Registered Charity – Charity Number 282227 Head Quarters:- 1st Newbury Scout Hut, Remembrance Road, Newbury
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1[st] NEWBURY SCOUT GROUP Sunday 12[th] Sep 2021
ANNUAL REPORTS
Trustee Report
Throughout this year we have assembled a whole new Executive Team. Many thanks to those who have done so much for 1[st] Newbury Group in the past you have certainly made 1[st] Newbury such a thriving Group as we see today. Thank you too to all those who volunteered to join the Executive Team in any capacity and for the work done this year.
We currently have Pete Jeffries standing in as Group Scout Leader until we recruit one from within our Group.
Paul Soulby is our Chair and Quarter Master, Julie Framalicco, Treasurer, Nicky James Secretary. Kevin Bushell and Lindsey Chivers represent the Cub section on the committee and Yvonne Soulby looks after training and first aid, Daisy Hutchinson safeguarding and fundraising and Sarah Youd is managing our Health and Safety. Many thanks to to John Turk for all his work with the Fire safety .
With the strangeness of the year we have not done much fundraising but the Treasurer report outlines grants we have received and we have a Good Exchange Project open to raise funds for replacing and improving the roofing of our Hut.
The sections, as you will hear later, have done an amazing job of keeping going throughout lockdowns, and everyone is pleased to be able to welcome back young people and families to face to face scouting. It is great to see so many of you here today.
We are always looking for more help and support in any capacity and hope you all have seen the date of Saturday 2[nd] October for a work party day here at the hut. A list of jobs that need doing are up around today so please do put the date in your diary and come along on the day, or let us know if you are able to help in any other way.
Treasurer Report
The 2020 - 21 accounts were significantly affected by the continued Covid pandemic as would be expected. Income from subscriptions dropped from £11,825 in the previous year to £9,094 – unsurprisingly - but was more than compensated for by various grants the majority coming from West Berkshire Council and totalling in excess of £20,000. The overall income stream moved from £30,870 in 2019/20 to £45,933 in 2020/21. Multiple other changes the biggest of which was camp contributions down from close to £6,000 to under £200.
Expenses also reduced from the prior year of nearly £29,000 to £20,700. Camp outings covered most of that – again no surprise really.
The overall closing cash position therefore increased dramatically by some £25,000+ and leaves the group in the comfortable, if somewhat embarrassing, position of having over £49,000 in the bank. My only advice is that it should be used conservatively and wisely to ensure the maximum benefit to those who are most deserving.
You will all be aware that I have stepped back as Treasurer for 1[st] Newbury and that Julie Framalicco has been brave enough to take the reins with effect from the beginning of May. Please do help her if needed
although I am sure that the role will be fulfilled brilliantly and with more commitment than I have been able to offer!
Once again I have to thank all those who have worked tirelessly in very difficult circumstances to hold the group together. That ranges from all the volunteers to the parents who have had faith in the organisation to nurture their offspring in the hopes of a return to (a ‘new’) normality. Without you the story would have been very different.
Terry Hadden
Beaver Section Report
Over the last year it has been very up and down for the beavers. As soon as we were able to start meeting again face to face, we did and we made the most of it. Although we didn’t manage to do zoom meetings through lockdown, we did allow the beavers to complete tasks to put towards their badges. Once we got back to face to face meetings, we embraced having the outdoor space. We did campfires, tower building, team games and much more. I feel that for me one of the biggest things in beavers through the last year was being able to send a beaver onto cubs having earned his bronze scout award still even through COVID which I found a massive achievement. For that I would like to congratulate Joshua Hunt for earning the highest award you can in beavers and I wish him all the best in cubs along with all the others that have moved up. I am really enjoying being back to face to face meetings and all the beavers are working really hard to achieve as much as they can and are making amazing progress towards their bronze awards too!!
Sophie Greenslade
1[st] Newbury Beaver Leader
Cub Section Report
It has been a hugely successful, if unusual, past year of Cub Scouting for 1st Newbury’s Pack. Thanks to the energy and persistence of the leader group we were quickly able to move to virtual scouting when lockdowns required it - making adjustments to the programme and the way leaders engaged in order to continue to provide a fulfilling and varied programme of meetings, in which nearly all the pack participated. During the worst of the pandemic we managed to retain all except one Cub in the pack and even managed to grow the section. We adapted to the return to face-to-face scouting under highly risk-assessed conditions and got a hugely positive response from Cubs and parents to this return. I’d like to thank all the parents for their acceptance of the measures we had to put in place to keep ourselves and the youngsters safe - it was great to have their support and understanding.
The pack is full to bursting point, with a waiting list and a pipeline of future Cubs in our Beaver colony. That success means we could benefit from additional adult help - if any parents would like to join as occasional helpers, or even consider leadership please do let me know.
Despite the pandemic we also managed to get away for a camp in July, which was enjoyed immensely by all the Cubs and leaders alike. Ours was the first section of any scout group in the entire county to do this. And we planned it extra-carefully to ensure success. It was held under safety measures which resulted in not one case of viral spread. And lots of recent joiners were able to gain their first Nights Away award.
I’ll end with some statistics: over the past year, we have gained two leaders, and two further leaders gained their wood badge. One leader was (finally) awarded their 10 year service badge and also gained a Chief Scout’s commendation for good service. We’ve also gained a new young leader and we’ve sent 15 Cubs up to the Scout Troop, we’ve taken 14 Beavers into the Pack, and taken 7 new Cubs from the waiting list, growing the section to nearly 30 young people. We’ve awarded 4 chief scout’s silver awards (the highest award for a Cub Scout), and awarded a total of 273 badges across the pack since the first lockdown started. And despite multiple lockdowns the pack has still managed to consume 17 large bags of marshmallows and 31 packets of chocolate biscuits.
Kevin Bushell 1[st] Newbury Cub Leader
Scouts Section Report
The past year has been a tricky year for everyone involved in Scouting. As leaders, we all came into Scouting to enjoy the outdoors and get stuck in to adventurous activities, but as with all Scout Troops across the country, we have adapted over the past year to deliver a blended programme of virtual sessions and face to face meetings when they were permitted. Some particular highlights of our virtual programme include a virtual pottery night delivered by the ugly duckling cafe, messy evenings trying to bake whatever easy dish we could find on BBC Good Food, an evening playing Pac Man across the streets of Newbury with the help of what three words, a virtual monopoly competition using google maps and finally a multitude of escape rooms.
On our return to face to face Scouting we were able to get back out and about hiking, we had the Scouts complete the tour de Newbury to achieve their cycling badge and we spent our summer term rafting, taking part in the Scout Olympics and firing water balloons at each other. There is a lot to look forward to in the coming months with an October camp in Marlborough on the books along with the coveted Alamo competition also in the planning stages. We have an exciting week long Summer Camp in the diary for next year which really will be the icing on the cake after the last year of disruption.
I'd like to end by congratulating the 5 Scouts who were able to achieve the Chief Scout's Gold Award in the last year, despite all the challenges. They are; Rowan Chester, Tom Oxley, Tom Potts, Sasha Purchase and Laura Swanson. A massive well done to them for going above and beyond in Scouting to achieve the highest award that can be earned in the Scout section. We wish them and all the others who have moved on the Explorers all the best in their future Scouting adventures!
Conor O’Neill 1st Newbury Scout Leader
| lncome | |
|---|---|
| Subs | 9,093.50 |
| Fundraising | 592.25 |
| Donations | |
| Activities | |
| Camps | 168.80 |
| Paid in error | |
| GiftAid | ,ur.uo |
| lnterest | |
| Hut hire | 280.00 |
| Other | 20,828.43 |
| Roof repairs | 9,503.03 |
| Building fund | 1.70 |
| Camp account | 5,102.87 |
| Total income | 45,933.08 |
| Expenditure | |
| Capitation | 3,735.00 |
| Utilities, Rates & ins | 1,840.75 |
| Hut | 620.41 |
| Covid | 5,440.80 |
| Camps/Outings/Events | 763.69 |
| Badges/Uniform/lnvestiture | 169.38 |
| Fire safety | 2,769.51 |
| Roof repairs | |
| Fund raising | 590.64 |
| Other | 383.59 |
| Building expenses | |
| Camp expenses | 4,380.00 |
| Total expenditure | 20,693.77 |
| Netsurplus | 25,239.31 |
| Balance sheet asat 31March2021 | |
| Bank balances | |
| Main account | 41,562.13 |
| Building fund | 6,542.15 |
| Camp | 1,142.87 |
| 49,247.15 | |
| Represented by | |
| General fundat1April 2020 | 24,007.84 |
| Surplus foryear | 25,239.31 |
| Fund at3'lMarch2021 | 49,247.15 |
| lncome | |
|---|---|
| Subs | 9,093.50 |
| Fundraising | 592.25 |
| Donations | |
| Activities | |
| Camps | 168.80 |
| Paid in error | |
| GiftAid | ,ur.uo |
| lnterest | |
| Hut hire | 280.00 |
| Other | 20,828.43 |
| Roof repairs | 9,503.03 |
| Building fund | 1.70 |
| Camp account | 5,102.87 |
| Total income | 45,933.08 |
| Expenditure | |
| Capitation | 3,735.00 |
| Utilities, Rates & ins | 1,840.75 |
| Hut | 620.41 |
| Covid | 5,440.80 |
| Camps/Outings/Events | 763.69 |
| Badges/Uniform/lnvestiture | 169.38 |
| Fire safety | 2,769.51 |
| Roof repairs | |
| Fund raising | 590.64 |
| Other | 383.59 |
| Building expenses | |
| Camp expenses | 4,380.00 |
| Total expenditure | 20,693.77 |
| Netsurplus | 25,239.31 |
| Balance sheet asat 31March2021 | |
| Bank balances | |
| Main account | 41,562.13 |
| Building fund | 6,542.15 |
| Camp | 1,142.87 |
| 49,247.15 | |
| Represented by | |
| General fundat1April 2020 | 24,007.84 |
| Surplus foryear | 25,239.31 |
| Fund at3'lMarch2021 | 49,247.15 |