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2023-12-31-accounts

egigtsred Charity No: 271605 RN Rev>gnig¢d Group - No 2 Scouts 3, Portchester Scout Group 2023 AGM Report KGbeSter s Co 1947-2011

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Board of Trustees

Chair Lee Mason Group Scout Leader Richard Curtis Deputy Group Scout Leader Claire Colley Treasurer David Noyce Secretary Carolyn Colwell

Kate Colley Roy Gray Trish Reid Caryl Gregory Andy Dow Brian Pile Rob Brown Louise Mackney David Rowles Neil Hoare

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

3rd Portchester Scout Group 3rd Portchester Scout Group
Squirrels Drey
Thursday 16:15-17:15		 Bryony Jones
Phil Johnstone
Beaver Scouts
Roman Colony
Tuesday 16:00 – 17:15		 Paul Whent
Caryl Gregory
Kacey Whent
Nathan McGillvery
Castle Colony
Wednesday		 16:00 – 17:15 Caryl Gregory
Paul Whent
Kacey Whent
Nathan McGillvery
Elizabeth Colley
Kelly Mayo
Cub Scouts
Osprey Pack
Tuesday 18:00 – 19:30		 Lucy Vincent
Andi Loving
Kate Colley
Callum James
Nathan McGillvery
Eagle Pack
Thursday 18:00 – 19:30		 Kacey Whent
Steve Crowe
Felicity Scott
Sarah Williams
Scout Troops
Ellen MacArthur Troop
Monday 18.30-20.30		 David Rowles
Jamie Cooper
Scott England
Darren Taylor
Roy Gray (Summer support)
David Crook (Summer support)
Hilary Foley (Summer support)
Glenn Brace(Summer support)
Livingstone Troop
Wednesday		 19:00 – 21:00 Stuart Goddard
Andy Barron
Caryl Gregory
John Dixon
Lewis Bailey
James Cook Troop
Friday 18:00-20:00 (Winter)		 Richard Curtis
Friday 18.00-20.30 (Summer) Brian Pile
Claire Colley
Steve Lawrence
Jason Rankin
Jack Boxall
Tyler Pattison
Explorer Unit
Watkins Unit
Tuesday 19:45 – 21:30		 Andrew Dow
Ryan Harris
Jamie Cooper
Dave Humphreys (Occasional Support)
Ruth Humphreys (Occasional Support)

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Agenda for the Annual General Meeting to be held Saturday 18[th] May 11:00am

  1. Welcome by the Chair – Lee Mason

  2. Apologies for absence – Chair

  3. Minutes of the 2023 AGM - Chair

  4. Annual report - GSL

  5. Approval of the Annual Report - GSL

  6. Presentation of the Annual Accounts - Treasurer

  7. Appointment of the Accounts Scrutineers for the coming year – Treasurer

  8. To note the dates of the Charity’s financial year - Chair

9.To agree the number of Members that may be elected to the Trustee Board - Chair

10.To agree the quorum for meetings of the Group Scout Council - Chair

11.To agree the quorum for the meetings of the Group Trustee Board - Chair

12.To agree the quorum for the meetings of any sub-committee - Chair

13.DC's nomination of GSL

14.GSL nomination of Chair

15.Handover to the Chair

16.Ex-officio members (Trustees) – Chair

17.Approval of nominated members (Trustees) – Chair

18.Approval of elected members (Trustees) – Chair

19.Nomination of non-Trustee members – Chair

20.Co-opted members – Chair

  1. Appointment of committee representative/s– GSL

  2. Awards (Young People and adult volunteers) – DC/GSL

23.District Representative response.

24.GSL closing remarks.

o/c - Refreshments

Date of next Group Trustee Meeting: TBC

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

3[rd] Portchester Scout Group AGM

Date: 20[th] May 2023

Venue: 3rd Portchester Scout HQ – Cobham Hall

Attendees: Mike McHugh (District Commissioner) Lee Mason (Chair), Claire Colley, Kate Colley, Carolyn Colwell (minutes), Andy Dow, David Noyce, Trish Reid, John Dixon, Richard Curtis, Brian Pile, Lou Mackney, Steve Crowe, Ann Waudby, Hilary Foley, Tansy Shelly

Minutes

Neil Hoare, Caryl Gregory, Steve Lawrence, David Rowles, Robert Brown and Lucy Vincent

3: Minutes of Previous AGM Meeting 25[th] June 2022: These minutes had been written soon after the AGM and a first draft was circulated to the Trustee Team over the summer of 2022. Brought to the AGM For formal review Accuracy: No issues raised. Approved by Richard Curtis and 2[nd] by Brian Pile

A report had been circulated prior to the AGM. Reviewed, all section numbers have increased, we now have 16 Squirrels in our Drey, 52 Volunteers and a leadership team of 28. Thanks were given to the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

  1. Approval of the Annual Report:

Proposed by GSL, Approved by the Trustee board.

2[nd] by Andy Dow

  1. Presentation of the Annual Accounts

A copy of the report was circulated prior to the AGM.

Thanks given to the ongoing support from parents and families with their timely payments and gift aid forms completed. This combined with the number of young people 172 our finances for the forth coming year are looking good and it also means that for the financial year 1[st] January 2022 to 31[st] December 2022 that the subs can remain at £14 a month. Question from the floor: What is the breakeven number of members? Answer: 150, meaning that there may be a surplus at the end of the financial year however, it covers for unexpected expenditures and increasing costs.

Accounts proposed by David Noyce: Seconded by Trish Reid Carried

  1. Appointment of the Accounts Scrutineers for the coming year: Mr Martyn Butcher has agreed to continue to scrutinise the accounts for another year. Proposed by David Noyce. 2[nd] Kate Colley Carried

  2. For 3rd Portchester Scout Group Trustee Board to use The Scout Association revised Purpose Statement as the focus of its work (April POR, chapter 5.4.4) – with effect the 3[rd] Portchester Scout Group Executive Committee will be known as the 3[rd] Portchester Scout Group Trustee Board

5.4.4 Trustee Board - purpose

The Trustee Board is a team of volunteers who work together, as charity Trustees, to make sure the Scouts is run safely and legally. At the heart of their role is a focus on strategy, performance and assurance.

Effective Trustee support helps other volunteers run the Scout programme that gives young people skills for life.

Proposed by Richard Curtis. 2[nd] Claire Colley Carried

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

  1. For 3rd Portchester Scout Group Trustee Board to adopt the April 2023 Scout Association constitution in PORs Chapter 5.4 - https://www.scouts.org.uk/por/5-local-governance-and-finance-of-groups-districts-counties/ Proposed by Lee Mason. 2[nd] Steve Crowe.

Carried

  1. To note the dates of the Charity’s financial year

1[st] January 2023 to 31[st] December 2023 – noted.

11.To agree the number of Members that may be elected to the Trustee Board Up to 6 members may be elected. Proposed by Lee Mason. 2[nd] Hilary Foley. Carried

12.To agree the quorum for meetings of the Group Scout Council eg AGM – 11 people Proposed by Lee Mason. 2[nd] Trish Reid Carried

  1. To agree the quorum for the meetings of the Group Trustee Board In line with recommendation of the Charity Commission one third (33%) plus 1 Proposed Lee Mason. 2[nd] Claire Colley. Carried.

14.To agree the quorum for the meetings of any sub-committee We have the following sub-committees: Boats, HQ/Maintenance and Social. In line with recommendation of the Charity Commission one third (33%) plus 1 Proposed Lee Mason. 2[nd] Kate Colley. Carried.

15.District Commissioner nomination of GSL Thanks given to all for their hard work over the past year. Richard Curtis Nominated GSL - accepted. Claire Colley Nominated Deputy GSL - accepted.

16.GSL nomination of Chair

Lee Mason - accepted.

17.Handover to the Chair – Complete

18.Ex-officio members (Trustees)

Chair (Lee Mason), GSL (Richard Curtis), DGSL ( Claire Colley), Treasurer (David Noyce), Beaver Section Leader (Caryl Gregory), Explorer leader in partnership with 3[rd] Portchester Scout Group (Andy Dow), Scout Section Leader (David Rowles)

19.Approval of nominated members (Trustees) Kate Colley, Roy Grey, Brian Pile, Steve Crowe Approved

20.Approval of elected members (Trustees) Trish Reid, Robert Brown, Lou Mackney, Neil Hoare Proposed GSL, 2[nd] DGSL Carried

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

21.Nomination of non-Trustee members

Carolyn Colwell as Secretary

22.Co-opted members

None at present

23. Appointment of committee representative/s

None at present

  1. Awards (Young People and adult volunteers) None at present

25.District Commissioner response

Congratulations to all for all their continued hard work over the past year. 3[rd] Portchester Scout Group is one of the largest in the District and it has a strong team to take it forwards.

A note about awards: A lot of volunteers do above and beyond their role as what is considered normal volunteer work and Scouts are not always good at putting someone forwards for an award.

Claire Colley is very good at completing nominations and citations – if any Young Person/Parent/Leader/Volunteer notes when a leader has gone above and beyond their role for the young people to request a citation and for them to be put forwards for an award.

The District Commissioner enjoys visiting the group and presenting awards and being present for moving up ceremonies. When presenting awards the District Commissioner finds it very beneficial to encourage the young people to talk through what they have done to achieve their badge or award. This helps the young people to build confidence in public speaking. Again thanks to all

26.GSL closing remarks:

Thanks given to all for their attendance.

End of meeting 14:27

o/c - Refreshments

Date of next Group Trustee Meeting: 20:00 20 Jul 2023. Location Portchester Sailing Club - TBC

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Group Scout Leader Report 2023

As I write this year’s report for the AGM, it’s difficult to believe that it’s been a year since the last AGM. They say that time flies when you are enjoying yourself, and if you look through the various sections reports you will see that 2023 has been a busy, fun-packed and successful year for the group.

It has been great to go around to the sections to see various badges being awarded, especially the Chief Scout’s Award, which is the highest award young people can achieve in each section. Lots of Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers have successfully gained badges during the year and it has been interesting and often entertaining to hear about the activities they have undertaken whilst working towards them. You can find out more by looking through the section reports.

We have recently completed the Scout Association Census and, as you can see from the table below, the number of young people in the group has continued to increase. Each week around 170 young people enjoy a range of indoor and outdoor activities. The various sections provide just over 14 hours of scouting each week, so that’s an amazing 255 hours of individual scouting provided for young people each week, plus weekend activities and summer camps!

To provide this fantastic level of support the group relies on a large number of volunteers. In addition to the individual sections, within the group we have a number of committees of volunteers who help keep the group running. Our Board of Trustees (formerly Executive Committee) meets regularly to ensure the group is fulfilling its statutory requirements. The social committee organises events for the group – which are often also fundraising opportunities. The boating committee ensures our boating equipment is safe, well-maintained and replaced as and when necessary and the building committee performs a similar safety and maintenance role for the headquarters and equipment. The members of these committees are volunteers and are often unseen, some members are also section leaders. Without these people the group would not be able to function and I am very grateful for the time they put in.

We do, however, still need additional volunteers. Some sections rely on a very few people, and this leads to the risk of cancelled meetings. There are many volunteers within the group who hold multiple roles. There are a number of ways that people can lend support. The commitment doesn’t have to be any more than a couple of hours a week, perhaps less if that is all that you can provide. Volunteers are DBS checked to ensure they are suitable to work with children and depending on the role there may be a small amount of online learning. Can you help us to offer even more opportunities to young people? If you are interested in volunteering and would like to know a bit more about the roles available, please let us know.

I would like to thank all of the volunteers who support the group in various roles - Leaders, Trustees, Occasional Helpers, Skills Instructors and Parents. The group is a successful because of the time you freely give to scouting – and that really does make a difference. Thankyou.

Richard Curtis Group Scout Leader

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Year 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Squirrels 0 0 0 0 0 13
Beavers 29 32 32 15 33 41
Cubs 35 41 41 25 28 37
Scouts 53 39 37 44 51 63
Explorers 10 21 23 17 15 14
YL only 0 0 2 3 3 3
Total 127 133 135 104 130 174

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Chair’s Report 2023

This year has seen us return closer to normality, whilst we haven’t forgotten the pandemic it no longer overshadows us. We are no longer focused on surviving; we have returned to thriving. The committee has pulled together and is once again back in flow of normality, whilst there were major plans for overhaul and new systems that we were apprehensive about, they are now placed on hold nationally, we are primed ready for the changes when they do come.

Squirrels once a new and strange idea are bedded in as a regular part of the Scouting family with 16 in our Drey feeding up to our Beavers Sets. It now feels as if they have always been there.

The youngsters we serve are enjoying and benefitting from Scouting, we can see the benefits of it in them. The volunteers whom we depend on to deliver this are still going above and beyond in their care, resilience and hard work. We have lost numbers to moving, career changes, health and “returning home”, some of whom painfully young to do so, and as such we need to constantly fill those places.

A call is put out to all parents and family, can your spare time to help? Even an hour or two here and there have massive benefits and is the best investment in the future you could ever make.

There is the support and training to ease you into roles and you will never regret the improvements you will make in young people’s lives.

Fareham Regatta is still an opportunity for us to advertise ourselves to the community and it was great to have former Scouts come to see us, often with their own children who they will enrol into the Scouting world and the amazing opportunities it will provide.

Breakfast with Santa is a regular and possibly my favourite event of the year, as whilst hard work it is great to see the team pulling together, working hard and then playing hard.

As we celebrate another successful year I sign off yours in Scouting with the question what can we depend on you to do to help the next generation?

Lee Mason

Group Chair

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Squirrel Drey Report 2023

This year the Squirrels have been incredibly busy and have had a great year. Third Portchester Squirrel colony is currently running at a capacity of 16 Squirrels, with three leaders and two young leaders (one of whom has recently started and is an asset to the Squirrel group). Squirrels also have a number of occasional helpers, who are willing to stay when needed including parents and grandparents. Due to the short time frame that children are the right age for Squirrels we have seen a number of children start Squirrels and then successfully move on to one of the beaver colonies, It is always quite incredible to see the difference in the young ones starting age four and the older ones leaving proudly after collecting several badges age six. It feels like a lot of growing up happens for the children in Squirrels in the time they are with us, and it is always a pleasure to see them progress form children who have not yet started school to children who are a lot more confident and ready for Beavers.

This year that Squirrels have celebrated a number of events, including the more traditional Christmas, Easter and Halloween, but have learnt more about celebrations around the world in different religions and cultures including Diwali and Chinese New Year, please see the below pictures of Squirrels celebrating Halloween.

As badges for Squirrels remain quite limited we try to celebrate other days throughout the year and this year we hit a new favourite with “world popcorn day”. Squirrels both enjoyed making, eating and pretending to be popcorn and this may have to become a yearly celebration! Please see below Squirrels watching popcorn “pop”.

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Along with our celebrations Squirrels have also done some great badge work, this winter doing a “reverse advent calendar”, this is something recommended by the Trussel trust and the Squirrels were very impressed with shopping for the items on the list and putting them in the local food bank. Please see to the right the Squirrels checking for all of the items on the list before donating them to the food bank. Several Squirrels have now even achieved their acorn awards before progressing to beavers, something they are very proud of me.

Other badge work done by Squirrels includes den building, “indoor fire”, bug hunting and celebrating blind awareness day with writing our names in brail using buttons. Overall Squirrel’s is going very well and feels well established. In the next few months there will be a number of changes as two of the main leaders will be leaving.

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Castle and Roman Beaver Colonies Report 2023

Beaver numbers have remained stable during the year with a steady flow moving to Cubs and for the first time we have welcomed our first four Squirrels from our new Drey.

The Beavers have taken part in lots of events, including joining their families on an Easter egg in the rain ending at Cobham Hall for Breakfast. The Beavers stayed on for a sleepover and attendance of the Palm Sunday service at St Mary’s Church. The District St George’s Day Parade. We went to the New Forest Wildlife Park with other Colonies from the District followed by a sleepover. Fort Nelson saw us with our Squirrel Drey “Standing with Giants” for a Teddy Bears Picnic in July. In September we had a great funday with other colonies from the District at Lyons Copse. This saw the Beavers complete lots of things from their Challenge badges. We took our annual trip joining Beavers from all over the County at Paultons Park on a beautiful sunny fun filled day out. We joined the Portchester Remembers parade on 11/11/2023. A new County event gave us an excuse for a sleepover prior to catching a train and visiting Portsmouth Dockyard for a very interesting day including the Mary Rose Museum. We ended the year by attending the District and local Christingles.

We also tended the garden we have been allocated at the library and this will continue this year.

We achieved a variety of badges on meeting nights as well as playing fun games. We had a nurse attend and their soft toys were administered to. So, they learnt the basics of First Aid. Thank you, Elly. Thanks to Darren a Police officer, who helped them finish their Safety Badge.

We ended the year with a film and pizza evening prior to Christmas.

We can’t end without congratulating all the Beavers who have achieved their Chief Scout Bronze award; Charleston Andrew, Josh Berry, Ella Burnett, Zac Capapas, Elijah Ellery, Austin Elliott, Thomas George, Leo Hoare, Riley Johnson, Ibrahim Khan, Charlotte Mackney, Solomon McGinley, Ezra McGinley, Thomas Merryweather, Bligh Gould, Joshua Prior, Charlie Scott, Logan Sayers, Rose Shelley and Joshua Thompson. Well done to all of them.

We would like to conclude by thanking Nathan McGillivary, Elizabeth Colley, Ryan Noyce, our young leaders Dan, Max and James who are a great asset to the colonies. Last but not least the parents and grandparents without

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

whom we would not have been able to run the varied program we have had. Also thank you to all the leaders from other sections who have helped.

If any of you would like to become a member of the leader team, please chat to us.

Pax, Felix and Luna

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Eagle and Osprey Cub Packs Report 2023

It's been a good year for 3rd Portchester Cubs. Cubs usually runs a wide and varied programme throughout the year for our youngsters.

The Cubs have achieved a lot of badges this year so I have just added a selection.

Some Cubs have been lucky enough to participate in some District activities such as chess and draughts competition, District camping Competition and football competition.

They also worked on challenges badges for a big chunk of this year these included teamwork challenge for this they played team games in a mini competition. Team leader challenge for this they lead their sixes in different activities. Adventure challenge for this they went rock climbing and Lazer tag.

Lots of the Cubs are gaining individual badges, which relate to their hobbies and interests away from Cubs, for example, Musician, Swimming, Book Reading, Time on the Water, Physical Recreation and Martial Arts.

Registered Charity No: 271605

We had a great summer camp which we joined the Sea Scouts on which gave the Cubs the opportunity to achieve some water activity badges as they managed to do some paddle boarding, kayaking and canoeing.

We have had a great evening where the Cubs’ parents came in and became a Cub for the evening which gave the Cubs an opportunity to show them the skills they had learnt. Also they had a great evening with trampoline shoes they played games and competitions.

We have attended many events this year such as remembrance parade, Christingle. Also celebrated different festivals such as Diwali, Chinese New Year, pancake day, Mother’s Day, Burns’ Night and Father’s Day.

Both packs currently have healthy numbers, averaging around 20 members per pack. Many thanks to all our leaders, Bagheera (Steve),Baloo (Nathan), Chil (Callum) and Andy .Thanks also to the parents who have helped and we look forward to their continued support over the coming year.

Many thanks Luna (Kacey) & Jacala (Lucy)

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

James Cook Scout Troop Report 2023

2023 was a busy year for James Cook Troop. In the spring term the Scouts enjoyed celebrating Chinese New Year, made creative pancakes and held a BBQ and campfire evening amongst other activities.

Our weekly programme is built around actiivities the Scouts suggest during our termly planning sessions. We then try to include badge requirements and tailor the suggestions, as required, to ensure they are safe and achievable. As we approached the summer season, we spent some evenings looking at nautical skills and also went swimming to make sure that as leaders, we know the Scouts’ swimming abilities. This ensures that we have the correct ratios of leaders to Scouts when we are on the water.

By the beginning of May, we were back to weekly afloat sessions. The Scouts enjoyed canoeing, kayaking, sailing and paddleboarding.

Some evenings, where the tide was too low, we went to Alverstoke lake with the paddleboards.

In June we enjoyed a weekend camp at Pangbourne. This is one of our favourite sites and has been enjoyed by James Cook troop for summer camps for a long time. Many of the Scouts hadn’t been to Pangbourne yet, and we thought a weekend camp would be fun. We had a long canoe trip along the Thames with a picnic lunch and enjoyed campfires in the evenings.

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Our main summer camp was quite different this year. Instead of camping we used a Girl Guide base at Paxmead, on the River Thames. The site had a building with dormitories and a kitchen, shower rooms, a large communal dining / activity area and lots of outdoors space for games and a designated campfire area. We had great access to the river and went on some lovely trips.

Towards the end of the summer we were pleased to see Daniel achieve his Chief Scout’s Gold Award, which was presented by the District Commissioner, Mike McHugh.

Once the boating season was over, the troop returned to meetings ashore and started this off with a programme planning evening. Activities for the autumn term included a karaoke evening, quiz and chips night, fireworks and bonfire evening, a night hike, pioneering and Christmas Yule Log decorating evening.

Thank you to everyone who helps the troop across the year, particularly Stephen, Jon, Gill and Tim. We are fortunate to have a good team of leaders and supporters.

James Cook Leader Team

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Livingstone Scout Troop Report 2023

The number of Scouts in the troop this year has dropped slightly with us finishing the year with 17 Scouts. The troop continues to meet weekly, taking part in variety of activities, working towards their Chief Scouts Gold award.

During Spring term we did

eight Scouts went on a narrow boat trip aboard travelling on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Canal located in West London. During the trip the went past the London Olympic stadium, visited Park, went Kayaking and worked the locks. The worked on many badges including earning their coxswain’s badge.

During Summer term we did

Wide games 5km Hike Kayaking Nautical skills

In March "Angel" Union Scouts Victoria Scouts power

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

During the summer holidays we had our first summer camp in four years at Bentley copse near Guildford.

The Scouts took part in

During the Autumn we did

Throughout the year we presented a total of 107 badges.

I would like to thank our young leaders Ian and Emmy for the help they have given to the troop. Finally, I would like to thank Caryl, Andy, Lewis, and John for their support over the year.

Stuart Goddard Scout Leader

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Ellen MacArthur Scout Troop Report 2023

Now completing my 2[nd] year as Section Leader again, I am indebted to all who have advised and supported both myself and EM Troop . It has been a very busy and thoroughly enjoyable year and we have participated in a wide range of activities and achieved a number of awards:

The following is a taste of the activities we have enjoyed during the past year:

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Future planning is well underway and available on Online Scout Manger (OSM) including Spring Camp, Summer Camp – Pangbourne and Autumn Camp. Please take a look and let us know which events your Scout is interested in.

In addition, we hope to be able to undertake another Narrowboat weekend and offer further sailing courses.

Huge thanks to our Scouts for their fantastic contribution to our troop; our young leaders (Alannah and Kara) for their continued unfailing support; our amazing inspirational full time Leaders (Scott, Jamie and Darren), our camp & water activity Leaders (David, Hilary, Roy, Sara, Glenn, Ryan and Tom) and wonderful adult volunteer (Sheila) who all give up their time to make our troop as successful as it is.

Best wishes for a wonderful spring, summer and autumn.

Yours in Scouting,

Dave and Ellen MacArthur Leaders

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Watkins Explorers 2023 Report

Watkins currently has 17 members, which has been stable throughout 2023, however in January 2024 we have potentially 9 Scouts who are the appropriate age to move from Scouts to Explorers. And based on Group records another 9 Scouts in September, Watkins has 4 explorers who will leave this year.

2023 has thankfully finally felt like a return to normal Scouting after the challenges of COVID. During our weekly meetings the Explorers have gone swimming, ice skating, bowling, climbing at Red Spider, trampoline at Flip Out, kayaking, pulling, taken part in Wide Games, Blindfold Hikes, Goosechase Challenge, Extreme Ironing, and cooked various meals.

Several evenings concentrated on the training programme for the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition and included Navigation & Route Planning, Map & Compass Skills, Camping & Personal Equipment, Food & Cooking and Team Building. Duke of Edinburgh is a key part of the Explorer Badge Scheme.

Activity / Event Activity / Event
EmergencyAid Training Watkins Christmas Meal
Bronze DofE Practice and Skills Hikes Bronze Duke of Edinburgh
Expedition TrainingWeekend
2 x County Kudu Incident Night Hike – Denmead and
Andover		 London Monopoly Run
https://monopoly-run.co.uk/
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Practice Expedition Isle of Wight Revolutions Activity
Camp
YoungLeader TrainingCamps YoungLeader Rally
Chaos Camp
https://explorers.hampshirescouts.org.uk/2023/05/07/chaos-		 Cooking – DofE Skills
- Scones, Soup, Pizzas, Bread
camp/
Bonfire Party YoungLeaders TrainingCourse
Remembrance Parade St George’s DayParade
25thWorld Scout Jamboree
– South Korea		 Project 23
– Marvellous European Road Trip

Congratulations to those Explorers who are Young Leaders (Ian, Max, Coby, Kara, Aidan, and Alannah) and help with other Sections, both in 3[rd] Portchester & other groups, I continue to receive glowing reports from the Leaders about your help and commitment. You should be enormously proud.

Isle of Wight Revolution (http://www.iowrevolution.org/)

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

is a brilliant activity camp that takes place during the Easter weekend and Watkins have attended almost every year since 2010. Personally, I had really missed this event during the last two years. Being a camp for Explorers and Network only it is very different from other camps that the Scouts have previously experienced, every explorer who has attended this event has wanted to return the next year !! This year activities included Rib rides, Tree Climbing, Magic Workshop, Fencing, Line Dancing, visit to Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, Headhunters and the nightly Fancy Dress Discos and Campfires until dawn !!

2024 event is already fully booked !!

International Events

It was excellent that some Explorers were able to take part in International events and have experiences they will remember for the rest of their lives. The two events below were only available to the Explorer age range and lasted for three weeks during the Summer.

Marie Colwell, Max Filipowicz, and Kara Nash attended the 25[th] World Scout Jamboree in South Korea along with about 40,000 other Scouts from approximately 150 nations.

It has been well documented that this event experienced significant issues which resulted in a very different Jamboree than planned. The explorers showed resilience and their ability to adapt to the situation and I sincerely hope that now the initial disappointment has passed that they will be able to find positives and remember Seoul with fondness.

The Scout Association has two open independent reviews to learn from this event which are due to report by end of March 2024.

The 26[th] WSJ is in Poland in 2027, https://www.jamboree2027.org/ and details are likely to be promoted during 2025.

Ian Colwell, Coby Fleetwood, Henry Seymour, and Alannah Simms attended the Hampshire Scouts Marvellous European Road Trip 2023, where 190 explorers travelled over 3000 miles through various European countries.

Hotel stops were in Munich, Vienna, and Prague where the explorers were able to see the architecture and culture of these cities.

Campsites were Zellhof near Mattsee in Austria, with a day trip to Salzburg and opportunity to swim in the lake; KapraLyv Mylln close to Brno in Czech Republic, with visit to a nuclear bunker and water theme park and a castle site in Rieneck, Bavaria where they had the opportunity to do rafting, high ropes and abseiling.

I am sure that Hampshire Scouts will be running another internal trip in parallel with the next World Scout Jamboree in 2027.

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

2024 is going to be busy, we have a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition, Ferny Fest 2024 Camp, Monopoly Run, Isle of Wight Revolutions and Young Leader events booked, and our programme includes The Apprentice, Casino Night, Night Hike, Camp Planning and Duke of Edinburgh up to Easter.

I am very glad to have welcomed back two ex-Watkins Explorers as leaders, Ryan Harris has settled in well during the last year and Jamie Cooper has recently started helping. Jamie is very activity in MacArthur. Without their support it would have been impossible to run Watkins, as Dave and Ruth stepped back their involvement due to family commitments. My nephew has already been to explorer events and finds the HQ and store amazing fun.

Given the future growth, if there is anyone who would like to help , especially with water activities, no offer is too small and happy to discuss further. Explorers is an amazing and rewarding section to be involved with, and open to any flexibility that could encourage people to help.

I would like to thank all those who have helped during the last year especially Ryan, Jamie, Ruth, and Dave without whom it would not be possible to run the programme and events.

Yours in Scouting

Andy Dow Watkins Explorer Scout Leader

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Treasurer’s Report for Year Ended 31[st] December 2023

I am delighted to present our audited 2023 accounts and I thank our new auditor for his voluntary work with this. The Group remains in great shape financially largely due to our continued focus on carefully managing the receipt of both monthly subscription payments and also joining fees – we have a 100% receipt rate for membership fees compared to less than 70% only a couple of years ago. This is thanks to our parents paying promptly and also to our Membership Secretary.

As per last year, we have had to deal with the same headwinds as many families and businesses - continued price inflation. We have seen price increases across our overheads including the premium we pay to The Scout Association and to Hampshire Scouts for their services.

I have been and will continue to challenge the latter as we have seen some inflation busting increases in recent years and I firmly believe as much money should be retained in frontline scouting as possible.

Despite these increasing costs we are delighted to have successfully retained our subscription costs at £14 per month (unchanged for at least a decade) albeit a couple of years ago we introduced a joining fee (initially £5 and now £10) for new joiners. This pays for initial badges, a necker and a woggle.

We have also been able to help families by subsidising some activities/camps as leaders and trustees firmly believe that scouting should be for all and we can help achieve this by keeping costs to parents as low as possible.

Having spoken with Treasurers from other groups, I realise just how much money many make by renting out their HQs when not being used by Scouts. Unfortunately, under the terms of our lease with the Trustees of Portchester Parish Hall this is forbidden. Our lease is due to be renegotiated in the coming year or so and at this time I would hope that this restrictive clause can be removed.

We have used some of our reserves to purchase solar panels for the building and we look forward to lower energy costs in future years. Despite this expenditure we retain sufficient reserves (100% of our normalised annual overheads) to cover potential economic shocks.

The financial shape of the group does depend on continuing to attract new members and retain our membership at around 150 children. It is the size of the group and the economies of scale this provides which allows us to continue to keep membership fees as low as they are.

As a parent myself, I would like to thank all the volunteers without whose continued support all those activities and camps the children enjoy would not be possible. It continues to delight me that volunteers give so freely of their own time and annual leave to look after other people’s children.

David Noyce, Group Treasurer, 3rd Portchester Scouts 14th April 2024

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Accounts for Year Ended 31[st] December 2023

Charity Name No (if any) 3rd Portchester Scout Group 271605 Receipts and payments accounts Period start Period end For the period date To date from 1st Jan 23 31st Dec 23

CC16a

Section A Receipts and payments

payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest
£		 Restricted
funds
to the
nearest £		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest
£		 Total
funds
to the
nearest £
28,015
13,493
4,181
6,305
2,060
1,075
274
-
55,403
-
-
-
55,403
13,498
10,020
9,641
2,598
24,223		 Last year
to the nearest
£
Subscriptions 28,015 - - 28,015 27,183
Payments received for Camps 13,493 - - 13,493 7,810
Payments received for Activities 4,181 - - 4,181 4,420
Gift Aid 6,305 - - 6,305 4,948
Donations/Grants/Fundraising 1,810 250 - 2,060 7,710
Sale of equipment/Uniform 1,075 - - 1,075 6,460
Interest 274 - - 274 18
- - - - -
Sub total(Gross income
for AR)		 55,153 250 - 55,403 58,549
A2 Asset and investment
sales, (see table).
-
- -
Sub total
-		 -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
58,549
Camping Expenses 13,498 13,498 8,903
Activity Expenses 9,932 10,020 7,744
Capitation 9,641 9,641 6,533
Insurance 2,598 2,598 2,558
HQ Maintenance, Capex and
Repair		 24,223 24,223 2,173

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

Boat and Camping Maintenance
and Capex		 2,733 - - 2,733
Rent and Subscriptions 1,010 - - 1,010
Utilities 6,787 - - 6,787
Badges 2,594 - - 2,594
Sub total 73,016 88 - 73,104
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
-
-
Sub total -
Total payments
Net of
receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between
funds
A6 Cash funds last year
end
Cash funds this year
end
-
17,863
59,144
41,281

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ 41,281 162 - - - - - - - 41,281 162 - OK OK OK Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - -

Categories

Details

B1 Cash funds

Total cash funds

(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))

Details

B2 Other monetary assets

Registered Charity No: 271605

RN Recognised Group - No 2

B3 Investment assets

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use

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B5 Liabilities
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Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

Fund to which Cost Current value Details asset belongs (optional) (optional) - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which Cost Current value Details asset belongs (optional) (optional) Boats and Marine Equipment Unrestricted 150,000 Camping Equipment Unrestricted 100,000 Solar Panels Unrestricted 16,000 - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which Amount due When due Details liability relates (optional) (optional) - - - - - Date of Signature Print Name approval

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