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2022-12-31-accounts

SOUTH WEST CHESHIRE DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

MARCH 24[th] 2023

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AGENDA

Annual General Meeting

South West Cheshire Scout Council

March 24[th] 2023

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DISTRICT OFFICERS 2022

Life President
Mr P F Taylor
President
Vacant
Vice Presidents
Mr R Ellwood, Mr P Kent, Mr R Stafford
Office Holders
Chairperson
Mr R Chaplow
Treasurer
Mr R Bennett
Secretary
Mr J Bennett
District Executive Committee
Ex-officio
Chairperson
Treasurer
Secretary
District Commissioner
Deputy District Commissioner
District Explorer Scout Commissioner
District Network Scout Commissioner
District Youth Commissioner
Elected Members
Mr A Whalley
(to 2025)
Mrs C Wainwright
(to 2025)
Mr J Barlow (to 2024)
Mr D Brough (to 2026)
Mrs L Grasmeder (to 2025
Mr A Evans (to 2025)
Nominated Members
Mr M Rowe
Mrs L Gamble
Ms D Blurton
Co-opted Member
Mr C Shore Camp Site Chair
County Scout Council Members
Mr J Whittingham
District ChaplainVacant		 District Commissioner
Mr I Potts
Deputy District Commissioner
Mr J Statham
District Explorer Scout Commissioner
Ms I Shaw
District Explorer Scout Administrator
Mrs C Wainwright
District Young Leader Unit Manager
Ms D Blurton
District Network Scout Commissioner
Vacant
District Youth Commissioner
Mr T Austin
Assistant District Commissioners
Beaver Scouts
Miss S Fearn
Beaver Scouts Mr L Potts
Cub Scouts
Mr N Tomlinson
Scouts
Mr T Clark
Activities
Mr R Galloway
General Duties
Vacant
Development Vacant
SAS Manager
Mr J Wedgwood
Local Training Manager
Adult Training
Mrs J Taylor,

Chair Appointments Sub Committee
Mrs J Wilkinson
District Scouters
Mr A Collett, Mr B Westwood,
Mrs J Shore, Mrs A Bourke,
Mrs M Norbury, Ms G Evanson
Registered Charity No: 506895
Scout Association Registered No:
10808

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South West Cheshire District Scout Council

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting Held on 14[th] May 2022 Nantwich Civic Hall

1.0 Welcome

The District Commissioner, Ian Potts, took the Chair. There were 48 members and 1 guest present.

Ian opened the meeting by welcoming all those present, including the deputy county commissioner (performance) Val Thomason .

Ian announced that his nomination for District Chair was Dane Chaplow. Dane then took the chair for the remainder of the meeting. He began by asking those present to take a moment to reflect on those members and supporters of South West Cheshire Scout Council who had “Gone Home” since the 2019 AGM:

Graham Cookson Tony Stockton John Pennington Peter Norbury

2.0 Apologies

Apologies had been received from Katrina Fearn and Dave Hopley the county commissioner

3.0 Minutes of AGM held on 12th March 2021

Proposed, seconded and accepted as a true record.

4.0 Reports

The Annual District Report for 2021 was considered by the meeting. Each contributor was invited to comment. The Report was accepted with special thanks from the Chair to all contributors for their efforts during the past year.

Appointments

The report was accepted, and no questions were raised.

Secretary

Nothing to add to the report, no questions were raised.

Beavers

The report was accepted, no questions were raised. Dane thanked the Beaver team for their report and asked that his thanks be conveyed to all Beaver leaders for their work.

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Cub Scouts

Again, no questions were raised by the attendees and Dane asked for thanks to be passed to all Cub Leaders for their work.

Scouts

The report was accepted, no questions were raised. Dane thanked Lise and Rob for their hard work during the year.

Explorer and Network

Nothing to add to the reports which were accepted.

District Young Leaders

Dane commented on the impressive numbers of belt buckles that had been awarded in the district and thanked Di Blurton for her efforts in managing the programme.

Milldale

Carl thanked everyone for their input and support, a lot of hard work on the site had been achieved.

Dane also thanked the Milldale team for their efforts and stated that in Milldale the district had a fantastic facility.

Activities

Sailing

The report was accepted Carl commented on the successful taster sessions run during the year.

Canoeing

The report was accepted.

Shooting

Given the huge success of Shooting in the district Ian recommended the use of the facilities at Milldale to all sections.

The DC commented on the need for additional instructors across the whole field of activities. Any offers of help please direct them to the DC.

Swimming

The report was accepted, Dane thanked the swimming team for their continuing work with the section.

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Scout Shop

The report was accepted, Dane thanked everyone involved in the shop for the excellent work and reminded everyone that the income from the shop helps to sustain the district financially, without it the District Levy would increase. Please continue to use the shop. Ian commented on the work Andy Whalley had put into getting the shop back up and running after Covid. Thanks also to Rosemary Schofield and her team of guiders.

The meeting approved the annual report.

5.0 Financial Report

The annual accounts for 2021 were circulated, A number of questions were asked by members which the treasurer answered. The report as approved by the meeting.

7.0 Election of District Treasurer

Richard Bennett was nominated and confirmed as District Treasurer.

8.0 Election of Members of the District Scout Council to the District Executive Committee.

Andy Evans and Jake Ellam were elected to the District Executive. Tom Austin, recently in post as the District Youth Commissioner was also approved as an 18 to 25 year old representative on the executive.

9.0 Approval of the District Commissioner’s nomination of Members of the District Scout Council to serve on the District Executive Committee.

Ian Potts nominated the following:

Beavers: Mark Rowe

Cubs: Helen Dorney Scouts: Lisa Gamble Explorers & Young Leaders: Diane Blurton

10.0 Election of two Members of the District Scout Council for nomination to the County Scout Council.

John Whittingham was willing to continue in this role, the meeting agreed to this. There were no other volunteers

11.0 District Commissioner

11.1 Ian gave the following report:

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As we all remember Scouting in 2021 started the way much of 2020 had been with virtual meetings and thinking of new, imaginative ideas for how to keep young people and adults engaged.

The impact of the lockdown in the early part of the year was, arguably, greater than in the whole of 2020, particularly in terms of young people leaving Scouting, possibly due to an element of Zoom fatigue.

However, we had plenty of feedback from young people and parents alike on how much Scouting activities meant to them at such a difficult time.

As the year progressed and Scouting moved back to face-to-face meetings again, there was a steady flow of groups restarting meetings and activities became more ambitious and adventurous. District events were organised and while the focus was on the outdoors that wasn’t a problem for us in Scouts. In late November we held our selection event for the World Scout Jamboree in 2023 and welcomed 3 candidates from other Districts who had been unable attend their own events, an example of co-operation across the County.

I would like to thank each and every adult who supports Scouting in South West Cheshire for all that they do. The efforts of a number of Leaders were recognised by the High Sherriff of Cheshire during the year and at a ceremony at the end of November awards were presented to Andy Whalley, John Bennett, Bob Humphries, Lisa Evans, and Sue Edwards.

Our experiences during 2020 may have made looking on the bright side a difficult thing to do for many people. However, despite the challenges Scouting faced in 2020 there have been plenty of examples of our Leaders and Young People making ‘the best of it’.

We have risen to the challenge of running meetings on-line, learned that Zooming isn’t just a description of a group of Beavers running around a field and found out that Teams are not just what we split groups of Scouts into to play a wide game. I have been impressed by the range of activities that groups across the District have been able to run on-line, the imagination that has gone into devising new ways to achieve badges and the number of different ways that have been found to continue to deliver Scouting when we have not been able to meet face to face. From ‘Bob’s Badges’ and OSM’s Badges Online to virtual camps and Zoom meetings Leaders have covered the A to Z of how to deliver Scouting in 2020.

As a District our priorities had to change in mid-March and we had to find ways to respond to the challenges of running Scouting virtually, the issue of buildings being locked up and empty for long periods and the financial impacts posed by reduced income. With monthly District Executive Committee, GSL and ADC meetings we

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rose to these challenges, sharing ideas and best practice and taking advantage of support from outside Scouting where it was available. Planned activities and events were postponed and then cancelled, including the Gang Show and Eurojam, and eventually thoughts turned to how to return to face to face Scouting safely. Just as we were starting to get back to face to face Scouting, with the appropriate adjustments and Risk Assessments in place, we were then hit with a further Covid lockdown and had to return to virtual Scouting.

Unfortunately, one of the consequences of the changes to the delivery of Scouting has been a reduction in the number of members, especially young people, many of whom have found that spending time on Zoom school lessons followed by a Zoom Scout meeting has not been enjoyable. However, one thing I am confident of is that if we can rise to the challenges 2020 presented us, we can bounce back in 2021 and beyond.

The number of people across the District who deserve thanks for their efforts over the last 12 months are too numerous to mention here but I would particularly like to thank our District Secretary, John Bennett, for his hard work and support.

Our founder once said ‘A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room’. Having personally run just one face to face meeting between March and December last year this could be re-phrased as ‘An hours face to face Scout meeting is worth six months of Zoom meetings’.

As we move into a new year there will be further challenges ahead. Whilst we seem to be past the worst, the pandemic is not over and we are all still taking additional precautions. Based on recent experience we can’t say what might happen next.

We have seen adults at a number of groups leave the movement and the recruitment of new Leaders has been slow but is moving in the right direction.

We will need to pull together as a District to find creative ways to keep sections and groups running as we continue the recovery from the effects of Covid.

Our challenges in Scouting pale into insignificance when compared to what the residents of many Ukrainian cities are facing.

A Cub in one of our groups recently approached their Leader to say that they wanted to do something to help children in Ukraine and asked if it would be possible to ask the rest of their Pack to donate colouring books, pencils, crayons and small toys and games.

It is thoughtful acts like this that can make a real difference to people lives and remind me why I’m involved in Scouting. It is why we should be working together

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to ensure Scouting continues to be available for those already involved and to make it available to those who are not.

Any of you who have been to one of our recent AGMs will know that I am fond of a Baden Powell quote. However, this year my quote is from Bear Grylls and encapsulates why I will continue to work with all of you to grow Scouting in our District .

‘Every child has the right to an adventure. Life is about grabbing opportunities. The prizes don’t always go to the biggest, the best and the strongest – they go to those who persevere. These are simple life lessons that Scouting teaches

12.0 The County Commissioner

Dane closed the meeting at 20.25. John Bennett

District Secretary, South West Cheshire Scouts. June 2020

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ANNUAL REPORT 2022

DISTRICT SECRETARY’S REPORT

The District Executive met on four occasions in 2021, two of these meetings were held via Microsoft Teams. Two were held at 35[th] premises due to accessibility issues at District HQ. The executive is working on options for DHQ. one proposal is to convert upstairs to a store principally for Gang Show costumes. Downstairs would be redeveloped so that the shop could continue to function and there would be improved meeting facilities. This is work in progress and we are working with the construction department at Reaseheath College who are providing their help free of charge.

Submission of the annual census return was completed on time. The submission of the district accounts and annual report to the Charity Commission was also completed on schedule.

The Executive was pleased to note the number of awards presented during 2022 in South West Cheshire including:

56 Chief Scouts Bronze Awards

59 Chief Scouts Silver Awards

30 Chief Scouts Gold Awards

9 Chief Scouts Platinum Awards

1 Chief Scouts Diamond Award 18 Young Leader Belt Buckles

4 DoE Bronze

2 DoE Silver

And long service Awards to: 25 years

Ingrid Shaw Jacqueline Barrow Angela Moses Chard Spicer Heather Lightfoot Paul Fricker

30 years

John Wedgwood John Whittingham

40 years

Robert Galloway

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It is with great sadness that we record the deaths, since the last District AGM, of former leaders and supporters of Scouting in South West Cheshire:

Nick Crossley Sandra Sandbach Alan Brereton Darren Raine Terry Grazier Bob Spargo

CENSUS RETURN COMPARISON

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Groups 23 23 23 22 22 22
Beaver 429 390 385 255 313 336
Cub 456 427 301 346 346 344
Scout 412 413 422 371 344 363
Explorer 104 116 138 120 122 123
Network 27 105 102 90 25 10
Adults 500 564 612 513 505 341
Total 1941 2111 2089 1978 1578 1476

* The Explorer figure includes members of the Explorer Young Leader Unit

John Bennett District Secretary

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DISTRICT APPOINTMENT TEAM’S REPORT

The Appointments Committee met on Zoom in February, April, July, October and November 2022.

A total of 30 new Scouting roles were approved. 9 changes of role were also approved, plus 1 renewal of role following a break in service, and 13 existing Leaders were approved to take on additional roles.

3 new Appointments Committee members were recruited and trained and are now active in the interview process.

Thanks to all Committee members for their continuing support and contribution to this role. It is a privilege to meet with new prospective Leaders, find out a little about them, and ensure they know what they have let themselves in for!

Changes are to be introduced in 2023 which will speed up the process of approval for new appointments and make for a much more welcoming experience for new volunteers.

The role of the Appointments Committee will change, but we will continue to function as normal until the new changes are implemented.

Jen Wilkinson

Appointments sub-committee chair

Cathie Wainwright Appointments Secretary

BEAVER SCOUT SECTION REPORT

“The most worthwhile thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others” – Lord Robert Baden-Powell. 2022 saw our return to normality, as we were able to offer many more activities compared with recent years. This increase of activities and events meant that our Beaver scouts were able to experience all that scouting has to offer again, but none of it could have been achieved without the dedication of their sectional leadership team, parents and helpers, so we would like to start by thanking them for all they have achieved over these past 12 months.

Bronze Awards

56 young people achieved their Chief Scout Bronze Award in 2021, from 12 different groups, and so we decided to revitalise our Bronze Award ceremony and celebrate these achievements in 2022. The ceremony took a different form this year, with our

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usual venue out of commission, and so we decided to embrace the outdoors and host a small ceremony at Milldale. It was attended by over 60 parents, children and leaders and was a lovely evening for all who attended. The evening ended with the opportunity for everybody to relax and catch up over bacon and hotdogs.

We would like to say a huge congratulations to all those Beavers who achieved their Chief Scouts Bronze awards in the past 12 months and we are looking forward to celebrating these achievements soon.

Fun Day

Beavers and Cubs joined forces in June as we hosted a joint fun day. Over 200 Beavers, Cubs and leaders descended on Milldale to experience a wide range of activities including the Assault Course, Crafts, Backwoods Cooking, Nerf Guns, Water Rockets, Drums, Archery and much more. The air was buzzing with excitement from start to finish.

The event was only able to take place due to the support and work from many Leaders. Thanks go to everyone involved; from the campsite team, to the District Leaders and the Car Park Team, the event could not have happened without their dedication and hard work, with many hours given up to help ensure that the site was ready before the event took place.

Special thanks must go to the Explorers and leaders who supported the event. Without their much-needed support the day would not have gone ahead as they provided support to facilitate all the different activities.

Beaver Challenge

Our Beaver Challenge returned face-to-face this year and Beavers joined forces in teams of 6 to complete a variety of different activities set by their leaders. The activities included a ping-pong challenge, identifying fruit/veg and trying to work out what the names of the different Beaver Badges were. All the Beavers worked very hard and the teamwork shown was phenomenal. In the end, the 23rd Beaver Colony were crowned our 2022 Challenge winners and represented the district at the County Beaver Challenge.

Christmas Trip

This year we returned to Amerton Farm. During the visit, the Beavers got to take part in a tractor ride, a trip through Santa’s grotto guided by his elves, a visit to see the reindeer and even got to speak to Father Christmas! They were mesmerized from start to finish and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The awe and excitement were amazing to see. We would like to thank all the leaders who gave up their time to bring their colony and provide them opportunity to take part in this fantastic event.

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Once again, we would like to thank the Beavers, Parents, Leaders, Young Leaders and other helpers in enabling scouting this year. Your dedication and resilience have allowed 2022 to be another successful year for Beaver Scouts in South West Cheshire Scout District. Thank you!

We cannot wait for the next 12 months as we offer even more activities and events that the Beavers will remember for years to come.

Stephanie Fearn Liam Potts ADC Beavers

CUB SCOUT SECTION REPORT

What a year getting back to face-to-face scouting has been. It has been great to hear about all the activities that have taken place over the last year including the Camps, outdoor adventures, and visits to numerous places. I know that the Cubs and Leaders have all enjoyed the last year.

Chief Scout’s Silver Award evening,

In 2022, there were 55 Silver awards certificates presented at a special event held at St Thomas More High School. We had cubs from 1st, 3rd, 7th, 14th, 16th, 23rd, 26th, 28th, 35[th ] R 35[th] S and 41st. To see this number of awards in a year of getting back to normal was a fantastic achievement. We would like to say well done to all the Cubs and their Leaders for all the hard work that has gone into achieving this, the highest award for Cubs, it was great to see that the Cubs continued to complete badge work at home.

District Craft Competition

It was a pleasure to hold the District craft competition, this year the 17[th] SWC were kind enough to host the event. It is amazing to see how creative the Cubs are when they work as a team to create a model. This year it was how they wanted the new town centre to look. We had 9 teams take part, and to select a winner was not easy but the 22nd SWC won and went on to represent the District at the County competition.

Chamboree

It was fantastic to see the return of the County camp, The Cubs from SWC joined Cubs from the rest of the County for two days of the international camp. I was able to visit on one of the days and saw how much the Cubs were enjoying the event; I am sure they will return as Scouts when it is held again in 2026.

.

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Cub and Beaver Funday

In June we held a fantastic joint fun day at Milldale, over 180 Cubs and Beavers along with Leaders and Explorers and supporters attending the day. The Cubs and Beavers took part with much excitement in a range of activities including, Sports, Assault course, Crafts, Backwoods cooking, Garden games, Nerf guns, Water rockets, Spider’s web, Blind trail, Beat the goalie, Drums and Orienteering. The event was only able to take place due to the support and work from many Leaders. Thanks go to everyone involved this included the camp site team, who spent many hours prior preparing for the event. The District Leaders and the Car Park Team. Special thanks must go to the Explorers and leaders.

Sports and Tough Mudder

On September 10[th] we held a Sports day; during the morning the Cubs took part in a range of sports including Running, Throwing the Cricket ball, Jumping, Bean bag races and a few more. This allowed them to gain their Athletes badge. This was followed by our Tug of War competition which was won by the 16[th] SWC. In the Afternoon we had a tough Mudder race that involved teams going over the assault course, under the water poles and slide down into the stream, run through the stream and then around the field. All the Cubs were very wet and muddy but had a great time. Thanks again to the Camp team for their great support.

Christmas Party on Saturday 4th December,

The Cubs held their Christmas celebration with over 100 Cubs attending the event at the Lifestyle Centre in Crewe. All had great fun with music, games, a fancy-dress competition and even a visit from Santa who fitted us into his very busy schedule. Cubs all went home with a gift from him. Thanks again to all leaders that supported the event and made it a great success.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank-you to all Leaders, Young Leaders and helpers for all the time and effort that went in to 2022. I know 2023 is going to be a great year with lots of great activities going ahead; the District team is certainly planning to make this another brilliant year. Hope to see you soon.

Neil Tomlinson ADC Cubs

SCOUT SECTION REPORT

There are over 20 active Scout Troops in the South West District – however the longerterm effects of covid have seen a drop in Leader numbers but Scout numbers remain constant with several Troops having healthy waiting lists. The Scout section continues to grow across the District with an increase of 19.

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Troops in the District continue to deliver the diverse Scout programme – compiling a programme that covers the 9 Challenge Badges as a minimum provides just as much of a challenge to the Leaders as it does to the Scouts who complete it!

Many Troops across the District have held Summer camps and Winter camps this year with the Scouts enjoying the outdoors experience and learning #skillsforlife.

Scouts from across the District were there in numbers at the annual Remembrance Parade in Crewe on 13th November – luckily it was a dry sunny day.

South West Scouts were again very well represented at the Celebrating Success event at Parr Hall in Warrington in November those who attended heard a fantastic motivational speech from Steve Hill MBE ‘Dream Big, Aim High and Never Give Up’. It was great to see so many SWC Scouts accept their Chief Scouts Gold Award.

The main event in 2023 will be District Camp at Milldale over the May Day bank holiday weekend in April – I’m looking forward to seeing as many Scouts and Groups there as possible – it looks like being a fantastic fun filled camp!

The New Year looks promising 😊

Tim Clark ADC Scouts

DISTRICT EXPLORER REPORT

Meetings:

All 4 units hold regular weekly meeting in their respective partnership venues and are very well attended. With 3 different nights available to Explorers, units are finding that a number of Explorers are taking the opportunity to attend more than one meeting night. Explorers are encouraged to take part and integrate within the SWC Explorer areas, with positive vibes being received.

Awards:

Explorers were well represented at Parr Hall Awards Celebrations in 2022, with many achieving Platinum, Diamond and YL Buckle.

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1 Young Leader Explorer Buckle

4 Young Leaders Explorer Buckle

Units:

Drake:

Drake are struggling with lack of Explorer Leaders having lost their primary Explorer Leader in January due to work commitments. Drakes remaining Explorer Leader cannot commit to weekly session, again due to his work rota commitments and usually only managers to attend once a month. Drake is at the moment staying afloat by the kind intervention of three Scout Leaders from the 35th SWC, who have committed to running the unit until September, by which time new Explorer Leaders need to be in place. A meeting was held with parents to explain the situation Drake are finding themselves and while the response was positive, no solution was found. We have reached out to Scouts ADC to see if there are any Scout Leader who maybe able to offer help, with as yet we have not been successful.

Fiennes:

After a successful early part of 2022 with Mallory ESU, Fiennes made the move to Wilson House in September. From here they have seen their numbers steadily grow and have new leaders in place to support the Explorer Leader who took the discussion to take up Wilson House offer of a Friday night meeting venue. As with all sections in Scouting, Fiennes do suffer from Explorer Leadership issues and relay on Scout Leaders from Wilson House to support their weekly meeting.

Mallory:

Mallory are now settled at the 26th SWC HQ and continue to grow, They are like all the units rather short on leader with one of their 3 leaders stepping away due to other commitments. Mallory are running a varied explorer led programme which is engaging and fun.

Shipton:

Shipton have the largest Explorer membership in the District and continue to grow and develop. They run a wide and varied programme and work with the local community in Sandbach, having helped out on many local charity events over the past year. They have a strong and forward thinking leadership team that encourage the personal development of the young people in their care.

Capitation:

Capitation has taken a toll on all units in 2022, with more than half of their membership funds having to be used to pay their Capitation fees.

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Network

The lack of a Network Commissioner has hampered our recruitment in this area. With no Network Commissioner, we are losing many Explorers/YL’s at 18. If we are to retain Explorers/YL’s, then a Network Commissioner needs urgently appointing.

Future Events:

The District Explorers are putting on a number of events this coming year, a treasure hunt in Liverpool and Manchester Monopoly, aimed at both Explorers and Young Leaders, so along with District Camp they are appearing to be very well received.

Ingrid Shaw District Explorer Scout Commissioner Cathie Wainwright District Explorer Scout Administrator

YOUNG LEADER EXPLORER SCOUTS

It has been a very productive year for the Young Leaders in South West Cheshire. Young Leaders are a great asset to any group. They are very supportive in running the weekly programme and can take a lot of pressure of the leaders.

We have been very pro active within the district with the Young Leaders and from July 2021 until the award Ceremony deadline in October 2022 we awarded 9 Young Leader Belt Buckles.

All Young Leader modules can be accessed via face to face or via the Cheshire Scouts Website https://www.cheshirescouts.org.uk/youth-programme/young-leaders-14-17/ylttraining Young leader modules are run as follows:

Module A - 3 times a year – Module A is mandatory for all young leaders and D of E participants.

Modules B-I -2 times a year these are not mandatory but must be completed to achieve the young leader belt buckle.

Module K – First Aid level 4 and above –2 times a year.

All Young leaders are encouraged to complete their training and obtain the Young Leader Belt buckle but if they only want to do the minimum of training then they only have to complete Module A and attend their section meetings and help out as a leader. I would like to see every group if not every section in the district have a young leader within.

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DISTRICT YOUTH FORUM

The past year has been more about me trying to understand the role of district youth commissioner and exploring different avenues to how to successfully bring that to groups.

I have had the chance more recently over the past few months to meet the other youth commissioners from around Cheshire at Team Cheshire events to help develop those connections and share ideas together.

I have developed a Youth Shaped guide, which hopefully is also distributed out, to give sections ideas on how they can integrate youth shaped Scouting easily to their programs, as its more than just getting a handful of program ideas once a term. I would encourage everyone to take time to read through it and would be happy to any questions or to offer any support to groups, my contact details are below.

We did have plans for a district camp youth forum but unfortunately due to a clash or dates and availability that was unable to happen. Future forums are planned for June, September & December in 2023. I would welcome people’s thoughts on possible topics to cover during the latter two and would also welcome support from people in order for the sessions to run. The plan for the forums so far would just be for half days, but would happily extend these to full day sessions if the support and ideas for them was there. Potentially I would like to explore the possibility of organising one of the autumn sessions at Milldale to hopefully make the sessions different so the attendees feel more relaxed rather than being confined to tables and chairs in a hut.

As with most things Scouting, in order for the forums to run, additional leader support will be required, so if you are able to support in any way, please again contact me on the below and I’d be very grateful.

Tom Austin District Youth Commissioner

@SWC_DYC dyc@swcscouts.org.uk

SCOUT NETWORK REPORT

A new District Scout Network Commissioner was not found in 2022 and is still being sought. As a result there were no Network events in 2022.

Ian Potts District Commissioner

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ACTIVITIES REPORT

KAYAKING built on the successful foundations from 2021, with many Scouts returning to enhance their skills and gain further Staged badges. Although the Taster Day was not as well attended as we’d hoped, we still had 50 Scouts having a go and all who came had a great time. Over 30 returned to join further training sessions. Achievements included:

A good year was rounded off when one Explorer and one Scout successfully passed an assessment to gain their Activity Permits which will enable them to join our instructor team in the coming year.

SAILING back for the first time since 2019. Unfortunately we do not have any qualified Scout instructors of our own at the moment, so we joined forces with Winsford Flash Sailing Club (WFSC) to enable all our young people to try this exciting activity.

The first Taster session took place on a very hot day in July and proved hugely enjoyable. Although the wind was a little light at times, it did provide an opportunity to have a lot of fun with water pistols and not many ended up dry.

Over 100 of our Scouts and Cubs took part over 6 sessions with each having almost an hour on the water. An excellent BBQ put on by the Club rounded things off nicely. The second session in late September was rather cooler – but no less successful. We opened this one up to Beavers and it was good to see our youngest members enjoying themselves too. Again all places were fully booked and the day saw around 105 of our youngsters on the water.

My thanks go to WFSC and their Cadet section for their help with these events which have been run most professionally. We have a couple of Scouts / Explorers who have been Club members for some years (and who helped to ‘helm’ the boats for our Taster sessions), and other families have now joined the Club as a direct result of the Taster days.

CLIMBING during the October half-term we ran a full day Climbing Badge course at Milldale where Scouts & Explorers were given a full grounding in:

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And of course they had loads of opportunities to practise on all the routes of our Climbing and Abseiling walls, their ability and confidence grew dramatically during the course of the day and we ended up with some competent climbers, belayers and abseilers all wanting to try higher and more difficult routes.

Unfortunately a second course planned in December had to be cancelled at short notice due to poor weather.

HILLWALKING our first SWC District Day in the hills saw 2 groups exploring the Peak District around the Goyt Valley (not far from the ‘Cat & Fiddle’). The route included 2 Trig points in “Terrain 1” (i.e. higher than 500 metres). Unfortunately the cloud descended as they reached the summit of Shining Tor, but the weather improved later and they were rewarded with some great views at the top of Burbage Edge.

SWIMMING CLUB another welcome return for the first time since the Pandemic. Thanks go to Bob Binner for taking on the organising and it has been wonderful to see good numbers of Scouts and Cubs enthusiastically wanting to improve their swimming. Several had gained new badges by the end of the year with lots more progressing well .

So it has been a busy year and with every activity fully booked, it remains clear that our Young People are still attracted by exciting traditional activities that take them away from electronic devices and often far out of their comfort-zones.

The only regret is that there are still some Groups where we have had no youngsters applying to take part at all – and fear that information about opportunities is not reaching everyone.

I continue to be immensely impressed by the ability of our Young Leader Permit holders who show maturity and leadership skills that would be the envy of many adults. They form a key part of our instructor teams allowing more of our Young People to take part in activities.

2023 will continue to build on what has already been achieved, but as usual the limiting factor is leader / instructor availability. My sincere thanks go to all who have helped this year. From a quick calculation I’d estimate that Permit Holders and helpers have given up a combined total of at least 450 hours of their time to provide this year’s fun!

Rob Galloway ADC (Activities)

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MILLDALE CAMPSITE REPORT

Milldale has had a successful year, with the number of people using the site slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels. Daytime and evening visits improved significantly; the number of campers is still down however; we are hopeful this will improve in the coming year.

We continue to be financially sound, maintaining a positive cash flow throughout the year, and generating sufficient income to reinvest into the site. However, we have ~5k of outstanding invoices from our district, and we are in the process of launching a new booking system that will help elevate this in the future. The booking system will allow users to book online and see availability.

All our activities continue to be popular. We ran our first mini mudder for the cubs, with plans to open it up to others later this year. We ran several instructor courses throughout the year for Climbing, Pizza Oven, Shooting and Crossbow (All well attended with leaders from afar as Scotland, however, we only had a few from our district that then support the activities team at the site.

A number of volunteers continue to support the site during the weekends and weekdays working on a variety of projects from widening paths through the woods for wheelchair access, pruning trees, mowing grass and refurbishing the campfire circle there are always jobs to do suiting anyone’s skill level.

Looking forward, we have an extensive work schedule for 2023 everything from replacing the grass cart track to bridge repairs.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the campsite team and wardens for all their hard work over the past year and a special thank you to the 3 young people that come down to the site come rain or shine almost every Sunday to help. If you would like to get involved at the campsite, then please ask myself or a member of the campsite committee for more information. We always have the kettle on and biscuits available (you will have to fight the for the Jaffa Cakes)

Carl Shore Milldale Campsite Chairman.

SHOOTING

A really hectic and very successful year for the district shooting team. Shooting has been run every month at Milldale with 61 different activities taking place. Most months we have run 2 district sessions at Milldale open to all over 10 years old as well as 20 taster sessions for various groups both within SWC and from other districts. Some new equipment has been purchased and other facilities improved.

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We have supported cub camps, Milldale leader’s taster days, Milldale activities and leader events at County level. 6 courses have been held to train leaders to be able to run shooting and crossbow for scouts and we have attended 4 competitions away from Milldale as well as running the Waterloo Shooting Competition in June with over 250 competitors attending (9-11 June for the 2023 event).

On the competition front we organised and ran the Intercounty event at Aldersley and 6 of the team of 8 representing Cheshire were from SWC. This team successfully won the event for the county.

The Scout shoot at Bisley was won by Hannah Evans (as well as Hannah winning 4 other trophies) and the best team was from SWC. The National event again at Bisley held in October was again a clean sweep for SWC with a team from the 1st winning the Junior Connaught Shield and the 28th Wybunbury achieving 6th place and the district team winning the Senior Connaught Trophy with the Fiennes ESU in second place.

The year’s competition ended with the SWC team winning the Cheshire Inter District Competition. So that’s the best teams at District, County and National levels.

In total this was about 1400 people who attended shooting sessions in the year. It would be great to see more support from the district groups at the Saturday shooting sessions, only 2 groups have many people attend these, and at Waterloo and the National events. Most of the competitors at Waterloo are from out of the district with only 6 district groups supporting the event and at the Nationals we only entered teams from 2 groups and one team representing the district.

As with anything the small number of instructors and helpers who run the shooting squad are overstretched and this level of activity, and success will not be sustainable without more help, and it may be necessary to adapt it to a more workable format. We are also, as always, short of adult help, so if anyone wants to dip their toe in the water and help, please let us know.

Andrew Brookes District Shooting Advisor

GANG SHOW

After a four year, Covid enforced, break the show came back at the end of April with a bang and a big one at that. It was not without its problems some of them financial, including ticket sales and a reduction in cast numbers which in turn affected ticket sales. We just broke even in 2022, the aim is not to make a profit but we do need to

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break even and therefore have enough in reserve to cover the set up costs of the following show. Discussions with other shows around the country reveal that they were suffering the same issues undoubtedly a knock on from Covid.

After a lot of hard work by the cast and support team we put on a top class show, new friendships were forged, new skills were developed and everyone benefited from the experience of performing in a “real theatre” Everyone is now looking forward to doing it all again in 2024. The Lyceum Theatre is booked from 29[th] April until 4[th] May (Two shows on 4[th] May). The management team will be visiting all groups in early September to promote the show and we hope that group leaders will encourage their beavers, cubs and scouts to sign up for the show. Similarly we are keen to recruit behind the scenes personnel (over 18’s) to help with a myriad of jobs. Please contact me if you want more information.

After the 2018 show there was a widely expressed view that this was the best show we had ever put on. The 2020 show was pulled less than 6 weeks before we were due to go into the theatre. A lot of hard work had gone into 2020 and the signs were it would surpass 2018. Despite the trials and tribulations of the Covid years everyone was keen to better the 2018 show. In the event the 2022 show was very well received with standing ovations very night. The challenge now will be to promote 2024 in terms of cast/crew recruitment and thereby improve ticket sales.

John Bennett Secretary Crewe Gang Show

SCOUT & GUIDE SHOP REPORT

The Scout and Guide Shop was open all year again in 2022 after 2 years of disruption. Turnover in 2022 was up on 2021 but still below pre-pandemic levels in 2019. There have continued to be supply issues with both uniform and badges but the continued hard work of the shop team has ensured that orders have been filled as soon as possible. Almost 90% of sales are of uniform and badges continuing the trend in recent years towards these two lines. The shop team continue to sell old hardware stock and have successfully sold the last water carrier after a couple of years of trying.

The sterling efforts of Rosemary Schofield, Andrew Whalley, Abi Woodcock and Chris Wood have ensured that the shop has continued to flourish and they have been ably supported by a small but dedicated team of Scouting and Guiding volunteers. If you would like to join the team, I know you would be welcomed.

Ian Potts District Commissioner

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South West Cheshire District Scout Council Receipts and Payments Account For the yearfrom 0110112022 to 3111212022 Receipts and ments 2022 2021 Recei Donations, legacies and similar income Membership subscriptions Less. Membership subscriptions paid on (National I County) Net membership subscriptions retained Donations Network Gift Aid Scout Shop £59,617 £48,289 £11,328 £0 £48,331 £42.142 £6,190 £0 £0 £8,000 £19,328 £0 £0 £6,190 Sub total ctivities Beavers Cubs ScoLrts Explorers Leaders Swimming Club District events, activities, training and camps Sub total Fundraising (grossl Wodd Scouting Jamboree Eurojam (including refunds) Other fundraising activities Sub total £639 £753 £1,276 £156 £2,071 £964 £460 £2.177 £12,204 £3,770 £525 £4,295 £12,204 Other receipts Business grants Emptying 9th SWC bank account 3rd SWC share of District store insurance Donations 38th SWC refunding paymènt Maintenance Electricity (DHQI 10th SWC loan repaid by Milldale Shipton reimbursing District for payment Sub total £11,002 £2.451 £209 £300 £80 £1,472 £532 £0 £0 £360 £3,851 £0 £0 £12,554 Investment income Bank interest £8 £8 £337 £337 Sub total Total Gmss Income £25 552 Asset and investment sales, etc. Total receipts £37,462 £25,552

South West Cheshire District Scout Council Receipts and Payments Account For the year from 0110112022 to 3111212022 Receipts and payments 2022 2021 Payments Activities Beavers Cubs Explorers Young leaders District events, activities, training and camps Sub total District rnnning costs Water and Sewerage Electricity and Gas Insurance ccountancy Bank charges AGM and trustee expenses CVS Licence MPLC {film licence) Lottery li￿nce MiFi First Aid £615 £678 £211 £8 £1,330 £2,842 £824 £764 £1,588 £360 £683 £8,112 £300 £268 £1,055 £166 £582 £8,087 £300 £149 £588 £45 £688 £20 £138 £798 £20 £148 £206 £11.950 Sub total Exceptional expenses Donation to Guides Donations Gang Show (including loan Payment on behalf of 381h SWC Explorer Belt Paying bill for Shipton Loan to 1 SWC £10,762 £1,000 £450 £215 £1,800 £200 £5,203 £1,472 £1,063 £360 £12,000 £15,088 Sub total Fundraising expenses Distributed roceeds of fundraising Eurojam lincludin refunds World Scouting Jamboree instalments Other fundraising costs Sub total £162 £4,784 £1,707 £23,263 £0 £24 970 £0 Total Gross Expenditure £54.850 £25,971 Asset and investment purchases, etc. Total payments £54,850 £25,971 Net of receipts/(payments) Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end -£17,388 £97,823 £80,435 -£418 £98,241 £97,823

Activity Accounts Section Milldale Opening balance £48,401 £2.219 £3,811 Closing balance Receipts £23,259 £2,584 £2,300 £28.589 Payments £23,267 £446 £48,392 Canoe and Kayak Sailing Shooting .Scout Shop Explorers Gang Show £4,358 £4,841 £1,H3 £1,270 £28,833 £36,560 £12,614 £15,854 £1,687 £23,711 £18,4C6 £7,560 £36,130 £9,339 £12,637 £23,281 £15.131 £4,343 Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year 3111212022 3111212021 Cash funds RBS current account £33,058 £50,453 £47,169 £201 NS&I investment account £47,174 £204 The Scout Association Charity Deposit Account Total ¢ash funds £80,435 £97,823 Non monetary assets for charitvs own use (insured values) Land and buildings Motor vehicles £461,406 £25,950 £119,899 £56.715 £663,970 £422,783 £25,950 £103,449 £56,715 £608,897 Scouting equipment, furniture etc Marine Sub total Liabilities Accounts not yet paid Sub total £0 £0 The above receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities were approved by the Trustees on 7th March 2023 and signed on their behalf by nature Print Name Richard Chaplow Chair Richard Bennett Treasurer

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A I Independent Examiner's Report | Report to the tru8tM•l momber• of Charity NaiDe S'OUTr ocsf c14É5HIK oijrticr SLoL)r L On accounts lor the year andod 31J" Odcehb- 10&L Charlty no (If any S•t out on pag Iremember io Include the pag& niimbeis ol addrtiODal shee.ltsl I report to the trust888 on my examination of the accounts of the above charfty ('the Trust") for the year ended DD I MM I YYYY. RMpon•lbllltlM and ba81• of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act.). I report in re8pect of my examination of the Trust'8 accounts carried oui under Section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145151{bl of th8 Act. Indopondent IThe charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and l am qualified to examlnerf8 8tatement undertake the examination by being a qualified member of linsert name of applicable listed bodyll. Delet81 l if not applicable. I have completed my examination. I cOnfi￿n that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below ') which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the fomi and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'twe and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have came across no other matters in connection with the 8xamination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Please delete the woffls in th8 brackets if they do not apply. Slgned: Date: Nam•: Relevant profe88lonal quallflcation(sl or body I cfiE IER Oct 2018

(If any): Addrn••: oLrL 14 i*irtrt 4AS Sectioii B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charrty a￿ount$.. directions and guidance for examiners). Glve hero brfof dotall• of any Itom$ that th• oxamlnorwl8he8 to dl•clo•o. IER Oct 2018