Introducing: The NEW NATECLA website and Members’ Platform!

Written By Chloë Hynes

Our previous website was old. REALLY old. A few years ago now we decided we needed, quite desperately, to do something about it to bring it up to date and match the trajectory of NATECLA as the professional body for ESOL practitioners. However, we met numerous road blocks along the way which seemed to put a dampener on the progress and development of a new site. Almost three years later,  we are so pleased to say that we can now introduce to you the brand new NATECLA website with added bells and whistles! 

Admittedly, it has been a bit of a passion project between both of us over the past few years because we were so keen to ensure that what we developed worked for our community and added value to our membership. Finally, the project revved its engines when we found the perfect partners in Very Connect, the developers behind a membership management platform which would allow our members to have their own space away from the main site. Read on to find out more…

Let’s start with the website first; What’s new? 

The Join NATECLA page from the website

  • New diverse colour ways and approachable fonts. We’ve introduced a darker green to highlight our consultancy and training offer.   

  • More information about how to get involved with NATECLA - in particular local branches.

  • A new ‘who’s who?’ page with photos and bios introducing all the volunteers and staff who make up the NATECLA family. This will allow you to get to know the volunteers online before you meet them at events. 

  • NATECLA legacy pages detailing pivotal points in ESOL history including the campaign for an ESOL strategy. More to come including a detailed history of the NATECLA conference.

  • Our consultancy offer now has its own section with the website  with information about some of our past projects. 

  • All our fantastic teachmeets from National Conference in one place.

  • Quotes from attendees and volunteers to bring the whole site to life! If you’d like to provide us with a quote sharing how NATECLA has had an impact on you, let us know!

  • A new sustainability statement as caring for our planet has been a growing concern for us over recent years.

  • Increased accessibility throughout including a new accessibility statement. We’re also trialling an accessibility toolbar with in-built translator by ReadSpeaker which includes accessibility capabilities as well as translation. 

  • NEW photos from the latest 2024 conference.

As our branch network has grown in recent years representing all the Isles, we were keen to have a deep consideration for all those we represent throughout the website; for example, including updated information about ESOL courses and qualifications for ESOL teaching.

Members platform: Take control of your membership

You might also notice a HUGE difference is that you can now log in to the website! This leads to our new members area where you have greater control over your membership. 

Login to the Members' Platform to start updating your profile so you can connect with other members of the NATECLA community. 

Here you can see when your subscription is up, pay for events easily and access your subscription of Language Issues (including access to back copies at your fingertips). The members' area doesn’t stop there though! We were really keen to keep the ESOL practitioner community at the heart of this website build and we wanted this area to be much added value for our members. With this in mind you will find a wealth of resources in the media library (this might seem quite quiet at the moment but it will continue to grow including specially recorded webinars. Let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see here) and a whole host of community forums,

If you’re already a NATECLA member or on our email subscription list, you’ll receive an invitation to access the new Members’ Platform shortly. 

So, where to start? Grab a cuppa and have a look around the site then why not try logging into the members’ platform, setting up your profile and saying hi in one of the forums?

We hope you enjoy perusing and using the site, as much as we enjoyed working on it. 

Chloë 

NATECLA Management Council Digital Rep

Laura

NATECLA National Centre Manager

Chloë Hynes
Next

Autumn 2024 Spending Review: NATECLA’s response