2023-12-31-accounts

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 274225

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 FOR HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

	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 27

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023. 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 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 Hertfordshire County Guides 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: from fourth birthday Brownie: from seventh birthday Guide: from tenth birthday Ranger: from fourteenth to eighteenth birthday

Page 1

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

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 Hertfordshire 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 S Beswick (appointed 1 September 2023) Mrs E Mclaughlin (appointed 1 September 2023) Ms N Weisfeld Mrs J Bushe Mrs J Eavis Mrs S Settle Mrs R Ashdown Ms S Hill Miss E Wilson Miss K Hunter Mrs L O’Bryan Mrs J Maskrey Mrs A Johns Mrs C Alonso – Mora (appointed 1 September 2023, resigned 20 February 2024) Mrs S Sayce (resigned 30 April 2024) Ms K Pett (appointed 1 May 2024)

Independent examiner

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

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 11 July 2024 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 2023.

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: 22 July 2024

Page 3

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

				2023	2022
	Unrestricted		Restricted	Total funds	Total funds
		Funds	funds
	Notes	£	£	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies		8,520	226,354	234,874	20,615
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities		-	37,054	37,054	13,141
Other charitable activities		75,484	-	75,484	75,298
Other trading activities	2	49,436	-	49,436	46,926
Investment income	3	5,542	-	5,542	5,395
Total		138,982	263,408	402,390	161,375
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities		-	34,838	34,838	8,448
Other charitable activities		163,017	4,832	167,849	138,078
Other		-	-	-	2,896
Total		163,017	39,670	202,687	149,422
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)		(24,035)	223,738	199,703	11,953
Transfers between funds		-	-	-	-
Net movement in funds		(24,035)	223,738	199,703	11,953
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
As previously reported		433,476	69,613	503,089	491,136
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		409,441	293,351	702,792	503,089

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 4

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2023

2023 Notes £ FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 8 190,846 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 9 - Cash at bank 529,633 529,633 CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year 10 (17,687) NET CURRENT ASSETS 511,946 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 702,792 NET ASSETS 702,792 FUNDS 12 Unrestricted funds: General Fund 332,197 Designated International Camp Fund 3,767 Designated Disabilities Fund 8,822 Designated Cost of Living Fund 1,027 Designated Activity Fund 63,628 409,441 Restricted funds: Flexible guiding Fund 3,684 Restricted donations 508 International Fund 20,155 Buildings Fund 42,650 Disability Fund 226,354 293,351 TOTAL FUNDS 702,792

2022 £ 197,613 - 327,581 327,581 (22,105) 305,476 503,089 503,089 348,681 3,967 9,122 - 71,706 433,476 3,684 508 17,939 47,482 - 69,613 503,089

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 11 July 2024 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 2023

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 2023

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

		2023	2022
		£	£
	Training	-	360
	County Centre	20,994	18,608
	Activities for members	13,785	17,632
	Badges	13,345	9,890
	Other merchandise	617	436
	Other	695	-
		49,436	46,926
3.	INVESTMENT INCOME
		2023	2022
		£	£
	Interest received	5,542	5,395

4. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

Three trustees received remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2023 totalling £18,730 (2022: £7,039).

Trustees' expenses

15 (2022 - 15) Trustees were reimbursed during the year for directly incurred expenditure totalling £8,575 (2022 - £2,495).

5. STAFF COSTS

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

			2023	2022
Accounting	and	secretarial	5	4

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

6. INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS' FEE

The fee for the independent examination was £3,900 (2022: £3,300).

Page 7

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

7. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total funds
	funds	funds
	£	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies	3,115	17,500	20,615
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities	-	13,141	13,141
Other charitable activities	75,238	60	75,298
Other trading activities	46,926	-	46,926
Investment income	5,395	-	5,395
Total	130,674	30,701	161,375
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
Direct charitable activities	-	8,448	8,448
Other charitable activities	125,001	13,077	138,078
Other	2,896	-	2,896
Total	127,897	21,525	149,422
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)	2,777	9,176	11,953
Transfers between funds	(30,000)	30,000	-
Net movement in funds	(27,223)	39,176	11,953
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward	460,669	30,437	491,136
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD	433,476	69,613	503,089

Page 8

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

8. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Freehold Fixtures and property fittings £ £ COST At 1 January 2023 355,534 40,534 Additions 1,972 - At 31 December 2023 357,506 40,534 DEPRECIATION At 1 January 2023 159,366 39,089 Charge for year 7,979 760 At 31 December 2023 167,345 39,849 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 December 2023 190,161 685 At 31 December 2022 196,168 1,445	Totals £ 396,068 1,972 398,040
	198,455 8,739 207,194
	190,846 197,613	90,846

Included in cost or valuation of land and buildings is freehold land of £24,500 (2022 - £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 2023

9. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

	2023	2022
Other debtors	-	-
Prepayments and accrued income	-	-
	-	-

10. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

	2023	2022
Deferred income	10,250	17,755
Accrued expenses	3,749	4,350
Other creditors	3,687	-
	17,687	22,105

11. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

2023 Unrestricted Restricted Total funds Funds funds Fixed assets 189,070 1,776 190,846 Current assets 227,808 301,825 529,633 Current liabilities (7,437) (10,250) (17,687) 409,441 293,351 702,792	2022 Total funds 197,613 327,581 (22,105) 503,089

Page 10

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

12. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
			Net	Transfers
			movement	between
			in funds	funds	At 31.12.23
	1.1.23
	£		£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General Fund	348,681		(20,146)	3,662	332,197
Designated International
Camp Fund	3,967		-	(200)	3,767
Designated Disabilities
Fund	9,122		(300)	-	8,822
Designated Cost of Living
Fund		-	1,027	-	1,027
Designated Activity Fund	71,706		(4,616)	(3,462)	63,628
	433,476		(24,035)	-	409,441
Restricted funds
Restricted donations	508		-	-	508
International Fund	17,939		2,216	-	20,155
Flexible Guiding Fund	3,685		-	-	3,684
Disability Fund		-	226,354	-	226,354
Buildings Fund	47,482		(4,832)	-	42,650
	69,613		223,738	-	293,351
TOTAL FUNDS	503,089		199,703	-	702,792
Net movement in funds, included in	the above		are as follows:
			Incoming	Resources	Movement
			resources	expended	in funds
			£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General Fund			137,955	(158,101)	(20,146)
Designated International Camp Fund			-	-	-
Designated Disabilities Fund			-	(300)	(300)
Designated Cost of Living Fund			1,027	-	1,027
Designated Activity Fund			-	(4,616)	(4,616)
			138,982	(163,017)	(24,035)
Restricted funds
International Fund			37,054	(34,838)	2,216
Growing Guides			-	-	-
Training Fund			-	-	-
Flexible Guiding Fund			-	-	-
Disability Fund			226,354	-	226,354
Buildings Fund			-	(4,832)	(4,832)
			263,408	(39,670)	223,738
TOTAL FUNDS			402,390	(202,687)	199,703

Page 11

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

12. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparatives for movement in funds

		Net	Transfers
		Movement	between
	At	in funds	funds	At 31.12.22
	1.1.22
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund	377,518	1,163	(30,000)	348,681
Designated International Camp Fund	3,967	-	-	3,967
Designated Disabilities Fund	9,122	-	-	9,122
Designated Activity Fund	70,092	1,614	-	71,706
	460,699	2,777	(30,000)	433,476
Restricted Funds
Restricted donations	508	-	-	508
International Fund	7,428	10,510	-	17,938
Flexible Guiding Fund	4,760	(1,075)	-	3,685
Sustainability Fund	8,448	(8,448)	-	-
Buildings Fund	9,293	8,189	30,000	47,482
	30,437	9,176	30,000	69,613
TOTAL FUNDS	491,136	11,953	-	503,089

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

	Incoming	Resources	Movement
	resources	expended	in funds
Unrestricted funds
General Fund	128,973	(127,810)	1,163
Designated Activity Fund	1,701	(87)	1,614
	130,674	(127,897)	2,777
Restricted funds
International Fund	13,141	(2,631)	10,510
Flexible Guiding Fund	60	(1,135)	(1,075)
Sustainability Fund	-	(8,448)	(8,448)
Buildings Fund	17,500	(9,311)	8,189
	30,701	(21,525)	9,176
TOTAL FUNDS	161,375	(149,422)	11,953

Page 12

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

13. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Page 13

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

	2023	2022
	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Donations and legacies
Legacies	226,354	-
Grants	7,954	15,200
Donations	566	5,415
	234,874	20,615
Other trading activities
Training	-	360
County Centre	20,994	18,608
Activities for members	13,785	17,632
Badges	13,345	9,890
Other merchandise	617	436
Other	695	-
	49,436	46,926
Investment income
Interest received	5,542	5,395
Charitable activities
Subscriptions	74,754	73,935
200 Club	730	1,363
International trip income	37,054	13,141
	112,538	88,439
Total incoming resources	402,390	161,375
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities
Training	2,526	2,860
Members events	7,867	10,074
County centre	42,252	24,122
Professional fees	-	7,728
Travelling	10,639	15,157
Postage, telephone, printing and stationery	3,351	3,316
Website and internet costs	2,372	644
Share magazine	-	4,615
Commissioners and Queens guide grants	720	499
Carried forward	69,727	69,015

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 2023

Charitable activities Brought forward Grants Presentations and awards Sundry expenditure International trip expenses Badges Rent 200 Club Advertising Depreciation Support costs Governance costs Wages Social security Pensions Insurance Independent examiner's fee Secretarial and accounting Total resources expended Net income/(expenditure)	2023 £ 69,727 6,354 4,320 5,787 34,838 15,108 3,809 500 1,769 8,738 150,950 43,156 862 346 2,073 3,900 1,400 51,737 202,687 199,703	2022 £ 69,015 12,149 560 3,504 2,631 14,246 - - - 8,823 110,928 29,886 554 205 1,653 3,300 2,896 38,494 149,422 11,953~~_~~

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 2023

The accounts show a net surplus of £199,703 for the year compared to a net surplus in 2022 of £11,953.

INCOME

Net subscription income was up at £74,754 compared to 2022 (£73,935). Other trading activities was higher at £49,436 compared to 2022 (£46,926) largely due to an increase in the income from the County Centre and badges.

Donations and legacies were higher due to a legacy of £226,354 received in the year.

EXPENDITURE

Major expenses during 2023 were:-

• £42,252 (£24,122 in 2022) for the Hertfordshire Guide Centre at Cottered. The increase in the year was largely the result of expenditure on building projects in the year;

• £44,364 (£30,645 in 2022) on Staff costs — largely due to one extra staff member;

• £10,639 (£15,157 in 2022) on Travel expenses.

The Balance Sheet shows Girlguiding Hertfordshire's current worth as £702,792 an increase from 2022 (£503,089). Fixed assets decreased by £6,767, mainly due to depreciation. The cash element of Current Assets increased while Creditors increased. This resulted in Net Current Assets of £511,946 up £206,470 on 2022. Within the Unrestricted Funds the General fund decreased by £20,146 while other funds remained similar to last year. The Restricted Funds increased from £47,304 in 2023 to £293,351 due in large part to a legacy for the disability fund and movements on the International Fund.

Page 16

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY GUIDE ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Our county in numbers

Divisions Districts Units 10 46 457 Comparison to 2022 Young Members 7476 10 Volunteer Members 1697 233 Rainbows 1690 46 Brownies 3547 97 Guides 1892 85 Rangers 347 48 Mission

Our mission statement works in alignment with those of Girlguiding Anglia and Girlguiding UK. By expanding the skill set within our county team to achieve our aims we support girls to find their voice, encourage them to be the best they can be and to have a positive impact on their community.

Our Values

We are committed to providing an inclusive, caring, fun environment for our girls and members whilst challenging, empowering, supporting and inspiring them. These are the key guiding values which enable everyone to achieve their best and have an exceptional guiding experience.

Girlguiding Themes

Access

Ensuring girls and adults from all backgrounds are able to access guiding and benefit from the opportunities.

Excellence

Helping our volunteers to deliver good guiding by ensure access to the relevant support is available.

Voice

Commitment to listening to and promoting our girls’ and volunteers’ voices.

Capacity

Reviewing and updating our processes and working together to make guiding easier for our volunteers and to help them provide a better guiding experience.

2023 Aims and Objectives

2023 saw the launch of a Girlguiding branding refresh in the early part of the year. As a county we aimed to be one of the first to rebrand our website, resources and pr materials, and ensured our volunteers were well supported, especially during the initial period of change.

The King’s Coronation was also a big focal point for guiding, particularly within our county where there was great excitement in the lead up and some of our members were very lucky to be invited to take part in the Trooping the Colour event.

Recruitment featured heavily especially with the King encouraging volunteering and Girlguiding being an official partner of The Big Help Out volunteer recruitment drive. We were also invited again

to have a stand at the annual Hertfordshire County Show and our media and communications team ran a ‘meet the volunteer’ recruitment campaign to showcase who we are, ordinary people who together can achieve amazing things, and members were encouraged to share these posts. Volunteers from Berkhamsted district manned a stall in Hemel Hempstead on Armed Forces Day and volunteers from Stevenage division set up a stand at Stevenage Day in June, with the Mayor of Stevenage taking time to stop and chat.

Working to retain volunteers by making them feel valued and recognising the work they put has been important. As well as our annual county awards event, South West division held an afternoon tea in November as a thank you for all leaders and helpers in the division. The Goffs Oak district commissioner applied for, and received a grant towards the tea from a local councillor. The division team for West division held their own awards evening to celebrate the leaders who had received awards, giving those who were unable to attend the county event the chance to celebrate and be celebrated. To make the commissioner role less onerous we started looking at creating division and district teams where the workload would be spread amongst team members.

One of our leaders from 1st Rickmansworth Rainbows, was nominated to attend a red carpet event in London in November, for her contributions to Girlguiding. She was greeted with a glass of bubbly, had an afternoon tea and got to meet volunteers from across the country.

Structure

Many county team roles came to an end this year and their successors brought with them fresh ideas and their enthusiasm was wonderful to see. We have continued to strive to work collaboratively as a county team and ensure information is cascaded to all levels to allow members to access wonderful experiences and opportunities. The county growth and retention coordinator role, created towards the end of last year, proved effective in ensuring new volunteer enquiries were dealt with speedily.

Supporting the Community

Members of all sections have been out in the community. Rangers and young leaders from East division helped organise and participate in various community fetes. Brownies from Harpenden and Redbourn division went to a care home and sang songs, chatted to residents and played Bingo and Rangers from the same division helped the local Round Table with the Santa sleigh that goes around town.

Members from across the county represented Girlguiding and paid their respects at Remembrance Day parades and services.

Berkhamsted district raised £1350 by holding a Christmas cracker market with girls helping to run their unit stalls; there was face painting, tombolas, games, crafts, a hamper raffle, cakes/biscuits and reindeer food.

1st Goffs Oak Rainbows held fundraising events for Guide Dogs for the Blind raising over £200 and they are now sponsoring a Guide Dog.

A Brownie from 1st Cuffley Brownie unit completed her Brownie Gold award by running a unit meeting and fundraising. She called the register, gave instructions and with her chosen team, organized an amazing evening of games and cake decorating. The district and division commissioners joined the unit leaders to become Brownies for the evening, wearing yellow t-shirts to blend in. £92.40 was raised and £40 was used to adopt two animals at Whipsnade Zoo with the remainder donated to Children in Need.

St Albans South Rangers hosted a charity disco for 100 Brownies, Rainbows, Beavers and Cubs as part of their Take Action badge and raised an amazing £1000 for Youth Talk a local charity.

1[st] , 2[nd] and 4[th] Rickmansworth Rainbows completed the ‘Help your Community’ challenge from the Helper interest badge, by each bringing a food item to make a huge hamper that was donated to the Rickmansworth Food Bank.

A Brownie from 10[th] Harpenden Brownies collected over 55kgs of toiletries for The Hygiene Bank Harpenden and St Albans as part of her Charities badge.

Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers

Girls across all sections have been achieving their Gold, Silver and Bronze section awards. With one Rainbow from St Albans division also earning all 12 interest badges. 9th St Albans Rainbows presented their super Rainbow her Gold award just before Christmas under the gold bauble in St Albans city centre.

7th St Albans Brownies

celebrated their centenary with a talent show for parents and invited guests.

Brownies from Harpenden and Redbourn division took part in the Harpenden Christmas carnival.

150 Brownies from St Albans division attended a very successful division Gilwell Brownie adventure weekend, enjoying 2 days of fun and adventure, supported by 40 adult guiders and young leaders.

Guides, Brownies and families from Broxbourne district attended a 'family' holiday and camp at

Belchamps camp site near Southend over the spring bank holiday, taking part in onsite activities, fire lighting, BBQ's and camp fire.

A number of Rangers from Harpenden and Redbourn division attended the Girlguiding Wellies and Wristband festival in August.

This year saw the spectacular return of the St Albans Scout and Guide Gang Show, following a 2 year hiatus due to the pandemic. Over 50 Girlguiding members aged 11 to 70 spent 5 months preparing for the show.

Young leaders from the Hemel Hempstead districts held a ‘pizza’ evening social event so they could get to know each other.

Stevenage division ran a circus skills day for Brownies and Guides which was well attended and fun for everyone involved.

Members from across Radlett district decorated ‘winter trees’ made from repurposed wooden pallet which were put on display around the local area.

More fun…

There have been trips along the Grand Union Canal and to Whipsnade Zoo, the cinema to watch the Girlguiding viewings of the Disney films the Little Mermaid and Wish, bowling alleys, Rickmansworth Aquadrome, Jump City, Woodoaks Farm in Maple Cross and to various Golf Clubs where girls completed their Girls Golf challenge badge.

Holidays, camps and sleepovers have taken place across the county with sleepovers at the Science Museum, the RAF Museum in London for the Pillows and Pilots event, HMS Belfast and one district from Harpenden and Redbourn division went to Paris.

Celebrating The King’s Coronation

There were many celebration events and parties held across the county with activities including making union flag windmills and window decorations, crown decorating, playing coronation bingo, baking Coronation cupcakes and making willow crowns.

12 girls from Hertfordshire county were selected to attend the Trooping the Colour parade in June and watched the historic occasion from inside the youth enclosure. After the parade they walked The Mall, in front of the public, to Buckingham Palace where they saw the Royal family on the balcony and watched the flypast. One lucky girl from our county was selected to be positioned at the Queen Victoria Memorial grandstand opposite Buckingham Palace where she directed guests in the grandstand area, handed out flags and ponchos and entertained the crowds while they waited from the King and Queen to arrive back at the Palace after the service.

A Guide from Harpenden and Redbourn division and a Brownie from St Albans division represented the county at an Evensong at St Albans Cathedral. The girls carried their unit flags alongside other youth organisations and our Brownie read a prayer in front of congregation.

Lots of events took place as part of The Big Help Out to raise awareness of volunteering. A working party at our County Centre in Cottered was well attended, with volunteers helping to paint the new camp shelter. Ware district spent a morning painting benches and litter picking at Ware Priory, and Brownies from Rickmansworth district litter picked.

Celebrating Thinking Day

Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and volunteers from South East division celebrated World Thinking Day by wearing their guiding uniforms to school. A number of schools even included a quote in their newsletters to promote Girlguiding and encourage people to join. Rainbows, Brownies and Guides from Hoddesdon district held a Thinking Day afternoon get together and completed the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) challenge. Around 100 girls from Berkhamsted district celebrated Thinking Day by undertaking the Police challenge badge with support from Dacorum Police.

Visits from the community

Many units across the county were visited by a Scout volunteer who passed on his wood whittling skills to the girls. As part of the Make Change badge and UK Parliament Week activities 9[th] Watford Rainbows received a visit from their local MP Dean Russell who gave an interactive short talk about rules, laws and voting. 3[rd] Baldock Guides were visited by Essex and Herts Air Ambulance.

Guiding development

All team members are qualified trainers and renewals continue every 3 years. Many of the team have been involved in Anglia region webinars throughout 2023.

The Anglia trainers who cover Hertfordshire have continued to support with county trainings such as 1[st] Response, division commissioner support, a safe space and other adhoc webinars as requested. This ensures that our volunteers are provided with great learning and development opportunities.

The trainers help share lots of resources to sharpen leaders’ skills and get participants fully involved with learning and development.

The majority of the team will be involved in the upcoming Hertfordshire county training day in January 2024.

Outdoor activities

We ran 3 county ‘fun days’ during 2023. One for Rainbows and Brownies at Paradise Wildlife Park in July, another for Guides at Phasels Wood Activity Centre, and the third, for Rangers, at Wyboson Lakes where girls took on a water obstacle course and army assault course.

The walking team listened to girls’ voices and improved their events by making them more accessible to all members, girls in particular, and opened some up to include families as well as units.

Hertfordshire continued to be a strong walking county, attracting a good number of trainees and social walkers each year.

Walking team members went to units and ran geocaching sessions. To facilitate more groups being able to have a go, some gps devices were purchased.

Mountain Experience, a joint Scout and Guide navigation training weekend for Rangers and Explorers, as well as an adult training group, took place early in the year.

Ranger teams from the county competed in Hertfordshire Peak Assault; with Buntingford winning the Visitors’ trophy.

Members of the walking team, with extra help from some Trefoil Guild members, ran compass based activities for Brownies and Guides at the South West division outdoor activity day. The team also led hill walks and other outdoor activities on Introduction to the hills (Itth).

A Sensory Safari for Rainbows and Brownies took place in Broxbourne Woods along the existing sculpture trail route and in September, a 26 mile challenge event along the Norfolk coast was coordinated for Rangers, young leaders and adult members.

During 2022/23, 11 Bronze, 4 Silver and 1 Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards were completed by members.

The walking team plans to run an equally full schedule of events in 2024.

Residential

There have been lots of residential activities this year with girls enjoying trips, sleepovers and camps. The early part of the year saw the appointment of new joint county residential lead volunteers who have continued to provide support and advice to our leaders to ensure they are confident their events are well planned.

International

The team organised a county international selection day, Lorne residential and Azores residential. It was wonderful that after 3 years of not being able to offer an International experience to girls we were able to run two trips this year. The trip to Lorne was aimed at giving younger members the opportunity to get a feel for what an International trip involves. The girls came away with a sense of achievement and a thirst for adventure.

21 Rangers and 4 adult leaders went on the Azores trip. An action filled week which included dolphin and whale watching, canyoning, biking and kayaking and lots of water activities.

A few girls were selected by Anglia region to attend the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea, which despite the many challenges was a fantastic opportunity.

Youth opportunities

2023 saw big changes within the youth opportunities team with the majority of teams’ roles ending and successors being appointed.

Our young leader lead volunteer visited units providing support to young leaders and other leaders, as well as started preparing training sessions which will be run across the county as required. 24 young leader qualifications (YLQ) have been completed.

Our Ranger lead volunteer ran an event for Ranger leaders to enable sharing of ideas and good practice for this age range. Our county peer education coordination lead volunteer focused on events to engage more peer educator members aged 14-25 within the county.

There were 5 new sign ups for the Queens Guide award and two young members completed and were presented with their awards.

The county young leader lead volunteer was appointed as a tutor and reviewer on the Anglia regional training team.

The team will be looking to increase the Commonwealth award uptake amongst our young members.

Inspire

The focus of our county Inspire coordination lead volunteer, fresh in role at the beginning of the year, was to grow Inspire Hertfordshire. A survey was shared throughout the county to find out what 18-30 year olds want.

September saw the launch of an Inspire Blog and plans to create more of an impactful social media presence were formulated.

Our county Inspire coordination lead volunteer started work on a Region Inspire challenge badge, a tool for the whole region to learn more about Inspire and improve connections between counties within Anglia region.

Our county Inspire coordination lead volunteer completed her Queen’s Guide award this year.

Trefoil Guild

2023 saw Trefoil Guild celebrate its 80[th] birthday and members took part in the 80th birthday challenge set by National Trefoil Guild with some units all gaining the badge as they based their programme on it. A birthday picnic at Tolmers Scout Camp site was held and a craft day at Hemel Hempstead.

The Hertfordshire Trefoil Guild annual review took the format of Creative Spree in '23 with each Guild providing a display on the theme of 80 years of Trefoil Guild. The creative arts included many mediums such as song and poetry.

The Guilds continued to provide a full and active programme for their members, as well as supporting local Girlguiding in various ways, including supporting the 200 Club for the Hertfordshire County Centre at Cottered and helping at working parties there. Members regularly helped with activities and served refreshments at district, division and county training and activity days as well as supporting regional and National Trefoil Guild events throughout the year.

The individual Guilds had a variety of speakers and have been out and about exploring their local area.

Guilds have continued to support the local community in various ways by collecting stamps, bottle tops, etc. and knitting for premature baby units, and the shoe box appeal. The amount that has been raised for charities over the year by the various Guilds is substantial.

Stevenage Guild celebrated their 75th anniversary and other Guilds have celebrated their 45th anniversary and other landmarks.

5 members completed their Voyage award with 2 gaining the gold, 1 the silver and 2 the bronze.

It has been good to see numbers rising to pre pandemic levels as members gain in confidence and it is good to see new younger members being recruited.

Inclusion

In 2023, the inclusions team were busy supporting leaders and responding to requests for advice on how to adapt activities to include all young members. There was a rise in the number of units asking for help with supporting autistic and neurodiverse members this year. Members of the team made visits to units to tailor advice to individual circumstances. Plans are currently being made to offer a training session for leaders around the topic of neurodiversity in the coming year.

The team have also helped leaders with the writing of adjustment plans for young members. Informal advisory work has been undertaken in St Albans and Central divisions about including girls and leaders with additional needs.

Members of the team have undertaking e-learnings about disability and inclusion to ensure their knowledge remains up to date and are able to provide appropriate support and advice.

Membership support

The membership systems team supported volunteers by being the first stop for queries related to GO and Girlguiding policies. This involved covering areas of the database including safe practice, compliance, girl enquiries, training on GO and resolving problems where possible. Our county membership systems coordinator supported members, dealing with high levels of queries surrounding the setting up of logins for GO and the learning platform.

The responsibility for maintaining the volunteer enquiries moved to the membership growth coordinator.

The leadership qualification team worked hard to encourage completion of the leadership qualification (LQ), before it was withdrawn at the end of September. The new leadership development programme (LDP) replaced the LQ.

A group for GO coordinators in the region was set up following a region training day.

All long service awards for 2023, bar one, were given to division commissioners for presentation. Total Awards for the year are: 5-year = 100, 10-year = 45, 20-year = 20, 30-year = 12, 40-year = 16, 50-year =4.

Media and communications team

There was a change in leadership within the media and communications team early in the year.

Following the launch of the new branding in March, the team helped everyone in the county to embrace the change by providing support to divisions, districts and units.

The team have attended lots of events, including Hertfordshire County Show, county activity days, St Albans Gang Show, Trooping the Colour and the county awards celebration, to collect stories and take photos to share on social media, website and local press.

The team have continued to share posts across the county social media channels about what has been taking place. Facebook remains very strong with over 2,500 followers. There have been some particularly popular posts with one about Halloween crafts gaining an engagement of over 1,000 and reach of 30,000 people. The Instagram and Twitter accounts continue to grow with over 700 and 500 followers respectively. This year saw the launch of the county’s LinkedIn page, to connect with volunteers, Hertfordshire businesses and as a recruitment tool.

The team helped create recruitment graphics for a variety of purposes and sharing posts on social media as well as supporting Girlguiding Anglia’s ‘Pass it on’ campaign. To encourage volunteer recruitment, graphics have been shared throughout the year, such as ‘meet the volunteer’ posts to highlight the benefits to volunteering. Later in the year, the Girlguiding girl recruitment campaign to encourage new Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers to join was shared across social media platforms.

Growth and retention

The growth and retention team organised the county participating in the Hertfordshire County Show with volunteers supporting on the main gates. With the rebranding taking place not long before the team worked very hard to ensure the stand and advertising was up to date.

There has been a big focus again this year on recruitment across the county and the team have provided support to units/districts and divisions with PR events.

2023 was a very successful year with local pr events taking place all over the county. The events varied from stands, stalls and displays at local community day to multiple events taking place over the county as part of the national Big Help Out event in May. The team provided support to units, districts and divisions with PR events.

As a county we ran multiple recruitment campaigns. Our most successful recruitment tools have been word by mouth and social media. More campaigns will be run in 2024.

2023 saw a change in the Girlguiding leadership qualification, moving to a new program called leadership development programme. To date we have 4 fully new leaders on the new program and 78 registered. The county growth and retention coordinator took over the coordinating of the leadership development programme (LDP) qualification for the county.

At region level the growth team were involved with the Promote and Grow challenge badge.

In 2024 Girlguiding Hertfordshire will be celebrating its 110th birthday, this will create amazing opportunities to run events to celebrate, promote and grow the county.

Awards

This year saw a big change over to an online web-based nomination system, which opened the nominations out to the girls and their parents, as well as adult members.

A new county Youth award was created, and the badge designed by a member working towards their Queens Guide award.

We held a well attended awards presentation and garden party at Cottered at the end of the Summer, for all county award winners and long service award recipients.

Member and Long Service brooch

50 years – 3

40 years – 14 30 years – 9

County Thanks award

13

County Good Service award

11

County Good Guiding award

10

County Youth award

1

National Good Service award

4

Hertfordshire will again be on the rota as one of the representative members on the Anglia region team from January 2024.

Archives

The annual Anglia archivists weekend took place at Hautbois in October and was attended by the Girlguiding HQ lead volunteer for the National Archive Project and the recently appointed HQ Archivist.

An escape room was trialled at one session, a talk on Waste not Want not, ideas for using surplus items such as badges for activities and display ideas, was very useful. A conservator verified identification and dating of older uniforms and gave a presentation on conservation and preservation of archive material.

Work began on the new Anglia badge book for the Guide section to prepare it for publication and the final draft for the Rainbow section was available. Brownie, Ranger and Adult sections remain in progress.

Hertfordshire archivists have attended courses, including a full day digitisation workshop, a seminar on digital archiving processes and a full day workshop on conservation for archivists.

Heritage week at Foxlease was attended, which included presentations on safe storage for archives and Girlguiding history.

Uniform has been loaned for display and a visit to a Brownie unit with archive items was well received. Requests, for available information about the history of units and other levels, were frequently received, particularly around significant anniversary dates.

Work commenced on creating history activity boxes for loan to units across the county and work on sorting, cataloguing, conserving and moving more items into archival quality boxes for protection has continued. New donations have been received throughout the year.

Badges and depots

An online form for ordering section Bronze, Silver and Gold awards went live this year, allowing orders to be placed anytime with the most up to date information and has resulted in a reduction in time for processing orders.

Across the county this year, the awards achieved by girls was as followed: Bronze : Rainbows 450, Brownies 781, Guides 247, Rangers 23 Silver : Rainbows 258, Brownies 460, Guides 153, Rangers 3 Gold : Rainbows 146, Brownies 285, Guides 86, Gold 4

(End of year totals may be higher).

Conclusion

The year has been packed with excitement, achievement and celebration. Our numbers have unfortunately dropped for most young member sections and volunteers, but our growth and retention lead and local teams have put a lot of effort into recruitment and being visible in the community, which we hope will have a positive impact in the coming year.

A highlight of the year has to be the activity around the King’s Coronation and Girlguiding Hertfordshire had two volunteers who were selected to support the event in London, as well as many members holding local celebrations and supporting the Big Help Out initiative.

The length of service of our volunteers continues to be outstanding, and many more awards were presented again this year at our celebration event. Young member awards were also in abundance and units and districts have been fantastic at celebrating these, with Gold parties and social media stories.

Our online presence continues to develop and we have been able to generate a great following across all of the social media channels as well as an improved website experience where we aim to support volunteers with resources, as well as share great news and provide members of the public with an insight as to the great things Girlguiding has to offer.

As always, Girlguiding Hertfordshire volunteers strive to do the best they can to help girls achieve anything and everything, giving up countless hours of their time whilst benefiting from long-lasting friendships and experiences.

Jenny Maskrey County commissioner Girlguiding Hertfordshire