Staff Training 2025/26: Through the autumn of 2025 and Spring of 2026 Trent Wing has, with the support of the Ulysses Trust and Trent Wing Welfare Committee, been able to support CFAV training to gain National Governing Body AT Qualifications. This has resulted in 12 CFAVs completing Lowland Leader Training, 8 Lowland Leader Assessments and 12 Camping Leader Assessments.
The newly qualified staff have already used their new qualifications in anger supporting the Trent Wing DofE Expedition Programme over April to June seeing some 150+ cadets complete expeditions at Bronze Assessed, Silver Practice, Silver Assessed and Gold Practice over 3 separate weekends.
The staff, who have given a lot of personal time to gain the pre-requisite quality lowland days for the award, will have also faced personal expense for award registration and course fees. By being able to supply the courses through RAFAC rather than an external supplier, course fees have been kept to a minimum, and the funding gained has mostly offset the scheme registration fees with Mountain Training.
As such, Trent Wing now has a bank of some 20+ qualified Lowland Leaders and 30 Camping Leaders, from humble beginnings 3 years ago, with some staff also moving on towards higher level quals – Hill & Moorland Leader x 3 and Mountain Leader x 2.
This has underpinned Trent Wing’s ability to deliver large scale DofE and was a huge factor in them winning the Sir Roger Austin Sword for 2024/25 and a similar level of performance for 2025/26 with the results pending. As well as supporting Wing multi-activities camps at NACATC Windermere, Inskip and Thronbridge Outdoors.
Trent Wing Dep WATTO Flt Lt Hill, who has recently jumped through the hoops to become a Mountain Training Course Director said:
“With the new Adventure Training PTS due to go live imminently the newly qualified staff will under-pin our ability to deliver this across the Wing – being able to take the courses to the staff rather than them having to find a course has vastly improved interest and uptake, and the plan for 2026/27 is more of the same but we are hoping to progress staff in paddlesport and climbing also to increase our offer as a Wing to our cadets.”
CI Ant Morland who recently gained his awards said:
“I did my ML training way back and have previously been a Mountain Rescue Team member, but I needed a qual to be able to give back and support the Wing – Lowland Leader was achievable, relevant and the financial support and local courses removed the barriers to me as a CI and self-employed worker.”