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www.derbyshirescouts.org

Hello and welcome to the first of three K.Scouts this year. If you remember, these are a little more about looking at what we have done and our successes rather than what is coming up (that information is to be found in K.Plus on a regular basis) This year so far, like all years, has been a rollercoaster of a year. Our UK Chief Commissioner, Wayne Bullpit, got us off to a great start at the Cathedral where we presented awards to the 14 queen Scouts who could make it and acknowledged the Queen and King Scouts over the years. 127 Queen Scouts were in attendance and 11 King Scouts, what an achievement by all concerned. We expect to se Wayne again in Derbyshire, this time at Beaver Bonanza in July. Youth Councils continue to be successful with only one district now not being represented at the County events. More importantly several district now have some form of youth voice, the most recent being I.Voice in Chesterfield. Are you listening to your youth? Whilst we cannot do everything they might like we can certainly take on board their thoughts and ideas. The youth members on the Peak activities team are already making a great contribution to next years event. This years Four Inns saw a trial of a short route, initially aimed at the Explorer / Network age range and what a success that was with cries from all participants, both Derbyshire and other counties Explorers, for it to become a permanent feature. That is now the plan with a team looking at making it happen alongside the regular Four Inns. Project Compass continues to gain momentum and whilst we were expecting it around now, it will be introduced in September and I am convinced it will be a success. In no small part thanks to Chris, one of our Scouters, who has been working on it for around 2 years. I am sure you all know the expectation is that all members will be recorded by January next year. If you forsee a difficulty in this happening please get in touch and we will try to help in some way. It was good to see so many people receive awards at this years St Georges Day awards night. Please make sure you nominate to your DC those who you feel ought to be recognised as it is one of the few ways we can show our appreciation officially. St Georges Day nominations need to be with Ros Heydon by the end of July, this is to give her a chance to process them all before the HQ deadline. On the theme of valuing people, there will be a conference in November for ADC’s of all sections. These people are after all our specialist’s in so many areas so please pass on to them any thoughts or questions you would like discussing. Tim Kidd, Chief Commissioner for England, will be our guest speaker and will also take a session during the day. Both the Jamboree contingent and the Explorer belt contingents have been putting a lot of work in to make sure that the Scouts taking part have the best possible experience. Please try later on this year to get to listen to the reports back from the Explorer belt groups, there is bound to be one near

you. You could also invite this years participants to share their experiences with your explorers by way of promoting the 2016 or 17 expedition. Great road shows for Peak 2015 with an amazing amount of support and bookings already, a tribute to the hard work and professionalism of the organisers and managers. We recently reviewed where we think we are with the County plan, the document all districts had a hand in at the Big Picture last year, and were pleased with the progress being made. The date and venue are booked for the follow up planning conference next year, 17th & 18th April at the YHA Lose Hill. Young Leaders have also enjoyed the last 12 months with some real development happening in all areas. We have been asked to share our thoughts and ideas (and James) with other counties looking to follow our lead. I am looking forward to Activation in a couple of weeks, 350 plus booked in over the 2 days, another success story. Wait until you see the annual report and realise just how successful the County’s Active support units actually are. Speaking of the annual report we will be having Steve Judge as our speaker this year. Whilst he is a Derbyshire Scouter (Dronfield) he has a remarkable personal story of overcoming severe injury to become a star in his chosen sport. Do come along and listen. You know it would not be a note from me if growth did not figure in it somewhere. Whilst we did not achieve the 10,000 I had been hoping for, we did have growth in the county, which is the main thing. This included the most growth recorded in the region, this for Peak district (11% )who for the fourth year are in the record books. Over the next few weeks I am meeting all DC’s to look at where we can grow scouting in the County as I really do believe we need to go forward and not merely sit on our laurels enjoying the successes we are having. I do want to see waiting lists eliminated if at all possible. But it needs your support and ideas to make it happen. Finally a big thanks to the crew at the County’s Campsite, Drum Hill. The Monday before Spring Bank camp we took delivery of a new toilet block and a new shower block, an amazing amount of work saw them installed ready for the Friday night, plumbing , power and decking. Truly amazing, especially given the amount of work being done elsewhere in preparation for the weekend. I know lots of leaders have had an equally busy time preparing for and actually taking our Scouts to camp then clearing up, but I think the work at Drum Hill this week does deserve a special thanks. Tom

1ST BRADWELL BEAVERS CELEBRATE

THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAY.

April saw 1st Bradwell Beavers

celebrating our first birthday. This first

year has flown by so quickly, it is hard to

believe it has been a whole year since

we opened.

We are a testament to the generosity of

Bradwell village who have been so

supportive of us and have provided so

much help getting us up and running.

Our meeting hall had been empty for

thirteen years and along with Peak

District Scout Council and so many

wonderful people in Bradwell village, we

now have breathed life into our old hall

and are a thriving and dynamic Beaver

group.

We had a special birthday celebration

with the ADC Beavers, Amanda Griffiths,

coming to visit to join in the celebrations

and present the Beaver Bronze Award,

the highest achievement a Beaver can

attain, to quite a few of our colony. There

were some very proud Beavers.

Your executive needs you...and you ... and you!!!!

It’s that time of year again – the birds are building their nests – the tadpoles are squiggling in the pond and ... its AGM time across the county for all groups and districts. Uniformed leaders do a fantastic job giving young people all over Derby-shire experiences and activities that Scouting does so well. BUT they need the help of the executives to provide the support for all the great activities. Executive committees, if run well can really take some of the pressure of the leaders and can provide sup-port. They are responsible for safety, finance, appointments and much much more. There are some very informative fact sheets on the Scout web site. We know that there are young peo-ple all over the county wanting to join scouting but cant because of lack of leaders. Use your executive for publicity, fund raising, seeking out new meeting places, finding new

K.Scout is the Newsletter of the Derbyshire County Scout Council. All contributions and photos gratefully

received and should be sent to news@derbyshirescouts.org for inclusion.

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leaders; you will be amazed what they could do!!! One thing all our executives should be doing is involving some of the amazing young people we have in the county. We need them to join the executives to make sure that our lo-cal scouting stays relevant to the young people of today. We are really grateful to all who give up their time on executives but let’s make sure they are relevant and fit for today’s challenges. Carole

This is a new role that I have been ap-pointed to, so here is a quick introduction to me and what the role is about. I am Helen Crampton and I am a GSL in Chesterfield. I have worked in the world of safety for 20 years, 17 of them as safety adviser for Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service. I was risk assessment co-ordinator for Peak 2010 and I am also do-ing the same job at Peak 2015. The aim of this new role is to promote the Association’s safety policy and good prac-tice procedures within the County by pro-viding support and practical advice. As well as supporting the County Execu-tive, District Commissioners and trainers, I am also here to support any adult volun-teer. There are a lot of resources available on line, but if you can’t find the answer to a safety conundrum; something is still a puz-zle; you can’t find the right advice; you are unsure of anything safety-wise; or you need help busting through the jargon, then don’t hesitate to contact me via email: safety@derbyshirescouts.org Helen

Magazine app for Scouting Introducing the spe-cial digital trial of Scouting magazine for Apple, Android and web browsers. This trial for tablets and smart phones has added extras not available in the print version, and exclusive content including video

clips. Download a copy and give us your feedback. Visit your app store and search ‘Scouting magazine’, or click the relevant link. Your big idea to improve Scouting

Do you have a great idea that’s being used locally to improve Scout-ing, save time or make life easier? We want to hear the best ideas that can make a real difference to Scouting around the country. We will ask you to share your exper-

tise and ideas on a specific subject. First up is about supporting parents. Please share your ideas. First ever Youth Commissioner By 2018, we want 80% of young people to be able to say they shape Scouting, feel listened to and are taken seriously. The first ever UK Youth Commis-sioner is being recruited to work as part of UKHQ’s core leadership team, to ensure that young people are at the heart of every decision that shapes their Scouting experience. It’s a fantastic opportunity for an individual aged 18-25 to gain valuable work experience and play a cru-cial role as we begin an exciting chapter in Scouting’s history. Having a Movement that is shaped by young people in partnership with adults is a key strand of our vision and our new strategy. The UK Youth Commissioner will work closely with the UK Chief Commissioner, Chief Executive and Chairman to achieve our ambition for Scouting to be truly youth-led. They will be responsible for helping us launch a range of exciting projects, including our first ever National Youth Council. Find out more and apply for this volunteer role and read about our new strategy, Scouting for All.

The local training managers in Derbyshire play a crucial role in helping leaders and managers meet their training requirements, which is an essential part of providing quality Scouting. In this article George, a local training manager, describes what he gets up to in a week. Of course George doesn’t exist and it is unlikely that a local training manager would do all this in a week but it gives you an idea of what the eight local training managers in Derbyshire get up to. It’s Monday and tonight I’m at the District Appointments Advisory Committee meeting. I am not a member of the committee but it’s a good opportunity to meet new leaders. I give them a welcome pack from the County and talk to them about what training they can do to help them do the job that they have agreed to do. I give them my contact details and contact details of another leader who is going to be their training advisor. Sometimes there are leaders who changing their role and I talk to them about training they have done and what they might do in the future. I make sure they have done their safety, safeguarding and first response updates and if necessary tell them the dates of the next courses. Tuesday and tonight it’s admin for me. First email I deal with is from a training advisor it’s a completed personal learning plan for a leader so I send it on to the local training administrator who will enter it all on the database. Once that’s done I will send it on to the local training manager who will request the Wood Badge. I am facilitating courses at the weekend and so I check I have all the information from the County administrator and check all the trainers are still ok to deliver their sessions. Wednesday and I have a meeting to talk about my own training. I am meeting with my line manager, the County Training Manager. Last time we met we completed my personal learning plan. I have to complete Module 30, I don’t need to do a course but have been collecting evidence to demonstrate that I can meet the objectives of the module.

Thursday already and tonight it’s the local training managers meeting. We meet 3 times a year to find out what happening with training in the county and share ideas. It’s great to hear what the other local training managers our doing. Friday and tonight I am meeting with a leader who is training to be a training advisor. They have completed module 25 and so we are meeting with a new leader to complete a personal learning plan. If they do ok then I will validate them for module 25 and there will be another training advisor on the team. Today’s Saturday and I am facilitating a county course. I really enjoy these days as I love meeting leaders from across the county. During the day I make sure everyone has signed in, make sure there are plenty of drinks for those on the course and I also contribute to some great Scouting discussions. Sunday and we are running Getting Started training in the district so I pop along to make sure all the leaders on the course know who their training advisors are and know what they have to do next. So there it is, to do all this I need to be very organised and the biggest challenge is recruiting people to be training advisors but it is very flexible and I can easily fit it around my work. There are vacancies for local training managers in Alfreton, Derby North, Derby South, Dronfield, and East Scarsdale if you think this is a role you would enjoy please contact the County Training Manager, Sue Harris.

Scouting to the Rescue In 1964 the Derby Scout Mountain Rescue Team was formed following the 4 Inns Tragedy. It had little equipment, but Scouting experience to build on. 50 years on and Derby Mountain Rescue Team has grown into a modern, well equipped, well trained, active group and the Scouting link lives on. In the beginning, team members were called out by ‘Telephone Tree’ and door knocking, assembling in Derby to share cars. Now Mountain Rescue is a ‘999’ emergency service. Technology, clothing, rescue equipment, medicine, training standards and number of callouts (30-50 / year) are all different - costing £25,000 annually to operate to a standard expected by the Mountain Rescue England and Wales, the police and public. Our Anniversary Challenge is to build a Headquarters fit for the next 50 years! What hasn’t changed is the availability of volunteers; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year, to venture outdoors whatever the weather, to help those in distress. Ex. Team members are invited to attend the 50

th

Anniversary celebrations. Please contact:- secretary@derbymrt.org.uk for more information.

Derbyshire Scouts Communications Team

We are a Derbyshire Scout Active Support Unit that provides communications support for events throughout the County, we have public address/audio and two way radio equipment. We can provide either equipment 'hire' or we'll come along and look after it for you on the day. To see more about what we do and how the team could help your event please contact us via email admin@derbyshirescouts.org or find us on Facebook at Derbyshire Scouts Communications Team.

News & Updates!

Send us your news!

Beaver Leader Anna Cox and her 2 children Sam Cox (Cubs) and Rebecca Cox (Beavers) from 1st Holymoorside in Chesterfield District embarked on a trip to visit Grandma and Grandad with a difference. Not many people have to have travel vaccinations and endure a 30 hour journey door to door before they take their children to visit Grandparents in Namibia. Not one to miss a Scouting opportunity she contacted their local scout group in Otjiwarongo to see if they could experience scouting Namibian style one evening. Holymoorside Beavers had previously learned about life in Namibia when Anna's Parents visited England back in March and the Beavers prepared some photos from our local area for the Namibians. On arrival the Namibian children were very keen to speak to the newbies but as we all know scouting work is never done so they were quickly enlisted to the task in hand. Soup had to be made for a local children's refuge so things had to be quickly chopped, stirred and fires lit. Rehearsals were also well under way for the scout songs which were to be sung to the refuge children. Once the soup was ready in the cauldrons it was loaded up into the back of a car and driven up to the refuge. Children were also loaded into every available space of other cars, Namibian style. After a few moments of mouth gaping and health and safety hyperventilation from Anna, they piled into the boot with no seat belts or booster cushions and far more than just 5 people per vehicle .... thankfully, they survived !! Sam & Rebecca decided it was the best journey ever and wanted to ride like that all the time!! Scouts had transported the benches up to the refuge

and they were the exact same ones that they have on camp ... You know the ones that if you dont peg into the grass they fall over every 5 minutes sending everyone flying!! Same problems just 8500 kilometres apart! Everyone decided on a language to conduct the evening in (the scout group spoke German, the refuge spoke Afrikaans and we spoke English ... Thankfully most understood some English so they continued in English. The Africans sang some hymns beautifully and did amazing dancing. The scout Group sang some English songs, Amazing Grace, He's got the Whole World in his Hands, and Kumbaya. Anna decided that a Holymoorside favourite also needed representing but what to choose so that everyone could sing together with such language diversity?? ... What would you choose??? Sorry - Alice the Camel was the only one !!!!! Everyone cottoned on quite quickly and they loved it!! Soup was shared, photos taken, pen pal promises made and sad goodbyes said. A very special evening never to be forgotten. A huge thank you to scouting for opening up such an opportunity and to Otjiwarongo Scouting for welcoming us. Anna Cox.

Willington Scout Group is 50 Years Old

It’s 50 years since Willington was registered in the Scout Association as of 6

th February 2014. On

Saturday 8th February we had a birthday event at

our headquarters. During the evening, about 85 members, past and present, joined us for an evening of activities. Our newest member, who started Cubs just 2 weeks before, and his family, came along with one of the first Akelas and her son, who was one of the first Cubs.

There were lots of things for the youngsters to do,

from Da Vinci Bridge building, to making paper

aeroplanes for a race at the end of the evening.

We also embraced the computer age and had a

Wii Mario Kart challenge.

While the youngsters were enjoying the activities, the older members were reminiscing over photographs of the Group from the last 20+ years.

Part way through the evening we all sat down to a

fabulous buffet followed by the cutting of our 50th

Birthday cake by our president Frank Proffitt.

The cake was made by our ex Akela, Sarah

Beasley, and had everything on it, from the Group

marquee and van to 50 people climbing, bivouac

building, kayaking, archery, in tents and at a

campfire complete with our GSL wearing her

badge covered camp blanket, all topped off with a

Willington Scout flag. Amazing just doesn’t cover

it!

I am delighted to report that nearly 3,000

badges have been requested by Beaver Scout

colonies across Derbyshire. A few more are still

available – so if you haven’t managed to place

your order yet, please do so while stocks last!

If you have lost your order form, you can

download a new form from the County website

www.derbyshirescouts.org . You’ll find the form

at the end of the Beaver Scout pages or in the

information download section.

Mini Challenge – six missions completed

I have sent out 25 certificates to colonies who

have successfully completed the Mini Challenge –

there must be more of you who have achieved

this! You just have to complete one mission from

each of the five continents and order your

badges. As you will have read above, lots of you

are wearing the badges which is great – but

please tell me about the other things you have

done. Just drop an email to my friend Joy

Templer, the ACC Beaver Scouts via acc-

beavers@derbyshirescouts.org outlining which

country you visited and what you did. You don’t

need to include photographs – but I do enjoy

seeing what you have been up to.

Midi Challenge – 12 missions completed

Congratulations to the 8 colonies who have

already achieved this:

Chatsworth (Early + Late)

Willington

3rd Killamarsh

1st Erewash

124th Derby (Mickleover)

3rd Buxton

132nd Derby/2nd Chaddesden

I hoped you enjoyed your little treat which I

sent along with one of my friends when they

delivered your second certificate. I look

forward to hearing from more colonies in the

next few weeks – just drop me a line via the ACC

Beaver Scouts (as above).

Mega Challenge – 21 Missions completed

A really big WELL DONE to Chatsworth Early

and Late Colonies for completing the Mega

Challenge. My friends, Tom (the County

Commissioner) and Joy (aka Red Fox – the ACC

for Beaver Scouts), tell me they had lots of fun

when they visited these colonies recently.

I also hear that the Beaver Scouts enjoyed my

special gift too.

PLEASE – let me know what you have been up to.

I’d love to send out loads more certificates and

arrange for my friends to visit.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Furry Fred

Chief Scout’s Gold Awards A new venue for 2014 – the Winding Wheel at Chesterfield. The first glimpse of over 400 assembled in the hall was a real wow factor! We had originally booked a smaller hall but due to the numbers reaching over 150 we had to rethink the venue. Certificates were presented by our president Sir Richard Fitzherbert Bt. It was really good to see so many of our Scouts from right across the County gain their awards – well done to all – they are a credit to their Troops.

My thanks are extended to Chesterfield SASu who provided a super buffet after the presentations. The next presentation will be February 1

st 2015 again hopefully at The Winding

Wheel.

Ready Steady Cook

March 2014 saw our second Ready Cook competition with 9 Districts entering the competition. The standard was once again incredibly high with teams of 3 Scouts cooking up amazing meals on the theme of the Commonwealth. The four judges certainly had a hard job in deciding the winners.

Winners Ripley & Heanor 284 points Runners Up Ilkeston 277 points Third Place High Peak 263 points

Rampage 2014 Sunday September 28th Entry Forms are now out (available via the website) so it would be wise to get your entries in soon to avoid disappointment.

Dave Dave MacAlister - ACC (Scouts) E-mail: acc-scouts@derbyshirescouts.org

2014 Event Sunday 12th October

The KINDER EXTREME is a challenging competitive walk in the Peak Dis-trict aimed at older Scouts, Guides, Explorer Scouts, Network, and Lead-ers. The walk, which takes place on part of Kinder Scout, is approximately 28 km.

The KINDER CHALLENGE* – is a 16 km circular route starting and

finishing at Chapel-en-le-Frith; intended for first timers – the Bla-

greaves Boot trophy is open to ALL in the Scout & Guide sections – ac-

companied by a Leader.

Trophy Categories

KINDER TROPHY Fastest Scout/Explorer team of 3 to 5

PENNINE SHIELD Fastest Scout/Guide & Leader team of 2 to 5 Scouts,

Explorers or Guides.

EDALE SHIELD Fastest all female team of 3 to 5 members.

RON ANDERSON TROPHY Fastest team of 2 to 4 aged over 18 years.

THE NETWORK TROPHY Fastest team of 3 to 5 Scout Network aged

over 18 and under 25 years.

THE KINDER CHALLENGE* Fastest team of 3 to 5 Explorer Scouts

THE BLAGREAVES BOOT* Fastest team of 3 to 5 Scouts/Guides with

Leader

FREE ‘T’ SHIRT OFFER!

Get your entry in by 21st September to receive your free ‘T’ Shirt –

with Kinder logo on the front and map of the route on the back. Kindly

sponsored by Bywater Gas – info@bywater-gas.co.uk

INFORMATION BOOKLET & BOOKING FORM

Available after June 1st on the website or e-mail:

kinder@derbyshirescouts.org

www.derbyshirescouts.org/kinder