We are proud of the young people for their engagement in our virtual programme; however, nothing replaces being able to meet face-to-face again.
All of our group sections are now meeting regularly face-to-face. From sessions at the Scout Hut, Silverwood Scout campsite and out and about the local area, our Scouting programme has been thriving.
Beaver highlights
During lockdown, we didn’t take any new young people into Beavers. Following the second stage of lockdown easing, and Beavers being able to meet face-to-face, we were delighted to be able to welcome 12 new members. They, and the existing Beavers have been enjoying taking part in our programme based largely at the Scout Hut.
Over the last three weeks, they’ve:
- Celebrated St Georges Day by decorating biscuits and constructing knights
- Had a visit from the Police, who talked about their role and shared examples of some of their equipment
- Became first aid trained
- Been proud of Brian when he was presented with the Bar to the Silver Acorn by our District Commissioner, George
“I can’t stop laughing at the willy guard”
Alex, Millstone Beavers
Cub highlights
With lockdown easing and the timing of some young people being ready to move up from beavers to cubs, we were able to welcome some new faces in cubs face-to-face. That’s why, in the pictures below, we appear to have some oversize beaver scouts! We also said goodbye (for now) to some of our older members who have moved up to scouts!
These three sessions we’ve been face-to-face cubs have:
- Also celebrated St Georges day in a craft(y) manner
- Become first aid trained
- Taken part in a local walk
At the moment, our cubs are only able to meet every other week. This is because we’re light on adult volunteers for the cub packs. Once we’ve some additional volunteers on board and suitably supported, we will move back to both packs meeting every week (on their section nights of Tuesday and Thursday). If this is something you can help us address, you’ll be making a big impact on young people.
“Are we allowed to prank the leaders?”
Esther, Alegre Cubs
Scout highlights
Our scout troops have been making the most of the better weather, and have been meeting either at Silverwood Scout Campsite or the Scout Hut. They’ve been putting into practice some of the skills they’ve been learning during our virtual sessions, in particular – and you’ll see a theme here – fire lighting and knife skills!
Our scouts have also:
- Cooked over open fires
- Taken part in a litter pick of the district campsite
- Learned some international wide games (typically played by scouts abroad in open spaces)
Some of the scouts are reaching an age where they’ll soon have the opportunity to move to explorers. With this in mind, our volunteers have been delving into the remaining components of these older youth members badge work, with a focus on helping them stand the best possible opportunity of achieving their Chief Scout’s Gold awards.
“What’s wrong with a marshmallow and bacon sandwich?”
Charlie, Enigma Scouts
What happens if we have another lockdown?
We are hopeful that we won’t see a return to a national lockdown at any point in the future. There may be localised lockdowns as become appropriate. We are guided on these by our National Scouting team, and more locally our County/District leadership. If we need to, we’ll always have a virtual programme we can fall back on, but for now, the team are focused on a face-to-face programme for all of the young people.
How about day-trips, camping and community events?
Day trips
These are now possible; however, given where we are in the school year, it is unlikely that we will be organising any this side of the 2021 summer break. We are looking at our autumn 2021 and overall 2022 schedule to see what we might include.
Camping
Very small camping trips are allowed. These are limited to six people (including adult volunteers attending). Given this, our beavers, cubs and scouts don’t have any plans to camp this side of the 2021 summer break. There are some early plans for autumn 2021, and discussions about what we’re looking to do in 2022 and 2023!
Community events
Penistone Gala & Mayor’s Parade, which we are joint organisers for (with Penistone Town Council, Penistone Round Table and Penistone Ladies Circle) has sadly already been cancelled for this year. We are looking forward to it’s full return in 2022.
Remembrance Sunday we hope to be able to take part in. Guidance will be updated by UK Scouting in partnership with the National Youth Agency well ahead of any plans for Remembrance.
Santa Run we also hope to be able to take part in, although we’ll work with the Round Table to see what’s involved later in the year.
Challenges to delivering Scouting
Our biggest challenge in being able to maintain a quality programme and access to Scouting for young people are how many adult volunteers we have.
We are in the middle of a significant recruitment campaign. The biggest impact anyone can have is to give time – even if it’s only once a month at a section meeting.
Lots have changed within Scouting, making it even simpler and accessible to volunteer. If you’re on the fence about volunteering or want to get stuck in, please talk to us today. We’d love to hear from you.
Alongside the young facing adult volunteer roles, we’ve also got the ad hoc volunteering which keeps our buildings and grounds perfect for Scouting. There are administrative activities we need support with and more. Again, please talk to us if you could help here.
Looking for some extra Scouting?
Why not encourage your young person to take a look at “Twenty minutes to change the world”?
It’s an online video series brought to you by young people, Scout Ambassadors, and our fantastic A Million Hands partners. e.g. Red Cross, Save the Children, WWF and more.
Each partner will introduce their organisation, explain their theme, and bring you an exciting activity that’ll help you to make a difference in your community. Watching the video and doing the activity should take you about twenty minutes – it’s okay if it takes you a little less time or a little longer.
