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2021-08-31-accounts

Grove Scout Group

AGM 2021

Scout Garden at Grove CofE school

https://www.kascouts.org.uk/our-groups/grove-scout-group

Chairman Report

2020 – 21 was another challenging year across all aspects of Scouting at Grove. The ongoing Covid19 pandemic with its many regulations and restrictions continued to challenge us on how we can deliver and offer Beavers, Cubs and Scouts giving the best possible experience.

What never changed is the ongoing support, dedication, enthusiasm and determination from our group leaders, parent helpers and wider executive committee, to deliver the best experience possible for our members across all ages during this time – and where possible to keep the group moving forward.

The challenges we faced over those 12 months make some of the amazing positives that were also achieved something everyone involved in this group should be very proud of.

With a hybrid mix of remote, in person sessions, outdoor activities and split groups you showed what Grove Scout Group is capable of in adversity. So, a huge thank you again to all involved in making this happen.

With everything crossed I and I’m sure all of you are hoping that we have now turned a corner and life will get back to some sort of normality, if a little different from what it was pre pandemic.

We now have a new Scout Garden located at Grove CofE school - which benefits from a covered outdoor space for all the groups to use as additional meeting space when required. A fantastic effort from all who made this possible and a huge thank you to Mrs Blake and her team at the school for supporting us. What an asset to have and be able to use.

As I write we are also in the later stages of gaining planning permission for the new scout hut - more very exciting details to follow. Bat surveys have been undertaken with a great deal of work going on behind the scenes, thank you Tash and all involved.

A new building will not only be a fantastic asset to the local area but will also offer more space than ever for sections (and with new sections being planned) offer the growing community more access to Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers, future proofing our ability to deliver scouting.

We are really excited about this and cannot wait to share our vision with you all once planning has been granted. (note planning was subsequently granted in October 2021).

With growing numbers wanting to join also bringing its challenges, please don’t be afraid to ask for help, advice or just to talk through any concerns or new ideas you may have. As ever the more we share ideas, the stronger the group will become. Although we seem to be returning to some sort of normality, we are still encountering challenging times; supporting growing numbers and balancing the books post pandemic, to highlight two.

As a group I’m certain we will get through this and with more understanding will be able to offer a truly digital and practical Scouting experience for all.

Finally, a huge thank you once again to the executive team, leaders, parent helpers and most importantly the children who have made the last year possible, whose smiles and sense of achievement we see week in week out make it all so worthwhile.

The next 12 months look to be very exciting for the group, a new hut, new garden, new sections perhaps and new ways of delivering Scouting, personally I can’t wait to be able to stop saying ‘You’re on mute’.

Andrew H - The Chair.

Group Scout Leader Report

Leading Grove Scout Group through 12 months of global pandemic was challenging but rewarding. Our risk assessments changed regularly as national guidance changed. We were on, off, back on and back off again at various stages, then individual sections and age groups had to contend with their own waves of infection related absence.

My long-term memories of that time will undoubtedly be positive. I will remember the agility and courage of our volunteers as they responded to ever changing ways of meeting. I will remember the resilience of our young people as they tried to get the most out of every experience that was offered to them. And I will remember the determination of all our Group members to keep each other safe, while at the same time achieving as much as we could together.

We managed to get Santa out onto the streets for a very restricted Santa Sleigh Parade – seeing families hanging out of their bedroom windows together to see Santa from a safe distance was a treat. Our online Group Camp in March complimented the various online events organised at Group and National level to keep young people engaged in Scouting and in touch with each other.

We developed and submitted our planning application for a new Scout building – a plan that has subsequently been approved and we entered into an agreement with Grove CoE School to bring back to life a disused area of garden so that we have a secure outdoor space to meet on a regular basis.

On the following page you will find a copy of the development plan we had in place for our Scout group between 2019 and 2022. Whilst COVID came along and unquestionably uprooted our plans it provides a useful basis for us to understand how we are doing and the progress we have made.

Yours in Scouting

Andrew Shapland

Group Development Plan Scouts Grove Scout Group Grove STEADILY POW THE GROUP ThE w￿ER CONTWALLY ATONi SEI4S£OF

Grove Scout Group

Annual General Meeting

Saturday 21[st] May 2022 10.30am

Scout Garden – Grove C of E school

AGENDA

  1. Welcome and introductions

  2. Apologies for absence

  3. Approval of Minutes of the 2020 AGM

  4. The Group Scout Council to receive and consider the annual report and Accounts

  5. Approval of the Group Scout Leader’s nomination of the Group Chair

  6. Election of the Group Secretary

  7. Election of the Group Treasurer

  8. Election of members of the Group Scout Council to the Group Executive Committee

  9. Appointment of Independent Examiner

  10. Presentation of trophies and awards

  11. a. Beaver of the year award

  12. b. Akelas’ cub challenge trophy

  13. c. The Simon James trophy

  14. d. Dave Beamont Adult contribution trophy

11. Close of meeting

The meeting will be followed by refreshments and opportunities to speak to other members of the Group

Minutes of Grove Scout Group AGM

Part 1 (Beavers) - Tuesday 6[th] October 2020 6.30pm-7.15pm @ Zoom Part 2 (Cubs) – Wednesday 14[th] October 2020 6.30pm-7.40pm @ Zoom Part 3 (Scouts) – Thursday 22[nd] October 7.30pm-8.20pm @ Zoom

The meeting this year was run over 3 evenings as zoom meetings due to restrictions on meeting indoors due to Covid 19. Each meeting was run to invite and celebrate each section within scouting.

Part 1 – 6/10/20

1. Welcome and Apologies:

Present: (Committee / Leaders) Tracy Thomas, Andrew Shapland, Andrew Hancock, Abbe Irving, Steve Fray, Trudi Chant, Fiona Stovold, Linda Audas, Kirsten Christensen, Gemma Seale. A list of Beavers and parents was collated of those present; this will be kept with the Secretary’s copy of the AGM minutes.

Apologies: Emma Nickerson

Silver Beavers opened the meeting with their welcome song.

2. GSL Report

Andrew welcomed all to the meeting and said how proud he was that our Group provided a scouting experience during the difficult period of lockdown. He thanked all the Beaver Leaders for their hard work in keeping meetings going.

He congratulated all the Beavers who had managed to achieve their Bronze award, especially those that worked had at completing all their badgework over the lockdown period.

3. International Beavers

Fiona gave a presentation on International Beaver Scouts in 5 different countries: Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

4. Chair Report

Andrew welcomed all to our first virtual AGM. He noted how well the Leaders and Beaver Scouts have coped during these difficult times and that he was impressed with the online engagement of the sections, which has been superb.

5. Treasurer report and presentation of accounts

The treasurer report was shared will all members prior to the meeting.

Abbe thanked all parents for supporting the group in the move of the subscription payments system from standing order to OSM. This has reduced the admin work for volunteers on the committee and made it easier for us to reduce the fees for a few months when face to face scouting was not able to happen.

She thanked the members who were actively fundraising last year with events such as the Xmas post, Halloween party, Santa’s sleigh (to name just a few). This really helps with saving towards a new scout hut, the upkeep of the current one and allowing us to provide good scouting activities.

We recently secured a grant from the local council for £10,000 which was provided as extra support for organisations who have their own building. We will be putting this towards our funds for a new building.

6. Section Reports / membership report

Section reports and membership report were circulated prior to the meeting and are available on the group website. Thanks to all for their reports which give details of the breadth of activities offered across the year.

7. Approval of minutes of 2019 AGM

The minutes of the 2019 minutes were circulated prior to the event, Proposed by Andrew Shapland and Seconded by Andrew Hancock. 12 votes were received prior to the meeting and all those present had no objections or comments.

8. Election of Officers

It was confirmed prior to the meeting that those who hold a particular role in scouting are ex-officio members on the committee which includes leaders who expressed a wish to be on the committee.

Ex officio members were confirmed as:

Andrew Hancock – Chair Linda Audas – Beaver Leader Tracy Thomas – Secretary John Ireland – Cub Leader Abbe Irving – Treasurer Garry Chant – Scout Leader Andrew Shapland – Group Scout Leader Kirsten Christensen – Scout Leader Tracey Beamont – Assistant Group Scout Leader Trudi Chant – Assistant Beaver Leader Jacqueline Hall - Assistant Group Scout Leader Emma Nickerson – Assistant Scout Leader

A doodle poll was sent out prior to the meeting to confirm proposers, seconders and votes for elected members:

members:
Bev Ayling - Membership Secretary Sue Wilson – Assistant Treasurer
Proposed by Tracy Thomas Proposed by Abbe Irving
Seconded by Paul Thompson Seconded by Bev Ayling
Gemma Seale – Group Administrator Simon Atkin – General Member
Proposed by Sue Wilson Proposed by Bev Ayling
Seconded by Paul Thompson Seconded by Paul Thompson
Natasha Ireland – General Member Paul Thompson – General Member
Proposed by Paul Thompson Proposed by Tracy Thomas
Seconded by Sue Wilson Seconded by Sue Wilson

12 votes were received on the poll and all those present at the meeting had no objections or comments. Thank you to the existing committee members for agreeing to stay on another year.

9. Presentation of trophies and awards part one

Beaver of the year award

There were 5 nominations who will all receive certificates

Ethan Seale

He has shown amazing commitment, consistent attendance and has matured into a great lodge leader. He helps to make Beavers fun for others.

Ruby Connacher

Ruby has been committed with great attendance and has been determined to get stuck into every activity.

Sophie Bosher

She started off quite shy but quickly grew in confidence and enthusiasm. She always joins in and tries her best. She has good relationships with the other Beavers as well as the leaders. She is good at making friends with new beavers, passing on her confidence and enthusiasm for Scouting.

Martim Pinto

He is a great Beaver who always has a go. His confidence will make him a great cub and scout moving forward with his flamboyant character.

Keir Walker

He is the youngest on the nominees as has only just turned 7 years old. He gets stuck in and never complains. He is popular with the others and rarely misses a session.

It was a tough decision, but the winner of Beaver of the Year was presented (virtually) to Ruby Connacher.

A special mention was made to Bryson Harker with a community impact award. He made a really special effort over the lockdown period, spending time creating drawings of the Gruffalo and posting them along the canal during lockdown to cheer up walkers.

The meeting ended with the closing ceremony song from Buffalo Beavers.

Meeting closed at 7.15pm.

Part 2 – 14/10/20

1. Welcome and Apologies:

Present: (Committee / Leaders) Tracy Thomas, Andrew Shapland, Andrew Hancock, Abbe Irving, Gemma Seale, John Ireland, Tracey Beamont, James Laird, Jemma Thompson, Ben Bridle, Simon Bosher, Jac Hall, Paula Booker, Nicola Eason, Mark Thomas, Simon Good, Charlie Costar. A list of Cubs and parents was collated of those present; this will be kept with the Secretary’s copy of the AGM minutes.

Apologies: No apologies were received

John Ireland introduced the meeting and explained what will be happening.

2. GSL Report

Andrew welcomed all to the meeting and asked the cubs to put four words into the chat to say how they were feeling.

He said how proud he was that our Group provided a scouting experience during the difficult period of

lockdown. He thanked all the Cub Leaders for their hard work in keeping meetings going and thanked the young people and their families for making the most of things through this difficult time.

He congratulated all for their badge work and to those who have gained their silver award this year. He asked the cubs to thank their leaders for all their hard work.

3. International Activity Badge

Andrew gave a presentation on Columbus Day / Native American’s day and details on the activity’s cubs need to do to complete the badge work.

4. Nomination of Chair and Chair Report

Andrew confirmed the nomination of the Chair for the upcoming year which will be his third year and introduced Andrew Hancock. Andrew H reiterated that it had been a tough 6 months and he congratulated the cubs and parents for the participation and patience in zoom meetings. The immediate future is still tricky and more help is always required. We are working towards a new hut which will needs lots of funding. He confirmed this is a fantastic group and he is proud of all the work of all involved with the group.

5. Treasurer report and presentation of accounts

See details from 6/10 Beavers meeting.

6. Section Reports / membership report

See details from 6/10 Beavers meeting.

7. Approval of minutes of 2019 AGM

See details from 6/10 Beavers meeting.

8. Election of Officers

See details from 6/10 Beavers meeting. There were no comments or objections at this meeting.

9. Presentation of trophies and awards part two

a. Akela’s cub challenge trophy

There were 6 nominations out of a possible 60 cubs who will all receive certificates

Megan Rowe

Megan has been a brilliant Cub who has consistently shown interest and willingness and has actively engaged with every activity in our programme – both the exciting ones like climbing, and the confidencechallenging ones like eating roasted bugs. She has really come into her own as a Sixer, where her particular strengths in organising people and showing how to do things have supported other Cubs around her to develop their skills and confidence. This could be seen perfectly during a cooking session, when Megan checked the recipe, agreed with her Six who would add each ingredient to the shared mixing bowl, and then gave guidance on measuring and preparation to anyone who wasn’t sure what to do. Blue Six ate some tasty choc chip cookies that evening!

Macy Beaven

Macy has been an amazing Cub who truly lives the values of Scouting – not just at Cubs but also at home, school and beyond. Her sense of community is second to none in all the time that we’ve been leaders. This comes through in her approach to participating and leading in Cubs activities, but also in the many fund- and awareness-raising activities she has undertaken – Santa’s sleigh, sponsored walks, and more. Macy has led her Six in a very different way too many other Cubs of her age, providing a calm reassurance that has helped

her group to overcome challenges together. She is almost always found in a group of Cubs, smiling or laughing in their activity.

During lockdown we also got a glimpse of Macy’s other skills and interests when she submitted an outstanding collection of photographs that she had taken as part of our photographer badge.

Austin Cox

Austin is like a ray of sunshine in Cubs. His smile and infectious interest in what’s going on quickly radiates out to those around him, drawing them into whatever activity is underway. He has a quiet confidence and has quickly picked up every activity, skill and game that we’ve done, passing on what he has learned to the rest of his Six. His interest in the details of things and love of the outdoors have suited him well in Falcons, and he is always willing and helpful.

Austin is now a Sixer and a great role model for other Cubs, and we look forwards to his contributions this term and getting ready for Scouts.

Ollie Mutton

Ollie kept Cubs going during lockdown! Cubs isn’t just our weekly meetings, it’s the spirit of adventure, determination to keep going, and friendship that we carry around with us all the time. Lockdown was really hard for many of us, but Ollie’s upbeat enthusiasm in our Zoom meetings, and his all-encompassing engagement with activities at home captured and shared via WhatsApp, boosted everyone in Falcons. This included helping to run our online Tea Ceremony session, showing everyone what equipment we needed and using his Pokémon as examples of tea pets to connect this ancient tradition with modern culture.

Ollie agreed to move out of his comfort-zone earlier this year and take on the role of Seconder in a six that he wasn’t familiar with – he did a great job, and I was very pleased to promote him to Sixer this term – back with his original Six!

Oliver Preston

Oliver realised that his own approach to Cubs was limiting his enjoyment of it and at times the enjoyment of others. He took personal responsibility for transforming his behaviour, regularly checked in with the Leaders to see how things were going and became one of our most reliable and positive Bulldog Cubs. He was subsequently promoted to Seconder and a while later to Sixer. At a time when Bulldogs was welcoming lots of new starters, he helped them to settle in, join in and start having fun. Oliver moved from Cubs to Scouts having earned his Sixer stripes and his Silver Award because he really wanted them and challenged himself to make it happen.

Ethan Bosher

Ethan was a calm and reliable Bulldog Cub. He is quite quiet but despite that found a way to be an effective Sixer for what was at times a pretty rowdy Six. The Leaders could depend on Ethan to understand what was supposed to be going on and show others how it could or should be done. One of the Cub Challenge badges is the Personal Challenge where Cubs are asked to demonstrate some deliberate personal development. Ethan took that challenge to the next level delivering one of the most thoughtful and self-aware personal challenges I am ever likely to see and recording his efforts and progress in some detail week on week. They say, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ and Ethan has offered 9 and 10-year-old proof of that. We’re excited by the impact that 11-year-old Ethan will have at Scouts.

The 3 winners of Cub of the Year were presented (virtually) to Ollie Mutton, Macy Beaven and Ethan Bosher.

b. Dave Beamont trophy – recognising a volunteer

Dave Beamont was part of Grove Scout Group from 1970’s. He sadly passed away earlier this year. He was instrumental in moving a local village hall to become our Scout Hut in the 1970’s. He was involved in Scouting for over 50 years.

Owning our own Scout Hut is a really wonderful gift, most groups have to share a village hall or other community space. Every time we come into our Scout Hut it is as though Dave and those who worked with him on the project are lifting us up onto their shoulders, helping us have the best possible Scouting experience.

We have chosen to introduce the Dave Beamont Trophy in his memory and each year we will use it to recognise a volunteer who, like Dave, goes above and beyond to give our Scout Group a boost.

The response of this individual to the COVID-19 challenges has been truly inspiring to me and others, he has offered support and made positive interventions across the Group displaying ambition, determination, sensitivity and thorough thinking in equal measure. All sections of the group have benefitted in some way from the work he has done.

I know he will share credit for this award with his Falcons team and his family, but this years’ recipient of the Dave Beamont Trophy is John Ireland.

The meeting was closed with all making the Cub Scout Promise.

Meeting closed at 7.40pm.

Part 3 – 22/10/20

1. Welcome and Apologies:

Present: (Committee / Leaders) Tracy Thomas, Andrew Shapland, Andrew Hancock, Abbe Irving, Garry Chant, Heather Stovold, Kirsten Christensen, Emma Nickerson, Jac Hall, Nick Martin, Phil Miles, Nicola Eason, James Laird. A list of Scouts and parents was collated of those present; this will be kept with the Secretary’s copy of the AGM minutes.

Andrew welcomed all to the meeting and asked everyone to put four words into the chat to say how they were feeling.

2. Nomination of Chair and Chair Report

Andrew S formally nominated Andrew Hancock as chair this year. Andrew H said what an amazing job the scouts, leaders and parents had done to keep scouting going in such difficult times.

3. GSL Report

Andrew S confirmed there had been some great scouting over the year starting with the district patrol camp in September and with the Winter Challenge in March being the last big event before lockdown. He thanked all the Scout Leaders for their hard work in keeping meetings going and thanked the young people and their families for making the most of things through this difficult time.

He congratulated all for their badge work and to those who have gained their gold award this year.

4. Top 5 Scouting moments

The attendees were spilt into 5 breakout rooms to discuss their top 5 scouting moments over the year. A spokesperson from each room listed the favourites.

They included; Winter challenge, Patrol camp, visit to the space museum, night hike, London trip, getting the gold award, bike ride, pinewood derby competition, visit to RAF Hendon, Swedish candle and zoom calls with games.

5. Treasurer report and presentation of accounts

Abbe thanked Terry Demain for checking the accounts for 2019/20 and confirmed he has agreed to independently examine the accounts again for 2020/21.

For other information, see details from 6/10 Beavers meeting.

6. Section Reports / membership report

See details from 6/10 Beavers meeting.

7. Approval of minutes of 2019 AGM

See details from 6/10 Beavers meeting.

8. Election of Officers

See details from 6/10 Beavers meeting. There were no comments or objections at this meeting.

9. Presentation of trophies and awards part three

c. Scout of the year award (Simon James Trophy)

Simon James (known as ACE) died in an accident on the A338 at the age of 21. Simon went from a 1[st] Grove Beaver to becoming a Leader. He had a passion for scouting, for young people and putting back into the community. He became a Queen scout and was an inspiration for others to follow in his footsteps.

2 scouts were nominated: Caleb Gill from Seagulls and Ryan Thomas from Blackbird.

Caleb Gill

Coming to Scouts has really put Caleb out of his comfort zone at times, but in the time he’s been a Scout with us he’s changed substantially. At times Scouts can be overwhelming for Caleb but in the past year he stepped forward and ran a Circus Skills session for us which he did brilliantly.

After this he took part in this year’s Oxfordshire Gang Show (the only Grove Scout to do so) and was put on the spot, in front of the audience, when the Explorer he was duetting with got stage fright and landed him with doing the song solo. Watching him from the audience we were extremely proud that he did it without any panic.

Ryan Thomas

Scouting is about helping young people to realise how much more they can do if they keep on trying and do not give up despite difficulties.

As a scout Ryan has given everything a try, he might hesitate or be anxious about certain things, but he is always pushing himself to try. I was really impressed during his expedition challenge where he reached his limit on the second day, but he still kept going. As leaders we have seen Ryan thoughtfully thinking about things and feeding this back to leaders and fellow scouts. He has grown in confidence, voicing his opinion more, and is able to explain when he feels someone is wrong or why an idea won't work and the reason why.

The winner of Scout of the Year was presented (virtually) to Ryan Thomas

Meeting closed at 8.20pm.

Silver Beavers Report

Covid 19 lockdowns did not stop our Colony meeting. We met online with zoom meetings, with those that could do online zooming, and we took full advantage of getting back face to face when were able to; outside mostly as long as we were dressed appropriately for the weather and ground underfoot.

Our Autumn Term outside activities consisted of walking in the dark to the pedestrian crossings on the A338, inspecting them and finding out how those with sight and hearing difficulties used them safely. We then moved onto Main Street in Grove where we practiced our Green Cross code. We also played socially distanced games in two groups outside the hut on the grass until it was dark. After half term we were back on Zoom once more where we looked at Remembrance from the animal victims of war perspective; and we all earned a badge in the shape of a medal. Local Remembrance Day Parades and services were cancelled so we joined the rest of the Country by standing on our doorsteps in full uniform. We observed the 2 minutes silence and broadcasted service from the Cenotaph in London.

We had great fun visiting a Llama farm online. We learnt all about these kind of animals as the farmer filmed putting them in their stable and making sure that they were comfortable for the night. There was a good Question and Answer session at the end. Bingo was a good session online, run by Trudi and following that fun session, we had a Space evening online too. Facts and pictures of planets, stars and moons. We found information on the special rover that was heading to the planet Mars to land and explore, for the mission part of the badge requirements.

A Christmas quiz ran the following week, which was good fun based around how well you know the Christmas carols, songs, characters and stories, and we all made some Christmas Decorations together, having delivered bags to each home with items to make them. Our traditional After-

Christmas Hike was set around East Challow to Childrey and back and families were given more time to complete it rather than the usual day, to make sure that we were totally distanced from each other!!

New Year and a new term saw us still meeting on Zoom!! First meeting back we looked at January and why it is so called and learnt some new year greetings and traditions from other countries. We went back to Scout basics for our second meeting, delving into the aspects of the Scout Membership Badge, the salute and how to roll our Neckers and place a woggle correctly. We had great fun cooking a cake in a mug, using a microwave oven and a parent’s help and supervision! They all certainly looked scrummy, and it was strange to see them all cooking and not smell it!!

The next two meetings looked at navigation, learning map symbols and finding them on a map, drawing a map, and using a map and locating local pictures on the map. We made robots from recycling junk and water and fire safety, and stranger danger were all covered in the following meetings. More small bags with contents for making Mothering Sunday gifts and covering how to deal with cuts and grazes and bandages were delivered and the last meeting of term was about egg rolling, to see how far and straight a still wrapped crème egg would roll!

The highlights of the term were two Virtual Sleepovers. Here the Beavers and their families could participate in activities that would usually be part of any sleepover and a change to home schooling activities. We also joined Buckinghamshire Beavers in their Superheroes camp online and in both camps, we had great fun!

After Easter we were allowed to be Face 2 Face once more but not allowed indoors! Our opening ceremony was shortened so as not to touch each other, and meetings concluded with our own Promises.

St. George was the topic of the first meeting back and for the second meeting we walked back from Hanney village green to Churchward Close Green looking for signs of spring. We had a visit from the local Bee Keeping society. We learnt about bees,

having a go at the waggle dance, and we made bees wax candles, and earned a special Bee badge. (The Bee all and end all!)

After half term we used plastic water bottles to make a simple water filter, looked at endangered sea animals online for World Oceans Day, and those that couldn’t Zoom met Fiona and Ben outside the hut for a discussion on endangered animals with Heather Stovold. Bicycles and scooters were brought down, and various science experiments were done at the next two meetings. The Thames Valley Air Ambulance Challenge Badge featured strongly for one meeting, and we are still looking at raising some money for them to complete the challenge badge. We had great fun with bandages though! We headed to Youlbury for a campfire evening with wide games and our final meeting before the summer break was our traditional Summer Term ending with water games. Everyone headed home thoroughly soaked!

Congratulations to Einar Christensen, Alexander Ackers and Joshua Guan for completing all their Challenge badges and gaining their Chief Scout’s Bronze Awards. (We have a few more that will be gaining theirs in the not too distant future!) Amongst the main run of badges, the rare Activity Plus badge was given to Beavers who did exceptional experiment work at the two virtual sleepover/camps for the Experiment activity badge and for going above what was required for the Disability activity badge. These Beavers were Einar Christensen, Harris Beaven, Max Shapland, Zander Dalgleish, Samarth Patange, Isaac Clarke and Benjamin Cleaver. Congratulations!

I would like to thank Trudi for all her help, assistance, and encouragement when it became difficult for me to sort Beaver Meetings for a short while. However, we both welcomed Ben Gillott as a leader, who has transitioned from being a fab Young Leader to Assistant Beaver Leader. Also, we welcomed Peter Challis to the Colony as an Assistant Beaver Leader. He was a former Scout Leader with Bosun in W&S and is now learning all about Beaver Scouts! Sandy Dalgleish and Rosie Walker-Jones were welcomed as Colony Assistants to help Trudi when I was unable to be at Beavers. Rosie has since moved to Blewbury with her son and they are both now are members of their local Scout Group and Sandy is to stand down at half term. Thank you all for your help and leadership during the time you were with our Colony.

I would like to thank Idun Christensen as well, for being our Young Leader, and through the lockdown. She is stepping down at half term to concentrate on her studies as helping at Beavers and having lots of work is proving difficult to balance. She has been a brilliant Young Leader and it has been great to see her blossom from being quite shy to being confident and able to deal with anything put in her way. Thank you Idun. We wish you well in your studies and in your onwards Scouting adventures too.

Lastly, I would like to thank all those parents who stuck with us and assisted their Beaver Scouts with having meetings, sleepovers and camps online. Without all of you our Colony would not have survived so well during the various lockdowns and then the transitions back to ‘normality’. It has been a huge challenge for you with having to cope with home schooling as well, not to mention a challenge for the Beavers and also for the Leaders. Thank you so much.

Fiona, Trudi, Ben and Peter

Silver Beaver Leader Team

Buffalo Beavers Report

Well, what a different year this has been, with zoom nights, meeting at the hut, meeting out and about and of course campfires and camping – no one would think we have had another lockdown!

I would like to firstly say a HUGE thank you to my top leaders, Steve, Simon, Sarah, Jo Roisin and Danielle, without whom Buffalo Beavers would not take place. I would also like to thank our Young Leaders who have now moved on, Aaron, Joseph and Eleanor. Their continued enthusiasm, energy, fun and support for the Colony never wavered during the past year, thank you all so much.

Activities we have been doing are:

I would also like to thank the parents for their continued support throughout the zoom sessions and now as we are once again back in the hut and going out and about!

Linda

Jaguar Cubs Report

Thankfully we were able to meet in the hut from November 2021, which saved the very dark nights and the cold and meant we were able to concentrate on our badge work.

In the future we are looking forward to visits from the Abingdon astronomy society and visits to the Wantage museum and local historians as well as enjoying a long-awaited cub camp.

A big thank you to all Jaguar Cubs and the leaders; Bagheera Jenny, Shere Khan James and Kaa Angela for your flexibility, loyalty and support.

Akela Tracey.

Jaguars have grown in numbers and have enjoyed activities from athletics, hiking, cycling, wide games in the dark with glow sticks, pioneering, first aid and our long-awaited trip to Funky Teapot, as well as the Jaguar tradition of campfires with hotdogs, marshmallows and hot chocolate, Summer and Winter.

The challenges from meeting on zoom has made Jaguar cubs grow in confidence and strength now we are back face to face. Alternating meetings in the hut one week to meeting outside the next, proved a challenge to all, but the cubs took it all in their stride and adapted to the new routine.

Falcons Cubs Report

Keep calm and carry on meeting…

This last year has really reminded us that Scouting is a movement and adapting to circumstances is a core part of what we do.

October 2020 saw the cautious return of meeting together. Small groups, meeting outside in the autumnal weather to have fun: that’s exactly what Falcon Cubs are about! We managed to cram in a cycle ride, two games sessions, and a naturespotting evening before lockdown-two came

along.

For the rest of 2020 and Spring Term 2021 we alternated online meetings with physical, outside activities that Cubs could do with their families. We cooked mug-cakes together online, took our families on a secret tracking mission in the woods, learned how to cope with home emergencies, went on a tech-enabled treasure hunt around Grove, and made edible fruit-machines using our knotting skills (turns out that it’s easier to learn knots in an online meeting because everyone can get a closeup view).

It was wonderful to return to in-person meetings again for the Summer Term: re-enactments of the St George story, building bridges over sharkinfested swamps, using maps to find hidden locations around Grove, fire-lighting, tent-building, gardening and cooking on Trangia stoves. We packed in a lot of fun over 3 months!

…carry on camping…

In Falcon Cubs we like to arrange at least two camps each year. During lockdown we had to camp at home of course, but two awesome opportunities came up to do this as part of a much larger virtual camp.

Our first overnighter was Wintercamp. Scouts UK opened up what is normally a limited-numbers camp at Gilwell Park in London, and put hundreds of activities online for us all to join in. Including crafts (paracord baby Yoda), science experiments (gummy bear chromatography), reflective time (video yoga sessions), and the inevitable campcooking, this provided a huge range of activities for everyone to try.

Our second camp was the Grove Scout Group virtual camp. Leaders from all sections set up a programme of activities over the weekend, with a virtual (online) campfire on the Saturday evening. We saw some amazing contributions from our Cubs and made a lot of noise when the songs started!

I also want to mention our Late Summer Camp in September. This was our first in-person

camp for over 2 years, and the first ever independent camp for many of our newer Cubs. We camped in our own secluded spot, and spent the entire weekend playing, making, finding, eating, singing, and laughing! It was good to be back on camp.

…and carry on growing!

Cubs just keep on growing – and it’s not just bigger walking boots they need. As their knowledge, emotions and confidence develop, they need bigger challenges too.

We’ve been delighted to present Chief Scout’s Silver Awards to all our

Cubs who made it along to sessions and camps through their 2½ years. This has been an amazing achievement given the disruption of the last year

or so. Well done!

they develop, and grow is a joy to be part of.

We’ve also seen 12 Falcon Cubs progress on to Scouts, settling in and quickly becoming respected and liked member of their Scout troops. Our numbers are growing again, with new Cubs moving up from Beavers, joining us afresh, or moving into the area from another group. Of course, this also means that we have a new group of Sixers and Seconders to help, lead and support our Cubs.

We’ve also had some changes to the leader team this year. We were deeply saddened by the passing of Simon Good in June, and our thoughts continue to be with his wife, Kathy. Since starting back this Autumn, we’ve been joined by Rob Clarkson. And finally, congratulations to Baloo (Paula) on completing her leaders’ Wood Badge!

Scouting is a movement – and the cycle of our Cubs joining, learning, leading, and moving on as

Bulldog Cubs Report

Bulldog cubs continued to meet jointly with Falcon cubs for this year

Red Kite Scouts Report

Considering they had only been together as a group for four months before the first COVID lockdown you might have expected Red Kites to crumble under the distance and uncertainty introduced by COVID.

Not a bit of it, and particular thanks must go to our older Scouts who supported the leader team in making it as normal as possible to meet online and outdoors – no matter how cold!

We used just about every corner of Grove to keep sessions running and develop the basic Scouting skills of this new Scout Troop. We covered safe use of knives, survival skills, fire lighting and den building.

In the final weeks of term, we created gliders from balsa wood before finishing the year with a fantastic BBQ, campfire and water games at Youlbury – COVID guidance having changed sufficiently at that point in time to allow a really memorable end to the term.

By the end of the year our numbers had grown to 23 and we were able to look forward with optimism to the 2021/22 year.

Andrew, Phil, Nicola, Rachel and Steve

Seagull Scouts Report

As with last year, this one has been a bit strange with a combination of zoom meetings, splitting the troop into two pods and face to face scouting depending on the Covid rules of the TSA.

We started the year well with a hike to and from West Hanney where we split the Scouts into two pods to comply with the rules that were in place at the time. As always, the route proved very popular particularly the loop back to Grove fish and chip shop who did us some smashing cones of chips.

Sadly, lock down caught up with us and Seagull Scouts were back to meeting online. Running Zoom sessions brought a whole different set of challenges to the Leaders as it’s difficult to know just what the Scouts will find interesting. I think we did reasonably well though starting with various scavenger hunts and quizzes in the early part of the term. For the past few years, we’ve taken part in UK Parliament week and the sessions have been great fun (if very noisy!), so in 2020 though we did it online… starting with a quiz and video about Parliament and then using the breakout room function in Zoom to split into groups to discuss whether Cake was better than Ice Cream. Some excellent debating took place with Ice Cream coming out on top, 7-5, against Cake. There were some suggestions of having both though and avoiding having to make the choice!

Another session saw the Scouts doing some code breaking online, and we found out that hidden codes are used every day if you know where to look (drink cans have a code that can tell you where it was made by what company, to the nearest 8 hours or so!).

Some of our Zoom meetings ended up as group chats between all the Scouts – I hadn’t realised that when they were doing online School lessons, they never got the chance to talk to each other. When it became clear that they just needed to talk to each other we let them – it was good to see, and the leaders just moderated them to make sure nothing got out of hand!

Just before Christmas we were allowed to meet face to face again! We managed to get two sessions completed, again split in two small

groups, to make Christmas lanterns by etching glass jam jars. Seagulls also helped spread some much-needed Christmas cheer by escorting Santa’s sleigh around Grove on a few evenings in December.

After Christmas yet another lockdown meant the Scouts did their Astronomy badges on Zoom. The first week we used Stellarium, a free online astronomy program with the Scouts all looking for different stars and galaxies! To follow this up we made Telescopes from cardboard kits delivered to all the scouts’ homes and put together during a Zoom session.

Other things the Scouts have enjoyed on-line was making woven baskets for Mother’s Day presents and doing Clay modelling with the Red Kites. A particular hit was our fantastic ‘Virtual’ Sleepover organised and run by Heather who had gone back to Uni in Chester! The scouts camped or made dens in their homes or gardens- one even made a den on top of his trampoline to sleep in.

In May we were allowed to meet face to face again, Hoorah!!

We all met over at Ardington for a wide game, it was great to be out again and meeting as a group.

We followed this up with some Trebuchet building at the Hut and a couple of sessions over at Youlbury, with us having to almost break in the first time because they’d forgotten to leave the gates unlocked for us. Thankfully a helpful lady at Gilwell (!!) got the combination for us so we could get in to play some wide games and end the evening with a massive campfire.

Another new and unusual activity the scouts did was dissecting Owl pellets at one of our hut-based sessions. Once the initial squeamishness over pulling a pellet apart had passed, it was amazing finding all the little bones from things the Owl’s had eaten. Some of the Scouts even took the bones

home as a present for their parents You were welcome.

We ended the summer term making Tie Dyed T- Shirts for the scouts to take home. Luckily, we did

this outdoors as it was a bit messy. Fantastic to bump into some of the Scouts over the summer holiday wearing them though!

I’ll save everything we’ve done from September 2021 for next year’s report, although I would like to mention that on our visit to Ardington for some light painting, we rescued a cat! Sheree looked after it overnight and kindly took it to the Vets. The vet managed to find the cats owners. It turns out the cat’s name was Em who had been missing for nearly a week from her home in Didcot. She turned out to be a very elderly cat (at least 19), and her owners had no idea how she’d ended up in Ardington. They were very pleased that she’d been found by the Scouts! It was a purrfect ending.

Garry – Seagull Leader

Blackbird Scouts Report

We started the year with a mixture of meetings near the hut and on Zoom. At our first meeting face-to-face, we said goodbye to several of our older scouts. During the autumn Scouts worked towards their Chef activity badge and did a hide and seek geo-cache. It was great fun mapping out a route for another group and then leave a treasure in the end to be found. We also participated in a treasure hunt that took us all the way through Grove and Wantage. Online we tried to escape from Castle Actor.

Scouts worked hard towards their Photographer activity badge which included a walk around Grove

to look at all the Christmas lights and finally making a poster with their own photos.

New year saw us back on Zoom, but we continued working towards our activity badges such as astronautics and International, where we were joined by a Danish scout Gry (former scout from Grove) that told us about scouting in Denmark.

We were taught about bike maintenance and later on had a fun filled cycle ride.

The high light for Blackbird scouts were our visit to a local airfield where our scouts went up in a small, motorised airplane and three lucky scouts went into a helicopter.

The end of the year saw the older scouts doing their Expedition. It was hard walking with a heavy

rucksack but overall it was a fun weekend especially being able to camp again.

At our last session Emma said good bye to us. We are wishing Emma all the best for the future and a massive “Thank You!” for all her support and hard work with Blackbirds during her time as an assistant scout leader.

A huge “Thank You!” goes to the rest of the leader team for their continuing support to run our sessions. Your help and support are greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank our parents who always step up each time we ask for help. This knowledge makes it so much easier for us to plan a programme when we know we can call in extra support if we need it.

Kirsten Christensen. Air Scouts Leader. Grove Air Scouts: Blackbird Troop .

Shackleton Explorers Report

We kept going with all the various restrictions – meeting online, outside in small groups, outside in larger groups inside in small groups and finally inside in larger groups as the rules allowed.

Number have been strong - we peaked at 30 members earlier in the year as we held some Wantage Explorers until their unit re-opened – that happened around Easter time, so we dropped back down to 20 and a couple have now turned 18 and moved onto pastures new – we wish them well! We have welcomed some new members as the year has moved on so are still thriving.

We further supported 2 new leaders planning to open a new Unit in Faringdon – that is planned for later this year – so good luck to Richard and Simon with that adventure. It feels like Explorers across the District is on the up!

Activities have varied from online “zoom specials” – to fully blown night hikes – with a penchant of pioneering thrown in – Explorers really is what the young people want it to be.

Last week we went to Youlbury and played some night games with glow-sticks in the dark – the first time we had visited in nearly 2 years – we welcomed a new Explorer – Jeremy – he is pictured above!

My thanks as ever to Jeppe Christensen – without his skill set we couldn’t function; also thanks to Grove Scout Group and the King Alfred District for their continued support – and thanks to Kristen and Diana for both stepping in when needed and to the parents for lugging Explorers here, there and everywhere – it truly is appreciated

Looking forward to a jam-packed next year of Scouting full of camping!

Paul Steptoe – Explorer Scout Leader – November 2021

Membership Report

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself to those of you that don’t know me, my name is Emma Nickerson, I was an Assistant Leader with Blackbird Scouts before I took over the role of Membership Secretary from Bev in May this year.

Who on Earth said it was a good idea to take over this role in the middle of a pandemic!

It has been a task and a half trying to sort through the back log due to Covid and the lack of face-to-face meetings, but I think we are slowly getting there, and I would like to say a massive thank you to all of the people that have helped me along the way.

I would also like to thank the parents who have been so understanding about their children having to wait longer for places within our group, I am very grateful to you for making my new role a little less stressful. Currently we have:

43 Beavers 40 Cubs 57 Scouts Total 140 Members

Although the numbers are a little down on last year there are more young people waiting patiently on our joining list for their place so they can join our fabulous group and lots more enquiries coming through from Lynn.

All new applications should be routed through the District Membership Secretary, Lynn Pembroke.

Emma Nickerson

Membership Secretary, Grove Scout Group

Treasurer Report

Grove Scout Group Finance Report Year ended 31[st] August 2021.

The Group remains in a healthy financial position, with reserves of £95k. We have built up the reserves over the last few years, through fundraising, Gift Aid and grants, mainly in preparation of the new hut development. Monthly subs are used for the day to day running of the units and the current hut. Subs will remain at the current level.

Income

During 2020/21 we received £17k of grants relating to covid support from the Vale of the White Horse District Council.

No Gift Aid was received in 2020/2021, so there will be a backed dated claim received this year. The previous year we received three years’ worth of gift aid. We now use OSM to record all subscriptions and Gift Aid.

Unfortunately, Scout Xmas Post, one of our large annual fundraising events, was another victim of covid in Dec 2020 but we still kindly received some donations from people who regularly use the Xmas post service. We did manage to run Santa’s sleigh around Grove and raised over £700. The scout sections ran a bake-off competition, and sold off the cakes at the end, raising £230.

Please remember to continue supporting the scout group, by using Easyfundraising, Amazon smile or the VOWH community lottery.

Expenditure

Covid had an impact on how scouting was delivered and consequently there were no trips or events during the year.

We are however able to offer each section additional money towards planning their meeting activities and continue to do so this year.

We are starting to incur costs relating to the planning phase of new hut. We will be applying for a section 106 grant towards the cost of building the new hut but will also need to fundraise for it in the coming years.

Any questions regarding the accounts or the group finances, please email Abbe at GroveTreasurer@kascouts.org.uk

Thank you for your continued support of Grove Scout Group.

Grove Scout Group Statement of Assets and Llab115t5es at 31 Aucu5t 2021 3110812021 3V0812020 Cash Funds Property De¥elopment Account Bank Current Account Cash Float £70,186 £24,459 £39,(X)7 £35,19) £0 £74.197 £94.645 Debtor5 Clothing Stock Equipment £150 £705 £7f￿) £585 £380 Total Assets £95,610 £75,812 Uabilllitles due TA7ithin one year Creditor5 i• £0 Total Liabilities £0 £95.610 E75.812 EwwmE kn1019no 21st May 2022 ,"4 Q02L


Grove Scout Group
Receipts & Payments accounts foryear ended 31st August 2021
Payments Year ended Year ended
31/08/2021 31/08/2020
Premises(Current Hut)
Rent £0 £0
Services £829 £570
Insurance £1,306 £1,265
Headquarters/Maintenance £96 £322
Cleaning £554 £623
£2,785 £2,779
Premises(New Hut)
PlanningApplication Fees £2,338 £0
Architect fees £382 £2,976
£2,720 £2,976
Scouting Activities Expenditure
Scout TroopExpenses £1,865 £964
Camps £36 £647
Events £0 £2,455
International Contributions £0 £0
Badges and Uniform £827 £1,641
OSM(less rebates) £179 £159
£2,907 £5,866
Other Expenditure
Fundraisingexpenses £275 £298
MarketingExpenses £0 £121
Leader Training £0 £0
AGM Expenses £144 £140
Equipment £200 £1,855
Clothingfor fundraisingsales £0 £0
SundryPayments £267 £20
£886 £2,434
Total Gross Expenditure £9,297 £14,055
Asset & Investment Purchases £0 £0
Total Payments £9,297 £14,055
NET OF RECEIPTS/ (PAYMENTS) £20,448 £24,584

----- Start of picture text -----
Grove Scout Grou
p
Recei ts & Pa ments accounts for ear ended 31st Au ust 2021
p y y g
Receipts Year ended Year ended
31/08/2021 31/08/2020
Donations, legacies and similar income
Membership Subscriptions less refunds £14,811 £15,358
Less: Membership subscriptions paid on (District) (£6,085) (£6,899)
Net Membership subscriptions retained £8,726 £8,460
Donations £65 £2,232
Legacies £0 £0
Gift Aid £0 £9,052
£8,791 £19,743
Grants
Other Grants £17,907 £11,525
£17,907 £11,525
Section Activities
Camp Fees £188 £687
Events £52 £2,299
Section Meetings £71 £31
Badges £0 £1
Necker Sales £156 £144
£467 £3,163
Fundraising
Fundraising £1,673 £2,215
Xmas Post £278 £1,500
Clothing £0 £0
£1,951 £3,715
Other Income
Hall Hire £450 £160
Other Income £0 £0
£450 £160
Investment income received
Bank Interest £179 £334
£179 £334
Total Gross Income £29,745 £38,639
Asset & Investment Sales £0 £0
Total Receipts £29,745 £38,639
----- End of picture text -----

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