1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
1[st ] Burrington & Wrington Scout and Guide Group
Annual Report & Accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2021
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Trustees’ Report For the year to 31 March 2021
Section A - Reference & administration details
| Scout Registration Number | 35833 |
|---|---|
| Registered charity number | 305644 |
| Charity’s principal address | 1stBurrington & Wrington Scout & Guide HQ |
| School Road, Wrington, Bristol, BS40 5NJ |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity (as per Charity Commission):
| Trustee Name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole period |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Wolf / Dave Tomlinson |
Chairperson | Andy until Dec 31st. Dave from Jan 1st |
| Jan Knott | Group Scout Leader | |
| Paula Alvey | Group Guide Leader | |
| Janet Walters | Treasurer | |
| Louise Coates | Secretary |
Unit Leaders
| Unit Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hattie Alvis | Rainbows | |
| Laura Laird | 1stBrownies | |
| Jean Davies | 2ndBrownies | |
| Paula Alvey | Guides | |
| Shonah Cross | Beavers | |
| Tracey Knott | Cubs | |
| Ian Evans / Brian Armour | Scouts |
Names and addresses of Bankers, Advisors and Independent Examiners
| Type of advisor | Name | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Banker | CAF Bank Ltd | 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent, ME19 4JQ |
| Natwest | National Westminster Bank PLC 89 High Street Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1JW |
|
| Shawcross Bank Ltd. |
Lutea House, Warley Hill Business Park, The Drive, Great Warley, Brentwood. CM13 3BE |
|
| Independent Examiner |
Mrs Sophie Trafford Chartered Accountant |
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Chairperson’s Introduction
I have taken the role of Chair over from Andy Wolf in January 2021. I have previously held the role some years ago, so am familiar with the Group. Andy has done a great job and left me a large file to get to grips with. He assures me he is on hand if I need help. I look forward to working with the team to take the group into the next few years.
Structure, governance & management
The Group's governing documents including the Constitution is based upon that of The Scout and Guides Associations. Details are available freely to view on the Scout/ Guide Association websites under Policy, Organisation, Rules for 2019. https://scouts.org.uk/por
and
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- https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/making guiding happen/policies/girlguiding policies/
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The Group is managed by the Group Executive Committee and the ‘Charity Trustees’ are drawn from this committee (see above). The Scout & Guide Group is an educational charity. As Charity Trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to all charities, including submission of an Annual Report.
Specific Exec Committee Activities Related to 1st B&W Scouts and Guides
1. Adaptations Required in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
Response to the continuing COVID Pandemic was detailed in the 2020 report. It was hoped that 2021 would be a year where normal activity would resume, however there has been a delay to this. The Group has managed to stay active and has had several grants to help us through this difficult period. The Executive Committee are looking at ways to improve our premises and cleaning procedures to minimise ongoing or future issues with these sort of situations.
2. Premises
Limited work has been carried out on the hall this year, but we have managed to replace some of the windows, tidy up the tiling in the Ladies toilets and finally fix a persistent leak in the roof. Unfortunately, the hall has been closed since March 2020. The hall has not been available for any external hires.
Report on Minibuses
Minibuses and trailers have been off the road for over a year. They are being recommissioned and fully serviced by Trust Ford in Weston ready for Sept 2021. Big thanks to The Plough pub for continuing storage in their car park.
Report on Equipment
The Stores are well sorted and organised at present and with the additional purchases of tents and camping equipment are ready to be used as soon as conditions allow.
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Safety and Insurances
The Group has insurances for both the Halls and minibuses to cover essential losses. In 2020/21 we have had inspections and certifications (where relevant) for the Electrical system (EIC), gas appliances, Fire extinguishers (Chubb) and have had a fire inspection in the year before. Leaders are covered by insurance provided by Scouting and Guiding insurance services when providing Scouting and Guiding activities, while separate insurance is taken out for Occasional Helpers.
Liabilities
The Group, through the membership fees, contributes to the Scout Association’s and the Guide Association’s national accident insurance policy. Risk assessments are undertaken before all activities. Additional insurance is also purchased on an as needed basis, e.g. occasional helpers and travel insurance.
Probity and Safeguarding
The Group has in place systems of internal control that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss. These include: two signatories for all bank payments and consideration of financial expenditure and reports at the regular meetings of Group executive committee.
In accordance with Scout and Guide Policy, all adult members of the organisation are required to undergo standard DBS (Police Checks) and those working directly within the sections are in addition required to have safeguarding training (level 1). Parents who register as Occasional Helpers are required to have the same levels of background checks (i.e. a current DBS) but do not undergo the same level of training because they are always supervised by trained Leaders.
Volunteers Leaders and Group Support
As an entirely volunteer-run organisation we rely entirely on individuals and parents to come forward to take on roles that support the organisation, either through running the sections or through activities of the Executive Committee to maintain/procure assets, ensure safety, and raise funds.
The current intensities of work and family life can make it difficult to maintain the organisation, and the burden often falls on a few exceptional individuals. We still have urgent need of parents and helpers to come forward to support sections. We currently have the following vacancies:
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Brownies Leader (Wednesdays)
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Rainbows Leader
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Group Fundraiser
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Quartermaster
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
3. Grant Applications and Fundraising
The ability to maintain the buildings and vehicles, provide utilities and ensure effective insurance is dependent on subscriptions, hall and minibus hiring (to other organisations with charitable/ non-profit status) and ongoing Fundraising. Fundraising has been limited, since March 2020, when we were lucky enough to hold the 2[nd] Wrington Beer Festival before the National Lockdown. However, the following has still been achieved:
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Big thanks to Paula Alvey who successful applied for the Bristol Airport’s Environmental Improvement Fund receiving £5,000 towards the new windows.
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Easyfundraising continues to run in 2020: http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/1stburrwringsgg/
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Government grants made available via North Somerset Council during the Covid pandemic.
We are currently in need of a new Fundraising lead.
4. Summary of Activities of 1[st] B&W Scouts and Guides
Overall Statement of Aims
The group aims to ensure that our young people, over a period of time, participate in balanced programmes of quality activities, events and experiences built around the national Scouting and Girlguiding programmes embracing areas such as indoor activities, outdoor adventure, community, fitness, creativity, global awareness and beliefs & attitudes. More detail can be found on the Scout and Guiding websites. Our Group adheres to these aims and principles.
Public Benefit Statement
The Group meets the Charity Commission's public benefits criteria under both the advancement of education (of young people) and the advancement of citizenship or community development heading
Please see individual reports from Sections: Appendix 1: Group Scout Leaders Report Appendix 2: 1[st] B&W Cubs Report Appendix 3: 1[st] B&W Beavers Report Appendix 4: 1[st] B&W Scouts Report Appendix 5: 1[st] Wrington Guides Report Appendix 6: 1[st] Wrington Rainbows Report Appendix 7: 1[st] Wrington and 2[nd] Wrington Brownies Report
Explorers
In addition to the Scout and Guide Groups, 1st B&W also supports a District Explorer Unit through the provision of facilities and resources - access to meeting space, minibuses and equipment. Many Scouts and Guides who reach the upper age limit for their Section go on to continue their journey with Explorers. This is a very popular section with many active challenging and adventurous activities.
5. Financial Review
Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
The Group’s primary source of funding is subscriptions from members to maintain Utilities (heat, light, water, rates) and the fixed running costs associated with the Group’s Headquarters and Store Buildings, Vehicles, fire protection, insurance etc. This is supplemented with additional funds raised through charitable fundraising. The Executive Group has discussed this on several occasions and our current Policy is to hold sufficient resources (around £10,000) to continue the activities of the Sections should income and fundraising activities fall short and as a cushion against unforeseen expenditure (see financial report).
The pandemic has represented a significant challenge to our financial position. The Hall and minibuses remain a continued drain on reserves and have required maintenance, fuel and heating costs even though they are at a lower level through reduced usage. Hall hires and loans of the minibuses to other Scouts / Guide Groups in the District have stopped reducing income. The emergency Grants provided by North Somerset to 1[st] B&W have been helpful in terms of our financial stability (not all appearing on this year’s accounts), but there may be calls in the future by the District and central Scout / Guide management for some of these funds to go towards maintaining the structure and organisation. It is clear that our first priority is to support our own local Scout and Guide troop at 1[st] B&W and that while we will help as we can, our own liabilities will need to come first.
The Group does not have sufficient funds to place in long term investments. The Group has therefore adopted a risk adverse strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Financial Report
1[st ] Burrington & Wrington Scout and Guide Group
Annual Accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2021
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Report and Accounts for year ended 31 March 2021
Analysis of Cash Reserves
The consolidated Group held cash reserves of £63,452 (31 March 2020: £35,822) of which £52,542 (31 March 2020: £26,463) is held by the HQ and £10,910 (2020: £9,359) across the sections.
The funds held with the Sections are specifically designated for running / delivering their programme.
Included within the HQ funds are: -
Minibus replacement fund £ 1,125 (31 March 2020: £1,125) Fundraising for hall renovations £ 1,821 (31 March 2020: £570) Group reserve £10,000 (31 March 2020 £7,500) Gift aid monies to be returned to the units. £ 2,806 (31 March 2020 £4,667) Anonymous donation £ 2,197 Minibus recommissioning reserve £ 1,000 Balance of Covid grants from NSC £21,128 This leaves £12,465 (2019: £12,601) as a general reserve.
The net surplus for the year of £27,360 (31 March 2020: net deficit-£19,164) was due to grants received from North Somerset Council during the Coronavirus pandemic. This has enabled the Exec to waive the Group Levy charge to the units whilst the hall and minibuses have not been in use.
Receipts & Payments Account Summary
| Total Receipts Total Payments Net surplus / (deficit) for the year Cash, bank and similar funds b/f Cash, bank and similar funds c/f |
Page 9 10 12 |
2021 £ 45,067 (17,437) 27,630 35,822 63,452 |
2020 £ 41,540 (60,704) |
|---|---|---|---|
(19,164) 54,986 |
|||
35,822 |
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
| Receipts Membership Subscriptions Less Paid Investment Income Received Bank Donations Activities Vehicles Camps Other Activities Fund Raising (gross) Hall Hire 200 Club surplus Events Other Income Income Tax Recovered Covid-19 grants Sundry receipts TOTAL RECEIPTS Report and Accounts for year ended 31 March 2021 |
2021 £ 8,145 (6,655) 1,490 67 355 ______ - 547 385 932 597 - 8,575 9,172 1,368 29,431 30,799 2,252 2,252 45,067 |
2020 £ 31,424 (19,960) |
|---|---|---|
| 11,464 | ||
| 10 2,844 ______ 3,363 7,736 2,573 |
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| 13,672 | ||
| 3,438 5 5,028 |
||
| 8,471 | ||
| 4,667 - |
||
| 4,667 | ||
| 412 | ||
| 412 | ||
| 41,540 | ||
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
| Payments Premises Rates, Fuel, Insurance Repairs, Maintenance, Cleaning Renovations Donations and Gifts Activities Vehicles Camps Group section expenditure Other activities Fund Raising Expenses Bank charges Admin/Postage & Stationery Purchase of Capital Equipment Equipment Minibus Purchase of Badges, Uniforms etc Sundry Payments TOTAL PAYMENTS |
2021 £ 4,316 1,087 6,213 11,616 - 2,114 - 306 2,100 4,520 27 270 4 274 - - - 529 __ 471 17,437 |
2020 £ 5,207 2,864 9,117 |
|---|---|---|
| 17,188 | ||
| 79 | ||
| 7,723 7,128 949 4,760 |
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| 20,560 | ||
| 621 |
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606 - |
||
| 606 | ||
570 19,380 |
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| 19,950 |
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1,368 __ 332 |
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| 60,704 |
Report and accounts for year ended 31 March 2021
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities Note Monetary Assets Cash, Bank, and similar funds 1 Non– Monetary Assets- Charity’s Own Use Land & Buildings Motor vehicles & Trailer Scouting equipment, furniture etc. 2 Movement in Fund Value at beginning of year Surplus / (Deficit) in year Increase / (Decrease) in value of other assets Value at end of year |
2021 £ 63,452 300,000 19,386 8,498 327,884 391,336 368,072 27,630 (4,336) 391,336 |
2020 £ 35,822 300,000 22,807 9,443 |
|---|---|---|
| 332,250 |
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| 368,072 | ||
| 375,077 (19,164) 12,159 |
||
| 368,072 |
Report and Accounts for year ended 31 March 2021
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Notes to the Accounts
1). Cash, Bank and similar funds
| Rainbows 1stBrownies 2ndBrownies Guides Mendip Beavers Bear Cubs Yeo cubs Scouts Group accounts: Cash (HQ lets) CAF current account NatWest current account Deposit account *Gift Aid to Units |
Cash £ 1 54 - 10 - 24 - 89 11 - - - - 189 |
Current Account £ 809 375 924 432 1,467 2,128 - 4,597 34,179 8,046 2,806 55,763 |
Deposit Account £ 7,500 7,500 |
Total £ 810 429 924 442 1,467 2,152 - 4,686 11 34,179 8,046 7,500 2,806 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63,452 |
Item marked* are included in the NatWest account statement total
2). Non – Monetary Assets
| Included at valuation: School Road Storage Buildings HQ Contents Camping Equipment Vehicles |
2021 £ 270,000 30,000 870 7,628 19,386 327,884 |
2020 £ 270,000 30,000 967 8,476 22,807 |
|---|---|---|
| 332,250 |
The value of the HQ and that of the store has been included at Trustee valuation. The valuation is based on a market value not rebuilding cost for insurance purposes.
The value of HQ contents and camping equipment has been depreciated at a rate of 10%. The value of vehicles has been depreciated at a rate of 15%.
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Independent examiner's report to the Trustees of 1[st] Burrington and Wrington Scout and Guide Group
I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are set out on pages 7 to 12
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
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to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity 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 trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Date:
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Declaration
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ Report above. Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees
| Signature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | David Tomlinson | Janet Walters |
| Position | Chairman | Treasurer |
| Date |
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Appendix 1
Group Scout Leader’s report
Who would have thought last year, when I wrote this paragraph, that we’d have been in lockdown so long that it’s still relevant! ‘We have amazing Leaders who have worked wonders given the challenges we’ve been dealt this year. Metaphorically speaking, given a slice of lemon, some people will just pull a face and walk away. Others may make pancakes and use the lemon juice with sugar and enjoy it. Our Leaders rose to the challenge and have made lemon cakes, lemon curd, lemon meringue pie, lemon posset and served it up with humour, skill and genuine concern for how our young people have coped. The way they have adapted the programme and provided so many different activities is a credit to them. We’ve had virtual camps and badges all done at home. Leaders have got together to help every section, as well as running workshops for Axe District virtual camp. Our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts will tell you themselves what they’ve got up to this year, but I thank our Leaders for the time, effort and hard work they put in to giving our young people the best experience they can.”
We’re very proud to share with you that many of our young people, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, have earned Challenge and activity badges via the ‘Badges At Home’ facility, or via the virtual camps our amazing Leaders have run. I’ve been really impressed with the photos that parents have uploaded to OSM for the evidence for the badges, well done everyone!
I'd like to thank all of the parents that help us run activities. The Leaders are the people we all see (and they deserve a lot of thanks!), but it's also a nice opportunity to thank the parents and other helpers who make the whole thing work. We share the current Covid risk assessments via ‘Covid RA’ events on OSM: parents have adapted to the requests for accepting these ‘Covid Risk Assessment’ events; thank you.
I’m very proud to announce that our Leaders have been recognised for the brilliant work they do. Ian Evans was awarded the Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service last year, and this year, Brian Armour and Shonah Cross have been awarded a Commissioners Commendation Award. Four Wood Badges have been awarded as well, these are in recognition of a Leader completing their training.
Ian and Brian swapped roles, so Brian is now Section Leader – Scouts and Ian is Assistant Section Leader – Scouts. Tracey has changed roles as well, she is now Section Leader – Cub Scouts. Shonah is our Section Leader – Beaver Scouts. We’re very lucky to have such good people as Assistant Section Leaders and Section Assistants, thank you one and all.
Lastly but very importantly, I’d like to thank our Treasurer and Chairman, Secretary, Exec committee, people doing fundraising and don’t forget leader's partners and families for letting them disappear so regularly! There has been a lot of work done on the hall this year which we very much appreciate. Thanks also go to our Section Treasurers, who take so much pressure off Leaders by doing everything for the annual accounts. We are always looking for more support to share the work that enables the good stuff to happen. If you can spare some time or are interested in finding out how you can help, please speak with me or contact me jan.knott@axescouts.org.uk
Jan Knott
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Appendix 2
Firstly, I think we can all agree this last year has been one we never would have expected or planned for. During this year each person will have their own story, struggles and triumphs which have needed to be accounted for within Scouting.
Thanks to the dedication of a few brilliant people, Cubs has managed to continue throughout lockdown giving Cubs (& their parents) much needed time away from day to day of life.
I’d like to mention in particular Shonah and Emma who carried Cubs through lockdown, putting on fantastic events and evenings throughout. Her resilience and resourcefulness through this time has been greatly appreciated by all!
Cubs as you know would not be possible without support from various people working behind the scenes, so I’m grateful to have our treasurer Kate to keep us all in check!!
I also think thanks needs to go to our Group Scout Leader Jan, she’s been a constant support to all sections throughout lockdown but standing slightly back from view, the hard work she’s done to keep us going is probably not as apparent to others.
Cubs themselves have been wonderful, taking on the challenges of lock down, remote pack nights & even being set challenges to complete. It’s a real testament to our young people how they’ve just got on with the task at hand. Cubs from home have embarked on virtual camps, cooking cakes in mugs, zoo zoom sessions and much, much more!
Last term we were finally allowed to meet face to face, leaders all rallied round to ensure risk assessments were in place and agreed suitable programmes to ease Cubs back to some sort of normality, while still maintaining 2m SD. Activities to date have been carefully selected with all this in mind, doing blindfold trails, cooking on fires, rifle shooting, den building and general wide games out in the open.
We’ve held a pack forum to ask Cubs what they would like to do going forward and we have some amazing ideas for us to do, even including a trip to the moon (anyone friends with Elon Musk????)
Each pack night has been very successful and it’s been a real pleasure to see Cubs embrace their freedom to be with each other and back outdoors enjoying themselves!
Again, I’d like to express thanks to all the Cubs leaders; Tom, David, Emma, Shonah & Huw plus our young leader and all our parents helpers for taking the time to make Cubs still possible during what could have been an impossible time!
Here’s looking forward to the next year of Scouting!
Yours in Scouting
Akela (Tracey)
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
A ppendix 3
The Summerland Beaver colony has had a very busy and varied year, and like the other groups in B&W, we have been on and off zoom sessions with the changing regulations due to the pandemic.
During the end of the summer term, Beavers was online fortnightly and they worked through their Safety Badge together, alongside playing lots of games to keep it fun and interactive. Many of our Beavers, alongside Cubs and Scouts took part in the virtual camp ‘Axejam’ in May. This was a huge success with the young people participating in workshops varying from photography, juggling and cooking to Indian dancing, orienteering and Lego! The Beavers and Cubs also held an online camp and Raksha, Brian and Badger, along with help from some wonderful parents, had fun encouraging the Beavers to try new things. We ended it all with a good old sing song of course. The end of August saw another online camp hosted by the district and once again a few of our Beavers joined in to try new and exciting challenges.
The Autumn Term saw the much welcome return to face-to-face sessions. Badger (Shonah) was joined by Otter (Ian Williams) to lead the small group sessions. The colony was split into three groups and we ran each session three times. The Beavers worked on their Health and Fitness Badge alongside activities to go towards their Outdoor Challenge badge.
Sadly, as we know, the face-to-face sessions did not last for long, and November saw us back to online session via Zoom. The Beavers enjoyed lots of cooking – we made pizzas in the pan, scones, and pancakes. We made Christmas Crafts supplied by Jo Sinclair and Father Christmas even dropped in on one of our zooms to tell the Beavers where he’d been hiding their sweets! The end of the Autumn Term saw Sam Frost (Robin) join the colony as a leader. It was fantastic to have another leader to share the load. Sam has thrown herself into the role has had lots of super ideas to help enable us to plan a great programme for our young Scouting members.
The Spring Term saw us continuing to deliver sessions on Zoom. The Beavers worked on their personal challenge Badge. We we had a talent show at the end of the half term and our Beavers utterly amazed us with dancing, singing, telling jokes, performing magic tricks, reciting poems and baking! (Look out Junior Bake Off - Wrington Beavers are
coming!) We also worked on our Disability awareness badge. We watched an amazing video
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
promoting the Paralympics back in 2016. We learnt all about and wrote our names in braille and found out
about the guide dogs for the blind. For some Beavers it really opened their eyes to disabilities and we felt it was a worthwhile experience for them.
One of our online sessions was delivered by an Artist called Steve Glynn. He delivered a workshop where the Beavers created plasticine models of themselves. We also had the Crazy Chicken lady deliver a workshop all about chickens!
During the Easter holidays, the Cubs and Beavers combined to hold a Space Camp online. We had a workshop from a Space Ambassador who had worked alongside Tim Peake, a chef from London teach us to cook along and make a three course meal, we did space workouts, mending the space ship (aka building Lego with oven gloves and tongs) and made landing crafts (inspired by Perseverance) to safely protect an egg thrown out of a top floor window! We had an awesome time!
Hoorah – the return of face to face at the end of the Spring Term and the Summer term has been wonderful. The Beavers have absolutely loved everything we have thrown at them. It has been great to get to know them properly - as pretty much half of our Beavers had only been online, with most being invested online too! We have been out in all weather – cooking s’mores on a camp fire and singing songs, cycling, den building, tobogganing and creating obstacle courses. We look forward to more activities at the end of this term including tennis, frisbee golf, tent building, sign making and a party at the end of the term! We are hoping to have a few more leaders join the team over the next half term – so watch this space!
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Appendix 4
2020/21 has been a big year for B&W Scouts. Sure, lockdown has changed things around but we've lots of new scouts, learnt new skills (Zoom, Kahoot anyone?), done much of the usual and taken part in new activities. But there's been a lot less opportunity for adventure and no camping at all in the past year which the scouts all miss greatly.
We've just short of 45 scouts in the troop at the moment, the highest for a few years, and incredibly high attendance levels post lockdown. Thankfully, despite some leaders leaving or stepping back we still have a strong team with great ideas, skills and commitment. In the past year we've said goodbye to Helen who having qualified as a VET is now a scout leader in Ross-On-Wye, we've said goodbye to George once or twice but he is leaving soon after so many years as a Young Leader, Quartermaster and Leader, we miss them both. Running a troop at 40ish scouts is a challenge but two Ex-scouts have joined us recently, Will Cruse and Joe Barnett and also Matt Swan has stepped up to Scouts having volunteered with Cubs previously. Despite promising to spend less time with Scouts as she leads Cubs we also continue to benefit from Tracey Knott having joined us last year. I have taken over as Scout Leader from Ian Evans recently but am very fortunate to still have both previous SLs - Ian and Jason - on the team as well as Rach and Jono too.
September ‘20 saw us back 'Face to Face' albeit with restrictions for only being outdoors and meeting in groups of up to 15. We split the troop into 2 meetings each week running separate events so that all who wished to attend could and found new ways to run activities using a mix of old and new locations instead of being in the hall. The scouts cooked some delights on open fires, re-learnt some firefighting skills and played wide-games up on the Mendips. There was a brief return to Zoom for a month and then back outside including a full days backwoods skills in the woods of Burrington. It’s been great to see the happiness of the scouts to be back out, spending time with each other and getting a good dose of fun and adventure.
After Christmas we were back in the Zoom room - planning and learning skills to be back outdoors for expeditions, playing Pictionary, pub quizzes, taskmaster challenges and a variety of things that still allowed team work and individual skills to flourish. Meeting online wasn't everyone's cup of tea but some got a lot from it, we had approx 40% attendance regularly and it was good to see each other on screen if we couldn’t meet up. A year ago who knew that a cake in a mug was a thing, let alone what a ‘mugnut’ was ? (you'll work it out).
After Easter the whole troop was able to meet for the first time since March 2020 - quite an occasion with approximately a third of the troop doing so for the first time having joined from cubs during lockdown. The scout hall is still off limits but we've mostly been fortunate with the weather and the scouts have been resilient when it’s been needed. We're now carrying a long pole, guy lines and pegs with us so that we can once again start and finish a meeting with the flag as we used to in the hall whether we are now meeting within the village or up in the Mendips.
We've been gutting and filleting fish, shooting arrows, running around the village in wide games or team work with laser guns. We have made and raced 'Flintstones’ cars' with pioneering poles and large blue barrels for wheels - a highlight for the scouts was being allowed to ‘drive’ them through the village from Wiltons, up Broad Street (with a cheer from the Golden Lion) and round to the scout stores. We’ve also been cooking roast apples and bananas on the fire, socially distanced orienteering and are looking forward to some more time on the Mendips in the summer evenings.
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
It’s now 18 months since Scouts last camped, we're hopeful of the circumstances and rules improving to allow us at least one camp before the summer. We've reached a point where the majority of the scouts have never camped with the troop, there is a rising hope to be able to do this soon and a lot of skills to be established again.
B&W Scouts have always been outdoors focussed so the constraints of the past year have perhaps had less of an impact on our numbers and activities than we can hear in the media, we are fortunate for that however we do look forward to being able to get back home to the hall soon and to be using the buses to head out to camp - our fingers are crossed that next year’s report will have much more of that.
Thank you for your support, Brian for the Scout leadership team.
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Appendix 5
During the last year, I think we can all agree it has been difficult to organise fun activities all the time on Zoom; it has been the same for 1[st] Wrington Guides. We were only able to meet in person in September and October 2020.
We have done many different activities such as crafts, cooking, Bingo, Drawasauras, online Escape Rooms, Quizzes, Riddles and much more. During September and October, when we could meet in person outdoors, we tried to make the most of it. We played lots of games at the Rec and made pumpkins ready for Halloween but then we were back to Zoom. Luckily though Paula (our Guide Leader) had lots of fun things planned for us. We made Christmas decorations with acrylic pens and more fun quizzes.
During Lockdown, we have gained many new members to our Guide Group. Recently, we have been back to Guides outdoors and it has been brilliant seeing everyone after a long break away from each other. Our Guide leaders and helpers (Paula, Kate and Mrs A), with some help from Paula’s husband Paul, have really tried to make Guides fun and I think they have done a wonderful job. It must have been really difficult to find something fun and interesting to do every week; they have done an amazing job so they deserve a massive thank you.
Thanks to Paula and Kate for all their help and support. Erin (Girl Guide)
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Appendix 6
� 1st Wrington Rainbows �
When the first National Lockdown was announced in March 2020, we decided not meet with the Rainbows virtually, there was so much going on and so many unknowns, like time scale and getting to know how virtual guiding would work we thought it would be for the best.
From September we dove into virtual guiding with rainbows over zoom and they were brilliant at it. The Rainbows have adapted so well and have enjoyed a new kind of program, working toward badges and getting enrolled over Zoom. We kept going with the virtual sessions until the end of the Easter break and decided to embrace outdoor meetings with the improving weather and the change in meeting regulations. Once again the Rainbows have thrown themselves into the experience, enjoying a drizzly walk around the village, s’more and popcorn cooking on a fire, nature scavenger hunt of The REC, tower building and working toward their Agility Badge as a group.
During this year we have all learned that the Rainbows enjoy a new challenge and wonderfully adaptable to any situation. During this term the leadership team have been calling them Rambos to reflect how well they have taken to having meetings outside. Going forward it would be wonderful to continue with outdoor meetings with the girls after the Easter break, I can see that becoming a permanent part of the Wrington Rainbow Program.
We owe a huge amount of the success of the Rainbow unit to Sue Evans, a long standing leader of the unit. During the summer break of 2020 Sue decided it was time to step down from the leadership role and the reigns over to Hatty Alvis, Sue is staying on as the Unit Treasurer and unofficial unit advisor. We will miss Sue (Snowy) at the regular meetings but she promises to not be stranger and will try to pop in from time to time, we are so thrilled that she is staying on as part of the team. Thank you Sue xx
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
Appendix 7
1[st] Wrington Brownies
1[st] Wrington Brownies met weekly online over zoom from April 2020 to April 2021. Not meeting in person didn’t slow us down! But did mean that Brown Owl forgot to take pictures!
In the spring we learned a lot about zoom! We completed many of Girlguiding’s online challenges, we:
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played games
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did virtual escape rooms
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made microwave cupcakes
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celebrated VE day with bunting and accessory making
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learned about flags and emojis
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held a binbag fashion show
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attempted Brown Owl’s weekly challenge
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enrolled two new Brownies over zoom
Summer took us out into our gardens a bit more and we:
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made bug hotels and butterfly feeders
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held several virtual campfires,
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toasted marshmallows on tealights and firepits,
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made armpit fudge,
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played online bingo,
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completed our 'Reflect' skills builder badge
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baked cookies
Through the autumn and winter we:
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recreated famous film scenes
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commemorated Remembrance Sunday making poppy wreaths to hang in our windows
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did more escape rooms!
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practised our sewing skills making tapestry ornaments for our Christmas trees
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made Swedish paper stars to decorate our windows,
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completed our South West England Regional Golden Anniversary challenge badge,
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celebrated World Thinking Day with a virtual campfire with Congresbury Brownies and a special visit from a campfire leader zooming in live from the USA
In early spring we:
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Baked Easter brownies
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completed our ‘Mindfulness’ interest badge
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and made plans for our return to face to face meetings!
We’ve been meeting weekly face to face at the Rec and other village locations since Easter and we’re loving it! Can’t wait to get back into the Hall though!
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1[st] Burrington & Wrington Scouts & Guides Group
2nd Wrington Brownies
The 2nd Wrington Brownies have met during all the lockdowns, in one form of another. Fully embracing Zoom sessions not only for meetings and sometimes just for having a catch up and chat and enjoying the fresh air for outdoor sessions.
From the first week of the March 2020 lockdown, we decided to continue with meeting with the girls over zoom, and we will all remember with great fondness those initial online meetings. Trying to think of meeting activities using resources that all the girls would have in their homes was a challenge for the leaders, and the girls seemed to be enjoying themselves. We even managed to end the summer term with a virtual sleepover, a first for the Monday Brownies! The leaders thought it was great as it was the best night’s sleep they had ever had one a sleepover!
We are so proud of the brownies and how they have adapted to outdoor or zoom meetings, depending on the weather. This has been a tough and strange year for them, but they have provided us with wonderful memories during a very unique time in all our lives.
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