SCOUTING IRELAND GROUP COUNCIL (CHARITY TRUSTEES) ANNUAL REPORT CHARITY COMMISSION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
This form should be completed and submitted to CCNI as part of your annual return. Please read the notes before completion. Should you need further help contact your Support Officer or The Scout Foundation N.I.
Please read the notes at the end when filling in this form. When complete the form should be signed and scanned then uploaded up on to the CCNI website when completing your annual report.
| 1.Charity Name as listed on the Charity Register | _11th Belfast Scout Group ________Scouting Ireland |
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| 2. Any other names the charity is known by | |
| 3. Financial year the report is for Eg. 01-Sep-20 to31-Aug-21 |
1stSeptember 2021-31stAugust 2022___ |
| 4. CCNI Charity Registration Number | NIC_____ |
| 5. The address from which the Charity Operates (usually your Scout hall) This should be the address that the charity used when registering unless it has changed. |
191 upper Newtownards Road Belfast BT4 |
| 6. The names of all our Trustees at the date this report was approved plus any who stepped down as a trustee during the year |
Current Trustees Seamus Dawson Martine Fisher Paul Browne Brenda O’Neill Trustees who stepped down |
| 7. A summary description of the purposes of the charity |
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The aim of Scouting Ireland is to encourage the physical, intellectual, character, emotional, social and spiritual development of young people so that they may achieve their full potential and as responsible citizens, to improve society.
The Charity’s purposes are: The advancement of education The advancement of citizenship or community development
8. The name of any person, or body of persons, permitted by the trusts of the charity to appoint one or more new charity trustees and a description of the method used to make such appointments* _If there is any individual or organisation with the_ N/A _power to appoint charity trustees, such as another charity or a government department, provide their details, the relevant powers, and methods of appointment._ 9. Include details of any funds held by the charity as a custodian trustee This is mandatory for charities preparing accruals accounts. N/A*
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10. Charity’s Main Activities and Achievements during the year.
The following is a copy of the report made to the Group’s AGM in November 2022 by the GSL Paul Browne:
Once again it is a privilege to set out my annual report as Group Scout Leader, in this instance for the year 2021-22, a year when the Group emerged defiantly from the restrictions imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic.
The Group continued to be supported by the Education Authority and the Scout Foundation, Northern Ireland. From the outset, I would take this opportunity to acknowledge this valuable support.
Now I will turn to membership, leadership, programme etc.
Membership: Our membership once again was maintained at a very healthy level and we ended the year
with 25 Beavers, 36 Cubs, 45 Scouts and 20 Venture Scouts. The Venture section saw a significant increase in numbers. The numbers in the Scout Troop have also continued to rise year on year and this continues to pose challenges for the Scout leaders in terms of running troop meetings and logistics in terms of transportation.
Leadership: Each section continues to have a cohort of active leaders more than sufficient to deliver the programme for their respective section. However, Sinead Lavery and Niamh Dawson stood down as Assistant Venture leaders and Emma Hart, Sarah Rodgers and Damian McClory left us from their roles as Assistant Cub Leaders and Beaver Leader respectively We benefitted from the assistance afforded by Matthew Dawson who returned for a year in a break from his travels and recruited Shea Murphy as an Assistant Scout Leader.
Programme: The level of programme delivered across all sections benefited from the lifting of Covid restrictions. We resumed our normal routine of weekly meetings and camps.
The Beavers undertook the Environment badge, learning about recycling. They made lanterns from recycled materials, and participated in the East Side Arts Lantern Parade. They also completed the Air badge and enjoyed a visit from “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”. Undertaking the Backwoods badge, they learnt how to make shelters and demonstrated this on a trip to Killynether Woods outside N’Ards. They made a trip to The Larder and then undertook a sponsored hike, raising almost £120 for the foodbank. Finally in conjunction with the Connswater Community Greenway Group, they assisted with a litter pick at The Hollow. What a busy active year!
The Cubs orienteered at Orangefield park, hiked the Cave hill, planted trees in the Belfast Hills, climbed Slemish, and visited Bangor Lifeboat station. In addition, their weekly programmes covered First Aid, Fire Safety, Hillwalking, Backwoods Cooking, Knots, Pioneering, Disability Awareness and Shelter Building. They also held a weekend camp in Ballyhornan and a Summer camp at the Share Centre in Enniskillen.
The Scouts resumed the normal pattern of troop activities, including The Penguin Hike, a weekend in Ballyhornan, a PLs weekend, a successful and well attended Easter Camp at Crawfordsburn and a great, sunny camp at Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre in Galway with the customary overnight trip to the Arran islands. The seniors scouts also had an outdoor activity during the year at Delamont which included a basic course in canoeing. To finish the year, the troop entered the Phoenix Scoutcraft Competition at Pallashenry, Co. Limerick, and achieved a creditable Silver Standard.
The Venture Scouts went “Go-Karting” at Eddie Irvines, held a weekend at the Ballyhornan Scout Centre, a caving experience at Belfast Activity Centre, cycled to Comber, climbed the Cave hill, undertook a Self Defence Course and “Bivied” at Crawfordsburn. The highlight of the year was the Annual Expedition which this year was to Kandersteg, the International Scout Centre in Switzerland. 17 venture scouts and 3 leaders took part and experienced high-octane activities including, Mountain Tubing, the Dolderhorn Overnight Hike, the Oeschinensee Lake Hike and the Adelboden Trottie Bikes! What an expedition, planned and executed by the Ventures themselves!
Group “Big Day Out” In addition to all the above, the Group held a “Big Day Out” at Crawfordsburn which was attended by every leader and all but one youth member. It was an enormous success and very well supported by parents.
Equipment, Hall and Minibus: There was no significant purchase of equipment, hall development or work undertaken to the minibus.
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Conclusion: I am satisfied that we continue to operate the Group in a proper and scout like fashion. We are conscious of our responsibilities towards the young people in our care, to our leader team and to the association we are proud to be a constituent part of, namely Scouting Ireland. We play our part in paying our fees on time, attending meetings and ensuring that our members benefit from active Scouting activities. We continue to set ourselves targets in order to maintain and improve our performance across all aspects of our programmes and activities.
Paul Browne
Group Scout Leader
Leadership Team
| Paul Browne G.S. L Beaver leaders Feena Regan Emma Fisher Nicola McConnell Caitriona Mallaghan Claire Gilmore Damian McClory* |
Brenda O’Neill Deputy G.S.L Catherine Cox Asst. G.S.L Cub Leaders Scout Leaders Venture Leaders David Campbell Niall Browne Tim Cunningham Stephen Smith Peter Lavery Sinead Lavery Conal McNamara Ronan Cunningham Niamh Dawson Catherine Cox Robin Dane Stephen Ward Michael Walsh *Emma Hart Shea Murphy Sarah Rodgers Olivia Dawson** |
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11. How is the Group doing financially?
A review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the year:
In the financial 2021 to 2022 the Charity had an income of ££45,152 and an expenditure of £51787.
12. How has the Group ensured members have not come to harm?
All volunteers receive training in Safeguarding, Programme (youth work) skills and adventure skills. There is oversight of all activity by the Group Leader and the Group Council. Parents are regularly communicated with. All activities are carefully planned and the appropriate equipment used.
13. How has your Group ensured that any private benefit to your volunteers has been incidental to the public benefit of your work?
Volunteers gain additional transferrable skills but this is incidental to the work that they do and are the skills that they require to undertake that work.
14. A statement that the Trustees have had regard to the CCNIs guidance on Public Benefit.
We the Trustees of 11[th] Belfast Scout Group, Scouting Ireland can confirm that in setting our objectives and planning for the year that we have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity’s purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries.
15. This report was approved by the Trustees (Group Council) on
Date:21[st] march 2023
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16. Signature of Trustees. (This should be signed by 2 Trustees approved by the Group Council)
Trustee 1: Martine Fisher Date: 21[st] March 2023 Trustee 2: Paul Browne Date: 21[st] March 2023
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NOTES FOR COMPLETION OF THE TEMPLATE INCLUDE:
1. Enter the name of your Charity here as it is listed on the Charity Commission NI register. E.g. 29th Derry, Garvagh, Scouting Ireland
2. Enter any other names your charity is known as.
3. This would normally be the Scout Year i.e. 1st September to 31st August
4. Enter your Charity Commission NI Registration Number here. If you have forgotten it you can find it out online at http://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/charity-search/ or by contacting Scout Foundation NI.
5. Enter the address that you gave CCNI for your Group. This should be the address of where you meet.
6. List the names of Trustees (Group Council Members) that held the position of trustee at the date this report was approved by your Group Council. Also list separately any Trustees that stepped down during the year.
7. This section is pre-filled in for you using an answer previously agreed with CCNI.
8. N/A
9. N/A
10. In this section list the main activities carried out by your Group (Charity) in the last year. Items could include a summary of: The number/type of camps, hikes and outings; environmental projects; cross community work/projects; joint work/projects with other organisations, list efforts to recruit new members, adult and young people, etc. This work is carried out by how many volunteers in your Group.
List the achievements of the Group e.g. the number and type of badges awarded e.g. Special Interest or Adventure skills; the number of Chief Scout Awards; the number of An Gaisce or Duke of Edinburgh Awards; the number of Explorer Belts; any adult awards awarded during the year; have your or people in your Group won any awards as a result of the work the Group undertakes.
Have you refurbished your Scout Hall or built a new one?
How have these activities helped young people? You could mention engagement, participation, teamwork and leadership skills, planning skills, a place to go, a sense of achievement and confidence, a sense of challenge, etc.?
Finally, how do you ensure that you are open to all young people?
11. Tell CCNI how the Group is doing financially - include your income and expenditure figures for the reporting year. These should be the same amounts as in your accounts. Tell them about any fundraising that you undertook or grants received. Also list any debts that the Group has and how the Trustees plan to get rid of them.
12. This section is pre-filled in for you using an answer previously agreed with CCNI.
13. This section is pre-filled in for you using an answer previously agreed with CCNI.
14. Enter the name of your Charity here as it is listed on the Charity Commission NI register and the date the report was approved by the Group Council.
15. Enter the date that this report was approved by the Group Council.
16. Two trustees must sign the form.
You can use another format for your Annual Report e.g. your own Groups annual report, but all questions listed here MUST be answered including those marked * that do not apply to SI Groups.
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