What does the acronym mean?
In brief, TAAAC stands for Training, Approvals, Authorisations and Appraisals Committee. Comprising sitting magistrates, TAAACs make decisions on how magistrates are trained, how they operate and how appraisals are managed. As such, they interact with all magistrates as they progress through their tenure. Each TAAAC has an MA representative, and there are two types of TAAAC: the FTAAAC and the JTAAAC, responsible for family and crime and youth, respectively.
What do TAAACs do?
We perform a variety of tasks, including:
- Attending new magistrates’ training sessions to help explain jargon and answer questions.
- Monitoring new magistrates’ progress to ensure they’re gaining exposure to the full variety of courts in operation and are sitting sufficiently regularly ahead of their threshold appraisal.
- Developing a yearly training plan that addresses the needs of every justice in our area—this comprises regular and ad hoc Judicial College training/priorities.
- Monitoring all training that magistrates undertake to ensure they’re appropriately trained for the courts in which they sit
- Appraising magistrates.
- Overseeing newly-qualified presiding justices, advising on additional training as required.
How can you get involved?
If you’re interested in becoming an MA representative for a TAAAC, please contact your local MA branch as branches are responsible for nominating representatives.
