Annual Report May 2021 - District Commissioner, Fareham West District
Wow! What a year the last year has been! It feels like we have been on one long roller coaster ride through varying degrees of strangeness and normality. We haven’t quite got to the end but we are mostly still smiling!
The pandemic meant that we needed to reconsider how we do Scouting. The leaders were fantastic and stood up to think of ways to provide a programme to our young people on Zoom or other media platforms and also at a social distance when we were allowed to run face to face meetings. We are still in a pandemic and I hope that we can continue to progress towards a new normal and not have to revert to more Zoom meetings. I would like to say a massive thank you to all of the leaders and supporters who have stepped up and planned these programmes and undertaken the additional Covid risk assessments required. You are amazing!
In addition to this extraordinary year on the frontline we have been considering how we can consolidate the District leadership team and grow resilience for the future by developing roles to share the work across a number of people and not concentrated within the remit of a few. We held a District Development Plan session to start this work off. As ever, we will need to recruit people both from outside of Scouting and with people changing roles within Scouting.
Despite the challenges of the last year we have still been able to offer our young people participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and the opportunity to learn and play an instrument in the Fareham Scout Band. Our Young Leader Adviser has continued with her hard work in supporting our young leaders and we have been able to award a number of missions and belt buckles. Our District Youth Commissioner has been working hard to engage with young people to identify what they want from Scouting and in particular to smooth the transition from the Scout to Explorer section.
Our Nights Away Adviser has continued to work hard in providing desktop nights away permit assessments to ensure that overnight activities can be run effectively and safely as soon as we are allowed to do so. Other assessors have continued to assess leaders for permits such as sailing and kayaking to ensure that we are able to provide a wide and safe adventurous programme for our young people. The wardens for our District campsite, AE Roberts Memorial, have continued to maintain and improve the site.
As we were unable to parade again this year we ran a St George’s Day Challenge, called the Dragon Slayer, and ran an on-line event. We hope that 2022 will be the year when we can again get out to parade in the community to show the strength of Scouting in Fareham West.
The supporters of the District through our Executive Committee have continued to undertake a sterling job in ensuring that we are safe and have sufficient resources to run Scouting in Fareham West. Our Appointments Advisory Committee has ensured that all leaders recruited are appropriate to run activities safely with our young people. The requirements for training have changed during the year and our Training Advisers have worked hard with leaders and supporters to undertake the training appropriate to each person's role.
We have also been able to provide support to the Scouting assets of which we are part owners as a District such as Lyons Copse Campsite, Everetts Copse Activity Site, Fareham Scout Band and Fareham Scout Shop including working groups to improve the site and cleaning the buildings.
Our waiting lists are testimony to our popularity as well as evidence of the growing need for Scouting in the District and I have been working with fellow District Commissioners and the County Team to see how we can both recover the numbers of young people lost to Scouting during the pandemic and fulfil the need for Scouting in Fareham West.
In the last year we have been able to put some leaders forward for good service awards and need Groups continue to make nominations to the Awards Panel, so that we can recognise the good work of our leaders and supporters.
Looking forward we look to find ways to continue to remind the parents and supporters of our young people of the benefits of volunteering in Scouting. Without our volunteers we cannot provide the programme that we do. We have continued to develop our profile on-line and in the public eye including through our website and public Facebook page and we need people who can support with this. We are planning a District Camp in May 2022, which looks out of this world.
We will continue to develop fundraising opportunities and seek to fund HQs for those Groups who do not currently have their own building as this gives us certainty as we move into the future and seek to offer Scouting to the large number of young people on our waiting lists and in the new housing developments in our area.
I would like to end by thanking all volunteers for what they do for our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Network members and for the support that we as leaders provide to each other. Most importantly I would like to thank the young people themselves for their enthusiasm and participation which is so rewarding to see. I look forward to being able to join section meetings during the year.
Here's to another successful Scouting year!
Sarah Anderson, District Commissioner, Fareham West Scout District
– Old Scout Bushcraft accounts 01.04.20 31.03.21
| Income | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| Expenses | 0.00 | 58.25 |
| Equipment | 998.00 | 1,768.75 |
| Construction | 0.00 | 1,592.26 |
| Misc | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| £998.00 |
£3,419.26 | |
| Opening Balance | £2,742.27 | |
| Closing Balance | £321.01 |
Independent examiner's report on the accounts CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Sectlon A Independent Examiner's Report Report lo the injsteesl members of FAREHAM WEST DISTRicf SCOUT COUNCIL On accounts for ihe •r ended 3110312021 Chaflty (If any) 1033062 Set out on pages Re$fve re¥K>nslbllltles of Iruslees and examlner The charltvs trustees are responslble for the preparatlon of the a¢counls. The charltys trustees conslder ihat an audll Is noi requlred for thls year under secllon 144 of Charllles Act 2011 {'the Chafltles kt") and that an Indelent ex4mlnJtkn Is needed. Itls my resp)nslblllty to: exarnlne ihe iccounts urmler sectk>n 145 of Ihe Charltles kl. to follow procedures lald down In Ihe general Olrecllons 8l¥n by the Charlty Commlsslon (under sedkjn 14515)Ibl of the crItIeS Acl, and to slate wheiher pJrtkulJr matl•rs hav• come to myatlenllon 8asls of Ilependent examlne¢s My examI110n was carrled out In aCCOfdance wllh general Dlrectlon$ 8Sven by ihe Charlty stalemenl Commlsslon. An eyamlnatlon Includes a revlew of the account1 records kepi by the charlty and cornparlson of the accounls presented with those records. li also Includes conslderètlon ofany unusual Items or disclosures In the accounts, arxl seekln8 explanatlons from the iruslees concernln8 any such matters. The procedures undertaken do Klt provlde all the evldence thal would be requlred In an audlt, and consequently oplnlon 1$ 8fven as lo whether ihe accounts present a 'lrue and falrf vlew and the report Is Ilmlted io ihose rnatters set out In ihe st•iemenl below. Independent exarnlnerfs slaternent In connectlon wfth rny exarnlnatk>n, no malerlal rnatters have tome to my attentlon lolher than that dlsch)sed bek)w ') whrch 8lves me cause lo belle%e Ihal In. any malerlal respect: Ihe iccountlr8 recofd5 were not kept In accordance wlth secllon 130 of ihe Charltles Act,. or Ihe accounts dbd rK*t accord wllh the Kcounilrl records,. or the accounts dkl Th)t cornply wilh the •ppllcable requlremenls concernln8 ihe form and content of accounts set oul In ihe Charllles (Accounts and Rep)rtsl Re8ulallons 2008 Otr than any requlrernent that the accoun15 8lve a 'true •nd falrf vlew whkhls fbol a maller consldered as part of an IndeperKlenl examlnatlon. I ve come across no othef matters In connectlon wilh the examlnallon to whkh allentlon should be drawn In this report In order io en•e a proper undersland1 of ihe accounts lo be reached. • Please delete the words In the bnjckets lJfhey do not appfy. Dale: 1410412021 Name: D KEMP Relevant proftsslonal qua1lfkatknSj or t Ilf any): Addres 122 WYCH LANE GOSPOR T HAMPSHIRE P013 OTE IER December 2017