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2024-03-31-accounts

Trustees Annual Report 01/04/2023 – 31/03/2024

Version 1

Trustees Annual Report 01/04/2023-31/03/2024

Charity Information

Reference and Administration Details

Stephanie Howard (Group Scout Leader)

Paul Huitson (Group Chairman)

Bob Frisby (Group Treasurer)

Sandra Toohey Sang Thoong Viv Frisby

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing document:

The Charity’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 to The Policy, Organisation and Rules of the Scout Association.

Governance and Constitution:

The Charity is a Trust established under the rules of the Scout Association that are common to all Scouts and is an educational charity.

The Trustees of the Charity, as listed earlier in this AGM Report, are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR) of the Scout Association and through a transparent process.

The Group Trustee Board meet formally every term and is a team of volunteers who work together, as charity Trustees, to make sure the Scouts is run safely and legally. At the heart of their role is a focus on strategy, performance and assurance.

Members of the Group Trustee Board must act collectively as charity trustees of the Scout Group, and in the best interests of the charity’s members. Governance roles must be distinct to help manage conflicts of interest. This means that the roles of Group’s Chair and Treasurer must be kept separate and be done by two different people.

The Group Trustee Board must act in the charity’s best interests, acting with reasonable care and skill and take steps to be confident that:

a) The charity is:

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Trustees Annual Report 01/04/2023-31/03/2024

b) the charity is operating compliant with POR and the local charity regulator, including effective management of each of the Key Policies listed in Chapter 2 of POR;

c) young people are meaningfully involved in decision making at all levels; and

d) the Group has sufficient resources (funds, people, property and equipment) available to meet the planned work of the Group including delivery of the high quality programme and resource requirements of the training programme as set out in Rule 4.2.2 of POR.

The Constitution of the Group is as per that set out in POR Section 5.4 which can be found here: https://www.scouts.org.uk/por/5-local-governance-and-finance-of-groups-districts-counties/#5.4.

Risk And Internal Control

The Charity has in place systems of internal control that are designed to provide reasonable cover against material mismanagement or loss; these include requiring two signatories for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered.

Objectives And Activities

The objectives of the Charity are to work as a unit of the Scout Association.

The aim of the Scout Association is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities. The method of achieving the aim of the Association is by providing an enjoyable and attractive scheme of progressive training based on the Scout Promise and Law and guided by adult leadership.

Subscriptions are charged for membership to cover the immediate running costs of the Charity and these do not unduly restrict membership. The Charity follows the principle that no one should be excluded from Scouting because of their inability to pay membership subscriptions or their contribution to the cost of events.

Two key principles that demonstrate that Scouting’s aims are for the public benefit are that through the Scout method young people develop towards their full potential and that there is a clear link between the benefits for young people and the purpose of Scouting. The safety of young people is taken very seriously and the benefits Scouting activities provide far outweigh the risks. Any private benefits from Scouting are incidental, other than those as a beneficiary.

Chairman’s Review

The Group has continued to flourish with record numbers now attending regularly on Tuesdays (Beavers and Cubs) and Fridays (Scouts and Explorers). This is of course not done without the hard and often time-consuming work of the leaders, who ensure that the young members have an enjoyable Scouting experience, week in and week out. In addition the planning and execution of the camps/nights away activities has been a huge success.

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Trustees Annual Report 01/04/2023-31/03/2024

With the increase in numbers and the Explorer section becoming firmly established (which attracted a central grant), this has meant a need for more equipment and as a result, we have established a fundraising team to enable us to purchase additional items. We have already had a coffee morning at St. John’s Church which was well supported by the parishioners.

A successful Scout group relies on its volunteers and leaders. 2nd Stoneleigh is no different from any other and will almost always welcome offers of assistance, either regular or occasional, at meetings and for events. If you are a parent, of have a relative, who might be interested in joining the leadership team, please speak to any of the leaders.

It would be remiss of me not to give a special mention and thanks to Viv Frisby, who relinquished her role as Group Scout Leader after 20 years of service.

Finally, on behalf of the group, I would like to give a huge thank you to the leaders and especially our new Group Scout Leader, Steph Howard, without whom, the Group would not be what it is.

Group Scout Leader’s Review

Towards the start of the year we said a huge ‘Thank You’ to Viv Frisby who had been our GSL for 20 years, but had decided to step down from the role. Viv’s dedication to the Group for over 60 years has been fantastic, keeping us alive in tougher times, and growing numbers in the good times. We are indebted to you Viv for your service over such a long time!

2nd Stoneleigh (St. John’s) Scout Group continues to go from strength to strength with another year of growth in the number of young people we are able to provide activities for. Look out for us in our new grey Group branded t-shirts! Our Beaver Colony and Cub Pack meet on a Tuesday evening and the Scout Troop and Explorer Unit continue to meet together on a Friday evening. All Sections have been busy during the year; we have taken part in a number of District events and attended both the Remembrance service and a special service at St. John’s Church to celebrate St. George’s Day, which was co-written by the Group and involving our young people .

During the year our Beaver Scouts attended their annual spring camp at Boidier Hurst taking part in various activities including a hike on Headley Heath and sleeping under canvas - an adventure in itself when you’re 6yrs old! The Beavers had a very busy year with various events including the District pirate themed Beaveree at Little Acres, a takeover of Epsom Odeon to watch Elemental, joining other Beavers for Stage 1 of the Emergency Aid badge, the online Surrey Reach for the Stars weekend with a virtual campfire and sleepover, and the Lizard Hike to finish off the year. The Beavers also got two nights away opportunities with a sleepover at the HQ in October half term which was combined with a trip to a trampolining/climbing centre and our two-night Beaver Camp at Boidier Hurst in May where 14 of our Beavers enjoyed spending time in the outdoors den building, playing wide games, practising making sparks with a flint and steel, and many other exciting adventures.

Other activities during the year included junk modelling flying machines related to the Stage 1 Air Activities badge, decorating frog biscuits, learning about energy and recycling, and sharing our hobbies and collections with the rest of the Colony. We also spent one term saying hello and goodbye at our meetings in a different language each week. The Colony has remained steady in size from around 24-28 Beavers, with a growing list of interest for those nearly six years old.

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The Cub Scouts has remained at a steady Pack number of around 30-36 this year, with places limited somewhat due to the onward progression potential into the Troop. We held a three-night camp at Boidier Hurst with 20 Cubs in May getting back to the wild including fire lighting for backwards cooking, a hike and camp favourite Capture the Flag. Scram kept the Cubs occupied in June quickly followed by a session kayaking on the River Thames with Warspite. The Cubs joined the Beavers and Scouts for the cinema takeover in September and District for Stage 2 of the Emergency Aid badge in November. Finishing the year with 16 Cubs taking a two-night trip to PGL at Marchant’s Hill for some adventurous activities including giant swing, climbing and fencing. Other activities across the year included the global issues badge, a visit to Stoneleigh Baptist Church, cooking chicken fajitas, science experiments, learning more about our local area and planting sunflowers.

The Scout Troop has had an amazing year, with events including kayaking with Warspite, cinema takeover, a very wet and muddy spring sleepover, and an indoor sleepover at the HQ for JOTI speaking to Scouts around the world overnight, and a PL/APL weekend away. Four of our older Scouts got themselves by train and on foot to Boidier Hurst from the HQ and back again for their Expedition Challenge. Summer Camp was spent at Youlbury in Oxfordshire where the Scouts enjoyed a week of adventurous activities on the campsite and off, including aerial trek, pedal go karts, frisbee golf, pioneering buggies to race, hiking and sailing on Farmoor Reservoir followed by a tremendous fish and chip supper. Our Section Assistant James did a great job of entertaining the Troop with a round of singing of the ‘Rattling Bog’ to drown out the rain and keep spirits up in the somewhat soggy conditions - it has become a firm favourite song! Some of our Scouts again assisted Surrey Wildlife Trust with a day of conservation at Nower Wood near Leatherhead, clearing invasive woodland species from the base of the native trees.

We finished the year with the District Challenge Hike around Holmbury, and a relaxing, game-filled overnight stay at Boidier Hurst. Other activities during the year included making chariots, a patrol hike around Horton Country Park, cooking, fire lighting, making planters out of old tyres, a hike to the Regiment of Trees at Langley Vale and making Christmas decorations out of paracord. The Troop continues to grow, this year from 26 to 35 Scouts, only possible through amazing support from our parent rota to boost adult numbers each week.

Our Explorer Unit started the year with just two members but grew rapidly in September with six ex-Scouts transferring to us from local 9th Cheam. The new Explorers settled in well with new friendships made swiftly. Since then the Unit has grown to 10 now as we start to see our Scout Troop ‘pioneers’ from four years ago becoming Explorers. Although the Explorers meet jointly with the Scouts, they are enjoying activities separate from the Troop, but they also enjoy beating them at dodgeball occasionally! The Unit also navigated the Scouts to the Regiment of Trees and spent the weekend at PGL enjoying their own adventurous activities by day and entertaining the Cubs with silly games/pranks by night. Investitures for our newest Explorers took place on the ice rink at Hampton Court Palace, and the Explorers took themselves to the cinema for a movie night, crazy golf at Horton Park, and on a hike to sample the offerings at our local chip shops.

Explorer Dylan went with Surrey Scouts to Belgium for a week over the summer making new friends and memories to last a lifetime. We look forward to expanding the Unit further in the coming year, earning some top awards, and potentially being able to branch out away from the Troop.

During the year our Beaver Scout Section gained 225 badges including three Chief Scout’s Bronze Awards. Our Cub Scout Section gained 470 badges including three Chief Scout’s Silver Awards and our Scout Section gained 230 badges. We also presented two Chief Scout’s Gold Awards from last year. The Explorer Unit earned 28 badges.

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Trustees Annual Report 01/04/2023-31/03/2024

Overall we provided 280 Nights Away for our young people over 15 different nights and across all sections within the Group.

I would like to thank our leadership team, Board of Trustees, supportive parents and our amazing young people for their continuing involvement in Scouting at 2nd Stoneleigh.

Financial Review

As stated in the Chairman's report the Group has sufficient financial resources available to meet the planned work of the Group. The Charity has in place systems of internal control that are designed to provide reasonable cover against material mismanagement or loss; these include requiring two independent signatories for all payments and comprehensive insurance to ensure that all insurable risks are covered.

The Group has grown during the year, particularly with our Scout Troop and new Explorer Unit. This growth is reflected in the increase in the level of subsciptions received and capitation paid. We have also been successful in receiving a substantial grant towards purchasing much needed equipment, particularly for the Explorers, and we had a successful fundraising event at St John’s Church.

The Group have been very active during the year carrying out a range of events. This is also the first full year using GoCardless (payments via OSM). This system has gone well and, although costing fees, saves time for both our hard worked leaders.

The Group to be in a good financial position for us to cover the costs of the next financial year and we would like to thank our examiner for his work checking the accounts.

The Trustees confirm:

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Trustees Annual Report 0110412023-3110312024 Scouts 2nd Stonoloi9h (St Johm'51 Scouts 2nd Stoneleigh (St John's)

2nd STONELEIGH SCOUT GROUP

CHARITY NUMBER 305720

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDING 31st MARCH 2024

Income
Subscriptions £10,068
Activities including outings & training £4,740
Fundraising £3,713
Badges / Uniforms £504
Camps £6,563
Total £25,588
Expenditure
Equipment £524
Activities including outings & training £1,151
Admin / Refreshments / Odds £497
Camps £6,693
Hall Rent £0
Scout Shop £1,626
Capitation £4,627
Insurance £227
Fees - GoCardless £746
Total £16,091
Gain / Loss for Year £9,358
Bank Balance 31/03/2023 £16,686
Gain for Year £9,497
Bank Balance 31/03/2024 £26,183

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the Groups accounting records and a comparison of the accounts with these records. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the views given by the accounts. In connection with our examination. no matter has come to my attention: l ] Which gives me reasonable cause to beleive that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 41 of The Act and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act. have not been met or: 21 to which in my opinion attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. T Axelrod h1c/Af