Scout Groups

In September 2019, Scouting resumed with many groups looking forward to an exciting year of Scouting. The selection process for the Volunteer Resource Management and Group Support Core Team started in October 2019 and the Team got going in November 2019. More interviews were held in January 2020 and an excellent team of volunteers were appointed in February 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic became a major part of our lives just a month later. This put a stop to all face-to-face meetings and training from March onwards. The Team’s priority became ensuring training could be delivered remotely, with the Safeguarding Refresher Training moved online first and then development of Pathways to your Scouting to be rolled out from September 2020. This required Trainers to completely change how training was delivered and the commitment and dedication of the Trainers in Scouting Ireland is second to none.

In February 2020 Scouting Ireland started the process of registering Scout Groups with the Charities Regulator and again COVID-19 created issues, not just for Scouting Ireland, but also for the Charities Regulator. The department developed some sample policies to assist Scout Groups with the registration process: • Scout Group Membership policy template • Scout Group Conflict of Interest policy template • Scout Group Concessions policy template • Scout Group Annual budget template • Scout Group Strategic Plan sample Groups started to register, and the Charities Regulator are keen that Scout Groups in the South of Ireland register with the CRA in line with the Charities legislation. All Scout Groups in the North of Ireland have been registered with the Charity Commission Northern Ireland. Support Staff are available to support Groups with the registration process.

The Team have also been working on developing a Membership Policy which will be rolled out in 2021. The success of Scouting depends on Volunteers taking up roles on Project Teams, Support Teams, Board Subcommittees and the Board and all members are encouraged to consider applying for these roles.