AOR 1S)
Group Chair Report
This is the first AGM since January 2024 as we resolved at the last AGM to change our financial year to coincide with the calendar year. So this Annual Report covers an 18 month period.
A lot has happened in the last 18 months including the Group’s 100 year birthday celebrations in April which Martin talks about in his report. In 2024, having fixed on a design for a new ramp access to the hut we applied for and gained planning permission for the ramp, which will make both the hut and the basement fully wheelchair accessible. The ramp project also includes a second toilet for the hut which will be fully wheelchair accessible, and a small storeroom
With the assistance of Gavin Garner through his company (GWB) we now have a detailed cost plan for the ramp and have started to apply for grant funding. The project is not cheap as it involves removing the old ramp, foundation works and then constructing a new base and commissioning the steel frame ramp itself, as well as the new toilet and storeroom. Including contingencies but excluding VAT which we do not expect to pay, we are working off a SATTTTAT rnd"iH fn budget cost of about £180k.
We have started applying for grant funding and have recently been awarded £10k by High Peak Borough Council.
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Registered Charity No. 514718 (England and Wales)
Group Chairman Report continued...
While the Scout Group could put some money towards the ramp project, we need to ensure we have sufficient funds for the future to continue looking after the hut and buying new equipment. We are therefore seeking 100% grant funding if possible and will not be able to plan a commencement date for the construction until we have a clearer position on the funding, so there is still a long way to go.
The Group Executive Committee – now known as The Trustee Board – is made up of volunteers who meet once every 2 months to ensure the Group is financially stable, the individual sections have all the facilities and equipment that they need to look after the hut and to ensure that health and safety issues are addressed. On this last point, a lot of time has been spent in the last year or so focusing on putting risk assessments in place for the hut, grounds and equipment and ensuring that all users are kept safe. This has included commissioning an asbestos assessment of the hut and an updated tree survey.
We continue to add to Group equipment (tents and stoves for example this year), and we have also now added a further traverse climbing wall in the basement.
Aside from continuing to fundraise for the ramp, priorities for the next year include sorting the main storage container out (there is so much in there that we do not actually know what we have got!), installing heaters for the cellar, moving the hut fuse box and fixing the guttering. I would like to thank the existing Trustee Board for all their work over the past 18 months. Jeanette LestonJones and Mark Butland are standing down due to other commitments and so we need some new volunteers to join the Trustee Board.
The more people who volunteer the less work there will be to do so if you can spare a few hours please come forward.
Mark Krassowski Group Chairman
Group Lead Volunteer Report
As Mark has explained, it's been longer since the last AGM than usual due to the change of year end date and a huge amount of exciting Scouting has taken place since then.
The highlight of the year has to be the Group Centenary celebrations. Huge thanks go to Charlotte Harrison for the efforts NLEY she put into researching, collating and documenting the history is)> » of the group. According to her research, the troop was first formed in October 1911, one year after the creation of The Scout . E Association and one year before incorporation under the Royal s Charter. The troop was officially suspended in 1915 during the %p, 1925-2025Ry war and disbanded in 1919. According to the Scout Association RY or SCO records the group was officially reregistered under the name Lymedale Troop in April of 1925 with the name being changed to 1st Chinley Scouts in 1928.
We were pleased to have a larger turnout for the celebration BBQ and to be able to talk to some previous leaders, Group Scout Leaders and committee members who had fond memories of their time in the group.
Since the last AGM, we've also been through a huge countrywide review of how Scouting works with a view to making things simpler and more welcoming for new volunteers. As with any change, this has not been without difficulties and I thank all of our volunteers for bearing with us and completing the updated training modules.
Having been the first group to welcome Squirrels in 2023, that section has grown from an initial 12 to now 20 Squirrels and we still have more children on the waiting list than we can accommodate at this time. Fortunately there are now also three other Squirrel sections in the District which we've helped to encourage so this has eased the pressure a little but there's still more we could do. There are many children across the group who are staying on longer which is wonderful news although it does mean that we need to continue to grow our adult teams so that we can manage the larger numbers.
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Group Lead Volunteer Report continued...
The chart below shows that we have more children than ever attending weekly sessions, 125 at time of AGM and we also have more adults than ever with a total of 32 currently. You can see that there has been growth year on year for the last 10 years apart from the Covid year where every group had difficulties. I'm pleased to say that we also now have more girls than ever in the group with girls making up 23% of members which is great! Chinley Scouts remains the largest group in the District and with a waiting list containing over 100 children who would like a space, it seems likely that will remain the case for some time.
On a personal note, I joined the group as the Cub Scout Leader in June of 2013 after being told that Cubs was going to close because there were no leaders. According to the census for that year there were 50 children and 6 adults involved in the three group sections. The following year I took on the role of Group Scout Leader with an idea to try and encourage the group sections to work more closely together. Over the subsequent years I've had the privilege of working with some wonderful adults with the aim of trying to make scouting more accessible to more local children and I'm pleased that together we've achieved that.
Last year, once both of my boys had moved on to Explorers, I decided that I'd like to offer more of my time to help build and develop our Scouting District and therefore I offered to take on the role of District Commissioner, a role which has subsequently been renamed District Lead Volunteer. This role had been vacant for a couple of years and our district was in danger of being amalgamated with another district. I was not convinced that this would be beneficial and it gave me a final push to take on the role. Therefore since May 2024, I have been acting Group Scout Leader (now called Group Lead Volunteer GLV) for Chinley while being tasked with finding my own replacement for Chinley.
I'm delighted to say that Erica Leigh offered to take on the GLV role at Chinley and having spent some months helping to explain how things work, in my new DLV role, I plan to appoint Erica as the Group Lead Volunteer for Chinley at this AGM. Erica has a desire to continue developing and improving the group and I'm sure she'll make an excellent job of it.
I'd like to finish by thanking all the adults, the young leaders and all the children who I have had the pleasure of getting to know during my time leading Chinley Scout group and wish everyone all the best. I will not be far away and always happy to help.
Martin Berriman acting Group Lead Volunteer
Contact: email glv@chinleyscouts.org.uk
Squirrels (46)
Squirrels Report (by Erica Leigh)
We have had a busy year so far! In February we did a day trip to Manchester airport and got our air activities badge.
Then in March we had a sleepover at the hut. A few of the squirrels led a baking activity as part of their Youshape award. _
In meetings a few highlights include a visit from a Tai Chi instructor
and a visit to the local library.
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Beavers (68)
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Beavers Report (by Moira McIntyre and Becci Hutchins)
Monday Beavers have been birdwatching and had a picnic on Eccles Pike, canoeing at coombs, attended Barry the Beaver day, practiced knots, making kites and parachord keyrings.
They have also cooked damper bread on the fire, learned about the green cross code, planted sunflowers, planted and harvested onions, followed tracking symbols on a "safari" around the village and visited the fire station.
Wednesday Beavers have had a busy year again. We sadly said goodbye to Simon after many years dedication as assistant beaver leader, and welcomed Joel and Richard to our leadership team.
In autumn we went climbing at the ridge climbing wall and also worked on problem solving games and teamwork. In spring we had our first camp since COVID and hiked back from New Mills. Summer has had a lot of outdoor fun with cooking on fires, canoeing, exploring woodland, and two small contingents going to the District Barry the beaver day and the Countywide Beaver Bonanza.
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Cubs (8 10.5)
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Cubs Report (by Charlotte Harrison)
The Tuesday and Thursday Cubs packs have had a busy 18 months and have continued to grow in numbers, with 40 Cubs at the start of the latest term.
The Cubs have been enjoying a full programme of weekly meetings | including hikes, shooting, cooking and crafts, as well as paddlesports in the Summer terms. Chapel Fire Station hosted both packs to learn about their work and fire safety at home, and the Thursday Pack also visited the Samudra Kadampa Buddhist Centre in Buxton. Many of our Cubs have earned activity badges (including Athletics, Communicator, Fire Safety, Backwoods Cooking and Entertainer) and Challenge Awards, and twelve Cubs have achieved their Chief Scout Silver Award over the past 18 months.
The Cubs have participated in District activities, with 22 Cubs attending the High Peak Wallaboree in May 2024. The Thursday Pack entered two teams for the 2025 District Cubs competition and overnight camp at Gradbach and came away winners of both the Bowden Buffalo and High Peak Hex competitions, a fantastic achievement!
The Cubs have also had opportunities to camp with the Group, with a onenight camp in October at Gradbach and the Christmas Craft Camp with the Scouts in December. In July of this year, the Tuesday Cubs held their own onenight camp in the hall grounds (the first scouting night away for many of them). The packs really have benefitted from a healthy number of Leaders over the past couple of terms. At the end of this term we’ll be saying goodbye to Rob and Paula as they move to Scouts, and to Anna and Jamie, so are looking for new leaders to step up to join the team. Thank you too to our Young Leaders, Toby, Adam, Oscar, and Fallon, who continue to make a huge contribution to Cubs.
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Scouts (10.5 14)
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Scouts Report (by Ian Stefanuti)
One of the main aims of Scouts is to help to broaden the range of experiences that young people can get involved in through fun, challenging and rewarding activities.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so I’m surprised at what “ the Scouts have been up to! Caving, Warhammer, Shooting, Cooking Competition, 45 Camps, Cycling, Kite Flying, Climbing, 2 Fishing, Kayaking, Tree Planting, Archery etc. plus all the fantastic activities that were arranged for us via the Wallaboree team at Gradbach last year.
Particular highlights are doing really well in the cooking competition, having a team in the Talyor Trophy camp (for the first time in many years), successfully completing the Chilly Challenge and Border Hike camps, planting lots and lots of trees on Erica’s farm, learning to fish, Caving with the Hollowford Centre down Giant’s Hole, Christmas camp teamwork, cycling from Marple in the summer term, and teaching Scouts how to fry an egg on an open fire.
The Scouts section has continued to grow at Chinley from around 1520 members at the beginning of 2024 to 29 at present.
It’s really great to be part of a successful Scouting team and many thanks to those who give up their time to help out every week and at weekends. Alex Heazell, Jason Hobson, Rob Nock, Sam Berriman, Spencer Green, Mandy Dukes, Dillon Wilson.
But we do need extra help at the moment in order to split the group into two so that we can maintain a quality programme. Let us know if you would like to help, even if it is only occasionally – it would be much appreciated.
Although officially a district provision, and therefore not part of 1st Chinley Scouts, the Cracken Explorer Unit is partnered with Chinley Scouts and therefore included here for completeness.
Explorers (14 18) Explorers Report (by Martin Berriman) The Cracken Explorers Unit has seen an increase in numbers to the point where Chinley Scout Hut is no longer large enough to accommodate their activities and therefore, this year, they have decided that they need to relocate to Chapel Scout Hut so that they can continue to grow and develop. It is a bittersweet moment to see them have to leave but we wish them all the best for continued growth and thank them for their involvement with the group over many successful years.
The Cracken Explorers Unit has seen an increase in numbers to the point where Chinley Scout Hut is no longer large enough to accommodate their activities and therefore, this year, they have decided that they need to relocate to Chapel Scout Hut so that they can continue to grow and develop.
Group membership as of 20th January 2025
Membership: Leadership team: Squirrels (20) Young Leaders (9) Beavers (39) Section Team Leaders (6) Cubs (36) Section Team Members (26) Scouts (30) Skills Instructors (6) Explorers (0)
Group Treasurer Report - Finances
Trustees - 2023 - 2025
The following individuals served as trustees on the Group Executive Committee during the period 20232025. Officers : Chair Mark Krassowski (N) Treasurer Steve Waters (E) Secretary Ian Stefanuti (E) Committee Jeanette LestonJones (E) Quartermaster Mark Butland (E) Bookings Clare Hope (C) Facilities Manager unfilled
(N) Nominated (E) Elected (C) Coopted (X) ExOfficio (V) Voluntary
Uniformed Members : GSL: Martin Berriman (X)