Cheshire Scouts Annual Review 2015-2016

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JOIN THE ADVENTURE Cheshire County Scout Council 2015 - 2016 Annual Review

IT’S LIFE CHANGING

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The Scout Association

Cheshire County Scout Officials

Patron

President

Her Majesty the Queen

President

Sir William Bromley-Davenport (KCVO)

Deputy President The Lord Rochester DL

His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent

Founder

Robert Baden-Powell First Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell, OM

Chief Scout

Bear Grylls

UK Chief Commissioner

Vice Presidents

His Grace the Duke of Westminster,KG,CB,OBE,TD,CD,DL Peter Ellis Ron Fawkes Frank Hough April Nicholas Ray Salisbury JP Geoff Taylor Steve Wilkinson Sir Nicholas Winterton Eddie Johnson Margaret Johnson Margaret Olliver

Wayne Bulpitt

The Purpose of Scouting

Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.

The Scout Method

Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:

• • • • • • •

enjoy what they are doing and have fun take part in activities indoors and outdoors learn by doing share in spiritual reflection take responsibility and make choices undertake new and challenging activities make and live by their Promise

Be Prepared: To have fun To make friends To take the challenge For the adventure To get connected

Officials

County Chairman County Commissioner Deputy County Commissioner Deputy County Commissioner County Youth Commissioner County Secretary County Treasurer County Training Manager County Active Support Manager County Appointments Secretary

Peter Mather TD Graham Phillips DL Val Thomason Dave Hopley Ed Lunnon Sue Appleton Edward Appleton Debbie Phillips Roger Owens Jane Duley

Assistant County Commissioners Beaver Scouts Cub Scouts Scouts Explorer Scouts Scout Network Special Events Activities International Development

Laura Dyer Sophie Mather Luke Morby Simon Appleton Nigel Flatman Daragh O’Malley Graham Shaw John Duley

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Contents

Introductions Foreword 6 Chairman’s Report 6 County Commissioner’s Report 7

Adventurous Activities Adventurous Activities 8 Cheshire Hike 2015 9 23rd World Scout Jamboree Japan 2015 10

International International 12

Campsites County Campsites 13 Barnswood Campsite 14 Queen Charlotte’s Wood 14

Sectional Reports Beaver Scouts 15 Cub Scouts 16 Scouts 17 Explorer Scouts 18 Scout Network 19 Scout Active Support 19 Adult Training 22 Development 22 Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 23 Queen’s Scout Award 23 Youth Shaped 23

District Report Alderley District 24 Chester & District 25 Ellesmere Port & Neston 26 Knutsford & District 27 Macclesfield & Congleton 28 Mersey Weaver 29 Mid Cheshire 30 South West Cheshire 31 Warrington East 32 Warrington West 33

Census & Awards

Awards for Good Service 34 Census of Membership 36 Useful Contacts 37

Foreword It is a real pleasure to once again read this report on the achievements of Scouting in Cheshire. To see another increase in membership, particularly in adult volunteer numbers is very encouraging.

The way in which youth members are being encouraged to become involved in the decision making process at both District and County level can only be a positive move for the future of Scouting.

The addition of events organised by the County to support the delivery of the revised programme, particularly encouraging young people to spend more time outdoors is very good news. I understand that the winter camp went very well with most people cold but happy.

It has been a real pleasure to read the reports and watch the video from the World Scout Jamboree in Japan. Clearly they all had a fantastic time and have really benefitted from the experience.

It was a real pleasure to join you earlier this year at the County Dinner to make presentations for dedicated service over many years to some of our adult volunteers..

Once again I would like to thank everybody for their continued support.

Bill Bromley-Davenport (Sir William Bromley-Davenport, KCVO ) President of Cheshire Scouts

chairman’s report We have seen another year of progress at all levels. Numbers are up and our income is up and consequently our reinvestment in activities and personnel is up.

Through the initiative of the County Commissioner and with thanks to the support from the Scout Development Grants board and Halton Borough Council, the employment of a full time Development Officer has been achieved with a strategic target for growth of 3% This brings the number of staff employed by the County to 2 full time and 5 part time.

The Executive Committee met every alternative month and was reported to by its 4 sub committees: Finance; Campsites: Youth Forum and Appointments. The additional areas that are now standing items were: Development; Safety in Scouting; Safeguarding and Disclosure & Barring Service. The Executive Committee looks at all these areas in detail and considers and approves the necessary actions to keep Scouting in Cheshire moving forward.

Growth does not come without its problems and as an example I highlight 3 issues that have been addressed by the Executive Committee:

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1) Last year, despite our efforts, the backlog of DBS applications remained constant. The lack of Compass may not have helped. To reduce this backlog ‘DBS’ is now a standing item on the Executive Committee agenda and will remain there until sorted. A new plan is now in place which should redress the situation.

2) The growth in activity at our Forest Camp Activity Centre has been a concern to the residents on Overdale Lane. This has not been helped by the access form Kennel Lane being denied several years ago, effectively doubling the traffic on the one remaining access route. Representing the Scouts is a small group, headed by Philip Cox, that is in liaison with the residents of Overdale Lane with a view to finding a solution. We look forward to progress on this issue.

3) Also at the Forest Camp Activity Centre, we have had a problem with public access, this has been resolved through a registry system giving temporary access to approved members of the public.

On a more positive note, our financial strength gives us the means to concentrate on what is important.

An example of this is the support we were able to

give to the Leaders to the World Scout Jamboree in Japan. Through providing a subsidy to their costs we have encouraged the Jamboree Leaders to apply more time to their Groups rather than their own fundraising. The feedback from those who went to the World Scout Jamboree is positive to the extreme and is an acknowledgment to the hard work of the Leaders and the support we gave them.

The success we have achieved in previous years allows us to move forward and provide continued growth and increased support in the future.

This is just a selection of some of the work and decisions undertaken by the Executive Committee.

Read this review to see the true and wonderful results of Scouting in Cheshire.

Peter Mather County Chairman

County Commissioner’s Report

Making a difference to the lives of young people

District Scout Networks:

Census

As we look back on the last 12 months we can be proud of what has been achieved, not least another year of growth in our membership numbers. This means that in the last 13 years there has been almost continual growth with more young people able to access Scouting. It is still a frustration that our waiting lists remain at nearly 1,000 with even more young people still wanting to become Scouts, it is however encouraging that more adults continue to become volunteers.

Development:

To support our growth ambitions designed to deliver more Scouting to more young people the County has employed a Local Development Officer (LDO), Simon Appleton who has already supported the opening of a new Group and a number of additional Sections. He is running regular adult recruitment events to help bring more adults into Scouting. The impact of this work is being recognised already with new Groups, additional Sections added to existing Groups, the recruitment of more adults and development of tools to help Groups recruit both new adult volunteers and young people.

Updated Youth Programme:

Most Leaders are now comfortable with the revised programme in each Section that is designed to deliver more outdoor Scouting and the County events team have delivered a County Winter Camp, a Chariot Race with plans to add to these events this year to compliment District activities. In an effort to encourage more Groups to make visits abroad a County event in 2017 is being planned for those Groups who have never been camping overseas.

It will provide support and a valuable learning experience for Leaders interested in this aspect of Scouting.

Another very significant achievement has been the launch of District Scout Networks across the County. This moves the provision from County to local Districts and reconnects Explorer Scouting with their next Section. To support this move a new Scout Network programme has been launched with amongst other things virtual badges. This is a really important initiative as it enables us to offer those reaching 18 the opportunity to continue Scouting, it will support them in achieving their Queen’s Scout Award and provides another option to automatic leadership roles.

The early signs are already encouraging in those Districts who were ahead of the game in setting up a local Scout Network with attendance at meetings growing and increased engagement with Explorer Scout units to make sure that Explorer Scouts understand their options as they reach 18.

Youth Involvement:

Once again Cheshire leads the way in youth involvement with active youth forums now in most Districts, our County Youth Commissioner (Ed Lunnon) in post with Districts now appointing their own District Youth Commissioners. This is all designed to help us deliver youth shaped Scouting at a local level supported by adults.

The County Youth Forum continues to offer valuable support to the County in helping us to direct effort and resource to those areas of Scouting of particular relevance to young people. For example they are already playing a big part in helping to shape Chamboree 2018, they are developing tools to support the delivery of youth engagement on a Section meeting night and collectively supporting Districts with the launch of Youth Commissioners.

Million Hands:

There are a significant number of Cheshire Groups who have engaged with the Million Hands project who actively use the immense programme resources available to deliver great programmes on supporting our communities and those who struggle in society. The most successful programme nights or events are those where young people select the topic, which is then facilitated by adult Leaders. It really is amazing to see how engaged young people can be with social issues where often understanding and just a small amount of effort can make a huge difference.

World Scout Jamboree – Japan:

In the body of this review you will find a report on the WSJ from the perspective of the participants and Leaders. Once again Cheshire supported more young people than any other County in the region to experience this amazing event. Our success

is built on the partnership between Districts and County, with a successful model of raising the funds required locally meaning that cost is not an obstacle to taking part. The recruitment process at District level produces some outstanding candidates and the strict criteria for selecting the Leadership team

by County ensure a successful event.

The Jamboree Leaders are selected on the clear understanding that Cheshire Scouts are to have the very best possible experience. Sounds simple, but it requires a huge amount of work and preparation.

This is a two-year journey for everybody and the preparations events are critical to our success.

We can all be proud of the Cheshire Leaders who worked with their patrols and units to deliver a remarkable experience for those Cheshire Scouts selected to take part. Equally we can be very proud of the young people who represented their Districts and the County very well.

Compass Re-launch:

To support the re-launch of Compass, the Scout Association’s national database of adult volunteers, a series of events has been held in the early part of 2016 to support initially GSL’s and then all Leaders to get the most out of Compass. Each District has had a Compass Champion to support the implementation and I am indebted to them for their patience and commitment. In March the County Training Team gained access to update training records and in a matter of weeks added over 2,000 of validated training modules. Districts are working hard to update permit records.

Compass is working and those who use it on a regular basis report that it is good experience using it.

Adult Awards

Of course none of what we do is possible without volunteers and it has been fantastic to see the number of adult awards presented this year, including four Silver Wolf awards. The adult award scheme is designed to reward great service to Scouting and to encourage adults to continue their involvement. It is a key part in the retention of adults and Distrct Commissioners play a critical part in putting Leaders forward for awards.

It’s not over yet!

As we continue in 2016 one of the highlights has to be the Cub Scout centenary celebrations, which is a great reason for a party or parties! It is also an opportunity to reconnect with those who have been involved in Cub scouting over the years and to use all the events and activities to encourage more young people to consider becoming a Cub Scout.

We should not forget that Beaver Scouts are also celebrating their 30-year anniversary and that some of the first Beaver Scout Colonies were formed here in Cheshire.

It is always difficult to measure the impact that Scouting has on people’s lives, however the fact that 30 Cheshire Scouts have achieved their Queen’s Scout Award over the last 12 months is testament to the quality of Scouting being delivered around the County at weekly meetings.

Together we make a difference.

Graham Phillips DL County Commissioner graham.phillips@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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Adventurous Activities

If you check our National website, Scouts.org.uk listed under “Activities” there are over ninety different activities listed! Many of these are classed as adventurous activities where we try and develop skills to pass on to our young people in a variety of activities from scuba diving to white water rafting, climbing wall to zip wires, mountain walking to orienteering. From introductions to activities in the Beaver Scout Section, developing self-confidence and skills through each of the Sections so that by the time young people reach Explorer Scout and the Network Sections some can be very skilled often becoming instructors themselves. Through each age group we try to enable our young people to not only try new and exciting activities but to develop their skills so that they can take on even more challenges and often help to train other young people. Our programme for each Section is growing and developing all the time and the revision for all Sections that was launched in 2105 sees an even greater emphasis on adventurous and outdoor activities.

In Cheshire we are very fortunate to have a great number of adults who develop the necessary skills and experience to become instructors and assessors, thereby providing even more opportunities for the Youth members to try new things and develop their own skills and experiences in a safe and fun environment. Many of these instructors take this on in addition to another scouting role but we also encourage other adults to come and support us , especially those who already have skills and experiences that they can pass on.

For “Adventurous activities” the Association operates a permit scheme that ensures all those who deliver activities have the necessary technical skills required and fully understand how these should be delivered in a safe and enjoyable way, paying particular attention to the safety and health of the young people under their charge. This scheme operates in conjunction with National Governing body training but goes further in that it enables instructors to gain a permit to lead or supervise without the need to actually have the NGB award. The permit ensures they are of the required standard and understand the rules the Association works to when delivering each particular activity. We provide Permit training and assessment to enable adults to deliver activities in an enjoyable and safe manner.

During the past twelve months adults have gained permits in Powerboating , Safety Boat helm,

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Climbing both single pitch and walls, Raft building, Bell boating, Kayaking, Open canoes, Hill walking and Katakanus.

taking part in different challenges and answering a series of questions and clues about the city and its heritage.

Another discipline was added to the list last year, Archery, which was previously subject to an NGB award now falls within the Activity Permit scheme.

We managed to train over 20 adults last year and assess them to enable them to gain permits. This was no mean feat but ensures we can continue to offer Archery as an exciting activity for all our Sections.

Each team is charged an entry fee of £25, which covers the costs of hiring venues and purchasing the equipment required to run the event safely and successfully.

Shooting Team win again!

The Cheshire Shooting team won this year’s rifle and pistol competitions and the overall event at Aldersley. Shooting against 9 other Scout counties Cheshire led in the mornings rifle event and maintained the lead with a good pistol performance which is usually the weaker discipline.

This year’s team is a relatively young squad with only 2 over 15 so this bodes well for the future. The team had a few last minute withdrawals by some very talented shooters due to exams and other competitions and practice scores were not looking good. However the final practice at Aldersley on Saturday showed everyone was ready for the challenge and some fantastic scores were achieved.

On the day the team score dropped slightly but all our shooters were in the top 30 places.

Many thanks to the support from Cheshire Scouts, the team at SWC Rifle and Pistol Squad and Crewe Rifle and Pistol Club for all their support and help.

With developments for shooting at Forest Camp and within various districts including Mersey Weaver, Warrington East and Alderley shooting within in Cheshire will help to consolidate our winning position.

Shelter Box Success

The Shelter Box scavenger hunt is now an annual event organised by the Regional International team designed to raise awareness of this important disaster relief charity and to provide a fundraising opportunity for Groups. It is open to teams of six from Cubs, Scouts, Explorer Scouts accompanied by a Leader. But most of all it’s a great day out.

The event takes place on the streets of Liverpool City centre each May, starting and finishing at the Black-E centre located near the Anglican Cathedral.

Teams then carry a green shelter box around the city

Titans Explorer Scouts win

This year saw four Explorer Scouts from Macclesfield & Congleton District win the event.

Simon Appleton and Gavin Capper, their Explorer Scout Leaders said: “This is the second year we have entered a team and the event gets bigger and better each year, and to win it was an unexpected bonus. We can only hope that our fundraising efforts match the team’s winning result on the day when we finally get the money in.”

Wherever you looked throughout the day there were teams of young people in their uniforms carrying round a #BigGreenBox. The whole event was a brilliant advert for the fun and challenge provided

by Scouting, as well as raising awareness of such a worthy cause. What is really good about the event is that it is not just about the challenges on the day, but the entire Unit, or Group, can get involved in the lead up to the event by promoting it and raising money through sponsorship.

“We’ll have to go back next year to defend the title,” said the Explorer Scouts on the journey home.

Who else will rise to the challenge?

As we enter 2016 we continue to offer suitable courses and assessments to broaden still further the number of adults able to offer these activities.

Through linking up with other Counties in our region and nationally we hope to expand still further the range we offer by sharing expertise and support.

Our primary aim is to increase the overall number of young people who take part in adventurous activities from simply walking around their locality and learning more about their environment right up to taking part in a challenging international expedition. But ultimately we simply want better Scouting for more young people!

Daragh O’Malley Assistant County Commissioner (Activities) daragh.omalley@cheshirescouts.org.uk

50 Cheshire Hike th

Our Scouts and Guides between them have just hiked more than the circumference of the WORLD. Indeed in the 50 years of the Hike they have just completed more than 750,000 miles - were you one of them?

What started out as an inter-troop competition between 40th Chester and 1st Upton, organised by Brian Kershaw, it has steadily grown over the years into a competition attracting Scouts and Guides from different Groups across the County.

The number of teams entered in 2016 was 95 Junior, 106 Intermediate, 49 Senior and 15 Senior Plus; a total of 265 teams giving a decrease of teams over last year’s entries. It was shame to see fewer entries coming from the Explorer Scout Units.

Start looking in November 2016 for information on the 2017 Hike; this has already been set for 1st/2nd April in Cheshire! The information will go out mid November on the Cheshire Scouts web page. - To assist with training we are planning a Leader training day, particularly aimed at those Leaders who have never entered a team into the hike or simply want some support in designing programmes for their Scouts and Explorer Scouts who might be interested in next year’s event. More details will be added to the Cheshire Scouts website in the near future.

Despite hiking over 500,000 miles in Cheshire we are still able to find some paths that have not previously been used - but not many. This says such a lot for the work of the County Footpath Authority. We did, however, have to change one of the routes in the last week as a result of stiles not having been repaired in time and farmers working the land. Thanks to the Route Marshals for the constant checking of the routes in the build-up to the hike.

The weather was not at its best this year, for the teams had to endure rain some sun and lots of MUD. This made the going exceedingly tough but no one decided to retire.

Once again we are indebted to the farmers of Cheshire. The routes are planned and the starts located in October, but then comes the task of finding suitable fields for Base Camps and this is where the farmers are so helpful and always have been. When it comes to fixing Check Points so many of the local farmers and public house landlords allow us the use of barns and car parks. I’m sure it’s because the Scouts and Guides of Cheshire never abuse their trust, and long may it be so.

As a ‘thank you’ to the 350 staff running the Hike we had a commemorative neckerchief in the colours of

SCAN ME!! and watch our video

the Groups who started the Hike - and very smart they looked too. It’s always difficult to pick out individuals but, this year, the standard of care and enthusiasm by the Check Points staff was of a very high standard. However, I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention some of the staff essential to the running of the Hike this year: Start teams Widnes Active Support led by Dave Duckett Mid Cheshire Leaders led by Andrew Little South West Cheshire Leaders led by Doug Selley Base Camp Teams led by Mike Gerrard from Mid Cheshire, Diane Blurton from South West Cheshire and Jeff Wood from Mersey Weaver Control & Records staff led by Pam and Trevor Jones from Chester Field Control led by Derek Mangan from Ellesmere Port & Neston Finish led by Nigel Flatman from County Route Marshals Richard Hamilton, Glen Dugdale, Ian Gornall, Carl Adshead, Sam Dilworth, Graeme Kay

51st Cheshire Hike

2017

1st -2nd April

JUNIOR

Control of the weekend’s hiking John and Paul Frodsham and Ashley Proctor.

Millie Collins and Noah Oxton 2nd Bollington Macclesfield and Congleton

As you can see there is a very wide spread of involvement by nearly all the Districts in the County.

INTERMEDIATE

We must not become complacent. There is such a lot more we can do to train the Scouts and Guides I would again implore the Leaders of the all Groups to build the skills into your Groups’ programmes. It is good to see that Leaders have gone a long way in improving the quality of the equipment we now see on the Hike, however in some cases there is still a need to look at the quality of the sleeping bags being used - there were a few cold campers this year.

Congratulations to all the Scouts and Guides who took part this year - without you we would have no Hike. You will always be able to say - “I did the 50th Cheshire Hike”

SAVE THE DATE

Overall Winners

Trevor Burgess Hiker Organiser trevor.burgess@cheshirescouts.org.uk

Marcus Dolman and Chris White 1st Lostock Graham Mid Cheshire

SENIOR

Jack Watson and Sam Williamson Viking ESU Alderley

SENIOR+

Alex Usher and Jack Whibberley Cestrian ESU Mersey Weaver

BRIAN KERSHAW TROPHY Mille Collins and Noah Oxton 2nd Bollington Macclesfield and Congleton

RESULTS

District winners and full results sheets available from www.cheshirescouts.org.uk/cheshirehike

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23rd World Scout Jamboree Japan 2015

The World Scout Jamboree is a gathering of Scouts from all over the world. In 2015 the 23rd World Scout Jamboree was held on Kirara-hama beach in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, around 10 hours from Tokyo. There were 38,000 Scouts from over 150 different countries and territories. There, they lived together, experienced each other’s cultures, took part in exciting activities and had an amazing adventure!

The contingent of Scouts from Cheshire involved 54 Explorer Scouts from all 10 Districts, 6 adult Leaders and 32 members of IST (International Service Team).

The Explorer Scouts were split into 3 Jamboree Units; Unit 57 led by Doug Selley & Vic Cusick (2 patrols from Cheshire, joined by 2 patrols from Greater Manchester West), Unit 58 led by Dave Hopley, Glen Dugdale & Rick Wakefield (3 patrols from Cheshire and 1 patrol of North West Region Guides), and Unit 70 (1 patrol from Cheshire, with patrols from East Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester East) led by Luke Morby from Cheshire.

Fundraising

Participants, Leaders and IST members needed to fundraise in Districts for their places, this required everybody to raise £3,500. Cheshire is firm in its belief that finance should be no obstacle to attending the Jamboree and that it is an important part of the Jamboree preparation for participants to understand the value of the experience. The UK Jamboree core fee includes a small amount per person, which funds less well off countries and territories to attend the World Scout Jamboree.

Training Programme

The training programme began in December

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2013 when the participants met for the first time.

Throughout 2014 all 3 units held regular training camps and activity days to help prepare for the Jamboree and their time in Japan. Everything had to be considered, from washing clothes, gift-giving, cooking rice, to not losing patrol members in Tokyo and boarding Bullet trains in less than 2 minutes.

In addition, unit members worked hard to engage other Cheshire Scouts especially younger Cub Scouts and Beaver Scouts in the Jamboree. This was through the delivery of over 100 ‘Japan in a Box’ sessions delivered on Colony, Pack & Troop nights so they might want to apply in 4 or 8 years time.

Flights

All 3 units flew from Manchester to Japan; Unit 57 via Heathrow & Abu Dhabi; Unit 58 via Frankfurt; and Unit 70 via Hong Kong.

Home Hospitality

Prior to the Jamboree, all 3 units took part in Home Hospitality, a three-day cultural exchange programme where Scouts from the UK stayed in pairs with Japanese families across the country in their family homes. These homes were each unique, from the rising tower blocks of modern Japan, to traditional rice wall homes in between rice fields.

Unit 57 travelled to Mie prefecture within the Kansai region on Japan’s main island of Honshu, around 6 hours from Tokyo. Unit 58 stayed in Marugame, a city within the Kagawa prefecture on the Island of Shikoku around 8 hours from Tokyo. Unit 70 were based in Shiga, also in the Kansai region of Japan encircling Lake Biwa.

Something that struck all unit members was the generous hospitality of the Japanese people. Unit 57 arrived in Mie at 11:30pm and were still greeted by a

crowd of Japanese people with signs of welcome, laughing and waving, so excited to see them despite the late hour.

Despite only spending a short time with the Japanese families over 3 days, strong friendships were made and the Scouts were given a real flavour of the local culture. Some of the highlights were cooking traditional Japanese food with local Scouts, dressing in traditional Japanese kimonos and attending tea ceremonies. Some participants took part in a Kendo, Japanese drumming and visited shrines, temples and museums. The unit members also got a flavour of everyday life, experiencing Onsen bath houses, sleeping on tatami mats and sampling local cuisine.

On departure everyone was sorry to leave, but excited to get to the Jamboree site. The atmosphere on the coaches was buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm. Some of the host families were tearful and there were lots of hugs, thank you’s and good wishes as the units said goodbye, promising to keep in touch. A promise some of the families kept without delay by sending mementos and photographs to the Jamboree site as gifts for the young people they’d met which was very special. Some host families were even able to visit the units on site!

Arriving at the Jamboree

When the coach pulled into the vast Jamboree site in Kirara-hama the units were greeted by the sight of hundreds of Scouts waiting to sign in, the atmosphere was electric with conversations, singing and dancing and unit members wasted no time in talking to other Scouts from all over the world.

Unit 57 were camped on Jakuchi sub-camp on the West of the site and were camped next to Italians, Swedes and Scouts from New Zealand. Unit 58 stayed on Fuji sub-camp on the Eastern coastline of the site and were camped next to Japanese, Americans and Dutch. Unit 70 were based on Akagi sub-camp on the Northern edge of the site and were camped next to Mexicans, Finnish and Scouts from Trinidad & Tobago.

Setting up was tough, especially after the long journey and with the heat and humid conditions, but the unit members really showed great resilience and leadership qualities in getting the job done! The heat tested many of the unit in the first few days but everyone persevered, drank plenty, looked after

each other and acclimatised.

The opening ceremony was the following day allowing participants to become familiar with the site and start making friends with Scouts from other countries prior to the ceremony. At the opening ceremony participants learned about the theme of the Jamboree and how it would shape the days to come. The theme of the Jamboree was WA: A spirit of unity. The Kanji character WA embraces many meanings such as unity, harmony co-operation, friendship and peace, all messages key to scouting throughout the world. WA also represents the essence of Japan, a country steeped in tradition but also embracing the latest technological advances.

Jamboree highlights

Each unit member had their own highlights of the camp, but in particular everyone found the trip to Hiroshima to be an extraordinarily powerful and upsetting day; everyone was affected to some degree by the monuments and displays highlighting the dreadful consequences of war. Every unit member had folded 25 peace cranes (1,000) per unit to lay at the Children’s Peace Memorial dedicated to the child victims of the atom bombing of Hiroshima and in particular Sadako Sasaki a girl who died after suffering the after effects of the atomic bomb. The overwhelming feeling was one of incredulousness at how far reaching and devastating the after effects were and a lot of the unit members took this away with them.

Other unit members enjoyed the experience of heading off site for the Community day, visiting local schools, zoos, museums, and parks whilst learning traditional crafts and dances. The school students were so welcoming and seemed pleased and proud to get a visit from Scouts from the Jamboree.

Unit members described it as feeling like ‘being a celebrity’.

Almost every country represented at the Jamboree had its own base where they would showcase their culture, for example Adam from Unit 58 visited the Japanese base and made some traditional Japanese clogs. Unit members took part in activities from acupuncture, crafts and drumming. Many of the participants also took the opportunity to find out about the 24th World Scout Jamboree 2019 in the USA. Science and technology was showcased at the Jamboree with activities focusing on innovation and new technologies and how these will help create better environment for future generations. Some participants looked at sustainable energy, Jack from Unit 57 described some of the activities he had done, “we have made coloured slime and built a basic electric motor”.

As well as their love for technology the Japanese people care deeply about Nature. The on-site and off-site nature programme allowed unit members to explore the local environment and wildlife. Unit 58 went hiking from the site up Mount Fujio, Japan’s smallest mountain, and encountered another great love of the Japanese….. the vending machine, located in even the most obscure of rural locations.

The water activity programme was both on-site and off-site. Unit 57 took part in activities on the on-site beach and indoor swimming pool, they included swimming, beach games such as tug of

war, volleyball and made it on to the front page of the Jamboree daily newspaper. All this whilst Unit 58 boarded and took a trip on a Japanese naval defense ship! Unit 70 visited an off-site beach, where they took part in dodge-ball with frisbees, volleyball and swimming.

An important area of the Jamboree is the Global Development Village (GDV) aimed to create awareness of global issues and deepen an understanding in five key areas: Peace, Environment & Sustainability, Human Rights, Health and Poverty.

In exploring these issues with Scouts from all over the world, The unit members found their global view was very different to what it would have been back in the UK. And all unit members made pledges.

Jamboree life

Half way through the Jamboree experience all the sub-camps joined together for Culture day. A day to celebrate where you are from and share it with the world. The units prepared traditional snacks from the UK including drop scones, pancakes, chips and cups of tea for other participants to taste while inviting other Scouts to play lawn games, join in crafts etc. The culture ceremony was enjoyed by all unit members with an amazing flying show, Japanese pop stars and even a personal message from the General Secretary of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.

A big part of the Jamboree is the camp life and opportunities to meet other countries.

Unit members made good friends with Scouts from all over the world and enjoyed meal swap evenings with their neighbours.

These were full of songs, sketches, games and huge amounts of swapping of badges and other items.

In addition to the set activity programme unit members joined other Scouts from the UK to take part in contingent football and cricket matches against Scouts from other countries, including beating the Australian Scouts at cricket!

Tokyo

Leaving the Jamboree behind was hard for all unit members, bidding farewell to new-found friends, but at the same time unit members remained upbeat and excited for the post-Jamboree Tokyo experience which was a massive highlight. After a trip on the incredible Bullet train we arrived in this colourful, somewhat alien, metropolis.

The 3 days spent in the city were a whirlwind 19 hour days trying to cram in as much as possible. We visited a local earthquake centre, the Tokyo Sky Tree, markets, indoor theme parks and temples. Many of the unit were keen to visit the technological centres and shops, whereas others wanted to take in the more traditional aspects so it was a packed few days for everyone. Some unit members from Unit 70 also woke up at 4am one morning to go visit the famous fish markets when the catch was brought in.

In Summary

After the Jamboree experience was over it is difficult to describe the magnitude of the experience to those who were not there. Our unit members had a truly once in a lifetime experience that they will never forget. From the traditional life of a Japanese home, through the electrifying atmosphere of the Jamboree to the busy life of Tokyo, they really got a feel of Japan. The participants have also grown as young people, becoming more confident, responsible and assertive in their actions and many parents have commented on the effect the jamboree has had on their sons and daughters.

But don’t take our word for it; listen to Cheshire’s Unit members talking about their experience at the 23rd World Scout Jamboree

SCAN ME!! and watch our video

GEt involved in the 24th World Scout Jamboree in America The 24th World Scout Jamboree “Unlock a New World” will be hosted (for the first time) by 3 national Scout organisations: Scouts Canada, Asociación de Scouts de México, and the Boy Scouts of America. It will be held 22nd July to 2 August 2019 at The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia, USA. The search for Cheshire Scouts Unit Leaders starts now. There are likely to be around 10 amazing opportunities to lead Cheshire Scouts in this life changing experience. It’s hard work; it’s not just about the 3 weeks of the Jamboree but the 2 years of preparation; it’s about living up to the reputation of previous Cheshire Jamboree Leaders, but it is also about an amazing personal challenge, the opportunity to shape some young people’s lives forever, it’s about you taking the first step on the journey by indicating you are interested in the role. Simply send your name and email address to: dave.hopley@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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International Once again, Cheshire has embraced the international nature of scouting, with Visits Abroad taking place (or plans underway) in Norway, USA, Eire, Austria and Switzerland.

If you’re thinking about taking Scouts overseas, you may wish to consider one of the many organised events that take place each year. You can find details in the International Opportunities newsletter, published each month and available via scouts.org. uk/international.

Later this year, Scouts from across Cheshire will be taking part in Roverway 2016. Starting from points across France, they will journey for seven days along one of 100 routes with 5000 Rovers and Rangers from across Europe. After adventures along the way, they will converge on Jambville for a four day camp of discovery and friendship on a giant scale before finishing with a closing ceremony in Paris.

2017 will see the first County-led international trip for many years. Over 120 Scouts and Explorer Scouts have expressed an interest in a six day Adventure and Discovery in Normandy. Using a third party provider, we are planning an exciting trip to introduce Scouts to international adventure.

We’re hoping the Scouts (and their Leaders) will get the “international bug” and lead trips of their own in future years. The County views international visits as a key part of a young person’s scouting experience, and this is an area we are looking to develop further.

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Going abroad isn’t the only way to make your scouting experience international. The My World Challenge (Beavers), Our World Challenge (Cubs) and World Challenge (Scouts and Explorers) really open up the world of scouting. Lots of resources are available online for all Sections, or contact me for help or advice.

Scout Network members should take a look at the Scouts of the World Award which reinforces global citizenship and emphasises environment, development and peace.

However you choose to embrace an international theme, through your own programme at home or by undertaking a visit abroad, your family of 30 million Scouts around the world will be with you every step of the way.

Graham Shaw Assistant County Commissioner (International) graham.shaw@cheshirescouts.org.uk

CAMPsites 2015/16 was a very busy year across both campsites, with infrastructure improvements, new activities and events.

agreed to house their rescue/safety boat in a secure container within the campsite perimeter allowing it to be quicker and more readily available in the event of an incident.

Forest again hosted over 6 weeks and over 1,500 participants in the National Citizenship Scheme (NCS) in partnership with High Adventure Outdoor Education Centre. Our Activity Instructors continued to be a great success supporting increased business throughout the week and supporting many Scout Groups, District and County events.

The team of staff and volunteers have provided training and development over a wide range of activities throughout the season and it is fantastic to see some of those Leaders coming back to the sites putting that learning into action with their own Groups.

At Forest we have collaborated with Cheshire Saltscape. Saltscape is a £1.4million landscape partnership project made up of the community, the public sector, voluntary organisations and the private sector working together to celebrate, protect and enhance the post-industrial salt landscape of the Weaver Valley in Cheshire, a landscape that is rare both nationally and internationally. It will run for just over 3 years starting in July 2014, and as a result we now have two traditionally built clay cob ovens handmade by volunteers which are being used to cook pizzas and breads for Groups using the site. We are proud to be supporting the culture and heritage of Cheshire’s Industrial past for the benefit of future generations.

Staff have engaged with community groups across all unitary authorities both charitable and statutory to provide a fabulous range of events to young people facing challenges in their lives including those living with a disability and those who have found themselves needing the support and encouragement of a foster family or looked after children teams. The whole of the campsites team are committed to the provision of experiences that enhance and develop these young people’s ability to contribute to a better society and a stable and caring family environment.

Our field Activities Team continue to provide Archery sessions and training and are actively developing new accuracy based challenges including crossbows and axe throwing. The team are actively engaged with our Lead Activity Instructor Liam Watson designing a slack line activity base.

Liam is currently working with our suppliers to have the tree climbing activity available to groups visiting Tatton Park.

Our Cavebus remains a popular activity and has had some internal refurbishment which has contributed to a cleaner and better activity experience; we continue to work with the manufacturer to develop and improve this activity.

We continue to host and support the training and development of staff at Roberts Bakery a significant local employer and supporter of Scouting.

Tatton Park Campsite now boasts a brand new and extensively refurbished toilet and shower block to enhance the camping experience of those using the site. The facilities have raised the standard for future campsite refurbishments. We are grateful to the support given by Tatton Park to this project.

Tented villages at both sites have undergone major changes and improvement for this year and now comprise of multi-coloured 5 metre bell tents. To make the ‘glamping’ experience even more fun, both villages have been relocated. At Tatton the tented village has combined with the Chalet to give a fantastic well-equipped venue for a large Section or Group event. At Forest tented village residents now wake up to a woodland venue with a poolside view across the Round Pool. Both villages now have hard flooring to reduce the impact of the British summer weather. Feedback throughout the season has been excellent.

Our Administrator and Forest Bookings Manager Deborah Ardern has made a significant impact on the timeliness of our responses to booking requests

and the service offered to visitors. Our email and telephone bookings service has been well received. We have experienced technical delays in the introduction of the new booking system but it is now well into the final testing stage and will be live for the beginning of 2017. Recent changes to processes supporting the campsite business has seen our Administrator take responsibility for the day to day financial management of the campsites including the support to other team members in ensuring deliveries and services are administered and monitored.

We have now engaged in a partnership with a local family-run catering business providing homeprepared, cooked and delivered catering services to Groups using either building at Forest or Tatton along with Groups using the tented villages. We can also support Groups wanting hot sandwiches or hog roasts at those special events.

We have hosted 4 University of Chester students during their second year work placements. Each has been mentored for the 5 week placement by a member of the team and they have made a significant contribution to marketing, environmental management, activity support and delivery. Yet again we are proud to be helping the development of young people to make a positive contribution to society and develop workplace skills.

Liam Watson is supporting the County Duke of Edinburgh Advisor in hosting a ‘Gold’ residential weeke in the autumn and we will be keen to build on the anticipated success of this with a view to developing new business.

Please visit our Website www.cheshirescouts.org. uk/campsites for the latest news and updates and details of all our facilities at both Forest and Tatton.

Facebook pages “forest camp scout activity centre” and “Tatton park scout campsite” Twitter @cheshcampsites Dave Metcalfe County Campsites Manager campsitemanager@cheshirescouts.org.uk

Our canoes at Forest have been relocated for the season to a more accessible purpose-built storage facility adjacent to the Round Pool jetty. The rafting equipment has also been rehoused for the season and relocated to its new and purpose-designed launching area, giving Groups more space to enjoy their activities on the Round Pool.

Our Kata-Kanus have been very popular this year and they suit the Round Pool very well, they continue to supplement the water activity provision at Forest.

Repairs and improvement have been made to the water activity fleet at Tatton Park, which has yet again been awarded its RYA Training School status. The ‘Cheshire Scout’ has had a refit and has replaced the aging and damaged ‘Dory’ as a safety and rescue boat.

Liam Watson is providing RYA training to Tatton Park staff in respect of their public rescue/safety boat. To further assist Tatton Park Ranger Service we have

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Barnswood Campsite If you haven’t camped at Barnswood recently then maybe it’s time you did. Barnswood Scout Camp Site is set in 63 acres of mixed woodland and boasts 22 open grassed camping sites and a selection of buildings. The campsites vary in size from Centenary and High Veld, with ample room for the largest Group Camp or a gathering of Explorer Scout Units, to intimate sites such as Foxes Hollow or Wincle Grange which would suit a Scout Troop or a Patrol Camp. In addition Barnswood offers 4 buildings which provide accommodation and catering facilities suitable for large or small groups.

Without doubt Barnwood’s greatest asset is its location. Views of Rudyard Lake (yes, Rudyard Kipling was named after this stretch of water) can be seen from the western side of the camp, and can be used for a variety of water activities. The Roaches are within easy striking distance for climbers, and of course the glories of the Peak District and the Staffordshire Moors afford wonderful hiking opportunities for all levels. Add in Barnswood’s own activity areas such as our Low Ropes Course, Activity Play Area, Professional Orienteering Course, 2 campfire circles (one under cover), and our Scouting Museum even the liveliest of Groups is unlikely to get bored. But to us Barnswood’s greatest facility is the opportunity to hone traditional Scouting skills.

Bivouacs can be built and slept in, altar fires are provided for open fire cooking and pioneering poles can be borrowed. The only modern world facilities you may want to take advantage of are the hot showers in the toilet blocks!

The past year has been very exciting. Barnswood has seen excellent utilisation of all its facilities, both camping and buildings. The refitting of Camp Hall kitchen has been fully completed, with grateful thanks to the generous grant from Cheshire East Giveback Fund. The Tuck shop Chalet roof repairs have been completed. We are making progress, albeit slower than we would like, towards obtaining permission to extend the car park. But our current excitement comes from the stop press. We have just heard from DEFRA that they have lifted the requirement to spray footwear on departure from Barnswood. This is very welcome news, not just from the inconvenience the procedure generated, but also from the expense viewpoint of maintaining the sprays and buying the disinfectant.

We now look forward to an equally exciting year to come. It is time to review our Five Year Plan to look at what we have achieved, what remains outstanding, and how our priorities may have changed.

Meanwhile, our work in progress continues, including plans for significant improvements and additions to Barnswood’s on site activities.

Once again, I must thank the members of the Management Committee and the Thursday (Maintenance) Team. Without their enthusiasm, inspiration and endless hard work there would be no Barnswood. Scouting owes a great deal to this dedicated and talented group of people.

John Pearson Chairman Barnswood Management Committee

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Queen Charlotte’s Wood Our campsite continues in popularity and literally sells itself so we are as busy as ever. Once again The Hideaway had full usage and there is a “full order book” for 2016 with our ‘regulars’ coming back year after year. Of our many guests last year two groups were of special interest. We had a Cub Pack from Dublin for a week who was delighted with their indoor accommodation and a party from the Earth Skills Project who were camping with us for 3 weeks. Being so close to the Sandstone Trail we are attracting increasing numbers of D.of E. hikers.

We produced a revised version of our campsite badge. It proved to be very popular.We were soon sold out and our new stock is rapidly diminishing.

Archery has seen a rise in popularity. Much credit must go to our newly appointed advisor. New and improved equipment was also purchased and our team made improvements to the storage facility.

Much work is needed to improve the grounds and some of it is quite urgent. It will have to be contracted out and entail considerable expenditure but it should be achievable if spread over the next few years.

As always we are still very short of help especially in providing weekend warden cover and ground maintenance. Offers of help would be very welcome and anyone interested should contact us.

Many would agree that the recent description of our campsite as “a hidden gem” is not misplaced but its greatest asset are the volunteers who turn up weekly to clean and maintain and those who carry out warden duty at weekends. To all of them we give our sincere thanks.

Ian and April Nicholas Joint Campsite Managers

Sectional Reports Beaver Scouts This year has seen a fantastic selection of activities delivered to our youngest Scouting Section in Cheshire.

Our Leaders and helpers have continued to work hard to provide the Beaver Scout Section with a variety of outdoor and adventurous activities varying form hikes in the local community to some further afield, taking part in our first ever Beaver Scout sleepover and helping to make fires to eat tasty treats from.

As well as getting out of local meeting places Beaver Scouts have also had visits from other organisations such as the RNLI- teaching us how to stay safe near water and local deaf and blind groups to help teach the Beaver Scouts sign language.

Throughout all of the Districts in Cheshire the Beaver Scouts have been able to achieve their top award, Chief Scout Bronze Award, due to the dedication of their Leaders and helpers in delivering a balanced programme.

as birthday parties and sleepovers where Beaver Scouts have been able to look back at what Beaver Scouts was like 30 years ago, meet some of Cheshire’s very first Beaver Scouts and think about what Beaver Scouts will be like in the future.

There has been hat making, balloon popping and, of course, cake eating at the different celebrations.

Once again this year we held our annual Beaver Scout Challenge Day, which was hosted at Barnswood Scout Campsite by Macclesfield and Congleton District. This saw the majority of Districts enter a team to compete in a carousel of outdoor/ adventurous activity bases. All teams worked incredibly hard throughout the day and were a credit to their Districts, this year’s winners were 3rd Frodsham Beaver Scouts who represented Mersey Weaver District.

It has been a great year for Beaver Scouts in Cheshire and I hope that 2016 will find even more ways of enthusing and exciting our youngest Section into gaining their Chief Scout’s Bronze Award. All of the fun, laughter and experiences that our Beaver Scouts gain would not be possible without the Leaders and District support teams that we have within Cheshire. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work and dedication as without this we would not be able to deliver the exhilarating, motivational and, above all, fun programme that we do.

As we moved into 2016 we started a year of celebrations, as 2016 is the 30th anniversary since the start of the Beaver Scout Section. Districts have been busy holding celebratory events such

Laura Dyer Assistant County Commissioner (Beaver Scouts) laura.dyer@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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CUB Scouts Cub Scout Leaders have continued to offer exciting and varied programmes for 8 – 10 year olds across the County. They have delivered a packed calendar of events that have ranged from day outs, sleepovers, camps, competitions and museum visits.

2016’s Craft Competition was taken outdoors, this was in line with 2016 being the Year of the Outdoors.

Cub Scouts were required to create large pieces of art, out of recycled materials. This included the words ‘Cubs 100’ and they were also able to choose one badge they wanted to recreate on the ground.

Fun was had by all and like with lots of events, this wouldn’t have been able to take place if Leaders didn’t continue to give up their time to help young people make memories and try new activities.

I continue to enjoy presenting Chief Scout’s Silver Awards to Cub Scouts across Cheshire, this is the highest award achievable in the Cub Scout Section.

When speaking to Cub Scouts, they are particularly proud of their achievement and are already looking forward to moving up to the Scout Section and tackling the challenge of achieving the Chief Scout’s Gold Award.

2016 is a very special Year for Cub Scouts as it marks our 100 years. On the 16th December 2016 Cub Scouts and their Leaders across the country will come together to renew their promise to celebrate this very special milestone. As well as this the Region and County have organised a range of events for Cub Scouts to enjoy.

On the 6th February 2016, over 7000 people descended on Blackpool Pleasure Beach. 950 of those were from Cheshire. The rain did not dampen people’s spirits and Cub Scouts from across Cheshire had an amazing time. My favourite quote from the day was one Cub Scout saying “I have had the best day ever, I want to bring my mum back tomorrow”. Some of our Cub Scouts were invested

by Wayne Bulpitt (UK Chief Commissioner) during the world record attempt and every Group joined in singing Happy Birthday and watched the Cubs 100 cake be cut. Every Cub Scout left with a goody bag which included, rock, pencils, a poncho and some sweets. Our thanks go to the North West Region team for putting on such a great event.

May 2016 will be when Cub Scouts and their Leaders from Cheshire head to Capesthorne Hall for the ‘Wildest Birthday Party Ever’. This is the biggest event in the Cubs 100 calendar and is a weekend camp packed with activities for Cub Scouts to do.

I am very excited to hear all about the adventures Cub Scouts get up to during the centenary year. As well as this, I am looking forward to meeting with Leaders both past and present and sharing their experiences from the past 100 years.

Jon Ducker Assistant County Commissioner jon.ducker@cheshirescouts.org.uk Jon Ducker prepared this report to reflect the achievements in Cub Scouts prior to him leaving the role. All enquiries in relation to Cub Scouts should be directed to: Val Thomason Deputy County Commissioner, val.thomason@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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Scouts The Scout Section has had a fruitful and refreshing year with the implementation of the new programme particularly around the Chief Scout’s Gold Award.

The introduction of the teamwork, Team Leader and Personal Challenges has provided Leaders with an exciting opportunity to really tailor the award to each Scout’s individual abilities and there are some astounding ideas for completion of these areas.

The new focus on outdoor and adventure has been supported at both County and District level by large scale activity weekends. Many Districts have refreshed their camp programmes including more outdoor activities, as well as setting up specific outdoor weekends such as hammock and survival camps. As a County we have also seen the introduction of three exciting events for the Scout Section: Tatton Adventure activity weekend, Chariot Race competition and Winter Camp, all of which will be available within 2016/17.

Youth Involvement within the Section is on the increase, with Districts carrying out Patrol Leader training weekends and events and some Districts starting up Youth Forums for the Scout Section.

Following on from a strong involvement in You Shape week activities across the County, we are going to see further progress in this area over the year to come.

2015 also saw a massive increase of awards with 344 Scouts across the County achieving the Chief Scout’s Gold Award. This was the last full year of awards under the old requirements so the new programme provides an opportunity to inspire and encourage Scouts to focus on the award with the aim to eventually work up to their Queen’s Scout Award.

Sophie Mather Assistant County Commissioner (Scouts) sophie.mather@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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Explorer Scouts 2015 has been another active year for the Section across the whole county with reports of all Units completing very active programmes.

The Section is very good at delivering outdoors and adventurous programmes with many Units regularly camping, out walking, canoeing and hammocking to just name a few!

The focus of outdoor and adventure has shown that the programme is key to providing this unique adventure for all Explorer Scouts. Across the County there is now a massive drive towards Duke of Edinburgh, Platinum and Diamond awards and although 2015 was a slow year for awards I am confident this will pick back up again into 2016. Major events such as Tatton Adventure, Cheshire Hike, and Winter Camp allow Explorer Scouts further opportunities to get outside and have fun beyond their normal Unit programme.

The Young Leaders Scheme is a key area of the Explorer Scout programme that will be a major focus into 2016. With over 350 Young Leaders across the County, over one third of Explorer Scouts, they are a key asset to the County and to Groups in supporting Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts and Scout Sections as well as gaining key life skills for their careers. We aim to support Districts in the delivery of the Young Leader training and support the Leaders in ensuring that they get the most from the Young Leaders and that Young Leaders complete the Explorer Belt.

The Census results show the Section has remained stable however we have future challenges across the County in providing opportunities for the massive numbers of Scouts moving up into the Section as a result of the growth of lower Sections. This means that all Explorer Scout Leaders and DESCs will be working on improving the links between Explorer Scouts and Scouts, to ensure a smooth transition into the Section and give Scouts further opportunities that Explorer Scouts can provide.

Overall, the Explorer Scout Section is a strong Section across the County, providing excellent opportunities and I believe with the work planned for 2016 we shall see further growth, strength and exciting opportunities for the Explorer Scouts.

Luke Morby Assistant County Commissioner (Explorer Scouts) luke.morby@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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Scout Network Network Reboot

2015 was a year of transition, as across the County we have moved to a District provision for the Network Section, in line with the national programme refresh. The Reboot to the Section means that all members of the Scout Association aged 18-25 can get together with their peers at both a local and national level and plan and participate in their own projects and programme. With a “free to join, pay to play” ethos the more structured programme will also afford more members aged 18-25 a greater opportunity to gain Scouting’s top award, the Queen’s Scout Award, as well as the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. When launched the new national digital platform will enable our Network members to view and participate in projects both locally and around the country, meaning that should they move away to pursue a career or further education they can engage with Network members wherever they are in the country, whilst still keeping links with friends in Cheshire.

Network in Cheshire

This year the numbers of Network members across the County have shown a healthy increase – due to the fact that everyone 18-25 is now a member of Network and also because we had a strong

Scout active support The profile of Active Support has increased significantly, in particular in the last year, where the Section has been involved in most County Events; this has included on some occasions both District and County Units being involved.

For many of these events, Active Support members turned out in force, across age generations, from members in their 20s to retirees.

Each District in the County has at least one District Active Support Unit and some Districts have created an additional Unit to meet local needs. There are also a number of Districts who have Group Active Support Units. Although this is an area where there is more scope for growth, especially in large Groups with a membership of around 100 or more.

The majority of the County Active Support Units require their members to hold an ‘activity’ qualification, relative to their specialism. This is particularly so with the County First Aid Unit where there is a breadth of well qualified and experienced members. As there is an increased focus in the ‘Scouting’ programme to be outdoors, this must now be reflected more in the skill set of the team members.

The Section is now able to offer a much more varied skills set than it was in the early years, with a wider range of support being available from the various Units. This has resulted in a much

District-based foundation before the Reboot, which has put the Districts in a strong position to promote the changes to the Section and grow their own membership numbers. As ever Network members from across the County attended national events such as Gathering and Intense, and are now putting together a working party to hold our own County Network event next year. Across the Districts we are building strong links between Network and Explorer Scout Units, and locally Network members are starting to plan their own adventurous, international and community based projects – the everyday fun and adventure of Scouting doesn’t end for our adult members and volunteers.

Simon Appleton Assistant County Commissioner (Scout Network) simon.appleton@cheshirescouts.org.uk

needed shift in the age profile as we welcome more adults from all age groups and now there are a significant number of members in the ‘midage’ group. We have also increased the number of people who are new to Scouting, with nearly 40% of the membership having their main role in Active Support; the number of females/males members is one-third/two-thirds, respectively.

The 2016 County Units annual census showed an increase 6% growth in the Active Support Section.

The year ahead will prove to be a challenging year for the Section, with the increased number of events taking place in 2016.

It was really great to see Active Support members in action at various events, this didn’t just happen, and it took - thought, time and effort to pull things together. The challenge for many District Units in their recruitment is to engage with different generations to the benefit of the individual Active Support Units. Overall a continuing challenge for the coming year is flexible volunteering, the key here is to create tasks and roles around the availability of the adult volunteers, let’s give it a go!

Faith and Beliefs

This year has seen two Faith Badge sessions at Chester Cathedral and for the Cub Scout session it was good to have Cub Scouts from Clwyd join us as some did last year. Once again, we are grateful to Chester Cathedral Education Department and their Education Volunteers for supporting our Faith Badge work. We look forward to having more Beaver Scout and Cub Scout sessions during the next year.

activesupp

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Mid Cheshire gave us a thought provoking service for County Scout Sunday with a theme of Promises and Achievements. The music for the service was provided by the Salvation Army Central North Division Band and they gave us lively accompaniment for our hymn singing.

The collection was shared between Nepal Scouts’ Earthquake Emergency Fund and Chester Cathedral Youth Outreach.

This was the last year when our traffic management for the parade was provided by Cheshire Constabulary and so it is fitting that we now thank them for their generous support over many years.

The Haven, Forest Camp: On Saturday 5th March, the former County Commissioner, Derek Olliver was remembered at a short service at the Haven, where the official unveiling of the lectern and plaque took place.

The lectern has been created from the original stone used as an altar and has been landscaped with a donation from Margaret Olliver in memory of Derek. The short ceremony was led by the Rev. Hilary Merrington and Derek’s son, Ian, gave a short talk about his father. This was followed by afternoon tea served in Lakeview.

The ceremony was attended by ‘Scouters’ past and present, together with family members. Both Hilary Merrington and Margaret Olliver are members of the County’s Faith & Belief Active Support Unit.

The event was organised by the Faith & Belief Active Support Unit, in conjunction with the family.

Roger Owens County Active Support Manager roger.owens@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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Adult Training During the last year we have expanded the network of LTM’s (Local Training Managers). Alison Wright has agreed to become LTM for both Alderley and Knutsford Districts. Doug Selley has stepped down as LTM for South West Cheshire and although Dave Brough has started work in the Middle East he continues to support Leaders in the District by submitting validations. This is a very good example of flexible working and we are now looking to recruit another LTM to work in the District to provide even more support to Leaders.

Cheshire continues to look at ways to support the role of TA’s (training advisors) available in each District. This year we will hold a TA Workshop (9th October) using material from Gilwell to look at best practice. The aim is to support and enthuse TA’s to work proactively in their Districts ensuring our Leaders complete their required training and gain their much deserved Wood Badges This event will also provide a focal point for prospective TA’s to learn more about the role.

Cheshire continues to strengthen its training team with new members starting to present modules or tutor on courses. This is designed to build capacity to deliver training and although this is a slow process it is designed to make sure quality delivery is maintained to reflect the importance of our Wood Badge training provision.

Weekend courses continue to be popular with a significant number of Leaders attending these.

Most Leaders book onto the three weekends on offer to enable them to gain their Wood Badge with some completing within 12 months. The modules run on these courses are designed so that they can be validated on the day. We also change the days around when each module is offered, this enables those who can only give up one day over the weekend to attend this day and then the same day the next time the modules are being run. In November we ran a very successful Training School at The Heath conference centre where 78 Leaders attended with the majority achieving completion of 3 Modules. This will be repeated again this year (12th November)

Over the 109 years that scouting has existed, this idea has evolved and in October 2015 I was appointed as the County Youth Commissioner, putting youth shaped scouting at the forefront of everything scouting in Cheshire.

District Youth Commissioner appointments followed swiftly after that with currently 5 of the Districts with a DYC. This is a fantastic achievement, and by the end of 2016 a full cohort will be in post to bring about youth shaped scouting in every District.

Similarly, District Youth Forums have been developing across the County this year with two new ones being set up in Chester and South West Cheshire, as well as a pre-forum event in Macclesfield and Congleton, thanks to their new DYC, Sam Smith, and a Scouts forum in Mid Cheshire.

County Youth Forum has been very productive over the last 12 months, contributing to the Out

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I would like to thank Mary, Tracey, Jane, all LTM’s and TA’s for their support during the last 12 months in maintaining Cheshire’s record of delivering and recording quality Leader training.

Debbie Phillips County Training Manager debbie.phillips@cheshirescouts.org.uk

However, remember weekend courses are not the only way Leaders can complete their training, there are single module courses available for those who are not able to give up a full weekend. Also learning can be done in a variety of ways, workbooks, DVD’s e-learning etc.

Compass (National database of Leaders) caused a huge issue with adding validations to the system, which effectively was impossible for over 12 months.

I would like to report that Jane Duley and I added around 2,000 validations to the system as soon as access became available in March this year. I would like to thank Jane for her help in achieving this task. This resulted in a huge number of Wood

Development In September the County was able to employ its own Local Development Officer, Simon Appleton.

Funding for this role has been provided by the Association’s Development Grants Board, Halton Council and the County itself. As a result, Development within the County falls into four main areas: 1. Local Development Officer Simon is currently involved in a range of work in support of growth, through running of sessions to attract new adults and young people, promoting scouting with recruitment stalls in business and other commercial premises and development resource material for Group/District use.

Youth Shaped Youth Shaped Scouting in partnership with adults is a fundamental part of scouting, and always has been. When scouting was founded in 1907,Baden Powell saw the potential of young people and wanted to help those in current youth movements get the most out of their experiences. What he did instead was set the foundations for a whole new movement led by ambitious and adventurous young people.

Badges being recommended. As far as we are aware all records are now up to date. All Leaders are encouraged to look at your records on Compass and if you think your training records are incorrect please let your LTM know so we can look into any issues

in Scouting initiative, Chamboree 2018, Youth Leadership training and Youshape. This is alongside the development of a Cheshire Scouts Digital Group to run the social media at events such as Cheshire Hike, and help Leaders and young people engage with media throughout the County.

In February we ran Youshape Cheshire, which was an event that mirrored the national Youshape conference agenda. It was a very successful forum, producing ideas about how we can ensure youth shaped scouting is happening at a Group level and also how can we better train and educate our young people to become better Leaders in their Sections.

The national Youshape Conference, was attended by myself, Miles Dolman and Emily Lowndes with our very own Mike Sheffield on the planning team for the event. It focused on national issues and areas of work for young people in scouting, but also allowed for sharing of initiatives, ideas and experiences between Explorer Scouts and Network from all over the UK. Ed Lunnon County Youth Commissioner ed.lunnon@cheshirescouts.org.uk

2. Working with Alice Smith, the Development Worker for Youth United. Alice’s focus is similar to that of Simon’s but Scouting is one of ten organisations she supports. Alice has in the last year supported the opening of new Sections in Warrington and Halebank, Widnes.

3 Regional Development Service This Headquarters team has supported a number of Districts in particular working to identify and recruit new adults with a major focus on Group Scout Leaders and Explorer Scouts.

4. Supporting Local Development A number of Districts have had some success in opening new Sections following the recruitment of additional adults. The County is able to offer advice as well as taking responsibility for planning and advertising events.

As such this role and the co-ordination of this activity is in its early stages. As a County we continue to have the challenge of substantial ‘Want to Join’ lists as well as considerable building development. This will place further demands on places therefore the work in these areas will continue to be an important focus going forward.

John Duley Assistant County Commissioner (Development)

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award The DofE is the world’s leading youth achievement award, giving millions of 14 to 25-year-olds the opportunity to be the very best they can be. When you take that alongside the Scout Association, the UK’s biggest mixed youth organisation offering 6- to 25-year-olds fun and challenging activities, unique experiences, everyday adventure and the chance to help others, it is easy to see why the two organisations work so well together. As a result of this partnership in 2015, Cheshire Scouts achieved 70 Bronze awards, 52 silver awards and 26 Gold awards.

So what is the attraction? The Chief Scout’s Award scheme and the D of E Award go hand in hand, they are the perfect match! It is simple to work towards both schemes whilst taking part in your scouting program. Both require participation in a skill, a physical activity, a volunteering program and an expedition. At Gold level you are required to also take part in a residential experience. As you work your way through the levels, you have to show increased commitment and improvement accordingly.

At the start of 2015 we speculated about the need to run a County Open Gold expedition. Once participants get to this level, there are fewer people around in their units to join up with so we wanted to give as many as possible the chance to meet other people in the same boat. An initial e-mail made us think that perhaps the 10 people who responded

would make it worthwhile. Once we had finished the preliminary meetings we had over 40 people sign up and this has been the reason behind so many more Gold awards being completed this year.

Congratulations to all of you and especially those that managed to finally complete their award before the deadline of their 25th birthday.

2016 marks the Diamond Anniversary of the DofE award scheme and celebrates 60 years of developing young people for life and work. Many of our Leaders and supporters have set themselves a Diamond challenge and are working towards their own award. There is still time to join in if you wish!

It is also the year that we will hold our first County Residential course (October). Based at one of the campsites this will further support the young people of Cheshire to meet new people, try new activities and to complete one of the sections of their Gold or Queen’s Scout awards.

To all the Leaders and adults who help support the DofE programme in Cheshire, thank you. You are key to the successes that our young people are achieving.

To those who have started their DofE journey in 2015, good luck. Relish the challenge, inspire yourself and those around you and most of all enjoy your achievement and success.

Congratulations to you all.

Carol Frain Duke of Edinburgh/Queen’s Scout Award County Adviser carol.frain@cheshirescouts.org.uk

Duke of Edinburgh Diamond Challenge The Diamond challenge is open to ALL. Full details please see the DofE website www.dofe.org/diamond-anniversary

Queen’s Scout Award The Queen’s Scout Award is the highest award a youth member can achieve in Scouting. It takes perseverance, hard work and good old scouting skills to complete, but is one of the most rewarding challenges a Scout can undertake.

This year (2015/16), 30 Explorer scouts and Network members from Cheshire gained their award, with 22 of those taking part in the National Scout Service and Parade at Windsor Castle. The celebration this year was attended by HRH Prince Michael of Kent, UK Commissioner Wayne Bullpitt, Cubs100 ambassador Steve Backshall and Chief Scout Bear Grylls, who spoke of the amazing achievement that the 650 young people had made.

John May, the Secretary General of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, spoke of the journey that the Queen’s Scout Award has set us all on, whilst in St George’s Chapel. His message emphasised the importance of milestones, of which this is a huge one in the development of any and all Scouts, as it develops leadership skills, self-respect and confidence.

Matty, from Mersey Weaver said “Being involved in scouting has been a part of me since I was born, from helping at my Grandad’s cubs to having the pride of wearing the Queen’s scout award on parade in Windsor along with HRH Prince Michael, Bear Grylls, Wayne Bulpitt & over 600 other inspirational Queen’s Scouts. The day was a pleasure to be a part of and consisted of celebrating with those who are most important to us, who introduced us to this wonderful family of scouting, we were able to show ourselves off on the greatest Scout parade of each year and relay our thanks to those who made us Queen’s scouts. I have a huge admiration for everyone who achieved the award, because I know that the challenges that need completing are no easy task, and test all of us in unique ways, but one thing I am proud to say is that I am a Queen’s Scout, I share this award with the most unique individuals, and every Scout strives each day to prove “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible”.

The Queen’s Scout award recognizes the commitment of scouts, from volunteering at local Scout Groups as many of the recipients did, to summiting mountains all over the UK, from learning a new skill to helping the environment. It gives Explorer Scouts, Network members and Leaders not just a badge they can wear on their uniform, but a recognition that will stay with them forever as one of the Queen’s Scouts.

Carol Frain Duke of Edinburgh/Queen’s Scout Award County Adviser carol.frain@cheshirescouts.org.uk

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District Reports Alderley

What makes us special When you see pictures of 400 Scouts celebrating St. George’s Day, marching through Alderley Edge, behind a smart band, flags waving in the sun with people stopping to watch, or when you read reports of fifty Scouts travelling to Kandersteg in Switzerland to camp with Scouts from many other countries, it is easy to forget the everyday reality of what Scouting delivers in the community.

Alderley is a typical Scout District in the activities and programme we deliver. Our Groups meet for an hour and a half or so every week during term time.

We have fundraising events, weekend activities and summer camps. We have 730 members and our 175 volunteers deliver nearly 60,000 hours of activities each and every year. We have been doing this for over a 100 years and that makes us special.

So lots of young people having fun, what’s the big deal about that? Ask Anne, her son Luke is an 8 year old Cub Scout in our District. Anne who had been in hospital was suddenly taken extremely ill at home. Luke remembered his emergency training, found the emergency contacts and called them up to help. They were out! He kept his cool and called the ambulance to take his Mum to hospital. Then he

had to stay with friends whilst his Mum got better.

How frightened and worried must he have been?

Fortunately he learnt First Aid at one of our meetings and knew enough to keep his Mum safe. Lots of Scouts learn these skills every week and that makes Luke special.

We are lucky because we have not been severely impacted by the recent Government spending cuts, largely because we don’t rely on handouts to operate, that’s not our way. What we do get is huge amounts of community support. This translates into the Youth Hut Project that the Scouts are driving in Goostrey. The building will cost over £200k but with lots of sheer hard work from our volunteers, lots of goodwill and support from the community and the Parish Council, a new community asset will rise from the remains of an old Youth Club. Lots of other Scout Groups across the country build and maintain headquarters that are used by a wide range of community groups, and that makes Goostrey Scout Group special.

District Cover: Handforth, Wilmslow, Lindow, Alderley Edge, Chelford, Goostrey, Holmes Chapel

Total membership Number of groups

921 11

Beavers Scouts

227

Cubs Scouts

229

(Male - 204) (Female - 23)

(Male - 208) (Female - 21)

Scouts 177

Our District delivers Scouting week in week out. We make a considerable difference to our members, their families and our community, and I like to think that makes us very special.

(Male - 156) (Female - 21)

Explorer Scouts

97

Stephen P Buckley District Commissioner (Alderley) stephen.p.buckley@cheshirescouts.org.uk

Scout Network

16

(Male - 87) (Female - 10)

(Male - 13) (Female - 3)

Leaders 143

(Male - 76) (Female - 67)

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District Cover: The City of Chester and Surroundings, Bickerton, Farndon, Malpas, Tarporley Total membership Number of groups

1,588 20

Beavers Scouts

358

Cubs Scouts

502

(Male - 305) (Female - 53)

(Male - 441) (Female - 61)

Scouts 346

(Male - 273) (Female - 73)

• •

• • •

•

Membership has increased by 3% in the past 12 months We are delighted that there have been 5 Queen’s Scout Awards achieved in the District this year along with 4 Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Awards.

7 youth members attended the World Scout Jamboree in Japan and they all returned full of enthusiasm and tales of the activities that they had done.

We had a good representation from the District participating in Cheshire Hike and many more are already training for next year’s hike

Scout Network

0

(Male - 0) (Female - 0)

Leaders 246

(Male - 139) (Female - 107)

•

•

There have been various District sectional activities including, craft competition, bowling competitions, bell boating, canoe expeditions.

There have been several new Sections opened in the District this year due to increased numbers in those areas

84

(Male - 64) (Female - 20)

Chester & District Within Chester & District we continue to have a full and varied programme of activities and events throughout the year. So much has happened I can’t list everything so here are a few achievements and activities that have taken place over the past 12 months:

Explorer Scouts

•

•

St. George’s Day saw the District parade through the centre of Chester to the sounds of Chester City Brass Band for a service held at Chester Cathedral. The Lord Mayor of Chester joined us for the service Our 60th Gang show was held in February.

We had several celebrations for the Diamond Anniversary of the show including inviting past gang members to come along to a rehearsal and join in. The number of young people participating has increased again this year and we also introduced the role of ‘Youth Producer’ who worked closely alongside the production team. It was an excellent show with the largest gang for several years and very few seats unsold The Lord Mayor of Chester participated in JOTA held in October. This year a drone was demonstrated and along with the 3D printer it created a great deal of interest amongst the many that took part.

Training is strong in the District and there were many adults who gained their Wood Badges over the past 12 months

•

•

Many Groups attended their local Remembrance Day service and several members of the District Team attended the service at Chester Cathedral and laid a wreath at the cenotaph This year’s plans include activities to celebrate 30 years of Beaver Scouts and 100 years of Cub Scouts, the appointment of a District Youth Commissioner and the re launch of Network

We continue to work towards our District plan, implementing, monitoring and evaluating at regular intervals. This ensures our focus on progression, development and quality in all aspects of Scouting in Chester & District. As with many Districts we need to increase our leadership dramatically to be able to offer scouting to all the young people wanting to join the movement. We remain conscious that we have so many on our waiting lists that cannot currently join due to lack of Leaders.

I would like to thank all the adults who volunteer in the District which enables scouting to grow and flourish by offering such a fantastic programme for our youth members.

Joanne Turner District Commissioner (Chester & District) joanne_turner@aol.co.uk

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Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port and Neston has had a successful and enjoyable year. The number of Leaders and young people has grown partly due to visits to schools. Groups have also taken part in Community events such as Village fairs and have helped to tidy communal areas. The year has also seen some changes which have added to the programme of activities we provide. Network has officially become part of the District and Jamie Tunstall has been appointed as District Network Commissioner. Luke Atherton is our new District Youth Commissioner and we are hoping for a lot more youth involvement with the organising and planning of events. We already have an active youth forum who took part in the You Shaped week by eating pizzas and having their own “Dragon’s Den” where Explorer Scouts had to put forward new ideas for activities! Our three Jamboree representatives had a fantastic time in Japan and have been busy telling everyone from Church groups to Beaver Scouts what a great time they had!

The Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts have had a busy year with Lego and football competitions, sports days and trips to the pantomime. Events to celebrate 100 years of Cub Scouting have already started with a trip to Blackpool, organised by Region, where despite the weather they seemed to enjoy themselves. In September the Young Leaders as part of their “missions” ran a Science and Astronomy day for over 100 Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts. Activities varied from exploding pop bottles to planets whizzing through the skies!

Young Leaders have continued to play an invaluable part in the leadership teams of Groups and training courses have been run for them throughout the year. The Scouts took part in the Cheshire Hike and had their own District competition in October. They also enjoyed their annual canoe camp. The Explorer

26

District Cover: Parkgate, Neston, Little Neston, Burton, Willaston, Hooton, Little Sutton, Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port Total membership Number of groups Beavers Scouts

185

Cubs Scouts

196

(Male - 165) (Female - 20)

Scouts have been busy with activities as varied as weekends away, climbing and a “Ready Steady cook competition”! St George’s day was celebrated with an out of doors service and a barbeque. Jamboree on the Trail took place in May with walks in and around Thurstaston Country Park. All Sections took part. It finished with sausages in the barbeque area.

The Mayor of Ellesmere Port and our new MP Justin Madders were amongst the guests at our annual Honours evening in February. Over 110 Challenge Awards, 3 Commissioner’s Commendations, 10 Chief Scout’s Commendations for Good Service, 2 Awards for Merit and an Award for the Bar to Merit were presented. Adam Lloyd achieved his Queen Scout’s Award. Six Leaders have completed Wood Badges this year and a few more should be awarded now that Compass is up and running! Richard Johnson, our Local Training Manager has worked hard to provide training for new and old Leaders.

Two birthday cakes, one for 30 years of Beaver Scouting and one for 100 years of Cub Scouting were also enjoyed!

I would like to thank all the adult volunteers for their help in providing scouting over the past year.

Sue Goddard District Commissioner (Ellesmere Port & Neston) susanjgoddard@btinternet.com

702 8

(Male - 184) (Female - 12)

Scouts 132

(Male - 116) (Female - 16)

Explorer Scouts

47

Scout Network

12

(Male - 33) (Female - 14)

(Male - 12) (Female - 0)

Leaders 114

(Male - 76) (Female - 38)

Knutsford & District Over the past year the young members of Knutsford District have enjoyed yet another year of high quality Scouting programmes with both local and international experiences. In consequence Knutsford District has been able to consolidate its path of continued growth over recent years and maintained its position of having record youth membership.

Knutsford Scouts had a truly international summer experience in 2015. Five Explorer Scouts travelled to Japan for the 23rd World Scout Jamboree and were joined by one of our young Adult Leaders for the International Service Team. This trip also included home hospitality with families in Japan.

Also in August a contingent of 32 Explorer Scouts and Leaders headed to Trollactiv, a rafting centre in Southern Norway where they enjoyed white water rafting, stand up paddling, mountain biking, abseiling, rock climbing and a high wire ropes course with zip lines over a fiord.

Explorer Scouts have enjoyed a diverse programme including activities such as boxercise, bell ringing and scrapheap challenge. More cultural experiences included an insight into the Baha’i faith, an African themed evening and Japanese cooking.

Explorer Scouts also honed their expedition First Aid and micro navigation skills. Visits included an Urban Search and Rescue and a tour of the Police Firearms Unit.

As always nights away is a fundamental part of our programme and Scouts from Mobberley made sure that they had another year enjoying the outdoors by completing the challenge of spending at least one night under canvas each month of the year - called the Zodiac Award, most of the Troop achieved the gold standard. Our annual Winter Weekend in January was once again fully subscribed for our

District Cover: Knutsford, Mobberley, High Legh, Pickmere, Tabley, Cranage and surrounding areas.

Total membership Number of groups Beavers Scouts

102

Cubs Scouts

102

(Male - 88) (Female - 14)

visit to the Langdale Fells. Other nights away trips outside the District have included Great Tower activity centre Cumbria, Tolmers activity centre Herts., Peak District, Snowdonia, Scout Park in central London for the Monopoly Run as well as a field just outside Chester!

(Male - 84) (Female - 18)

Scouts 123

(Male - 91) (Female - 32)

Explorer Scouts

50

Scout Network

11

(Male - 34) (Female - 16) Amongst the activities in the past year, Knutsford Scouts have been involved in hammock camping, ghyll scrambling, tree top treks, rock climbing. The mountain team have delivered more experience days in Snowdonia and the climbing wall has been in consistent use whilst the archery team have been providing ranges at camps. As well as being outdoors Knutsford Scouts have undertaken the usual array of crazy indoor activities which have included Great Egg Challenge, Masterchef, Scouts Got Talent, Bake off and human hungry hippos.

The Cub Scouts and Beaver Scouts had another busy year with a Beaver Scout camp with aerial runway at Tatton, Cub Scout activity hike around Tatton Park and a water based Cub Scout camp using Tatton Mere. With the commencement of the Cubs100 celebrations 72 Cub Scouts had an exciting day out at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

Our commitment to providing the Chief Scout’s Awards and Duke of Edinburgh Award programmes continues with expeditions arranged in Lake District and Peak District with many more awards being completed this year including 3 Queen’s Scout Awards.

507 4

(Male - 5) (Female - 6)

Leaders 70 (Male - 39) (Female - 31)

In the community, we have raised money for the Poppy Appeal, supplied stewarding for Race for Life, assisted with the Mayor’s appeal and worked with Guide Dogs for the Blind with the Beavers as well as arranging the bonfire and a Family Funday .

Developing the places we meet is also important to delivering Scouting successfully and the project to re-build HQ for 1st Knutsford Scout Group is continuing apace with planning permission now in place.

Martin Relton District Commissioner (Knutsford & District) m.relton@ntlworld.com

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The Explorer Scout Section has grown almost 10% in numbers and had to open another Unit, yet more proof that Scouting offers something teenagers want. The new Young Leader leader has totally reorganised training for this Group with encouraging results for this important cohort of future leaders.

A big bonus this year is the creation of a local Network Section for 18-25 year olds. It is up and running with regular meetings planned by its members’ Executive covering fun visits and practical learning. Network also encourages its members to complete their Queen’s Scout Award through developing personal plans, thus building on the five awarded last year.

A Youth Led Organisation

We enthusiastically support the HQ sponsored role of Youth Commissioner. This is someone under 25 in a senior management role. In Macclesfield and Congleton we have recognised both the potential and importance of this role and so appointed multiple candidates. They are already taking steps to make the District more Youth Led in line with the 2018 objective of the Scout Association, and led the annual Explorer Scout Youth Council encouraging active participation.

Jamboree

Macclesfield & Congleton Introduction

District Cover: Macclesfield, Congleton, Poynton and Local villages Total membership Number of groups

1,715 21

Beavers Scouts

378

(Male - 349) (Female - 29)

Cubs Scouts (Male - 407) (Female - 52)

459

Scouts 344

(Male - 283) (Female - 61)

Explorer Scouts

169

Scout Network

17

(Male - 129) (Female - 40)

(Male - 13) (Female - 4)

Leaders 273 (Male - 162) (Female - 111)

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Once again, the District has experienced growth which reflects the exciting programmes delivered by enthusiastic leadership teams across Groups, Units and District. Thank you everyone for what you put in and what you achieve. The smiling faces and the armfuls of badges I see on the young people is testament to your good work.. The good numbers of young people achieving the top award in their Sections (Chief Scout’s Award) bears witness to the quality and variety of the programmes.

District Growth and Development

It is mixed news at our twenty-one Groups, whilst two Scout Troops (11-14 year olds) are suspended because of a lack of Scout Leaders, another was suspended for 3 months but is now thriving under a new leadership team. To enable a continuation of activities in some other Group’s Sections, the District team has run a Scout Troop and a Cub Pack for a term during a leader shortage. The Troop is now up and running with a new leadership team, and the Cub Pack has a way forward but still needs Leaders.

Elsewhere our newest Group opened a Scout Section and now operates all three Sections, and an established Group has created a second Troop to cater for the high level of interest. Both are well staffed.

For seven young people and four adults the highlight of the year was preparing for and participating in the World Scout Jamboree in Japan which they shared with three Network members who went as part of an International Service Team and a Leader who went as part of the Cheshire contingent leadership team.

It’s great to hear them come back with personal tales from this adventure and express how much they have learned about others and themselves.

Oh, and they had lots of fun too. They are now sharing their experiences with others and building enthusiasm amongst those eligible for the next WSJ in USA in 2019. Here are a couple of quotes: “Having met people from different cultures and backgrounds, I left with an appreciation for other people perspectives. I left the Jamboree not only with memories to last a lifetime, but with a desire to promote change in the world”. “The build up to the Jamboree was intense. Initially meeting everybody was scary and worried me, however within the first few minutes of talking to them I knew they were people I would be able to trust, confide in and live alongside. We watched each other grow, learn and bond and seeing my fellow scouts’ ups and downs made me appreciate other people’s feelings and needs. I left Japan with a skill set which I feel I can apply to all walks of life”

Leadership Personnel

Whilst achieving the successes reported above, we have worked to achieve significant people change in management roles, including District Chairman, a Deputy District Commissioner, an Assistant District Commissioner for Beaver Scouts, a District Explorer Scout Commissioner, a District Network Commissioner and Youth Commissioners.

New Group Scout Leaders have been appointed in five groups. These will join the experienced campaigners to create a vibrant new team to carry on the excellent work of their predecessors. Roll on Scouting.

Mark Eden District Commissioner (Macclesfield & Congleton) scoutdcmac@aol.com

Mersey Weaver 2015/2016 has once again been a year of growth and change in the Mersey Weaver District. Our membership grew slightly and it was particularly encouraging to see significant growth in our Explorer numbers.

Several new faces have joined the leadership team during the course of the year. Our Executive Committee Chair, Rob Roberts was replaced by Jeff Shaw. Rob had been in post for a number of years and had steered the District through the merger of the previous North West Cheshire and Widnes Districts. We owe him our thanks for his years of service.

Jeff has wasted no time in his new role and has led the Executive Committee on a number of strategic changes. We’ve established dedicated funds for leader development and international scouting and we’ve already approved projects within both of those funds. We also formed an Awards Committee for the first time within the District and it was a delight to see the fruits of its work in the St. George’s Day awards this year, with seven recipients. Special congratulations go to our John Frodsham on being awarded the highest honour of all, the Silver Wolf.

We also welcomed Joana Sousa as our Network Commissioner and we created four new Assistant District Commissioner posts; each to align with one of the strategic targets within Vision 2018: ADC Growth, ADC Adventure, ADC Community Impact and ADC Inclusivity.

Matt Richards was appointed ADC Growth and Oliver Chambers ADC Adventure. We wish all our new Commissioners the very best in their roles and

we’re hoping to fill the remaining two posts in the coming year.

Our Explorer Scout Commissioner, Rob Council, launched our Young Leader Unit during the year. It’s now busy delivering the Young Leader programme and we are looking forward to presenting Young Leader awards within the District for the first time in many years.

Our District Secretary, Derek Hillbeck, undertook a major exercise during the course of the year to canvas opinion from our entire membership on how we should best celebrate St George’s Day. In particular, we wanted to hear directly from our young members and ensure that we reflected their wishes in our plans. As a result, this year’s event will be very different from what we’ve done in the past.

We found that our youngsters wanted more fun and adventure and we’re also taking the opportunity to invite the Million Hands partners to run some activities at the same time.

Colin Chambers, our Deputy District Commissioner, created our first ever District Scout Shop and we are now selling the full range of uniform and equipment via the online shop on our website. We’ve taken what we believe to be a unique decision in the running of our shop: Some of its profits will be shared with the Groups within our District. Parents buying uniform will still see a significant reduction compared with retail prices, but the Groups to which the children of those parents belong will also benefit financially and we believe we are the first District in the country to operate in this manner.

Owen Campbell District Commissioner (Mersey Weaver) owen.campbell@merseyweaverscouts.org.uk

District Cover: Runcorn, Weston, Weston Point, Frodsham, Helsby, Ince and Elton, Kingsley, Norley, Moore, Whitley, Farnworth, Hough Green, West Bank, Ditton, Halton View, Barrows Green, Cronton, Hale Bank.

Total membership Number of groups

1,241 14

Beavers Scouts

288

Cubs Scouts

352

(Male - 261) (Female - 27)

(Male - 314) (Female - 38)

Scouts 249 (Male - 185) (Female - 64)

Explorer Scouts

88

Scout Network

16

(Male - 59) (Female - 29)

(Male - 12) (Female - 4)

Leaders 187 (Male - 110) (Female - 77)

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Mid Cheshire The past year has once again been one of growing membership along with demand from the local community for further delivery of Scouting, with enquiries to join increasing from both young people and adults.

Throughout the year new Sections have been opening, with a Beaver Colony in Lostock, Cub Packs at Moulton, Winnington and Lostock along with a Scout Troop at Darnhall. This means that there will be opportunities during the next year for more young people to participate and benefit from Scouting.

Groups throughout the District participated in “You Shape” encouraging youth members to be involved in decision making backed up by the appointment of the District’s first Youth Commissioner who will over the coming year work with Sections to improve young people’s involvement in the future programme.

Night Hike - Our annual Scout event held in February was again successful with over 100 young people supported by adults and Explorer Scouts from across the District enjoying a cold but dry night on the footpaths around the area followed by the temptation of hot food.

District camp - With District numbers increasing this bi-annual event continues to grow in size and complexity with a wide range of adventurous and skill based activities held at Tatton Park campsite.

The weekend was fun filled with all Sections and Groups taking part with a challenge for everyone including Sunday afternoon’s weather.

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District Cover: Northwich & Surrounding areas, Antrobus, Comberbach, Barnton, Cuddington, Sandiway, Davenham, Hartford, Lostock Gralam, Middlewich, Weaverham, Wharton, Winnington, Winsford Total membership Number of groups

1,430 17

Beavers Scouts

341

Cubs Scouts

371

(Male - 288) (Female - 53)

(Male - 294) (Female - 77)

Scouts 303 (Male - 230) (Female - 73)

Explorer Scouts

86

Scout Network

5

(Male - 62) (Female - 24)

(Male - 4) (Female - 1)

Leaders 241 (Male - 129) (Female - 112)

Gang Show - Another bi-annual event held at the Grange Theatre for the fourth time and enjoyed by enthusiastic audiences. Another great experience for everyone who took part with Groups and Sections coming together with a common goal. Look out for our next show in February 2017 in a new venue.

Cub hike - Our annual Cub Scout weekend competition hike mirrored on the older Section’s Cheshire Hike held around Tatton Park on Saturday with tent pitching and a morning of water activities on Sunday, while developing links between Groups.

Media team - 2015 has seen the growing impact of our District media team. Social media feeds, promotional event videos and District communications all managed by a small team of Explorer Scouts supported by an adult active support member. Looking ahead, technology activities and assistance with the delivery of the IT areas of the programme are in development.

Firepower - Continuing to deliver programme support with badge courses and activities including shooting, archery, catapults and flying angel throwing along with external promotion both inside and outside Scouting the team continue to present a positive image of the variety of activities Scouting has to offer. Anyone either with or without specialist skills wishing to become involved would be made welcome.

My thanks to everyone who has contributed to the delivery of the programme and running of the District over the past year. The stronger links between Groups supporting Sections and developing the increasing range of activities on offer and involvement across the District is delivering greater achievement by our young people with more awards being presented across the age ranges.

Follow us on social media facebook.com/midcheshirescouting twitter.com/MCheshireScouts instagram.com/midcheshirescouts Andrew Little District Commissioner (Mid Cheshire) andrew@little67.freeserve.co.uk

South West Cheshire Another busy year of Scouting in South West Cheshire draws to a close and I cannot believe how much we have packed in. From camps to Christmas trips the variety of activities provided for the young people in the District has been varied, exciting and fun.

The highlight of the year was our bi-annual District Camp where over 1200 Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts, Explorer Scouts and adults spent the May Bank Holiday weekend enjoying a wide variety of activities run on a Film theme. The camp, held at the Milldale camp site, included over 40 activities from Archery and Backwoods Cooking to Water Rockets and a Stunt Bag. The Explorer Scouts spent a day off-site Mountain Biking and Grass Boarding while the Saturday night campfire included traditional campfire songs, a performance from the Gang Show Cast and a Poi display by the 26th South West Cheshire Scout Group Ninja Poi Display Team which included a Fire Poi display by one of the Leaders.

A huge thank you must go to the team who put on such a memorable weekend for our young people.

In October Scouts and Explorer Scouts from a number of Groups took part in a Monopoly Live competition organised by Crewe and Nantwich Lions in association with South West Cheshire Scouts. They spent a day in and around Crewe town centre solving problems and navigating between various locations collecting points for each of the designated places visited. Many residents commented on the good behaviour and politeness of the young people involved, a pleasing response when the opposite is often seen as the norm.

preparations for future District events.

A number of Groups have signed up to the Community Impact campaign A Million Hands and are undertaking various activities to support four social issues. The issues being worked on by each Group have been chosen by their young people, including one Group looking at Clean Water and Sanitation and another looking at Dementia, with plans for a sensory garden in their village.

District Cover: Crewe, Nantwich,

Haslington, Sandbach, Shavington, Audlem, Bunbury, Wrenbury, Wybunbury and surrounding areas.

Total membership Number of groups

1,840 24

Beavers Scouts

404

Cubs Scouts

466

(Male - 302) (Female - 102)

(Male - 366) (Female - 100)

Scouts 453

(Male - 323) (Female - 130)

Explorer Scouts

103

Scout Network

0

(Male - 69) (Female - 34)

(Male - 0) (Female - 0)

Leaders 325 (Male - 167) (Female - 158)

The District has run a number of other activities through the year from swimming galas and craft competitions to sports days and Christmas trips, all alongside the varied and challenging programme of activities provided by the Groups. This resulted in 140 Chief Scout’s Bronze Awards, 70 Silver Awards, 57 Gold Awards and 6 Platinum Awards as well as an Award for Meritorious Conduct.

While some Groups have struggled for adult volunteers in 2015 others have continued to grow their leadership teams. Our adult volunteers are key to us being able to cater for the increasing demand for Scouting from young people and there are many different ways to get involved. If you are able to give any time to assist the dedicated and enthusiastic teams of volunteers already enjoying Scouting in South West Cheshire please contact me.

None of what has been achieved in 2015 would have been possible without the dedication of every adult volunteer across the District and I would like to thank them for everything they do to provide Scouting for the young people of South West Cheshire.

Ian Potts District Commissioner (South West Cheshire) dc@southwestcheshirescouts.org.uk

This year has seen the District expand its youth engagement with the running of our first District Youth Forum.

Sixteen Scouts and Explorer Scouts from nine Troops and Units discussed and provided feedback on a range of topics and issues of importance to them which will be fed into the

31

Warrington East It has been another great year of Scouting in Warrington East. All of the Groups have been hard at work developing and delivering the new Youth Programme.

Groups have also been engaging in the “A Million Hands” Community Impact Initiative. A highlight of which is the Scouts from the 12th Warrington East (1st Birchwood) making improvements within a local park aimed at improving it for people with Dementia. Cub Scouts have also really got into the Swing of their Centenary Celebrations, after sending a contingent of over 220 to the regional party at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, they are looking forward to the upcoming County Celebrations.

Over the last year there has been a continuation of the work to maintain and develop the District events and support Groups. The District Team has continued to strengthen with new key appointments, improving and developing links around the District.

I am pleased to report this year’s Census figures have shown an excellent growth within the District.

Warrington East has shown a 5.7% growth an increase of 69 members. Within this it is great to see a significant rise of Explorer Scout membership.

Over the last year development has mainly focused on reducing waiting lists. This has led to the opening of a new Beaver Scout Colony as part of the 25th Warrington East (St Wilfrid’s, Grappenhall) where a waiting list in the region of 50 existed. With the help of the new County Development officer, there has been recruitment of new Leaders and I was proud to invest 23 new Beaver Scouts and two brand new Leaders a few weeks ago. The District Youth Forum have continued to push and spread the Social Media buzz within the District. Before summer they are planning to host their first Youth Forum-led Scout Patrol Leaders Forum to review District Programme.

At the time of writing the District is also about to start the recruitment process for a District Youth Commissioner, a key move towards achieving the Vision 2018.

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Awards within the youth Sections this year have again been fantastic. It was great to see Warrington East have 3 Queen’s Scouts who headed down to Windsor Castle for the recent St. George’s Day Parade. This is as well as 4 Adult St. George’s Day award recipients. Within the Younger Sections there was a total of 194 young people spread between Beaver Scouts up to Explorer Scouts who gained a Chief Scout’s Award. This has been followed just recently by an Adult Awards Evening where 49 Leaders with a combined service of 515 years were invited to receive awards.

So what’s next? Well there looks to be more exciting times for the District, there is a continuing development plan in the South of the District aiming to reduce waiting lists and boost capacity. This will also be mirrored with the development of a plan to increase Explorer Scout Capacity. A District Adventure Activity Day for all Sections is in advance plans for the summer also.

To conclude, I extend my thanks out to all the members within the District, the District Team and the Executive Committee. Their efforts, the commitment and drive they have all shown have combined and contributed to a really successful year within the Warrington East.

Paul Brown District Commissioner paul.brown@cheshirescouts.org.uk

District Cover: Culcheth, Oughtrington, Thelwall, Croft, Gorse Covert, Locking Stumps, Pepper Street, Lymm, Eagle Brow Lymm, Glazebury, Hollins Green, Grappenhall, Padgate, Woolston, St Elphins.

Total membership Number of groups

1,267 15

Beavers Scouts

281

Cubs Scouts

315

(Male - 241) (Female - 40)

(Male - 272) (Female - 43)

Scouts 275 (Male - 201) (Female - 74)

Explorer Scouts

117

Scout Network

13

(Male - 74) (Female - 43)

(Male - 7) (Female - 6)

Leaders 233 (Male - 131) (Female - 102)

Warrington West

District Cover: Penketh, Great Sankey, Chapelford, West Brook, Bewsey, Orford, Lactchford, Stockton Heath, Appleton

Sections:

All Sections have been busy during the year with Competitions, Camps, Expeditions and trips out.

Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts and Scouts continue to gain the Chief Scout’s Award for their Section, with many Explorer Scouts and Network members gaining the Platinum or Diamond Award. Mike Sheffield gained his Queen’s Scout Award this year and attended the parade at Windsor.

Congratulations to Mike on achieving this award.

Network and Scout Active Support Unit continue to help and support the District whilst at the same time run their own activities. Network has now come under the District umbrella and are having regular local meetings planned. Their first major outing was to the Network Gathering at Great Tower Campsite in the Lake District. Hopefully this will have helped to cement friendships so that they can progress through their new awards and programme together.

New Group:

Warrington West in the last few months opened a new Group at Chapelford Primary School starting with Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts. The Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire helped with the investiture of the young people. With the help of the County Development Team we have recruited 5 Leaders into the Group. All members of the Group are totally new to Scouting and are working really well together. The programme of development also included supporting other Groups in the local area.

Young Leaders:

Dennis and Linda Buckley are doing a fantastic job with our Young Leader Unit. They regularly have 25+ Young Leaders at their monthly meetings. Some of these are now getting close to gaining their Young Leader Belt.

Total membership Number of groups

1,213 13

Beavers Scouts

228

Cubs Scouts

274

(Male - 199) (Female - 29)

bulletin about the floods in Cumbria just before Christmas. Sue rallied round family and friends and members of the Group to donate toys that could be given as Christmas presents for some of the children in Cumbria who had been affected by the floods.

The 30th also decided to help Sue on her challenge.

A huge number of people from the District also donated toys and gifts,. Eddie Stobarts offered to transport the gifts. A huge thanks to all who helped in any way, this just proves that Scouting is a great movement to be involved in and that we can help with any situation at such short notice. It is hoped that later this year the 2 Groups will camp together at Tatton Park to further cement their relationship.

Way Forward:

(Male - 212) (Female - 62)

Scouts 308 (Male - 243) (Female - 65)

Explorer Scouts

128

Scout Network

29

(Male - 92) (Female - 36)

(Male - 18) (Female - 11)

Leaders 195 (Male - 99) (Female - 96)

The above is only a snapshot of what goes on in the District, it does not touch on what goes on at Group level. I hope from this you can see that a great deal of fun has taken place with many friendships formed by our Young People and the adult leadership teams. We are hoping that our recent recruitment drive will help in finding new Leaders so that we can offer more Scouting to more Young People. I shall be working with a number of Groups to look at how we can help to grow their number of young people and Leaders over the coming year.

Debbie Phillips District Commissioner (Warrington West) debbie.phillips@cheshirescouts.org.uk

Youth Forum:

This is growing from strength to strength and is something that Callum Buchanan will now pick up as the Youth Commissioner. It is amazing what ideas some of the members have and the District is looking at ways to implement many of them. They are a credit to the Groups/Units they have come from.

District:

I am pleased to announce that Sue Chadwick has agreed to become Deputy District Commissioner and will work alongside Ryan and Myself.

Callum Buchanan has become our first District Youth Commissioner. Callum has been involved in Scouting since he was a Beaver Scout and has a wealth of experience and enough enthusiasm to share with the whole District. Callum will work alongside me helping where he can to ensure Youth Involvement is at the forefront of all activities and decisions.

Congratulations to Paul Carey who was awarded the Bar to the Silver Acorn in the St. George’s Day Awards

Cumbria:

Congratulations to Sue Chadwick, Leaders and members of 1st/14th who responded to a news

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Awards for Good Service 2015-2016

QUEEN’S SCOUT AWARDS Laurie Bowden Oliver John Barney Moffitt Charlotte O’Brien Emma O’Brien Timothy Vercoe Thomas Barrett Emily Cuffin-Munday Tom Cuffin-Munday Michael Darlington Christopher Duffy Louise White Adam Lloyd Edward Lunnon Sophie Mather Gwilym Rees Nicholas Day Tom Eastgate Samuel Smith Daniel Taylor Patrick Waite Joseph McDonnell Matthew Marnell Conor Rothwell Jonathan Hay Phillip Cooper Stephanie Dean Christopher Monks Michael Sheffield

Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Chester & District Chester & District Chester & District Chester & District Chester & District Chester & District Ellesmere Port & Neston Knutsford & District Knutsford & District Knutsford & District Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Mersey Weaver Mersey Weaver Mersey Weaver Mid Cheshire Warrington East Warrington East Warrington East Warrington West

Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Oliver Atkinson Laurie Bowden Matthew Brickhill Max Devonald Alex Flanders Joshua Harper Oliver John Sean Memmott Harry Powell Jordan Ross George Todd Tim Vercoe Robert Davies Joanna Wood Edward Lunnon Joshua Lynes Sophie Mather Gwilym Rees Alissa Sentence Charles Lambert Laura Lambert Richard Lawton Alexander Andrew Rose Everton Andrew Holland Stephanie Dean Christopher Monks Paul Monks Tom Nixon Richard Millar

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Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Alderley Chester & District Chester & District Knutsford & District Knutsford & District Knutsford & District Knutsford & District Knutsford & District Mersey Weaver Mersey Weaver Mid Cheshire South West Cheshire South West Cheshire South West Cheshire Warrington East Warrington East Warrington East Warrington East Warrington West

SILVER WOLF Neil Dutton John Frodsham Christine Taylor Graham Phillips

Macclesfield & Congleton Mersey Weaver Warrington East County

BAR TO SILVER ACORN

Susan Appleton County Geoffrey Taylor Chester & District John Pearson Macclesfield & Congleton Clive Warrington Macclesfield & Congleton Derek Hillbeck Mersey Weaver Barry Newport Mersey Weaver Ronald Sayle Mersey Weaver Michael Walker Mersey Weaver Lindsey Wharton Mersey Weaver Jeffrey Wood Mersey Weaver Bryan Flint Mid Cheshire Denis Ward Warrington East Paul Carey Warrington West

SILVER ACORN Stuart Anderson Iain McIntyre Wendy Osbaldestin Terence Silverwood Paul Gibson Rita Gibson

Macclesfield & Congleton Chester & District Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Warrington East Warrington East

BAR TO THE AWARD FOR MERIT Stan Foxall

Mid Cheshire

CHIEF SCOUT’S COMMENDATION FOR GOOD SERVICE Balduino Filby Matthew Bather Alan Binning Carol Finn Douglas Florence Joanne Marchant Janet McNulty Angela Mellor Robert Morris Brian Newland Christopher Reddy Helen Washington Michael Eastgate Elizabeth Insley Michelle Martin Andrew Ratcliffe Caroline Foster Aidan Berwick Patricia Brown Matthew Buckley Bernadette Carman Angela Costello Christine Dean Stephen Devers Blandine Martin Jayne Molyneux Margaret Moran Christopher Nicholl Stephen Pennington Ian Turnbull Anthony Walton

Alderley Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Mid Cheshire Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West

Ellesmere Port & Neston

AWARD FOR MERIT Wendy MacDonald Phillip Ashton David Kendall Ian Williams Berwyn Jones Anthony Shaw Peter Skirvin Alan Wadley Alan Buckley

Val Buckley

Alderley Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Macclesfield & Congleton Mid Cheshire

Commissioner’s Commendation Award Dave France Heather France Paul Wainwright Michael Bannerman George Crowder Christopher Foster Carol Jackson Carol Seddon Callum Buchanan Jacqui Critchley Louise Jackson Linda Jeffries Emma Norman Mike Sheffield Nora Sheridan Paul Warburton Jodie Woods

Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Ellesmere Port & Neston Mersey Weaver Mid Cheshire Mid Cheshire Mid Cheshire Mid Cheshire Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West Warrington West

35

Census of membership in Cheshire For the year ending 31st January 2016

Male

Female

Total

Youth membership

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

Beaver Scouts

2,402

2,449

390

366

2,792

2,815

Cub Scouts

2,782

2,766

484

509

3,266

3,285

Scouts

2,101

2,129

609

543

2,710

2,735

Explorer Scouts

703

760

266

262

969

968

Scout Network

84

38

17

119

55

Total Youth Membership

8,072

8,260

35 1,784

1,749

9,856

9,858

Leadership Leaders Incuding Group Scout Leaders

864

826

673

659

1,537

1,485

Sectional Assistants & Skills Instructors

216

169

179

153

395

322

Scouters (District & County)

27

27

23

23

50

50

Commissioners (District & County)

48

40

29

25

77

65

Total Leadership

1,155

1,062

904

860

2,059

1,922

Organisational Support Administrators

8

5

9

7

17

12

Officials

21

19

13

13

34

32

Scout Active Support

175

112

141

84

316

196

Individual & Associated Membership

145

81

94

61

239

142

Total Organisation Support

349

217

257

165

606

382

Total Membership

36

9,576

9,440

2,945

2,722

12,521

12,162

Useful contacts Cheshire County Scout Shops CHESTER & DISTRICT

District Scout Headquarters, Westlea Primary School, Weston Grove, Upton, Chester CH2 1QJ Open Thursday evening: 7.00pm - 8.30pm in term time 01244 398635

MACCLESFIELD & CONGLETON DISTRICT

Scout Headquarters, 32 West Bond Street, Macclesfield SK11 8EQ Open Tuesday evening: 7.30pm - 9.15pm 01625 423338 Email: shop@mcscouts.org.uk

MERSEY WEAVER DISTRICT ONLINE SHOP www.merseyweaverscouts.org.uk/district-shop District Shop Direct Telephone Number: 01928 352121 Email: district.shop@merseyweaverscouts.org.uk

SOUTH WEST CHESHIRE DISTRICT

Scouts, Guides & Outdoor Leisure, 131 Bedford Street, Crewe CW2 6JB Open Tuesday and Friday evening: 6.00pm - 9.00pm 0742 514 8000

WARRINGTON SCOUT AND GUIDE SHOP

Vale Owen Road, Orford, Warrington WA2 8PG (adjacent to Warrington West District HQ) Open Tuesday evening: 7.00pm - 9.00pm and Saturday morning: 10.00am - 12 noon 01925 634510

Useful Addresses The Scout Association

Gilwell Park, Bury Road, Chingford, London E4 7QW 020 8433 7100 or 0845 300 1818 (local rate) email: info.centre@scouts.org.uk www.scouts.org.uk

Baden-Powell House

65-67 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5JS 020 7590 6909 Bookings online: www.meininger-hotels.com

Scout Shops Ltd

Monday - Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm Marlborough Road Lancing Business Park, Lancing, West Sussex BN15 8UG 01903 766921 www.scouts.org.uk/shop

Unity Insurance Services

(the trading name of Scout Insurance Services Limited) Suites 10 & 10A The Quadrant • 60 Marlborough Road • Lancing Business Park Lancing • West Sussex • BN15 8UW Tel: 0345 040 7703 Fax: 0345 040 7705 email: scouts@unityins.co.uk Web: www.unityins.co.uk

23rd World Scout Jamboree Japan 2015...

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cheshirescouts.org.uk Cheshire County Scout Council, Cheshire Scouts, Willow Tree Park, Booths Lane, Lymm, Warrington, WA13 0PQ All reports are the view of the Author and not necessarily the views of the Editor. Any questions or comments should be forwarded to the County Office.

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