## **Edenbridge Scout Group** ## **ANNUAL REPORT 1[ST] APRIL 2020 – 31[ST] MARCH 2021 including TRUSTEES’ REPORT** ## **and ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] MARCH 2021** **Edenbridge Scout Group Charity registered in England No: 303444 Scout Association registered No: 10012105** 1 **Annual Report for the year ending 31 March, 2021** **Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Accounts for the year ending 31st March, 2021** ## **THE GROUP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (Trustees)** ## **Ex-Officio Members** Group Chairman Paul Tibbert Group Treasurer Brigette Lincoln Group Secretary Ben Brownless Group Scout Leader Chris Barrow Assistant Group Scout Leader Liz King Membership Secretary Laurence Hood Section Leaders Sarah Clubley, Tina Lane, Julie Madden, Andy King **Elected Members** Paul Bennett **Co opted Members** Erik Barrow, Paul Jones, Matthew Wheeler, Alan Heard and Bernie Write **SUB-COMMITTEES Finance** Chris Barrow (Group Scout Leader), Paul Tibbert (Chairman), Liz King (Assistant Group Scout Leader) and Brigette Lincoln (Treasurer). **Bankers** Natwest Oxted Branch ## **Charity contact name and address** Chris Barrow, 38 Church Street, Edenbridge Kent. TN8 5BE 2 ## **Edenbridge Scout Group** ## **ANNUAL REPORT 2020–2021** ## **Structure, governance and management** The Edenbridge Scout Groups 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 Edenbridge Scout Group is a trust established under its rules which are common to all Scouts. The Trustees, the Group Executive Committee, 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 Edenbridge Scout Group, which is an educational charity, is managed by the Group Executive Committee, the members of which are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. The Group Executive exists to support the Group 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 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: - 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 cooperate 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:- - enjoy what they are doing and have fun - take part in activities indoors and outdoors - learn by doing - share in spiritual reflection - take responsibility and make choices - undertake new and challenging activities - make and live by their Promise. 3 ## **CHAIRMAN'S REPORT** I would like to thank all the leaders and assistance leaders for all their efforts during the last few months in keeping our young people engaged with scouting. It's great to see the young people getting back to face to face scouting. Last week the planning decision was granted on the site that has been offered to our scout group so we will be getting our new sub committee started and getting the finances in place to build the new scout HQ The group invested in a new mini bus this year which has been a great addition to the group. We are looking for people to join our fundraising and HQ building committees so please do let myself or Chris Barrow know if you would be able to spare some time to join the committees or be able to help out when we run events or take part in local events where we normally have our BBQ stall the more help would be most appreciated. _Paul Tibbert, Group Chairman_ ## **GROUP SCOUT LEADERS REPORT** It’s been a difficult year and as restrictions have been loosened we are seeing growth in all sections and strengthening the adult leader team with new leaders joining the team. The last year of face to face meetings led to a lot of innovation from leaders creating activities that Beavers, Cubs and Scouts can do at home, using social media to keep in touch and using Video conferencing to hold virtual meetings. The success of the group can be seen in the number of young people who are keen to be part of scouting. This shows our ongoing commitment to being part of the community in Edenbridge, the strength of our leadership teams and the exciting programs they are putting on for all sections. Our aim is to be able to provide Scouting for all young people in Edenbridge who want to join us. Recruiting new adults is key to us being able to do this. We pride ourselves in our involvement in the local community and as things open up we have started getting involved in local events again, with all sections taking part in the Mediaeval Fete organised by the church.. I would like to thank all our leader team, and our group executive for all their hard work they have put into making this year such a great success. Everyone is an unpaid volunteer giving up their free time for the young people of Edenbridge. The strength of Scouting in Edenbridge could only happen by the huge amount of effort from our adult volunteers, who provide support and supervision within our Sections. The combined knowledge and experience is an enormous asset to Scouting in Edenbridge. We are all very grateful for their contributions. Finally I wish to thank all of the officers and members of the Group Executive Team who have given their time, knowledge, enthusiasm and experience for the support they have 4 given to myself. They have ensured the unglamorous but essential background tasks are kept on track and under control. I would also like to thank parents who have supported us during the year, helping at meetings. _Chris Barrow, Group Scout Leader_ ## **BEAVER SECTION REPORT** ## Erwood Dam and Whittle Dam Beaver Colonies We are the youngest group of scouts age 6-8 yrs, we run two groups over two nights Monday (whittle) and Tuesday ( Errwood), With 15/20 in each colony . ## **Section Achievements** This year we have welcomed many new beavers to our colony's, while others have moved onto Cubs. We are looking for new helpers to join our team in the hope we can grow the section, so more beaver can join to help reduce the large waiting list. Whittle has welcomed 1 New Assistant leader and 4 young leaders, volunteering for the Duke of Edinburgh bronze Award. We have Awarded 165 activity and challenge badges with 7 beavers earning their chief scout bronze award. We needed to adapt and be more creative with our program planning to reach out to all. So, while lockdown continued a mixture of at-home activity packs were delivered with a weekly Facebook challenge, we were lucky enough to be invited to join the Sevenoaks Beavers for a weekly zoom. Then finally in our spring term, we were able to meet F2F again. So, we kicked off with a Nature Day Event to make use of the outside space, With a Hike, while learning navigator skills, map symbols, tracking, a scavenger hunt in the woodland and sitting round a campfire to cook smores. Since being back at the Scout HQ we have been working on different Activity badges e.g. learning different ways people can communicate through braille, sign language Morse Code and the phonetic alphabet, we have also been looking at different Knots and Den buildings. As we continue into the Autumn term, we are looking forward to working on our challenge awards. _Sarah Clubley and Tina Lane, Erwood Dam and Whittle Dam Beaver Colonies_ 5 **CUB SCOUT SECTION REPORT** ## Shere Khan and Stonebridge Cub Pack Report At the beginning of this year we merged the two packs in order to make it easier to cope with Cubs on Zoom, and then dealing with face to face meetings under Covid rules. This has worked well for the Cubs and Leaders, but as this has meant a group of up to 32 Cubs, it has meant that we have not been able to take many children from our waiting list. Eleven Beavers have swum up to Cubs and we have swung 12 Cubs up to Scouts. We currently have a young leader Tom who has been a great help working with the Cubs. Following many months of Zoom meetings, we finally began to meet face to face at the Rec after the Easter holidays, and continued until mid September when we could no longer see the Cubs by the end of the meeting! This tested our inventiveness, as we worked on different badges in the great outdoors, dealing with whatever the weather threw at us. ## **Badges** The Cubs have helped us plan our programmes and decided which badges they want to cover during pack forums. Over the year they have completed various Challenge awards as well as the international, musician, pioneering, communication, science and athletics badges. This term they are working on the air activities, animal care and personal challenge badges, this will include a trip to the Wings museum during half term. ## **Activity Day** At the beginning of the summer holidays we had an activity day at the Church Street field. During this day the Cubs completed the Mt Kilimanjaro badge covering activities such as making stress balls, lava lamps, Maasai masks, lanterns, wind vanes and shelters. It was a beautifully hot day and the Cubs had a great time working in the shade of the trees and woodland. And things got very exciting when the tractor arrived to bail the hay! Sadly due to the heat and hay we were not able to have a campfire, but this did not spoil a thoroughly enjoyable day. We would like to say a big thank you to Jeremy and his family for their help and support. ## **Thank Yous** First we would like to thank Tina, Helen and TC for the support they have given us over the year when we have been in need of help. We would also like to thank the Executive committee for all their hard work on behalf of our group. And finally a great big thank you to the leaders – Ian, Bernie, Kate, Ally, Fiona and our new leader Dan who come along and make Cubs fun and enjoyable. If you would like to come along and see what we do in Cubs, or share a hobby or skill, just let us know, you will always be made welcome. 6 _Julie Madden, Akela – Shere Khan & Stonebridge Cub Pack_ ## **SCOUT SECTION REPORT** Would like to thank the Scouts & Parents for the last year whilst we have been on Zoom as it’s not been easy trying to organise our program, but we have overcome that & are now meeting face to face, we’ve even had our numbers rise both Scouts & Leaders, like to welcome Cassie & Maisie to our wonderful if not strange (only sometimes) leader team. Currently we have 40 Scouts on the books, 1 young leader & 7 leaders. In August we held our first camp since February 2020, we have our Halloween camp coming up along with our fantastic Christmas camp. We are in the planning stages of our Summer Camp, postponed from last year. We are heading back to Belgium, so next year’s report may be a tad longer!!!! Badge work is going strong with over 200 badges earnt since lock down. Would like to thank Sarah Wheeler at Hever camping for allowing the Scouts to use their camp site on Friday evenings on June 7 July. That’s all from Hogwarts apart from Voldemort would like to thank the fantastic Leader team we have; without you we cannot give the Scouts the life skills they are learning. Andy King, _Owen Compton and Scout leader team_ ## **EXPLORER SCOUT SECTION REPORT** Our local Explorer unit, Beaufighters ESU in Edenbridge, provides opportunities for older Scouts from age 14 to 18 to continue their experience in the Scout Movement. During the lockdown periods, we ran virtual meetings with online games such as scribbl.io and quiplash, and utilised several of the ideas posted by on the Sevenoaks virtual scouting page. We did manage two face to face meetings in September 2020, running a socially distant campfire giving the Explorers a chance to reconnect after being apart for so long. When forced back into lockdown, we prepared at‐home packs delivered to each Explorer containing items to contribute to that week’s meeting. We held a virtual Christmas party, which included a small gift plus some party games such as sing along Disney bingo. In the new year, we ran several virtual events: a pancake 7 evening, running science experiments plus inviting some external visitors, making mocktails, taekwondo training, and showing birds of prey. With the easing of restrictions, we ran a successful Easter egg hunt, a night hike, tried foot golf, had some wide games and attempted a scavenger hunt. In Spring, the Explorers tried their hand at backwoods cooking, “Strava art” (walking around a field with your mobile phone – perfect for teenagers), movie nights, ice‐cream making from scratch, pizza‐making – including constructing your own pizza oven first, and finally a water‐fight to finish off the term. Instead of a summer camp, the Explorers spent the day at Port Lympne Wild Animal park, and an evening bowling, which went very well. This term has a full line‐up planned, including TikTok making, DIY burgers, Tubing and Tobogganing, badminton, Halloween evening, a murder‐mystery event, Task Master, movie nights, and Ice Skating. In addition to the above, we will be planning a number of camps, as well as for the Kent International Jamboree (2022), and the World Scout Jamboree (2023, South Korea), both of which Explorers are invited to apply for. We’re always welcoming new Explorers, so please speak to the leaders if you’re interested. Rob Francis & Erik Barrow , Explorer leader team 8 ## **CENSUS DATA** |**Census **|**Jan 2015 **|**Jan 2016 **|**Jan 2017 **|**Jan 2018 **|**Jan 2019 **|**Jan 2020 **|**Jan 2021**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Beaver**
**Scouts**|21|25|25|25|34|38|20| |**% change**|0.00%|19.00%|0.00%|0.00%|36.00%|11.80%|-47.40%| |**Cub Scouts**|26|26|32|31|52|51|26| |**% change**|-13.30%|0.00%|23.10%|-3.10%|67.70%|-1.90%|-49.00%| |**Scouts**|28|27|25|20|18|22|26| |**% change**|33.30%|-3.60%|-7.40%|-20.00%|-10.00%|22.20%|18.20%| |**Total YP**|75|78|82|76|104|111|72| |**% change**|4.20%|4.00%|5.10%|-7.30%|36.80%|6.70%|-35.10%| |**Adults**|17|19|21|25|32|34|24| |**% change**|-19.00%|11.80%|10.50%|19.00%|28.00%|6.20%|-29.40%| |**TOTAL**|92|97|103|101|136|145|96| |**% change**|-1.10%|5.40%|6.20%|-1.90%|34.70%|6.60%|-33.80%| ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** ## **Cash and Investments** At the end of the year, total cash funds amounted to £31,049 (2019: £12,466). The Group adopts a risk averse approach to the investment of its funds and all funds are held with a mainstream bank. It should be noted that the cash funds were due to inflated Covid grants received from the Council and money collected in advance by the scouts to pay for this next year's Summer camp in Belgium. 9 Money received in grants was put towards a replacement minibus which will appear in the accounts for the financial year 2021-2022 and came to £21,165. ## **Reserves policy** It is the policy of Edenbridge Scout Group to hold a reasonable level of reserves in order to provide a sound financial basis for the development and running of Scouting within the Group 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 the Groups in the event of financial difficulties to continue operation or to establish or improve facilities, to up-date and purchase activity equipment, and to cover possible unforeseen costs and emergencies. The Group Executive keeps a reserve fund of £8,000. ## **Receipts and payments the year ended 31 March 2021** The accounts which form part of this report have been drawn up on the receipts & payments basis which is consistent with previous years. |**Account**
**2021**|**Account**
**2021**| |---|---| |**Turnover**|| |Beaver Subs
1,452.50|| |Cubs Subs
1,916.35|| |Scouts Subs
1,560.24|| |FundRaising- Incoming
361.60|| |Grants & Donations
22,050.86|| |Hire of Hall
819.66
**Total Turnover**
**28,161.21**|| |**Gross Profit**|**28,161.21**| |**Administrative Costs**|| |Badges
612.93|| |Census
3,678.00|| |Beaver Expenses
24.94|| |Cub Expenses
49.94|| |Scout Expenses
141.25|| |GroupExpenses
775.30|| |Hall Expenses
772.57|| |Light,Power,Heating
543.38|| |Insurance
967.78|| |Telephone & Internet
125.97|| |Mini Bus RunningCosts
114.55|| |Mini Bus Insurance
390.00|| |IT Software and Consumables
281.23|| 10 **8,477.84** ||| |---|---| |**Total Administrative Costs**
**8,477.84**|| |**Net Profit**|**19,683.37**| ## **Approval** The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustee’s report above on .............................. Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees: ..................................... P Tibbert, Group Chairman ..................................... Chris Barrow, Group Scout Leader 11