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2023-03-31-accounts

Ripon & District Scout Council Annual General Meeting

7pm Monday 17th July 2023

(Hillside Scout HQ, Knayton)

Page(s)

Annual General Meeting
7pm Monday 17th July 2023
(Hillside Scout HQ, Knayton)		 Page(s)
Agenda 2-3
Minutes from the District AGM 2022 4-6
District Chair’s Report 7
District Commissioner’s Report 8
ADC & Scout Group Reports 9-17
Explorer Scout Group Unit Reports 17-18
District Active Support Unit Report 19
Scout Network Report 20
St Georges Day 2023 20
Statement of Accounts 2022-23 22-25
Independent Examiner’s Report 26

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Ripon and District Scout Council

Annual General Meeting 2023

7pm on Monday 17th July 2023 (Hillside Scout HQ, Knatyton)

Agenda

Item 1: Welcome & District Chair’s Opening Remarks.

Item 2: Apologies for Absence.

Item 4: Undertake governance oversight

Item 5: Agreed quorum of members for each:

Item 6: Receive & Consider The District Annual Report & Statement of Accounts for 20222023.

Item 7: Election and Appointment of Ex-Officio Members to the District Trustee Board for 2023-2024.

Item 8: Election and Appointment of members to the District Trustee Board for 20232024.

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Elected Members. Nominations (or self-nominated):

Nominated Members.

Nominated by the District Commissioner in consultation with the District Chair.

Item 9:

Appointment of President & Vice Presidents

Item 10: Appointment of an auditor, independent examiner for 2023-2024

Item 11: Election of the Representative to the North Yorkshire County Scout Council for 2023-24.

Presentation of David Burnett award. Item 12:

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RIPON AND DISTRICT SCOUT COUNCIL

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 15 June 2022 at The Golden Fleece, Thirsk

  1. Welcome and District Chair’s opening remarks. The Chair, Jon Goom, opened the meeting. He welcomed Cllr David Whitfield, The Mayor of Thirsk David Jackson, Deputy County Youth Commissioner James Porter and County Secretary David Forster, and other attendees, and thanked everyone for attending.

2. Apologies for Absence .

Anne Collins, Adam Dickson, Aimée Dubiel, Liz Hall, Brian Hawthornthwaite, Chris Heywood, John Helliwell, Tim Jones, Marjorie McGrath, Cath McMorland, Mayor of Ripon Cllr Eamon Parkin, John Roberts, Sarah Slade, Toni Vauvert

  1. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2021. These had been circulated prior to the AGM, and the Chair said that there had been no outstanding actions. The minutes were proposed by Ian Bardon and seconded by John McGrath and approved by the attendees.

  2. Receive and consider the District Annual Report and Statement of Accounts for 20212022. The Report and Accounts had been circulated prior to the AGM. The Statement of Accounts had been prepared by Sarah Slade and independently examined by Neil Mercer, and approved by the District Executive. Thanks were given to Sarah Slade who had not been able to attend the meeting.

The Chair recapped on the information in his report, and said that youth numbers had bounced back well from Covid, but they were still struggling for leaders. The Chair had attended County Cub camp, which had been an enjoyable event. Thanks were given to the District Executive members and other supporters, and all the outstanding district leaders were thanked.

The District Commissioner’s (DC) report had been circulated in advance, and he recapped on this. Numbers were about 15% higher than at Census. Changes were coming from HQ that would be met. If anyone had any ideas for fundraising for the Jamboree, these would be welcome.

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5. Appointment and Election of District Administrators and Advisers for 2022-23.

5.1 District Chair – In discussion with two applicants, and it was envisaged that there would be a new Chair in place by September 2022. Jon Goom would continue until September. Ian Bardon suggested that, if a candidate could not be found, a name generation was held by the Executive.

5.2 District Treasurer – Sarah Slade. Proposed by the Chair

5.3 District Secretary – Alex Whitfield. Proposed by DC

5.4 District Badge Secretary – Cath McMorland. Proposed by the Chair. There may be someone for this post, and Cath would continue until the end of 2022.

5.8 District Network Commissioner – Adam Dickson. Proposed by DC. A successor was being sought as Adam would be leaving the post at the end of 2022.

5.9 District Explorer Scout Commissioner – This position was vacant and someone was being sought.

Someone to take on the position Assistant District Commissioner (ADC) for Scouts was also needed.

Sarah Rands had moved into the position as ADC for Beavers.

The above were elected on block by the attendees.

6. Election and Appointment of the District Executive Committee for 2022-23

Nominated Elected Members:

Jon Aubrey de Lavenu Ian Bardon Trish Beadle Terry Hodgson

Members nominated by the DC:

Mike Collins Anne Collins Aimée Dubiel Donna Fleming

The nominations for membership of the District Executive were carried by a show of hands.

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It was agreed that further members could be co-opted at the next meeting. Ian Bardon requested that David Day be co-opted on to the committee, and any other requests should be made to the Chair before the next Executive meeting.

  1. Election and appointment of the District Representative to the North Yorkshire County Scout Council for 2022-23. Jon Goom nominated by DC and seconded by Martin Renton. No objections, so this was approved.

8. James Porter – Deputy Youth Commissioner

James was representing the County Commissioner, who was shown on the printed information.

James gave his thanks for the invitation, and said that for a small district, Ripon and District were very active and a strong district in the County. James thanked everyone for all their time, and thanked John Lockwood for being the DC.

James spoke about change, and that this always happened, and there was change coming over the next 5 years. This had started with the fantastic addition of the Squirrels section.

The DC had been requested by the County Commissioner to add an extra item to the agenda and present an award. The DC presented Roz Bardon with the Silver Acorn.

9. Closing remarks. The Chair thanked everyone who made Scouting happen.

Advance notice was given that the 2023 AGM would be held on Wednesday 14[th] June.

The district calendar would be changing to run from September to September.

Attendees: 29 in total

David Baker David Jackson Ian and Roz Bardon Jon Aubrey de Lavenu Peter Bardon John Lockwood Stuart Carter John McGrath Mike Collins Henry Morley Hanna Cook Martin Renton Tessa Danby James Porter David Day Sarah Rands Eric and Shirley Fell Iris de Wet Donna Fleming Alex Whitfield David Forster David Whitfield Jon Goom Stephen Hall Chris, Nicola and Terry Hodgson

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District Chair’s Report 2023

With the pandemic now firmly in the rear-view mirror this last year has seen Scouting across the District return to normal levels of activity. Being able to conduct this without the need for distancing or events being held virtually has enabled young people to get back to something that resembles Scouting prior to 2020.

We have held five District events this year, including a District Camp in July and a particularly memorable sleepover at the Deep, all of which were resounding successes and continued the good work of reinvigorating Scouting and energising the young people in our District. None of these would have been possible without leaders across the District giving up their time to organise and run the events for which I offer sincere thanks.

The District Executive, now entitled the District Trustee Board, continues to oversee District matters. Many thanks to them all for their time and assistance this year. The board is still looking to appoint a secretary so if you are interested in being appointed to the position then please get in touch.

Finally I must say a big thanks to John Lockwood for continuing to serve as District Commissioner as well as the ADC team and all the leaders and DAS members in the district who do a fantastic job of running Scouting in Ripon & District.

Matt Rea

District Chair

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District Commissioner’s Report

Hello and a warm welcome to all the members of Ripon & District Scout Council. We have seen excellent growth in all our sections from our Squirrel’s, through to our Explorers with most groups reporting full sections and waiting lists for some as well. I find it remarkable that as a voluntary organisation we are not only appealing to new members but we can meet and deliver the expectations of all our existing members in these challenging times.

Our scouting has had a year that we will all remember in different ways, we have gained members and sadly lost members including our patron Her Majesty the Queen. Through all of this we have the resolve to keep on delivering a fantastic, engaging programme and activities that will give our young people a lifetime of memories and experiences.

We have a contingent of Explorers who are going to the World Jamboree in South Korea, they have worked hard fundraising and attending training camps so when the time comes they can get the most from this unique experience and we wish them all the best for their adventure. We had young members go on a trip to ‘Sleep at the Deep’ this was an amazing experience for adults and young members, although I think the adults / Leaders were looking forward to catching up on their sleep afterwards.

The District Cub camp, which hasn’t been run for a while until this year, was by all accounts a great hit with the Cubs and the Leaders, some of whom went back out the following weekend for the District scout camp, well done to everyone involved in planning, running and making these camps a big success. Some of the Beavers are going to the county Damboree, some of whom will never have camped before so I wish them a fabulous time.

The new Squirrel section is blossoming and have a waiting list to get going with their first steps in scouting. Our explorers have been getting in their camping and overnights as well as working towards their Higher awards which will see some of them achieving their Kings Scout award.

We have a challenging year ahead of us, we need to recruit more uniformed leaders and I hope some of the parents of our young people will help us achieve this along with encouraging others to be more active. We are seeing new rules coming in over this coming year and new ways of doing things, but I am sure we will meet these challenges head on and overcome them.

So it just leaves me to say a massive THANK YOU to you all for the outstanding work that you do & wish you all a restful summer when it comes in July.

John Lockwood.

District Commissioner

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ADC Beavers Report

Beavers have had a great 12 months; and we have managed to meet on three separate occasions as a District; each time with around 100 participants. The first was the Big Beaver Splash in July 2022; on a beautifully hot sunny day. As billed; we all got wet! A big thank you to the WHESU and Topcliffe Scouts who came to help out on the day.

Our second event was of course the sleepover at The Deep, which had been previously postponed due to COVID. After opening it up to Cubs, Scouts and Explorers, we had two separate fantastic nights there; and lots of really positive comments from the young people who came.

The most recent event was the Luck of the Irish day in March 2023; which included Irish themed games and a ceilidh. The first round was a bit tricky; but after some leader participation and demonstration round two went much better! Another big thank you to WHESU and Fountains ESU for their help and good humour on the day.

A final thank you goes to DAS for organising their DASQuest for Beavers this year; it is always an enjoyable event and offers somewhere new to explore.

Looking forward, the County Damboree is coming up in 5 weeks which some of our District colonies are attending; and there will be at least one further District Beaver event before the end of 2023.

Sarah Rands ADC Beavers

ADC Cubs Report

What a year we have had with in the cub groups over the district. We have had so much fun from Orienteering at Cundall Manor School, to taking part in a district sleepover trip to the Deep at Hull, Scrambling at Brimham rocks, and to finish the year a district camp at Clotherholme Farm. These opportunities have allowed the cubs attending to experience new activities, learn new skills and make new friendships within the District, bringing all of the groups together.

The District Cub Leaders and myself are currently planning some more amazing and thrill seeking activities for this next coming year.

Well done to all of the cubs that have achieved their Chief Scout Silver Award within their time at cubs, this is down to the individual Section and Assistant leaders. This takes me onto thanking all of the leaders within the

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district for their continued support and efforts of making each and every cub enjoy their time within their sections.

Tessa Danby ADC Cubs

1[st] Boroughbridge Report

After the reduction in members and fewer activities over the past two years, this year we returned to full strength. Although we had lost some youngsters, when we returned to normal meetings we had others eager to join who had never been involved before. We also benefitted from Explorers who became 18 and were able to join as Leaders, and a whole Scouting family who relocated from Cornwall.

The Cubs enjoyed their camping experience at the County Camp at Pateley Bridge, it was a four day camp over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee holiday. They put a lot of energy into taking part in all the activities, so school on Monday would have been a chance for a rest.

They also joined in with the Beavers and Scouts on an overnight stay at The Deep. Thanks to Sarah and Donna for organising it, and congratulations for managing to ‘sleep’ there for two nights.

The Beavers also took part in a water day at Hillside, luckily it was warm as they got soaked.

Another great activity where leaders were glad not to carry participants in their cars was the Total Warrior event at Bramham. The Cubs and Scouts made their way around a very muddy and wet course – our photos only show them starting off, as noone could recognise which mud ball was from 1[st] Boroughbridge at the end. They must have liked it as many have signed up for this year’s repeat.

Many Scouts have again signed up for this year’s County ‘Ignite’ having enjoyed spending the weekend on a queue-and-do activity mega event in Dalby Forest.

It was great to get back to our regular December programme including the Boroughbridge Christmas Tree Festival in which the youth section was won by the Scouts entry. Roasting Chestnuts, Santa’s Sleigh, a visit to the Panto, and filling shoe boxes all made a comeback.

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The Cubs and Scouts even managed a trip to the climbing wall.

The Scouts were able to add an extra camp when the older ones went to Thornthwaite for the Winter Camp ( -6[o] C ).

Mike Collins

Group Scout Leader

1st Topcliffe Scout Group Report

All our sections have grown in strength and attainment, due to the varied sessions we plan & hold for all our young people. This includes Caving, Backwoods Cooking & trying new skills with food & tastes, Knot learning, Hikes, First Aid, Visit to Studfold & having visitors in to help with new skills. Then of course the important days like St David's day & Christmas Parties which included an online Panto. All sections have camped multiple times in the last year except Squirrels who have only been allowed since January this year but are planning a camp for later in the term.

This is shown in the amount of badges our sections have awarded and the Chief Scout awards that our young people have earned.

We have awarded 764 badges in the last year 1st June 2022 to 21st May 2023. These are Challenge, Activity & staged badges for all sections.

This includes the 1 Chief Scout Gold Award, 5 Chief Scout Silver Awards, 8 Chief Scout Bronze Awards & 3 Chief Scout Acorn Awards.

This is down to the amazing team of leaders & volunteers that is 1st Topcliffe Scout Group. Our young people move up into our sections except our Squirrels who we have fed into other groups within the district with almost a 100% retention.

We have attended all of the district events except the Christmas one and been active within our community from litter picks to covering water bottle stations for the Thirsk 10 Run & Bags 2 school collections.

This wouldn't have all been possible without our outstanding & supportive GSL Stuart Carter who sadly passed away in March this year, He managed to clock up over 40

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years in scouting as a leader & the support shown at his funeral was truly remarkable and Stuarts family & ourselves at 1st Topcliffe Scout Group would like to Thank all that attended for this.

Donna Fleming Deputy Group Scout Leader

Hillside Scout Group Report

Having weathered the traumas of the pandemic the wonderful Hillside Scout Group Leaders and Members have risen to the task of enabling the Group to return to preCovid membership levels and high quality programmes. Well done all of you.

In the early 2023 Census there were 26 Beaver Scouts, 36 Cub Scouts and 17 Scouts. Sporting activities such as athletics, swimming, ice skating and cricket have unfortunately taken a few members from the Scout Section but we wish them well in their chosen activities.

Beavers gained 11 Bronze Chief Scout Awards and a total of 421 Badges over the year. 11 Cubs were awarded their Silver Chief Scout Award and 519 badges were awarded in total. 3 Scouts are close to gaining their Chief Scout Gold Awards and will hopefully gain them with their expedition this summer. 163 badges were awarded to the Troop.

Junior Warrior at Bramham Park, a wet and muddy event was a huge success in 2022 and most of our Cubs and Scouts will be going again in 2023.

Scouts took part in IGNITE, a County event in Dalby Forest and also a District Camp at Pybus near Kirkby in Cleveland. This year they are preparing for an expedition to Hag Dyke in the Dales near Kettlewell. Initially this was planned pre Covid and we have had a change of Leadership since then!

Both Cubs and Scouts continue to take an active role in deciding what they wish to do during their sessions, their favourites appearing to be camping, water activities, mountain biking and climbing as well as cooking and eating their own food. Congratulations to the Scout Teams who excelled at the District Cooking Competition.

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Leader succession is always at the back of our minds and whilst we have been fortunate in recruiting a few new leaders who have been willing to work towards getting a warrant and quite a few Occasional Helpers to help out at Camps and some evening meetings we are acutely aware that there is a need to increase the number of adult leaders to share and ease the workload of our long-standing stalwarts. To that end we plan a recruitment drive at Borrowby Show when we are hiring a climbing wall and will plan to show people our HQ as well as helping the Show Committee sell programmes.

Iris de Wet Group Scout Leader

1[st] Sowerby Scout Group Report

Its been another great year at Sowerby Scout group, back to full steam after the last couple of years of disjointed Scouting.

We have been involved in a number of district activities running the Scout Backwoods Day & the outdoor patrol challenges for both Cubs and Scouts. We have organised an orienteering day for the cubs at Cundall manor and enjoyed the Irish dancing at the district beaver day. We’ve awarded lots of badges…too many to list but it goes to show the commitment inside and outside of meeting by the young people of the group.

The Beavers raised some money for the Guide Dogs For The Blind, after a visit from a puppy walker, learnt about money, enjoyed some cooking and basic scouting skills amongst many other things.

The Cubs have enjoyed learning circus skills, cycling and completing the chef badge. At Christmas we visited the local care home and sang to the residents who have requested we make it an annual event, its great to see the interaction between the Cubs and residents. The Cubs also attended the District Cub camp and orienteering at Brimham rocks and have Bellboating in the programme for this summer.

The Scout section have visited the Mountain Rescue team at RAF Leeming where they were shown around the unit and firestation. They have run a really full programme including glass engraving, mapping, pioneering, backwoods cooking to name a few. We enjoyed a hammock camp in the woods at Clotherholme farm at the start of the year and also had our summer camp at Clotherholme farm where the scouts went off on a 2 day expedition.

We have been working to assist members of the White Horse ESU and Sowerby Scouts with some fundraising for the World Scout Jamboree this summer. We are all looking forward to hearing their adventures upon their return.

We have had some leader awards this year too with Long service awards for Lindsay for 5 years, Aimée for 15 years service and Jon 30 years service. Martin was also

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awarded the Commissioners Commendation and we are proud to say that Martin was awarded the Chief Scouts Award for Meritorious Conduct after saving someone’s life in June 2022.

Massive thanks as always to the leaders, committee members and parents who assist in keeping the group running, especially over the last year.

Jon Goom Group Scout Leader

6[th] Ripon (Cathedral) Scout Group Report

2022 / 2023 has proved to be an interesting year with many members still suffering from the COVID pandemic both in terms of their social skills and their willingness to spend weekends away.

Beavers and Cubs have both seen a significant rise in numbers on the January census with the Scouts remaining fairly static, however the indications are that numbers will continue to rise.

The Group held its traditional Group weekend away at Watson Scout Centre, where walking, crafting, and playing activities were undertaken including a great campfire wholly led and run by our Young Leaders. The scouts and cubs went away again in March, unfortunately the scouts were unable to camp as snow was still on the ground,

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but it did make great weather for snowman building! The scouts also did a hike totally planned by one of their members – well done Tom

The Beaver section remains short of a permanent leader; however, it has regular leaders / young leaders in Ian Bardon, Richard Midgley, Sam Wolloms and Carrie Chapman. It is still offering a fantastic program of activities including river dipping, visit to see the historic silver, Chinese New Year; Night Hiking; attendance at the District Irish afternoon and games and more games.

The Cub Section continues to be led by Kim, ably assisted by Trish undertaking a myriad of exciting activities and both indoors and out including County Cub camp, line dancing, Taekwondo, Street Orienteering, Diwali & science evening, to name but a few

Roz Bardon continues to lead the Scout Troop supported by Craig, Simon, Sam, Adam & Ian. Roz seems to be able to manage her team of leaders very effectively, even when she is away looking after her mum in the Southeast. Scouts’ highlights included the District Camp at Pybus, rafting and a one-week water camp at Great Givendale

Our Leadership Team has remained static this year, however additional activity training has been undertaken with two Stand up Paddle board Permits and one Terrain One walking Permit obtained. We are hopeful of further permits being obtained so more activities can be offered safely to our young people.

The number top awards have remained the same at thirteen, with five Chief Scout Bronze, four Silver & four Gold Awards - well done everyone.

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Ian Bardon Group Scout Leader

4[th] Ripon Scout Group

Since September the Group has grown in all Sections.

Our Beavers are nearly bursting their dam. They have enjoyed taking part in canal boat trips in Ripon, the District Beaver Irish Day, and joining in for the day doing Cub activities at Group camp. Sam along with Nikki and Val give the Beavers an exciting and challenging programme.

Our Cubs have also increased in numbers too. Enjoying a programme that again is challenging with plenty of outdoor activities being the top of the youngsters most want to do list. They have been on camp and joined in activities within in the District that give them an even wider programme that as a Group we may not be able to prove. Tessa is helped by David, Liz and myself on meeting nights as well as Luke and Anita on transport and cooking at Camp.

Our Scouts have been joined by new leaders, Dave and Hannah, in September 2022. They have been on a winter camp at Thornthwaite, a very cold and frosty experience. |Numbers have increased and now there are 3 Patrols. They have taken part in the District Scout Challenge and again lots of outdoor activities. Dave and Hannah was also joined by Joe who helps on meeting nights.

All these wonderful experiences for the young people in the Group is thanks to our super leaders who have lots of experience and knowledge and we thank them all for passing their expertise on to them.

Toni Vauvert Group Scout Leader

1st Thirsk Scout Group

There has been some changes in our leader team at 1[st] Thirsk. Chris and Nicola Hodgson have both left the group for now however may return later in the year.

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Andrew McKay is having some time off after the birth of his son. He will return in September of this year. Ed March Shawcross has been appointed as the Scout leader. We have 3 other leaders ploughing through the leader process. Hopefully complete within the coming months.

We presently only have 3 spaces left in the group 1 at scouts and 2 at beavers. However, those will be filled shortly. The plan will be to increase our numbers of the 24 once we have the leaders in place to cope.

The future:

We embark on our first Group Camp to take place in September at Snowball in York: This will take place in late June and Project Scout Hall is the Groups aspiration to add an Annex to the building, long ongoing goal.

Terry Hodgson Group Scout Leader

Fountains -ESU

This started in January to have regular meeting nights on a Wednesday. There are 6 young people to date and is overseen by Tessa and Oliver. The Explorers have planned their programme and take it in turns to run the evening. Cooking nights are a favourite with pioneering running close second.

It is hoped that this Unit will grow from strength to strength.

Toni Vauvert. GSL

White Horse Explorer Scout Unit Report

Its been another busy year for White horse explorers. We have seen our Explorer numbers increase and gained a new leader, Henry Morley an ex-explorer. We have also said goodbye to Eddie Fearnside who stepped in with myself to keep the section afloat in 2019. Eddie is off to live in Scotland so the commute for Explorers would be a bit of a struggle, thanks for your hard work and assistance with the section over the last few years Eddie, you will be missed.

We’ve had numerous camps this year and a number of Explorer meetings with spitfore and Fountains which have been great fun. We are looking to get our Explorer committee re-established with our lastest influx of Explorers which will play a big part in organising the Explorers activities in the coming year.

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We are attending Ignite again this year which the Explorers are looking forward too. We’ve also had some of our Explorers working on their Bronze DofE award with assistance from Roz Bardon which is great. Good times ahead at WHESU!

Jon Goom Explorer Scout Leader

Spitfire Explorer Scout Unit Report

Spitfire Explorers have had a successful year with 6 new members joining and 4 ageing out, 2 of which have gone on to become adult leaders. This now brings us to a total of 14 members, with meeting attendance regularly reaching 10.

A total of 3 Platinum awards and 2 Diamond awards were achieved, with many more close to completion. 7 Members are also active Young leaders within 6th Ripon Scouts with 4 being awarded their Young Leader Belt.

2 Dofe Silver awards have been achieved with 8 Gold Dofe participants close to completion having completed their expedition April 2022. Spitfire ESU are also spearheading a new District DofE group, with many young people keen to undertake the award.

We have maintained an active programme, 13 nights away have been made available this year plus Young Leaders assisting with the nights away of other sections. The ‘12 Nights in 12 Months’ challenge was thrown down for all district explorers to attempt ideally doing one a month. This ties in well with the drive to work with the 2 other Explorer units in the district, with 2 weekends away and various joint meeting nights having taken place with more planned for future, including a canoe cruise in early May.

We have 4 members attending the Jamboree in various capacities and have assisted them with fundraising including tree planting, litter picking and collecting for santa's sleigh. Other activities we have done include go-karting,fire evenings,cycling,rafting and a visit to the cathedral bell tower. 8 members also attended a 16 hour outdoor first aid course.

Leadership is a combination of Sam Wolloms and Roz Bardon, Being assisted by Ian Bardon and other 6th Ripon leaders where required. Parent help has generally been forthcoming when requested.

Sam Wolloms

Explorer Scout Leader

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District Active Support Report

Ripon & District Active Support Unit (DAS) is a section within the District for adults who enjoy supporting Scouting and its young people. The Unit currently has 40 members with a range of talents and expertise: some are current leaders and Scouting personnel in a variety of roles within Groups, the District and North Yorkshire, whilst others have held such roles in the past and have a wealth of experience and expertise to share; we also enjoy the company of younger adults who want to keep in touch with Scouting whilst their current life circumstances may not allow a regular role and others are local people who simply want to support youngsters in whatever way they can.

As well as responding to calls from individual units for assistance, DAS members are also invaluable for helping with District activities and can be found at most events, running bases at Activity Days, being scorers and judges, as well as, inevitably, being on hand for administrative roles and producing refreshments. Each member does as much as he or she feels they can do on each occasion and DAS usually manages to fulfil most requests for support. DAS also organises an annual dinner to which all District leaders are invited, although our other social activities are usually just for members and families to enjoy time together (we now have several ‘associate’ youngsters within the section!), with bell boating, spring walks, treasure hunts and the annual Barbecue having featured in recent programmes.

DAS also organises and runs DASQUEST each year. This 2023 Quest is for the Beaver (and Squirrel) sections within the District, in the form of a treasure hunt with all route details, risk assessments, questions and answers provided. Last year’s DASQUEST was for Cubs and next year’s will be too. Those who have taken part can be identified by the distinctive DASQUEST badge worn on their uniform sleeves.

DAS always welcomes new members whatever their age and background as everyone has unique skills and expertise to share with the younger members of Scouting in the District.

Anne Collins

District Active Support Unit Manager

Scout Network Report

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The last twelve months have been a time of immense change for Ripon and District Network.

Last summer saw the ageing out of the majority of our membership, however I am pleased that they all remain active within the district. This left a vacuum with only three members. Despite that initial apprehension of having to rebuild a unit from scratch, Ripon and District Network continues to grow with regular events and opportunities to get to know their fellow ‘older scouts.’

As we move into the next year, a recruitment campaign will focus on the middle range of explorer scouts (16-17 year olds), picking them up at least 12 months before they are due to leave explorers so they can assess and process the the various opportunities available to them as adult members of the scouting family.

I am also pleased to include two Gold DofE Awards into the list of top awards from Network this year and I hope with time, that number will grow.

As ever, I am pleased with the resilience of Ripon and District Scout Network. It is a challenging age period both in scouting and in life and I welcome the exciting opportunities that the next year will bring.

Adam Dickson

District Scout Network Commissioner

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District St Georges Day 2023

Thanks to 1[st] Thirsk for organising a great service and parade this year.

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Statement of Accounts & Independent Examiner’s Report for the Financial Year ending 31 March 2023

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Ripon and District Scout Council Pg4of4 Explorer unit accounts Period: 01.04.21J1.03.22 While Horse explorer unit Receipts LESS P8yments Surplus for the year 3,534.94 2 773.76 761.18 Balance brought forward 1,097.28 Balance carried fonvard 1,858.46 Spitfire explorer unit HSBC Receipts LESS PayThents Deficit for Ihe year 3,879.86 (4,121.851 (241.991 Balance brought forward 846.22 Balance carried forward 604.23 Pety Cash Receipts LESS PayTnentS Surplus for the year 155.00 (138.941 16.06 Balance brought forward .00 16.06 Fountain8 explorer unit Receyts 300.00 LESS Payments Surplus for the year (300.001 .00 Balance brought forward 90.00 Balance carried fonvard 90.00 Page 25 of 26

Independent Examiners Report 2022/2023

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