ADULT INDUCTION BOOKLET
Buntingford Scout Group
Contents
Welcome to our Scout Group
Introduction to Scouting
The Five Sections
The Purpose of Scouting
The Principles of Scouting
The Structure of Scouting
The Scout Group
Adult Leadership and the Group Executive Committee
Financing
Beaver Scouts
Who is Beaver Scouting for?
The Beaver Scout Promise
The Motto
The Beaver Scout Uniform
How Beaver Scouts are organised
Investiture
What do Beaver Scouts do?
Beaver Scout Programme
Programme Zones
Methods
Badges and Awards
Cub Scouts
Who is Cub Scouting for?
The Cub Scout Promise
The Cub Scout Law
The Motto
The Cub Scout Uniform
How are Cub Scouts organised?
Investiture
What do Cubs do?
Cub Scout Programme
Programme Zones
Methods
Badges and Awards
Scouts
Who is the Scout Section for?
The Scout Promise
The Scout Law
The Motto
The Scout Uniform
How are Scouts organised?
Investiture
What do Scouts do?
Scout Programme
Programme Zones
Methods
Badges and Awards
About our Scout Group
Beaver Scout Colony
Beaver Scout Colony
Cub Scout Pack
Cub Scout Pack
Scout Troop
The Group Scout Leader
Group Executive Committee
Where we meet
The Group website
A wider view
Uniform and badges
The Adult Uniform:
Adult Support
A quick checklist…
Who to ask for help
Adult Training
Where to go for more information
And Finally…
Frequently Asked Questions
10 things you may not know about Scouting
The Scout Group Structure & People
Welcome to our Scout Group
Thank you for agreeing to take ona role in the Scout Group. This booklet gives you a brief overview of Scouting in our local area, key contacts, and an idea of what you will be doing and what resources and help you should receive.
Buntingford Scout Group aims to offer challenge and adventure to all its members. We believe in helping our young people fulfil their potential by working in teams, learning by doing and thinking for themselves. We’re working to make Scouting available to all and we’re passionate about what we do.
Through the adventure of Scouting, young people get to take risks in a safe environment and have their first taste of responsibility. We give young people experiences they’ll never forget. The sort of adventure we offer is the chance to experience something different and the opportunity for young people to discover their potential. When a Beaver Scout wakes up the morning after a sleepover, or a Cub Scout has just got over her fear of heights by completing her first abseil – that’s adventure!
All this is made possible by the efforts of our dedicated team of hard working voluntary adults. Our training scheme and one-to-one support ensures that each of our volunteers gets to make the best use of their skills and talents.
Our adults have a responsibility to make our Programme fun and exciting. They also make sure that it is safe. Our policies, rules, code of behaviour and advice on child protection and safety are there to ensure our young people stay safe while they enjoy themselves and learn.
Thanks once again, and welcome aboard!
Introduction to Scouting
Scouting is an international Movement with over 28 million Members worldwide spread across 216 countries and territories. The number of countries recognising the values of Scouting and accepting its principles are steadily increasing.
The Scout Association in the UK accepts Members of all major faiths and offers equal opportunities to all young people in the community, no matter what their social, religious or ethnic background may be. Scouting is not a religious body. It is an organisation which encourages young people to grow spiritually and develop within their own faith and denomination. It has a positive policy of integration and welcomes children and young people who have physical and mental disabilities.
There are about 500,000 people in Membership throughout the United Kingdom. This includes about 100,000 adults who have taken up Appointments as voluntary Leaders, Administrators and Supporters.
During 1991, girls were admitted to the Beaver Scout, Cub Scout and Scout Sections. This complemented the admission of young women to the Venture Scout Section in 1976.
During the spring of 2002 The Scout Association launched a new Programme for young people aged 6-25. This was the largest change to our curriculum for nearly 40 years. A careful strategy of change management was devised to help people move forward into delivering a totally new way of providing Scouting, particularly the 14-25 age range. Two new Sections were created to replace Venture Scouting: Explorer Scouts (14-18) and the Scout Network (18-25). This coincided with a complete re-branding of The Scout Association.
The Five Sections
At whatever age, a young person in the Movement is a ‘Scout’.
The Balanced Programme spans a 6-25 age range, divided up into five Sections. Each Section has its own identity, ethos and style. They all have adult support which varies in style in the different age groups.
•A Beaver Scout Colony has members aged between 6 and 8
•A Cub Scout Pack has members aged 8 - 10½.
•A Scout Troop is for young people aged from 10½ - 14 years.
AScout Group comprises one or more of each of the above three Sections.
An Explorer Scout Unit is for young people from 14-18 years old. Explorer Scout Units are part of a Scout District, although some are attached to Groups.
A Scout Network is for young people aged 18 - 25 years old. Scout Networks are the responsibility of the Scout District, County or Area.
The Purpose of Scouting
Scouting in the UK is organised through The Scout Association. The Scout Association has a clear purpose:
'To help young people achieve their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential as individuals, as responsible citizens and as Members of their local, national and international communities'.
Even if we can’t solve all the problems in the world, we can help to make it a better place. We do this by helping young people to develop as active members of the community.
Scouting makes a positive contribution to society by helping young people to develop as active members of the community:
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•who are self reliant
•who are caring
•who are responsible
•who show commitment.
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Scouting works well when young people enjoy learning by doing in partnership with adults. They do this by:
•taking part in a variety of activities and new experiences
•exploring the outdoors
•participating in teams
•taking responsibility for themselves and other.
Our method for giving young people the opportunity to learn by doing is called the Programme. The Programme is a seamless progression of training, activities and awards that covers everything that young people do in Scouting from the ages of 6 to 25.
The Programme involves helping young people to grow in six Personal Development Areas, these are:
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•Body
•Mind
•Faiths and Beliefs
•Relationships
•Community
•Surrounding
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All adults in Scouting have a responsibility to make sure that the Programme is fun and exciting. We must also make sure that it is safe. The Scout Association’s policies, rules, code of behaviour, advice on Child Protection and safety policy are there to help adults make sure the young people in their care stay safe while they enjoy themselves and learn. There are special training and requirements to take young people on nights away, and to lead adventurous activities such as mountaineering and water activities.
The Principles of Scouting
Scouting has three key principles:
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•Duty to Self
•Duty to Others
•Duty to God
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Everyone in Scouting expresses their Membership and acceptance of the key principles by making the Scout Promise and following the Scout Law. The Scout Promise and Law gives a distinctive ethos to the practices of the Movement and acts as a bond with Scouts worldwide.
The Structure of Scouting
The UK Scout Association is led by The Chief Scout, the most senior volunteer role. The current Chief Scout is Bear Grylls, who took over the role from Peter Duncan in July 2009.
The administrative structure of The Association enables the effective delivery of the Programme. It is organised at four levels:
- The Scout Group
- The Scout District
- The Scout County(or Area in Scotland)
- National Headquarters
In many ways, each level operates independently and each ‘unit’ is a charity in its own right. The larger units provide facilities, activities and support beyond the resources of the smaller ones.
Within each Scout Group they will be one or more Beaver Scout Colonies, Cub Scout Packs and Scout Troops.
See the diagram below for how the structure fits together:
The Scout Group
The Scout Group is where Scouting happens locally for the first three Sections. In some cases Explorer Units may be affiliated to the local Group. Scout Groups are the bases for the 'family' of Scouting for those aged 6 to 14. Younger Members are able to feel confident and happy about moving through the Sections at this local level. It is within this framework of the Scout Group that the Law and Promise are fulfilled. The Group also provides a secure base for the development of the individual young person.
Scout Groups work because they offer a close level of support for the young people in their care. They know the community and the needs of its young people.
When a young person joins a Section their parents are usually expected to:
•support the young person
•show interest and support the Section's activities
•support the local Group in fundraising, social activities, offers of skills and other help, where appropriate.
What makes Scout Groups successful is their ability to:
•deliver enjoyable high quality Programmes for young people
•focus on the fun and friendship that Scouting brings
•involve parents/carers
•respond to local needs
•be positive and progressive.
Adult Leadership andthe Group Executive Committee
Each Scout Group is led by a Group Scout Leader (GSL) who will make every effort to ensure that each Section in the Group has an adequate leadership team. They will also ensure that the development of the young people is co-ordinated throughout their progress in Scouting. An essential part of this process is support to all of the adults who are involved in Scouting.
The GSL is helped by those adults who work directly with the young people and by the Group Executive. The Group Executive Committee exists to support the Group Scout Leader in meeting the responsibilities of their appointment. The Committee is responsible for:
•the maintenance of the Group's property and equipment
•the raising of funds and the administration of the Group's finance
•the insurance of persons, property and equipment
•Group public occasions
•assisting with the recruitment of Leaders and other adult support.
The Group Chairperson leads the Group Executive Committee. The members of the Group Executive Committee include:
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•The Group Chairperson
•The Group Treasurer
•The Group Secretary
•The Group Scout Leader
•The Cub Scout Leader(s)
•The Beaver Scout Leader(s)
•The Scout Leader(s)
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•Any other adults elected by the Group Council at the Group’s Annual General Meeting
All Scout Groups are educational charities and some, depending on their size, have to register with the Charity Commission. The Group Executive Committee forms the Board of Trustees for the Scout Group and is responsible for statuary reporting to the Charity Commission.
Once a year the Group must hold an Annual General Meeting of the Group Council, which is all the adults connected to the Group (leaders, parents, etc). The AGM reports on the year’s events and elections of the Group’s Officers and Executive will take place. This provides a forum for comment and future planning.
The Group should be an integral part of the community that it serves, both providing help to the community and receiving support from the community to carry out its work with young people.
The Scout District and Counties/Areas take on the roles of the Group for Explorer Scouting and the Scout Network respectively.
Financing
Scout Groups, Districts and Counties/Areas are entirely self-financing. A Membership Subscription is payable by all Members of The Association to meet local and national support costs. The way that these costs are met is by the Group asking Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to pay regular subscriptions to meet some of the costs and through regular fundraising to fund the balance of the Group’s costs.
We ask all members to set up a monthly standing order and complete a gift aid form which ensures the money reaches each section.
This money is then held in each sections account, once expenses to cover the HQ, capitation (annual insurance for all members) are deducted and managed centrally.
Each section is responsible for providing the treasurer with the names of those in their sections at the beginning of each term so money can be allocated to the correct section. The leaders of the section are responsible for making sure parents are given the standing order mandate and collecting the gift aid form off of parents.
Beaver Scouts
Since Beaver Scouts became a part of The Scout Association in 1986, it has been one of the quickest growing Sections. It currently has somewhere in the region of 100,000 members in 7,000 Colonies! The Beaver Scout Colony will tend to meet weekly for about an hour, but they will also have the chance to go on a residential experience every year and there might also be day trips away.
Who is Beaver Scouting for?
Beaver Scouting is open to young people aged between six and eight years old who want to join and can make the Beaver Scout Promise.
The Beaver Scout Promise
Scouting differs from many organisations in that it requires its Members to make a Promise. The wording for Beaver Scouts is simpler than that of the Scout Promise, it is:
I promise to do my best
to be kind and helpful
and to love God.
Different wordings of the promise are available for those of different faiths who may prefer not to use the word “God” and for those with special circumstances and needs.
By making the promise a young person becomes a Member of the worldwide Movement; they become a Scout.
The Motto
The motto for all Members of the Movement is: Be Prepared.
The Beaver Scout Uniform
Beaver Scouts wear a turquoise sweatshirt. They also wear a scarf (sometimes called a “necker”), which varies in colour from Scout Group to Scout Group. They also have a woggle, to keep their scarf up. Traditionally all Beaver Scouts wear a maroon coloured woggle, but they may also wear a woggle of the colour of the Lodge they are in (see below on how Beaver Scouts are organised). There are several other items of optional uniform.
How Beaver Scouts are organised
Beaver Scouts meet together as a Colony and work within a variety of small groups called “Lodges”. A team of adults will run the Beaver Scout Colony. Some will be uniformed Leaders, others may be informal Assistants or helpers. Explorer Scouts who are Young Leaders might also assist the leadership team in the running of the Colony.
Investiture
Making the Promise is the most important act in Scouting and is common to every Section. Scouting has a special ceremony for making the Promise called Investiture or being invested. When a young person makes their Promise they receive their Group Scarf, The Membership Award and are welcomed as a new Member into the Scout family.
What do Beaver Scouts do?
Beavers take part in a wide range of activities. These include making things, singing, playing games, going out on visits, investigating nature, listening to stories, learning how to be safe and most importantly, making new friends. They do this through taking part in a programme of activities provided by the leadership team.
Beaver Scout Programme
The philosophy underpinning the programme is that every Beaver Scout should participate in a Balanced Programme over a period of time. This ensures that all young people experience a quality programme covering a wide range of subjects, so that they develop in all of the Personal Development Areas. To help, the Balanced Programme is divided into a number of Programme Zones and Methods.