Our Group

3rd Buxton (Harpur Hill) Scout Group is part of the High Peak District Scouting. We are one of four Buxton-based Scout Groups.

Our Group is a registered Charity. Charity Number 516419.

Our Leaders

Scouting is run by volunteers. Our teams of leaders are identified by their uniforms which includes our orange and white necker.

All our volunteers give their time freely to help young people thrive. Some volunteers lead their group week in and week out. Others call in occasionally to share a specific skill, or provide an extra pair of hands.

All of our leaders undergo the mandatory training they need to be the best they can be, including basic first aid and child protection. Special training is provided for those taking young people away on residential events like camps and sleepovers.

We also have strict rules in place to ensure that everyone who works with young people either regularly, on a night away activity or unsupervised has to be vetted and hold a satisfactory criminal records check.

Our Sections

Scout groups are able to run four Sections: Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. Currently, 3rd Buxton Scout Group runs three Sections: Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

Safety, safeguarding and data protection

All our leaders must complete training relating to safety, safeguarding and data protection. Both we, and the Scouting Association, take these matters very seriously and if you have any concerns please talk to us about it.

Safety

We will always have a designated Leader in Charge, who is responsible for safety, for each meeting. We have risk assessments that cover our meetings and general activities in the Scout hut. When we go away from the Scout hut, or are planning activities not covered by our general risk assessments, we will carry out activity-specific assessments to ensure the safety of both children and adults.

https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/safety

Safeguarding

The welfare of children and young people is our priority. Everyone has a duty to report safeguarding concerns, and our leaders will follow the Scout Association’s Safeguarding Code of Conduct (known as the Yellow Card).

https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/safe-scouting-cards/young-people-first-yellow-card

Data protection

To run our Sections, we need to hold personal data relating to the children in our care. Whether this is parent contact details or child birth dates or medical information, this is all personal data that we must handle in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations. Our Data Controller is the Group Scout Leader (Group Lead Volunteer).

Our Policies

Our Group operates in accordance with Scouting UK’s Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR), which you can access at https://www.scouts.org.uk/por/.

In addition to POR, we have our own policies relating to photography, publicity and social media, use of mobile phone and payments to volunteers.

Photography, publicity and social media

We like to take photographs of activities our Sections are running. This is both to provide you and your families with a record of your child’s time in Scouting, but also to promote the activities of the Group. We ask for you to provide your permission to take and use photographs.

It is our policy not to name children when making photographs available, for example on social media sites such as Facebook or when providing photographs to local press relating to Scouting activities.

Mobile phones

Mobile phones or smartphones are not needed for activities in Scouting. However, smartphones have the capability to take photographs and display media from many sources, some of which can be unsuitable for children. As a Group with responsibility for the safeguarding of young people we are uncomfortable with the risks of smartphones being used to take and share inappropriate photographs or to share inappropriate media.

It is our policy that:

  1. Mobile phones / smartphones / tablets or similar devices are strictly not allowed on any overnight activity. If found, parents will be asked to come to camp to take the device away.
  2. Mobile phones / smartphones / tablets or similar devices are not needed and should not be used during Scout meetings.
  3. Should a child need to contact a parent, our leaders will use the contact details registered for that child.

Payments to volunteers

As volunteers our leaders and helpers receive no payments for attending Scout meetings. However, it is our view that volunteers should not have to pay for equipment or costs related to delivering activities for our Scout Group.

For camps, volunteers will normally need to make some payments to cover costs associated with their attendance, such as contributions for food and camp fees.

It is our policy that volunteers (leaders and helpers) may claim legitimate expenses from either the Scout Group or from the appropriate Section. These expenses may include:

  • Stationary, printing and postage.
  • Fuel costs associated with camps, activity meetings and training where these take place outside the Buxton area.
  • For each uniformed leader: one adult leader shirt, necker and membership badges.

Where an expenditure is not clearly covered by the above list, the Group Scout Leader or Group Treasurer will seek advice from the Group’s Trustee Board, where the decision and justifications will be recorded in the minutes.

Information we need to hold

All data is maintained in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations. Our Group Scout Leader (Group Lead Volunteer) is the data controller.

We need information relating to children to ensure their health and safety while at Scouts, to record attendance, badge work and additional information to ensure we are placing children into the correct Sections. We also need to record whether we have permission to use photographs.

We need contact information for parent / guardians, so we can contact you in case of accidents, or to discuss any issues or concerns we may have.

The information on children and parents is held in an on-line system called “On-line Scout Manager” (OSM). We will also create paper-based attendance lists with emergency contact details, for use in the Scout hut or for activities away from the Scout hut.

To make sure the information we hold is up to date we will ask you to complete the Child Health and Parent / Guardian Contact forms each September. Please notify us as soon as possible if there are changes that we need to be aware of.

The Scout Association holds information on Leaders and Adult helpers. This includes information on training, and DBS criminal record checks. This information is held on a National Scout data base called “Compass”.

Our Funding

The majority of our costs of running our Scout Group are covered by your subscription payments. We do generate some income from hiring out the hut to others. For some events, we try to reduce the costs to parents by raising money through fundraising events or activities.

Gift Aid

As a registered UK charity, we are able to reclaim an extra 25% in tax eligible donations (including membership fees) made by UK taxpayers. For this reason and if you are able, we ask you to complete a Gift Aid declaration form.

Subscription payments

Subscriptions may be paid monthly or each half term. All Sections pay the same:

  • Monthly payments: 12 payments of £14.00 (equivalent to £168 / year)
  • Half-term payments: 6 payments of £28.00 (equivalent to £168 / year)

This covers membership fees of The Scout Association, general running costs, maintenance of the hut and equipment, badges, resources and programme activity costs.  Camps and trips are not included in the subscription payments. 

Bank Details:

  • Bank:  RBS
  • Account Name:  3rd Buxton (Harpur Hill) Scout Group No 2 A/c
  • Sort Code:  16-15-15
  • Account Number:  10114424
  • Reference: For subscriptions, please include ‘Subs’ and your child’s name in the reference, for example the Cub, Joe Bloggs will have a reference SubsJoeBloggs. (Payments for special events will use different initial letters, for example payments for the pantomime we may ask you to use ‘Panto’ instead of ‘Subs’)

Direct bank payments are preferred. Payments can be made by cash or cheque, but this does create extra work for our volunteer leaders.

Behaviour

We ask all members of Scouting to follow the behaviours and values expressed in the Scout Law and the promises made at their investiture (see https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/the-scout-promise).

We are also asking Sections as part of their meetings to discuss and develop a code of conduct, which we will get the members to sign-up to.

Uniform

Our uniform consists of a sweatshirt or shirt that you can sew badges on and our orange and white necker to represent our Group.

  • Squirrels         Red sweatshirt
  • Beavers           Turquoise sweatshirt
  • Cub Scouts     Dark green sweatshirt
  • Scouts             Teal green shirt

These should be accompanied by plain, dark, trousers or leggings.

Please talk to our leaders about where to buy shirts and sizing.

Neckers and membership badges will be presented to members when they are invested into Scouting.

We expect children to attend Section meetings in their sweatshirt or shirt with footwear suitable for the activity.  Those who have been invested should also wear their necker to all Scouting events.

Badges

Sections work together on badges at their weekly meetings, away at camps and events, or even at home. There are over 200 badges that can be earned and parts of our programmes will be aimed at achieving specific badges.

If there is an activity, sport or hobby outside of Scouting that your child is involved with, there may be a badge they can work towards at home. Please discuss this with your leader.

For those up for a challenge, there are loads of exciting badges to aim for, such as the Chief Scout’s Acorn, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond Awards. These are the highest awards that Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers can earn.

When badges are awarded, they should be sewn onto the Scouting shirt or sweatshirt. Information on where to sew badges can be found on the Scout Association web site at: https://www.scouts.org.uk/information-for-parents/uniform-and-costs/.

Section numbers and moving up

As a successful Group, our Sections often run close to capacity. This means we cannot always accept new applicants, or they may have to wait until we have space within a Section.

We give priority to children moving up from the Section below and try to arrange moving up so that small groups move up together.

Scouts have the opportunity to move up to an Explorer Unit. Our District has three Explorer Groups, one in Buxton, the others at Taxal and Chinley. Many Scouts from our Group move up to Solomon’s Explorer Scout Unit, based at 1st Buxton Scout Hut.

Explorer Scouts provides access to many new activities and challenges, including the opportunity to do Young Leader training. As a Young Leader you might help out at one of the local Scout groups. Our Group has benefitted from having some fantastic Young Leaders helping out at our Beavers, Cubs and Scout Sections.

Attendance

If your child is unable to make a meeting, due to illness or other conflicting activities, please let us know.

If your child no-longer wishes, or is no-longer able, to be a member of our Scout Group, please let us know, so we can make their place available to someone on our waiting list.

Start and end of meetings

A Leader will always be available at the start of meetings. If you are delivering forms or payments, please make sure that we have noted that you have delivered it, and help us by marking it clearly with your child’s name.

If you need to discuss something with a leader, let us know, but please be patient, we may need to ensure that the Section is supervised by other Leaders, so we can talk to you properly.

At the end of the meeting, please come into the hut to collect your child. We will not let anyone leave until we know they are being collected by a responsible adult. If you have arranged for your child to be collected by another parent, please let us know this when they are dropped off.

Competitions, Events & Challenges

As well as activities arranged by our Group, we regularly take part in District, County and community events.

Events include:

  • Border Hike in September (Scouts),
  • Kinder Challenge (October – Scouts)
  • Remembrance Sunday (November – All Sections)
  • Pantomime (December – All Sections)
  • Chilly Challenge (January – Scouts)
  • Ready Steady Cook (February – Cubs and Scouts)
  • Wallaboree (May – All Sections)
  • Taylor Trophy (June – Scouts)
  • Bowden Buffalo (June – Cubs)
  • Summer Camps (July/August – Cubs and Scouts)

Can you help?

Don’t be shy. You can help. Most of our Leaders started as parent helpers!

There are many ways you can help our Scout Group. Each Section will need some parent helpers on meeting nights. You might help the children with badge activities, set up for games, or if you have a skill you want to share, lead an activity. It’s always fun and rewarding and you will learn things yourself – Do you know the difference between a knot and lashing? Can you light a fire without matches? Can you put up a tent?

We will need help from time-to-time with camps. Packing trailers, transporting kit to camp, putting up tents is always hard work for the leaders and help is always appreciated.

We also do work to maintain our hut and the land we are responsible for around the hut. Occasionally we will need help with this work. On these, occasions, we are grateful for any help you can give; it all helps to take some of the load from our volunteer leaders.

Parent rotas

Our Beavers and Cubs Sections will always need parent helpers for meetings. Our Scouts section will occasionally ask for help with certain activities.

We will ask for parents to put their names against upcoming meetings. When you do join us, you will be welcomed by our leaders who will talk you through the activities and how you can help.

Further Information

If you want to know more, or have an issue you want to raise, please talk to us. You can contact us at:

More information and contact details are given on our web site at: www.3rdbuxtonscoutgroup.org.uk.

You can see what our Sections have been up to on our Facebook pages:

There’s information about Scouting in our District at www.highpeakscouting.org.uk/ and lots of information about Scouting in the UK at: www.scouts.org.uk.