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3 [rd] Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group
Trustees’ Annual Report
for the period from 1 [st] April 2024 to 31 [st] March 2025
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| 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group | 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group | 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group | 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group | 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group | 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trustees’ Annual Report | |||||
| for the period from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025 | |||||
| Reference & Administration Details | |||||
| Charity name | 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group | ||||
| Registered charity number | 305860 | ||||
| HQ registration number 10010967 |
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| Charity’s principal address | Rear of Church Hall Glebe Villas Hove, East Sussex BN3 5SN |
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| Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity | |||||
| Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year | |||
| Diran Kujore | Chairman | ||||
| Adam Whisker | Secretary | ||||
| Ian Nicholls | Treasurer | ||||
| Melanie Kinnear | Beaver Scout Leader | ||||
| Stuart Johnson | Scout Leader | ||||
| Snezana Levic | Cub Scout Leader | ||||
| Connor McNally | Assistant Scout Leader | ||||
| Rosie Hewitt | Assistant Scout Leader | ||||
| Jane Gooders | Assistant Scout Leader | ||||
| Adrian Dickenson | Assistant Cub Leader | ||||
| Zach Griffin | Assistant Cub Leader | ||||
| Sharon Hartnell | Assistant Beaver Leader | ||||
| Ali Chakera | Assistant Beaver Leader | ||||
| Matt Normington | Assistant Beaver Leader | ||||
| Penny Marjoram | Committee Member | ||||
| Phil Slydel | Committee Member | ||||
| Michelle Turner | Committee Member | ||||
| Geoff Roberts | Committee Member | ||||
| Tom Wilde | Committee Member | ||||
| Steve Walsh | Committee Member | ||||
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Structure, Governance & Management
| Structure, Governance & Management | Structure, Governance & Management |
|---|---|
| Description of the charity’s trusts | |
| Type of governing document | The Group's governing documents are those of The Scout Association. They consist of a Royal Charter, which in turn gives authority to the Bye Laws of the Association and The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. |
| How the charity is constituted | The Group is a trust established under its rules that are common to all Scouts. |
| Trustee selection methods | The Trustees are appointed in accordance with the Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association. |
| Additional governance issues | |
| The Group is managed by the Group Executive Committee, the members of which are the ‘Charity Trustees’ of the Scout Group, which is an educational charity. As charity trustees they are responsible for complying with legislation applicable to charities. This includes the registration, keeping proper accounts and making returns to the Charity Commission as appropriate. The Committee consists of 3 independent representatives, Chair, Treasurer and Secretary, together with the Group Scout Leader(Open Role), individual Section Leaders (or alternate, if they opt not to take on the responsibility) and parent’s representation and meets at least 3 times a year. Members of the Executive Committee complete ‘Essential Information for Executive Committee’ training within the first five months of joining the committee. This Group Executive Committee exists to support the Group Scout Leader in meeting the responsibilities of the appointment and is responsible for: ➢ the maintenance of Group property; ➢ the raising of funds and the administration of Group finance; ➢ the insurance of persons, property and equipment; ➢ Group public occasions; ➢ assisting in the recruitment of leaders and other adult support; ➢ appointing any sub-committees that may be required; ➢ appointing Group Administrators and Advisors other than those who are elected. |
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| Risk and internal control | |
| The Group has in place systems of internal controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance against material mismanagement or loss, these include oversight for all payments and comprehensive insurance policies to ensure that insurable risks are covered. |
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Objectives & 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 co-operate with others and make friends.
The Scout Method
Scouting takes place when young people, in partnership with adults, work together based on the values of Scouting and:
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➢ enjoy what they are doing and have fun;
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➢ take part in activities indoors and outdoors;
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➢ learn by doing;
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➢ share in spiritual reflection;
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➢ take responsibility and make choices;
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➢ undertake new and challenging activities;
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➢ make and live by their Promise.
For the 3[rd] Hove (St Leonards) Scout Group, the main activities in relation to these objects is the provision of the weekly section meetings, as follows:
| Beaver Scouts | Wednesday | 6.00 - 7.15 |
|---|---|---|
| Cub Scouts | Tuesday | 6.30 – 8.00 |
| Scouts | Thursday | 7.15 – 8.45 |
All sections have additional activities to support their programme beyond their weekly meetings.
The Group meets the Charity Commission’s public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings.
Achievements & Performance
BEAVERS
In the past year we have benefitted from new adults bolstering our Volunteer Team. Debra, Paul and Abs, have all been welcomed by the Beaver Colony and continue to undertake the required training to help lead our Beavers.
Squirrel, Tiger and Fox, remain regular Volunteer Leaders, bringing a wealth of experience.
Thanks also goes to all the other parent volunteers who have been able to act as an extra set of hands to make sessions run smoothly and be more impactful.
Since July 2024, the Beavers have earned 12 Chief Scout Bronze Awards (some of which we will present this evening) and an impressive 619 badges.
Memorable sessions in the last year have included:
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· Lots of food tasting as we celebrated the Chinese New Year and then completed Healthy Snack Taste Tests the following week.
· A reptile encounter with RepTylers to learn how to care for animals as part of our Animal Friend badge.
· Hikes included one from Devils Dyke back to the hut and a District hike around Woodingdean.
· A visit to Hove library to meet someone who serves our community and fuel our love of reading.
· A trip to the Apple Store to develop our digital skills.
· A visit to the Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Portslade, as we explored Faith.
· A big focus on protecting our local biodiversity over a number of weeks, cumulating in our Earth Tribe Spring Beaver Camp at Hillside to coincide with Earth Hour. We then went on to complete Community Impact, with a litter pick at Hove Lagoon, as we learnt that a crab’s diet is broader than bacon.
· Becoming Cyclists, with an evening of biking around Vale Park.
· And lots of fun spent at Hove Lagoon on the paddleboards, where we were joined by 1st Hove Beaver Colony.
· And of course, there was also lots of dodgeball, wide games, arts n crafts, knot tying, and cooking!
As mentioned, in March, we held our Spring Camp with a night away at Hillside in the bunk house. A massive thank you goes out to Panther, for returning to be our camp permit holder and running the kitchen and campfire songs. All of our leaders stepped up to deliver a new theme based on the Earth Tribe badge. The Beavers enthusiastically learnt about what makes up our local biodiversity, taking steps to protect nature through creating bird feeders, building a giant bug hotel, and planting seeds. We even went on a night hike during Earth Hour to identify nocturnal wildlife. Our Beavers all surpassed themselves as nature champions and took away pledges to make small changes and teach others about the differences they could make.
We are now super excited for Autumn Camp booked in October, as well as lots more fun activities already in the planning.
Mel
CUBS
3[rd] Hove Cubs remains at full capacity of 36, and we continue to have a long waiting list of interested children from our local community.
We have a stable and consistent Cubs leadership team of Snezana, Adrian, Neil and Tom. We are still reliant and very grateful for the occasional parental support. Many thanks to everyone who has given their time and commitment, making this another successful and exciting year for 3[rd] Hove Cubs.
Cubs spent their Tuesday evenings doing various activities, including World Masterchef cooking, visits to the Shoreham Lifeboat Station, water sports at Hove Lagoon, hiking at Devils Dyke, making Chinese New Year Dragons, making rocket cars, planting herbs, making compass magnets and preparations for camping and working towards their community badge with a local beach clean.
We also attended the Brighton and Hove District Camp at Parkwood in July, and held our own Camp at Hillside in November, where Cubs made their own planting boxes.
This year, seven of our Cubs achieved their Silver award. Well done to Barney, Cameron, Katherine, Poppy, Max, Riley and Jacob who have now transitioned to Scouts.
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Again, a big thank you to all leaders, parent volunteers and our wonderful Cubs in making this a fantastic year. We are excited to start planning the program for the next year. We very much welcome any parents who are interested in joining the Cubs leadership team.
Snezana (aka Raksha) and Cubs Leaders
SCOUTS
Firstly, I want to say huge thank you to the amazing team of leaders - Jane, Rosie, Connor, and Zach and especially our new leader Ben. Additionally, Cathy has recently joined the team which is brilliant as we have such a great team with such a wide range of skills and experience.
The weekly evening activities this year included:- Brighton & Hove bus challenge, DIY electrical skills – making Halloween night lights and Xmas tree decorations, making braille signs as part of National Braille Week , Masterchef event, making, own energy bar and environmental hike, watersports at Hove Lagoon, cycle skills then cycling along the Downs Link, axe, knife and saw work, fire lighting and cooking on fires and the ever popular chip shop challenge, plus lots of fun and games.
We also ran several camps and special events during the year:-
In September, we had a survival camp at Parkwood Scout Campsite. On a cold January night, 25 scouts successfully completed the annual night hike. Hiking from Truleigh Hill youth hostel onto Devil’s Dyke before finishing at the scout hut. Then as part of the event we slept over at the scout hut and played our version of the Traitor’s Game We have two more camps this summer - a hammock camp in June and also the District camp in July.
Also, in June 11 older scouts flew in gliders at East Sussex Gliding Club – an amazing experience! Additionally, Seb successfully completed the very challenging annual Sussex Overland completion. Again a massive thanks to Jane for organising this in partnership with 14th Brighton.
Through these, and many other activities, the scouts gained an array of badges including the coveted Chief Scout Gold Award. This year’s Gold Award scouts are Thomas, Floyd, Zach and Connie. Again a massive thank you to the scout leaders’ team and to the various parent helpers (who make all the difference). Finally, to the scouts themselves for making this yet another brilliant and action packed year.
Stuart Johnson aka Skip
Financial Review
Reserves Policy
The Group's policy on reserves is to hold sufficient resources to continue the charitable activities of the Group should income and fundraising activities fall short. The Group Executive Committee considers that the group should hold a sum equivalent to 4 months running costs, circa £10000.
The Group held reserves of approximately £30,000 against this at year-end. This is significantly above the level required for operating expenses. We will be holding an excess for some time as we have no further high value items identified for replacement or repair. The reserves will be used to further scouting opportunities in the future though.
Details of any funds materially in deficit
Not currently applicable.
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Investment Policy
The Group does not have sufficient funds to invest in longer-term investments and has therefore adopted a risk averse strategy to the investment of its funds. All funds are held in cash using only mainstream banks or building societies.
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
| Signature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diran Kujore | Ian Nicholls |
| Position | Group Chairman | Treasurer |
| Date | 16/06/2024 |
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| 2024-2025 | |
|---|---|
| Income | |
| Bank Interest | 281.66 |
| Donation | 225.00 |
| Events | 2,267.49 |
| Events - Beavers | 1,028.36 |
| Events - Cubs | 3,219.37 |
| Events - Scouts | 1,000.00 |
| Gift Aid | 4,493.39 |
| Membership Fees | 13,166.09 |
| Rent | 1,626.25 |
| Expense | |
| Activity Equipment | 0.00 |
| Admin | 30.00 |
| Badges | 1,433.67 |
| Camping Equipment | 59.80 |
| Events | 1,998.82 |
| Events - Beavers | 799.31 |
| Events - Cubs | 3,990.85 |
| Events - Scouts | 3,297.23 |
| Insurance | 1,120.76 |
| Meetings - Beavers | 302.71 |
| Membership Costs | 6,416.81 |
| Utilities | 1,446.89 |
| Venue Maintenance | 3,224.50 |
| Account balances | |
| Expense Account | 712.34 |
| MetroBank | 4,047.93 |
| Savings Account | 27,674.06 |
| Summary | |
| Account balance brought forward | 29,248.07 |
| Total income | 27,307.61 |
| Total expenditure | 24,121.35 |
| Net income | 3,186.26 |
| Account balance carried forward | 32,434.33 |
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of 3rrl Hove (St Leonards) Scouts I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scouts for the year ended 31 March 2025. ResponsibiLities and basis of report As the charity trustees of the 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scouts you are responslble for the preparation of the accounts In accordan with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Actl. I report in respett of my examination of the 3fd Hove (St Leonards) Scouts accounts carried out under sectjon 145 of the 2011 A and in carylng out my examlnation I have foLLowed aLI the appLicabLe Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the ACL Independent examiner's ststement I have compLeted my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination glving me cause to beLieve that in any material respect accounting records were not kept in respect of the 3rd Hove (St Leonards) Scouts as required by section 130 of the Act or 2 the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters In connection with the examination to whi drawn In thls report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. attention shouLd be Signed: Nam& l fvJQkLLL<( Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies (if any): Addres¥. Date: 211,le