Beavers

8^th Wyre Forest Scout Group

Group Scout Leader Annual Report

July 2023

The past 12 months have been a period of development, challenge and change for the Group.  I took over as GSL in Summer 2022 having received an incredible handover in terms admin, buildings, premises, and finances from Ian Setchell.  This allowed me to focus almost all my attention on the ground with the leaders, the programme, events, and the young people within the sections.

My aims at the start of my tenure were;

• Engage with and support the leadership across the sections.  Ensure all leaders are happy, and have agency in contributing to their own Scouting journey; ensuring they feel valued and have a positive sense of purpose.
• Ensure the programme for Young People is suitable, challenging, and fun; whilst also being safe, and compliant with standards & expectations.
• Ensure that the Group has a positive focus towards the District; that the leaders have sufficient information to engage with, and have a voice within the District, and that opportunities within the District are maximised for the benefit of the Young People within the Group.
• Draw out any persistent, negative issues within the group and resolve them.
• Demonstrate active leadership and support towards all parts of the Group; Trustee Committee, Leaders, Young People.

Trustee Committee

The Trustee Committee have provided valuable guidance and support during the past 12 months.  We have robustly addressed financial issues within the group, and the Trustees have offered welcome check and challenge on an open and regular basis.  Although the personal have changed, and some have changed roles – the core of the group exec have remained a coherent and welcome support to me.

Leaders and Young Leaders

Leaders are now (hopefully) engaged and (hopefully) feel happy that they can contribute and develop themselves within the group.  Leaders having access to information has been an important aim for me, and giving all leaders exposure to a wider network has driven consistency across the adult volunteers across the sections.

Some significant, long-term leader have chosen to move on from WF8.  However, recruitment of new volunteers has been healthy across the sections.  We now have more volunteers than 12 months ago.  And we no longer have single-person dependencies within sections. 

Young Leaders have reduced from a total of 17 in Summer 2022; to a more appropriate and manageable 9 in Summer 2023.

Programme

Standout events that I have been fortunate to be part of over the past 12 months were;

• Scouts Summer Camp to Blackwell Court in August 2022
• Pledge Plod and Camp in Autumn 2022
• Scouts Christmas Post  
• Beavers Space Centre Trip
• Cubs trip to RAF Cosford
• WF8 Group Camp with the Squirrel Section
• Coronation Bank Holiday Big Help Out
• St Georges Day Parade with all sections

Looking forward

The Group is in a very positive position moving into the next 12 months.  A better coherence and team spirit across the section will allow room for us to develop further to the benefit of all involved.  Of particular interest to me for the coming year are;

• Full engagement will District events – not just attending the events but allowing leaders to be part of the planning if they wish.
• Recruitment of leaders for the Scout Section, and the development of identity for the Scout Troop currently split across two days.
• Opportunities for leaders to take on more senior roles; I aim to appoint a Deputy GSL, a Transformation Champion, and a Quartermaster.  I want to see if a leader can be a cross-section champion in terms of social media coverage & exploit the Group identity.
• Development of the Trustee Committee – seeking additional support of new Trustees, legacy and resilience capacity within the Trustee Committee, and opportunities for leaders within sections to be ex-officio members of the Trustee Committee.
• Develop links with Explorer Units to provide a smoother transition for Scouts and be a source appropriate future Young Leaders for the Group.
• Engage and built on the positive relationship with parents.
• All members of to have an awesome time and enjoy their Scouting journeys.

Very Best Regards,

Matt Whitehouse

Group Scout Leader

8^th Wyre Forest Scout Group

Here you will see some reports for our AGM in July

Louise, Chair

We recognise that times are hard for some folk at this time. Our leaders are conscious of this and review their plans to ensure maximum benefit of Scouting in their section at an affordable cost. All camps and visits have a costed plan to check safety and affordability.

Our monthly membership fee is £12, payable each month throughout the year. Payments should only be paid to the nominated account as we no longer accept cash. The best method is a standing order although you can pay by cash direct into our account at a bank. Our bank details are available from the leader team.

At £12 our membership fee is at the median amount charged by other groups in the Wyre Forest District. Like most groups we have a hut to run and keep up to date with costs all the year round. It's also important to remember that half of the membership fee goes to pay National, County and District levies for the support and services they offer to us. Overall, the Exec feel that the monthly fee is value for money.

It is vital that membership fees are paid regularly. If at any time parents / carers feel they are unable to pay, please contact the GSL to explain - gsl@wf8.org.uk. All cases will be kept private - the Exec of the Group have the final say on any help that can be given but no individual will be named in their discussion or decision making.

The Exec gave a commitment at the start of 2022 that they had no plans, after reviewing the Groups fiscal responsibilities and plans, to increase fees for the next two years. The Exec will review that again in early 2023 and report their findings prior to the annual general meeting in June 2023.

GSL

Beavers report July 2023

Since our last report the beavers have been busy having lots of fun and we managed to recruit a new leader, Hawkeye. So what have the beavers been up to well… the beavers have taken part in lots of craft activities, learnt about disabilities and how these impact on activities of daily living, as well as about water, internet, and fire safety, which included a special visit to the Wyre Forest Fire station.

The beavers have also given back to the community by donating goods to the Kidderminster food bank and completed a local litter pick for the Great British spring clean event. Beavers had the opportunity to take part in taster sessions, which involved a visit to the Samurai judo club and a Tag Rugby session organised by our very own Malak. The beavers did canal walks, our traditional Christmas lights walk and some of the beavers even took part in the 52^nd pledged plod to raise money for the group.

We had some special celebrations too this year which consisted of the annual St George’s day parade and King Charles III’s Coronation. Beavers went and saw the pantomime at the civic centre performed by the Monday Night Group from whom we have received a donation for beavers. We treated the beavers to a trip to the cinema for easter and they also went on a trip to the Space centre in Leicester where they were able to complete the space badge.

The beavers have learnt new skills such as tent pitching, cooking on an open fire, and gardening.  They did some pond dipping where they managed to catch quite a few small fish, and for the first time ever since doing this activity, one of them managed to catch a water scorpion. They took part in adventurous activities such as: sliding down the water slide at Rhydd and Tubing which is always a firm favourite with the beavers and the leaders. For the last week of the term they will get the chance to try out the new bouldering wall at Rhydd and the climbing wall.

We have also been able to offer the beavers the opportunity to take part in camps, which for some is quite a challenge, as some of them have never slept away from parents before. We had a sleepover at the west midlands’ safari park with the district, we did a group camp with scouts, cubs, and our youngest and newest section squirrels, and we attended the district Alice in wonderland camp, which unfortunately due to some extreme weather had to be cut short, and we lost our two gazebos which were damaged by the weather.

We have given out approximately 450 badges over the last 12 months to our beavers and the beavers’ section has grown massively, currently sitting at 32.  But we have had as many as 36 making us one of the largest beavers’ sections in the Wyre Forest. We also have a waiting list of children desperately waiting to start and on the 21^{st of} July will be losing 6 beavers up to cubs. This will then allow us to welcome some new starters in September, including some squirrels moving up, which will then take our numbers up again to maximum capacity.

We will be having a planning meeting over the summer holidays to plan the next terms fun activities and all being well, will be welcoming some new leaders too.

The beaver leader team

   Rainbow, Sunshine, Ladybird, Malak, Rusty, Bubbles, Hawkeye, Ringtail, Bluebird, and Echo.

Follow this link to find some very useful tips if your Young Person is camping with us at WF8 for the very first time

https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/april/nights-away-prepare-your-child-for-their-first-camp/