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2025-03-31-accounts

1[st] Shipley Scout Group

Scout Regn. No. 17550 Charity No. 305903

2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

NOTICE & AGENDA of 1[ST] SHIPLEY SCOUT COUNCIL

and

2024/2025 ANNUAL REPORT

WEDNESDAY 17[th] SEPTEMBER 2025

1[ST] SHIPLEY SCOUT COUNCIL

Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 17[th] September at 7 pm Shipley Scout Hut

AGENDA

1. Introduction and welcome

2. Apologies for absence

3. Governance topics

4. Review the previous year

Cubs Scouts Explorers

The Group Lead Volunteer’s/Chair review of Scouts in the 1[st] Shipley Scout Group

5. Making appointments

6. Closing remarks

1st Shipley Scout Council

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 17[th] July 2024

Those Present

Representatives present from the Scout Council, Leaders and parents, including P. Sutton, A. Marshall, J. Peters, T. Phillips, M. Woods, K. Cooper, C. Sutton, L. Moyse, I Smith, Jack Woods

Apologies for absence

No apologies were received.

Governance topics

Minutes of the last AGM were received and approved.

Model constitution adopted from Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR).

Group’s financial year noted as being April to April.

Agreed 10 members to be appointed to the Trustee Board.

The quorum for future meetings of the Group Scout Council agreed. (3 meetings per year at 1[st] Shipley Scout HQ)

Matters arising

No matters arising from the previous minutes.

Review of the previous year

Group Leader’s reports given for Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers.

The Group Lead Volunteer’s/Chair review report given.

Annual Report of the Group Trustee Board, including the annual Statement of Accounts given and considered.

Making appointments

Members of the Group Trustee Board appointed:

Peter Sutton, Adrian Marshal, Julian Peters, Tim Philips, Lisa Lowe, Karen Cooper, Christopher Sutton, Maria Woods, Ian Smith, Jack Woods Independent Auditor appointed, Michael Power

Closing remarks

No further closing remarks.

Beavers Leader’s Report

We started the Autumn term with a full colony of 24 Beavers and took advantage of the dry evenings by hunting for bats, going on a walk and having a campfire. We held our annual jumble sale, raising a big lump of cash and introduced the idea of recycling more than a milk bottle and a cereal box, the beavers enjoyed handling money and were happy to donate unwanted toys, well most were!! Before we knew it the evenings had drawn in and we snuggled in making corn dollies, cooked up vegetable soup, made poppies for remembrance and decorated biscuits for bonfire night. Fireworks at Shipley are the best and last year they went off with a bang, the field was packed with excited children and parents. The hot dogs and burgers were delicious, and everyone had a great time.... don't miss this year's display.

Christmas is another Shipley highlight, with The Christingle, this year due to new rules we had to do things a little differently, however it worked well, no one got burnt and everyone enjoyed the event. Carol Singing is great fun, you should all try it at least once, we get fed on seasonal teats, sing traditional carols sometimes in tune and raise lots of money for this fabulous group. The Beavers decided to something a bit different and enjoyed a campfire instead of a party, we invited another group from this district and had hot dogs, hot chocolate and loads of fun singing and getting to meet other beavers.

The Spring term saw us celebrating Australia and China with cooking and craft activities. We made animals, vehicles and buildings out of Lego. We decorated biscuits for our loved ones, flipped pancakes and checked out the birds visiting the fields around the hut. We had the best time in the caves at Colgate, everyone that went in, came out with a smile ...even Chestnut! We had a fantastic sleepover, taking the minibus to Arundel WWT. The beavers had an exciting boat ride looking out for fish and birds of prey soaring above the wetland. We checked out the pelicans, wow they are huge in real life and identified many different breeds of duck. Everyone slept well that night after supper of spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread. We watched a film with hot chocolate and popcorn. We ended the term celebrating our wonderful Mums and Easter.

The summer term is always full on, and it started on a hot Sunday celebrating St George in Horsham with the district, always a proud moment seeing everyone parade through the town. We walked to the blue bells, cooked on a campfire, hunted for mini beasts, made junk model boats and sailed them at Southwater, had a great

quiz with our wonderful Dads and litter picked at Sumners ponds. Pond dipping at Warnham was a hit with all the beavers, and despite there not being very much water we caught loads of fish and other beasties.

We ended the year with a joint evening with the scouts, cubs and explorers. We are so lucky to have local police willing to give up an evening to educate and entertain the youngsters. They showed us the trucks, and some amazing kit to help keep everyone safe, and if someone gets lost the most up to date drone to support the ground crew. We all had a go at tracking someone. Our wonderful Executive team provided a yummy BBQ and refreshments finishing the term in true Shipley style. I proudly handed out 100s of well-deserved badges, including 10 Bronze awards, well done beavers. Very sadly we said goodbye to Lee AKA Sycamore, a much loved and huge part of the beaver team, we shall miss him so much but wish him well in his new adventures.

I am so proud to be part of this fabulous group, it's been great fun helping out with other sections this year, it wouldn't be what it is without the hard work of all our leaders, thank you team and the behind-the-scenes work of the executive team. Thank you all for everything you do to support each section, thank you to you guys the parents who trust us with your precious children, who without we wouldn't have a group.

CUB LEADER’S REPORT

As at 31st August 2025 the Cubs had 14 on the register, with one Cub leaving over the summer break for pastures new. We have had a further (4)? Beavers swim up and join us this term.

The past 12 months has been busy with the cubs starting back in September 2024 with some shelter building in the woods and caving at Colgate. We assisted with the annual water station for the Barns Green Half Marathon. October saw the cubs carrying out experiments to complete their Science badge and a Halloween party. November bought about what has become a very successful 1st Shipley Fireworks evening and the cubs had fun cooking pizzas, completing their hobbies and or collectors badges and attending the annual service of Remembrance. A highlight during November was a visit from PCSO Damian Cecil who visited the hut with one of the Police vans. The cubs had a very enjoyable evening looking through the van and hearing about the vital work the Police do to keep us all safe. In December we had our Christmas party, along with attending Christingle and some carol singing around Shipley.

January 2025 soon came round, and the Cubs looked at home safety and communication. We celebrated Chinese New Year in a way the Cubs love, by tasting lots of different food, making snakes and playing games. February saw the Air rifles come out and the chance for some shooting practice. It is fair to say that this is an event the Cubs have really come to enjoy, and we have some pretty good shooters out there. After the half term break the Cubs visited Horsham Museum and had the opportunity to look around during the quieter hours of the evening. We had some pancakes and held our own sports evening. Just before the Easter break the cubs had an evening of crafting for Mother’s day.

After the Easter break cubs returned to the St Georges day Parade in town and had an evening of activities making shields. We had a beautiful walk in the bluebell woods in Thakeham and an evening of erecting tents ready for the camp. Cub camp this year was held in June and we had a group who participated in an incident style hike around Rudgwick. This saw the cubs complete challenges such as identifying knots, memory games and walking miles on what seemed to be the hottest day of the year.

We finished up the year with the Highland Games lead by Shere Khan, some Father’sDay activities, camp fire, shooting and axe throwing. Our final evening in

July we once again welcomed PCSO Damian Cecil and friends. This time we were treated along with beavers, some Scouts and Explorers to a demonstration of the Police Drone, all washed down with hotdogs and squash.

The next few months are proving to be just as exciting with more food, campfires and exciting activities. We do however, have to thank the fantastic team that is 1st Shipley, whom without them we would not have the amazing facilities in which to carry out these activities.

I also wish to thank the Cub leadership team and the wider Shipley community for all the assistance they provide to give our young people the skills and guidance to navigate their way through life.

Scouts Leadership Team Report

Since January, we have welcomed a new leadership team made up of Jack, Harri and Chris (AKA Dux). After a short settling-in period, we’ve delivered a busy and varied programme, balancing ideas suggested by our Scouts at the start of term with activities aimed at supporting the Scouts to progress towards badges and awards.

Programme Highlights

The spring term saw a wide variety of activities, including starting a time capsule project, compass and map skills, cultural celebrations (Burns Night and Lunar New Year), as well as a two-part shooting and fire skills evenings. We also explored Scout Values as part of the World Challenge Badge, developed practical skills with camp planning, outdoor cooking, pioneering, and hikes, and enjoyed creative and fun activities such as stop-motion filmmaking, wide games, and an Easter egg hunt.

The summer term built on this momentum, with highlights including personal challenge nights, raft building pioneering practice, a joint “Triathlon” evening with Paladin Explorers and water games to keep cool on some of the warmest evenings. A particular highlight was our two-night back-to-basics camp at the Shipley site in June, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended and gave Scouts the chance to develop some core outdoor and teamwork skills in a camp setting.

Membership & Achievements

Thanks & Acknowledgements

We are very grateful for the continued support of our parent network, which helps make such a wide programme possible. In particular, we would like to thank Gavin, who has been a regular helper throughout the year and has agreed to continue supporting on-going at least until Christmas. His contribution has been invaluable, and we are so grateful.

Looking Ahead

We have another action-packed programme of activities planned for the coming months. Aspirations include entering a team in the Horsham District Two Rings Hike in November, a visit to Horsham Fire Training Centre, and further badgework activities to help Scouts progress. We also hope to run another overnight camp in October, building on the success of our summer camp. With an enthusiastic leadership team, a fab and keen troop of Scouts and supportive parents, we are excited for the term (and year) ahead.

Paladin Leader’s Report

I’m afraid I can't be here for the meeting today, so I have politely forced someone to read this on my behalf. To tell you the truth, it's a real relief to get away from scouting for a week, so I'm sure camping in the rain will help take my mind off it nicely... We really don’t help ourselves at 1st Shipley do we.

Explorer members are aged between fourteen and eighteen. This may not sound like a particularly large age gap at all, but from our experience over the years we've seen that though not long, this is one of the most vital gaps in anyone's development. As our members grow, we aim to encourage more and more independence and responsibility within the unit and let them truly feel like they have some sway over the wider group. As they progress through scouting the activities change and develop as much as they do, once they reach us the scope of activities we’re able to take part in are endless, just as long as we've got a bit of budget left and the minibus hasn’t been booked out already.

This year at Paladin we have had the chance to take on new experiences and challenge ourselves more than ever. To cherry pick a few highlights of ours, we’ve learned to make chocolate (in a partially messy evening) and made balloon animals (in a particularly loud one). I'm afraid some of the ‘creations’ from the balloon animals night wouldn't have been very appropriate to share on the Facebook group, I can only apologize.

We’ve taken part in some cabin crew training and cooked so many amazing things on our firepit that Gordon Ramsey has been seen peeping over the hedge on occasion, I hope he has a DBS check. As the summer months drew in we took on more and more adventurous activities, kayaking and tennis tournaments remaining some firm favourites. We ended our summer term with a full ‘Taskmaster’ weekend extravaganza which was a wonderful way to sign off before the break.

Of course none of what we provide for our members at scouts would be possible without the time and effort that all of our leaders put in behind the scenes at 1st Shipley for each of the sections, I can't thank our leaders at Paladin enough for all they do, Ellie, Doug and Sam are absolutely fantastic we couldn't do it without them. Their ideas and energy on our evenings are something to behold. One thing that's been special about this year has also been the stronger links we've started to form with the scouts through our joint evenings. Harri, Chris and Jack are proving to be quite the trio and I know we're all delighted to have them as part of our 1st Shipley team. Looking forward, we’re thrilled to be taking on four new members this term

and can't wait to see what ideas and thoughts they bring to the section. We've got an action-packed programme coming up this term, probably just a slightly damper one than the last. One thing we can always rely on at 1st Shipley is our loyalty, every section seems to be firing on all cylinders and no matter which age group we're dealing with, we're all in the same boat, let's just hope it floats!

Joint Lead Volunteer and Chair Report

It’s hard to believe another year has passed at 1st Shipley, as always, another year full of exciting adventures and plenty going on behind the scenes too.

Our scouting year started as always after our AGM in September our first few months were packed as you have heard, with exciting and innovative activities, but more about that later.

The Autumn term and build up to Christmas is always a busy time. I think as the nights draw in and we don’t have the advantage of light evenings it’s when we really appreciate the wonderful HQ we have.

Autumn really felt like it had arrived as every section got involved with the Barns Green Half Marathon, whether running the water station at HQ or marshalling a location on the run. This has been a tradition for many years at 1st Shipley with leaders, trustees and young people all working together, great fun and lovely to part of the community, I know it’s really appreciated.

Our annual Jumble Sale at HQ promoted by Maria and the Beaver team was a huge success. I think I’m right in saying this raised the most amount ever, which was amazing, thanks so much.

Armistice Day followed shortly after with all sections taking part. A lovely and very thought-provoking service took place with our uniformed leaders and young people taking centre stage. I am always so proud of our troop’s involvement in this very important tribute to those who fought for our freedom.

Firework night followed on with another mega display, delicious food and camaraderie. When you see all the smiling faces of all involved it reminds you why you are involved in scouting in the first place.

No sooner had we put out the last sparkler we were all on to thinking about Christmas. Events kicked off with a beautiful Christingle service followed by a very Christmasy fayre back at the hall.

Once again we entertained lots of our valuable supporters with our beautiful carol singing. We had good turn outs most of the time and when we didn’t, we just sung loud and proud... I think we got away with it. As always on our last night of Carol

singing culminated in our famous Christmas raffle, which was particularly awesome this year. Christmas also wouldn’t be Christmas without Christopher and Luke’s ‘Christmas video’. This year was particularly funny and even had a starring role for the vicar. Good luck guys in trying to up the ante this year, last year’s will be a hard one to follow.

At this point I just want to take a moment to praise our incredible leaders, each week they give up their own time to create and run wonderful programmes for the young people. I know to those not involved in the sharp end of Scouting that you might think they only give up an evening. For those who know the truth however, scouting preparation can be a very time-consuming activity, lots of admin, training and organisation, all needed to run a fun programme. Thank you so much team you really are appreciated; you are creating memories that these young people will treasure for a lifetime.

We are also very lucky to have Ade as our Lead Volunteer, his passion for the role is inspiring, he helps steer the Shipley Ship with care and dedication, often behind the scenes his volume of work is invaluable but seldom acknowledged. Adrian really is an unsung hero of our troop, thank you so much, truly appreciated.

Behind the scenes there is also a contingent of non-uniformed supporters, trustees and group advisors who work very hard too. These people help all the sections when needed and are very proactive in the management of the group. As you will appreciate the governance of our group is a significant challenge as is the funding of the group.

Fund raising is a significant part of the responsibility of our non- uniformed contingent, from grant applications to marquee jobs, these folk are invaluable, thank you so much team you are amazing.

Special thanks go to Julian, like Adrian he supports the troop in so many ways, his generosity is overwhelming and it’s fair to say he has forgotten more about scouting than most of us will ever know. Thanks so much JP your efforts are truly appreciated.

Our HQ is beautiful as we all know, it’s also unique, we are very lucky, but the upkeep and financial implications are a constant challenge. I’m pleased to say that some of the grant money we have secured is being spent on maintaining a safe environment to future proof our HQ for many years to come. The work isn’t finished yet but is underway. Thanks to everyone involved in guiding this process, it’s a complex procedure and has taken lots of expertise.

Sadly we lost Jose Philips this year, a lifelong supporter of 1st Shipley. As you know her husband Bob passed the year before and as with Bobs funeral, we provided a guard of honour at the ceremony. Whilst so sad to lose them both what an incredible inspiration they were to our troop, they will not be forgotten.

As to the future I’m very optimistic. We have the best leaders and trustees in the universe; we have the ultimate HQ and most importantly the momentum to build on our achievements.

We have also launched a new Squirrel section just last Saturday with our wonderful

new leader Heather. We couldn’t believe the demand, it’s been incredible.

So here’s to another exciting chapter at 1st Shipley where we make magic happen and create wonderful memories for all involved, I’m honoured to be part of the story.

Election of Officers and Trustee board

The following are willing to re-stand for the following year, all nominated by Adrian Marshall and will form the Trustee Board

Group Chair Peter Sutton Treasurer Ade Marshall (acting) Trustee Board Tim Phillips, Lisa Lowe, Ian Philips, Julian Peters , Maria Woods, Karen Cooper, Harriet Swetman, Christopher Sutton

Annual Statement

1st Shipley Scouts

----- Start of picture text -----
Year end date
01.04.2024 31.03.2025
B/D £ 9,304.95
Receipts
£
Receipts
Membership subscriptions SUBS £ 8,272.00
Donations £ 11,391.41
Uniform £ 101.00
Gift Aid £ -
Camp £ 1,467.05
Extra Activities £ 170.00
Sub total £ 21,401.46
Fundraising (gross)
Marques/ Hall Hire £ 7,565.00
Fairs and Fetes £ 73.35
other acctivities (Raffle) £ -
Events Carol Signing £ -
Events Fireworks £ 2,303.39
Sub total £ 9,941.74
Bank interest
GRANT FOR SOLAR PANNELS
£ 5,000.00
Sub total £ 5,000.00
Total Gross Income £ 36,343.20
Asset and investment sales, etc. £ -
Refund course £ 25,397.14
Total receipts £ 61,740.34
----- End of picture text -----

1st Shipley Scouts

----- Start of picture text -----
Payments
£
Payments
Refunds
Utilities
£ 3,047.22
Horsham Waste Collection
£ 520.42
Insurance
£ 4,153.12
Repairs and Renewals
£ 9,948.72
Raffel
£ 270.00
Uniform/ Badges
£ 726.77
Cleaning
£ 649.93
Session Activities (Petty Cash)
£ 1,694.27
Camp
£ 1,522.16
Capitation
£ 3,498.00
Donations
£ -
training £ -
Expenses
£ 1,984.28
Road Tax Mini Bus
£ 723.48
Sub total
£ 28,738.37
Fundraising expenses
Other fundraising costs (Events) £ 81.61
Sub total
£ 81.61
Total Gross Expenditure £ 28,819.98
Asset Equipment £ -
Total payments £ 28,819.98
Net of receipts/(payments) £ 32,920.36
----- End of picture text -----

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year

----- Start of picture text -----
£
Cash funds
Bank current account £ 41,262.67
Bank current account Scouts
£ 962.64
Total cash funds £ 42,225.31
Non monetary assets for charity's own use
Land and buildings £ -
Scouting equipment, tent
£ -
Sub total
£ -
----- End of picture text -----

The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were approved by the Trustees on 27th April 2026 (the date of the Executive Committee meeting that approved the accounts) and signed on their behalf by

Independent Examination report

I report on the accounts of 1[st] Shipley Scout Group for the period ended 31 March 2025 set out on pages 17 to 19

Respective Responsibilities of the Committee Members and Examiner

The directors are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. It is my responsibility to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Report

An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Society and a comparison of the accounts with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items of disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as committee members concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required for an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In accordance with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: -

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the Society has not kept reasonable accounting records or prepared accounts which accord with the accounting records; or

  2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Steve Hale FCA FCCA Perrys Audit Limited Churchdown Chambers Bordyke TN9 1NR