Scouts
1st Fleckney
Annual
Report
2021
BACK WITH A BANG!
Intentionally blank
## **Chairman’s Report**
It has been just over two years since I was co-opted as the Chairman of the 1[st] Fleckney Scout Group Executive Committee. My second year has been as challenging as the first year, due to the continuing impact of the Global pandemic and associated lockdowns and restrictions.
Despite these challenges, the Group Executive has ‘virtually’ been actively supporting the Group and has made progress in a number of areas, including continuing to improve the Groups finances by circa 200% through Covid support grant applications, a number of donations and a substantial legacy. In addition, the Group Executive has secured several grants to procure equipment and materials to both make the scout hut ‘COVID safe’ and support outside activity which has increasingly become the norm. The Group has been significantly helped by the large number of parents/guardians who continued to pay their young persons’ subscriptions during the lockdown periods, these have helped to cover the Groups fixed costs, such as building insurance, utilities and the like. The Group has also received some positive media attention via the ‘Fleckney Communicata’, which has helped boost membership and funds.
The plan to replace the Group’s ageing hut with a new build as part of the ‘Meadows’ development in the centre of Fleckney has been further delayed by COVID 19. That said, the Group Executive has sighted and commented on the first draft of the proposed replacement hut. The delay has been put to good use registering (with the Land registry) and seeking the Scout Association Trust Corporations permissions to take on (and hold) the Groups complex land holdings. This endeavour has had the excellent support of Chris Barber, a solicitor from Edwards Hands and Lewis who is acting on a pro bono basis. There remains a very real possibility of new purpose built, fully accessible and expanded scout hut being built in the next 12/24 months to replace the current rapidly decaying building. This improved infrastructure will hopefully help ease the waiting list, which has grown significantly following lockdown easing.
It continues to be exciting times for the 1st Fleckney Scout Group, one of the oldest Groups in the country. The lifting of lockdown in the Spring of 2021 allowed the Group to get back to ‘face to face’ scouting, albeit outside and with Covid 19 restrictions in place. During this period of return, the Group subsidised a number of external activities which were both well subscribed and enjoyed by all who attended.
The Group Executive plays in an important role in supporting the Group’s activities, and with the new hut development is keen to attract new members including ideally a parent of at least one member of each section in the Group, to enable the Group to both expand and continue to thrive.
Although during my time in post, I have not had chance to meet all the Groups leaders and helpers, of those of I have met I have been impressed with their enthusiasm and dedication, and together with an equally dedicated and enthusiastic support staff, I offer my heartfelt thanks to them all for their hard work over the past 12 months and I hope they will continue on into the future.
## **James Ward, MBE**
3
## **AGENDA for Annual General Meeting Sunday 26[th] September 2021 at 19.00**
**1. Welcome and introductions by the chairman (JW)**
**2. Apologies (AG)**
**3. Approval of Minutes from the 2020 AGM (JW)**
**4. Presentation of the Annual Trustees’ 20/21 Report (JW)**
**5. Presentation of the 20/21 Annual Accounts (RM)**
**6. Election of the Inspector of Accounts for 2021/22 (JW)**
**7. Group Scout Leaders’ Report (CH)**
**8. Adoption of amended Constitution**
**9. Approval of the GSL Nomination of the Group Chairman (JW)**
**10. Election of Group Secretary (JW)**
**11. Election of Group Treasurer (JW)**
**12. Election of Members to the Group Executive Committee (JW)**
**13. Approval of GSL’s Nominations to the Group Executive Committee (CH)**
**14. Approval of Co-opted members to the Group Executive Committee (JW)**
**15. Confirmation that Section Leaders are willing to join the Group Executive Committee (JW)**
**16. Distinguished Guest’s Speech**
**17. Pleas**
4
**1[st] FLECKNEY SCOUT GROUP**
## **MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2020 Held on Held on 28[th] September 2020 Virtual Meeting held by Zoom**
## **Present:**
|
**Present:**||
|---|---|
|Derek Catt|District Chair|
|Cathy Howells|Group Scout Leader|
|Eddie Harman|Auditor|
|James Ward|Executive Chair|
|Rob McAulay|Executive Treasurer|
|Alison Gibson|Executive Secretary|
|Callum Ward|Beaver Leader|
|Sarah Sutton|Beaver Leader|
|Ivan Odell|Cub leader|
|Eric Gamble|Executive Member|
|Ruth Hughes|Executive Member|
|Rebecca Morgan|Parent|
|Clare Wilson|Parent|
An Annual Report 2020 booklet was circulated at the meeting and is cross referenced in these minutes where applicable.
## **1.Welcome**
James Ward welcomed everyone to the first AGM held by Zoom. He welcomed and introduced Derek Catt, Eric Gamble and Eddie Harman from District.
See Chairman’s Report on page 2 of the 2020 Annual Report Booklet
## **2.Apologies –** none
**3.Approval of minutes from the 2019 AGM** (pages 4-5 of the 2020 Annual Report Booklet) **-** These were approved as a true copy, proposed by Callum Ward, seconded by Rob McAulay, all in favour.
- **4.Presentation of the Annual Trustees’ 19/20 Report –** see pages 6-8 of the 2020 Annual Report Booklet. This was approved, proposed by Ivan Odell, seconded by Cathy Howells, all in favour.
## **5.Presentation of the 19/20 Annual Accounts (Rob McAulay)**
See pages 9 - 10 of 2020 Annual Report booklet for the Accounts and Treasurer’s Report. The following verbal report was also given:
- It has been an amazing year in terms of income in comparison to recent years. A £10K grant from Harborough District Council made a huge difference
- Total income for the year was around £22K, expenditure around £7K giving a profit of nearly £15K
- There have not been so many outgoings compared to other years
- Expenditure on badges has gone up, which is good, particularly as scouting was only active for half of the year
- Monthly markets raised funds and helped the community as well. There was a real community feel at these events
- James Ward has saved the group a lot of money by reducing insurance and utility bills. He has also earned the group money by claiming back over £2K in Gift Aid in two instalments and claiming grants
5
- The auditor, Eddie Harman has inspected the accounts and fed back that all is in order. Thank you to Eddie for his work.
It was proposed by Cathy Howells and Seconded by Ruth Hughes to approve the accounts and Treasurer’s report as circulated. All in favour.
6. **Election of Inspector of Accounts for 2020/21 –** Eddie Harman was approved as Inspector of Accounts, proposed by Eric Gamble, seconded by Cathy Howells and approved unanimously
7. **Group Scout Leader’s Report (Cathy Howells) –** see page 11 of the 2020 Annual Report Booklet. Cathy also gave the following verbal report:
Cathy opened by saying that the year started off well and then a lot of things had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. It has been an odd year, but the Group is trying to get back to normality and carrying out Risk Assessments to get things up and running again. There are still plenty of young people signed up, thank you to the parents for continuing to pay the subscriptions, we hope to put some of that money towards something special “Thank You” to the Executive Team who have all had to learn how to use Zoom! Thank you to everyone who helped out at the weekly markets.
- **8.Approval of the GSL’s Nomination of the Group Chairman -** Cathy Howells nominated James Ward as Group Chair, everyone was in favour and so James Ward is confirmed as Group Chair.
## **9.Election of Group Secretary**
## **10.Election of Group Treasurer**
- **11.Election of Members to the Group Executive Committee 12.Approval of GSL’s Nominations to the Group Executive Committee 13.Approval of Co-opted members to the Group Executive Committee 14.Confirmation of Section Leaders Opting onto the Executive Committee**
(see Appendix 1 for items 9 - 14). All nominations were approved unanimously.
## **15.Approval of Revised Group Constitution**
A draft Constitution was circulated. It was proposed by Sarah Sutton, seconded by Ruth Hughes and agreed unanimously that this should be adopted as circulated.
## **16.Distinguished Guest’s Speech – Derek Catt, District Chair**
Thank you to everyone for the work done for Scouting in Fleckney, District is grateful. Everyone has risen to the occasion including undertaking the necessary training. District is working with the Group on the new building to make it happen. Keep up the good work.
## **17.Presentation – Return to Face to Face Scouting 18.Pleas**
- **Gift Aid**
- **Subscription**
James Ward gave a presentation covering these points.
## **Questions and Answers**
In response to a query about the new Scout Hut it was explained that James Ward and Derek Catt recently met with the Developer’s Quality Assurance representative and Agent. They have promised to give costings for the building they are prepared to supply, which is a 12m x 12 m building. The Group has also supplied them with drawings for a bigger building 16m x 16m with a second storey and asked for costings so that the difference can be worked out and possible fundraising be organised to fund a bigger building.
The Developer has to provide a new hut before demolishing the old one.
Two parcels of land the Scouts are laying claim to are not registered with the Land Registry and so the Group is working to get these registered. Once this is done the Group will be in a stronger negotiating position.
In response to a query about the fencing put up by the Developers blocking the Fire Exit it was confirmed that they have undertaken to remove this later this week.
6
The meeting ended at 20.15 p.m.
## **Trustees' Annual Report**
For the period from **01/08/2020 to 31/07/2021**
**Section A Reference and administration details**
st **Name of Charity:** 1 Fleckney Scout Group **Charity Registration:** 1034161 **Meeting Address:** Scout Headquarters High Street Fleckney Leics LE8 8AJ
## **Trustees who manage the charity**
|**Name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not the whole year**|
|---|---|---|
|James Ward|Chairman||
|Robert McAulay|Treasurer||
|Alison Gibson|Secretary||
|Catherine Howells|Group Scout Leader||
|Eric Gamble|Elected Member||
|Ruth Hughes|Elected Member||
|John Lacey|Elected Member||
|Sarah Sutton|Elected Member||
|Katrin Wood|Elected Member||
|Andrew Weatherby|Elected Member||
|Sean Garon|Co-opted Member||
|Callum Ward|Beaver Leader||
|Ivan Odell|Cub Leader||
|Sean Bowley|Scout Leader||
**Section B Structure, governance and management .**
## **Description of the charity’s trusts**
**Type of governing document** The Group’s governing documents are those of The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.
**How the charity is** The Group is a trust established under its rules which are common **constituted** to all scouts. **Trustee Selection methods**
The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association
8
## **Additional governance info**
The Group is managed by the Group Executive Committee, the members of which are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout Group which is an educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate.
The Committee consists of 3 independent representatives, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary together with the Group Scout Leader, individual section leaders and parent’s representation and meets quarterly.
- This Group Executive Committee exists to support the Group Scout Leader in meeting the responsibilities of the appointments and is responsible for: • The maintenance of Group property; • The raising of funds and the administration of Group finance;
- • The insurance of persons, property and equipment;
- • Group public occasions; • Assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other adult support;
- Appointing any sub committees that may be required; Appointing Group Administrators and Advisors other than those who are elected.
|**Risk and Internal Control**|The group has in place systems of**_internal controls_**that are||
|---|---|---|
||designed to provide reasonable assurance against material||
||mismanagement or loss, these include 2 signatories for all||
||payments and a comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that||
||insurable risks are covered.||
|**Section C**|**Objectives and activities**|**.**|
|Summary of the objects of|The objectives of the group are as a unit of the Scout||
|The objectives of the group
are as a unit of the Scout|Association. The Aim of The Scout Association is to promote
the development of young people in achieving their full||
|the charity set out in its|physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as||
|governing document
Association. The Aim of The
Scout Association is to|individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their
local national and international communities.||
|promote the governing|||
|document|The method of achieving the Aim of the Association is by providing||
||an enjoyable and attractive scheme of progressive training, based||
||on the Scout Promise and Law and guided by adult leadership.||
|Public Benefit Statement|The Group meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria||
||under both the advancement of education and the advancement||
||of citizenship or community development headings.||
**Section D Achievements and performance**
See GSL and Section Leader reports pages 12-16
9
|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signatures**
**Full names**
**Position**
**Date**
**Charity’s policy on reserves**The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to
continue the charitable activities of the group should income
and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive
Committee considers that the group should hold a sum
equivalent to 4 months running costs, circa £2,500.
The Group held reserves of approximately £40,000 against this at
year end. The reserves are high due to saving for a new Head
Quarters building.
**Investment policy &**
**objectives**
The Group does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term
investments. The Group has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to
the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only
mainstream banks or building societies
**Section E**
**Financial Review**
**Section F**
**Declaration**
Cathy Howells
Robert McAulay
Group Scout Leader
Treasurer|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signatures**
**Full names**
**Position**
**Date**
**Charity’s policy on reserves**The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to
continue the charitable activities of the group should income
and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive
Committee considers that the group should hold a sum
equivalent to 4 months running costs, circa £2,500.
The Group held reserves of approximately £40,000 against this at
year end. The reserves are high due to saving for a new Head
Quarters building.
**Investment policy &**
**objectives**
The Group does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term
investments. The Group has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to
the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only
mainstream banks or building societies
**Section E**
**Financial Review**
**Section F**
**Declaration**
Cathy Howells
Robert McAulay
Group Scout Leader
Treasurer|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signatures**
**Full names**
**Position**
**Date**
**Charity’s policy on reserves**The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to
continue the charitable activities of the group should income
and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive
Committee considers that the group should hold a sum
equivalent to 4 months running costs, circa £2,500.
The Group held reserves of approximately £40,000 against this at
year end. The reserves are high due to saving for a new Head
Quarters building.
**Investment policy &**
**objectives**
The Group does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term
investments. The Group has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to
the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only
mainstream banks or building societies
**Section E**
**Financial Review**
**Section F**
**Declaration**
Cathy Howells
Robert McAulay
Group Scout Leader
Treasurer|
|---|---|---|
||||
||**Charity’s policy on reserves**|The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to
continue the charitable activities of the group should income
and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive
Committee considers that the group should hold a sum
equivalent to 4 months running costs, circa £2,500.
The Group held reserves of approximately £40,000 against this at
year end. The reserves are high due to saving for a new Head
Quarters building.|
||**Investment policy &**
**objectives**|The Group does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer term
investments. The Group has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to
the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only
mainstream banks or building societies|
||**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signatures**
**Full names**
**Position**
**Date**
**Section F**
**Declaration**
Cathy Howells
Robert McAulay
Group Scout Leader
Treasurer||
10
## **Financial Report**
## **Receipts and payments account**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**
**Unrestricte**
**d funds**
**A1**
**Receipts**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**
**For the**
**period**
**from**
Badges & Neckers
**616.00**
Activities/CampExpenses/Kit
**1,414.00**
CharityDonation
Stationery
**10.00**
Subs
**4,896.00**
Other
Donations
**4,556.00**
Activities
Fundraising
Grants
**19,751.00**
Gift Aid
**666.00**
Other similar income
Refunds
24.00
Interest
3.00
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_
**29,895.00**
**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_**
**-**|**Section A Receipts and payments**
**Unrestricte**
**d funds**
**A1**
**Receipts**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**For the**
**period**
**from**
Subs
**4,896.00**
Other
Donations
**4,556.00**
Activities
Fundraising
Grants
**19,751.00**
Gift Aid
**666.00**
Other similar income
Refunds
24.00
Interest
3.00
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_
**29,895.00**|**For the**
**period**
**from**|Period start
date1st
August 2020|Period start
date1st
August 2020|**To**|Period end
date31st
July 2021||**31st July 2020**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
||||**Designated**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**2,021.00**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**|||
||Subs|||||||**5,442**|
||Other|||||||**-**|
||Donations|||||||**250**|
||Activities|||||||**1,290**|
||Fundraising|||||||**3,062**|
||Grants||||||||
||Gift Aid||||||||
||Other similar income|||||||**357**|
||Refunds||||||||
||Interest||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||||||||||
||**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_||**-**|||||**22,500**|
||**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**||||||||
|||**-**|||||||
|||**-**||||||**-**|
||**_Sub total_**|**-**||||||**-**|
||||||||||
||||||**-**||||
||||||**2,021.00**||||
|Badges & Neckers||||||||**606**|
|Activities/CampExpenses/Kit|||||||||
|CharityDonation||||||||**-**|
|Stationery||||||||**54**|
|Bank Charges|||||||||
|Youth Programme & Activities||**603.00**
**361.00**
**632.00**||||||**942**|
|Maintenance / Hut Expenses||||||||**292**|
|Utilities(B Gas / Water)||||||||**1,438**|
|Insurance||||||||**572**|
|Training|||||||||
|Capitation||**2,684.00**||||||**2,684**|
|Materials and Equipment||||||||**71**|
|Other Expenses|||||||||
|FundraisingExpenses|||||||||
|Food and refreshments||**81.00**
642.00
850.00
**7,894.00**||||||**199**|
|Contribution to CampCosts||||||||**400**|
|AGM and Trustee Expenses||||||||**36**|
|Legal Fees|||||||||
|Subs Refund|||||||||
|**_Sub total_**|||**-**||**2,021.00**||||
||||||||||
11
|**_Net of receipts/(payments_A6**
**Cash funds last year end**
**Cash funds this year end**
Signed by one or two trustees
on behalf of all the trustees
**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases**
**Camping Equipment**
**_Sub total_**
**_Total payment_**s|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases**|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases**||||**-**
**-**
**2,021.00**|**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**-**|||||||
||**Camping Equipment**||**-**|**-**|||||||
||
**_Sub total_**||**7,894.00**|**-**||||||**7,293**|
|||||**-**|||||||
||||**7,894.00**|||**2,021.00**||||**7,293**|
||||||||||||
||||**22,001.00**|**0.00**|||**-**|||**15.207**|
||||**24,211**|**-**|||**-**|||**9,004**|
||||**46,212**|**-**|||**-**|||**24,211**|
||||Signature|||Print Name||||Date of
approval|
|||||||**Rob McAulay**|||||
|||||||**James** **Ward**|||||
12
## **Treasurer’s Report**
Financially the group is in an extremely strong position, the grants available from the Government and the Local Authority have provided a massive cash injection into the charity. Grants totaling over £21,000 have been secured by James Ward.
1[st] Fleckney Scout Group would like to express our gratitude for all the charitable donations the group has received this year, over £4,500 has been donated.
Subs have fallen to the lowest level for many years but are starting to creep back up since lock down finished, Fleckney 1[st] Scout Group would like to say many thanks to all those parents who continued to pay the subs throughout lockdown. Subs are £12 a month now. The group offered a small refund to those parents of £50 which some chose to accept, this cost was £850.
Our largest expenditure this year has been capital expenditure on kit and activities for the children, usually our largest outgoing is the annual capitation fee we pay to the Scout Organisation. James Ward secured a restricted grant which we have used to purchase new tents.
Our utility bills are much smaller than most years, this is down to strategic work from James Ward and the fact we don’t really use the hut anymore.
Similarly to last year our expenditure on badges and neckers is over £600, obviously all the excellent work from the Beavers either bringing new children to the group or rewarding their hard work is paying off with many badges being given out.
James Ward has spent many hours processing the Gift Aid claim for the group, over £2,000 claimed in the 19-20 accounts from the previous three year’s subscriptions, £666 claimed this year. It is imperative that any parent who pays the subscriptions signs the form that allows us to claim Gift Aid back from the government, please ask your leader to check you have signed the form.
Now the group has an income of over £30,000 annually we might be due more scrutiny from the Charity Commission, if anyone is interested, they are able to go online and see our previous accounts on their website.
## **Rob McAulay**
13
## **Group Scout Leader’s Report**
I would like to start by thanking everyone who has continued to support us over the last 12 months, in particular our hardworking team of Leaders and the Executive committee. Although we have not been actively fundraising, we have continued to raise money towards the new hut, via various grants and donations and the generosity of parents who continued pay subs throughout lockdown. And we are just about there! Final plans are being agreed and it looks like building material is arriving on site. The new hut will be a fantastic addition to the village and is much anticipated by all sections. However, it will still be a shell and although we will have a roof over our heads, there is much still to be done to ensure it is usable.
We finally managed to start meeting again after Easter and I think lockdown highlighted to everyone how much we appreciate being able to get outside together as suddenly all our sections filled up and we now have a very healthy waiting list, especially for Beavers, with new queries for places coming in weekly. Despite now having a full complement of leaders, it is safe to say that we need more if we are to ensure that every child in Fleckney gets the chance to enjoy Scouting. All our leaders and Executive committee are volunteers, and every one of them has undergone the required training for their roles, including safeguarding, safety, first aid and GDPR, as well as learning new skills to pass on to our young people. So, despite not meeting for several months, our leaders have been busy in the background to ensure that all their training is up to date. So, if you are thinking about volunteering, please do! The training is free and you will get all the support that you need.
By the time you read this, we will have returned to camping with a Group camp for all sections, and next year we have the rearranged Beaudesert District camp to look forward to. We have managed to get funding for some great new camping equipment and look forward to putting it to work.
Congratulations to Sarah Sutton (Beavers) and Brett Russell (Cubs) who have achieved their Wood Badge and welcome to new Assistant Beaver Leaders, Neil Hunt (Sergeant Major Badger – Merlin Beavers) and Oliver Williams (Buzzard Beavers).
Finally, I just want to assure you that, although we are getting back to normal, we will continue to try to reduce the risk of COVID spread through good hand hygiene practices and regular cleaning of premises and equipment.
## **Cathy Howells, Group Scout Leader**
14
After a pretty interesting year, with lockdowns, changes to distancing rules etc, the Beavers only managed a single term. And what a jam-packed term it was. We had a massive influx in Beaver, increasing from 10 Beavers and a single colony to 31 Beavers across two colonies.
interesting year, with distancing rules etc, the
As always, without the help of parent helpers, we wouldn’t be able to run the sessions, especially those that have helped out Croc on a Friday night.
To the bane of the Cub Leaders, the next batch of beavers to move up have even more of a thirst for badges than previous years. With nearly 300 badges awarded between the two colonies in a single term. The credit limit at the shop has again been taxed.
Even with a limited length of term, we’ve still managed to achieve five Bronze Awards.
Given the restrictions on the use of the hut the Beavers (and Leaders) braved the elements on the duck pond for every session – albeit we missed a few sessions due to the glorious British Summer weather. After every session Cathy and Ruth became inundated with new applications.
We completed sessions including gardening, den building, boat building, emergency aid and forest faces. With the beavers being treated to three amazing external sessions including bell boating, climbing and archery.
On a final note, we have recently gained a new leader - Oliver, his Beaver name is yet to be chosen but I believe Unicorn, Elephant and Pigeon were some of the top choices. Let’s hope he decides on the name before I let the Beavers decide……
## **Crocodile, Owl, Sgt Maj Badger and Vixen**
.
15
Last year was sadly cut short by the Covid lock-down in March 2020 but the pack still did some great work in April that year celebrating St George’s Day by taking part in the St George’s Day Challenge; drawing pictures and producing some great written versions of the legendary story.
Many also took part in the national campathon – sleeping in tents in gardens or under tables – anywhere but their own bedrooms.
We finally returned to face to face activities on 12[th] April 2021 and adjusted quite successfully to outdoor based activities whilst observing Covid safe procedures. With a little thought and planning The Duck Pond Green proved to be a good meeting place and has now settled into a routine.
We limited the numbers to 20 as not only did we have to contend with outdoor activities but all but four of the pack were new starters!
However, we have been very lucky to be joined by our new Assistant Leader; Becci who has not only brought her scouting skills but also all her skills as a drama teacher. We started by settling in the new members but soon ventured out – here are some of the of the highlights:
- Learning how to light fires and build shelters in Millennium Wood
16
- Learning how to lash pioneering poles together to make a tripod platform (because of course the brook was about to flood and we all had to get at least 2ft off the
- In June the majority of the Pack also took part in the many activities during the District Virtual Dragon Camp.
- Hike back from Kibworth including some basic navigation.
- We also had a trip to the Leicester Outdoor Pursuit Centre on a pleasant evening for a very wet bell boating session.
- Wide games and tracking in the woods.
- At the end of last term we also joined the Scouts for the annual ‘’slip-slide’.
- Along with a lot of new games on the Duck Pond Green, many introduced by Becci, it has been a busy year.
In May we spent several weeks preparing for investiture and then invested 14 new Cubs!
This included three girls and involved three versions of the Cub Scout Promise.
The pack is a young group but has settled down very well with good behaviour and attitudes displayed by all. We have enjoyed really good support and participation from parents and carers.
We are all looking forward to the Group camp at Fox Coverts.
**Ivan Odell (Kaa) Brett (Bagheera) Becci (Raksha)**
17
2020-2021 has been another strange year, with Scouting only starting back at Easter 2021. As everywhere we were restricted to the activates we could provide to the Scouts but we managed to come up with some ideas. Using the fields, parks and facilities around the village we were able to do some Bivvy building, wide games and backwards cooking over open fires. We also took advantage of the Leicester Outdoor Pursuit Centre over 2 weekend and the scouts participated in climbing and abseiling one week and Kayaking the other.
We had an article published in the Fleckney Communicata which ended up with a Fleckney resident donating £500 pounds (+£125 Gift Aid) to the Group towards the new hut fund.
Let’s hope next year we can get back to some type of normality and exciting programs, especially the Group camp programmed in for early September.
## **Sean Bowley**
18
BUSY TO
VOLUNTEER?
Scouts
1st Fleckney
vi
19