Beaver/Cub/Scout Volunteering

They also serve who only stand and wait marshall washing up.

Just been informed I’ve volunteered to do the cub camp next weekend. There’s only me and one other parent with current DBS. So we’re screwed! Ah well am sure ot will be “entertaining”!

Escape Rammy done! As defending Champions I had high hopes, but we were bloody awful and got caught 5 times. Whatever, the kids had a hoot although some of them may not have agreed at the time.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9367431718

Scouting really is superb. 200 hundred kids getting chased for 3 hours in a 10km game of hide and seek. Where else could you do that?

That’s taking manhunt to the next level!

Went mountain (*) biking with the group last night so combining 2 of my activities!

(* inasmuch that one can mountain bike in Kent!)

Got 7 of them through their Expedition over the weekend which meant that 3 of them completed their Gold.

Weather was a bit too hot to send them over the moors with all of their kit, so the route was cut short and they only had to carry day sacks. When they got to camp they had to bivouac or use hammocks though. We couldn’t make it too easy for them!

This is why we do it!

This is why we do it!

Great result! 👍

LittleMissMC did her silver DofE expedition with Guides the weekend before, so glad she missed last weekend

Anyone at The Bevan Challenge next weekend?

Our “crack team” will be out doing the activities all day, so I’m hoping for some good weather so that I can site by the fire and read a book.

They are at Manchester Monopoly Run the weekend after, but I’m not involved.

Just spotted this thread. I’ve been a “Leader” now for a month – I have a daughter who didn’t get on with Brownies and I’d thought about becoming a Cubs Leader, so she gets into Cubs too.

Its not like I remember it – less regimented (regimented was good) although that might be changing now we’re moving indoors for the winter. Outdoors was cat herding. Its hard keeping them engaged – I noticed ADHD mentioned early in the thread – at least 4 from 21 are diagnosed or being assessed. No bad thing. Some kids just don’t stop talking though, about anything and nothing. Whereas others don’t say a peep. Its a learning curve for sure, and I’m sure will have satisfying moments at some point soon…

We had one kid who every now and then just wanted to sit under a table and make “beep” noises. Once I asked him why and he just said that he liked doing it. Which is fair enough.

I’m helping out at Cubs tonight.   Hope I survive as I’ve got an awful cough thing.   Lashings,  working on the pioneer badge.  Not done lashings before but akela sent me a YouTube and they both look very simple so if I can survive through the cough it should be OK.

Eldest daughter seems to be very happy in Cubs having moved up from the turquoise ninjas, she was invested a couple of weeks ago.  Youngest daughter is now in beavers and said very quickly its become her favourite club!  I’m definitely grateful for the scout group, it’s helped both with friendships and confidence.

Oh and I’ll try and count again tonight but when I did a quick count while watching my daughter’s investiture, it seemed just over 50% girls at the cubs,  beavers must be similar.

although that might be changing now we’re moving indoors for the winter. Outdoors was cat herding.

Ours just seem louder when they come inside, otherwise pretty much the same.

We’re about 2:1 boys to girls, but 4 out of 5 PLs are girls, and our team for The Bevan are all girls.

We’re just moving on our “enforcers” to Explorers. They are both girls. This has left a bit of a power vacuum, but see if you can guess the gender of the two that will probably step up and fill the void…

Heads up if you want a “quiet” activity.

Free Warhammer!!!

https://warhammer-alliance.com/uk/scouts-programme/

Been a warranted leader since 1972 (numerous roles) so I guess it’s a worthwhile organisation to be involved in.
Good luck & thanks to all those who are doing their bit.

Thanks for the heads up Harry, I’ve passed the link on to akela.

I enjoyed it last night,  and despite a temperature which had me dripping sweat,  I think I was compus enough to help a six with some lashings…. although other then one lad who had clearly been practicing the efforts were…..’a good start’ 🤣

A quick count and I made it about 10 girls from 29 or 30 Cubs last night so possibly not quite so even as I’d thought but good numbers I reckon.

We seem to run with 3-4 girls in each unit at a time, Squirrels through to Explorers.

They really seem to change the dynamics of a unit compared to when we have a year with an all male unit.

If anyone has any tips or advice on merging districts, I’m all ears….

We’re pretty much 50/50 girls and boys, probably slightly more girls, that’s in Scouts. Got a weekend camp in a couple of weeks that’s seven girls and two boys.

We’re struggling a bit to get them going camping, we rarely get double figures going out of a troop of over thirty Scouts. Anyone else had this?

We’re struggling a bit to get them going camping, we rarely get double figures going out of a troop of over thirty Scouts. Anyone else had this?

Could be a cost/lack of kit issue?

Is it seasonal/weather related? Maybe stay in huts this time of year, get them used to being away, then camp next year now.

Are camps clashing with other commitments – football, rugby, ballet etc?

Is it the kids not wanting to go or parents not wanting to let them – MrsMC struggles to get Guide parents to “let their little darlings out of sight/contact” – MrsMC takes a dim view on this!

I can only say what my kids group does.   They get the beavers (and parents?) Used to a night away from home/ mum/ dad with a sleep over at the scout hut so familiar territory but great fun for them.   Group camp was late May bh, camping,  beavers for just 1 night, cubs and scouts 2.  That had 35-40% of the beaver colony,  maybe half the cubs,  scouts not sure as no idea how many there are.  Cubs are off for a camp but staying in huts at the approaching half term.   I am only guessing but suspect there will be at least half the pack.

I can imagine the kit list being a burden for some, especially at the moment.   I’ve become acutely aware even the uniform is expensive.  With 2 girls that between them have started rainbows,  Brownies, beavers, cubs and 2x girls brigade,  I’ve been asked to spend about £200 on uniform in the last year.  I’m all for uniform,  but a sweatshirt or poloshirt that costs £18-23 rather than £6-9 simply because it says cubs/ beavers/ girls brigade on it is absurd and I’ve taken a stand.  Plain bottle green sweatshirt and t, plain turquoise t, plain navy hoodies for girls brigade. Rainbows and Brownies uniforms are a p-take.

Got two events this weekend. Taking a team of 4 to the Beavan Challenge at Tawd Vale, hiking, canoeing, shooting and an assault course. Doing it “light” with one patrol box and hammocks. Beavan team are all PLs, and all girls.

The rest are at the Chariot Race at Bispham Hall, which will be like a military operation with trailers, event shelters and tons of other kit.

Glad I’m on the Beavan as packing the Chariot kit away in the mud will be a pain.

Anyone else North West based doing these?

Just stumbled into this chat as I reckoned there could be some similarities with bike club stuff and this kind of thing…apart from the various names for the groups, the issues aren’t all that different.

I’m off to have a read of the full thing to see if there are any tips that can be gleaned from the wealth of experience here.

Wow, what an event the Beavan is! If you are Merseyside based you should look into it.

Not sure how us “Mancs” ended up there, and neither were the organisers, but they’ve asked us back next year.

Saturday is Manchester Monopoly Run. We’re there with Scouts and Explorers but I’m getting the day off.

When on camp we keep the facebook updated with pictures of what they are up to

A good way of selling the camp & keeping clingy parents informed

We are also quite flexible about arriving late/ leaving early for other commitments

It is a bit frustrating we had 6 out of 36 cubs pull out just before the camp this weekend of glorious weather and plenty of  fun activities

Sorry, just following up on the replies to my questions about getting more of the Scouts camping

When on camp we keep the facebook updated with pictures of what they are up to

A good way of selling the camp & keeping clingy parents informed

Yep, we do this

We are also quite flexible about arriving late/ leaving early for other commitments

Ditto

They get the beavers (and parents?) Used to a night away from home/ mum/ dad with a sleep over at the scout hut so familiar territory but great fun for them.

TBH I think this is the main issue. We’re riding the wave of Scouts who never/rarely went camping as Cubs/Beavers because of Covid. So, they don’t really know what to expect or whether they’ll like it, and my impression is that the parents also have the apron strings tightened a bit too. Hopefully this will start to ease itself now.

I can imagine the kit list being a burden for some, especially at the moment.

We do make a point of saying that we don’t want any child to miss out because of financial reasons, but no-one has ever come forward for help (although I guess that would be quite a thing to do, pride-wise). We do have spare kit (sleeping bags, mats etc) so maybe we should make a point of saying that we have stuff available to borrow if needs be.

We’re lucky in that we have a history of camping in both Cubs and Scouts, so the kids know what they are letting themselves in for! We get a few that will never camp, ever, but usually we have pretty good attendance.

We try and keep the fees fixed at £35 for a weekend and £20 for a single night. Over the year this averages out.

On camp we upload loads of photos to the parent’s WhatsApp group.

We do make a point of saying that we don’t want any child to miss out because of financial reasons, but no-one has ever come forward for help (although I guess that would be quite a thing to do, pride-wise). We do have spare kit (sleeping bags, mats etc) so maybe we should make a point of saying that we have stuff available to borrow if needs be.

I serve on the committee of a sports club.  We operate essentially a hardship fund (“Athlete Support Grant”) to help the least wealthy junior members go to some of the further away events but it has never been that well utilised.  We spent a lot of time this year talking about rebranding it etc.  The end conclusion was that the barrier to applying was far higher than we wanted it to be, with forms buried in an obscure part of the website, too many questions about what you wanted and why, and an implication that if we said no and you did it any way you must have been lying about “needing” the money.  We flipped it round and asked the coaches to nominate people (they are encouraged to think about personal circumstances, athletic benefits, personal growth) and we then call them “club sponsored athletes”.  No stigma, no barrier to entry from a parent who might not be close to the club etc.  Anecdotal feedback so far is it is much appreciated – I’m certain none of them would have come forward and said “would love to go but can’t afford it”, some would have made an excuse, or gone but at the detriment of something else (like a scout camp!).  So I’d agree “saying you don’t want to miss out for financial reasons” and actually removing the barrier are not the same thing.   

Thanks Poly.

The only ‘barrier’ we have to help is speaking to one of the leaders in confidence, but I guess that in itself could be seen as a public admission of sorts of something they may not wish to be known. Part of the issue is also that we’re based in a superficially comfortable area, but I have no doubt that there are parents in there that are only just managing to juggle their mortgage/car/credit card/Netflix/Disney+ etc payments and for whom the stigma of admitting that they are struggling may be even greater. However, it is does make it really hard to see who may need help and who doesn’t.

Good point about barriers are not always obvious, and pride is an ossue of course – our group is in the “more affluent” part of the district, but we have parents having a sabbatical from paying subs, 2nd hand uniform available. We’ve also got more generous with our support for bigger international activities.

We’d sooner someone “miss” a couple of months subs if their young person can then do a camp or whatever – often the kids who benefit most.

Saturday is Manchester Monopoly Run. We’re there with Scouts and Explorers but I’m getting the day off.

Our Explorers are going, they and the leaders are very excited!

My daughter is getting presented with her Gold at the end of it. She doesn’t know this. I’m not doing the event but I am going to sneak in at the end.

Our demographic is very mixed. We have kids from council estates and some that live on the same street as members of Elbow. Think we have quietly dropped subs for those that are struggling, but it doesn’t filter down to my level as I don’t need to know.

Also, an afternoon of bag packing in Morrisons can get us £800 ish, so we use that to subsidise events.

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i guess the DBS check is done then! Im at beavers tomorrow night with the 6yo as they were short handed… half termly badge awards so I get to be proud dad as well as help out 😁  when I realised that I looked down the rota and yep,  now booked to help at beaver Christmas party and badge awards 😀

My 8yo cub is off to camp Friday….. thankfully they had chosen to use a bunk house and it looks like Babet will be clearing away Saturday so they won’t need the Web feet and aqualung….I hope!   Costing almost 3 times what you charge for a weekend Harry, we must up our game on fund raising perhaps…..I suspect 1st crystal palace would feel aggrieved if we went to sainsburys to pack bags as would the brownies/ guides who meet in the rooms above…..hmm…. the lidl might be on our patch 🤔

Any advice on driving a minibus for scouts? Eldest daughter is hoping to do Ten Tors, I have volunteered to help and drive a minibus if required. I have the relevant designation on my licence but the whole driving kids and for an organisation where the passengers are paying throws up lots of uncertainty.. Happy to get the qualification if required.

I’m one of the few leaders that drive minibuses for our group (joys of getting a licence when they added categories for the fun of it).

Double check with your groups GSL on the situation for clarity. When I asked, I was told that you’re not being recompensed for driving services, the group is being paid to cover the cost of the event ie transport, food, accommodation.

Some groups require drivers to undergo MIDAS training in addition to having the class on your licence.

Costing almost 3 times what you charge for a weekend Harry

Yikes!

A regular camp for us, in tents, works out at £35 per head. If we do indoor stuff then we will subsidise. Are you doing loads of activities, or is it just the cost of the sites where you are?

Regarding driving. We bump it up to District and let them make the call. I can run kids to camp (I’ve got a 7 seater) as long as there is an agreement with the parents, I don’t charge and there is never a 1:1 situation in the car.

I’m just in parent mode as far as this weekend’s cub camp goes so don’t know the exact details. Friday evening until Sunday late afternoon,  a scout centre near Gerrards Cross that the leaders are excited to be using for the first time as it has activities they haven’t done with the cubs before (partly why it was chosen despite being the other side of London so about 2 hours away), 16 cubs (about half the pack,  they were space limited and had a couple of cubs on the reserve list). Staying in dorms/ rooms with 4 per room (my daughter was disappointed by that but given storm Babet and the lingering rain I think it was a fortunate choice!)

Fairly sure they will have a great time if they get some drier weather and will be using some of the activities…. although I’ve not had any forms to sign beyond the normal medical form.

£90.  Which I think is very reasonable really,  and I definitely see why a couple of nights straight camping is less,  but I’m still impressed by your £35.  We suffer London prices perhaps!

How do you all use OSM in your groups?  Do you have all badges open for working on at home or do you close some off?

As a parent I find OSM very useful. I enjoy doing stuff with the kids and they enjoy it too but can be awful to motivate and get started some times.  but currently the phrase ‘It counts towards a beavers/cubs badge’ can work magic!  Plus with some of the tasks I will do a short write up to load as evidence, and I treat the sheet as a bit of reading practice for my kids and as I leave gaps for the girls to fill in words,  sentences or draw pictures it makes good writing practice which my 6yo is particularly challenging to motivate to do,  so OSM is great!

Unfortunately I’ve been caught out a couple of times when I’ve failed to notice a badge not set for working on at home.  For example I managed to get the kids to come for a walk in a local forest for a couple of hours,  which they enjoyed.  The promise of ticking the walk/ramble/hike tasks in their adventure badges helped to get them out though.  Later I uploaded photos for my cub but then discovered the beavers adventure challenge wasn’t open for me to do the same for my beaver.   In this case I emailed the lodge leader who decided to award my daughter her hikes activity badge so my daughter was very happy.   I’m just wondering if others choose to keep some badges closed down and why. 

tents, works out at £35 per head

how long is that for? We tend to do weekends for about £15-£20 a head.

not had any forms to sign beyond the normal medical form.

wont be doing air rifles then!

£90 at a centre sounds fair value- Mrs FB recently took her pack to a local outwards bounds place on a district camp for a similar price.

re OSM, not sure if it’s open for parents to add stuff. They can see progress on badges, however if they want to encourage their kids.

how long is that for? We tend to do weekends for about £15-£20 a head.

really?

we struggled to keep it below 30 for our last 2 nighter

OSM is good, but I struggle to keep up with badges and some parents really pester about them!

my eldest are on a scout camp this weekend, its already been reduced to Saturday morning start as its going to be just 2 wet on Friday night for them to set up!

wont be doing air rifles then!

Shoulda come to the National Scouts Shooting Championship at Bisley this weekend instead 🙂

we struggled to keep it below 30 for our last 2 nighter

our group has equipment for archery, tomahawks and air rifles so we can do those for no/minimal cost.Our district campsite charges a low fee per night plus will give a free night for a few hours service that keeps the cost down. Aldi and Costco help keep the food bill down too, plus a new leader has started and his dad is a meat wholesaler!