Derbyshire County Scout Council Newsletter - Issue 2 - April 2010
RECOGNISING ACHIEVEMENT On Sunday 7th February 2010, Scouts, Explorer Scouts, Scout Network, Leaders and Parents descended on Cavendish Hall, Edensor for the Prestigious Presentation Afternoon in the p r e s en c e o f S ir R ic h a r d Fitzherbert ,our president & Willie Tucker the Lord Lieutenant.
Thanks go to Chesterfield District SASu who provided a first class buffet after the presentations which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Finally, if you have any Scouts who have achieved their Gold Award, please contact your ADC (Scouts) or DC who will then arrange to send details to me so that I can invite them along to this next presentation. Mark Tarry, the Deputy Chief Commissioner of Eng land will p r esen t the certificates for us.
The Explorer Scout Section was represented by 7 Explorer Scouts receiving either the Chief Scout Platinum or Chief Scout Diamond Award. Following this there were also 11 recipients from the Explorer Scout and Scout Network of the Queen Scout Award.
Over the afternoon a total of 67 Scouts were present to receive their Chief Scout‟s Gold Awards, from 10 of our Districts across the County.
into double figures already for the next presentation – at PEAK 2010.
The presentation afternoon previously held in Ashbourne Town Hall was so successful that a new venue was sought due to an ever increasing number of Scouts successfully gaining the highest awards within their section, though even with the slightly bigger venue, it was still a packed house although the access for the all important buffet was much better!
In This Issue
Tom’s Turn
Promoting Derbyshire
Going International
Jamboree On The Trail
Simply Scouting
Around The County
Growing The Movement
Following this record year we are already
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K.Scout is the Newsletter of the Derbyshire County Scout Council. All contributions and photos gratefully received and should be sent to news@derbyshirescouts.org for inclusion. Deadline for next issue: 16th May 2010!
ger ment Mana p lo e v e D Our Media aver Danny We
SHOUTING FOR SCOUTING Hi everyone I‟ve recently taken on a new role as the Media Development Manager for Derbyshire. What that basically means is that I will be working to raise the profile of Scouting in the local media so that we can get ourselves more publicity, with the overall aim of getting ourselves noticed more. Over time I‟ll also hopefully be working with others on things like the new newsletter, “K.Scout”, our county website and the facebook page – all aimed at keeping everyone in the county up to date with what is going on elsewhere in Derbyshire. General news & publicity What we all do in Scouting isn‟t “ordinary”, and there is an awful lot that we do that is potentially newsworthy – but we don‟t always make it to the papers (or radio or TV). Part of my role is to improve on that – for starters, Tom and I recently met with the new Community News Editor from the Derby Telegraph and she is very keen to receive news items from us and help us to get more coverage. So we now have a direct link in to that newspaper at least! All sorts of things could be candidates for a newspaper article – everything from a group camp, to a fundraising event, to some Cubs achieving a new badge, to a recruitment drive for
leaders. Anything that reinforces the images of adventure and achievement - and photos of young people "in action" in particular are good. If you have anything that you think might be newsworthy, let me know and I will help you to try and get coverage. I am happy to help with things like writing press releases, ensuring that they go to the right places and liaising with the media. As a general rule, any information about something you have done needs to be sent straight after the event; if you are trying to get coverage in advance then the more warning you can give the better - especially if you want them to visit. Please also let me know if you sort out any publicity for yourself – that way I can make sure it goes in the newsletter and on facebook too, plus I can keep track of all the coverage we are managing to get around the County. K.Scout & facebook We don‟t always hear about what is going on elsewhere in the county – for example, those in Swadlincote might not have heard about the new toilet and shower facilities being built at Gradbach; whilst those in Buxton might not have heard about the new Scout group being set up in Hartshorne. Hopefully you have all seen the first edition of the new county
Log on to the official Facebook page at
newsletter, K.Scout, by now – it is available on the county website if not. Nick Griffiths from Peak District has taken on the editor role and is working on the second issue. The main thing he needs your help with is with news items, pictures and events to go in future editions. The newsletter and the facebook page will enable us to share news about what is going on around the county. If you aren‟t already a “fan” of the facebook page, you can see the page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/ D e r b y s h i r e Scouts/238359033036. There are well over 450 fans so far and people are already sharing their local Scouting news, which is fantastic. I want to build the page up so that we have at least an item a day posted on there, including input from all over the county. I need help with this – so if anyone is interested in becoming a local contact for the facebook page, let me know. Then I can set you up with admin access, so that you can feed the page with any news directly – it would be good to have a contact per District to link in with the local groups and so on. In the mean time, please send any items that you want to share to me.
The deadline for inclusion in the next issue is:
www.facebook.com/pages/Derbyshire-Scouts/238359033036
16th May 2010
We have organised a Young Spokespeople and Campaigners course, which is being run by the Media team from Gilwell, and promised to be a great course. I have detailed below the draft course overv iew and session overview for the course. We do have a few places available and have asked the DC‟s to nominate someone aged between 14 – 21 to attend the course, if we are oversubscribed then the participants will be interviewed to see who will attend the course. If you would like to be considered for the course can you please let me know by 30th April 2010
The skills they learn throughout the course, which they put into practical use whilst devising and promoting their own campaign and strategy, will create the perfect foundation for them to move forward in the process of effectively representing the Scouting All final presentations, t e lev is io n and radio interviews, podcasts, press releases and news articles will be uploaded to a website for all course graduates and visitors to see, rate and comment on. An online voting function could also be made available in order for an overall winner from each format to be nominated and awarded.
Course Overview By the end of the 2 day „Scouts Young Spokespeople and Campaigners‟ course part ic ipants will hav e successfully launched their own campaign, and prepared a strategy for going forward, this will be presented to those in attendance, and invited guests, in one of 3 chosen formats: 1. Recorded TV interview and recorded radio interview (promotional podcast is optional) 2. Press release and news article 3. Power point presentation to a live audience
Course Objectives
Ai ms
and
To unde rs tand t he importance and role of brand
To be aware of and to create their public identity
To learn how to start-up a campaign and to consider relevant issues
To learn effective goal setting and timeline management
To learn campaigning and project management skills
Working well in teams
Leadership qualities
Effective communication
Pres en ting audiences
Presenting on radio and television
W riting and using effective press releases and articles
To motivate and inspire participants to engage in campaigning and to become a YSP
to
live
oyal R d l e i f r e t roup Ches G e d i u G & Scout Hospital, Chesterfield ith Calow Working W
It does not seem that long since the last report! We have missed a few meetings recently as the play leaders are few on the ground because of holiday cover and training. However we have a full programme planned with themes such as „circus‟, „earth‟ and „Spain‟ coming up over the next few weeks. Last night 2 little girls made St Patrick‟s Day door hangers and coloured in snakes whilst 2 boys confined to bed designed kits for leprechaun -looking, football player finger puppets, ready to challenge their dads to a match today! There is a lovely outside area to the unit and I am sure that we will make good use of that once the weather improves. As with any sectional meeting, it is always much more exciting to do anything out-of-doors rather than inside; and for a child who is in hospital it must be doubly so. We meet some really interesting children and their parents. It is very hard for the parents when a child is in hospital. They are trying to juggle so many balls – keeping a bored and often scared youngster occupied, arranging child-care for other children in the family, making sure that things at home are ok, liaising with work, keeping everyone in the extended family informed and somehow keeping themselves going too! The emblem for the group is not quite finalised. Once we have it then we must look at badges and small memorabilia to sell, to raise money to keep the group afloat. We do not charge the
young people to attend the meetings and there are no costs for the facilities, but craft materials need to be bought as for any section. The great news is that as all the leaders have other roles too, we have no capitation to pay! Interested in lending a hand? We are hoping to have another induction evening soon. Ring me if you would like to attend on 01773 603524 anneveale@hotmail.com
Bemrose Centre, Drum Hill. Weekend of 8th & 9th May 2010 Module 20 Administration (Managers) Module 21 Growing the Movement (Managers) Module 22 Section Support Module 23 Safety for Managers/Supporters Module 24 Managing Adults Module 25 Assessing Learning Modules 26 Supporting Adults Module 37 Advising on Adult Appointments Application forms are available from www.derbyshirescouts.org and Please send completed application forms for all cour ses to the Count y Administrator, Jacquie Riley.
Scout Fellowship/ Scout Active Support News Jean Roulinson Most of Derby East Fellowship members were in evidence at Flying High 2010, both on and off the stage at the Derby Theatre. The show was very successful, giving the young people a memorable and enjoyable experience and all concerned are looking forward to a well earned rest before starting to think about the next show in two years time. There will be an official County launch hosted by Tom and myself for Scout Active Support at Peak 2010 in conjunction with a planned reception for members who are not in camp, along with our colleagues in the Trefoil Guild. Invitations with more details for this will be sent out to all soon. I know that some Fellowships have already made the change to Scout Active Support and some are waiting until the official launch at Peak. My r o l e a s A CC( Sco u t Fellowship) will change to County Scout Active Support Manager at the launch. By the time you read this our a n n u a l F e l l o ws h i p / A c t i v e Support quiz will have taken place with thanks to Derby North for hosting the quiz this year. At the ti me of writing representatives from five Fellowships/Active Support Units have sent in entries. We have a Fellowship Challenge Trophy and I hope to publish the quiz results in the next edition of K.Scout.
ATC 2010 We held out first organising team meeting for this year‟s Alton Towers Camp last week and have a few initial details to get you excited. It might be 7 months away, but this really is a not to be missed event so get the date in your diary now!
Zig Zag Monopoly Challenge As part of our monthly county programme Derbyshire Scout Network members took part in the Zi g Zag Monology Challenge. Starting in Derby,
with a monopoly board full of locations and objects to find, two teams set off to explore Derbyshire and Nottingham using Trent Barton Zig Zag bus tickets. Teams collected points by taking photographs of locations such a the Scala Cinema - Ilkeston, The Crooked Spire - Chesterfield and Galleries of Justice - Nottingham and gained bonus points for taking pictures of the monopoly pieces (house, car, dog, top hat and so on…). Ben Lee and Danny Weaver comment on the day: “We toured Derby city centre and found a few things in the Westfield centre (i.e. game playing pieces) then we caught the 6.1 bus to Matlock, Matlock Bath & Wirksworth. The Zig Zag Monolopy Challenge was an
excellent team building activity to prepare us for our Explorer Belt expedition in Summer 2010. This was the first time the team had met up together as a whole since our initial Explorer Belt training weekend. The challenge day helped us learn a little more about one another and gave us an opportunity to explore Derbyshire.” “Travelling by bus isn't something I do very often, let alone six in one day! It was a good day with some interesting
challenges that got us thinking and some funny looks - just try finding a battleship in Derby and then wandering round Co-Op taking photos of irons and giant teacups... All good fun though! Your Scout Network Contact County Scout Network Commissioner Lucy Robinson lucyjanerobinson@hotmail.co.uk
The Facts: Date: 15-17 October 2010 Location: Drum Hill Scout Campsite in Derbyshire Format: A fun social weekend for age 18+ members of Scouting and Guiding The bargain price: the whole weekend will cost less than the normal price for Alton Towers tickets alone! Two nights of entertainment „til the early hours Spectacular open -theme fancy dress competition on Saturday night Well stocked and low cost bar Cooked breakfast both mornings New/improved for 2010 Choice of Alton Towers theme park or water park tickets Online booking/ payme nt facility Alton Towers‟ brand new mega rollercoaster: Thirteen Saturday late-night hog roast/ BBQ available Bigger fancy dress competition with better prizes Improved marquee layout – bar and party closer together and more enclosed to keep things warmer! After the unexpected and controversial Phoenix Network fancy dress victory over longrunning champions Quest Network last year, this year‟s competition is expected to be even hotter! We open for bookings in May, and the website and facebook will be updated soon with the latest posters and information. atc@derbyshirenetwork.org.uk
The „weekend‟ started off for the leaders on the Thursday 29th October 2009. It was decided that we would sleep over at the scout hut and then all the parents could hand in passports, insurance cards and luggage (without the cubs) as we were looking at leaving Dronfield at 04.00am (yes 04.00am!!!) on the Friday! During our trip we had a cub who was to be invested and one of our leaders Tony (Kaa) had arranged for the investiture to take place on the ferry with a member of the crew „assisting‟. We had been told that we would be unable to go on the bridge,‟ but we would be able to do the investiture in the passenger area. Due to the good time we had made travelling down to Dover from Dronfield, Derbyshire we were put on an earlier ferry!! (Oh no, what about the arrangements, I hear you cry!) The information desk officer on the ferry, „The pride of Dover„ of P & O ferries was informed by Tony (Kaa) and lo and behold the customer Services Officer was sent down to greet us and we were taken up to the bridge to meet Captain Browne as a very special treat. The investiture took place with Captain Browne, who was very accommodating, also during this time Phil (Skip, my harassed husband) a scout leader had his wood badge presented. (states that he should get more than a wood badge for putting up with my tantrums over the France trip!!) and then we had a guided
tour of the bridge. The cub who was invested; Christopher (now known as Captain Chris) was given V.I.P treatment and with assistance from Paul one of the officers, steered the ferry when we had to change course. (He was even allowed to sound the fog horn.) many thanks to the P & O staff who made the day for the Cubs. The ferry journey was over all too quickly, and we were on our way to the Chateau de Grande Romaine, which is in Lesigny, an area about 20 minutes outside Paris. The Chateau was amazing, the PGL staff were fantastic, and I
have never felt so relaxed on a cub camp. (Felt odd and guilty that we had time to actually sit and eat a meal. Leaders you will know what I mean.). The rooms we r e b rillia n t, en suit e bathrooms. No getting up out of my tent to take cubs to the toilet 3 in the morning, bliss. Friday night was games and fun by the PGL staff with the cubs for a couple of hours. We became acquainted with „the Library‟ which was made to look like an „old English pub‟, with various beverages just to add to the authenticity of course.
On Saturday morning we had a guided tour around Paris with Stephen, our PGL staff member for the whole weekend. We visited the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the ChampsElysees, and The Louvre and of course had time to walk through a French park and eat crepes followed by an afternoon of activities such as archery, low ropes assault course, abseiling and high trapeze. Sunday was the „sparkle‟ item of the weekend; we were off to Eu r o Di s n e y , i n Pa r i s. Unfortunately the rain was bucketing down, and did so all day and night. But true to form in scouting the wet weather plan is exactly the same as the dry we a t h e r p l a n , b u t wi t h waterproofs!! In true scouting ethos, poncho‟s had been obtained at a cut down price in England for all by Kate (Baggy) Euro Disney were really helpful….we were allowed to sit together on rides even if it meant re-arranging queues. What a fantastic memory to have. At 8pm we returned to the coach and due to having to get back for work and school (some of us!). We set off in the coach back to Calais to catch the ferry. We had a chilled out journey back watching DVD‟s and sleeping. We arrived back at 6am on the Monday morning an hour ahead of schedule. Fortunately we had rung ahead on Sergio‟s advice and advised parents that we would be back earlier than anticipated. Overall a fantastic adventure. Where many happy memories were formed. The cubs still laugh and joke about it now and although they were close before the bond is now so much closer. Which goes also for the leaders who were brave enough to embark on the journey? Yes I was the party leader, but that is in name only, the trip would never have occurred had it not been for the rest of the leader team that went to France.
BEAVER SCOUT RESOURCES
A Leader’s Guide to Beaver Scout Badges Hot off the press in February is a new FREE resource booklet for ALL Beaver Scout Leaders. To obtain your copy (if you haven‟t already) simply contact your ADC Beaver Scouts or District Beaver Scout Leader!
was developed and launched in Autumn 2008 to help Beaver Scouts work towards some Beaver Scout Badges outside of their colony meetings. The Beaver Scout version is designed to be given to a Beaver Scout at their investiture and provides details of badges a Beaver Scout can work towards at home such as animal friend, hobbies and IT. The Beaver Scout booklet also offers parents an overview of the Beaver Scout Badge system and encourages them to take an active interest in supporting their child and the colony. It deliberately does not include ALL the badges that a Beaver Scout can be awarded. This allows leaders it deliver a flexible programme which covers the necessary r e q u i r e me n t s a t C o l o n y meetings/visits etc.
„A Leaders Guide to Beaver Scout Badges‟ has been created as a handy resource for all Beaver Scout Leaders to allow easy access to Beaver Scout Badge requirements. It contains the details of most of the badges that can be achieved by Beaver Scouts along with useful links and suggested alternatives. All the information in the booklet can be found within other resources, but has been compacted into one small booklet for easy reference during planning meetings, colony meetings or just when you are out and about. A Guide to Beaver Scout Badges The new (leader‟s) booklet complements „A Guide to Beaver Scout Badges‟ which
If you are interested in obtaining copies of this booklet which are 50p each (plus p+p), contact your ADC Beaver Scouts or District Beaver Scout Leader for an order form or apply direct to the ACC Beaver Scouts. Order forms are also available as a download from the County website www.derbyshirescouts.org.
Future Plans Both of these booklets have been developed by Mossy, a Beaver Scout Leader in Derbyshire along with the support of fellow leaders and the Derbyshire Beaver Scout ACC. The team is now working on producing a new CD ROM providing clip art, certificate templates and other useful printable resources, so watch out for details coming soon! Within the county we are also developing “Be prepared ... to have fun” a web-based resource of games and „programmes on a plate‟. We hope to have a paper version available for those unable to access the information via the internet. If your Colony has a favourite game or you have a successful programme that you are willing to share – please get in touch. Contact Scouts
the
ACC
Beaver
acc-beavers@derbyshirescouts.org
Scouting. Registration There is a need to register your event, and this is a simple process through the internet by going to: http://jott.org.uk.
Tracy Lugg ACC Cub Scouts When Tom visited me at home a few weeks ago to invite me onto the county team as ACC Cubs I was both shocked and flattered but I was thrown into a dilemma; I thoroughly enjoyed working as ADC Cubs in Chesterfield and District, the district team are great and the 13 packs are even better. However, after a great deal of thought I decided that I should challenge myself and have a go at something new. I do not know parts of my county very well and this would be a great opportunity to explore as I am invited, hopefully, into new districts to see the wonderful activities and events. Our first county event will be taking place in September when each district will be sending their best three chefs to participate in a Re a d y, St e a d y Co o k competition. But, I hope to meet lots of you before hand at the Water Activities Day on June 13th at Trent Lock and of course
In addition to registering you will be able to order the JOTT badges. Jamboree On The Trail is an annual day for the World Scout Movement to hike together. All Scouts, whatever their age and wherever they may be in the world, are invited to participate in whatever way they can. Cubs and younger Scouting sections could visit a local nature trail as part of a weekend camp. A Scout Troop might check out a hiking trail while working on badge requirements. An Explorer Scout Unit or Network Members might make a Service Project out of restoring or maintaining a hiking trail. In their own way, everyone will be hiking the same direction: towards a better future through Scouting. It is probably one of the lesser known universal Scouting events even through it is in itâ€&#x;s thirteenth year, but as we are blessed in Derbyshire with plenty of trails to walk along, there is still time to get your section, group or district involved! Taking Part This is really easy! The details of your JOTT event are up to you. Who, where, what time and what you are doing are all decisions made by you. The only thing that is common is participation on the same day and giving some consideration to the worldwide aspect of the Scouting family and to working towards a better future through
History A Canadian Scout Troop hiked part of the Trans Canada Trail one fine October weekend in 1997. The following Monday, Scoutmaster Dave Wiebe sent a trip report to Internet email list ScoutsCan-L, beginning a conversation on hiking. The conversation lead to the idea of a Scout hiking day for all sections and on any trail. Further discussion set the date for the first event as April 25, 1998; late enough that those in the Northern parts were likely to have trails free of snow on which to walk. Reading list messages about the idea, UK Scouter Kevin Thomson began to wish that he could take part in this too. It then occurred to him that this needn't be limited to the shores of Canada as there are trails to walk on all over the world. Scouters quickly agreed that this could be a world-wide event. Now that the event was born, they discussed what to call it. For a while it was going to be World Wide Walk because it had been started through discussions on the World Wide Web. In the end, they decided on Jamboree On The Trail (JOTT). Feedback Following the event, you can submit a report on the website...and of course if you do participate send it to K.SCOUT too!
Dave MacAlister The ACC (Scouts) view on the Scout Section Across The County
Global Challenge a challenge for 2010 I am pleased to report the “Roll of Honour” has been kicked off with 5 recipients – from Peak District and 10 from Derb y No rth , I understand there are 30 from Ilkeston in the offing! If you haven‟t promoted this yet within your Troop, go to the Download section on the Scout section page on the website for details. Our next ADCs‟ meeting will be on Wednesday 5th May at Alfreton Fire Station (8.00 pm) - please make sure your District is represented. We will be tackling the Creative Challenge as well as our District update/Activity Share. Again, please make use of the website to see what else is in store over the coming months.
Tom’sysThirue Cronunty Scout Council
Derb missioner, m o C ty n u Co
A VIEW FROM THE CHAIR Carole Grew
It only seems like two minutes since I last wrote to K. Scout can it really be two months? Thanks for all the really positive feedback re K.Scout I am sure our Editor “Nick the news” is well chuffed and rightly so. Thanks for all the work Nick keep it up. But what a busy two months we have all had in Derbyshire, I did think it might be a little quieter this end of the year. Wrong! You all seem to be as busy as ever from Bangers & Brass nights in Ilkeston to Cub ready steady cook competitions in High Peak. (complete with Cheese in the fruit salad) ask me some time? I hope you have all heard by now of the appointment of Tracy Lugg as ACC Cub Scouts. For Derbyshire. Tracy has a really good background of Cub Scouting in Chesterfield and is currently ADC Cub Scouts. But more importantly she is keen and enthusiastic about Cub Scouting in fact she is already looking to 2011 and her 95th Birthday !! Tracy will be getting in touch and seeing you all in due course but does have some unfinished business in Chesterfield to tidy up first, not least the District Cub camp. The county obviously owe a great deal of thanks to her predecessor ,Mark Stafford whilst he has been quiet of late there has been good reason. I very much look forward to Mark spreading his talents in the county in the future. You will all be pleased to know that Joy Templar is out of hospital and on the mend and eager to get Beavering away. Elsewhere in the county the Network held their way forward meeting “Evolution” in a freezing building on a snowy weekend in a beautiful Gradbach campsite where we were all made very welcome. Lucy and team are doing a great job providing activities for the Network, please encourage your district & fellow network members to support their enthusiasm. I suspect I was the proudest CC on the day Sir Richard Fitzherbert ,our president & Willie Tucker the Lord Lieutenant presented some 67 chief Scout awards and 12 of our young people became Queen Scouts . What an achievement, well done to all and to all who helped them in their achievements. The ceremony was also my first sight of an Active support unit in the new uniform. Chesterfield looked very up to date. Last K.Scout I wrote of the Rag assessment and since then almost every district is now somewhere in the process either having completed all or part, or
having had a first meeting with one of the members of the regional development service to plan the way forward. All so far having the expectation of being completed by the end of May. Thanks to you all. I hope that we will all benefit. At the CC regional meeting yesterday Leicestershire, who as a county are almost complete with the rag assessment, have already changed their priorities for support based on the surprises coming out of rag. I attended the launch at Derby North recently and their valid comments have been fed back to HQ by Mick of the RDS team. There are already a couple of development spin offs programmed in following the RDS visits, lets hope their outcomes are as successful. Continuing with wanting to promote better communications and promoting Scouting following a tip off From John Meggitt we went down to Rickmansworth to collect an excellent redundant Mobile Display Unit. All it needs is a clean, the police logos replacing with Scouting ones and promotional posters obtaining. The intention is to have it ready for an awareness /recruiting event on May 3rd in Derwent and Dove. It will be available for use anywhere, all you will need is to book it via Jacquie, make sure your driver complies with the law (information available) and the vehicle can safely tow 1550 kgs. More details will be emailed out to Dc‟s. Finally I did ask for your best photo representing scouting in action for various uses - publicity, posters, County report, etc. I really could do with some as I do not want to use pictures from another county on our displays ! I also now need some photo‟s showing Scouts helping others for another project. Here I am looking for anything from the last 12 months. Could be anything from clearing snow, cleaning out litter, painting, presenting a cheque for one of the recent world disasters, better still actually what was being done to raise the money. They could be of Scouts from elsewhere in the country /world. They just need to be identifiable as Scouts helping others. I must mention the census. As a County we YOU showed an overall increase of 344 new members (4%). Very well done to all who have helped in this increase it just shows what good quality Scouting, Derbyshire Scouts are givi ng Derbyshire‟s young people. Details will be sent to Dc‟s for discussion in your districts. "No one knows what he can do till he tries." Syrus
Hi and I hope that you enjoyed the first edition of K.Scout as much as I did, my thanks and congratulations to Nick the News for a brilliant edition. Let‟s hope it moves from strength to strength, but that will depend very heavily on all of us doing our bit and submitting items to be included. I would like to remind all of you about Gift Aid and how useful this is at group, district and county level in helping to supplement the funds. Just thinking of it as robbing the tax man to pay Scouting – it has to be a win – win situation all the way. If your group has not yet used Gift Aid then I would urge to investigate it – it‟s very easy. There is a very useful fact sheet which can be downloaded from Scout Base which explains it all, what you have to do and how. Go on sort it out – you know it makes sense. Lastly a reminder to you all that this year the executive will be looking for at least two new elected members, Sally Eccles and Mick Wells have served their time!!!! Please put your thinking caps on now, talk to those in your district who you feel may be able to contribute. This could be your chance to get a voice on the executive. We are especially interested to see more young people coming forward, we need their input and their challenges “Why do you do that?” is a very useful question sometime and one we do not ask ourselves often enough.
Spring is just around the corner – get out and enjoy
The World Scout Jamboree is without a doubt the biggest event in the Scouting calendar. Every four years, tens of thousands of Scouts from around the world descend into a chosen country to learn about Scouting in different areas, make new friends and most importantly, have fun! The World Scout Jamboree in Sweden 2011 is no different. The camp itself will take place in Rinkaby, near Kristianstad. The three weeks will be split into; a camp, near to Copenhagen where all of the UK Contingents will meet, the Jamboree itself and then „home hospitality‟, where the members will get the opportunity to stay with the family of another Scout in one of the countries close to Sweden. T h e UK has been given 4,000 pl a ce s f o r Scouts a n d Guides across Britain, which may seem a lot, but when it comes down to just two places per district, the number suddenly seems quite small! The 80 people, 60 of whom are from Derbyshire Scouts, with 20 from Midlands Girl guiding, had to go through a variety of selection processes, involving interviews, assessment camps and then even more interviews! Some were initially disappointed as they were told that they had not been selected, to later find out that they had secured on of the „reserved‟ county places. To prepare for the event, the
Derbyshire contingent will be holding 5 t r a i n i n g weekends over the next 18 mo n t h s , at l o c a t i o n s i n cl u d i n g Gradbach, Beaudesert and Trent Lock. The first of these took place at Drum Hill campsite between the 22nd and 24th of January. This weekend was an opportunity to learn a bit more about what we are going to be doing over the next year and a half, get to know each other and the leaders and talk about other important matters, such as our code of conduct, fundraising and finding out which unit we would be in. We also met the le ad er shi p team, Matt and Gill as unit leaders, James, Graham, Gavin and Steve from the Scouts and Vicki and Susie from Girlguiding UK. The Saturday involved a carousel of activities, including archery, the assault course and the low ropes course, with the Sunday consisting of a number of team building games, as we found out our units, for example, getting out of cotton handcuffs, „Swedish twister‟ and the „human chair‟. The cost for each contingent member is £2000. We are now all looking at ways in which we
can cover the costs, whether it be through getting a job, d o i n g a sponsored event or doing a charity sale. This cost also doesn‟t cover a l l t h e equipment the contingent is going to need, so a number of fundraisers are planned for this, for example, a 400 club, bag packs and selling unit badges. The Jamboree experience has been described as life changing. To be selected to go on one is an honour, and for that we would all like to thank our Scout and Explorer Scout leaders, our District Commissioners, our parents and relatives for supporting us through our application process and by no means least the Leaders which are taking us to the Jamboree. The next training weekend at Gradbach is coming up in a couple of month‟s time but the jamboree itself is only around the corner. Every contingent member is hard at work raising funds and contingent leaders are working hard to finalise details for 2011. Everybody is starting to look forward to a brilliant three weeks. Bring on 2011!!!
e Around Th ounty C ur new s! Send us yo
Derby North Our ADC Scouts, Neil Horbury is stepping down from the role. He has moved out of the area and lives in Tamworth, is getting married in August and we wish him well in his new life. This means of course that he is not as available in his current role and we need to find a replacement as soon as practicable.
We are a very flexible District and open to job sharing and delegation to District Leaders.
A Scouting Marriage Ben Widdowson and Gail Bleakley were married at 1pm at St Thomas' Church.
If you would like to chat about the role then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
The church was full with Ben and Gail‟s relatives and friends including those from the Scouts, Cubs and Beavers -Ben is Group Scout Leader of the 3rd Brampton and Gail a Beavers leader.
Stephanie Argyle - DC
The Rector, Matt Barnes
I am looking for applications from enthusiastic volunteers from ANY section or those who may have left Scouting, so feel free to pass on this message. The candidate should be willing to manage and support the Scout section; be approachable, a good listener and a competent communicator in all media. They should have innovative ideas and a desire to develop the section and need to be willing to put up with the general rantings of the DC! Attached is a headquarters based document detailing the responsibilities of the role. If you think either yourself or someone you know would be willing to take on this key role, please send a brief resume to the District Secretary Sue Harper (e mail is fine) detailing current role if any and why you or that person would relish the role. Closing date will be 2nd April and I would hope to appoint as soon as possible after as the busy season is upon us.
Long Eaton The weekend of 13-14th February was arranged as an occasion for Scouts from all Troops in Long Eaton to come down to Trent Lock to help with some of the painting that needs to be done. Special thanks from the Activity Centre team to the four Scouts from Draycott who came along on Sunday. They were Nick Orgill, Caleb PerryBradburn, Scott Goodey and Ryan O‟Leary. Thanks to them, the paddle store is now a brilliant shade of white and we can see into all the corners. I think some bits of them were also a brilliant shade of white – but emulsion paint washes off fairly easily!
took the service. In his address he talked about Ben and Gail living and working together as one. He illustrated his address by getting them to actually „tie the knot‟ and make a fruit salad together a he talked! A guard of honour was formed as the service ended and as they left for their reception.
Congratulations from all within Derbyshire
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The course is aimed principally at members of the Scout or Guide Associations but if there is room we may also take others too. Minimum age is 16 years, maximum – infinity.
Covers the whole gamut of boat ma noeu vring – in cluding anchoring, man overboard, towing, plus an understanding of the rules that apply to the activity. If you are successful you will receive the RYA Level 2 Powerboat Certificate at the end of the course. Please note that the course will only cover displacement boats – previously we have included planning boats as well.
4 Inns Walk This is starting to look like record year for entrants of late with some 108 teams booked in. The organising committee have been working hard to ensure the event maintains its tough, challenging, but very friendly reputation. Good to have High Peaks explorers helping out at the start . Teams are coming from as far apart as Scotland and the Isle of Wight. Dean Smith our regional commissioner will be visiting the event and presenting trophies on the Sunday morning. Results in the June K.
Dates of Course: Saturday/ Sunday 24th–25th April 2010, 9am to 5pm each day Cost: £50 for Scouts or Guides, £85 for others Cost includes lunch plus tea/ coffee etc on both days. If you wish you are welcome to camp for the weekend – breakfast etc can be arranged with the team on duty for a small extra charge. Places are limited so, if you are interested, get in touch with me as soon as possible.
The Ivan Hutchinson Fund: This is a fund was created by the Group in memory of Ivan who had been Troop Leader, GSL and also an active committee member until his death in Jan 2008. He was also awarded the Silver Wolf for services to Scouting before he died.
RYA POWERBOAT TRAINING COURSE
It will be run by a team of qualified RYA powerboat instructors. It takes place on the River Trent between Trent Lock and Sawley at the Trent Lock Activity Centre. Involves practice on a variety of inboard and outboard engine displacement boats.
1st Ripley Scout Group
Derby County Football I have a football Signed by the current Derby county team. It is free to whoever comes up with the most original fund r ai sing i d ea usi ng i t . Jamboree participants springs to mind. Suggestions to :cc@derbshirescouts.org
The monies raised for the fund are used to provide some financial support for a young person in our area who is in need due to disability, illness or other. During the year, each Section will undertake some kind of sponsored event and the profits which are made are put into the fund. All the money raised for the fund is done by the young people of the Group. Their activities have included sponsored bike rides from Ashbourne to Ripley and around Carsington Water, sponsored walk and a coffee evening. Individuals have even raised funds in addition to the Section. The total funds raised is £400 which is to be presented to a 13 year old girl from Crich who was involved in a car accident some years ago when a car mounted the pavement and knocked her over. She has suffered with brain damage since the accident and now has very limited mobility. The money will be used to buy a rowing machine which she will use to build muscle which it is hoped will give her better mobility than the few steps she can manage at the moment. The presentation of the Cheque will be made by the young people of the Group on Wednesday 31st March 2010 at the Group's Bingo evening. The event starts at 7.30pm
On getting an email from The Scout Association‟s Simon Carter informing that your District is in the top 25 growing Districts in the UK is a nice feeling - especially for a really rural District in the North of Derbyshire...so how did it happen? It all started with the District Executive looking at their development plan and identifying key areas to work on. 1. Recruiting a strong District Team. 2. Identifying possible leaders to reopen a dormant Scout Group 3. R e f u r b i s h m e n t o f S c o u t Headquarters 4. Development of the Scout Section 5. Publicity at major local events. Outlined below is what has been achieved within the key areas: District team has been developed making use of leaders in front line roles in addition to ensuring that it is a case of round pegs in round holes. This has been through making best use of review processes within the Appointments Processes. This alone has seen the recruitment of an ADC (Scouts), ADC (Cubs), and an ADC (Activities). In addition the District is currently in the process of working on the Beaver Scout Section, and is identifying suitable adults prepared take on the role. Instrumental to all these appointments has been the willingness and commitment from the District Chairman leading the appointments committee in terms of being flexible as to when meetings are held in order to accommodate the busy working life of Adults wishing to be part of our Movement. Further to this was the appointment of an ADC (Activities) with experience in Hill Walking and Climbing – an absolute essential in the Peak District in our opinion – and activities believe it or not with which we had previously struggled with. These appointments in addition to the existing DC and ADC General Duties have used a variety of approaches with the support of the Executive to Grow the movement. 1st Youlgrave Scout Group reopened thanks to the hard work of a Group
Scout Leader with a neighbouring group who was experiencing high numbers coming from Youlgrave in to Bakewell. Although this was nice in one respect – an already bulging Scout Group could no longer cope with the demand. The District Executive supported the Group Scout Leader in his quest to enable more Young People across the District to have access to Scouting, and this resulted in the Group Scout Leader becoming an Acting Leader in Charge for the Dormant Group. Under the authorisation of the District Commissioner this group is now meeting as a joint section with Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts meeting on the same night. The group will shortly be in a position to open up the Scout Section which is c u rren tl y pl ann ed t o mee t separately. The third area has cost a substantial amount of money….The District Executive has been highly supportive of ensuring Scout Groups within the District are able to meet within an appropriate environment. 1st Chatsworth Scout Group successfully applied for a grant from the District Executive in addition to external funding through the work of the Group Executive in order for them to re-floor, insulate and install LPG Gas Central Heating within their wooden Scout Hut. This has resulted in Autumn and Winter Months being a lot more enjoyable for the members….with no more cold feet or noses! Another Group is currently in the process of obtaining quotes as part of the District Executives refurbishment plan. The Scout Section within the District
has always been small, with the whole district being very small due to the geography of the area in which the District covers. Many leaders within the Section lead hectic lives and it was identified that there was a need to be flexible, whilst ensuring the Balance Programme was delivered for the section across all groups. In order to assist, the ADC (Scouts) and the ADC (Activities) developed a programme of activities at regular intervals throughout the year at weekends. These were promoted through the ADC (Scouts) and ADC (Activities) visiting the Groups across the District and handing out colourful flyers for each event. There was no requirement for the Section Leader to attend the activity planned…although they were actively encouraged too! This took away the feeling that the busy leader „had to attend‟ whilst trying to maintain a good work-life balance. The Adult : Young Person ratio was met by the organisers of each activity, making use of leaders available from other sections, and neighbouring Districts within the County fully embracing the ethos of Scouting has no borders! Each event organised has seen full attendance, and this is an approach we are continuing. The events are linked to the section programme to assist the Group Leader with the Challenge Awards….particularly through offering activities that are not always accessible or financially viable for the small Scout Group. Finally as part of the District Development Plan, The District Commissioner worked hard on a Grant Application to The Scout Association, with support from the Regional Commissioner. This resulted in the award of a Development Grant covering two years. This has enabled the District to maintain a high impact presence at the nationally renowned Bakewell Agricultural Show. Promotional Material, Climbing W alls, Demonstrations, Young People carrying out active service – helping in the main ring, through to leaders assisting on the gates to the ring. A huge project, which with the support of the County, and the aid of the grant has seen us able to ensure the Scouting Brand is highly recognised across the community. Integral to all of this is a regularly reviewed development plan with a proactiv e Dis tric t Ex ec utiv e supporting the execution of the development plan with the buy in of all the leaders within the District.
Water Activity Days – Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 June 10, Trent Lock We are organising a Water Activity Days for the weekend of Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 June 2010, at Trent Lock. Saturday is for Scouts and Sunday for Cubs, this will enable the instructors to tailor the activity to the needs of the young people. The activity is for the young people to have a go at some different water activities that are on offer at Trent Lock, these include kayaking, canoeing, bell boating, raft building and sailing. You will need to arrive at 0930 and leave by 1630. The cost of the day will only be £4 per person, and to assist with the numbers we would require a minimum of 1 leader to attend for up to 10 young people, there will be no charge for the leader/ s. There will be a limit of 80 young people for the day so please book early to avoid disappointment, I will operate a first paid first come principal, due the limited places available, I will need to limit the numbers from each pack to 10 places. The closing date will be Fri 4 June 2010. Cheques should be made payable to Derbyshire County Scout Council and sent to me with the names of the people attending to the address at the bottom of this letter. Each person will need to bring with them a complete change of clothing, a towel and a packed lunch and drinks for the day. Unfortunately showers are not available at Trent Lock.
Everyone who will be going on the water will need to be able to swim 50m in clothes, there is a limited availability for people who are not strong swimmers, and can only be accepted with prior agreement. If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Dave Mitchell DCC - Programme
Request for Help from Peak
experience). Tag Rugby (To assist the RFU Community Coaches). Football Skills (To assist the Derby County Community Coaches). Branding, (We have an experienced team who can quickly teach staff with no experience). Mountain Boarding, a degree of balance and daring required. Steel Pans (To assist the Activity Leader, no experience required). Gymnastics, some coaching experience required If you know of anybody that may be able to help out please let me know ASAP either by email or telephone. My contact details are below. Many thanks
Due to the Activity Leader for Leathercraft having to pull out of attending PEAK 2010 I am now looking for somebody to provide this activity at PEAK. It is something that I really do not want to have to drop from the Activities available to campers.
Helen Gregory Daytime Activities Manager Tel: 01332 883159 Mob: 07711 110456 Email: helen.gregory@peak2010.org Web: www.peak2010.org
I am also still looking for staff for the following activities:
Just a reminder that in January POR was updated … in terms of activities one of the activities that saw changes was Swimming.
Climbing & Abseiling, Qualifications required. Canoeing, Qualifications required for coaching OR active people who would be willing to accompany the campers on the walk to and from Swiss Lake. Street Hockey, no experience necessary. Awareness Centre, assisting on mainly one to one activities highlighting disabilities. Woggle Making, (We have an experienced team who can quickly teach staff with no
POR UPDATE
Rule 9.48 Swimming General Rule 9.49 Activities near the Water Rule 9.50 Activities on the Water Rule 9.51 Paddling Rule 9.52 Swimming Activities Rule 9.53 Swimming Training and Competitions
have all been updated. POR is available to download from www.scoutbase.org.uk
Within Scouting a number of us have carried out recycling activities raising awareness of the environmental issues for all who take part in the respective activities. For one Derbyshire Scout Group it has been taken to a new level, they have
recycled their Scout HQ. The 3rd Buxton Scout Group based on the south side of Buxton in Harpur Hill had never had an HQ to call their own and met in a variety of locations within the village since they were formed in 1911. This led to the group closing from time to time as new rented premises were required. However they came up with an ingenious idea. They found a building that was going to be demolished and asked the owners if they could recycle it . The owners were the University of Derby (UoD) who kindly agreed to the idea and agreed to donate the building so long as t he Scou t Gro up fo un d somewhere else to relocate it and any costs involved were born by the Scout Group. The hunt was truly on for a suitable place to locate it. A number of pieces of land were identified but each in turn had to be ruled out, generally owing to refusal for planning permission. After many months chasing a site,
there was only one site left. The Buxton Rugby Club indicated that they would be prepared to lease a small piece of land on a 99 year lease if planning permission could be obtained. Again the council officer was approached and again the advice came back indicating that planning permission would be opposed. Having nowhere left to turn the Scout Group mounted a campaign to get planning permission which was eventually successful. The building which is modular needed specialist gear to move it and a company in Liverpool were selected from only four in the country that could undertake this type of work. Having got estimates for this and other related activities it was abundantly clear that the amount raised through the fundraising would need a healthy shot in the arm. This wa s g i ve n t h r o u g h t h e Derbyshire Aggregates Levy Grant Scheme (DALGS) which made a healthy ÂŁ50,000 grant to facilitate the project. Go ahead was received in Autumn 2009 and the project stepped into high gear. Officialdom found many
ways to bring a halt to the project but each time the leaders found ways ar ound the obstacles. The lift took place in early November 09 only 48hours after final agreement that things could proceed. Massive cranes arrived and worked diligently moving the sections to the Super Low Loader which was brought in at short notice. The building has been worked on despite the snow, throughout the winter and wo r k s a r e p l a n n e d f o r completion by the end of May. The building has been gutted internally with all the doors, doorframes, and timber studding being salvaged and recycled. Whilst the moving costs were significant the whole cost for the project has been about 20% of the cost of a building that was considered (considered too costly and too small) as a possible alternate venue. The 3rd Buxton Scout Group are looking forward to celebrating the opening in style and to enjoying the future in their own headquarters. Further information about the project can be found at http://www.peakland.co.uk/ scouting/3rdbuxton/building.htm
Derby Mountain Rescue Team Derby Mountain Rescue team are a voluntary emergency service that provides search and rescue facilities in rural or upland areas. The Duffield based team is one of 7 covering the Peak District region and covers a vast area consisting of l a r g e p a rts o f De r b ys h i r e, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire but can be called further afield when necessary. In the past, the team has been called to incidents in Wales and Scotland. The team, like all Mountain Rescue teams, is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
DMRT and the 4 Inns The team were first formed in 1964 after 3 rover scouts lost their lives whilst taking part in the 4 Inns Walk. To this day, the Derby team have maintained a close link to the event and provide the safety cover for the walk. Event organising committee member Paul Barlow, event inspector Robin Knott are both current senior members of Derby Mountain Rescue. Whilst organising committee member & quarter master John Tomlinson, now retired from active service, is a Life Member of the team. On the day of the event, the 5 sections of the team are assigned to different areas of the route, with members of the team‟s base section staying with the control vehicle, which for most of the day is stationed at Snake Summit. Another group of volunteers from the team will also be at the start of the race to help with kit checks before the event gets underway. The rest of the team take up their appointed stations at a time appropriate to the location, i.e. some time before the first competitors are expected in that area. The team are usually stationed at Crowden Youth Hostel, Snake Summit, the Snake Inn, Edale and
Chapel. As the last competitor passes through a checkpoint where a section has been stationed, members from that section will follow on behind, sweeping the course through to the next section‟s station. Usually, team members will be on duty for about 10 hours, but some members will be there for far longer.
being noticed at first and dry sacks were quic kly adapt ed as replacements, saving the team a
Of course, everything changes as soon as there is an incident and the nearest section(s) will immediately go to the aid of any reported casualty. The team Land Rover, will be used to ferry more members and equipment as close to the incident as possible, but there will still be plenty of team members still at their stations in case any other incident takes place. With so many competitors running and walking over such difficult terrain, it‟s surprising how few incidents there are during the course of the day. During the 2009 event, only one incident occurred that required the team to go out on the hill, when a competitor twisted their ankle descending Kinder Scout into Edale. In the previous year, the only recorded incident for the team was a competitor who lost her walking shoe in the thick peat around Black Hill. Unfortunately, this coincided with a very sudden change in the weather conditions, as an inch of snow fell within 20 minutes. It did however, prove just how essential it is to make sure that entrants have the correct equipment as with the temperature plummeting, the 3 person team had to use all of the extra layers, bivy tent and sleeping bag to keep warm whilst awaiting rescue. A spare pair of shoes were quickly delivered on scene and the team were escorted off to safety. Unfortunately, the peat claimed one of the replacement shoes without it
long stretcher carry as the alternative. By the time the team returned to the road head, the snow had almost disappeared as quickly as it had come, showing just how dangerous the area can be. Of course, should any major incident take place or a major search be required, Buxton MRT are also on stand-by throughout the day and the other MR teams in the region can also be called out to assist if more personnel are needed. Hopefully, however, it will be a quite day for the team and a great one for the competitors,
For more information about Derby Mountain Rescue Team, visit www.DerbyMRT.org.uk or you can now follow them on Facebook for up to date information about the team‟s activities.
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BORDER HIKE Would you like to compete in a demanding Incident hike for Scouts and Guides (11 to 14) and a separate event for Explorers (14 to 18)? The hike takes place around the challenging terrain of the borders of three counties (Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire).
If so join us on the 17th to 19th September 2010 Based at Gradbach Scout Camp in the heart of the Peak District Camp from Friday evening to Sunday Teams of 4 plus a leader only ÂŁ40 or bring the whole troop for the weekend.
Prize money of ÂŁ100 for the winning team in each age group All teams receive a pennant and certificate for each member who completes the event For further information either ring Tony Rushworth on 01625 431 006 or email tony@borderhike.co.uk or have a look at our website www.borderhike.co.uk