2021-12-31-accounts

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 274225

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021 FOR HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

	Page
Report of the Trustees	1 to 2
Independent Examiner’s Report	3
Statement of Financial Activities	4
Balance Sheet	5
Notes to the Financial Statements	6 to 13
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities	14 to 15
County Treasurer’s Report	16
Report of the County Commissioner	17 to 26

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and Aims

Hertfordshire County Guides Association known as Girlguiding Hertfordshire is registered with the Charity Commission (No: 274225) and is governed by Royal Charter dated 14 December 1922. As a Charity it is committed to promote Guiding within the County. Hertfordshire Guides adhere to the aims and objectives of The Guide Association as set out in the Policy Statement. The trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning future activities.

Girlguiding - Policy Statement

Girlguiding Hertfordshire is an operating name of the Guide Association, Hertfordshire, and is part of Girlguiding, the operating name of the Guide Association.

Statement of Purpose

Girlguiding enables girls and young women to develop their potential and to make a difference to the world.

Aim of Guiding

Guiding offers girls and young women opportunities to:

• be challenged by new adventures and experiences and achieve a sense of pride in accomplishment

• develop self-awareness, self-respect and self-confidence

• develop a personal faith and values to give life meaning and direction

• think for themselves, govern themselves and make their own decisions

• make friends and have fun in the family of Guiding

• develop a sense of tolerance, justice, kindness and honour

• learn teamwork and acquire leadership skills, working with and for others to appreciate the environment and how to live in it

• understand about the world, its people and cultures

Method

Guiding uses a method with five distinct elements that interlink:

• Guides work together in small groups

• Guides are encouraged to govern themselves and make their own decisions

• Guides have a balanced and varied programme

• Guides care for the individual

• Guides share a commitment to a common standard

Membership

Girlguiding is open and inclusive for girls and women from all faiths, cultures and races. The extensive, balanced and varied programme in all sections of Guiding, cover the five outcomes outlined in 'Every Child Matters'.

The Sections

Guiding takes place in four sections: Rainbow Guide: from fifth birthday Brownie Guide: from seventh Birthday Guide: from tenth birthday Senior Section: from fourteenth to twenty-sixth birthday

Page 1

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes an unincorporated charity.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

Potential new Trustees are nominated by members of the County Guide Association to the County Commissioner whose duties include the appointment of new Trustees. Before making an appointment, consultation with senior members of the Association is undertaken. The nominee is then approached to ascertain their willingness to become a Trustee and the role and importance of the position is explained. Upon acceptance of the appointment, the nominee is offered Commissioner training.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Charity number 274225

Principal address

County Office Hertfordshire Guide Centre Cottered Buntingford Hertfordshire SG9 9QP

Trustees

Mrs J Maskrey Mrs A Johns Mrs L O'Bryan Mrs P Hills (Retired on 01/08/2021) Mrs J North (Retired on 17/11/2021) Miss A Perry (Retired on 01/08/2021) Mrs J Smith Mrs S Sayce Mrs J Wheeler Mrs K Hunter Mrs R Ashdown Mrs T Cornish (Retired on 01/11/2021) Mrs S Settle Mrs C Hildrop Ms S Hill Mrs P Botten (Retired on 01/06/2021) Miss E Wilson Mrs J Eavis Mrs J Bushe (Appointed on 15/04/2021) Ms N Weisfled (Appointed on 17/11/2021)

Independent examiner

Mercer & Hole Accountants 72 London Road St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 1NS

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 28[th] April 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Mrs J Maskrey -

Trustee Page 2

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Hertfordshire County Guide Association

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Hertfordshire County Guide Association (the Trust) for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act;

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content

4. accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I confirm that there are no other matters to which your attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Steve Robinson FCA

Mercer & Hole Chartered Accountants

72 London Road St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 1NS

Date: 17 May 2022

Page 3

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

				2021	2020
	Unrestricted		Restricted	Total funds	Total funds
		Funds	funds
	Notes	£	£	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies		37,988	17,331	55,319	48,681
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities		-	10,817	10,817	17,068
Other charitable activities		58,388	-	58,388	93,734
Other trading activities	2	31,912	-	31,912	17,411
Investment income	3	106	-	106	170
Total		128,394	28,148	156,542	177,064
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities		-	27,549	27,549	32,990
Other charitable activities		103,499	6,855	110,563	105,918
Other		1,467	-	1,467	6,315
Total		104,966	34,404	139,370	145,223
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)		23,428	(6,256)	19,172	31,841
Transfers between funds		7,277	(7,277)	-	-
Net movement in funds		30,705	(13,533)	17,172	31,841
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
As previously reported		429,994	43,970	473,964	442,123
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		460,699	30,437	491,136	473,964

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 4

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2021

2021 Notes £ FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 8 190,605 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 9 1,571 Cash at bank 302,495 304,066 CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year 10 (3,535) NET CURRENT ASSETS 300,531 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 491,136 NET ASSETS 491,136 FUNDS 12 Unrestricted funds: General Fund 377,274 Designated International Camp Fund 3,967 Designated Disabilities Fund 9,122 Designated Building Equipment Fund - Designated Activity Fund 70,091 Designated Adventure Fund - 460,454 Restricted funds: Flexible guiding Fund 4,760 Sustainability Fund 8,448 Restricted donations 508 International Fund 7,673 Growing Guides - Training Fund - Buildings Fund 9,293 30,682 TOTAL FUNDS 491,136

2020 £ 197,627 13,126 281,048 294,174 (17,837) 276,337 473,964 473,964 352,331 3,967 9,122 - 64,574 - 429,994 4,460 20,658 508 9051 - - 9,293 43,970 473,964

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 28[th] April 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

Mrs J Maskrey -Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 5

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective January 2019), Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Financial reporting standard 102 - reduced disclosure exemptions

The charity has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions in preparing these financial statements, as permitted by FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland':

• the requirements of Section 7 Statement of Cash Flows;

• the requirement of Section 3 Financial Statement Presentation paragraph 3.17(d); the requirements of Section 11 Financial Instruments paragraphs 11.41(b), 11.41(c), 11.41(e), 11.41(f), 11.42, 11.44,11.45, 11.47, 11.48(a)(iii), 11.48(a)(iv), 11.48(b) and 11.48(c);

• the requirement of Section 33 Related Party Disclosure paragraph 33.7.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from grants is recognised on a receivable basis.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Freehold property - 2% on cost Fixtures and fittings - 20% on cost

Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Page 6

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Grants

Expenditure on grants is recorded once the Charity has made an unconditional commitment to pay the grant and this has been communicated to the beneficiary or the grant has been paid, whichever is the earlier. The Charity has not made any commitments of more than one year.

2. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

2.	OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
		2021	2020
		£	£
	Training	744	115
	County Centre	10,320	8,701
	Activities for members	2,180	3,709
	Badges	3,136	4,887
	Other merchandise	-	-
		31,912	17,411
3.	INVESTMENT INCOME
		2021	2020
		£	£
	Interest received	106	170

4. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2021 nor for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Trustees' expenses

20 (2020 - 19) Trustees were reimbursed during the year for directly incurred expenditure totalling £6,726 (2020 - £6,690).

5. STAFF COSTS

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

	2021	2020
Accounting and secretarial	4	3
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

6. INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS' FEE

The fee for the independent examination was £3,000 (2020: £3,000).

Page 7

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

7. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total funds
	funds	funds
	£	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies	12,160	36,521	48,681
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities	-	17,068	17,068
Other charitable activities	93,734	-	93,734
Other trading activities	17,411	-	17,411
Investment income	170	-	170
Total	123,475	53,589	177,064
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities	-	32,900	32,900
Other charitable activities	91,346	14,572	105,918
Other	6,315	-	6,315
Total	97,661	47,562	145,223
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)	25,814	6,027	31,841
Transfers between funds	(600)	600	-
Net movement in funds	25,214	6,027	31,841
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward	404,780	37,343	442,123
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD	429,994	43,970	473,964

Page 8

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

8. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Freehold Fixtures and property fittings £ £ COST At 1 January 2021 339,703 38,593 Additions - 1,941 At 31 December 2021 339,703 40,534 DEPRECIATION At 1 January 2021 144,425 36,244 Charge for year 7,160 1,803 At 31 December 2021 151,585 38,047 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 December 2021 188,112 2,487 At 31 December 2020 195,278 2,350	Totals £ 378,296 1,941 380,237
	180,669 8,963 189,632
	190,605 197,627	90,605

Included in cost or valuation of land and buildings is freehold land of £24,500 (2020 - £24,500) which is not depreciated.

Ownership of Cottered County Centre shown under the heading Freehold Land & Buildings above is registered with Guide Association Trust Corporation who hold the title as Custodian or Holding Trustees for the Hertfordshire County Guides or the Trusts of the Guide Association 1938 Trust Deed.

Page 9

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

9. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

2021 Other debtors - Prepayments and accrued income 1,571 1,571 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2021 Deferred income - Accrued expenses 3,535 3,535 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS 2021 Unrestricted Restricted Total funds Funds funds Fixed assets 190,605 - 190,605 Current assets 273,384 30,682 304,066 Current liabilities (3,535) - (3,535) 460,454 30,682 491,136	2020 - 13,126 13,123 2020 11,350 6,487 17,837 2020 Total funds 197,627 294,174 (17,837) 473,964

10. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

11. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Page 10

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

12. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

			Net	Transfers
		movement		between
			in funds	funds	At 31.12.21
	1.1.21
	£		£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General Fund	352,331		23,158	2,029	377,518
Designated International
Camp Fund	3,967		-	-	3,967
Designated Disabilities
Fund	9,122		-	-	9,122
Designated Activity Fund	64,574		270	5,248	70,092
	429,99	4	23,428	7,277	460,699
Restricted funds
Restricted donations	508		-		508
International Fund	9,051		5,654	(7,277)	7,428
Growing Guides	-		-	-	-
Training Fund	-		-	-	-
Flexible Guiding Fund	4,460		300	-	4,760
Sustainability Fund	20,658		(12,210)	-	8,448
Buildings Fund	9,293		-	-	9,293
	43,970		(6,256)	(7,277)	30,437
TOTAL FUNDS	473,964		17,172	-	491,136
Net movement in funds, included in the above		are as follows:
			Incoming	Resources	Movement
		resources		expended	in funds
			£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General Fund			127,524	(104,366)	23,158
Designated Activity Fund			870	(600)	270
			128,394	(104,966)	23,428
Restricted funds
International Fund			12,446	(6,355)	6,091
Growing Guides			-	-	-
Training Fund			-	-	-
Flexible Guiding Fund			500	(200)	300
Sustainability Fund			15,202	(27,849)	(12,647)
Buildings Fund			-	-	-
			28,148	(34,404)	(6,256)
TOTAL FUNDS			156,542	(132,637)	17,172

Page 11

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

12. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparatives for movement in funds

		Net	Transfers
		Movement	between
	At	in funds	funds	At 31.12.20
	1.1.20
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund	327,117	25,814	(600)	352,331
Designated International Camp Fund	3,967	-	-	3,967
Designated Disabilities Fund	9,122	-	-	9,122
Designated Activity Fund	64,574	-	-	64,574
	404,780	25,814	(600)	429,994
Restricted Funds
Restricted donations	508	-	-	508
International Fund	24,973	(15,922)	-	9,051
Growing Guides	500	(500)	-	-
Training Fund	11,362	(11,362)	-	-
Flexible Guiding Fund	-	3,860	600	4,460
Sustainability Fund	-	20,658	-	20,658
Buildings Fund	-	9,293	-	9,293
	37,343	6,027	600	43,970
TOTAL FUNDS	442,123	31,841	-	473,964
Comparative net movement in funds,	included in the	above are as follows:
		Incoming	Resources	Movement
		resources	expended	in funds
Unrestricted funds
General Fund		123,475	(97,661)	25,814
		123,475	(97,661)	25,814
Restricted funds
International Fund		17,068	(32,990)	(15,922)
Growing Guides		-	(500)	(500)
Training Fund		-	(11,362)	(11,362)
Flexible Guiding Fund		3,860	-	3,860
Sustainability Fund		20,658	-	20,658
Buildings Fund		12,003	(2,710)	9,293
		53,589	(47,562)	6,027
TOTAL FUNDS		177,064	(145,223)	31,841

Page 12

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

The Building Equipment Fund is represented by capitalised expenditure on the Cottered Centre and the International Camp, Disabilities, Activity and Special Projects funds by bank balances.

The Martin / Hurford Fund came of a legacy from Beryl Martin and a donation by Barbara Hurford with the specific instruction that it be used by means of a bursary to aid Guides going abroad on Guiding "Gold" projects.

13. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Page 13

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

	2021	2020
	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Donations and legacies
Legacies	-	-
Grants	34,222	25,678
Donations	23,097	23,003
	57,319	48,6821
Other trading activities
Training	745	115
County Centre	10,320	8,701
Activities for members	2,180	3,708
Badges	15,532	4,887
Other merchandise	3,136	-
	31,912	17,411
Investment income
Interest received	106	170
Charitable activities
Subscriptions	56,979	92,682
200 Club	1,409	1,052
International trip income	10,817	17,068
	69,205	110,802
Total incoming resources	158,542	177,064
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities
Training	2,491	786
Members events	975	1,330
County centre	23,182	15,146
County centre repairs	-	15,851
Travelling	1,669	1,712
Postage, telephone, printing and stationery	3,527	4,900
Website and internet costs	1,953	1,982
Share magazine	4,068	3,330
Commissioners and Queens guide grants	80	-
Carried forward	37,945	45,037

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

Page 14

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

2021 £ Charitable activities Brought forward 37,945 Grants 30,569 Presentations and awards 3,088 New programme costs 948 Sundry expenditure 5,385 International trip expenses 6,555 Badges 14,215 Depreciation 8,898 107,813 Support costs Governance costs Wages 25,288 Social security 335 Pensions 179 Insurance 1,498 Independent examiner's fee 3,000 Secretarial and accounting 1,467 31,765 Total resources expended 139,578 Net income/(expenditure) 31,841

2020 £ 45,037 3,907 - - 9,940 32,990 12,208 8,575 112,657 24,516 271 211 1,373 3,000 3,195 32,566 145,223 31,841~~_~~

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

Page 15

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

COUNTY TREASURER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

The accounts show a net surplus of £17,172 for the year compared to a net surplus in 2020 of £31,841.

INCOME

Net subscription income was down at £56,979 compared to 2020 (£92,682) due to a decrease in the subscription from £8.50 to £7.30 per member as well as a reduction in members from 10,329 to 7,767. The reduction in members was as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other trading activities were considerably higher at £31,912 compared to 2020 (£17,411) largely due the gradual reopening of the County Centre and sale of challenge badges.

EXPENDITURE

Major expenses during 2021 were:-

• £23,182 (£30,997 in 2020) for the Hertfordshire Guide Centre at Cottered. The decrease in the year

• was largely the result of events being halted due to the Coronavirus pandemic;

• • £25,802 (£24,998 in 2020) on Staff costs — largely due to a pay rise for the staff members and an additional employee being recruited;

• £14,215 (£12,208 in 2020) for the purchase of badges – largely due to the increased number purchased;

• £6,555 (£32,990 in 2020) in International trip expenses — The decrease year on year was as a result

• of the Coronavirus pandemic where international travel was halted.

• £4,068 (£3,330 in 2020) for SHARE magazine. The increase was due to additional work required.;

• £3,527 (£4,900 in 2020) for Postage, Telephone, printing & stationery. The decrease is largely due to a decrease in the volume of items sent by post;

• £2,491 (£786 in 2020) for Training. The increase in the year was due to additional First Aid training courses being held

The Balance Sheet shows Girlguiding Hertfordshire's current worth as £491,136 an increase from 2020 (£473,964). Fixed assets decreased by £7,022, mostly due to depreciation. The cash element of Current Assets increased while both Debtors and Creditors decreased. This resulted in Net Current Assets of £300,531 up £24,194 on 2020. Within the Unrestricted Funds the General fund increased by £25,187 and the Restricted Funds decreased from £43,970 in 2020 to £30,437 due to movements on a number of different funds, most notably the International and Sustainability Funds.

Page 16

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

Our county in numbers

Divisions		Districts			Units
10		47			488
					Comparison to 2020
Young Members	6974		ê	450
Volunteer Members	1748		é	150
Rainbows	1537		é	42
Brownies	3405		ê	364
Guides	1780		ê	124
Rangers	252		ê	4

Mission

We work in alignment with the mission statements from both Girlguiding UK and Girlguiding Anglia and are dedicated to empowering and inspiring our members, by providing them with fun and challenging experiences through which they make lifelong friendships, learn life skills and grow to reach their full potential.

Our Values

We aim to show our members a county team who work together, sharing workloads, skills and ideas, which promotes the caring, inclusive, inspiring and supportive approach to guiding we wish our members to experience and be a part of.

Girlguiding Themes

Access

Provide more girls and adults with the opportunity to access guiding

Excellence

Providing more support to our volunteers to enable them to deliver better guiding

Voice

Improving the way we listen to and promote our girls’ and volunteers’ voices

Capacity

Enabling a better guiding experience to be delivered by working collaboratively to improve our structures, processes and capacity.

2021 Aims and Objectives

Following the easing of restrictions this year has seen much more of a return to face-to-face guiding for the majority of our units, although some have chosen to continue to meet virtually. All our volunteers have

worked hard and shown great resilience under difficult circumstances and have continued to offer the girls an exceptional guiding experience.

Promotion of Girlguiding to girls, recruiting volunteers through social media posts and recruitment opportunities at events following the easing of restrictions has been a big part of 2021. St Albans district were proud to be invited to have a stall to promote opportunities available to girls and young adults at The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire’s International Youth Day Celebration event on 12th August in the grounds adjacent to St Albans Abbey.

Our county website has been undergoing changes which we hope will result in a more user-friendly, accessible online experience for both our members and the public and provide a platform for our county teams to demonstrate what they do and can offer our members.

Structure

This year has seen the expansion of our Inclusion team enabling us to make guiding even more inclusive and provide our volunteers with the support they need to ensure we achieve this.

The growth of the county membership is vital and the launch of our flexible guiding units for Brownies, Guides and Rangers has proved a great success, enabling those unable to join a unit due to lack of spaces or who are unable to access guiding in the traditional form, the chance to experience all guiding has to offer.

The PR team have recruited 3 new members to their team and now have a representative for each division, this results in more effective two-way communication.

Supporting the Community

Members of all sections have been out in the community litter picking and laying wreaths for Remembrance Day. Units from across St Albans took part in the St Albans Remembrance Day parade, which was given the go ahead very late in the day.

As random acts of kindness, 5[th] Hoddesdon Brownies wrote letters, filled and decorated Harvest boxes which they delivered to people in the community. They also delivered handmade Christmas decorations members of the community.

7[th] Ware and Stanstead Abbott Brownies and the 5[th] Ware Rainbows took part in the Great British Spring Clean.

In June, Hemel Hempstead South District held a Family Monopoly Run. 11 teams signed up and they raised funds for two local charities.

As part of their Pedal Power unit meeting activity, 1[st] Goffs Oak Rainbows did laps around a car park on their bikes and scooters, raising £336.50 for Children in Need and gaining the Children in Need badge. 7[th] Hitchin Brownies held a joint Children in Need danceathon/Anglia 50[th] Birthday party and raised approximately £383 for Children in Need.

In Radlett district, due to large district events being subsidised by various Covid grants, girls’ payments for these specific events have been used to fundraise for charity. Donations have been made to a range of charities during the year totalling approximately £1500, with Shenley Park Trust received over £400 which they have used to fund children’s spades.

Volunteers across the county spent much of October and November knitting and crocheting postbox toppers including reindeer, shepherds, sheep and snowmen. An activity that was first stated in St Albans in 2018 with 23 toppers, for Christmas 2021 this number increased to 82 across Hertfordshire. £30,000 was raised for charities Youth Talk and ADD-vance.

Girls from Radlett district have supported Shenley Apple day and painted part of a mural for Radlett station.

9[th] Hitchin Brownies made decorations for a Brownies-themed tree at the Hitchin Christmas tree festival and several units from Welwyn Garden City (Guessens) district entered the St Francis Church Christmas Tree festival, where 3[rd] Welwyn Garden City Guides won the uniformed section prize, their tree decorations were made from upcycled old badges.

Rainbows

Rainbows have been achieving their Bronze and Silver awards with one very keen Rainbow from 7[th] WGC Rainbows completing all her Interest badges and is now working on her Gold award.

A number of Rainbows from the South West division flexible Rainbow unit attended a district activity day where they got to meet each other and their leaders face to face for the first time. The flexible Rainbow unit has proved a great success in giving girls, unable to get a space in a Rainbow unit, a taste of guiding.

Rainbows have done lots of craft activities in unit meetings such as making kites, cress heads in eggs shells, spaghetti and marshmallow towers, jam jar lanterns covered in dried leaves and petals, building mini rafts, paper plate weaving, and playing parachute games. 2nd Letchworth Rainbows made a sea collage including paper plate jelly fish.

Some Rainbows have continued to meet virtually and have enjoyed scavenger hunts, baking, learning to sign the Rainbow song and earning the virtual Rainbow badge. 9[th] Hitchin Rainbows held a 5-hour virtual ‘bake off’.

25[th] St Albans Rainbows welcomed MP Daisy Cooper to a unit meeting in the summer term. She took the time to talk to the girls about the choices they were making in their task and explained to them what she does as an MP and what help she gives to people. She answered all the girls’ questions, even when they had been asked before!

Rainbows have been working on their Influence Stage 1, Network Stage 1 and Explore Stage 1 skills builders and gaining their Have Adventures, Take Action and Be Well theme badges.

Brownies

Many Brownie units held meetings with activities such as scavenger hunts, escape rooms, cooking, games and art, going for walks and Brownies from Radlett district enjoyed a circus skills workshop in June.

A district within South West division ran Brownie revels in the summer. It took place in a school field where the girls moved around a number of bases with a space theme, make popping rockets, galaxies in a jar and playing space games.

Ickleford Brownies have enjoyed carrying out space themed activities such as making rockets, astronaut type challenges, making edible sparklers and lighting real ones, and baking and 24[th] St Albans Brownies made clay animals inspired by the Magical Menagerie at Heartwood.

Redbourn Brownies have planted a tree in readiness for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.

Brownies have been working on their Feel Good Stage 2, Camp and Communicate skills builder, Be Well, Have Adventure and Take Action themes . Many Brownies have achieved their Bronze, Silver and Gold awards with Brownies from 9[th] Hitchin Brownie unit running virtual activities and games and creating a unit recipe book.

Guides

Many Guides achieved their Bronze, Silver and Gold awards, with the 1[st] Adeyfield Guides Gold award girls devising a Backwoodsman cooking competition.

Guides have been meeting both face to face and virtually, and have enjoyed quizzes, celebrating festivals like Diwali and Hannukkah and going for walks

9[th] Abbey Guides celebrated their Centenary with the main event being a service at St Albans Abbey followed by a reception at Abbey Primary School with over 120 attending. The girls had the chance to meet their ‘sisters’ (former Guides). There were archive displays, craft tables to create a memento and campfire songs were sung prior to the cutting of a spectacular birthday cake made by one of the unit’s Young Leaders. They kicked off their Centenary celebration week with a visit from former unit leaders Margaret Silvester and Jill Lees, who spoke about their time as commanders/leaders and the company/unit and presented the girls with interesting archival information and discussed the history of the flags, one of which she created, and they practised the ‘Colour Party’.

Guides from Stevenage and North divisions attended a survival skills event where they learnt how to whittle, light a fire and build dens.

As part of the Investigating interest badge, 5[th] Potters Bar Guides received a virtual talk from a lady on forensics and interviewed the captain of the London Bees (Barnet Football Club ladies’ team) via Zoom.

Guides from Hitchin district took a day trip on a narrowboat where they learnt how to drive it and how the locks on the Grand Union Canal work.

Rangers

Rangers have done a variety of activities including cycle rides, walking/hiking and playing golf.

Lots of our Young Leaders have completed their Young Leader Qualification and are now embarking on their journey to complete their Leadership Qualification.

In West division, Rangers organised a ‘Come Dine with Me’ event and Rangers from Ware district had a great time at a district pizza evening at Amwell Scout Hut, after receiving a ‘get your community back together’ grant from ASDA, which paid for the event.

The Pulsatilla Rangers completed the Pax Lodge Harry Potter challenge in London

1[st] Croxley Green Rangers took part in the Anglia Under the Stars virtual Festival taking part in various activities such as sleeping under the stars, making constellation cookies and Matariki stars.

More fun…

There have been trips to the Sealife Centre in London with cruising on the River Thames, Vertigo, the cinema to watch Encanto, Jump In, bowling, allotments and Buzzworks to see a Queen bee in her hive and learn about what bees do and why they are so important, as well as kayaking at Stanborough Lakes and tennis lessons,

Celebrating Thinking Day

The county held a virtual Thinking Day event on Sunday 21 February where girls and leaders from across Hertfordshire renewed their Girlguiding Promise.

A special Thinking Day 2021 Challenge badge was created, and a Promise Renewal video produced with the assistance of the PR team, which has been viewed over 1000 times. Many of the views were by a whole unit simultaneously, so we anticipate it has been seen by thousands of members across the county, and further afield.

Articles and stories arising from the Thinking Day event were share on the county Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as in newspapers and local My News magazines across the county afterwards – a total of over 20 posts and 14 articles.

Units from Elstree and Borehamwood district joined with Radlett district for their Thinking Day event.

Visits from the community

Some units have been fortunate to have both in person and virtual visits this year from PCSOs, Laughter Yoga, Hornbeam Hedgehog Society, Manic Ceramics, Guide Dogs, reptiles and beekeepers.

The 5[th] Potters Bar Guides had an outdoor session with the retired GB Olympics team manager learning about the games and doing sport challenges.

Guiding Development

The training team has continued to offer first class training and support during restrictions, delivering sessions in a clear and concise manner, both face-to-face and virtually. They empower our leaders, who in turn go on to drive excellence, access and a voice throughout Girlguiding. All training sessions are designed to be inclusive and impactful.

As trainers ensure that all leaders are compliant in Safe Space and up to date with their First Response, they can also assist in delivering programmes that help leaders gain confidence and reach their full potential, which in turn will assist them to go on to deliver exceptional guiding experiences.

A couple of our trainers took part and delivered sessions in the Anglia Region ROVE 2021 training in June 2021 and one volunteer achieved her Trainer Qualification in the Autumn of 2021 - a fantastic achievement and well deserved.

Outdoor Activities

The Outdoor Team organised two Survival Skills days for Stevenage division and for Guides across the county. In total 125 Guides attended. They completed elements from a survival skills passport which includes Whittling, Fire Lighting and Shelter building.

The introduction of the Survival Skills days has encouraged outdoor experiences for those who want them, with many Guides learning or reinforcing the skills they already have. They and their parents/commissioner have confirmed that they had enjoyed this value for money activity.

The Outdoor team has helped those volunteers who wish to have a rewarding experience teaching girls the skills they know. In turn they have begun to form a team and helped to create the Survival Skills days and further ones are planned to continue reinforcing the Guides skills and encourage outdoor activities.

The team has continued to encourage all Guides to spend time out in nature without their leaders to enable more who are interested to attend.

The Walking Team continued to offer COVID-19 compliant social walks and introduced the very successful Marathon Challenge for the Tokyo Olympics, selling badges to members and non-members alike, encouraging walking and getting out in nature. They also ran a Brownie and Rainbow Safari in Broxbourne Woods which all those who attended thoroughly enjoyed.

The DofE coordinator has run events for those undertaking their DofE training with 24 Rangers and Young Leaders learning and reinforcing their knowledge and skills.

Two members of the Walking Team completed their Level 2 Walking Qualifications, which had been delayed from the previous year.

Residential

As restrictions gradually eased, units were able to organise residential activities again. Holidays, camps and sleepovers have taken place with themes such as a year in a weekend, Harry Potter and nature. Many units remain cautious and have delayed their time away but are hopeful to plan for summer 2022.

International

The continuing Covid crisis has unfortunately impacted on International trips and will continue to restrict opportunities through to 2023. The lack of International travel hasn’t stopped units celebrating world Guiding with many units, districts and divisions holding virtual Thinking Day celebrations.

Although all the world centres have been closed to visitors, they have been offering virtual events and this has given many members the opportunity to take part in virtual tours, cooking classes, dance workshops and much more opening the International experience to more girls and adults.

We had a good attendance at the recent region selection day and have been offered places to attend the World Scout Jamboree in 2023 and the proposed region train trip also in 2023.

Youth Opportunities

An increased number of Commonwealth Awards have been awarded this year. This non time dependent special award can be achieved if the girl is unable to attend weekly meetings, placed in isolation for instance.

Our "in training" and qualified Young Leaders continue to give valuable support and assistance to our busy unit leaders and our many Ranger units around the county have continued to support the 14-18 year age groups, enabling a better mental health and peer encouragement throughout this difficult year and uncertain time period. The adaptation of the programme and girl led activities have been of great help to many at this time.

Units have also taken part in the Parliament week 2021, as supported by Anglia Region and enjoyed the challenges and activities that this offered. Within South West division this also incorporated super peer led discussions on the voting process and some amazing campaign discussions.

The Queens' Guide has been adapted to enable girls to continue to achieve this award at the current time and the experiences offered through this challenge continue to amaze and encourage individuals to stretch their abilities.

We promote all experiences relevant to the age group through advertising in the county newsletters, website and social media platforms as well as the standard cascades within divisions and districts. The Youth Opportunities team have continued to provide advice and support for the individual as well as encouraging leaders to develop the 13+ age group and continue Girlguiding. The continuation of flexible options within Guiding enables participants to reach their potential. We have encouraged this through the continuation of newsletter activities, crafts and challenges alongside information for all.

Inspire

Inspire is a concept for 18–30-year-old members to come together to enjoy experiences in addition to, or instead of volunteering with a unit. Young women at this age typically have a lot of change in their lives at this time and Girlguiding wanted to provide a flexible opportunity for them to remain part of the organisation and have fun.

In the county, the Inspire team have presented local events such as walking events and national opportunities such as GOLD and the Juliette Lowe seminar UK for Inspire members to engage with. With the event of COVID it has been challenging to put on the physical events that Inspire members want to engage with and the numbers remain relatively low. It is hoped that this will pick up throughout the coming year and that more opportunities and direction will come from region and country lead volunteers.

Trefoil Guild

Monthly events were held via Zoom during the pandemic which were accessible by phone to those without computers and for those hard of hearing, where possible, typed captions were used. After each event, members split into breakout rooms to enable smaller groups to chat. There have been talks by outside speakers, Christmas miscellany, photographic competition, an international quiz, crafts and chair and secretaries airing and sharing meetings.

Within the constraints of the pandemic, we have enabled our members to feel the circle of friendship that exists throughout Girlguiding through joining with others within the county and with the World Centres and other Guilds for events and activities.

The Trefoil Guild is fully inclusive and the Warriors Trefoil Guild is a Jewish Guild mainly for those with special needs.

National and regional Competitions have been shared with all members enabling members to feel part of the wider circle of Girlguiding. Members have taken part in the Walking Team Marathon Challenge with many completing well over 5 marathons. This has helped both their physical and mental health and helped them to feel a part of the Hertfordshire Girlguiding community.

As a team we have split the county up and each team member taken responsibility for liaising with a small number of Guilds. This has helped them to keep in touch regularly and support those in charge.

Two of our members were presented with their Trefoil Thanks and recognition Brooches and Certificates. Two members from St Albans Trefoil Guild achieved their Gold Voyage Award and another is working towards her Silver Voyage Award, whilst two members from Ware Trefoil Guild are working towards their Bronze Voyage Award. We are proud to see their hard work come to fruition.

All members of Trefoil Guild are volunteers, with many supporting local units and districts helping at events when asked, taking an active role in events such as Thinking Day, St George's day and Christmas tree festivals. Ware Trefoil Guild ran a Human Fruit Machine stall at a district fete and have joined Stanstead Abbotts Brownies to help teach them to knit. St Albans Trefoil Guild carried the flag at the event celebrating the 100[th] Anniversary of the 9[th] St Albans (Abbey) Guides and Brownies.

Guilds support many charities and even during the Pandemic has knitted and raised funds for a variety of them. As well as supporting Harpenden Trefoil Guild at their garden lunch event to raise money for the local fire service, St Albans Trefoil Guild have also raised money for Hautbois Activity Centre at their garden party for Anglia’s 50[th] anniversary. Ware Trefoil Guild have collected items for the Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox 2021 appeal, and made collection of items such as plastic milk bottle tops, stamps and empty cellophane wrappers from greetings cards, to raise money for various charitable causes.

Inclusion

Over the year there have been some enquiries for girls who have additional needs to be placed in units in the County and they have in the mainly joined the 10[th] Goffs Oak Rainbows and Brownies and Guides and Rangers who met via monthly Zoom sessions for the first half of the year with activity packs delivered or posted to families, resulting in happy faces and many badges awarded.

Face to face meetings recommenced in the Autumn, with sensory activities, music, colouring, a disco, monthly dance sessions and play on the sideline for girls who wish to take time away from others. There are now around 22 girls attending with the youngest being 5 years old.

6[th] Welwyn Garden City Brownie, Guide and Ranger unit continue to meet via Zoom which has been hard due to the girls needing a lot of support which isn’t always available in a busy home environment. The girls have been pumpkin picking near Redbourn, to the Stockwood Discovery Centre in Luton to look at all the elephants they had on display there, which had been part of the Big Trunk Trail over the summer, and in December met one very chilly evening to look round the lights in Welwyn Garden City town centre.

Membership Support

The Membership Systems Coordinator has offered training on GO administration to all new commissioners by Zoom. This keeps the cost of training low and enables the sessions to be targeted on local data. The LQ Coordinator has trained all new mentors face-to-face or, where this has not been possible, by phone.

Long Service awards have predominantly been sent out by post. In the last term it was decided to include the higher awards so that presentation was no longer delayed, and these have all been collected by or delivered to division commissioners. Total Awards for the year are: 5-year = 85, 10-year = 50, 20-year = 22, 30-year = 20, 40year = 13, 50-year = 6, 60-year = 1. The Membership Systems Coordinator received a 20-year long service award

The Membership Systems team aims to respond to queries within 48 hours, via communications on a variety of platforms including email, WhatsApp, text and phone. As always, the aim is to offer best advice and to maintain the integrity of our membership database. Where queries are not able to be resolved locally, help is given to pass these up the line to HQ.

Mentors are appointed speedily and LQ books are sent out as soon as this is agreed. Completed LQ books are also dealt with speedily and once verified, are updated on GO, usually within 24 hours.

Safeguarding and Wellbeing

Safeguarding is the thread that runs through all of Guiding. Ensuring Guiding is accessible, safe and inclusive is the responsibility of all members. All enquiries and concerns are responded to quickly, proportionality and with the best interests of the members in mind.

Around 15 concerns, reports or questions have been dealt with ranging from concerning comments from a Brownie to simple queries around RPL. Advice regarding difficult conversations has been offered and local commissioners and leaders supported to manage any safeguarding concerns in their areas quickly and efficiently.

PR Team

The PR team have been heavily involved in the promotion of various events during the year including Thinking Day and the Marathon Challenge, the latter, ensuring anyone who applied for a badge also received a recruitment leaflet!

The team have ensured that posts promoting events and activities have been shared far and wide via the county Facebook pages. We aim to encourage more engagement through regular, varied and meaningful content. Sharing members’ stories inspires others, and we have been able to celebrate, via social media our award recipients, newly trained leaders and share news of unit/district/division events, as well as county, region and national opportunities.

The PR team created both ‘meet the leader’ posts on Facebook with the aim of showing that leaders are busy people who make time for their guiding as well as a series of volunteering posts to celebrate our volunteers. These have been very well received.

Our Facebook recruitment posts had a combined reach of over 100,000 and recruitment articles have been included in 2 papers during Volunteers Week and 4 local magazines. Units in South West division and St Albans were saved from closing as a result of two targeted articles which attracted new leaders.

The county Instagram page has a growing presence and a Girlguiding Hertfordshire Pinterest board packed with resources for leaders has been set up. The PR team has taken on the job of compiling the county Share magazine, successfully producing 2 editions so far and have set up a LinkedIn account.

Support is given to all county teams and their events, helping them devise posts and promotional materials as necessary. The PR team have shown the inclusiveness of Girlguiding through actively engaging and promoting awareness of what the Goffs Oak All Sections unit offers girls, posting Girlguiding inspired blogs across a range of inclusion topics, sharing sign language versions of the Rainbow Song, Brownie Bells and Taps and publishing regular mental health awareness posts.

All members of the PR team have completed various training courses throughout the year such as Anglia’s Branding Training and LinkedIn and GDPR training as well as ensuring their Safe Space and First Response qualifications remain up to date.

Growth and Retention

Headquarters arranged to run a national recruitment campaign during the summer term, which was one of our highs during the year of 2021. With the help of the PR team and volunteers across the county sharing recruitment posts we were able to receive an access of 120 new enquiries. We trialled some new recruitment plans with how we made contact with enquirers and ran online, evening welcome events. We will be carrying on with welcome events during the next recruitment campaign and invites would still also come out from county Growth and Retention team. Another national recruitment campaign is planned for 2022.

Some units started to have local PR stands but uptake has been less as a lot of areas are cautious as a result of covid. We aim to participate in larger events in 2022 with the return of summer fairs and the County Show in May.

During volunteer week the county team sent thank you badges and cards to all volunteers across county. This year the badge was a design of a butterfly to represent the new beginning after such a tough period with the pandemic. To help with retention, region launched 1 and 3 year service awards, which have received very good feedback as new volunteers have felt appreciated sooner, rather than having to wait 5 years to receive their first award.

Thank you to all our volunteers across the county for all the help to keep guiding growing in Hertfordshire.

Awards

The awards given this year acknowledge the number of individuals we have in Hertfordshire who have been nominated by their peers as outstanding in their delivery of Guiding, in all its guises. Due to the ongoing pandemic, we again used virtual presentations instead of a physical gathering. This enabled awards to be given in a timely fashion.

Member and Long Service Brooch

60 years - 1 50 years – 6 40 years – 10 30 years – 13

County Thanks Certificate 2

County Good Service Certificate 4

Good Service Brooch and Certificate 2

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award 1

Anglia Guiding Star 1

Anglia Youth Award 1

Hertfordshire Good Guiding Badge and Certificate

1

Following the 2021 awards event, the baton for the awards chair has been passed on.

Archives

Anglia Archivists have met 4 times on Zoom this year. Meetings included trainings given by the Norfolk Record Office on Digitisation and Collections Management. Courses in Digital Preservation Skills, Providing Access to Preserved Digital Content, Archiving Personal Data (all run in conjunction with the National Archives), Paper Recognition (run by Preservation Equipment Limited) and Understanding Copyright (a series of webinars run by The Scottish Council on Archives) have also been attended. In October, the annual Anglia Archivists meeting was held, face-to-face, in Toft.

Uniform and other items were loaned for a display in St Albans Cathedral in celebration of the centenary of 9th St Albans Guides and Brownies.

There have been 4 visits to the county archives in the latter half of the year amounting to a total of 19 long days spent sorting, cataloguing and moving items into archival quality storage. Much of the work this year has concentrated on books, magazines and documents. Good progress has been made and these are now mostly catalogued and in appropriate archival storage. Surplus books have now been identified and these will be passed to a volunteer who will be attempting to sell them. A start has been made on creating history boxes which will eventually be available for loan to units.

Donations continue to roll in and there is a constant need to revisit those items already catalogued, to compare condition where there are duplicates.

Covid-19 restrictions and consideration for personal safety have again prevented a working day or weekend from being held. However, some jobs have been identified which could be undertaken by a group of volunteers, when conditions improve.

Badges and Depots

Many of the shops/depots have now started accepting orders online via email or websites, with some offering delivery or arranging pickups. They have set been up ensure everyone is able to access the resources they want and awards they have earned. Those that needed to have made adjustments, to continue providing services throughout the restrictions, whilst making sure everyone is protected and as safe as possible.

Many of the shops/depots give back to their local guiding communities in different ways such as offering discounts.

Conclusion

As guiding returns to normal, we are very conscious that our volunteers must make a personal choice as to what they feel comfortable in doing. This has proven to be challenging through the pandemic as there have been different expectations and experiences across the units. The flexible units have been a great opportunity for young members to continue a guiding experience if their unit has not been able to offer anything, or if they have not been able to offer spaces due to restrictions. We thank all of our volunteers, no matter what they have been able to do, for taking the journey with us.

As we look back on the adventures that have been had throughout 2021, it is fantastic that we have been able to engage with so many young people and bring them some relief from the challenges they have faced with school and other activities. We are excited to open up more opportunities and experiences in the coming year and we hope that our recruitment campaigns will encourage volunteers and young people alike to come and join us.