Barnet Council procedures

Council Clearance/design/production procedure

If you are writing or producing any information that will be seen by an external audience (i.e. anyone who is not a Barnet Council employee) it needs to meet the standards set out in Barnet Council's style guide and be cleared through the Children’s Service Clearance process which is described below.

Once the item has been cleared it will be passed to Barnet Council’s corporate Design Team to be produced. This applies whether you are based on a school site or not and includes all communication items such as invitations, leaflets, posters etc.

Templates for a range of items are available from the Children's Service Information team and when this is the case, all you need to do is insert the relevant information into the template in accordance with Barnet Council’s corporate text standards. Once you completed the template it should be authorised by the Centre Manager before distribution. If you would like a further template to be designed, this should be discussed with the Children’s Service Information team.

The Childrens service communication clearance process involves the following steps, which take approx four weeks to complete, but can take longer if any significant issues are raised on the item:

  • Step 1: Contact a member of staff in the Children’s Service Information team to discuss the best method of communication (such as web, leaflet or poster etc) in the timescale available. The team can also advise you if a template is available.
  • Step 2: Draft the content for the item (in Word format only) in accordance with corporate text standards and then fully complete the Clearance Sheet. Any images that you would like to include with the item should also be sent with the form but please ensure that a signed off photography consent form is included where images of children are used (if you need advice about the photography consent form please contact the Communications Team).
  • Step 3: Get the sheet signed by the Centre Manager where a template is being used and then produce/distribute the communication as required. A copy of the communication and the signed form should be filed as a record of what was distributed to the public.
  • Step 4: Where design work is required, send draft along with a completed clearance form to the Children’s Service Information Team. The team will arrange for the Divisional Manager to sign the form and the item to be designed and produced. The final design will be approved by the originating officer in the Children's Centre. There is a fast track system for publicity or materials that are genuinely urgent but the use of this process should be avoided by good forward planning, see communication toolkit.
  • Step 5: Once the item is produced it can be printed on a colour laser printer when appropriate or through the Council’s Document Process Centre where larger volumes are required.

Press and PR procedure

Any contact with the press should be handled through the Councils Corporate Media Team as they have experienced press officers.  
 
The press officers will handle press queries and write all press releases to ensure they are suitable for publications. If you require a press release you must give them sufficient notice of your plans and supply content in clear bullet points.

Please make sure the content is correct before you pass it to the Media Team as they are not responsible for checking the accuracy of the information you provide. 

For further information contact the Media Team on 020 8359 7039.