Greater London South Scouts

Winter Expedition!

i.KNOW — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:46:53 +0000

26 members of 16th Bermondsey have just returned from 5 days in the snowy Surrey hills, staying in Holmwood and Capel scout hut. They all took a train to Dorking station and set off in minus 7 degrees to hike in patrols through snow covered fields and woods to Leith hill and then on to the scout hut, about 8 miles. As well as night hikes, indoor and out door games, swimming and movies they were alowed by a local farmer to cut enough trees to build a 6m high wigwam, which was big enough for them all to sit around a fire in the centre. Eight of the older scouts slept in it, keeping the fire going all through a very cold night.

The expedition followed a number of troop nights learning about staying warm in cold weather; what to wear, eat and take with them but no-one expected the conditions to be quite so challenging! All but one member of the troop came to the camp, 17 out of 18, which they put down to good preparation and parent information.

Ave a look at our Video: http://youtu.be/mxUNWHGal_I

Southwark : District Commissioner

i.KNOW — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:40:20 +0000

To: All Members - Greater London South Scout County/London Scout Region District Commissioner: Southwark District Following the departure of Philip Andrews as District Commissioner for Southwark, Greater London South Scout County is seeking a dynamic individual or combination of people to take on the leadership of the district. The person appointed will be responsible for managing and supporting Scouting across Southwark, and developing the district in accordance with the rules and policies of The Scout Association. Further details can be found in the attached role description. I would like to invite you to contribute to the search by submitting a nomination (or nominations) of persons whom you feel should be considered for this important appointment. Nominations should be submitted using the attached form and emailed to me at the details below. The email address to send it to is southwarkdcsg@gls-scouts.org.uk Of complete it online: www.gls-scouts.org.uk/southwarkdc Nominations should be received on or before the Wednesday, 29 February 2012. In order to ensure the widest possible consultation, you are asked in addition to submitting your own nomination, to circulate this request for nominations to all members who may have an interest within your area of responsibility. This may be verbally, by mail, email or via newsletters. Please note that in order to ensure confidentiality, and prevent building up hopes, nominations should be submitted without approaching the individual concerned, using the enclosed nomination form or using the online form. If you wish to nominate yourself, this is perfectly acceptable, please do so using the same methods as above. As this is a confidential process, you should not indicate to others that you have nominated yourself. I would ask you to give serious consideration to people with whom you work in Scouting, at work or the wider community, and to identify anyone who you believe has the qualities to be a District Commissioner of this successful area. When considering a possible candidate please do not compare them against the current or any previous District Commissioners. At this stage it is important to draw up a list with as wide a cross section of people as possible so that the search group can begin the process of preparing a short list. If you have any questions about the role, what is involved, or taking on some of the responsibilities as part of a joint appointment, please do not hesitate in contacting me on the details below. Yours in Scouting Andy Melia Deputy County Commissioner

COUNTY WATER ACTIVITY DAY

i.KNOW — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:14:30 +0000

We are running another County Water Activity Day on Saturday 19th May at the Docklands Sailing & Watersports Centre at the Millwall Docks. The cost will be £20 per head for a day of activities on the water including kayaking, open canoeing, dinghy sailing and dragonboating. Places are limited to 50 participants. Please e-mail Paul Wootton at pswoott57@yahoo.co.uk for an application form.

Free Resources!!

i.KNOW — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:32 +0000

Did you know there are a number of free resources available to you to help you keep the young people in your sections safe! Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers 'Stay Safe' leaflets with advice about bullying and staying safe including how to stay safe online Can be found Here 'Let's Stamp Out Bullying Together' booklets for leaders and posters to create anti-bullying codes for sections or groups Can be found Here 'Safe and Sound' leaflets for parents with information on 'how we keep your children safe in scouting' Can be found Here Factsheets for leaders on a number of topics, such as; Social Networking Sites and Scouting Can be found Here Please also remember that 'Yellow Cards'- Child Protection- A code of good practice for adults in scouting and 'Orange Cards' guidance for Young Leaders are available from the information centre and that every adult volunteer and Young Leader should have a copy. Yellow Card: Can be found Here Orange Card: Can be found Here All of these resources are available from the Scout information centre on request, or Reese Ludlow the Assistant County Commissioner fot Safeguarding also has some copies available, if you would like a small number of any of the resources you can obtain from either of the above . Reese Ludlow Assistant County Commissioner for Safeguarding

County Beaver Craft and Board Games Day

i.KNOW — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:35:00 +0000

Despite the cold weather and the rumoured snowy downpour it was great to see over 100 Beavers and Leaders make their way to the fort to take part in the very first County Beaver craft and board games event!!! Beavers and Leaders, from across the County, came together to take part in craft activities, play games and to meet and make new friends! Beavers took part in craft activities such as making money boxes, masks and badges in order to earn their creative activity badge or their creative challenge. Also, both the Leaders and the Beavers took part at playing each other at a variety of board games. Some Beavers even braved the cold weather too and took the leaders outside to play parachute games!! By the end of the day it was great to hear comments and feedback from the Beavers saying that they had had a ‘super day’ and that they ‘really, really wanted to have another day at the fort where they could meet more new Beavers.’ My thanks go to all the Leaders that worked hard and made this day possible and so memorable for the Beavers! Jane Wainwright Assistant County Commissioner for Beaver Scouts

Safeguarding Awareness Training

i.KNOW — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:13:34 +0000

As some of you may be aware a series of safeguarding in scouting trainings are taking place throughout the County over the next few months. The confirmed dates so far are; 3rd March- Our Lady of Lourdes- Lewisham (2 sessions, AM and PM) 19th March- Battersea Scout Centre-Wandsworth (evening) 1st April- South London Scout Centre (AM) More dates in Southwark, Greenwich and Lambeth will follow shortly. Safeguarding in scouting is an important, integral and mandatory piece of training and is an ongoing requirement, as with first aid. The issues facing volunteers in keeping young people safe are changing all the time and it’s essential that we provide up to date training. Please contact Reese Ludlow (ACC Safeguarding- acc.safeguarding@gls-scouts.org.uk or your District Commissioner if you are interested in attending one of the trainig sessions above, please note anyone from any District can attend any of the courses but please be sure to book as places are limited by the facilities being used.

4th Streatham Sea Scouts Retain Admiralty Recognition

i.KNOW — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:05:56 +0000

To anyone not in a Sea Scout Group, the concept of Admiralty Recognition might seem a slightly outmoded, if attractive, ‘nice to have’ addition to the letterhead. To proper Sea Scouts though, it is anything but. Of the four hundred and fifty or so UK Sea Scout Groups, only 101 are ever ‘RN Recognised’. It is a mark of how the Admiralty view Sea Scouting, that they have an Officer whose three year posting is specifically to inspect Sea Scouts and Sea Cadets. As the inspecting officer, Lieutenant Commander Cahill, pointed out in her summation at the end of a very thorough inspection, in the event of having to fail any given Group, she had a list of ‘Reserves’ already good enough to take their place. For the 4th Streatham, Princess Marie-Louise’s Own however, failure was never an option on anyone’s watch. The inspection was already well under way at their Putney Boathouse as many of the guests – including Paul O'Brien the County Commissioner; Amber Cox the Assistant County Commissioner for Young Leaders; Kevin Greenway (1st Streatham Hill) deputising for Rachel Mayes and Roger Whittle the Assistant District Commissioner for Scouts in Lambeth – were arriving. The Scouts and Explorers were busy launching boats – including the beautifully prepared gig Marie Louise – and the rescue boat was already on the water, crewed by Explorers. Meanwhile there was feverish activity in the boathouse with the Cubs. They were learning important knots, ResusiAnnie was repeatedly resuscitated and an offshore position was being plotted using single bearings. After some spirited ‘pulling’ - not to say bloomin’ hard work – by those rowing upstream, the boats were landed and hauled back to the boathouse. All in the dark, on a damp evening in January! You’d best not suggest that Sea Scouts are all flash uniforms and funny hats! These guys and girls were working. And they didn’t need to be driven to it either, with everyone appearing to know what was necessary and simply getting on with it. After a short period of tidying up and getting back into uniform, the Group ‘fell in’ for the formal inspection. This is no ‘every third or fifth man, questions about your holidays’ type thing, this is every member of the Group, including Leaders. One Scout was asked; ‘Rate out of ten, what your appreciation of Scouting is?’ Not easy for an eleven year old. One of the girls was asked; ‘Why did you choose Scouts instead of Girl Guides?’ She replied that she thought the uniforms were better and Scouts had more fun! After this ordeal the pressure was clearly off, because even for a Landlubber like me, it was obvious the Group had done enough. Now it was time for the ‘nice things’. Two new Scouts were invested, then three Queen’s Scout Awards were presented by Lt. Cmdr Cahill on behalf of Paul O'Brien. Alex Bates, Jordan Thompson and Huw Finch had finally gained their awards after expeditions in Holland. Astonishingly, a fourth Queen’s Scout is due shortly, after a few minor details are dealt with by the candidate. Queen’s Scouts are rare enough, but three or four is a brilliant achievement by an amazingly busy Group where, to use a nautical term; ‘an even strain is being taken by all parts’. After flag down and dismiss, the assembled company were called into the dining area to hear what could only be good news. Lieutenant Commander Cahill confirmed that recognition was renewed once more and pointed out that the 4th had held RN Recognition, unbroken, for more than sixty years and are a credit to Scouting, young people generally and to their dedicated Leaders. Roger Whittle Assistant District Commissioner for Scouts in Lambeth District

Nights Away Events to the Channel Islands and Isle of Man

i.KNOW — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:43:43 +0000

Due to the self-governing nature of the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, reciprocal free health care arrangements are no longer in place. As a result visitors to the islands will not be covered for free health care, which could lead to expensive costs for any hospital or medical treatment. Therefore suitable travel insurance MUST be purchased for the event. Any leader organising a night’s away experience to either the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, must be made aware of these additional requirements. Following a review of Night’s Away procedures to these destinations, the follow safeguards have been implemented by the County. The organising leader of a night’s away experience, to any of these islands, must notify their DC, and District Night’s Away Advisor, of the event by completing a Night’s Away Notification form a minimum of two months prior to the event. The organising leader must also forward details of the travel insurance policy, along with the NAN. The District Commissioner, and/or District Night’s Away Advisor, in addition to normal Night’s Away experience checks, must ensure that the travel Insurance policy and the amount of emergency money required to be paid up front, is in place for the trip. Once these checks have been completed the ACC (International) must be notified of the event. If you have any queries regarding these new procedures, you should contact the ACC (International). Simon Emmett Assistant County Commissioner for International

Chief Scout Award Survey

i.KNOW — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:37:46 +0000

To help us try to understanding our Scout programme a little better, we would like to see how many top awards are being presented in the County. This will give us a better idea of what support and help we can provide. We have put together a small questionnaire, please could you complete this for your section. Open Questionnaire Thank you, for your support. Alan Gregory ACC Top Awards

Is your CRB Current?

i.KNOW — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:14:37 +0000

We would like to remind everyone that a CRB is required for working with young people and also as a Trustee within Scouting, these are required to be renewed every 5 years, whilst we make every effort to keep on top of this some of the responsibility sits with you and you should check to see your CRB Disclosure does not expire whilst keeping in mind it can take 2 Months to obtain a CRB Disclosure. To help with this we have appointed Rosie Hall as ACC Membership Administration, her role will be to follow up Repeat CRB Disclosures and Appointment Reviews, if your CRB is expiring in the next 6 Months then Rosie will be giving you a call soon to advise you and get it processed for you. If your CRB expires it is very likely that you will get suspended from the Scout Association as POR Clearly states that this is a requirement of membership and this is a major factor of our Child Safety Policy, Gilwell currently have a National campaign to reduce the number of Adults in Scouting without valid CRB Disclosures, there are many reasons why these get missed and some are valid, we will do everything we can to get the CRB issued as quickly as possible but we need your co-operation in the matter.

POR Rules 3.26, 4.28 and 5.19

No person aged 18 or over may be permitted to undertake any responsibilities or involvement within Scouting until the appropriate enquiries have been made. The enquiries must include a Personal Enquiry (see Introduction) to Headquarters as described below, in the case of a person who: SV · wishes to become a Member or Associate Member; or

· may have unsupervised access to young people; or
· will have involvement with the handling or management of funds; or
· will be assisting with overnight activities (including Nights Away); or
· may be helping out once a month or more,

Personal Enquiries must be repeated for all adults in the above categories every five years. Where possible this should be carried out at appointment review.