These are some of the frequently asked questions about LWN's training courses and programmes.
Please click on the question below to go to the answers.
Do I need to be an LWN Member to do your courses?
Are there any criteria for applying?
Do I need to attend all of the online sessions on my chosen course?
Why do you charge for your courses?
Do you have safeguarding policies?
I am a trans woman, can I apply for a place?
Do you run training for individual CLPs or Women’s Branches/Forums?
Can I record the training for use elsewhere?
Do you train mixed groups of women and men?
Do I need to be an LWN Member to do your courses?
Yes. All LWN’s training opportunities are heavily subsidised by LWN members and our fundraising efforts, and we therefore ask everyone who wants to access our training to join, or, in a member already, to make sure that they stay in membership.
If you’re not a current member you will need to join prior to submitting your application form. You can JOIN HERE, and we ask you to continue in LWN membership for at least 12 months.
Are there any criteria for applying?
We welcome applications from any woman member of the Labour Party, though to be accepted onto the training you must also be an LWN member (see above). Our only other criteria is that you must have been a Party member for at least one year before your application. This is because you need a basic working knowledge of the Party in order to benefit from what we offer.
Do I need to attend all of the online sessions on my chosen course?
Yes. Our courses are all carefully structured to allow you to progress through them in a useful and thoughtful manner. In order to benefit fully from them, therefore, you will need to attend every session, so please only apply if you can commit to ALL the dates/times of your chosen course. Refunds will not be given if you fail to attend.
Who is on your training team?
We have an excellent team of experienced trainers who are all volunteers. We are busy updating our page that introduces our trainers, so pop back soon.
Why do you charge for your courses?
Although all our training is subsidised by our members’ contributions and fundraising, we do have to charge fees to help us to cover our costs, pay our volunteer trainers their expenses, develop new training and keep our current courses up to date. Details of charges for specific courses are on the relevant training pages.
We continue to set our prices well below market value because we want as many Labour women as possible to be able to access our fantastic, gold-standard, expert training. It’s not uncommon for the commercial rate for similar courses to be between one and two thousand pounds, so we know that what we offer is excellent value for money.
Since we understand that even our low rates are challenging for some women we have a bursary scheme. The Jean Black Bursary Fund is open to any LWN member who is on a low-wage, on benefits, or a single parent. If you are successful in gaining a bursary place for any of our courses the cost is reduced to £5.
For sisters who think they might be able to do a little more, we offer a solidarity rate, which adds an extra donation to help us continue our training and campaign work and adds to our bursary fund. Covid-19 continues to hit LWN's training plans, finances and our ability to fundraise hard, and whilst training via Zoom has fewer overheads, it still has several associated costs, so if you are able to, please consider paying the solidarity rate.
If you are offered a place you must pay your fees in advance of the course and by the deadline set in the acceptance email.
Do you have safeguarding policies?
Yes, we are very conscious of our responsibility to ensure that all our training and events are conducted in an atmosphere of sisterly support and respect.
We expect both participants and trainers to treat everyone with consideration and to acknowledge that everyone deserves to be heard. We all have the right to enjoy our experience without fear of harassment, discrimination, or condescension, whether overt or via micro-aggressions. Abusive or inappropriate behaviour (including offensive screen backdrops/display names) will not be tolerated, and participants may be removed at short notice and without refund.
Our safeguarding ground rules are repeated at the start of every session, and everyone is reminded that they have an individual as well as a collective responsibility to ensure that the space – whether physical or online – is safe for everyone at all times.
We often take a screen shot (or group photo) so we can celebrate our training and events on social media. The lead trainer will announce this before the photo is taken so if you do not wish to participate you can leave the call (or stay out of camera view).
Courses are not recorded by LWN and everything said takes place in confidence.
I am a trans woman, can I apply for a place?
Yes, you can. LWN is a trans inclusive organisation and you can read our policy here.
Can I record the training for use elsewhere?
No. This is partly because you do not have the permission of either trainers or participants to record them, not would LWN give you this permission. We also ask that you do not try replicate or reproduce LWN training or our materials without prior written permission. Our volunteer trainers have worked hard to produce training that is well-structured and thought-through, and we know that it will not work properly outside the framework we provide.
If you do want to use any part of LWN training please email us to explain what you want to do and how. However, please be aware that it is extremely unlikely that we will agree.
Do you run training for individual CLPs or Women’s Branches/Forums?
No, we do not currently have the capacity to do this, though we might consider some forms of training for groups of Party units. The first step would be to email us outlining what you have in mind – please be as clear as possible about this, otherwise we will not be able to help you. Please note also that, even if we are able to provide something, there will be a charge for development and delivery as well as expenses.
We do sometimes run training courses for Labour Party regions – again, please email us in the first instance. Again, there will be a charge for any training undertaken.
Do you train mixed groups of women and men?
Very rarely. We have, for instance, helped with the delivery of the Bernie Grant Leadership Programme. But as a general rule, no. Our mission is to support women in the Party.