Hampshire Scouts News - Spring 2020

#SkillsForLife

Hampshire Scouts News Spring 2020

Face-to-face activities may be suspended until further notice - but the fun doesn't stop there!

BY SAM POOLE ALL face-to-face Scout activities have been suspended across the UK until further notice due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

But that's not stopped groups across Hampshire and beyond to have fun in the comfort of their own home - thanks to a bank of ideas prompting the everyday adventure to continue.

At Basingstoke East, they've pulled together all the badges where young people can still complete while at home along with useful resources to support adults

with what to do.

Once completed, Scouts are encouraged to upload the evidence and submit to their leader.

Other groups in the county, like Portsmouth and Gosport, have been holding group meetings online via Zoom, a cloud-based video conferencing service.

Elsewhere within the Scouts, #TheGreatIndoors has been developed for indoor activities at home for kids when schools are closed or their self isolating due to the coronavirus.

This initiative has been a huge success with both members, and non-members of the Scouts engaging with Scouting content.

The project has also gained national attention too!

Basingstoke East Website: badges.bescouts.org.uk #TheGreatIndoors Website: scouts.org.uk/the-great-indoors

Registered Charity: 1015788 (England and Wales)

What we do...

Your Hampshire Scouts News Team Sam Poole, ACC Perception sam.poole@hampshirescouts.org.uk Louis Soccard, County Media Team louis.soccard@hampshirescouts.org.uk Steven Osborn, County Media Team steven.osborn@hampshirescouts.org.uk Please share your stories and pictures with county office at the below email address.

Thank you.

Hampshire Scouts News is the official newsletter for Hampshire Scouts, registered charity number 1015788.

Whilst every effort is given to ensure our content is accurate, we apologise for any inaccuracies and will endeavour to resolve in future editions as and when alerted.

Our editorial team reserve the right to publish any letters / press releases and cannot guarantee the publication of everything that is sent. Stories which are not published within Hampshire Scouts News may appear on the county website. This is a free publication.

We prepare young people with Skills for Life AS SCOUTS, we believe in preparing young people with skills for life.

We encourage young people to do more, learn more and be more. Each week, we help over 460,000 young people aged 6-25 enjoy fun and adventure while developing the skills they need to succeed, now and in the future.We’re talking about teamwork, leadership and resilience – skills that have helped Scouts become everything from teachers and social workers to astronauts and Olympians. We help young people develop and improve key life skills.We believe in bringing people together. We celebrate diversity and stand against intolerance, always. We’re part of a worldwide movement, creating stronger communities and inspiring positive futures.

Get involved...

WHETHER you are an adult or young person, the Scout adventure never stops! Interested in getting involved with a Scout Group local to you?

Contact us... hampshirescouts.org.uk/join county.office@hampshirescouts.org.uk 02380 847847

Do you have a story or success that you’d like to share?

Help us to highlight and celebrate your achievements in growth, exclusivity, youth shaped and community – email us your team’s successes along with any photos of at least 1mb to: communications@hampshirescouts.org.uk. No more than 500 words, please.

Our next deadline is Friday 22nd May 2020 for the 1st June Summer edition.

Investing in our Young Leaders

Hampshire Scouts Young Leaders are set for another year of fun-fulled adventure and #SkillsForLife

The weekend provided the Young Leaders with a great opportunity to bond and make friends with others from across Hampshire.

In January, Hampshire Scouts hosted its third annual Young Leaders’ Rally.

This event is aimed at Young Leaders who are young people aged 14 to 18 and volunteer at local Scout groups.

Alongside adult volunteers, they help to provide activities for the younger sections. Organised by a group of young people, this weekend event saw 48 Young Leaders from across the county take part in a range of activities.

As well as adventurous activities such as crate stacking, caving, climbing and expedition planning, the young people engaged in various sessions embracing the overall theme for the weekend, which was community.

This included taking a deeper look at the Scouts’ "A Million Hands" programme.

Alongside various charities, such as The Red Cross and Mind, the programme aims to empower Scouts to make a difference in their own communities.

The sessions therefore encouraged the Young Leaders to consider how they can help make a stronger community and how they can encourage younger Scouts to do the same.

We also ran a Young Leaders question and answer session on the Sunday, allowing the young people to discuss their experiences, ask each other questions and share valuable advice.

The weekend provided the Young Leaders with a great opportunity to bond and make friends with others from across Hampshire.

Our fourth Young Leaders’ Rally is already planned for January 2021.

Hampshire Scouts Chat It's all about The Great Indoors, growth for Hampshire Scouts, achievement with top awards and more! Martin Mackey, County Commissioner (Lead Volunteer) for Hampshire Scouts, reflects on a positive quarter for the movement across the county.

When I started this article, the world was witnessing the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) but the impact wasn’t being felt here in the UK. How times have changed. Never in the Scouts’ history have we experienced something quite like this: the national suspension of all face-toface Scout meetings, activities and events.

Life in the movement, as we knew it, stopped with no idea when we will start up again.

It’s clear that this isn’t a sprint but a marathon, although we don’t know where the finish line is. How will we carry on?

Despite this challenge, the Scouts haven’t hidden away.

Instead, we’re adapting to the new situation whilst getting ready for when we return to normality, whenever that might be.

As the proverb goes, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. There’s been a considerable amount of inventive ideas borne out of the

current situation, most of which is using digital technology. The ideas have been amazing with people acting swiftly to fill the void of face-to-face activities.

There’s already been some fantastic ways of Scouting differently focussed on keeping our young people engaged whilst following the Government’s social distancing and self-isolation guidance.

Scout HQ quickly launched its 'The Great Indoors' programme ideas.

In Hampshire, we’re supporting the national effort with groups coming up with their own great ideas for their sections and Districts doing likewise.

A great example is Basingstoke East team’s ‘Scouting at Home’ online tool which will help young people continue completing badges at home.

Sections and groups around the country have signed up to this page. The County team continues to do what we do best: to support

Scouting.

Our own Coronavirus information page has gained national plaudits.

I don’t want to lose other good news in the noise of Coronavirus, so here are a few highlights.

The 2019 census shows that Hampshire Scouts is giving more young people than ever in its history the opportunity to Scout.

We also have our largest number of adult volunteers. The results of our annual census, taken on 31 January every year, shows, once again, that Hampshire is the largest Scouting county in the UK and that, for the first time ever, our membership broke through 26,000.

We have 18,599 young people (5-18) which is up by 493 on last year, and 7,405 adult volunteers which is up by 140.

That represents a 3% increase in young people, 2% in adults and an overall increase of 633 members or 2%.

To put that in context,

Hampshire Scouts Chat regionally (we belong to the South East Region of England) we achieved the largest growth both in numbers and overall percentage.

What does this mean? In short, it means that our adult volunteers and young people are working hard to make Scouting attractive and relevant today, ensuring that everyone gets #skillsforlife.

Despite the current suspension of Scout activities, the steps we’re taking to do things differently will ensure we keep all our young people and adults engaged and active so that we can continue to give even more young people the chance to Scout, even in the face of adversity.

We’ve also seen some amazing adults recognised for their exceptional service to Scouting with Peter Moody, the ex-County Chair, being awarded the Silver Wolf - the Scout Association’s highest good service award - for his service to Hampshire Scouts.

John Le Riche was also awarded with his Silver Wolf for his service to Winchester District.

And, Brian Calver, has been awarded a Bar to the Silver Acorn for his Scouting service.

Making history in Hampshire Scouts was Chloe Foster (insert) who was the first young person to achieve every Top Award in Scouts when she completed her Scouts of the World Award.

Congratulations to her and my thanks to the Hampshire Scouts Top Awards team for the support they give to everyone doing these awards.

So, whilst the organisation adjusts to the new world we currently live in, it’s clear to me

that despite the challenges everyone is facing in their own lives, the spirit of the Scouts is alive and well with everyone pulling together to help one another.

Whilst we’re delivering much of what we do differently now, we’re always preparing for what comes next.

My thanks to everyone for their fantastic efforts.

European Jamboree 2020 As the global public health situation develops rapidly, the European Jamboree Organisation together with the European Scout Region WOSM and the Europe Region WAGGGS work closely to update the current risk assessment for the European Jamboree.

Hampshire and Surrey Scouts are set for a summer of a lifetime at European Jamboree - Coronavirus dependent!

Hampshire and Surrey Scouts keen for an international adventure came together to form the Roaring Roses European Jamboree unit.

After a number of training weekends for everyone to get to know each other, they’ll be heading to Gdansk, Poland this Summer for the Jamboree as well as a road trip around Europe which they helped plan.

Ben Wall, one of the participants, gives his story on the journey so far: At the beginning of the first training weekend, it was very Xxxxxxxxxxxx quiet. Few people spoke to each other until the leaders ran a few icebreaker activities to get us acquainted.

Gradually, we began talking more, and by the end of the weekend, we were all chatting and laughing together.

Along with playing games and engaging in activities, we came up with some ideas on how to raise money for the trip, what we would like to do before and after, and what our name and logo would be – the Roaring Roses.

It was both fun and productive.

For Training Weekend 2, we attended Theme Park Camp. There were activities in the evenings, such as Bingo, but the main focus was the theme park: Thorpe Park.

As a group, we had tons of fun riding the various rides, and I won our new group mascot - a stuffed Pikachu.

The next time we regrouped was for a survival camp, which was rather wet.

Our tents were put together by us using rope and tarpaulin, which meant that it was up to us whether our stuff stayed dry.

Activities included rifle shooting; foraging and learning about forest flora; and sharpening knives. Cooking was also quite an experience, finding the sweet spot before the food became burnt.

We all learnt how to dispose of a fire, some quicker than others.

The most recent Training Weekend was a Christmas camp, which I couldn't attend, but it looks like the unit enjoyed themselves.

Environment

Making a difference one hand at a time: Young people play their part in saving the planet A group of six and seven year old Scouts from Totton have set out to protect the planet by making changes in their local neighbourhood.

Around 30 young Beaver Scouts all made a promise to do all they could to protect the environment back in November.

Since then, they have learned about the importance of recycling, how plastics can harm lots of different animals and why we all need to live more sustainably.

This was all finally put into action at the beginning of February when a group of over 40 Xxxxxxxxxxxx young people and their parents got stuck in to a beach clean at Goatee Beach, Eling.

Organised by Dominik’s Wildlife Fund, the Scouts helped collect a total of 59kg of litter, the second highest amount ever collected by the fund during their beach cleans.

The scouts also created posters to spread the word and raise awareness about the harm plastic pollution can do and why we should all be recycling and sharing these on social media.

Luke, a seven year old Beaver Scout said: “I got to find the most rubbish and we found everything like glass bottles, plastic plates and even a whole firework!

"It’s important because when we go to the beach you want it to be clean so it doesn’t cause pollution and the animals don’t die.

Nature had taken it over but it shouldn’t have to."

Steven, an adult volunteer with the Scouts said: “I’m so proud of all they have achieved, they dreamed big right from the beginning and made a massive difference to where they live.

"They have been so open minded and tried their hardest to think of ways to save the world we all live on.

"They’re going to make great citizens of the future and built up so many skills for life along the way.”

The project was part of a wider movement by the Scouts, called A Million Hands, to get half a million young people involved in action in their community.

Fairtrade Fortnight

Bramshill Scouts learn about where our supermarket food comes from during Fairtrade Fortnight We made a promise to make a difference and for a group of Scouts from Camberley, they took this seriously.

Around the world, farmers work to produce the food needed but not always for a fair price.

Rather than accept this, these Scouts decided to find out what they could do about it.

With Fairtrade Fortnight starting on the 24th February, the Scouts were looking forward to an annual Fairtrade cooking competition.

But what exactly is Fairtrade food? Why should they choose it?

Xxxxxxxxxxxx What is available as Fairtrade?

A quick internet search later they had some answers but weren’t going to leave it there.

Fast forward and the 8th Bramshill could be found at two supermarkets, grilling their managers on what they were doing to help.

After all, everyone knows about Fairtrade coffee, chocolate, tea, rice and bananas but not much else.

Thinking big in Tesco Camberley were half the group, taking duty manager James to task on what they were doing to be more ethical.

Even though they stocked fewer fairtrade products than some other supermarkets, James reassured them that they also take part in initiatives with Pampers, Nestle, the Rainforest Alliance and Care Girls Education to make sure they made a difference.

Meanwhile the other half the group were in Sainsbury’s getting the tour from manager Marc.

There was lots to be discovered from fully Fairtrade bananas in the fruit aisle to Fairtrade beers, wines and spirits with staff helpfully pointing out which items were better for the farmers.

But what happened to the farmers when the Fairtrade products are put of offer: surely they get less for them?

Marc was quick to answer: the farmers get the full price, Sainsbury’s make up the difference.

Asking the big questions, putting yourself out there and making a difference, quite some big skills for life gained right there.

Media and Communications

Our volunteer storytellers, photographers, videographers and web developers are ready and raring to go!

Over a crisp weekend in early January, the Hampshire Scouts’ Media and Communications team came together at Cricket Campsite, just outside Southampton, to plan for their year ahead.

The team consists of both adult volunteers and young people (under the age of 18), with a passion for all things media; including writing articles, conducting radio interviews or representing Scouting on the TV, and communications; such as web management, email and IT. They support scouting throughout Hampshire by updating the way people think of Scouting and making sure they’re aware of the Skills for Life that young people all around the county are developing each week!

The weekend began on Friday evening with pizza, and a brainstorm that went long into the

night, working out how we could best achieve our objectives of delivering our own great content, whilst also offering support to the amazing local areas and events, and the adult volunteers behind them, across Hampshire.

On Saturday, we spent the day working on the exciting project of putting the finishing touches to our brand new website.

There were lively discussions from all parts of the team on how to make it the best website possible, and by the end of the day, we were all very happy with the results, and excited for everything we’ve got planned for it!

Finally, Sunday was our chance to get out our diaries and go through all the incredible events that are being planned for the next 12 months to work out how we can help to support them.

There are great Scouting events

taking place almost every weekend, so we’re really lucky that we’ve got a large and flexible team to help support them.

That being said, we’re always looking for people with an interest in media and communications to help us out – if you think that could be you, get in touch with us via communications@hampshiresc outs.org.uk.

hampshirescouts.org.uk

Top Awards ELATED: James Phillips-Strafford (right) is presented his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award by County Commissioner Martin Mackey (left).

Expeditions, cake baking and smiles all round for James as he receives top award

BY LOUIS SOCCARD

James Phillips-Stafford, aged 21 from Yateley, recently achieved his Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which is the highest award in the scheme.

Participants (aged 16 to 25) are required to complete the various sections.

This includes a four-day expedition which, for James and his team, involved hiking in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales.

He said he particularly enjoyed the “long walks” and the project work, which entailed creating a journal using drawings and photos of the landscape.

Other aspects of the award include the volunteering and skills sections.

James said he was “really struggling with the skills [section]” but decided to pursue cake baking in his spare time.

He also volunteered with his local Beaver group and said that “seeing the smiles” on the young peoples’ faces led him to really “love it”.

He encourages others to join and become a part of this “massive family”.

James was presented his award at the Young Leaders’ Rally by the lead volunteer for Hampshire Scouts.

He will also be officially invited to a royal palace to celebrate this amazing achievement with other award holders later in the year and is now working towards completing his Queen’s Scout Award.

James will be officially invited to a royal palace to celebrate his amazing achievement and is now working towards completing his Queen's Scout Award.

"My role-models are my Scout Leaders" says ambitious Gosport Scout

BY JOSEPH DAWSON

Scouts has taught me to do things under my own steam, to question and think about the big picture; it’s given me the skills that when we suddenly realise we’re lost in the middle of the New Forest we can think on our feet, all get stuck in and come up with a solution on our own.

Scouts has made it so when I sit in a classroom, if I don’t understand something I have the confidence to ask, if I’m struggling on a topic I can pick myself back up and try again, Scouts has given me loads of skills that will stay with me for life.And it’s all been made possible by brilliant adult

volunteers, from the programmeplanners to the car-drivers.

My role-models are my Scout Leaders, with their give-it-a-go attitudes and wide-open minds, it doesn’t take an astronaut to support a group of young people.

It takes people like you, to give any time you can, so that more people like me can have access to these fabulous adventures.

But we’re not just at your local community centre, you don’t have to hunt us down to find out more about what we get up to, we’re also online, with our new website packed full of info, if you want to explore more its never been easier; just visit hampshirescouts.org.uk and have a look around.

Do you have a story to share? We'd love to hear from you!

Email: communications@ hampshirescouts.org.uk

Volunteer today!

hampshirescouts.org.uk/volunteer/ Week by week, our volunteers empower thousands of young people to learn new skills, make new friends and stand on their own two feet.

They’re our everyday heroes.

They shape young people’s lives for the better, and find out a whole lot about themselves in the process, too.

Today, there are nearly 60,000 young people on the waiting list to join us in the UK. We’re more relevant and more needed than ever, but it’s not always easy to keep up with the demand.

That’s where you come in.You don’t need to be Bear Grylls to join us. You don’t need to have been a Scout when you were younger.

You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent.

Our door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds, and we’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand.

In Hampshire, we're doing all we can to support local Districts and Groups during this time, by providing access to systems and resources from across the County Team. Check hampshirescouts.org.uk/coronavirus regularly, as it is being continuously updated...

Building on success: How Hampshire's programme team is supporting skills for scouts

BY STEVEN OSBORN

Day in, day out our lovely volunteers are working hard to show young people the skills they need for school, university, the interview and for life in general.

To help support them, Hampshire Scouts have a programme team full of experience to share with leaders and to help organise the events that bring everyone together.

New for this year, the programme team has had a refresh to better support our volunteers.

Joining our lead volunteer Teresa Ginn we have two new assistants who both bring a wealth of experience.

Adam Jollans has enjoyed more adventures and international trips abroad than most, is the chair of

Hampshire Scouts Expeditions and has previously been our lead volunteer for International trips and Hampshire Scouts as a whole.

Ray Noice brings a range of organisational skills and has previously supported our Network section for 18-25 year olds and helped us shout about Scouts as lead volunteer for media and communications.

As well as our experienced leaders, we also have some of our own Scouts joining the team.

Louis Soccard, Lisa Burns, Daniel Cooper and Haydn Allen all help support the team and ensure our youth have a voice in what they do right now.

As well as the very successful events, camps and adventures open to every member in Hampshire the team also recommend new tools for fun and

skills building.

One of these is a new programme planning tool with a whole host of ideas for badges, meetings or even a whole term’s worth of activities.

So many can be done at home that these have been picked up by lots of groups in the current climate as part of #TheGreatIndoors.

More volunteers are finding out about these activities and helping their scouts learn skills for life as a result.

You can find out more about what we do at hampshirescouts.org.uk or contact us there if you want to join the team and help support our lovely leaders.

Like what you read?

Go to hampshirescouts.org.uk

Whispers on the web...

Success for Hampshire Sea Scouts at Plymouth Swimming Competition

BY LOUIS SOCCARD

Sea Scouts from Hampshire brought home the coveted Otter Shield from the Royal Navy recognised Sea Scouts Swimming Championships 2020.

The event, which took place on the 2nd February, saw the team compete in a variety of races at HMS Raleigh in Plymouth.

9th Lymington Sea Scouts saw outstanding results in their ‘un der 12’ and ‘under 14’ squads as

they competed against 12 other teams. They took part in breastroke, freestyle and backstroke races as well as a medley relay.

They also combined squads to swim the squadron freestyle relay which they won “with time to spare”.

They won the overall Scout trophy, the Otter Shield. Lymington Explorers also had a successful weekend, coming 3rd overall in their age category (which consisted of 5 teams).

They finished 3rd in their squadron relay and 2nd in their rope throw relay.

The volunteers who helped manage the teams said that the weeks of dedicated training by both the squads and the reserves was “impressive” and led them to gain “the results they deserved”.

The team would also like to thank the staff and customers of Lymington Health and Leisure Centre for their continuous support.

Do you have a story you'd like to share in Hampshire Scouts News?

Email county.office@hampshirescouts.org.uk

We're looking for storytellers, photographers, videographers and graphic designers!

Fancy getting involved with the Hampshire Scouts Media and Communications (Perception) team?

Email: communications@hampshirescouts.org.uk

Is your group on brand?

Check out our brand centre...

The deadline to get your group on brand has been extended to May 2021. Thousands of Groups, Districts, Counties and Regions across the UK have already made the change.

If you have not yet done so, It’s time to take action and start using our new brand.

It’s not just so we can show our new logo, colours and font (visual identity), It’s so we can talk about skills for life too.

We’re showing the world how we help young people gain skills for

life and that we’re one movement.

In the words of the Chief Scout, Bear Grylls, “We’re an unstoppable force for good.”

Now together, let's switch to our new brand by May 2021.

Why? Because showing we’re all part of one movement will help us be seen by more people and better understood, so the time spent inspiring more parents and potential volunteers is never wasted.

When people see that we’re here to help young people play their part, take charge and speak up – gain

skills for life – they’ll want to get involved.

Everything you need can be downloaded from: brand.hampshirescouts.org.uk and scoutsbrand.org.uk.

Across Hampshire, the skills for life message is already getting through. The brand makes us feel part of something BIGGER...

On the water...

Portchester Sea Scouts cruise the cut on London’s canals

BY STEVEN OSBORN

Being a part of the Scouts can take you to many places and give you so many new experiences in your life.

But as one group have been finding out, it can also help you see somewhere differently.

The 3rd Portchester Sea Scouts are used to being out on the water but last September they took on a whole new adventure; taking a narrowboat, the Ben Gorton, on the Grand Union Canal in the heart of London.

Led by a man called Pirate, the boat is a night away unlike any other.Over a fun packed weekend, they saw London differently.

On the Saturday alone they discovered a wide variety of house boats, cruised through the middle of various enclosures of London Zoo, navigated up through the locks at Camden before stopping near the famous Paddington Train Station and a hunt for a famous bear afterwards.

The Sunday didn’t let up either with an extra stop at the Ace Café at the request of the Scouts themselves – youth shaped Scouting in action!

As well as the adventures, the Scouts also worked on a number of skills including maintaining the boat, working the historic locks and each took a chance at the

helm.

Plus, they were able to work towards their Expedition and Teamwork challenge awards, their Power Coxswain and Naturalist activity badges and the higher stages of the Nautical Skills staged activity badge – amazing dedication!

One successful trip later, the group plan to return. If you’ve been inspired, more can be found at scoutnarrowboat.co.uk