update release instructions

Author: jennyhickson

source/Reviewers/curaterelease.rst

@@ -23,12 +23,31 @@ Curating a Release
     releases/standard_suites
     releases/stash_browser
     releases/umdp_release
+    releases/milestones
     releases/wiki_pages
     releases/shared_accounts
     releases/updating_prebuilds
 
 .. _reference-tagging:
 
+Code Review Deadline
+--------------------
+
+In the weeks leading up to the deadline, announcements should be made on the
+`Simulation Systems Discussion Board <https://github.com/MetOffice/simulation-systems/discussions>`_
+to remind the community of the upcoming deadline.
+
+Shortly after the deadline Issues that are not in review should be removed
+from the milestone. This is done here to give the assignees time to assess their
+work before the release happens.
+
+.. code-block::
+
+    python SimSys_Scripts/gh_review/project/cr_deadline.py --milestone=<title>
+
+    with an optional argument ``--dry`` to dry run the changes before doing them
+    for real.
+
 Release Issue
 -------------
 
@@ -259,6 +278,13 @@ UM Release
 UM Release, Standard Suites Upgrade
 
 
+:ref:`Milestones and Projects <milestones>`
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+**Dependencies**
+All Releases
+
+
 :ref:`Standard Jobs and Wiki Pages <wiki_pages>`
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 

source/Reviewers/releases/milestones.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+.. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    (c) Crown copyright Met Office. All rights reserved.
+    The file LICENCE, distributed with this code, contains details of the terms
+    under which the code may be used.
+   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+.. _milestones:
+
+Milestones and Projects
+=======================
+
+#. Tidy up all pull requests and issues for the completed milestone in the
+   Simulation Systems Review and Issues Trackers.
+
+    .. code-block:: shell
+
+       python SimSys_Scripts/gh_review_project/finish_milestone.py --milestone="<milestone title>"
+
+       with optional argument ``--dry`` to dry run the changes.
+
+    The script will prompt for you to continue after checking all PRs and issues
+    are in a suitable state. If it flags items that need correcting then go to
+    `Simulation Systems Review Tracker`_ and
+    `Simulation Systems Issue Tracker`_ to manually sort them.
+
+#. As prompted by the above script, close the current milestone using:
+
+    .. code-block:: shell
+
+        ./SimSys_Scripts/sbin/gh_manage_milestones -t <title of milestone> -m close
+
+#. Open the next new milestone so that there are the same number of open milestones:
+
+    .. code-block:: shell
+
+        ./SimSyS_Scripts/sbin/gh_manage_milestones -t <title> -d YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ -p <description>
+
+    * the title is ``Spring YYYY``, ``Summer YYYY`` or ``Autumn YYYY``
+    * the date is the first Wednesday in March, July or November
+    * the description is ``Code Review deadline is <date> (SciTech review to be completed by this date)``
+      selecting a Friday at the end of January/May/September for the deadline.
+
+.. _Simulation Systems Review Tracker: https://github.com/orgs/MetOffice/projects/376
+.. _Simulation Systems Issue Tracker: https://github.com/orgs/MetOffice/projects/418

source/WorkingPractices/gh_dev_init.rst

@@ -192,6 +192,20 @@ To create a branch and switch to it from the command line, the syntax is,
             git branch <branch_name> <start_point>
             git switch <branch_name>
 
+        .. tip::
+
+            When cloning a repository only the default branch, ``main``, is
+            included in your local environment. To use ``stable`` as your
+            start_point for a branch then running
+
+            ``git switch stable``
+
+            will clone the stable branch, and it will then be available for
+            future branch creation.
+
+            Alternatively you can use ``origin/stable`` as your start_point
+            which reads directly from the remote copy of your fork.
+
 .. tip::
 
     If you're creating a branch to use to