Group Leaders Bulletin
April 2025
Membership renewals
Members have received reminders about membership renewal, which was due on the 31st March. Members who had not renewed by then will now appear in red in Beacon. You may want to remind such people that they need to renew their membership before the end of April as anyone who has not done so will be deemed to have lapsed their membership and will be removed from groups and IGO.
This is necessary in the interest of fairness. Paid-up members on the waiting list must have priority over group members who have not paid their subscriptions. You should update your waiting list on the 1st May accordingly.
Group Membership
Membership of any group which has vacancies must be open to all members, except when the group has specific prior knowledge requirements, for example an advanced language group may want members to be reasonably fluent, a beginners language group may want members who little or no knowledge of the language.
Group web-pages
Could you please review your group webpage to ensure that it is up-to-date. Some of these were written before the group started and read as they are not yet running. “The group will…”, “We plan to...” etc. I also found: “In 2024, we will look at ...”, Please use the Group Description form to request an update.
Questions from group leaders
Can I use my own email account to communicate with group members?
No. We require group leaders to use Beacon to communicate with group members because of data protection requirements. There is no danger of forgetting to use BCC which is the cardinal data protection sin. Also, it is much easier send emails to group members via Beacon as you do not need to create and maintain an accurate email list. If, for any reason, you have downloaded group members’ emails, you must remove anyone who leaves the group from your device, and you must remove them all if you stop being a group leader.
I’ve been asked by a member of the group to send an email to another member about a matter which is not related to IGO. Is this allowed?
No, it is not permissible to send an email on to a member for purposes outside IGO activity. Our GDPR Policy says:
Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation revises the Data Protection Principles established by the Data Protection Act. This stipulates how personal data should be processed. Personal data must be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.
Principle 2 requires u3as to only use members' information for the purposes that they have previously been informed that it will be used for.
Is it acceptable to have a women-only group?
No. The u3a is set up with an inclusive constitution. This means that it is bound by The Equality Act of 2010. The clause specifically states that it is unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone because of a protected characteristic. Sex is a protected characteristic. Seeking to exclude someone from participating in an event or organised social group based on their sex would constitute direct discrimination in this context, and so the establishment of a women-only group would be unlawful.
On this basis, the u3a cannot approve the creation of a women-only group. Also, discouraging specific members from group attendance on the grounds of their sex (or any other protected characteristic) could be unlawful.
Calendars
Beacon calendar
The Beacon meetings calendar for April is attached. Members can view this from the Beacon Members Portal. Please note that entries here do not appear automatically – they have to be generated using the “Schedule” tab in Beacon.
IGO Zoom calendar for April and May meetings
This is attached with the password information redacted. It would be helpful of you could check the calendar before contacting me with a query about your Zoom booking. Also, please let me know if you spot any errors.
Generic Zoom calendar
This is attached. Each day is split into three cells which have different colours. This is to show which groups are assigned to which of our three Zoom accounts to make it easier to check for free slots – it should not concern you unless (a) you want to change the time or day of your group meetings, and need to check when there are free slots, or (b) do not currently use an IGO Zoom account and want to see when you could have a slot. Note that the labels are not the same as those used on Beacon.
Please also note that I compile the calendar “by hand” from the Zoom accounts so it may not always be accurate. If you notice any errors, please let me know. The calendar can also change from day to day as new groups start up and groups change their slots.
Reminders
Group Leaders Training
Any group leader who needs help can sign up to our Group Leaders Training, Beacon Familiarisation and/or Zoom Help groups via the Members Portal
Two routes into Beacon
Some group leaders are unclear that they have to use a different link to access Beacon as a group leader, and to access it as a member. Here are the two links:
Also note that the administration address is the same for all u3as, so you need to select “Interest Groups Online” from the drop-down menu when you are accessing it. Each u3a has its own Members Portal, and you need to make sure you are using the appropriate Members Portal, if you are also in a local u3a.
Thank you
To all our group leaders for your sterling work!
From Catherine, on behalf of the IGO team
You can contact anyone on the team using this email