2022-12-31-accounts

Stifford Sea Scouts

Annual Report & Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2022

Stifford Sea Scout Group

Group Details

Charity Number	302089
Trustees of the Charity
Sue Dodson	Group Scout Leader
Vacant	Chairman
Vacant	Secretary
Andrew Merritt	Acting Treasurer
Joanne Price	Beaver Scout Leader (Penguin)
Denise Tuffee	Beaver Scout Leader (Puffin)
Andrew Merritt	Cub Scout Leader (Orca) / Group Administrator
Deborah Rowe	Cub Scout Leader (Dolphin)
Ashley Kempster	Scout Leader
Steve Rowe	Quartermaster
Glen Willis	Maintenance Officer

The Group is comprised of 5 sections.

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Members as at:
Section 31 December 2022 31 December 2021
Penguin Beaver Scouts 14 8
Puffin Beaver Scouts 17 19
Orca Cub Scouts 16 11
Dolphin Cub Scouts 26 26
Scouts 34 18
Total Youth Membership 107 82
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Stifford Sea Scout Group Receipts and Payments Account Summary

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For the year
01/01/2022 To 31/12/2022
from
Receipts and payments
2022 2021
Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds
£ £
Total receipts for the year 39,442.14 27,222.48
Total payments in the year (34,694.12) (17,564.65)
Net receipts for the year 4,748.02 9,657.83
Cash, bank and similar funds brought forward 54,561.55 44,903.72
Cash, bank and similar funds carried forward 59,309.57 54,561.55
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Sign Sign Sign Sign Sign Sign	Andrew Merritt Print name Sue Dodson Print name Joanne Price Print name Denise Tuffee Print name Ashley Kempster Print name Deborah Rowe Print name

Stifford Sea Scout Group - Consolidated Receipts and Payments Account

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For the year
01/01/2022 To 31/12/2022
from
Receipts and payments
2022 2021
Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds
£ £
Receipts
- -
Donations, legacies and similar income
Membership subscriptions 18,695.00 7,928.00
Less: Membership subscriptions paid on (5,929.25) (6,537.80)
Net membership subscriptions retained 12,765.75 1,390.20
Donations/Camp contributions 21,978.47 5,728.88
Jack Petchy Awards 541.92 -
-
Repaid to parents for cancelled events (4,208.00)
Loans from Section Leaders - -
Sub total 35,286.14 2,911.08
Grants
- -
Start up grants
Other grants (Covid) 3,733.80 24,017.70
Sub total 3,733.80 24,017.70
Fundraising (gross)
Group Fundraising 422.20 289.85
- -
Group Funds held by Scouts
- -
Section Fundraising
- -
Other fundraising activities
Sub total 422.20 289.85
Investment income
Bank interest - 3.85
- -
Building Society interest
The Scout Association Short Term Investment Service - -
- -
Property Rent income
Other investment income - -
Sub total - 3.85
Total Gross Income 39,442.14 27,222.48
- -
Asset and investment sales, etc.
Total receipts 39,442.14 27,222.48
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Stifford Sea Scout Group - Consolidated Receipts and Payments Account

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For the year
01/01/2022 To 31/12/2022
from
Receipts and payments
2022 2021
Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds
£ £
Payments
Charitable Payments 24.00 184.00
Youth programme and activities 11,634.94 6,888.72
- -
Adult support and training
Rent 1,074.76 1,001.71
Water and Sewerage 40.00 450.00
Electricity and Gas 2,226.91 155.06
Insurance 1,993.48 1,920.25
Repairs and Renewals 2,064.88 5,411.67
-
Materials and equipment
- -
Printing and photocopying
Contribution to camp costs 15,118.16 1,481.24
Uniforms 444.99 -
- -
AGM and trustee expenses
Web site - -
Bank charges 72.00 72.00
Admin - -
Sub total 34,694.12 17,564.65
- -
Fundraising expenses
Detail 1 - -
Detail 2 - -
- -
Other fundraising costs
Sub total - -
Total Gross Expenditure 34,694.12 17,564.65
- -
Asset and investment purchases, etc.
Total payments 34,694.12 17,564.65
Net of receipts/(payments) 4,748.02 9,657.83
Cash funds last year end 54,561.55 44,903.72
Cash funds this year end 59,309.57 54,561.55
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Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year

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31st December 2022 31st December 2021
Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds
£ £
Cash funds
Bank current account 53,347.79 51,819.70
- -
Bank deposit account
- -
Building society account
The Scout Association Short Term Investment Service - -
Cash/Floats 5,961.78 2,741.85
Total cash funds 59,309.57 54,561.55
- -
Other monetary assets
Tax claim - -
- -
Debts due from the County/Area/District/Group
Insurance claim - -
Sub total - -
Investment assets - -
- -
Investment property - detail
Quoted investments - -
Other investments - detail - -
Sub total - -
- -
Non monetary assets for charity's own use
- -
Badge stock
- -
Shop stock
Other stock - -
- -
Land and buildings
Motor vehicles - -
- -
Scouting equipment, furniture etc.
Other - -
Sub total - -
Liabilities - -
- -
Accounts not yet paid
- -
Expenses incurred but not invoiced
- -
Subscriptions not yet paid
Loan - detail - -
Other liabilities - -
Sub total - -
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Contingent liabilities and future obligations

Andrew Merritt - Acting Group Treasurer

Independent examinerfs report to the trustees of Stifford Sea Scout Group I report to the trustees on my examin*ion of the accounts of the Stifford Sea Scout Group forthe yeai ended 31 December 2022. Responsibiltties and basis of report As the chzrity trustees of the Stifftjrd Sea Scout Group you are responsible ft)rthe preparation of the aecounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Art 20111'the Act'l. I report in respert of my examination of the Strfford Sea Scout Group accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have fotiowed au the appiicabie Directions given by the Charity Commi55ion under 5ecbon 14515llbl of the Act. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my exafflination. I confim that no material Matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giwng me cause to betieve that in any material respect accoLJnting records were not kept in respect of the Stifford Sea Scout Group as required by section 130 of the Act.. or 2. the accounts do not accord wtth those records. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection wrth the examination to which attention should be drawn in thi5 report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed- SPI Name: Stephen Morgan Relevant professional qua￿riCation or membership of professional bodies Irf any1= CPFA Address= 39 Advice Avenue Chafford Hundred Grays Essex RM16 6QN Date- I September 2023

STIFFORD SEA SCOUT GROUP

Group Scout Leader: Sue Dodson, 66 Aluric Close, Chadwell St. Mary, Grays, Essex. RM16 4NB Telephone: [phone]

Report of the Group Scout Leader of Stifford Sea Scout Group

For the 2022 AGM held on

8[th] September 2023

At Stifford Scout Hut

After all the problems that the pandemic brought us Stifford still remains one of the largest groups in the district.

We have 2 Beaver colonies, 2 Cub Scout packs and 1 Scout troop.

Over time we have many Scouts move on to explorers only to return to us one way or another as young leaders, some of which have remained and become adult leaders.

Congratulations to our young members who have achieved a vast number of badges and in particular to those that have achieved their Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. The young members have put a lot of hard work into achieving these badges and awards and we are proud of their achievements. This would also not be possible without the continued dedication of our adult leaders who week in and week out put in time and effort into guiding our young members on their Scouting journey.

The main achievements and activities during the year are set out below in the individual reports by the Section Leaders.

Yours in Scouting

Sue Dodson

Stifford Sea Scouts Group

Opposite 69 Prince Phillip Avenue, Grays, Essex, RM16 2BX

Stifford Sea Scouts

Registered Number - 41166 as Open Group 1974. Registered Charity Number - 302089

Stifford Penguins Annual Report 2022

Beavers have had another busy and enjoyable year and have gained many badges.

We have attended many District Events which include Beaver and Cub link Day at Condovers which was based on an escape room theme, Jamboree on the trail which was a walk from East Tilbury Train Staton down to Coalhouse Fort where we joined our other Beaver Colony and Cub packs for a jubilee picnic celebration for the Queens 70[th] year on the Throne we also attended took part in the District Sleepover and attended Play scheme for the day and Carols around the Campfire held at Condovers.

As our own Colony we visited Thurrock Foodbank as part of the Community Impact badge where they learned about the work they do and helped stock the shelves with the food that has been donated, the highlight of the night was using the huge floor scales to weigh the food! we went to Langdon Nature Reserve to take part in a Nature Trail to do orienteering, We also attended two sleepovers at Monley Buziness visited Grays Fire station and the Fire museum

Penguins and Puffins joined Dolphins during their annual summer camp at Thriftwood for the weekend where they took part in various activities including the water roller, earth ball, cave bus, kayaking and rafting.

We also took part in Stifford own Remembrance Day Parade held at Blackthorn Park.

None of this would be possible without the help of my Leaders Janet, Sofie, Max, Rebecca, and our young Leaders Rebecca, William and Zac, my Occasional helper Natalie and a special thank you goes to Denise who looks after the Finance side for me.

At the time of writing this report in August 2023 Two Beavers have successfully completed their Chief Scout Bronze award which is the highest achievement for Beavers.

Stifford Puffins Beaver Scouts

Denise Tuffee – Section Team Leader

103 Heathview Road, Grays, Essex RM16 2RT Phone: [phone] - Mobile: [phone] Email: [e-mail]

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

It’s been a very long while since I’ve written a lengthy report, it seems an age since we were all staying indoors and conducting our weekly meetings over Zoom and Bucky played knock up ginger at every house delivering craft bags to make sure the Beavers had what they needed each week. Who can forget Sparkle standing in the street wearing a tutu because she had to do some ballet for our ‘Challenge Sparkle’ segment each week? We also had Rainbow, who conducted tabletop sales and Chip turned 18 and decided to stay with us as a Section Assistant.

Despite all the logistical and technical hitches (because I’m terrible with technology), Puffins carried on Scouting, we even had a new influx of children and many moving virtually onto Cubs.

Since our return to face-to-face Scouting and some sort of normality, in September 2021, Puffins has continued to go from strength to strength, providing a full and fun programme.

So what have we been up to?

From completing one of the new activity badges about money, having a sponsored disco for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, to attending our own special Remembrance parade and the District carols around the campfire, we ended 2021 with a Christmas Party.

We had a visit from a Hearing Dog and its owner where we presented the charity representative with a cheque for a whopping £230. Brilliant job everyone.

In 2022 all the Covid restrictions were lifted, it was as if the pandemic never happened, and we went full steam ahead back into our normal events. This started with our usual January sleepover at Monkey Bizzness, in Hockley, it was great to be back there. It’s lovely to see all the young people wear themselves out playing before snuggling up in their sleeping bags. For some Beavers this was their first ever sleepover, and even their first night away without family and I am extremely proud of each and every one of them. Especially having to put up with the Leaders that snore. We decided to do it all again in May. No such thing as having too much fun, right?

In April most of the District came together to renew their promises at our annual St George’s Day Service, at the Civic Hall and Puffins were awarded 2[nd] place in the District Beaver Rainbow Challenge Trophy. Well done to all the Puffins that helped make that happen.

We had a visit from some teachers from United Ballroom & Latin Dance School who put the Beavers through their paces, teaching them the Waltz and the Paso Doble. It was like Strictly Come Dancing at our HQ.

We visited Grays Fire station, looking around the museum, climbing aboard the fire engines and spraying the hoses.

We served our fantastic Mums a special high tea for Mother’s Day and had an Easter bonnet craft competition, making the mums (and one very brave dad) parade, catwalk fashion, in their creations so that our Group Scout Leader and my Mum could choose a winner.

What did the Dads get for Father’s Day? They got an evening’s crabbing at Coalhouse Fort. There were trophies to win for things like the most crabs, the biggest crab etc.

The District Sleepover, at Condovers, was themed around the Queen’s 70[th] Jubilee and even though it was a very hot weekend the Beavers all had a great time. Thank you to Tic Tac and her District team.

Stifford Sea Scout Group, Prince Phillip Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2BX Registered Number – 41166 as Open Group 1974. Registered Charity Number - 302089

Stifford Puffins Beaver Scouts

Denise Tuffee – Section Team Leader 103 Heathview Road, Grays, Essex RM16 2RT Phone: [phone] - Mobile: [phone] Email: [e-mail]

Our oldest Beavers joined with our Cubs for a Link Day, again at Condovers. This was in the style of an Escape Room crossed with The Crystal Maze. The young people had to work together to solve riddles, to then solve puzzles, in order to open locked boxes.

Again, some of the oldest Puffins were invited to join Penguins and Dolphins on the first night of their Summer Camp at Thriftwood to do various activities including kayaking and rafting. Thank you to Rusty for looking after them for me and to Akela Debbie for having them join her and her cubs.

Playscheme was back on in August. This is a great day for all, spending the day at Condovers and taking part in many new and exciting activities.

Puffins attended a fancy-dress Halloween Disco at 1[st] Ockendon’s HQ to help raise funds for all the Thurrock Scouts that were going to the various worldwide Jamborees in 2023/2024.

Again, Stifford held our own Remembrance service at Blackthorn Park.

Tic Tac and her team put on a Christmas activity afternoon, at Condovers, where the Beavers did crafts, met Father Christmas, and sang around the campfire.

Our 2022 programme ended with a trip to the local pantomime for the Beavers and their families. It was Beauty & The Beast where my very own dog, Tilly, had a starring role as Belle’s best friend. Puffins were all very well behaved, and I could hear from the wings (where I was hiding to be able to control Tilly’s entrances and exits) that they were all in fine voice and laughed in all the right places. A shout goes out to Amelia’s poor Dad who was the pantomime dame’s victim for the evening. I didn’t sit you there on purpose, honest.

It was a busy 16 months’ worth of blood, sweat and tears (mostly mine from all the badge sewing, ha ha ha) where 9 Beavers gained their Chief Scout Bronze Awards, and I presented an enormous amount of activity and challenge badges. Approximately 450 in total. Well done Beavers!! I mustn’t forget the money collected from our Smarties tubes too.

And so, that brings my 2022 report to a close but before I sign off, I have to tell you that I consider Puffins to be my extended family. I mean, who else would put up with all my crazy ideas and carrying out strange requests without questioning my sanity (to my face anyway). My main goal as Puffins’ Leader is to make sure that each and every Puffin goes away with a smile on their face (probably some chocolate biscuit there too) and with fun stories to tell. I am happy because they are happy, job done!

Hang on, wait!! Nearly forgot! (As if!). I don’t do it alone!! I have the best team of volunteers around me, from the uniformed Leaders to the Occasional Helpers, very supportive parents and not forgetting our important Young Leaders too, we are all steering this amazing ship (even weathering the occasional storm) to make Puffins Beaver Scouts a roaring success! THANK YOU!!

What will 2023 have in store for us? Whatever we get up to, we will definitely be having more fun with our Puffin family!

Yours, always Scouting (because it’s only 2 hours a week right?),

Keeo x

Stifford Sea Scout Group, Prince Phillip Avenue, Grays, Essex RM16 2BX Registered Number – 41166 as Open Group 1974. Registered Charity Number - 302089

Stifford Orca

Akela - Andrew Merritt

Report to the Parents from Stifford Orca Cub Scouts - AGM 8 September 2023 For the year ending 31 December 2022.

66 Aluric Close, Chadwell St. Mary, Grays, Essex. RM16 4NB

Phone: [phone]

Mobile: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Cubs had lost out during the lockdown. Our Cubs seemed to lose a lot of confidence in the 2 years before going back in September 2021. We had trouble with teams for competitions and there was even one

I am pleased to report that times, and Cubs, change and by the end of 2022 we were taking part again in all district events and competitions. During the year Orca awarded some 212 badges which included 2 Silver awards. We only gave out 48 badges in the previous year (although not a full year of course).

In August 2022, we had what I considered to be the best camp in about 22 years. Sadly we only had 8 Cubs but went with 8 Cubs from Chadwell which made it almost cost effective. We did so many activities and worked on so many badges but had a wonderful team of adults, both Orca and Chadwell who all work exceptionally well together.

In September 2022 we had only 13 Cubs so I suppose taking 8 away to Camp was not bad.

We continue to have such a good mix of Cubs. I am proud to be their Leader.

Orca have a small but dedicated team of leaders (could always do with an extra one or two, see me if you are free on a Monday evening). My thanks go to Steven and Christian (Adult Leaders) Eve and Matthew (Young Leaders) and Sue (Our Group Scout Leader) for your continued support. And to Ben (Occasional Helper who recently joined us). You are welcome to pop along anytime.

Andrew Merritt - (Cub Scout Leader - Akela)

Stifford Orca Cub Scouts - Stifford Sea Scout Group.

Stifford Sea Scouts

Opposite 69 Prince Phillip Avenue, Grays, Essex, RM16 2BX Registered Number - 41166 as Open Group 1974. Registered Charity Number - 302089

STIFFORD DOLPHINS

c/o Debbie Rowe (AKELA) Tel: [phone] Tel: Mobile: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]

2022 was a fresh start for Stifford Dolphins with a new leadership team. We started the year with 31 cubs and we had quite a mixture of older cubs and some younger ones too and by the end of 2022 we had 28 cubs as many had moved up to scouts.

We took part in the District Shooting competition and was pleased that one of Dolphin’s cubs won the individual award – bringing home a lovely shield!

We celebrated Chinese New Year and also finally managed to get all of our cubs to Rock-up for what should have been our end of year treat for the previous year – it was nice to see some the familiar faces of our older cubs who left us at the end of December to start scouts.

In February, we held our very first Spring Camp at Thriftwood and although it was a very, very soggy week, it was a huge success, not only because we had an actual fridge freezer and proper ovens…. But because the cubs achieved so much. Whilst at Spring Camp, the cubs enjoyed taking part in a number of activities including the climbing wall, assault course and postman’s walk. Cubs also cooked over the open fire and toasted marshmallows as well as popcorn! This was a great camp and although it was very muddy, everyone had a fab time and we were fortunate to have Steve Cootes, ADC for cubs, join us for the camp.

After Spring Camp, we started work on the Disability Badge and looked at the many different disabilities that affect people, both visible and hidden. We also investigated famous people who have a disability yet have not let this stop them being the best they can be – a great inspiration to us all. After that we worked on the Money Skills Badge and cubs looked at different currencies as well as how to budget. After that we worked on our Local Knowledge Badge and worked on finding out about the different amenities local to us, famous people nearby and designed posters to advertise our local area.

A massive highlight for the cubs (and the leaders) was to take part in the Chip Shop Challenge where we had to ‘endure’ a walk around Grays, visiting various chips shops to sample their chips… as you can imagine this was a gruelling evening, but we found a clear winner with The Brothers Chip Shop winning hands down.

Stifford Dolphin Cub Scouts - Stifford Sea Scout Group. Opposite 69 Prince Phillip Avenue, Grays, Essex, RM16 2BX

Registered Number - 41166 as Open Group 1974. Registered Charity Number - 302089

STIFFORD DOLPHINS

c/o Debbie Rowe (AKELA) Tel: [phone] Tel: Mobile: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]

Over the Summer Holidays we held our Summer Camp at Thriftwood and for this we had much better weather and enjoyed our annual beaver/ cub link day where we all spent time on the lake taking part in raft building and kayaking. We also cooked stew on the fire as well as toasted sandwiches and cubs enjoyed other activities including archery, zip-lining, rifle shooting, cresta run and crate stake with many of our cubs achieving their personal best and trying many new things, including food!

Another highlight was a visit to the Fire Station in September which was arranged with the help of one of our cub’s parents although I did not envisage me having to dress up in all of the fire fighting uniform and equipment … it was very heavy! But all of the cubs, and leaders definitely enjoyed using the hose later on in the evening. During this evening, all of the cubs renewed their promise as we had a new king!

After this we worked on our cyclist badge and cubs learned all about how to maintain their bike and ride safely on the road.

Another highlight of the year was our annual Children in Need Bake Off where we spent the evening cooking and decorating cakes and biscuits and then forcibly sold these to parents and carers when they came to collect their cubs!! We were very proud to say that we raised a huge £139.00 for Children in Need – more than we’ve ever raised before and a great effort from everyone!!

Behind the scenes, Stifford Dolphins has been through a number of changes, but this has not affected the activities and camps planned for the cubs, who have all been absolutely amazing and Dolphins have gone from strength to strength. However, none of this could be possible without the whole of the Stifford Dolphins Leadership Team so I would personally like to say a HUGE thank you to Steve (Baloo) and Jo (Rusty) as well as our super Young Leader Max (Hathi) and then joined in October by one of our previous cubs Lucy (Rama) for her DoE – without the help and support of this amazing team, Dolphins could not happen… thank you to all of Dolphins leaders!

Stifford Dolphin Cub Scouts - Stifford Sea Scout Group. Opposite 69 Prince Phillip Avenue, Grays, Essex, RM16 2BX

Registered Number - 41166 as Open Group 1974. Registered Charity Number - 302089

Stifford Sea Scouts returned to 2022 with a steady 25 scouts attending each week. We currently have six leaders; however, many of our leaders work different shifts which can prove difficult to ensure we have enough cover, and one occasional helper, but we are always looking for more helpers so please speak to one of the team if you are interested in lending a hand.

2022 started on a musical theme with scouts learning to play the Ukulele. The results were mixed at best but everyone had a good time and we hopefully inspired a few into learning an instrument.

We entered a team into the DC’s Challenge, a competition based around London with scouts using the underground and bus network to collect clues and answer question. The Troop has also taken on a community project of trying to create a planted garden area in Blackthorn Park, Scouts worked on clearing the weeds and digging over the beds then planting with spring bulbs. This will be an ongoing project that will hopefully benefit the local park.

In March eight scouts took part in a spring camp that trained the scouts in basic camping skills as not many of the troop have camped all that much due to the covid restriction. We then held our own camping skills weekend and judged the scouts on the skills they had learned as there wasn’t a District camping Standards competition this year.

The summer culminated with a week-long camp to Kent International Jamboree, with scouts getting to explore the large site with 6000 scouts coming from around the world, the scouts got to take part in many activities like Archery, Quad bikes, Rifle shooting, Climbing and many more. It was great to finally see so many people getting back to a normal camping experience. We also had 2 scouts attend the District Finland expedition., both had a great time and learnt a lot.

We returned after the summer with scouts working on their Mechanics badge as we try to develop their #Skills for life. Scouts learnt how an engine works and got to get hands on with the leaders’ cars, learning to change a wheel, oil, and light bulb as well as other basic service items.

Our Final District event of the year was the district night hike, 2 teams took part starting out at 8pm and finally finishing around 3am. Everyone persevered along the 13Km route but apart from being tiered, everyone made it back and slept soundly until the bacon rolls were ready later in the morning. Our assisted team won the Novice section, and the experienced team did a super job making back without any assistance.

We finished the year with a fun event at Flip out with scouts letting of some steam bouncing around for a few hours.

Throughout the year I have been impressed with the high standards of the scouts in the troop, they have shown they can apply themselves to almost every challenge, especially after the covid restriction. It was great to review the final stats for the year’s activities, as a troop we have clocked up 176 nights away, 32 activities on water, and 50 days hiking. Although this is down on previous years it’s a real achievement considering the restrictions placed upon us. I am sure you will agree we have some very active scouts. It was also a please to watch one scout receive his Chief Scout Gold award, congratulations William Eve who I know will go on to great things in scouting.

I would like to thank the parents for their continued help and support over the year and would like to also thank the rest of the leadership team, without whom, I know the troop would not be going from strength to strength.

Ashley Kempster

Stifford sea scout section

Email: [e-mail]