OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2024-12-31-accounts

- Ist Chorleywood Scout Group Trustee Annual Report 2024

For the period from 1st January 2024 to 31st December 2024

Reference and administration details

Charity name: 1st Chorleywood Scout Group

Registered charity number: 302526

Principal address: Orchard Drive, Chorleywood, Herts WD3 5QN

Names of charity trustees who manage the charity:

Trustee Name Offce (if any) Dates acted if not for
wholeyear
David Ponsford
Ed Hems Chairman
Neil Thomson Treasurer
Katie Simons
Sarah Wright From 13th May2024
Alita Davern From 13th May2024
Esther Kufrin From 13th May2024

Section B Structure, governance and management details

The Group's governing documents are those of 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 (POR) 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 Leadership Team, 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 Trustee Board consists of the Group Lead Volunteer, Chair, Treasurer and Trustees. 3 ex-offico trustees joined in May 2024 at the 2023 AGM. Also appointed in Autumn 2024 was Kathryn Gould as Clerk to the Trustee Board. The Trustee Board meets every 2 months, and alternates between in person and on line according to availability of the scout HQ as a venue. The Trustee board was set up in 2024 as we moved from a group executive to a Trustee board in line with the requirements of the Charity Commission and the Scout Association.

months of joining the Board, and hold a valid Scout Association DBS.

This Group Trustee Board exists to make sure the charity is well-managed, risks are assessed and mitigated, buildings and equipment are in good working order, and everyone follows legal requirements and the organisation's policies and rules. Their support helps other volunteers run high-quality and safe programmes that gives young people skills for life.

which they believe the Group is exposed, these have been reviewed and systems have been established to mitigate against them.

Damage to the building, property and equipment. contents insurance in place to mitigate against permanent loss.

Injury to leaders, helpers, supporters and members. Through capitation fees we contribute to the Scout Association’s national accident insurance policy. Risk Assessments are undertaken before all activities, and all leaders are trained in making risk assessments and understand the process of mitigating risk in activity planning. Risk assessments are reviewed by the lead volunteer and supporters.

Reduced income from fund raising. The group is primarily reliant upon income from subscriptions and fundraising. We hold a reserve to ensure the continuity of activities should there be a major reduction in income.

Reduction or loss of leaders. We are totally reliant upon volunteers to run and administer the activities of the scout group. If there was a reduction in the number of leaders to an unacceptable level in a particular section or the group as a whole then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section. The group provides activities for all

young people aged 6 to 18. If there was a reduction in membership in a particular section or then there would have to be a contraction, consolidation or closure of a section

Material mismanagement or loss. 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 comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.

Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity as set out in its governing document

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:

Integrity - We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal.

Respect - We have self-respect and respect for others.

Care - We support others and take care of the world in which we live.

Belief - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.

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:

Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects:

1[st] Chorleywood Scout Group is a large local Scout Group that runs 6 sections; 1 Beaver Colony, 2 Cub Packs & 3 Scout Troops. Total membership across all 6 sections is approximately 160 young people & the number of regular volunteers involved, including section leaders, Trustee Board members & support team members is around 50. Each section meets once per week during school term time & runs a full programme of events. There are also numerous camps, sleepovers & weekends away. Together, these allow each young person to experience a varied & extensive range of activities. There is also an associated Explorer section that is based at Chorleywood Scout HQ.

The reports from these sections can be found below.

Section D Achievements and performance

– Group Lead Volunteer Report Sarah Wright

(Group Lead in 2024 was handed to Sarah Wright during the autumn term, from David Ponsford outgoing Group Lead Volunteer)

In 2024 I was ‘Assistant Group Scout Leader’, and then in the Autumn term of 2024 I agreed to take on the role that was Group Scout leader and is now known as Group Lead volunteer. I have stepped into a role filled by David Ponsford for over 30 years, a daunting prospect after so many years of amazing service from David. I hope to be able to provide direction and leadership to the amazing team of volunteers who make Chorleywood Scouts such a great group to be involved in.

The Scout Association underwent a process in 2024 called ‘Transformation’ including a "digital first" approach and changes to volunteer roles and learning, aim to improve the Scout experience and impact on young people.

For Chorleywood Scouts, we already adopted a team approach to the volunteering experience, and so the impact on the teams was minimal. We have adjusted to new titles, ‘Volunteers’ instead of ‘Scout Leaders’, and have ensured that the new training requirements are met. We continue to actively recruit team members from the community.

The challenges presented to the team when we were advised by the Trustees that our HQ was no longer accessible due to the presence of asbestos should not be understated. Programmes had already been planned, and teams rearranged sessions, looked at creative alternatives, and embraced the outdoors in winter. The teams did incredibly well with continuing to meet with no fixed home. We are grateful for the support of Christ Church and the Parish Council which allowed us to still meet in Chorleywood.

Behind the scenes, Gareth Bowsher stepped away from leadership of Thames scouts, allowing him to focus on the buildings renovation project. Andy Shah has stepped into the role of team lead for Thames, a transition that has gone really well thanks to the support of the Scouts leadership team overall.

The processes involved in planning and executing an exciting programme continue to become more detailed as we work to ensuring a safe environment for our young people. Our volunteers do an amazing job and I want to thank them all for their hard work in a challenging year.

Chair of Trustee’s review of the year – Ed Hems

2024 was a busy year for 1st Chorleywood Scouts, with a wide range of exciting activities for the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. You’ll see the evidence of this through the individual section reports, but it’s clear that there have been so many great troop nights and on top of that weekend adventures to bring fun, challenge and development to our young people.

Much of this has been made possible thanks to the dedication, enthusiasm, and skill of our leaders – who have given their time and energy to ensure that our young Scouts have had rich and rewarding experiences. It’s truly encouraging to see just how many Chorleywood young people have benefited from their programmes and on behalf of the Trustees we give our full thanks to the leaders.

From a buildings perspective it has been more challenging with the discovery and removal of asbestos in our HQ building. This has required us to close the HQ while the work has been done, bringing disruption to our troops and to guarantee a safe environment we have closed our upstairs hall, thereby reducing the capacity in the building and requiring use of the Memorial Hall and Christ Church junction for winter troop nights. Thank you to Gareth Bowsher, Leann Bowden and the buildings team for their work on the premises.

fundraising campaign to raise funds to develop the building for the future Scouts and the local community. It’s vital that we look ahead – to build a new, safe home for Chorleywood Scouts, one that not only meets modern standards but can also support the Scouts and Chorleywood community for the future. Thank you to Sarah Wright for the work she is doing on fundraising to date, and the teams who have worked so hard on the fundraising events..

Being a Scout Leader (or volunteer in new terminology) is very time consuming in the current environment and motivating, retaining and recruiting volunteers is a top priority in Chorleywood Scouts. This makes the contribution that David Ponsford has given to Chorleywood Scouts all the more impressive. David has given so much to the Scouts in over 50 years of service and in 2024 he finally decided to take a step back and Sarah Wright will take on the Group Scout Leader or Lead Volunteer role. We are lucky that David will stay involved as President of our group and he will remain on the Trustee Board to continue to contribute to the group. Thank you David.

Ed Hems, Chair.

– Chorleywood Beavers Liz Hall, Duncan Munro & Sandra Silva

In 2024 there were 30 beavers on our colony led by Liz Hall (Team Leader) and supported by Duncan Munroe and Sandra Silva.

In the Spring Term at beavers we honed our scarf-rolling, tie-tying and shoelace-tying skills. We learned all about Fairtrade and about birds and made a bird feeder; several beavers did the RSPB birdwatch. We talked about teeth, sugar-consumption and healthy eating and we completed our emergency aid stage 1 badge at HQ. We have been learning all about Global Issues and we took part in a sponsored walk in aid of Water Aid in March and raised another £760 for WaterAid. We did our Faith badge at Christ Church, aided by Rev Anne Lovegrove and cooked Welsh cakes for St David’s day. We held our Rainforest sleepover at HQ and had great attendance and an excellent visit from Wild Science with real live animals, an evening hike through the ‘forests’ of Chorleywood and enjoyed making cookies and smoothies using rainforest fruits. We cooked Irish soda bread and potato soup for St Patrick’s day. and ended up on the allotment, planting our potatoes and onions again and sewing our sunflower seeds for another season!

Last summer term we started on Chorleywood Common, learning about Bird’s Eye Views and how they help us draw maps and about St George. We weeded the Chorleywood orchard, cooked at Chorleywood campsite, did some mapping of the woodland trail and had an evening of orienteering on the Common and hiked around the Chenies-Latimer loop. We drew Bird’s Eye Views at the Swillett Playground, weeded the allotment and met Liz’s chickens. We had a great Group camp at Paccar, pitching tents, tying knots, playing Laser Quest, cooking our own lunch on the Saturday on fires and enjoying the go-karts. Upon our return we constructed our own maps of the Swillett Playground using our Bird’s Eye Views, weeded the allotment and met the chickens again. We went back to Chorleywood Campsite to do more cooking and canoed at BLYM to end the term.

In the autumn we couldn’t use HQ for most of the term but we got out as much as we could. We scrubbed the benches at Chorleywood Orchard – surprisingly popular, (!) then returned to Chorleywood campsite, lighting fires and cooking marshmallows on them. We did our cyclist badge on the track at The Swillett. We harvested potatoes and onions from the allotment and made 6 scarecrows on the theme of Time for Chorleywood Orchard for the Chorleywood Scarecrow trail. Over two evenings we met in The Junction at Christ Church and shared evidence with each other for our Collector, Hobbies, Sport and Photography badges, which was very varied and interesting. We hiked to Nathan’s farm and fed the animals there.

We did a Road and Rail safety walk to Chorleywood station and drew maps of our route. We took part in the Remembrance Parade and also visited Hendon Aircraft Museum to complete our Air Activity badge. The Scottish Dancers visited us at the Memorial Hall and taught us some great dances. We sang songs and did a short Christmas presentation at

Dapplemere Nursing Home. We used the Traverse wall at HQ and mapped some of the local roads. Our Christmas bring-and-buy sale and individual Smartie-packet coin collection fund-raisers together raised £350 in aid of repairs to HQ and we enjoyed the Christmas Party back in the bottom hall at last!.

As ever we couldn’t do it all without our very supportive group of parents- thanks to all who have helped us out. And our fabulous Young Leaders- George who left in September to go to University and Isla. And as ever we have enough beavers on the waiting list to start a second colony if we only had the leaders!

Eagles & Falcons Cubs - Jonathan White & Ollie Hobden

In 2024 the two cub Packs – Eagles and Falcons, continued to thrive. The packs operate with a shared programme, with Team leader Jonathan White for Eagles, and Ollie Hobden for Falcons.

We welcomed a new volunteer, Alan Vanstone to Falcons, and Rebecca Tate stepped away from the pack to focus on home improvements, but we hope to see her back in 2025.

The Spring term in 2024 saw the cubs looking at communication and safety, with a series of meetings on methods of communication, road safety and a visit to the fire station in Rickmansworth – with added police visitors as well! The cubs learned to maintain their bikes, fixing punctures and oiling chains at HQ ready for a summer term bike ride. They also completed their DIY badge, using hammers, saws and screwdrivers, as well as power drills to make hedgehog houses to be placed at our district campsite.

A particularly popular evening for the cubs is the collectors / hobbies badge nights. We invite the young people to share with the pack over two weeks what they like to do outside school / cubs. We always get an amazing array of interesting things, and the cubs improve communication skills in sharing a hobby or sport that they enjoy.

The cubs also had a night hike in the chess valley, playing a wide game in the dark, and then enjoyed a sleepover at Christ Church – not much sleep was had!

In the Summer term the cubs were out and about as usual. They went to the campsite and played wide games and enjoyed a campfire, followed by a session on the community allotment learning all about the methods to grow different vegetables. The cubs did rifle shooting and bouldering at Lees wood campsite, showing their marksmanship skills, and took part in fun activities at Phasels wood campsite. They hiked in the bluebells, taking a route in Chalfont St Giles that the young people were not familiar with, whilst the leaders encouraged them to work on map reading skills (never easy in a large group of happy children!)

With Group Camp approaching, and 36 young people signed up to come from cubs, we worked on tent pitching skills and bushcraft. Camp was a highlight of the summer term and

a valuable time of bonding for the leaders as well. The term ended with paddleboarding and bike rides, though the weather did make some evenings a little challenging!

Autumn 2024 saw a challenging time as HQ was closed and we were unable to meet there. We were really grateful for the support of the trustees at Christ Church Chorleywood who allowed the group to meet in their rooms. The location was great for access to the common, but the indoors space a little smaller than we were used to. Access to our resources at HQ was also challenging.

Our Autumn programme did see a few meetings cancelled due to weather – without HQ we didn’t have a good back up plan, and on Thursdays Christ Church only had one room available, so we couldn’t meet there at the same time as the scouts.

The Autumn term programme was very much focussed on where we could meet – we went to Paccar to do some on site activities (abseiling and team building), we went to the Three Rivers Museum, to Restore Hope in Latimer to use the go Karts, and we went on a night hike, and a reflector trail. When we were at Christchurch we also had a Norwegian night, as Sarah shared with us her trip with the UK scouts to a camp in Norway.

We were delighted that by the start of December we were back in HQ and able to do crafts, use the traverse wall and altar fires outside again. The alternate week schedule means that although only one hall is open, we are able to do some of our usual activities with our resources to hand.

During the year we have had a good number of cubs achieve their Bronze Scout Award, which is a testament to the perseverance of the young people and leaders over a challenging time.

The Cubs section leaders work incredibly hard, and all have busy challenging jobs as well, and would always welcome new team members, to help ensure a quality programme for the young people.

Misbourne Troop, Chess Troop & Thames Troop Scout Report (Duncan Farnsworth, & Andy Shah)

In 2024, our three Scout Troops — Misbourne, Chess and Thames have continued to operate a shared and varied programme that provided excitement, challenge, adventure and learning for our young scouts. Each Troop brought their own unique energy and spirit to the year, but united through a common programme.

Throughout the year, the scouts took part in an exciting variety of activities in regular meetings and on top of the scouts evening the activities included Chariot Racing, Scalextric, Pizza Ovens, Orienteering, Camp cooking, Warhammer, Christmas Lights, paddleboarding and kayaking, bridge building and litter picking around Chorleywood.

Outside of the regular programme there was many other opportunities provided during the weekends, including:

A number of scouts were also proud recipients of the Gold Scout Award this year. Their achievement was the result of dedication and perseverance, exemplified by a challenging expedition along the Thames and back into Chorleywood. These Scouts demonstrated outstanding commitment and fully earned their award.

Public beneft statement

advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings.

Financial Review

activities of the group should income and fundraising activities fall short. The trustees consider it prudent to hold a revenue reserve of around 6 to 8 months’ normal revenue expenditure. This is intended to cover:

Financial overview - the full report can be found in the accounts for 2024.

In 2024 we realised we needed a major fundraising drive for the HQ refurbishments. We established a fundraising group, as a sub team as per the new scouts structure.

Events included

We also set up a Just giving page, and planned grant applications for 2025 submission. Fundraising in 2024 for HQ raised £17,800, including gifts from members of the public and charitable trusts.

Section F Other optional information

project to secure our HQ for future generations of scouts in Chorleywood.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustee

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position Date
Robert Edward
Hems		 Chair of Trustee
Board		 30 July 2025

1st Chorleywood Scout Group

Income & Expenditure for 12 months to 31[st] December 2024

31st December 2024
31st December 2023
INCOME & EXPENDITURE
Receipts
Subscriptions
Tax Refund (Gift Aid)
HQ Fundraising / Covid-19 Related Gran
Fundraising
Other Income
Total Receipts
Less: Expenditure
Vehicles
Premises
Utilities
Scout Activities (see below)
Fundraising
HQ Fundraising Expenses
Group Expenses
Equipment
Total Expenditure
Net Surplus /Deficit		 £23,423.14
£21,106.82
£4,163.39
£8,634.64
t
£17,844.47
-
£2,403.91
£3,323.29
£9,582.86
£5,736.32
£57,417.77
£38,801.07
£3,271.78
£3,440.11
£27,607.88
£2,173.61
£3,662.70
£2,232.30
£3,745.96
£3,870.65
£585.75
£1,252.96
£678.56
-
£10,087.02
£9,892.92
£3,377.35
£2,132.87
£53,017.00
£24,995.42
£4,400.77
£13,805.65
BANK RECONCILIATION
Bank Account Balances
Lloyds Bank (Treasurer's)
Lloyds Bank (Subscriptions)
Skipton Building Society
Total Bank Balance
Reconciliation
Prior Year Total Bank Balance
Calculated Total Bank Balance
Actual Total Bank Balance (per above)
Net Surplus /Deficit(per above)
Variance (Surplus /Deficit)		 £7,394.84
£3,620.60
£12,314.38
£11,687.85
£85,000.00
£85,000.00
£104,709.22
£100,308.45
£100,308.45
£86,502.80
£4,400.77
£13,805.65
£104,709.22
£100,308.45
£104,709.22
£100,308.45
£0.00
£0.00
SCOUT ACTIVITIES SUMMARY
General Expenditure
Section Meetings at HQ & Locally
£1,610.29
£1,894.24
Badges
£1,960.74
£1,956.37
Miscellaneous
£876.20
£318.09
Deposit Payments for Future Camps, etc.
£1,361.25
£726.00
£5,808.48
£4,894.70
Group Camp
£3,725.71
£5,372.03
Expenditure
£4,747.48
£4,287.19
£1,021.77
£1,084.84
Summer Camp
Income
£0.00
£7,220.00
Expenditure
£0.00
£6,248.45
£0.00
£971.55
Income (GoCardless)
£13,244.41
£10,794.61
£2,370.00
£710.00
£5,665.18
£4,876.65
£6,864.94
£7,660.30
£3,084.29
£1,032.34
£3,745.96
£3,870.65
Surplus /Deficit
Income (GoCardless)
Surplus /Deficit
Surplus /Deficit
Other Activities, Sleepovers & Camps
Income (Direct Payments)
Expenditure (Activities at PACCAR, Bury
Expenditure (Sleepovers & Other Camps)
Surplus /Deficit
Net Surplus /Deficit		 £1,610.29
£1,894.24
£1,960.74
£1,956.37
£876.20
£318.09
.
£1,361.25
£726.00
£5,808.48
£4,894.70
£3,725.71
£5,372.03
£4,747.48
£4,287.19
£1,021.77
£1,084.84
£0.00
£7,220.00
£0.00
£6,248.45
£0.00
£971.55
£3,084.29
£1,032.34
£3,745.96
£3,870.65
INDIVIDUAL SECTION SUMMARY
Section Meetings at HQ & Locally
Misbourne Troop
Chess Troop
Thames Troop
Falcons Cubs
Eagles Cubs
Beavers
Other / Miscellaneous
Total		 £165.86
£480.31
£308.79
£323.98
£65.05
£470.29
£329.95
£90.96
£614.38
£101.30
£126.26
£427.40
£0.00
£0.00
£1,610.29
£1,894.24

Information correct as at 11:37:56 26/06/2025

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees Charity Name 1[st] Chorleywood Scout Group On accounts for the year 31[st] December 2024 Charity no 302526 ended (if any) Set out on pages See documentation contained in '2024 Audit Pack (1CW)'

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

● the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or ● the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or ● the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Myfanwy Ronchetti Date: 21/05/25 Name: Myfanwy Ronchetti

Oct 2018 PAGE 0

IER

ICAEW

Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):

Address: Whitestacks, Stag Lane, Chorleywood, Herts, WD3 5HE

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

IER Oct 2018 PAGE 0

IER Oct 2018 nAnf n