All branch events bookings must be carried out via the Early Education online event bookings system. 

Benefits of branch events being bookable via Head Office

For delegates: 

• a simple easy-to-use automated booking experience, with a choice of payment methods including credit/debit card or invoice.  Telephone support available in office hours in case of any difficulties.
• a seamless approach for members – all Early Education events bookable in one place, and ease of renewing/joining while booking branch events

For branches:

• reduced administrative load, including the facility for online or phone card payments to reduce invoicing or taking payments on the day
• delegate lists and reports on bookings available on request (in due course, branch officers may be able to access these online)
• delegates are automatically added to centrally held branch mailing lists as a consequence of registering for a branch event. 

For the national organisation:

• increased membership take up/retention from regular branch attendees who can put through their event booking and membership in one transaction
• opportunities for increasing the awareness of Early Education’s other activities among non-members attending branch events and promoting membership
• automatic sign-up of those attending branch events for branch event updates on the central database, to allow us to improve and extend our mailing lists while meeting our obligations under GDPR.

How it works

1. Booking pages: The branch should send details of forthcoming events to Head Office (HO) to allow the event to be set up to be bookable via the website.  Details needed include:

• event title
• speaker name
• venue
• price
• event description
• speaker biog (optional)

Documents can also be added eg a flyer or map of how to find the venue.  There is no time restriction, so events can be added well in advance – a whole year’s programme at a time is ideal as it allows members to plan ahead and make multiple bookings.

2. Pricing is up to the branch as at present.  Tiered pricing is possible, including different rates for members, non-members and students.  The system currently relies on an honesty basis but allows us to cross check that those who have booked the members’ rate are actually members.  If branches chose to offer a student rate, please note that there is no verification process for student status.

3. Confirmation of bookings Our online system generates an automatic confirmation email.  We will not normally send out a further email with joining instructions for branch events due to the volume of bookings, but are happy to discuss with individual branches.  Where events are being held on our online learning system, a log in and registration for the event are generated and sent to the delegate automatically.

4. Booking reports  Please contact head office for booking reports and delegate lists.  In due course, we may be able to add a facility for branch officers to access these directly on our system.

5. Payments: Non-members can either pay online by credit card, or can request an invoice and pay by cheque or BACS.  Normally we only invoice for amounts over £30, but there is some flexibility on this where needed.  Branches may also choose to continue taking cash payments on the door if they chose to, provided this does not create confusion with the online bookings, eg if a delegate had been invoiced, we would recommend that payment is made to us via the usual channels, not via a cash payment on site.

6. Transfer of funds: The income will be held against a code in our accounts so we can clearly see the income and expenditure that relates to the branch, and we will report that to branches for each event, and transfer funds either after each event or on a termly basis. 

To discuss any queries, please contact us.