## **Eccleston Scout Group Annual Report 2025**
Page **1** of **14**
## **Contents**
|Report from the Chair|3|
|---|---|
|Group Volunteer Lead Report|4|
|Squirrels Report|6|
|Beavers Report|7|
|Cubs Report|8|
|Scouts Report|9|
|Quartermasters Report|10|
|Finance Update|11|
|Scrutineers Report|13|
|Trustees Signatures|14|
Page **2** of **14**
## **Report from the Chair**
Welcome to the annual report for Eccleston Scout Group. As we look back on 2024/25 we have again had a great year with Family Camp, Group Camp, Operation Twilight etc, and continue to grow.
Our maintenance programmes continue to deliver the planned improvements to the Scout Hut to enable the health and safety of all our young people, leaders, and others who hire out the Scout Hut for much needed revenue. We really are very fortunate as a Group to have such a great asset as the building and the outdoor area at the back, but it does come with a cost of time, effort, and of course money. Once again, the appeal goes out to all the Scout community (and yes parents – that means you) to get involved when we publicise events and support all of us in this endless range of activities.
Once again, the Trustee Board puts on record the whole Group’s thanks and appreciation of our operational leadership team - led by Alison - but again the success of the Group depends on having the leaders who give so much of their spare time to lead all the Sections. I encourage all of you to get involved where you can – we need the support of everyone in the community if we are to carry on growing – it really is very rewarding – honest.
As ever, the Trustee Board have worked hard to support Alison and the leaders. We meet quarterly to make sure that Group governance, and issues which support the various Sections of ESG, are kept on track and pushed forward to completion. I would like to formally put on record my thanks to the Trustees and other nominated members who continue to support me, and in turn support Alison, the leaders, and the whole of ESG.
The 2024/25 ESG Trustee Board and Group leadership teams were:
|**Trustee Board**|**Leaders**|**Young Leaders**|
|---|---|---|
|Mike Taylor - Chair|LyndseyPennington - Squirrels|Matt Dewhurst - Beavers|
|Jane Taylor - Secretary|Hannah Hunter - Squirrels|Matt Slater - Cubs|
|Pauline Elton - Treasurer|Janet Lawson-Marsden - Squirrels|MollyPennington - Squirrels|
|Alison Kirby- GLV|Andrew Hough - Squirrels|EmilySavage - Squirrels|
|Paul Kirby- Scout Leader|AmyMusgrove - Squirrels|Matthew Cleasby- Beavers|
|Phil Metge -Quartermaster|Jayne Elliot - Squirrels|George Aspinall - Cubs|
|AndyCaunce – Explorer Leader|Alison Kirby- Beavers||
||Sarah Clifford - Beavers and Scouts||
||Jane Taylor - Beavers||
||Chris Cote - Beavers||
||Diane Dewhurst - Beavers||
||Alison Riley- Cubs||
||Steve Mellor - Cubs||
||Ryan Ashton - Cubs||
||Natalie Bidder - Cubs||
||Paul Kirby- Scouts||
||Dave Cousins - Scouts||
||Nicola Williams - Scouts||
||Russ Clifford - Scouts||
||||
Happy Scouting - Mr T.
Page **3** of **14**
## **Group Lead Volunteer Report**
I think the best way to describe last year for me was a blur ……..
We did all the usual things but it just went so fast !!
The Trustee Board continue to support me with the regulatory, technical, HQ maintenance and much more. Their hard work ensures the smooth running of the group behind the scenes. This year we have spent time looking at the Group Structure, Leader recruitment and juggling a still large waiting list. Saying that I do think we have now settled into a new normal with 2 thriving units at each age group and our numbers sitting at the highest they have ever been at 140 young people all enjoying a full and active programme learning life skills along the way, sometimes without even realising it.
This of course is only possible with the amazing leadership team that give up their time not only on meeting nights, but in the preparation and providing camps and trips.
“Volunteers are not paid…….. Not because they are worthless but because they are Priceless! ”
## A huge THANK YOU !!
This years highlights …….. first thought must go to the opening of our second Squirrel Drey and beyond that all the amazing trips and camps - Group Camp (x2!), Family Camp, Panto, Twilight and much more.
I say each year that I don’t often look back as there is always something to move onto and organise. Yet again looking at the section reports gives me the opportunity to remember how much fun the kids and leaders have and how much they have learnt. Knowing also what they have to look forward to as they move up through the sections.
I know we aren’t talking about it yet but 2026 is the year we take the Scouts and Explorers on our international trip to Kandersteg (KISC) take a look at the pictures in the hall you can just see how amazing the opportunity is.
As always we will also hold our breath as to who will be awarded; Squirrel, Beaver, Cub and Scout of the Year. I don’t want to spoil the surprise by naming them here, but an amazing achievement for those who receive these awards.
Each section is working hard to develop life skills and confidence within the Young People to prepare them to move to the next section, the next adventure and ultimately towards their Chief Scout Awards. This year we’ve seen an amazing number of top awards – Congratulations
Page **4** of **14**
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
|**Acorn Award**|**Bronze Award**|**Silver Award**|**Gold Award**|
|Oscar Houghton|Max Faris|Nye Thorpe|Imogen Coleman|
|HenryVinden|Eryn Allen|Alexander Riley||
|Matthew Mason|Oaklen Thorpe|Thomas Tuson||
|HarryKing|William Millington|James Ross||
||Peter Traynor|Christopher Baron||
||HenryHoughton|||
||Lewis Thompson|||
||George Atherton|||
I am reminded within so many areas of life the benefits of Scouting for young people and how their membership to Scouts really does put them in front of the game when it comes to applying for further education, jobs and other opportunities. Seeing them progress and receiving requests for references from some amazing places - I feel proud of every one of them.
I do hope you will continue to help and support us through into 2026. I’m looking forward to it already!
## Yours in Scouting
## Alison (Rainbow)
Page **5** of **14**
## **Squirrels Report**
Well what can we say about the last year….. we started with one drey and then…. A second squirrel drey opened! We now have Squirrels on both Tuesday & Wednesday nights. It’s been jam packed year with lots of activities, trips and badges earned.
We have been on lots of trips including a farm visit, panto and of course the group camp day Squirrels got to attend. The Squirrels enjoyed joining in with all the older units and getting stuck in with archery, orienteering, crate stacking to name just a few activities we were busy with. Some of the Squirrels attended the Beaver Christmas sleepover last year and enjoyed the under the sea theme.
We have loved being outside at any opportunity from visiting the lambs & piglets in the spring, to local walks in the village, litter picks and the park in the summer months and s’mores round the fire in the autumn.
They may be the youngest section, but we have always looked smart and worn big smiles when carrying our flag at Walking Day & Remembrance Parade (even if we do need to work on our straight lines).
We have achieved lots of badges this year from Go Wild, Super Chef & All Around Us. Squirrels have earned their Let’s Celebrate badge by celebrating everything from Chinese New Year, Mother’s Day, St George’s Day and of course Christmas! We have had visits from Guide Dogs, a Nurse and our very own Beekeeper, Wiley, to learn about our local Superhero’s. We are very proud of how many Chief Acorn Awards have been achieved in 24/25 and how much our Squirrels have grown!
Page **6** of **14**
## **Beavers Report**
## **Winter Term 2024**
We had a busy term to start the year. A lot of our Beavers attended Group Camp with loads of activities like kayaking and a cave bus, and campfire songs. Lots of campfire songs! The rest of the term saw the Beavers making things – rocky road (yum), junk models, a poppy wreath for remembrance parade and poppy biscuits, our own pizzas from scratch, angels for the local angel festival and snowmen in a jar. The term was finished off with a sleepover in the Scout Hut.
## **Spring Term 2025**
This term started with a trip to the pantomime on the District trip. Oh, yes, it did! The Beavers made tin-can telephones and learned to read maps, and planted some flowers into pots for Mothers’ Day. We had an exciting trip to Leyland Fire Station where the Beavers got to use the fire hoses, and no Scouting term would be complete without toasting marshmallows to make Smores.
## **Summer Term 2025**
A few of our Beavers attended Family Camp at Waddecar with their families, trying activities such as climbing, whittling and Badgers’ Warren. We spent as much time as possible outdoors this term – tree climbing on the rec, visiting the park, making rafts and racing them down the river (nobody went home dry that night), a game of rounders, and sports day. The fruit kebabs the Beavers made are definitely worth a mention – Never have we seen so much fruit get eaten so quickly.
Page **7** of **14**
## **Cubs Report**
Cubs have had another great year with lots of adventures and fun.
We've had team building challenges, disability awareness (ask your Cub to ask for their drink and biscuit in sign language!) and lots and lots of crafts – including super messy tie dye night.
Over the summer we did plenty of activities with hikes and some awesome pioneering efforts. We also really enjoyed some natural art and ad hoc shelter building as well as tracking and trailing.
As always fire lighting and cooking tasty treats also featured highly on the programme!
Last term we learned all about healthy eating to balance out our fire cooked treats and practiced our skills for the forthcoming District Lego Masters event.
Page **8** of **14**
## **Scouts Report**
We had another fab year at Scouts with loads of activities (some new, some revisited) and skill developing.
The Autumn ‘24 term had us learning to cook meals (on the hob for a change, and not the firepits); making rockets from used pop bottles – and my goodness how they flew; a sustainability project making wind turbines from old bicycle wheels; learning to use different map reading techniques; a skills night (sewing, ironing, puncture repair, etc.); and plenty of hiking practice for Twilight. Twilight, our annual memorial manhunt competition was very wet, but a huge amount of fun for both the runners and the catchers, and the obligatory pie and peas to finish the day off makes it all worthwhile. Also, in this term we managed to fit the annual JOTA/JOTI event in where we spent the day at the Scout Hut learning about electronics and communications and putting the newly acquired skills to good use by communicating with other Scout Groups around the world; and spent a weekend up at Bibby’s Farm for our Group Camp.
Our Spring ’25 term kicked off with night hikes in readiness for the Moonlight event in early February. After that we had a couple of silly nights involving food games (a donut dangling challenge and pancake races), and then we turned our gaze towards the stars when our very own Mr T brought his telescope in for us to have a look at. We spent a couple of weeks on astronomy, before designing and creating bee hotels. There’s something quite scary about a room full of Scouts with hammers, nails and saws! As a result of the leaders nerves needing a rest, when we built our bridge, we made a Da Vinci Bridge so no tools needed. We finished the spring term off with a joint night of wide games down at Wrennalls woods.
Summer ’25 term started with a bushcraft skills night of back woods and basic knife skills, which we developed a couple of weeks later with a night of firelighting, and further knife skills. We spent a lot of our time outdoors learning to use orienteering apps, building shelters and wide games in different parts of our local environment. During this term most of us gained our First Aid Stage 4 badge and some of us took to the water in kayaks and on paddleboards up at Spade Mill Reservoir. We also managed to fit another Group Camp in. The year, as always ended with a water fight!
Page **9** of **14**
## **Quartermasters Report**
2025 can be summarised as a 'doing the basics': We’ve kept the hut tidy and critical touch points aligned to insurance policy and safety requirements. We’ve bought essential items when required and performed repairs to some higher usage tents. But there is much to do on our high value assets.
## Hut Maintenance:
The key safety activities of water temp monitoring (monthly) and insurance flood protection requirements of gutter clearing (at least twice annually) have been performed - thanks to our Chair Mike T.
We suffer from drainage blockages and have been close a couple of time to being flooded with the potential for limiting access to the hut to recover the situations. Close attention by Ali and Paul resolved this just in time. The drains are a key planned maintenance activity for 2026.
New doors are now looking possible, and we look forward to these key improvements being installed.
A maintenance day was held in March and our thanks again to the few that turned out - even for short periods of an hour or two proves highly beneficial. It will be repeated for 2026 – so please offer your help in advance so we can plan jobs / tools more effectively. Please note over 18s only for safety reasons.
## Equipment:
Purchases have been relatively low both in volume and value. with just a couple of tents and some repair kits ordered so that we can repair the tents when they are damaged and sustain our inventory. Note our insurance figure estimates the kit held by ESG at a value of £25k.
2026 will be a focus at aligning our kit to the programme activities to ensure we are actively protecting those items that we need to; we will be looking at marquees / canoes and safety vests / climbing equipment in particular.
We’re very fortunate to have this asset within the village.
Page **10** of **14**
## **Finance Update**
Below are the accounts of Eccleston Scout Group as of August 2025:
## **Eccleston Scout Group Accounts 2025**
|**Income**|**2024-2025**|**2023-2024**|
|---|---|---|
|Bank Interest|114.82|45.53|
|Donation|210.14|0.14|
|Events|15,759.00|7,350.64|
|Events - Beavers|540.00|910.80|
|Events - Cubs|0.00|495.00|
|Events - Scouts|871.00|1,812.05|
|From old account|0.00|1,748.67|
|Fundraising|0.00|944.00|
|Gift Aid|3,490.02|5,552.29|
|Grants|0.00|3,500.00|
|Refunds|0.00|133.99|
|Rent|3,157.00|1,933.00|
|Subs - Beavers|4,712.00|3,792.00|
|Subs - Cubs|4,354.00|4,270.24|
|Subs - Scouts|7,096.00|6,031.45|
|Subs - Squirrels|2,978.00|1,199.04|
|Uniform|669.50|845.00|
||||
|**Expense**|**2024-2025**|**2023-2024**|
|ActivityEquipment|4.00|453.04|
|Admin|94.81|110.00|
|Badges|509.85|645.05|
|Bank Fees|948.14|791.24|
|CampingEquipment|614.87|0.00|
|Census|7,626.00|5,494.50|
|Council Tax|0.00|276.48|
|Error|0.00|73.99|
|Events|16,801.12|11,633.38|
|Events - Beavers|681.95|206.00|
|Events - Cubs|0.00|632.17|
|Events - Scouts|625.46|1,280.94|
|Events - Squirrels|0.00|103.02|
|Hut maintenance|49.62|672.11|
|Insurance|1,583.91|866.20|
|Meetings - Beavers|351.65|419.00|
|Meetings - Cubs|61.26|65.11|
|Meetings - Scouts|272.47|622.19|
|Meetings - Squirrels|271.27|202.11|
|Training|350.00|306.80|
|Uniform|2,365.77|1,357.38|
|Utilities|2,728.51|3,995.09|
|Venue Maintenance|2,436.68|1,518.00|
Page **11** of **14**
## **Eccleston Scout Group Accounts 2025 (Cont’d)**
|**Account balances**|**2024-2025**|**2023-2024**|
|---|---|---|
|Expense Account|401.75|466.80|
|Eccleston Scout Group|2,633.85|4,048.64|
|Eccleston Scout Reserve|12,219.23|6,447.84|
|Eccleston Scout HQFund|1,281.79|1,763.44|
|ESG reserve|1,764.24|0.00|
||||
|**Summary**|**2024-2025**|**2023-2024**|
|Account balance brought forward|12,726.72|3,886.68|
|Total income|43,951.48|40,563.84|
|Total expenditure|38,377.34|31,723.80|
|Net income|5,574.14|8,840.04|
|Account balance carried forward|18,300.86|12,726.72|
_***2026 is our International Trip to Switzerland so we are holding a larger balance than normal within the reserve account for this**_
Page **12** of **14**
Scrutineers Report
Lf15- ScnAIM•rfs Ilawt ts th•Trnst•N (W 20191
Scrutineer's report to the trustees
Scrutineer's Report to tho Trustws of
Eccleston Scout Group
I rewt on trE accts ¢Jf tlr GrOuDIStr¢ ts thp year wde(131" Augyst 2025
As thc Gr¢>Jp'¥Ekstrirt's trusloes are fe5ponsib* lty Il* wepafatK)n of th• 4ccoUntsbw that n•th•r th•
irthperklent examination require1$ ol the Chanlies Act 2011 11 Is my Te5PXsibihtywitlK)ut
out an dep¢ThIent e¥amMwtiLMb to scruts.niso the accounts aThJ to repwt to
In xcrfJrdarKg wjth tlw gn in the 9.11Dl$trlCs constitun. I hm nrSe the rett*rds •Ad Ihe
accwnts set out.
In ffry ijpinbon ac&xrts ¥• in x¢tydaic• wth th• r•cLYd5 Prod9 tom? and with the CO"Von.
-.t(ttEL ..QAM.rfi3_~-.....,........
Page 13 of 14
## **Trustee Declaration**
This report represents a true and fair record of Eccleston Scout Group activities and financial performance during the year August 2024 to August 2025.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Name Date
**----- End of picture text -----**
Page **14** of **14**