefit from further experience. This may include recommendations about how to gain the experience. It should be noted that the only requirement placed on the candidate at reassessment is the minimum requirements of the scheme.

Report Writing Key Principles:

• Clarity
• Concise
• Factual
• Consistent terminology
• Includes syllabus references e.g. 4.1 Hazards of steep ground
• Action Plan linked to reasons for deferral

Defer example from Mountain Leader assessment:

Candidate performance:
Sam is an experienced mountain walker with a varied and vast log of appropriate mountain walking experience within the UK. Sam demonstrated sound navigation, leadership and group management skills throughout the assessment, however struggled to construct sound belays when using the rope. In addition, Sam lacked the knowledge of effective belaying skills, which resulted in the assessor intervening to supervise the activity on two occasions (4.1 Hazards of steep ground).

Before further assessment it is recommended that experience is developed as follows:
Sam now needs to develop a greater understanding of selecting appropriate belays and effective belaying techniques. Additional training with an experienced instructor may assist this process as will further practice or attendance on relevant CPD opportunities with the Mountain Training Association.

It is recommended that the reassessment take the following form:
Once Sam has gained further experience and understanding of the techniques required, please present for re-assessment. The re-assessment should be a minimum of 4 hours and include revisting appropriate methods of belaying, including choice of safe anchors (4.1 d)

Defer example for First Aid only

First Aid:
It is possible to defer candidates for lacking an appropriate first aid qualification alone. To do this please tick ‘Defer – first aid only’ in the 'Results' tab. Please do not use this 'Result' if the candidate has been deferred for lacking competency in multiple areas of the syllabus.

If you use this option please state the following in the 'Comments' box (this should auto-fill);

Candidate Performance:
The candidate performed at the standard in all elements of the syllabus but did not have a valid first aid certificate.

Before further assessment it is recommended that experience is developed as follows:
Attend a first aid course in line with the assessment prerequisites.

It is recommended that the reassessment take the following form:
Presentation of a valid first aid certificate to any approved Mountain Training provider.

Re-assessments - Leadership Award Schemes

Directors must comment in ‘Confidential Comments’ that the assessment course was a re-assessment. If the candidate was unsuccessful directors must comment ‘second assessment’. The first assessment is considered their actual assessment. The second assessment is the candidate's first re-assessment. This allows only one more re-assessment to be completed (two re-assessments in total). If unsuccessful on this second occasion, candidates must attend a further assessment in full.

Once candidates have been booked onto a course on CMS the 'My Candidates' tab reveals a table that includes a link to deferral reports. These reports can be downloaded easily. Directors should comment on which deferral it is when completing reports.

When re-assessing providers may find it helpful to ask candidates to print off their deferral report and/or email their Defer PDF as part of the booking process.

Course fees

When directors and tutors complete courses (i.e. submit the course report) CMS records the course places online. To make payment for course places click on the payment tab in the provider section. Providers are able to see what courses they ran, who attended and how much payment is due. Ideally payment is made as the director or tutor closes the course. Payment is made via credit or debit card.

If providers don’t make payments CMS sends an email asking the provider to complete the payment. If this is ignored the provider receives a further email reminder. If the provider does not pay within seven days CMS will temporarily suspend the account. This means the provider will not be able to create or run any courses until payment has been received.

Digital Logbook (DLOG)

When providers add candidates or participants to courses, directors and tutors are able to view their DLOGs. Directors and tutors are unable to view DLOGs prior to booking unless candidates or particpants specifically 'share' their DLOG. To do so, candidates or participants should be asked to click the 'SHARE' button, and input the course provider or director/tutor contact email address. CMS will send an email confirmation.

For leadership award courses Mountain Training expects directors to check candidate logbooks/DLOG before candidates arrive on the course.

In exceptional case, training course candidates may arrive on courses without a complete DLOG satisfying the course prerequisits e.g. due to late booking. In these cases course directors may consider holding back the course report form until the candidates have provided evidence of satisfying the prerequisites. Course directors have 21 days to submit the course report. If it is the intention of the course director to withhold submitting a course report please communicate this to all candidates. This ensures the other candidates understand the cause of the delay in accreditation. If candidates do not provide adequate evidence within 21 days the course director may consider not crediting candidates with training attendance. If the director wishes to do this candidates should be marked as ‘Did not complete’ in the course report form. A note should be added in ‘Confidential Comments’ and they could be encouraged to apply for exemption when they can show evidence of the training prerequisites. This would incur a cost (standard exemption fee). Providers should outline this in course notes so the candidates are well aware of the expectation upon them before attending the training course.

Guidance for candidates and FAQs are available here

Submitting Course Reports

Directors or tutors are required to submit course reports via CMS to Mountain Training within 21 days of course completion. Once the director or tutor is happy with the report they should click the 'SUBMIT' button at the bottom of the course report. CMS will then notify technical officiers a course is ready to be quality assurred ('processed') by Mountain Training.

Reports are checked by Mountain Training staff for appropriate staff or tutor qualifications, ratios and venues. Candidates and participants will not be accredited with attendance until Mountain Training staff have signed off the report. If it is the intention of the director to withhold submitting a course report for the full 21 days (e.g. to allow an award scheme candidate to present a valid first aid certificate, for example) please communicate this to all candidates and participants. All candidates and particpant accounts will not be updated until the course report is processed.