## **109th Leicester (Countesthorpe) Scouts AGM - Minutes - Wednesday 8th June 2022 7pm** ## **Present:** Jack Barber ( GSL) James Henson (DGSL) Louise Topley ( Chair) Nick Topley ( Treasurer) Lucy Freeman( Secretary) Ross Lyon ( Mon Cub Leader) Gareth Maguire ( Thurs Scout Leader) Liz Henson ( Tues Cub leader) Marc Barber Jill Barber Tim Mitchell Chloe Faulkner Matt Riley Andrew Scott Rob Row ( District Commissioner) Karl Collins - Observer Luke Jelves Imajoy Sampson Ben Carter John Cook Kufre Sampson Susan Jelves Cat Phillips Matilda Carter - Observer Jackie Jenkins Jamie Beeby - arrived 7.59pm ## **Apologies:** James Paragreen Nailini Appadoo. Daniel Cosby Amelia Daley Sadie Fasulo Lisa Armstrong Kathryn Douglas Clara Smith Elenna Holdridge Laurence Hazell Andy Scott Ria Dennis Holly Lawrence ## **1. Welcome, introductions and apologies for absence** Jack explained about Observers, explained constitution to all ( which was shown on screen). Eligible to vote: Adults in group, parents, patrol leaders of scouts therefore Matilda and Karl are excluded from voting because of these stipulations. Louise welcomed all and introduced the team. ## **1. Highlights of the year** – photo slideshow 1st March 2021 to 28th Feb 2022 ## **2. Agree minutes of 2021 AGM** No amendments suggested. Proposed by Louise Topley and seconded by Liz Henson as being a true reflection of last years meeting. ## **3. Chair report** I have now completed a full year as chair for the executive committee. There have been challenges along the way, but it has continued to be such a pleasure to be part of Countesthorpe scouts’ group. The executive group has continued to stay stable with all posts covered and bimonthly meetings with good attendance, allowing us to continue to make positive decisions about the group and the way things are ran. Sarah has decided to resign from the committee due to personal commitments so we will be sorry to not have her as part of the committee next year. I want to thank her for her hard work and commitment to the group. The group has continued to grow in numbers with us now at 109 at the last census across the three sections, however we have continued to grow and as of today have 118 young people. All groups are now meeting regularly face to face, which is a very different position to where we were last year. This has meant that we have been able to continue to offer all of the young people involved lots of amazing opportunities in scouting. Over the past 12 months the ceiling work has been completed which means the building is now insulated to building regulations. There is new floor in the foyer and back room, both rooms have also been painted. The mezzanine floor is now gone in the back, and the wall has been reinforced to make sure this is safe. The back room has also been cleared out and is now a really brilliant space for everyone to use when in the building. We are currently in discussions about the best plan to move forward with replacing the main hall flooring too. This has come in at a cost of about £19,000 to the group, which has come from fund raising and grants received too. We have been able to relax a lot of the rules around Covid-19 which means that we have been able to get back to doing what Scouts do best! Meeting up and having lots of fun and opportunities for all of the young people involved. The executive group have continued to ensure that all health and safety standards are adhered to in the hut and also support to the sections to be able to run with this all in place as required. We have been able to reopen the hut to hirers and we have been able to continue to secure some regular hirers which supports us with ongoing hut costs. Lucy has very kindly been managing this for us and communicating with the hirers to make sure things are running smoothly. Thanks Lucy! We were able to be part of the bonfire celebrations at Cherry lane Garden centre which secured us a donation of £2,500, which has gone into our funds to support the building work required. Plans are in place for the summer gala to go ahead on the 2[nd] July ’22 which we are all looking forward too and we hope that this will continue to support our fundraising efforts. We were able to put on the pantomime at the Sue Townsend theatre with all sections involved, which was a great success, and we even won an award for, and we were able to fund raise as part of the fair before and after the pantomime too. We have been lucky enough to have received some grants over the year that have been able to continue to support us to deliver scouting to all of the young people and we also want to thank you for your continued contribution with payments of subs, during these difficult times. I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of our volunteers who have continued to support us throughout this year. I also want to say a special thanks to Jack, Malc, Jill and James for their continued dedication to the group and all of the hours of hard work that they put in to make special things happen for the young people that we all work with. I am happy to continue as Chair and on the Executive committee next year. Louise Topley _Jack added in that we were very successful at the first Leicestershire Panto Awards in which we had taken part in. Lighting Award was won, Luke received a principal boy nomination and the whole company won the Youth award._ ## **4. Group Scout Leader report** : I’m going to do something slightly different for my Group Report this year – you already hear an awful lot from me, so I decided to ask our 4 Scouts Patrol Leaders to deliver the main part of my report for me, and tell you about the year in their experience. Imajoy, Ben, Luke and Chloe – over to you! **Ben** - 9 YP growth, 6th growth year in a row. 60th Anniversary - new plaques and back room revealed. Wizard of Oz Panto. **Luke** - with Chloe and Ben - County forum - lots of things discussed, the black circle is being kept! Summer uniform requested. Escape room afterwards! The forum team then joined in with an Exec meeting to report back to Group Exec. Incident Hike - first one in April 21 - Around Peatling - Different bases with different activities. James’s base - blind folded activities. Family fun day - Meadows sports ground, camp fire, grass lit by accident! **Chloe** - New parks swimming pool, kayaking. Goldilocks - Panto in Birmingham, Overnight camp at Scout hut, built own tents to sleep in, karoke **Imajoy** - Hike, fish and chip walks, recently joined scouts but enjoying it immensely. Thank you all of you! As many of you are aware, it’s been my responsibility in the County for the last 5 years to ensure young people have a say and an input in all levels of Scouting (and it still is for another 3 weeks before I move roles). James and Jamie continue to act as our District Youth Commissioners, working for the same goal as well – and its something we are really proud to be leading from the front on in Countesthorpe. This Group is about the young people who come along every week and it’s only right that they have an input on the decisions we take wherever possible. (Even if it does mean they’ve insisted our new floor must still have a black circle on it!) So it’s been great to have some Scouts starting to join our meetings and Beavers have also in the last few weeks written to the Exec about their ideas as part of the YouShape Award. We are incredibly fortunate in this Group – I visit and hear about a lot of Groups, and believe me, we have so much to be proud of. We are incredibly active and have a huge number of dedicated volunteers who make this all happen. Successful organisations like this have successful teams – and I’m so lucky to have a brilliant one. From the Exec to all of our leaders, to those who ‘just help every now and again’, but without whom we wouldn’t run as many events as successfully as we do. Thank you so much to all of you – we have a really good team spirit and ethos at this Group that I’m confident will continue for many years to come. A word on our growth too – you’ve heard the current numbers, which stand at 118 Beavers, Cubs and Scouts today. In many ways, we’re a victim of our own success! Given the huge levels of interest currently, we are forecasting our membership will continue to grow steeply in the coming months. Even if we don’t take in new Cubs and Scouts on the waiting list, and only accept new Beavers when places are available, we are still forecast to reach 130 members by October, and that may continue to go up in 2023 – leaving huge pressure on the Cubs and Scouts Sections in particular. While a few lower birth rate years will mean pressure on Cubs should be mostly alleviated later in 2023 and 2024, it’s clear that the general trend is one of huge growth – an amazing problem to have and one we are currently trying to work out how we will manage. It’s likely going forward that we won’t be able to sustain this within the existing 5 Sections – and possibly not even within this building. In particular our current project is exploring how we can provide provision for a second Scout Troop in some form. Our priority is to make sure anything we do is sustainable and that we continue offering the same level of quality programme to existing members. And with that in mind, the only way of resolving these issues is yet more adult volunteers! We need more leaders, more adults to help at occasional meetings and events and more adults to join the Exec to help maintain the building, work through decisions and keep the Group moving forward. If you or anyone you know could help, please do speak to one of us today – we’re a friendly and fun Group to be part of and we want to make sure we can cater for all of these young people. With that in mind, you will see we are slower on the uptake on opening the new Squirrel Section than some of our counterparts locally. This is purely because we think it’s important we don’t overstretch ourselves and do things properly, keeping that quality programme for existing members and making everything sustainable. Our first priority is supporting the growth in Cubs and Scouts, but nonetheless, we have had discussions on how Squirrels could fit in to the Group, and will continue these. There may be modifications needed to the building – and again new adults will need to be recruited and trained. But I hope that by the time of the next AGM, we will be in a position to be able to give an intended start date for Squirrels to open and be a long way down the line towards making that happen. Again – if you think you could support this in any way, please let us know. Finally, a word on a couple of volunteers who moved on during the year. A huge thank you to Jean Ford, who after nearly 50 years, retired from Scouting in January – having given many Cubs – including me, so many great experiences. And also to reiterate thanks to Sarah Moore, who joined the Exec in a difficult period during lockdown and gave us a lot of her experience to help ensure we were taking sensible decisions in that time, Please accept this as my Group report. Jack Barber, GSL. **5.** Group and Sectional reports : ## **Beavers report:** This has been another successful year for both Beavers Colonies, as we have bounced back from the effects of Covid to get back to what we’ve all missed. Our numbers have remained stable throughout this period – though one of the many negative impacts of Covid has been that reduced socialisation when they joined us age 6, has meant many new Beavers have found the induction period very difficult. Structured activity, noise and so many other people was something many of these newcomers had simply never experienced after 2 years of lockdown – which more than anything reinforces the importance of Scouting for this age group and the need for us to make things as normal as possible, as soon as it was safe to do so. The effect of this – and of reduced exposure to attract new members, was that for the first time in many years, we have seen small numbers of spaces available at times during the year. Encouragingly though, after a few months of face to face Scouting, enquiries started to surge once again, our retention record of those who do start is close to 100% again and with numbers on the waiting list who are old enough to join this Summer, we are set once again to be oversubscribed – an issue that needs to be looked at alongside the growth in the rest of the Group. In terms of activities, the reporting year started with meetings on Zoom. Crafts, cooking and hand puppets were the highlights plus Mucky March – but of course none of this could compare to our return to the hut in April 2021. For the majority of Beavers, this was their first experience of face to face Scouting – yet even then we were battling reduced Group sizes and social distancing. Nonetheless, we managed to find some new games (one day I will remember the full rules to Giants, Wizards and Dwarves!), and continued working towards Challenge badges – with most Beavers still earning their Bronze Awards before moving up to Cubs. And all of us were thrilled to go back to Ullesthorpe Campsite for the District St George’s 2021 event – taking part in Tomahawk throwing and making S’mores. In June, we also travelled to Oaks in Charnwood for an afternoon on the assault course, den building and mini beast hunting as we slowly restarted ‘real Scouting’. September saw far more normality as we returned indoors for a full programme, including biscuit decorating, Leaf printing and working towards new badges – Money Skills and the YouShape Award. There was still plenty of time for getting outdoors though, with a Treasure Hunt around the village, a trip to Blaby Crazy Golf and winter games on the Paddock when adverse weather meant a District Fun Day had to be cancelled. In the early part of this year, the Beavers learnt about Burns Night and loved working towards the Air Activities badge, with a brilliant session simulating the experience of going on a plane – including very authentic air hosts and hostesses (normally known as Young Leaders), checking tickets and serving mid flight drinks. A note on our excellent Young Leaders – who really add to the programme and experience we’re able to offer Beavers and are a real credit to themselves. Alongside this, Beavers have of course taken part in all of the fantastic Group activities that you’ve been hearing about – and despite it all, have stayed incredibly busy. Well done to all of you for sticking with us and keeping a smile on your faces through all of the restrictions – we’re looking forward to lots more adventure in the coming months! Jack confirmed he is happy to continue on the Exec. Not that he has a choice! Jack Barber, Beavers Section Leader ## **Monday Cubs report:** This period of scouting started off still on zoom like the vast majority of the year before which saw Monday cubs baking apple crumbles, completing a virtual escape room, countless puzzles and quizzes and even a show and tell. Thankfully after Easter we were allowed to return back to face to face scouting albeit with limited numbers, so as our pack had 24 cubs we split them down the middle and took turns each week to meet outside either down the side of the hut fire lighting and other socially distant activities or out on hikes over the fields. We attended a scaled back St George’s day up at Ullesthorpe camp site where we did such things like tomahawk throwing and making smores and then back home to carry on with the day over zoom. We then finished off the term with our annual chip shop walk which was made that little bit better as it was the first time we met as a whole for several months. We returned in September with a new start time and for the first time in what feels like over a year inside the hut and being able to play games and do activities without having to check the weather first. We also attended our group camp which was great to see the young people having fun and getting back to normal. October saw the return of the bonfire at the garden centre which we made an awesome pumpkin tinman guy to go on top. At the end of the year we made a winter scene candle holder and of course had our Christmas party. The new year brought new faces and new games as we celebrated Chinese New year with Chinese food and games. We have stayed at a constant 24 cubs throughout the year, losing a few along the way to scouts with but picked several more up to keep the pack healthy. 4 of our cubs attained their silver awards which is always great to see. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Cat, Holly, Emma, James, Steve, Simon, Cris and Rupert for without your help week in week out our pack wouldn’t be what it is today. A big thank you too for Ria who left us in December to join Beavers. Lastly I’d like to thank all the parents for their commitment each week and their support throughout the year. As ever I’m happy to remain on the exec committee for the coming year. Ross Lyon, Cub Scout Leader. ## **Tuesday cubs Report** Between March 2021 and February 2022 the pack has grown to 20 members and has continued to grow since then. The pack has had a varied and enjoyable year making up for lost time in learning new skills and trying new things. In March the cubs learnt the key skills of knife safety and learn to use a verity of hand tools safety to make their own pencils. Some of the cubs then progressed this skill using their new knife skills to generate their own kindling to fuel a Kelly kettle and make themselves a drink working as a small team. All the cubs had successfully mastered the skill of fire lighting with 20 individual and social distance fires all independently lit in one night. Working towards their challenge badges the cubs tried a variety of new activities and games over the year with star wars themed yoga and human sized bubbles a particular highlight. In April the cubs enjoyed attending the St Georges day activities and the first time at the campsite for many with the mix of virtual and in person activities with axe throwing, marshmallow toasting, art craft, catapults and much more. In July many of the cubs and leaders enjoyed the groups incident hike providing an interesting and enjoyable day. The Cubs learnt a large number of skills most important navigation and teamwork with the cubs working together with cubs for Mondays and the scouts. In September the cub also enjoyed their first opportunity to go camping learning more traditional scouting skills like pioneering, tent pitching as well as balloon modelling and den building. In November two cubs began work upon the brand new you shape award planning and leading the an obstacle course for the pack. They planed the night, ran games, deleted tasks, invested a leader and even carried out a risk assessment. In December many of the cubs enjoyed taking to the stage in this years pantomime and toughly enjoyed performing on a professional stage. In January the cubs enjoyed celebrating Australia day with a night of Australia themed games mainly cricket, and learning about Australian wildlife and dressing up as Australians In February the cubs continued their hard work towards many badges but particularly enjoyed looking at old picture of the cub leaders when celebrating founders’ day. As you can see the cubs have had a fantastic, enjoyable and busy year overcoming and making up for the challenges of the previous year. The cubs have learnt so many valuable and key skills and completed many badges with 3 silver awards being presented but most importantly they have enjoyed having fun and making friends and are looking forward to the many activities planed for the year ahead. Thank you to all those that have supported the pack and the group over the year and have meant that the cubs have had an enjoyable and brilliant year. I am happy to be on the Exec for the forthcoming year. ## **Thursday Night Scouts:** Thursday evening Scouts continues to enjoy a burgeoning membership with full capacity numbers, and very little by way of attrition. Only 2 Scouts leaving prematurely in their Scouting journey (Harry & Cole), one who quit but came back (Agnes) and a number of Scouts completing their time with us as they reached term (Matilda, Daniel C, Daniel S, Imogen, Alfie, Rupert, Eve). Of note, all but one continue within the association in a variety of roles. Congratulations to those who achieved their Chief Scout’s Gold Award: Daniel C, Eve, Imogen & Matilda, Alex. Chapeau! Our return to F2F has now been firmly established, so a few lists to remind ourselves of what has been a pretty busy programme ## Camps & Events - Sleepover/Karaoke – tentative dip of the toe into the post Covid water - Group Camp Ullesthorpe – entertaining weekend, with many Scouts’ first nights under canvas - St Georges Weekend – well represented, with awards a-plenty in the Incident Hike - Splash – a day in the water in splendid summer sunshine - Pantomime – our talented players take plaudits and contribute to a countywide award! - Monopoly Run – 2 excellent teams, and a second place overall ## Community - Remembrance Sunday – always powerful, not diminished by its Paddock setting - Active Arts – Supporting the Exhibition, and some booty to invest (see Sleepover/Karaoke!) - ‘GroundForce’ – the revitalisation of the garden at Brook Court - Mucky March – lots of self-determination in aiding the wider effort - Jubilee – so many valuable local contributions to a nationally important event ## Standard Programme - Snorkelling & SCUBA – Engaged with the County Dive team, 2 week programme - Kayaking – again leveraging county assets for an enjoyable taster session - Build-Your-Own Synthesiser – unique opportunity to be coached by a nationally recognised academic in a specialist musical field. And to create an absolute racket - Our place in the world – a series of sessions looking at aspects of history and modern life, including WaterAid, Poverty, Ecology, Holocaust, Democracy - Crazy Golf – a little levity in Blaby - Chip shop walks – once a term taster – Blaby, Cosby and Countesthorpe - Navigation skills – ever try, ever fail….. No matter! Many hikes around the lesser trodden bits of S Leics - First Aid, Cooking, Pioneering, Expedition planning, Wide games, Orienteering, Party, Show & Tell, Murder in the Dark, Escape from Alcatraz….. etc. We are back to normality, so are applying regular hierarchy, with nominated Patrol Leaders Ben, Chloe, Luke & Imajoy, ably assisted by APLs Kieran, Hadley, Agnes and Callie – we undertook a democratic exercise to determine who got the Leader roles, I think this was a 1st. We’ve also had contributions to Youth Scouting across the District and representations to the 109[th] Exec, with some of those listed, plus Alex and Josh. My thanks to our always supportive Executive & Chair, our hard-working GSL & Deputy, the multi-talented SLs Laurence, Matt, and Andrew, contributions when needed from the wider team (Tom, James, Jill, Liz, Malc, Eleanor, Jack, Ross, Holly et al) our occasional YLs Rowan & Toby, along with our National, County & District teams. Finally to the Landlady at the Cock, where we have a post Thurs session session and Scotty consumes some unlikely bar snacks. Together we’ve had a blast. I am happy to continue my role on the Executive and as Scout Leader for the forthcoming year. Gareth Maguire **6.** Receive and adopt the Financial statements for the past financial year Nick Topley - Treasurer - _See attached accounts document._ Opened year with £37,289.62K in account, reduced over the year We are just £8k down. This was because of £4k District loan which was repaid plus £17k on ceiling. Large numbers of YP so capitation was £5060 this year. Record year for subs even though start of year our subs were reduced, £7,080 recouped in subs. £14k from Blaby DC in grants for Covid. Other grants were for building grants £2500 from Cherry Lane Garden centre for fireworks Gocardless system set up - bank account system which is a huge benefit, despite a small cost. Cash free mostly as an operation. Petty cash for section leaders allocated per term for activities etc. Main expenditure is forecast to be hut maintenance for forthcoming year. Overview We are in process of setting up a new bank account - NatWest are being slow - but will allow debit cards etc which will need AGM approval. Jack - 4 years of historic gift aid also in this years accounts. Cleaning is set to reduce but utilities are high and increasing. Covid costs high too Lots of money spent on hut which has been unavoidable Jack opened floor for questions - none forthcoming. Gareths proposed the finances as approved, seconded by Malc. **7.** Approval and adoption of changes to the Group Constitution Jack explained to all about the change. Vote took place in which no one voted against -carried unanimously. **8.** Reappoint / elect key Executive members: - Nomination for Chair - Louise Topley - nominated by Jack Barber - agreed by Malc and Ross. Nomination for Secretary - Lucy Freeman - nominated by Jack Barber - unanimously carried. Nomination for Treasurer - Nick Topley - nominated by Jack Barber - Seconders were requested from the floor in which Tim and Malc seconded. Vote took place which was unanimously carried. **9.** Approve nominated and elected members to the Executive Committee Elected members: Malc Barber, Tim Mitchell ( Louise Topley to propose, seconders requested from the floor) Agreed - Ross and Liz seconded, unanimously carried. Nominated members (By Jack Barber): Clara Smith - approval received from the floor. **10.** Approve process for appointment of an auditor for the forthcoming year - Karen Linnett or designate. Approved by all unanimously. Audited accounts received. ## **11.** A.O.B Rob Row -District Commissioner - relayed thanks to all, most active group in South Leicestershire and beyond. Special thanks to Jack and all the Exec team for St Georges day etc 2021 too - especially for the zoom and tech based help! Rob presented the following: 5 year awards - Tim Mitchell 20 year award - Liz Henson 5 year awards - Gareth Maguire Wood beads - Training completed - Gareth Maguire Chief Scout Commendation for Good service - Ross Lyon Thanks to all for attending ## **109th Leicester Scouts accounts 01/03/21-28/02/22** ## **INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT (cash accounting basis)** ||**Income**|| |---|---|---| |**Subs**||7,080.65| |**Activities**||6,405.27| |**Hut hire**||1,064.00| |**BDC**||14096| |**Other grants/donations**||6321.31| |**Gift Aid**||2626.4| |**Cleaning**||| |**Utilities**||| |**Capitation**||| |**Other**||| |**loan repayment**||| |**Hut Maintenance**||| |**Equipment**||| |**TOTAL**|**37593.63**| |---|---| |**FAIR**|640.8| |**Bank reconciliation**|| |Bank balabce b/f at 1st March 2021|| |Net movement in year|| |**Bank balance as at 28 February 2022**|| |**Expenditure**||**Net**|**Comment**| |---|---|---|---| |||7,080.65|| |10,040.31|-|3,635.04|Panto/freworks| |||1,064.00|| |||14,096.00|| |||6,321.31|| |||2,626.40|| |2397.7|-|2,397.70|| |1316.33|-|1,316.33|| |5060.00|-|5,060.00|Previous years capitation| |790.23|-|790.23|Zoom/paper/postage/ink| |4000.00|-|4,000.00|repayment of loan| |18895.58|-|18,895.58|| |2786.18|-|2,786.18|| ||||£7692.70p is the diference| ||||between income received in| ||||the year, and expenditure| |**45286.33 **|**-**|**7,692.70**|made in the year| |100.26||540.54|not banked, used as petty cash not inclu| |||37,289.62|| ||-|7,692.70|| |||**29,596.92**|**29596.89**| Ided in total. LT700005- Strutineerfs Report to the Trustees Uuly Template for the scrutineer's report to the trustees Scrutineer's Report to the Trustees of the th 109 Leicester Countesthorpe Scout Council I report on the accounts of the GrOU￿15￿ct for the year ended 28 February 2022 As the GroUp.￿DIstrIrts trustee5 you are responsible for the WeparatI￿ of the accourtr. considerthat nwther the￿￿￿￿r￿￿pefideftt examination requirements of the Charities Act 2011 apply. It is my responsibility without carrying out an audit or independent examination to suutinise the accounts and to report to you. In accordance with the directions given in the GroUp,￿DistriC￿$ constitution. I have scrutinised the record5 and the counts. In my opinion the accounts are in atcardance with the records produced to me and comply with the constitution. Name: Address: Karen Linnett 4 Archery Close Countesthorpe Lei￿ster LE8 5QB Datr. 01 June 2022