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2023-03-31-accounts

DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL

ANNUAL REPORT 1[ST] APRIL 2022 – 31[ST] MARCH 2023 including

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT and

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 March 2023

(accompanying document)

Sevenoaks District Scout Council

Charity registered in England No: 303435 Scout Association registered No: 12717

1

Annual report for the year ending 31 March, 2023

(Attached Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Accounts for the year ending 31 March, 2023) PRESIDENT: Richard Parry

THE DISTRICT TRUSTEE BOARD:

Ex-Officio Members:

District Chairman Anthony Hitchings District Treasurer Samantha Devenney District Secretary Nicola Crawford District Leadership Team Jo Brookbank and Michael Dreksler District Youth Commissioners Vacant District Network Comm'r Katie McCreadie District Explorer Scout Comm'r Mike Randall

Elected Members: Michael Schwarz, Erik Barrow, Nigel Rainey, Nick Roberts, William Morrish DLTs Nominated Members : Jennifer Baker-Hirst, David Martin, Ellen Murphy, Bianca Steinhardt Co-opted Members : None

SUB-COMMITTEES:

APPOINTMENTS: Chris Barrow (Appointments Chairman) Nigel Rainey (Secretary),

Michael Schwarz, John Talbot, Jeanette Schwarz, Barry Sharp, Kelly Williams, Owen Compton, Tom McKeen, Hayley Bechervaise.

FINANCE: ESTATES:

Samantha Devenney, Jennifer Baker-Hirst and DC-Team Michael Schwarz; William Morrish and Nick Roberts

DISTRICT ROLES:

District Active Support Mgr Vacancy District Scout Shop Mgr Ellen Murphy and Bianca Steinhardt District Badge Secretary Jeanette Schwarz District Scout Quartermaster Vacancy Youth Representative Vacancy Local Training Manager Nigel Rainey ADC Activities Erik Barrow District Beaver Team Jan Padgett, Shelley Williams District Cub Team Nick Roberts, Phil Seabrook District Scout Team Vacancy Bankers Lloyds TSB Other adviser: CCLA Investment Management Ltd Charity contact: Samantha Devenney, 35 Bradbourne Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3PZ

2

Structure, governance and management

The Sevenoaks District Scout Council’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 of The Scout Association. The Sevenoaks District Scout Council 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 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), either by election or approval of their nomination; other trustees may be co-opted during the year to serve until the next AGM.

The Sevenoaks District Scout Council, which is an educational charity, is managed by the Trustee Board, the members of which are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities.

The Trustee Board exists to support the District Leadership team in meeting their responsibilities and to provide support for the charity.

Risk and Internal Control

The Trustees have in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss, these include two authorised signatories for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.

Objectives 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:

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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Annual Report 2022-23

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

This year saw a welcome return to face to face Scouting whilst still benefiting from some of our experiences gained thanks to being forced to be virtual. As an example our trustee board meetings when meeting face to face also included dial in options for those that wished to join remotely.

It is pleasing to report that once again, and thanks to the endeavours of Nigel Rainey and Chris Barrow that we are on top of our training for safety, safeguarding and also first aid. They have both reworked the welcome emails so as to ensure that the initial stages of onboarding volunteers are as smooth as possible. Erik Barrow as ADC Activities also developed a programme of minibus driver training using the MIDAS scheme with 15 trained to date.

Our ongoing programme of work from the estates team continues to make solid progress with an ultimate goal of a new district HQ with watersports, camping and other activities on the land Tarmac is developing. During this financial year, the estates team successfully sold off land at Sundridge that has not been used in recent years for Scouting. Conversations continued with Tarmac and progress was made on exploring options for the current Seal HQ. As we head into the new financial year, expect further progress with regards to the sale of land at Seal and the development of plans for a replacement Scout HQ.

Thanks to the successful application of grant funding, the district has been able to invest in equipment. The district benefited from Kent County Council Reconnect activity grants of some £16k that supported paddleboarding and equipment including zorb balls, circus skills equipment, remote control cars and much more. A series of paddleboard training sessions ran for leaders and since acquiring the paddleboards, these have been put to good use. It was great to see an activity day being run for Beavers and Cubs (and to know that plans are in place to repeat in 2024). A further CAF grant was received that was used to support paddleboarding, the purchase of a laser tag system and also those leaders attending World Scout Jamboree.

A storage container was sited at the Mill Lane HQ to act as a store for the newly acquired equipment.

During the course of the year, our insurance quotes were also refreshed to take into account the storage locations and value of new equipment.

A big thank you is needed to everyone who has supported the District during the year. It is not possible to say a thank you to all roles individually, but I do want to say a big thank you to Jeanette Schwarz for her continued dedication to ensuring badges are available so as to correctly reward achievements. Also to the team that has managed the Scout shop so well helping to ensure uniform is readily available

Anthony Hitchings, District Chairman

4

DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT

The start of our Scouting year in April 2022 was marked by our St George’s Day parade, outdoor service and activities provided by each group. This was our first gathering as a whole district for 2 years and it was great to see so many back together again.

Throughout the past year the District has invested in a wide variety of activity equipment to support - primarily our district camp and activity days but also to support district, group and members fundraising. It has also meant an increase in time spent on the water for our Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. We hope in the future, with more volunteers trained and involved, to extend this to the younger sections.

All groups in the District have taken part in nights away activities throughout the year and all groups took part in successful Summer camps with several taking part, as well as supporting or running activities, at Kent International Jamboree (KIJ).

This past year saw a return of the Plender Hike for Scouts (after an imposed delay of 3 years) and this time we had Explorers join the event too, walking in the opposite direction to the Scouts which was a great success encouraging and interacting with each other.

Our first Beaver and Cub activity day, with accompanying parents, was a fantastic day of adventure with lots of positive feedback.

Census results show Scouting is healthy across the District, however we still have too many young people on waiting lists not able to access Scouting. One group ended the year opening a Beaver colony which had been dormant for many years and we are keen to encourage new or expanded sections in the coming year. We are seeing a big demand for places in Squirrels and were delighted a 2nd Squirrel drey opened in February 2023 and it is growing to capacity. There are already plans in place for at least 2 more dreys at two more groups in the coming year.

We are all looking forward to our postponed District camp Mag 7 at the end of April 2023 with all groups and sections attending. We have been fortunate to have written for us a bespoke online booking system by Erik Barrow which has made administration of the event much simpler and this will be our largest camp yet with almost 600 young people in attendance.

Jo Brookbank and Michael Dreksler, District Leadership Team

5

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial Year End

The Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2023 relate to a 12 month accounting period and are prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis.

Cash and Investments

At the end of the year, total cash funds amounted to £173,102 (2021 £124,590). The District adopts a risk averse approach to investment of its funds and all funds are held with mainstream banks with the exception of units held in COIF The Charities and Investment Fund - these units were valued at £58,274 in March 2023 (original purchase price £19,783.

Reserves policy

It is the policy of Sevenoaks District Scout Council to hold a reasonable level of reserves in order to provide a sound financial basis for the development and running of Scouting within the District and to vary that level through annual budgeting according to perceived future needs and risks. In particular, the funds are there to provide financial support to Scout Groups in the event of financial difficulties to continue operation or to establish or improve their facilities, to supplement the cost of training leaders, to subsidise the annual membership subscriptions, to support the prepayment of fees for young people attending Jamborees, to up-date and purchase activity equipment, and to cover possible unforeseen costs and emergencies. At the end of the financial year 22/23 we have allocated £25,000 as a reserve.

Sam Devenney, District Treasurer

APPROVAL

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Report on:

Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees:

A Hitchings, District Chair

J Brookbank, District Leadership Team

6

DISTRICT ESTATES TEAM REPORT

During the last year the Estates Team have concentrated on securing planning consent for the redevelopment of the Seal Scout HQ in Jubilee Rise, Seal. This was to enable the sale of the site to achieve the maximum value so that funds could be generated to provide a new scouting facility for the Seal group and the wider Sevenoaks area. An agreement had previously been reached with Tarmac to transfer a large barn (together with associated land) which is located in Seal to the scouts which we would convert to create this new facility. The provision of the barn was subject to Tarmac obtaining planning consent for their major Sevenoaks Quarry scheme of which the barn forms part. After the year end Sevenoaks District Council resolved to grant planning consent for the Quarry Site and the process of finalising arrangements with Tarmac regarding the redevelopment of the Barn is underway.

Planning consent was granted by Sevenoaks District Council for the redevelopment of the Seal scout site to provide two 3 bedroom detached houses and associated parking etc. The Estates Team are now moving forward with plans to sell the site which should complete before the end of 2023.

If the Seal situation moves forward as we expect, next year will be a busy time for the Estates Team as we continue the process of realising the ambitions of the District Executive to provide a fantastic facility for scouting in Seal and the wider Sevenoaks area.

In the meantime the Estates Team are available to assist Groups in the district with any property related issues.

Nick Roberts , Estates Team Chair

DISTRICT YOUTH COMMISSIONERS REPORT

The Youth Commissioner role has remained vacant this year and the search for youth representation on the executive committee is ongoing. This is an opportunity for somebody aged 18-25 to gain management experience that would reflect well on any CV. Mentoring and guidance will be provided. If you are interested or know anybody who is interested please let us know,

Chairman

EXPLORER SCOUT SECTION

Explorer Scouting in Sevenoaks for 2022 was another year packed full of activities and camps that supported our mission in Scouting of preparing young people with skills for life.

Before going into more detail, I personally want to express my thanks to anyone who has provided help, whether occasionally or regularly during the year. We could not run the programmes we do without you. We are always on the lookout for volunteers so if you are able to give up a couple of hours per month, please get in touch.

To all the Explorer leaders across our 3 units, once again, many thanks for everything you do, you have done an outstanding job, once again !!!!

Our 2023 census numbers showed we have a total of 99 Explorers in the District, supported by 9 Adult leaders. Of these we have 40 Explorer Scout Young Leaders,

7

people already giving their own time to support Squirrel Dreys, Beaver Colonies, Cub Packs and Scout troops across the district. This is fantastic as these young people will be the ones to take Scouting in the District into the future.

Our Holmesdale unit has 20 Explorers regularly meeting on a Tuesday in Riverhead. Our Puxty unit has 40 Explorers on the books, many of whom attend on a regular basis at Mill Lane on a Monday evening. Our Beaufighter unit in Edenbridge saw attendance grow throughout the year, now with regular participation from 8 / 9 explorers on a weekly basis.

All of the units across the district have been able to participate in a range of activities, some of which are listed below:

Of course there were plenty of traditional Scavenger hunts, hikes and wide games throughout the year as well !!!

As a district we again participated in national and county run activities such as the Monopoly Run in London, Winter Survival Weekend, Christmas Ice Skating and the Plender Hike made a welcome return to the district.

The major event of the year saw over half of our Explorers participate in the Kent International Jamboree. This is a week-long International camp held every four years. KIJ 2022 took place at the Kent County Showground in Detling and welcomed over 3,500 Scouts and Guides from around the world. The Explorers learnt many new skills as well as making new friends and got the opportunity to visit Hastings and London on the day trips.

All in all, another highly successful year for the Sevenoaks Explorers.

It would be remiss of me not to take a quick look at the summer of 2023, where the World Scout Jamboree will be taking place.

Sevenoaks have eight young people heading off to South Korea in the summer of 2023 for the adventure of a lifetime. There are three units from Kent attending and our young people are split across these units. In total there were 8 pre-camps to get everyone prepared for the Jamboree experience. The initial two pre-camps were attended by all young people attending from Kent (all 108!) so they could get to know everyone and then they were grouped into their individual units. Once into their units, the first priority was to come up with an identity, Unit 64 Zoo Lane, Unit 65 Dino-mite Donkeys & Unit 66 Vic-toria Sponges! Each participant has been busy raising funds for the Jamboree.

8

Fundraising events have included summer fetes, BBQs, sponsored walks, swimathons & cake sales. It has been a great effort by all.

Mike Randall, District Explorer Scout Commissioner

NETWORK SECTION

Katie coordinates the network section and helps them to be as self-organising as possible

Kate McCreadie, District Network Commissioner

DISTRICT ACTIVE SUPPORT REVIEW

The District has six active support units supporting specific activities, managed by Erik, our ADC Activities

Additionally it has a small unit of people who continue to support scouting in the district. At the current time this unit does not have a manager

Vacancy, Active Support Manager

ACTIVITIES REPORT

This year (1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023) we have started to ramp up our adventurous activities in the district after the previous period that was heavily affected by COVID-19 restrictions. We have successfully trained a number of new instructors for Archery, Fencing, and various watersports, ready for the MAG7 camp later this year.

A number of equipment purchases have been planned / started ready for MAG7 later this year, with those pieces of equipment being available beyond the camp to benefit the district as a whole.

We have made plans to revamp the district equipment booking system in light of the new equipment to make it easier to book equipment both internally and externally. This will also introduce a new credit system in the next reporting period to encourage volunteers to help with activities in return for credits to use on booking equipment.

In the summer of 2022 we successfully held our Kilimanjaro trip to Tanzania with 11 participants. 5 of the participants made it to the very top of the mountain, 3 to the crater rim, and the others had to drop out earlier on during the ascent night.

Later this year we have 8 participants, 3 IST, and 1 Unit leader from Sevenoaks going to the World Scout Jamboree. The team has been active this year in their fundraising and we hope that many scouters around the district have seen them out and supported them. We

9

hope that many groups can make use of these participants after the summer to come and tell them about their trip.

Erik Barrow (Assistant District Commissioner Activities)

APPOINTMENTS SUB-COMMITTEE

Nigel Rainey filled in as Appointments Secretary for three months while Chris Barrow was on vacation and has agreed to continue in the role going forward. This will ensure we have better cover in the future.

We aim to start early implementation of the new “Warm Welcome” for adults joining Scouting across Sevenoaks. Appointment meetings will move away from an interview format to a less formal welcome.

All adults now receive a welcome email once they have been added to Compass, this includes everything they need to know about the appointments process, learning required for their role and useful information.

We plan to start inviting a colleague from their group to future meetings so that there will be a familiar face making the meeting less stressful. We will also be encouraging Line managers to implement a buddy system for new joiners.

Disclosures as of 9th April 2023

We have 3 Adults with expired Disclosures and 9 Adult roles needing to be renewed in the next 30 days.

Number Status Notes
8 Disclosure requested Applications requested - Not started
4 Pending applicant
information		 Application in progress
1 Dispatched to DBS Processing

Role Status

Number of roles in brackets:

The Scout association has added a new role of retired member, there are currently 5 retired members in the district.

Number Status Notes
8 Leader roles
(-6 on last year)		 Pre Provisional These are roles that have not been
approved and are a mix of Exec members,
additional roles and leaders awaiting
DBS/References prior to
DC/Appointments Approval

10

32 Leader roles
(-7 on last year)		 Provisional These are roles that have been approved
but have not completed the required
training for the role.
487 (+47) roles Full These are all full roles held by Adults in
the District, this is not the number of
Adults (Excludes Occasional helpers).
Note: a lot of extra roles were added by
Activities team

Compliance

We continue to work on ensuring that all Adults where their role requires, have valid Safety and Safeguarding training and the results show the positive work put in by everyone to achieve this.

Number Training module Notes
6 (+1 on
last year)		 Safeguarding Adult roles that need to complete
safeguarding
7 (+7 on
last year)		 Safety Adult roles that need to complete their
Safety

Chris Barrow, Appointments Advisory Committee Chairman

TRAINING REPORT

The ongoing compliance with training that is being pushed by The Scout Association has reaped some great rewards with Sevenoaks District having a small percentage of outstanding modules in this regard being needed. This has been a very good effort on behalf of those leaders requiring or renewing these modules, and I would like to thank them all for their efforts in getting this done.

Training will be undergoing some changes over the coming year with a full change to how it will progress expected to be implemented in March 2024, changing the emphasis away from compulsory training to voluntary, except where the core elements are there for all that require it, to ensure the safety and safeguarding of our young people and that of our adult volunteers.

Nigel Rainey, Local Training Manager

11

ADULT AWARDS

The following awards have been made in the District this year

Silver Acorn

Chief Scout's Commendation for Good Service

Award for Merit

Chief Scout's 50 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 30 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 25 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 20 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 15 years Service Award

12

Chief Scout's 10 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 5 years Service Award

13

CENSUS

Census figures as of the end of January 2022 and 2023 respectively

Sq = Squirrels, Be = Beavers, Cu = Cubs, Sc = Scouts, Ex = Explorers, YL = Explorer Young Leaders, Ne = Network, Ldr = Leaders and Section Assistants.

Michael Dreksler

DISTRICT UNIFORM SHOP

As we are both new to scouting, this past year, Jo Brookbank has been mentoring and supporting us in taking on the management of the uniform shop as well as understanding the district and shop website.

The shop has had another successful year, with the stock and team being based at the 4th Scout Hut, Mill Lane. This means that collections can be made on any evening of the week as the site is always in use. There have however been some continued stock challenges. We should mention that Jeanette Schwarz has continued in her role as District Badge Secretary and this past year has seen a whole year of combined income and expenses for badges and uniform together.

Bianca Steinhardt and Ellen Chorley, Scout Shop Managers

14

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DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL

ANNUAL REPORT 1[ST] APRIL 2022 – 31[ST] MARCH 2023 including

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT and

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 March 2023

(accompanying document)

Sevenoaks District Scout Council

Charity registered in England No: 303435 Scout Association registered No: 12717

1

Annual report for the year ending 31 March, 2023

(Attached Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Accounts for the year ending 31 March, 2023) PRESIDENT: Richard Parry

THE DISTRICT TRUSTEE BOARD:

Ex-Officio Members:

District Chairman Anthony Hitchings District Treasurer Samantha Devenney District Secretary Nicola Crawford District Leadership Team Jo Brookbank and Michael Dreksler District Youth Commissioners Vacant District Network Comm'r Katie McCreadie District Explorer Scout Comm'r Mike Randall

Elected Members: Michael Schwarz, Erik Barrow, Nigel Rainey, Nick Roberts, William Morrish DLTs Nominated Members : Jennifer Baker-Hirst, David Martin, Ellen Murphy, Bianca Steinhardt Co-opted Members : None

SUB-COMMITTEES:

APPOINTMENTS: Chris Barrow (Appointments Chairman) Nigel Rainey (Secretary),

Michael Schwarz, John Talbot, Jeanette Schwarz, Barry Sharp, Kelly Williams, Owen Compton, Tom McKeen, Hayley Bechervaise.

FINANCE: ESTATES:

Samantha Devenney, Jennifer Baker-Hirst and DC-Team Michael Schwarz; William Morrish and Nick Roberts

DISTRICT ROLES:

District Active Support Mgr Vacancy District Scout Shop Mgr Ellen Murphy and Bianca Steinhardt District Badge Secretary Jeanette Schwarz District Scout Quartermaster Vacancy Youth Representative Vacancy Local Training Manager Nigel Rainey ADC Activities Erik Barrow District Beaver Team Jan Padgett, Shelley Williams District Cub Team Nick Roberts, Phil Seabrook District Scout Team Vacancy Bankers Lloyds TSB Other adviser: CCLA Investment Management Ltd Charity contact: Samantha Devenney, 35 Bradbourne Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3PZ

2

Structure, governance and management

The Sevenoaks District Scout Council’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 of The Scout Association. The Sevenoaks District Scout Council 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 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), either by election or approval of their nomination; other trustees may be co-opted during the year to serve until the next AGM.

The Sevenoaks District Scout Council, which is an educational charity, is managed by the Trustee Board, the members of which are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities.

The Trustee Board exists to support the District Leadership team in meeting their responsibilities and to provide support for the charity.

Risk and Internal Control

The Trustees have in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss, these include two authorised signatories for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.

Objectives 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:

The Scout Method - Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:

3

Annual Report 2022-23

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

This year saw a welcome return to face to face Scouting whilst still benefiting from some of our experiences gained thanks to being forced to be virtual. As an example our trustee board meetings when meeting face to face also included dial in options for those that wished to join remotely.

It is pleasing to report that once again, and thanks to the endeavours of Nigel Rainey and Chris Barrow that we are on top of our training for safety, safeguarding and also first aid. They have both reworked the welcome emails so as to ensure that the initial stages of onboarding volunteers are as smooth as possible. Erik Barrow as ADC Activities also developed a programme of minibus driver training using the MIDAS scheme with 15 trained to date.

Our ongoing programme of work from the estates team continues to make solid progress with an ultimate goal of a new district HQ with watersports, camping and other activities on the land Tarmac is developing. During this financial year, the estates team successfully sold off land at Sundridge that has not been used in recent years for Scouting. Conversations continued with Tarmac and progress was made on exploring options for the current Seal HQ. As we head into the new financial year, expect further progress with regards to the sale of land at Seal and the development of plans for a replacement Scout HQ.

Thanks to the successful application of grant funding, the district has been able to invest in equipment. The district benefited from Kent County Council Reconnect activity grants of some £16k that supported paddleboarding and equipment including zorb balls, circus skills equipment, remote control cars and much more. A series of paddleboard training sessions ran for leaders and since acquiring the paddleboards, these have been put to good use. It was great to see an activity day being run for Beavers and Cubs (and to know that plans are in place to repeat in 2024). A further CAF grant was received that was used to support paddleboarding, the purchase of a laser tag system and also those leaders attending World Scout Jamboree.

A storage container was sited at the Mill Lane HQ to act as a store for the newly acquired equipment.

During the course of the year, our insurance quotes were also refreshed to take into account the storage locations and value of new equipment.

A big thank you is needed to everyone who has supported the District during the year. It is not possible to say a thank you to all roles individually, but I do want to say a big thank you to Jeanette Schwarz for her continued dedication to ensuring badges are available so as to correctly reward achievements. Also to the team that has managed the Scout shop so well helping to ensure uniform is readily available

Anthony Hitchings, District Chairman

4

DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT

The start of our Scouting year in April 2022 was marked by our St George’s Day parade, outdoor service and activities provided by each group. This was our first gathering as a whole district for 2 years and it was great to see so many back together again.

Throughout the past year the District has invested in a wide variety of activity equipment to support - primarily our district camp and activity days but also to support district, group and members fundraising. It has also meant an increase in time spent on the water for our Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. We hope in the future, with more volunteers trained and involved, to extend this to the younger sections.

All groups in the District have taken part in nights away activities throughout the year and all groups took part in successful Summer camps with several taking part, as well as supporting or running activities, at Kent International Jamboree (KIJ).

This past year saw a return of the Plender Hike for Scouts (after an imposed delay of 3 years) and this time we had Explorers join the event too, walking in the opposite direction to the Scouts which was a great success encouraging and interacting with each other.

Our first Beaver and Cub activity day, with accompanying parents, was a fantastic day of adventure with lots of positive feedback.

Census results show Scouting is healthy across the District, however we still have too many young people on waiting lists not able to access Scouting. One group ended the year opening a Beaver colony which had been dormant for many years and we are keen to encourage new or expanded sections in the coming year. We are seeing a big demand for places in Squirrels and were delighted a 2nd Squirrel drey opened in February 2023 and it is growing to capacity. There are already plans in place for at least 2 more dreys at two more groups in the coming year.

We are all looking forward to our postponed District camp Mag 7 at the end of April 2023 with all groups and sections attending. We have been fortunate to have written for us a bespoke online booking system by Erik Barrow which has made administration of the event much simpler and this will be our largest camp yet with almost 600 young people in attendance.

Jo Brookbank and Michael Dreksler, District Leadership Team

5

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial Year End

The Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2023 relate to a 12 month accounting period and are prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis.

Cash and Investments

At the end of the year, total cash funds amounted to £173,102 (2021 £124,590). The District adopts a risk averse approach to investment of its funds and all funds are held with mainstream banks with the exception of units held in COIF The Charities and Investment Fund - these units were valued at £58,274 in March 2023 (original purchase price £19,783.

Reserves policy

It is the policy of Sevenoaks District Scout Council to hold a reasonable level of reserves in order to provide a sound financial basis for the development and running of Scouting within the District and to vary that level through annual budgeting according to perceived future needs and risks. In particular, the funds are there to provide financial support to Scout Groups in the event of financial difficulties to continue operation or to establish or improve their facilities, to supplement the cost of training leaders, to subsidise the annual membership subscriptions, to support the prepayment of fees for young people attending Jamborees, to up-date and purchase activity equipment, and to cover possible unforeseen costs and emergencies. At the end of the financial year 22/23 we have allocated £25,000 as a reserve.

Sam Devenney, District Treasurer

APPROVAL

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees Report on:

Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees:

A Hitchings, District Chair

J Brookbank, District Leadership Team

6

DISTRICT ESTATES TEAM REPORT

During the last year the Estates Team have concentrated on securing planning consent for the redevelopment of the Seal Scout HQ in Jubilee Rise, Seal. This was to enable the sale of the site to achieve the maximum value so that funds could be generated to provide a new scouting facility for the Seal group and the wider Sevenoaks area. An agreement had previously been reached with Tarmac to transfer a large barn (together with associated land) which is located in Seal to the scouts which we would convert to create this new facility. The provision of the barn was subject to Tarmac obtaining planning consent for their major Sevenoaks Quarry scheme of which the barn forms part. After the year end Sevenoaks District Council resolved to grant planning consent for the Quarry Site and the process of finalising arrangements with Tarmac regarding the redevelopment of the Barn is underway.

Planning consent was granted by Sevenoaks District Council for the redevelopment of the Seal scout site to provide two 3 bedroom detached houses and associated parking etc. The Estates Team are now moving forward with plans to sell the site which should complete before the end of 2023.

If the Seal situation moves forward as we expect, next year will be a busy time for the Estates Team as we continue the process of realising the ambitions of the District Executive to provide a fantastic facility for scouting in Seal and the wider Sevenoaks area.

In the meantime the Estates Team are available to assist Groups in the district with any property related issues.

Nick Roberts , Estates Team Chair

DISTRICT YOUTH COMMISSIONERS REPORT

The Youth Commissioner role has remained vacant this year and the search for youth representation on the executive committee is ongoing. This is an opportunity for somebody aged 18-25 to gain management experience that would reflect well on any CV. Mentoring and guidance will be provided. If you are interested or know anybody who is interested please let us know,

Chairman

EXPLORER SCOUT SECTION

Explorer Scouting in Sevenoaks for 2022 was another year packed full of activities and camps that supported our mission in Scouting of preparing young people with skills for life.

Before going into more detail, I personally want to express my thanks to anyone who has provided help, whether occasionally or regularly during the year. We could not run the programmes we do without you. We are always on the lookout for volunteers so if you are able to give up a couple of hours per month, please get in touch.

To all the Explorer leaders across our 3 units, once again, many thanks for everything you do, you have done an outstanding job, once again !!!!

Our 2023 census numbers showed we have a total of 99 Explorers in the District, supported by 9 Adult leaders. Of these we have 40 Explorer Scout Young Leaders,

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people already giving their own time to support Squirrel Dreys, Beaver Colonies, Cub Packs and Scout troops across the district. This is fantastic as these young people will be the ones to take Scouting in the District into the future.

Our Holmesdale unit has 20 Explorers regularly meeting on a Tuesday in Riverhead. Our Puxty unit has 40 Explorers on the books, many of whom attend on a regular basis at Mill Lane on a Monday evening. Our Beaufighter unit in Edenbridge saw attendance grow throughout the year, now with regular participation from 8 / 9 explorers on a weekly basis.

All of the units across the district have been able to participate in a range of activities, some of which are listed below:

Of course there were plenty of traditional Scavenger hunts, hikes and wide games throughout the year as well !!!

As a district we again participated in national and county run activities such as the Monopoly Run in London, Winter Survival Weekend, Christmas Ice Skating and the Plender Hike made a welcome return to the district.

The major event of the year saw over half of our Explorers participate in the Kent International Jamboree. This is a week-long International camp held every four years. KIJ 2022 took place at the Kent County Showground in Detling and welcomed over 3,500 Scouts and Guides from around the world. The Explorers learnt many new skills as well as making new friends and got the opportunity to visit Hastings and London on the day trips.

All in all, another highly successful year for the Sevenoaks Explorers.

It would be remiss of me not to take a quick look at the summer of 2023, where the World Scout Jamboree will be taking place.

Sevenoaks have eight young people heading off to South Korea in the summer of 2023 for the adventure of a lifetime. There are three units from Kent attending and our young people are split across these units. In total there were 8 pre-camps to get everyone prepared for the Jamboree experience. The initial two pre-camps were attended by all young people attending from Kent (all 108!) so they could get to know everyone and then they were grouped into their individual units. Once into their units, the first priority was to come up with an identity, Unit 64 Zoo Lane, Unit 65 Dino-mite Donkeys & Unit 66 Vic-toria Sponges! Each participant has been busy raising funds for the Jamboree.

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Fundraising events have included summer fetes, BBQs, sponsored walks, swimathons & cake sales. It has been a great effort by all.

Mike Randall, District Explorer Scout Commissioner

NETWORK SECTION

Katie coordinates the network section and helps them to be as self-organising as possible

Kate McCreadie, District Network Commissioner

DISTRICT ACTIVE SUPPORT REVIEW

The District has six active support units supporting specific activities, managed by Erik, our ADC Activities

Additionally it has a small unit of people who continue to support scouting in the district. At the current time this unit does not have a manager

Vacancy, Active Support Manager

ACTIVITIES REPORT

This year (1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023) we have started to ramp up our adventurous activities in the district after the previous period that was heavily affected by COVID-19 restrictions. We have successfully trained a number of new instructors for Archery, Fencing, and various watersports, ready for the MAG7 camp later this year.

A number of equipment purchases have been planned / started ready for MAG7 later this year, with those pieces of equipment being available beyond the camp to benefit the district as a whole.

We have made plans to revamp the district equipment booking system in light of the new equipment to make it easier to book equipment both internally and externally. This will also introduce a new credit system in the next reporting period to encourage volunteers to help with activities in return for credits to use on booking equipment.

In the summer of 2022 we successfully held our Kilimanjaro trip to Tanzania with 11 participants. 5 of the participants made it to the very top of the mountain, 3 to the crater rim, and the others had to drop out earlier on during the ascent night.

Later this year we have 8 participants, 3 IST, and 1 Unit leader from Sevenoaks going to the World Scout Jamboree. The team has been active this year in their fundraising and we hope that many scouters around the district have seen them out and supported them. We

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hope that many groups can make use of these participants after the summer to come and tell them about their trip.

Erik Barrow (Assistant District Commissioner Activities)

APPOINTMENTS SUB-COMMITTEE

Nigel Rainey filled in as Appointments Secretary for three months while Chris Barrow was on vacation and has agreed to continue in the role going forward. This will ensure we have better cover in the future.

We aim to start early implementation of the new “Warm Welcome” for adults joining Scouting across Sevenoaks. Appointment meetings will move away from an interview format to a less formal welcome.

All adults now receive a welcome email once they have been added to Compass, this includes everything they need to know about the appointments process, learning required for their role and useful information.

We plan to start inviting a colleague from their group to future meetings so that there will be a familiar face making the meeting less stressful. We will also be encouraging Line managers to implement a buddy system for new joiners.

Disclosures as of 9th April 2023

We have 3 Adults with expired Disclosures and 9 Adult roles needing to be renewed in the next 30 days.

Number Status Notes
8 Disclosure requested Applications requested - Not started
4 Pending applicant
information		 Application in progress
1 Dispatched to DBS Processing

Role Status

Number of roles in brackets:

The Scout association has added a new role of retired member, there are currently 5 retired members in the district.

Number Status Notes
8 Leader roles
(-6 on last year)		 Pre Provisional These are roles that have not been
approved and are a mix of Exec members,
additional roles and leaders awaiting
DBS/References prior to
DC/Appointments Approval

10

32 Leader roles
(-7 on last year)		 Provisional These are roles that have been approved
but have not completed the required
training for the role.
487 (+47) roles Full These are all full roles held by Adults in
the District, this is not the number of
Adults (Excludes Occasional helpers).
Note: a lot of extra roles were added by
Activities team

Compliance

We continue to work on ensuring that all Adults where their role requires, have valid Safety and Safeguarding training and the results show the positive work put in by everyone to achieve this.

Number Training module Notes
6 (+1 on
last year)		 Safeguarding Adult roles that need to complete
safeguarding
7 (+7 on
last year)		 Safety Adult roles that need to complete their
Safety

Chris Barrow, Appointments Advisory Committee Chairman

TRAINING REPORT

The ongoing compliance with training that is being pushed by The Scout Association has reaped some great rewards with Sevenoaks District having a small percentage of outstanding modules in this regard being needed. This has been a very good effort on behalf of those leaders requiring or renewing these modules, and I would like to thank them all for their efforts in getting this done.

Training will be undergoing some changes over the coming year with a full change to how it will progress expected to be implemented in March 2024, changing the emphasis away from compulsory training to voluntary, except where the core elements are there for all that require it, to ensure the safety and safeguarding of our young people and that of our adult volunteers.

Nigel Rainey, Local Training Manager

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ADULT AWARDS

The following awards have been made in the District this year

Silver Acorn

Chief Scout's Commendation for Good Service

Award for Merit

Chief Scout's 50 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 30 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 25 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 20 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 15 years Service Award

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Chief Scout's 10 years Service Award

Chief Scout's 5 years Service Award

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CENSUS

Census figures as of the end of January 2022 and 2023 respectively

Sq = Squirrels, Be = Beavers, Cu = Cubs, Sc = Scouts, Ex = Explorers, YL = Explorer Young Leaders, Ne = Network, Ldr = Leaders and Section Assistants.

Michael Dreksler

DISTRICT UNIFORM SHOP

As we are both new to scouting, this past year, Jo Brookbank has been mentoring and supporting us in taking on the management of the uniform shop as well as understanding the district and shop website.

The shop has had another successful year, with the stock and team being based at the 4th Scout Hut, Mill Lane. This means that collections can be made on any evening of the week as the site is always in use. There have however been some continued stock challenges. We should mention that Jeanette Schwarz has continued in her role as District Badge Secretary and this past year has seen a whole year of combined income and expenses for badges and uniform together.

Bianca Steinhardt and Ellen Chorley, Scout Shop Managers

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SEVENOAKS DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL lQ2.23

)21.22 NOTE5 C•sh Fun Bank C￿[re￿I A(trvJnt Re5trirted FutNI% Tot•1 32.659 139.443 17UO2 61.4S4 £2.136 8ank DepD51t AcwJni TOTALCA5H FUNDS 173.101 Units Ill COIF charl1￿5 In¥estwhtTnst Fw 274 TOTAI INVEST￿11T AS5ET5 51274 Noth IAonefary Asws For(￿litYu 83dEe and Shop Stock Land and Ouildin¢s 3.274 3.274 70TALN¢)P4 MQIIEfAAY A%SEISFaRUWMThUSE TOTAi 155Ef5 241759 TOTAL UABILMES F4otes". l.) Aèsirirted lur#h lOe¥erbts￿h¥S Kuknwo. wsl ¥$￿1 7. In Post ￿lI￿•Sh￿l EvtTht: The SDSC IKla¢Jub knt w￿r(￿er01$￿¢. we txrd ¢0 (<ryie Iht FV24 Ac¢ountlryd year. The priKeeés Imm the soltP Ww￿¥¢¢•be IrNested In a ve•Obtrf¢i t• yTrificanltyeth•￿e S¢outlni pr￿￿n5 In rhe D￿1r￿% The abrye F￿￿￿￿1￿1 St•len￿￿¥t A Hti(hkn¥4 /b/z/2é 17

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE SEVENOAKS DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL- Char No. 303435 I report on the Accounts of the Sevenoaks District Scout Council for the year ended 3 1st March 2023. Respective responsibilities of the Trusteey ¥nd Examiner The District's Trustees are restK)nsible for the prq)aration of the Accounts. They consider that an audit is not required for this period (under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my respx)nsibility to: Examine Ihe Accounts (under Section 145 of the Charities Act) Act). To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under Section 145(5Mb) of the 2011 Act). and To state whether particular matters have come to my attentio Basis of the Independent Examiner's report My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the District and a comparison of the Accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the Accounts and seeking explanations from you as Truslees conceTning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be requir¢d in an audiL and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a *rue and fairf, view and the teEK)rt is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent ExAminer's Statement In com]ection with my examination, DO matter h&$ come to my attention: which gives me reasonable cause lo believe that in any n)aterial respect the following Tequirements have not been met: to keep accounling records in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act to prepare Accounts which accord with the attounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act and the regulations made thereunder b) 2. which. in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understandtng of the Accounts to be rea¢h¢d. Name: Signature: Al Copl¢ston Qualification: Address: Date: FCA 29 The Landway. Kemsing, Sevenoaks, Keni TNI 5 6TG 4th December 2023