Coronavirus (Covid 19) and Penistone Scouts

How Scouting is impacted and being COVID safe

This page was last updated on Friday 23rd July 2021 at 15:26

CURRENT STATUS: YELLOW

The guidance provided by UK Government, underpinned by that of the World Health Organisation (WHO), should be noted as the authoritative source and their guidance followed.

Government Health Advice

Managing the risk in the UK: The Government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage is frequently updated as things develop, so please check it regularly at www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Self-isolation: Just like everyone else, our members should follow the standard advice on self-isolation.

Operating Scouts

The safety of everyone involved in Scouts is our number one priority.

All face-to-face meetings, activities, and events were suspended from Tuesday, 17 March 2020. This suspension applied to young people and adults and was altered in July 2020 with limited face-to-face Scouting being possible, albeit, determined at a local level. A second lockdown came into effect during November 2020 and was subsequently lifted on December 2nd, 2020. A third lockdown came into effect on 4th January 2021 and lasted until the 29th March 2021.

At the time of writing, Scouting is at YELLOW status, which means face-to-face meetings are allowed to place indoors and outdoors. Trips are permitted and overnight stays are allowed.

Scouting at home

A virtual Scouting program has been in place during the lockdown, with Badges @ Home being fundamental to those wishing to stay abreast of the attainment schemes.

Events

From September 2021, events will begin to take place.

Subs payments whilst face-to-face Scouting is suspended

The Scout membership fees often referred to as “subs” are not a payment for a service. They are an annual fee for the membership that we break down into monthly payments. The group is a registered charity, and even when we aren’t meeting face-to-face, we have several ongoing overheads. These include but are not limited to: insurance, capitation fees payable to UK headquarters, utilities and building upkeep, etc.

The subs that you pay for each young person in the group are therefore still payable during any suspension of face-to-face Scouting. Of course, we understand that Coronavirus (COVID 19) has brought about unprecedented levels of change in a short period of time, particularly to some people’s employment. The group and its trustees would never intentionally act to place anyone into hardship. We have a hardship policy – if after reading the linked policy, you feel you qualify, please confidentially reach out to a representative of the group’s senior leadership team by emailing: [email protected]

Question not answered here?

For any queries, please contact [email protected]

Thank you