148th Bristol (1[st] Stockwood) Scout Group Trustees’ Annual Report
For the period
| From : 06/04/20 |
To: |
|---|---|
| 06/04/20 | 05/04/21 |
Section A – Administration Details
| Charity Name | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | 148thBristol(1stStockwood)Scout Group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Charity Number | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | ||||||||||
| Charity Address | 76 Maes Knoll Whitchurch Bristol |
Drive | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode | B | S | 1 | 4 | 0 | F | F | |||||||||
| Scout Association Registration Number | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity (these will be published in the annual report of the charity and the Charity Register if reporting for a Registered Charity with a charity regulator):
| Trustee Name | Position | Date Acted(if not for wholeyear) |
|---|---|---|
| AndyDyer | GroupScout Leader | n/a |
| AndyBracey | Treasurer | n/a |
| Chris Osborne | Chair | n/a |
| Jill McClelland | Secretary | n/a |
Details of other advisors:
| Bank Details | Lloyds Bank | Lloyds Bank | Lloyds Bank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Address | 1/3 London Road East Grinstead West Sussex |
||||||
| Post Code | R | H | 1 | 9 | 1 | A | H |
| **Advisor Type ** | Independent Examiner | ||||||
| Advisor Name | Janet Ballinger | ||||||
| Address | 59 Beeches Road Cheltenham |
||||||
| Post Code | G | L | 5 | 3 | 8 | N | J |
| Dates Examined | 10/05/21 |
Registered Charity Number - 302177
Page 1 of 7
Section B – Structure, Governance and Management
The Group's governing documents are those of the ‘The Scout Association’. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.
The Group is a trust established under its rules which are common to all Scouts.
The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association.
The Group is managed by the Group Executive Committee, the members of which are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout Group which is an educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate.
The Committee consists of 3 independent representatives, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary together with the Group Scout Leaders, individual section leaders (if opted to take on the responsibility) and parent’s representation and meets every 3 months.
Members of the Executive Committee complete 'Essential Information for Executive Committee' training within the first 5 months of joining the committee.
This Group Executive Committee exists to support the Group Scout Leader in meeting the responsibilities of the appointments and is responsible for:
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The maintenance of Group property;
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The raising of funds and the administration of Group finance;
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The insurance of persons, property and equipment;
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Group public occasions;
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Assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other adult support;
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Appointing any sub committees that may be required;
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Appointing Group Administrators and Advisors other than those who are elected.
The Group Executive Committee has identified the major risks to which they believe the Group is exposed, these have been reviewed and systems have been established to mitigate against them. The main areas of concern that have been identified are:
Damage to the building, property and equipment. The Group would request the use of buildings, property and equipment from neighbouring organisations such as the church, community centre and other Scout Groups. Similar reciprocal arrangements exist with these organisations. The Group has sufficient buildings and contents insurance in place to mitigate against permanent loss.
Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members. The Group through the capitation fees contributes to the Scout Associations national accident insurance policy. Risk Assessments are undertaken before all activities.
Reduced income from fund raising. The Group is primarily reliant upon income from subscriptions and fundraising. The group does hold a reserve to ensure the continuity of activities should there be a major reduction in income. The Committee could raise the value of subscriptions to increase the income to the group on an ongoing basis, either temporarily or permanently.
Reduction or loss of leaders. The group is totally reliant upon volunteers to run and administer the activities of the group. If there was a reduction in the number of leaders to an unacceptable level in a particular section or
Registered Charity Number - 302177
Page 2 of 7
the group as a whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst case scenario the complete closure of the Group.
Reduction or loss of members. The Group provides activities for all young people aged 6 – 18. If there was a reduction in membership in a particular section or the group as a whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. In the worst case scenario the complete closure of the Group.
The Group has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss, these include 2 signatories for all payments and a comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.
Section C – Objective and Activities
The Purpose of Scouting - Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.
The Values of Scouting - As Scouts we are guided by these values:
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Integrity - We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal.
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Respect - We have self-respect and respect for others.
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Care - We support others and take care of the world in which we live.
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Belief - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.
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Co-operation - We make a positive difference; we co-operate with others and make friends.
The Scout Method - Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:
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Enjoy what they are doing and have fun
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Take part in activities indoors and outdoors
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Learn by doing
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Share in spiritual reflection
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Take responsibility and make choices
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Undertake new and challenging activities
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Make and live by their Promise.
Public Benefit Statement - The Group meets the Charity Commission's public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings.
Section D – Achievements and Performance
See the attached reports (Appendix 1) from the various Scout Section Leaders together with the Chairman and Treasurers report for an overview of the work carried out in the preceding 12-month period.
Section E – Financial Review
The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to continue the charitable activities of the group should income and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive Committee considers that the group should hold a sum equivalent to 6 months running costs, circa £4.75k.
The Group held reserves of approximately £5k against this at year end. This in line with the level required for operating expenses.
Registered Charity Number - 302177
Page 3 of 7
7he Group's Incon and Expendtbjrè 15 very small as a consequente doesnot have sufficient funds to invest in lon8er-term InveSts suth a5 Stocks and shares. The Group has therefore adopted a low rlsk strategy to the investment of its funds. Allfunds arè held in cash usin8 only mainstream banks gr bullding societies or The ScoutAssotialion's Short Teim Investnnt Ser¥ice. The Group Executive regularly monltors the levels of bank baLantes antl the interest rates received to enwre the 8roup obtains maxlmum value aTrd income from its banking ¥ran8ements. OccaonallY this may Involve uslng an account that requiresa period of notice before funds may be wthdrawn, before doing sg the Group Executive considersthè cath flow requIrernts. See the attached surrmary of xcounts for fvrther informion IAppendix21. See th attached reports (Appendtx 11 from the varlous Scout Sectlon Le•JerstO8ether wlth the GSL'S report for an overview of the pkns have proposed tgBether planned actl¥lles and eventsfor the forthcoming year. The Trustees declarethat they ¥proved the Trustees, reportabove. Sl8ned on behalf of the Chwlde5 Trustees.. Name Posltyon Date Andy D>r Group L•ader Name posiOn Date ChrFs 05bornè Chalr ReglsteredCh¥tyNurrOer-302177 Pag84 of7
Appendix 1
Annual Report
Registered Charity Number - 302177
Page 5 of 7
GSLs Report 2020 to 2021
This report covers the period 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021.
During the year we have had section meetings by Zoom and face-to-
face (but with limitations in place). Although not the same as
meeting together, the Zoom sessions provided an opportunity for
those who wanted, to meet up with their friends, which I think
was unbelievably valuable for many. Thanks to everyone who took
part, and joined in, and leaders for organising.
There will be more from each of the sections later, but I would
like to mention the following:
Katie has made a great start with the Beavers, with the support
of Penny, Lisa, and various parents.
Sarah Chilcott joined us as Cub Scout Leader of Tuesday pack.
Sarah and Tanya, with the other leaders, have worked very well
together, sharing programmes and Zoom meetings as necessary for
the two packs. I am pleased to welcome Hannan Bracey back to the
group as a Cub Leader.
The Scouts have been working outside whenever possible, learning
lots of new skills, thanks to Tim and the other Scout Leaders. I
am also pleased to be able to welcome Lilly Price back to the
group as a Scout Leader.
Unfortunately, the ‘Pegasus’ Explorer Scout Unit (for 14 to 18-
year olds) has closed during lockdown due to insufficient
leaders. We will continue to assist leavers from the Scout Troop
to find a way to continue their Scouting.
The Beaver and Cub waiting lists have grown, and we are now in a
difficult position. The Beaver waiting list includes 15 children
who are already six years old, and some who are seven. The Cubs
also have 8 children on their waiting list who are already eight
years old. The Scout Troop is now full, with the additional issue
that over the next two years we will have less Scouts turning 14
and leaving than Cubs who will move up the Troop. The answer is
clearly to re-open the second Beaver Colony and the second Scout
Troop. We have enough young people, but not enough Adult
volunteers!
Thank you to all the volunteers who have given up their time over
the last year; and as I think it is important to recognise the
time and wisdom that they give to the group, they are:
Beavers – Katie Frankze, Penny Herrington & Lisa Hannan;
Page 1
June 2021
GSLs Report 2020 to 2021
Cubs –Tanya Bracey, Sarah Chilcott, Karen Gibbons, Helen
Osborne, Jackie Loader, Sarah Hollow, Richard Staniland,
Hannah Bracey & Nick Lloyd;
Scouts – Tim Jones, Paul Carter, Andrew Cole, Kyle
Freethy, Lilly Price, & Lee Pearce;
Group Committee – Chair Chris Osborne, Treasurer Andy
Bracey, Secretary Jill McClelland;
We also have several Young Leaders (who are Explorer
Scouts) and make a valuable contribution to the section
and the group.
Thank you all!
Looking forward, we hope to be able to plan some camps later in
the year, but at the present time, there is no clear indication
when this will be allowed. We also hope to be able to sort out
the waiting list issue.
We are always on the lookout for new volunteers in the group,
working with the young people or providing support in the
background. As mentioned before, we need more volunteer leaders
so that we can provide Scouting to all in Stockwood who would
like to join. We will be starting a recruitment drive soon, but
in the meantime, please have a think about the ways that you can
support our young people to get the most from the Scouting
Adventure; and chat with any of the leaders or me. Training and
support are always available!
Yours in Scouting
Andy Dyer
Group Scout Leader
Page 2
June 2021
Beaver Report for AGM
Since taking up the position of Beaver leader in August, we've obviously had quite a mix of both face to face and zoom sessions which whilst understandably didn’t appeal to every Beaver, did keep a majority of the existing Beavers attending every week. When meeting face to face during restrictions we were only able to have 15 young people so we ensured the colony didn’t go above this and we were regularly seeing 10 to 12 Beavers when meeting on zoom, which was great. We are now able to increase our numbers as advised by the Scout Association so we have 15 enrolled Beavers and 5 new Beavers. Our aim is to gradually increase this to 24 Beavers over the next month.
Penny and Lisa remain as assistant leaders, which has been invaluable to me since I started. We have a number of regular parent helpers, which we are always hoping to increase but 6 of these parents are also scouting DBS checked.
Our zoom sessions have involved biscuit decorating, craft, lego challenges, mini pirate adventure a talent show, guest talks from Guide Dogs Association and Xplore space centre and of course plenty of games. It was amazing how the Beavers didn’t ever seem to tire of scavenger hunts.
During our face to face sessions we have made bug hotels, first aid and 999 calls, morse code, planting sunflowers and gone off site for local walks and stick collecting. We’ve also had a lot of fun at our Halloween, Christmas and Easter parties.
We have worked on several badges since September, including Disability Awareness, Communication, Health and Fitness, Emergency Aid, Builder and Creative.
Our biggest pressing issue is Waiting Lists. At Beavers we have a very extended list including children who are already of Beaver age, which we don't like to see as we want to give as many young people a possible the chance to join Scouting, so this is something we are addressing across all of the sections.
The Cubs section has continued to go from strength to strength. We’ve had a strange year, but an enjoyable (for the most part) one. It couldn’t have happened without the other leaders. Sarah Chilcott, Helen Osborne, Jackie Loader & Nick Lloyd with Tuesday cubs. Richard Staniland, Karen Gibbon, Hannah Bracey & Sarah Mamo with Wednesday cubs. Both packs have some amazing young leaders, Katie Day joining the Tues cubs during lockdown. Wednesday lost Ethan as he started an apprenticeship, Hannah turned 18, but became a section assistant. Luckily, we kept hold of Sophie & have now also been joined by Lexie. The cubs love having them all around, they all have masses of experience & are a big part of the team.
Much of the year was run over zoom with periods in between when we could run face to face with limited numbers. Although we couldn’t always meet, I was conscious that I wanted the cubs to get as much from our zoom sessions as possible. A little bit of normality & routine for them. Zoom sessions seeing us taking part in drumming workshops, cooking together, a CSI session with an ex-police officer. Science experiments, quizzes, taekwondo & so much more. Cubs were slightly disappointed when the zoom sessions ended. Our face-toface meetings have been outside, in wind, sun & rain. We’ve gone back to basics, lit fires, hiked, played games & even had a Christmas party in March!
Lockdown hasn’t stopped the fun & creativity; the cubs have taken full advantage of the badgework we gave them. From April 2020 until the end of March 2021 the cubs have earned a total of 238 badges & 11 Silver awards. Well done everyone.
I’m certainly glad to be back to face-to-face sessions. Seeing them in person after such a long time was lovely, they all grew, some are even as tall as me! Cubs have gone back to basics to start with especially as we are outside & the evenings are lighter. We are enjoying fire lighting, food, hikes & even knots. Lockdown has seen us loose a few cubs, whether they’ve moved up to scouts or decided not to return, this has given us room to move up some beavers & take some cubs from our waiting list. Which for us right now is perfect.
Running both packs was only temporary, as it’s a huge amount of work. Thankfully Sarah Chilcott agreed to take on Tuesday cubs running alongside Helen. Unfortunately, both Sarah Mamo & Jackie Loader have stepped back from cubs, however they’ll still be about to help whenever we need them. Thanks ladies, your help over the last few years has been invaluable. We’ll all miss you massively.
Whatever the months ahead bring to cubs I’m sure we’ll make the most of it & have many more adventures. As soon as we can I plan to get some nights away booked, we have lots to catch up on. Fingers crossed it won’t be too long.
Tanya Bracey (Akela)
Last year was again an odd year for The Troop, lockdown was still in effect but we still got on with it.
We managed to keep up out work online utilising zoom and a few tasks set to do at home.
We managed to get back to the HQ for a few weeks in Aug to practice some fire lighting and basic scouting skills.
September to October we taught the scouts the art of playing conkers, making butter, acorn coffee and vegetable pasties. Then it was back into lockdown and back to Zoom!
Most of the scouts got involved in the online sessions where we completed some first aid, learned about space, each other, scouting and played kahoot quizzes and scribble games.
The next time we were back at the HQ was April when the government started to ease the lockdown. We started off with our spring session inviting the scouts to the HQ to do a variety of activities over the weekend. They made some ovens from bins, raised beds for plants, learned about space and completed some team building and problem solving tasks.
As lockdown was eased further we moved back to Thursday evenings at the Scout hut and we are currently working through our programme concentrating on health, fitness and wellbeing.
Our plans for the near future will be camping, cycling and working towards completing more activity and challenge badges.
Paul Carter was awarded his bar to his silver acorn, another great achievement for Paul.
The Scouts earned over 40 activity and challenge badges between them.
We have also welcomed Lilly, an ex Scout from 148th as a new section helper into the Troop.
The troop is growing in strength and we are looking forward to what the Scouts can achieve over the next year.
As always thank you to all those that help out with the troop. Helping out on Thursday nights, coming along on camps and activities with us, helping clean, helping with the fundraising, attending work parties in the pouring rain, transporting Scouts and equipment, passing on skills, maintenance of the HQ and grounds, building, painting and any other tasks that need doing whether big or small. Without you guys, we would not be able to run the troop. Thank you.
Appendix 2(a)
Statement of Accounts
Registered Charity Number - 302177
Page 6 of 7
148[th] Bristol (1[st ] Stockwood) Scout Group
Balance Sheet 2020/2021
| Brought Forward | Figures | Main ledger | 8446.06 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver | 3.31 | |||
| Cubs | 7.66 | |||
| Scouts | 14.50 | |||
| Fundraising | 1158.61 | |||
| 1184.08 | ||||
| 9630.14 | ||||
| Income | Main ledger | 28,249.36 | ||
| Beaver | 0.00 | |||
| Cubs | 1489.00 | |||
| Scouts | 72.06 | |||
| Fundraising | 78.00 | |||
| 1639.06 | ||||
| 28,888.42 | ||||
| Expenditure | Main ledger | 12,486.44 | ||
| Beaver | 362.28 | |||
| Cubs | 1,563.19 | |||
| Scouts | 346.60 | |||
| Fundraising | 0.00 | |||
| 2,272.07 | ||||
| 14,758.51 | ||||
| Carried Forward | Main ledger | 22,497.97 | ||
| Beaver | 3.31 | |||
| Cubs | 7.66 | |||
| Scouts | 14.50 | |||
| Fundraising | 1,236.61 | |||
| 1,262.08 | ||||
| 23,760.05 | ||||
| Income | Expenditure | |||
| Subs | 11,904.00 | Infrastructure | 3,070.23 | |
| Camps/Sections | 3,457.88 | Utilities | 1,130.70 | |
| Gift Aid | 2,260.52 | Insurance | 975.06 | |
| Fundraising | 363.52 | Cleaning | 1,051.65 | |
| Interest | 1.50 | Equipment | 586.97 | |
| Donations/Grants | 10,500.00 | Camps/Sections | 2,173.01 | |
| Other | 301.00 | Scout Association | 3,407.50 | |
| Clothing | 0.00 | Training | 0.00 | |
| Hall Rental | 100.00 | Pandemic Refunds | 2363.39 | |
| Total | 28,888.42 | Total | 14,758.51 |
148[th] Bristol (1[st] Stockwood) Scout Group, Scout HQ, Alongside the Harvesters PH, Harrington Road, Stockwood Bristol Reg. Charity No 302177
Appendix 2(b)
Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees
Registered Charity Number - 302177
Page 7 of 7
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