Hampshire Scouts are pleased to offer Mental Health Awareness Training to all leaders through a 2.5-hour Zoom session.

This training will introduce the topic of mental health and explore Scouting’s role in promoting wellbeing. It will also provide guidance on the basic steps you can take to support a young person or volunteer in distress, and help you consider the appropriate next steps.

You can book online here.

Following on from previous successful sessions, we are offering further free Neurodiversity training courses.

The new dates are:

The course is provided by Ellie Hunt. Ellie is a neurodivergent neurodiversity advocate, with lived experience of autism and ADHD, and a teacher with 20 years experience working to support access and equity for young people with a wide range of differences that create barriers to education.

The day will look at what neurodivergence is, covering autism, ADHD and specific learning differences like dyslexia, how these might present themselves when at Scouts and how we can make reasonable adjustments to avoid what others may potentially see as challenging behaviours. 

All courses to run from 10:30am until 3:30pm & a light lunch will be provided, however our ability to cater to dietary requirements is limited to vegetarian only, so unfortunately if anyone has any further food intolerances, they will need to cater for themselves.

Booking is first-come-first-served by emailing Kelly Taylor and you can also notify her of any additional needs the organisers need to be aware of.

Following on from previous successful sessions, we are offering further free Neurodiversity training courses.

The new dates are:

The course is provided by Ellie Hunt. Ellie is a neurodivergent neurodiversity advocate, with lived experience of autism and ADHD, and a teacher with 20 years experience working to support access and equity for young people with a wide range of differences that create barriers to education.

The day will look at what neurodivergence is, covering autism, ADHD and specific learning differences like dyslexia, how these might present themselves when at Scouts and how we can make reasonable adjustments to avoid what others may potentially see as challenging behaviours. 

All courses to run from 10:30am until 3:30pm & a light lunch will be provided, however our ability to cater to dietary requirements is limited to vegetarian only, so unfortunately if anyone has any further food intolerances, they will need to cater for themselves.

Booking is first-come-first-served by emailing Kelly Taylor and you can also notify her of any additional needs the organisers need to be aware of.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) are offering Scout groups the opportunity to join them for a talk about their organisation and tours of various sites in Hampshire. They can cater for all age ranges and also tailor talks to your preferred duration (i.e. from 30 minutes up to 1 hour and 30 minutes). In terms of the content of the talks, please see below a detailed talk description, but bear in mind this will be watered down somewhat to suit the age of the audience its being delivered to:

The CWGC – This presentation provides an overview of our organisation from past to present with reference to the sites and casualties we care for. It will begin by discussing the conception of the CWGC by our founder and the principles put into place at that time that continues to define what we do and how we do it. To illustrates this, we will then show you the sites we care for in the UK and around the world and what to look for when visiting them. A discussion of the challenges we face and the work we do today will then follow, before the presentation is rounded off with a personal story tailored to your group.

They can also offer remembrance themed talks given that is only a few months away.

In terms of tours, the site would be decided on a case by case basis. They would try to find a suitable site/cemetery close to the Scout group so that they can introduce or build on any local history knowledge. The duration would be a bit longer (so from 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes) with lots of exciting activities. As with the talks, this would be negotiated with the group based on logistics and the site chosen. Some of the CWGC's larger sites in Hampshire that would be ideal for tours include: Portsmouth Naval Memorial | Explore Great Britain (cwgc.org)or Hollybrook Memorial | Explore Great Britain (cwgc.org) or Brockenhurst (St. Nicholas) Churchyard | Cemetery Details | CWGC

Finally, their volunteer speakers and guides are based across Hampshire so there would be no area too difficult to cover. Talks/tours can be booked thought the booking page on their website Book a Talk: Commonwealth War Stories | CWGC

Our President, HM Lord HM Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire Nigel Atkinson Esq, recently shared a message of congratulations and celebration for our volunteers and staff's hard work in our mission to bounce back.


Message from HM Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire and President of Hampshire Scouts Nigel Atkinson Esq.

I wanted to write to Hampshire Scouts having seen the splendid results reported following the completion of the most recent Census published last month.

Clearly the work undertaken by all volunteers and staff, including leaders across the county, the Commissioners, and those in the county office under operation ‘Bounce Back’ following the ‘Covid era’ proved successful. It gives me enormous pleasure to see how in most areas our numbers have risen and long may that continue across our County.

So, many congratulations and thank you for all you do for Hampshire Scouts to ensure we give better Scouting and opportunities to the young people of Hampshire.

With best wishes.

Nigel Atkinson
HM Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire
President Hampshire Scouts.

With such a successful Youth Council in September 2022, we’ve planned our latest and hope you can join us for the weekend. 

Youth Council provides an amazing opportunity to empower young people to take control of their scouting experience. This weekend will enable young people to build their confidence and be able to work in a team, using a variety of activities, both indoors and outdoors. 

We will provide young people with the tools to become future leaders through the Youth Shape award. Furthermore, we would like to hear what our young people would like from us as their Youth Commissioners. We will:

We would like to invite Explorers to join us for the weekend to hear their views on scouting across Hampshire. 

Key Details: 

At our last Youth Council, we had 30 young people attending from across the county. It would be great to have even more young people involved this time around. 

If your explorer would like to attend, please complete the attached form by 1st March 2023:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXRAYErFmpmKi6mjmK-8PXbiMjDn9kpcSMtr8hmvs5VBSUMQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Back in March 2022, we introduced our Transformation Lead for Hampshire Scouts at our County Conference. Within their presentation, they welcomed a group of volunteers who would form the Transformation Team for our wonderful county.

This team attended Basecamp22 in Manchester in May to understand more about the Transformation taking place and, ultimately, the change that's to come... 

Today, we kick off a series of updates about all things Transformation. As a member of Hampshire Scouts, we will publish monthly updates right here throughout 2023 around some of the key areas of change listed below. 

We won't go into too much detail about who the above people are, other than that they are Hampshire's Transformation Team. But what is important to know is they are volunteers from across Hampshire, from District Commissioners to training team members, this smiley bunch represent a whole wide of volunteers who will be impacted by the change that's to come. 

Together, they have been working to understand some of the key changes that are on their way but, again, not anytime soon so please continue as you are. 

Why is there going to be change?


Before we talk about the change that's happening across Scouts in the UK that will affect Hampshire Scouts, it's important to understand what's changing, why it's needed and how attractive the change will be to those who will receive it. Below are the key things to change over mid-to-late 2023 and into 2024:

There will be a warmer welcome for everyone: The Scouts is planning to create a warmer welcome for everyone. This will touch on how new volunteers are appointed, 'welcome conversations', introduction to learning and more. Information about this is to come in early 2023.

There will be a focus on positive volunteering every day: The Scouts are going to simplify how we volunteer together for positive volunteering every day.​ There will be a new team-based approach to learning, eliminating singular roles with a long and defined list of responsibilities.

There will be more engaging learning: Changing the culture of 'training' to a world that has exciting 'learning' opportunities. You will soon receive a Hampshire-Scouts-specific update about how training will change, but please continue as you are at the moment.

There will be changes to our digital systems with a focus to help volunteers get things done: The Scouts are currently testing and trialling a new membership system to eventually give Hampshire more digital support to help get things done.​ We will update you on that as we get it.

But I've heard about all of this (and some more) already...

As Scouts, we love to talk. And we know in Hampshire that word-of-mouth goes far and quickly. Why? Because we're passionate about what we do and wish to share that with our teams.

While some volunteers may be more informed about the change that's happening, these key transformation pillars are very new to many others. That's why we're starting to send emails like this to ensure everyone is on the same page and moving towards our planning and implementing stages together. 

Our Transformation Team are now steadily understanding the change that's to come... so they can now help you understand and provide you with an educated insight into the things you need to know. More will be published onto our all-members site in good time.

Lookout for these updates to come in 2023: 

February 2023: 

- An update on what's changing to the Scouts volunteer framework 
- An update on the role name changes and why 
- An update on the Scouts new membership system and how this will benefit you

March 2023: 

- An update on the change from 'training' to 'learning' that's to come 
- An update on what's happening with the existing wood badge scheme 
- An update on new systems which will be implemented in late 2023 - early 2024
- An introduction to the 'Is My Patch Ready for Change?' tool available from Scouts HQ 

April 2023: 

- We're hoping to have an update on information about HantsCAMP 2023, our county's own event to introduce District Commissioners, County Chairs, Group Scout Leaders, and various representatives to change that's to come. 

And finally... reminding ourselves of our North Star... 

The Scouts will be experiencing a season of transformation over the coming years to encourage more people to volunteer. The change is also focused on retaining existing volunteers too. With more volunteers, we can positively impact the lives of more young people and help them gain skills for life - Our North Star. 

From this article, we know you will have questions. But please be patient while we present you with the information you need in good time. Many of your questions may be answered within our planned communications. May you also continue volunteering and training as you are. There will be a transition period and no time spent on what you are currently achieving will be wasted.

Thank you.

Hampshire Youth Network, a cross Hampshire network including the Scouts and backed by our President, are running their next event which will “showcase” the huge range of talent among our County’s young people. It will also be an opportunity for organisations to host a stall to tell those attending about the activities they offer – a potential source of new members.

This event will take place at a venue (to follow) in Winchester on Saturday 22nd April, and they are inviting organisations to attend and run a stall. They would also like to know of any young people who could attend to show their talent to others.

To sign up and run a stall, please express your interest by filling in this form. If you have any questions, please email Martin Rudd.

By Paul Bell, County Commissioner for Hampshire Scouts

As I type this, the world is in a cost-of-living crisis caused by soaring energy prices as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.  The Scout Movement is not political, so I do not wish to get involved in the rights and wrongs of what is happening there, however, my thoughts and best wishes are with all of the innocent people whose lives have been turned upside down by what is going on.

But back to our own country, it is costing more and more to heat and light our homes, and Scout Headquarters, people are finding it increasingly challenging to make ends meet as costs rise, and it is becoming harder to put food on their tables.  As I type this, the Postmen are on strike, as are the railways, the Border Forces are talking about it, as are the Nurses, School Teachers, the list goes on and on, as people protest in an effort to make ends meet in their households.  There has not been such a demand on Food Banks for a long time.  So how does this affect us and why am I typing it here ?  Because of the challenges elsewhere in their lives, Scouts have become more and more relevant to the young people around our county, by doing the things that you all do fantastically well, you are giving these young people some respite from the challenges in their daily lives and for that you can all be really proud and I would like to thank each and every one of you for what you are doing.

Hampshire is the largest county, based on the number of young people and adults that we have involved in Scouts, the next county below us (Kent), has 5,000 fewer members than we do.  That makes this role and being involved in Scouts in Hampshire an amazing pastime, from the point of view of my role, it is the equivalent of managing a massive company, or steering an enormous oil tanker, an incredible responsibility, but it can also be so rewarding.  For me to be able to do this role I have an amazing team around me and for that I am truly grateful.

Over the next couple of years there are some amazing changes in the pipeline for the Scout Movement.  These range from making Adult Training easier for people to complete, improving the welcome processes that we use with new volunteers, implementing a new Adult and then Young Person’s Information System, reviewing our role titles, the way that we manage Governance will be changed, there is a review just starting on our provision for the 14-25 Programme, there is a uniform review just starting, in our county we have a Race Equity project underway.  Loads of things will be changing in order to keep our Movement relevant to today’s society.  Some of which will be quite evocative for people’s emotions, but please understand that as a County we will be working together with the Sections, Groups, and Districts in order to help make these changes happen as painlessly as possible.  The role title of Commissioner is going, but that is because most people have no idea what it means, the way that our Leadership teams are structured is changing, but that is in order to spread the load more.  Everything happens for a reason, sometimes change can be quite difficult, but together we can take the Scout Movement in Hampshire forwards.  My intention is that later next year we will organise an event where we can invite people from around the county to outline these changes and how it will affect them.  We will be calling this event HantsCamp and it will hopefully be in the Autumn of 2023.

This year, our new Section Squirrels celebrated its first birthday, we hosted a fantastic Activity Day in Ferny Crofts to celebrate.  When I took over the role of County Commissioner,  I set the challenge for there to be a Squirrel Drey in every Group in the county by the end of 2023, all 253 of them.  It is a well proven fact that if opened correctly, a Squirrel Drey brings its own leadership team, some of whom then filter into the Sections above.  Our only challenge should be about having an available place for a Drey to meet.  If we were to totally meet my challenge, then by the end of next year we could have over 3,700 Squirrels in the county.  That is 3,700 young people that are new to Scouting and also a minimum of 3,700 parents that are available to do something within our Groups, if we are willing to ask.

Another challenge that I set during this year, is that the Section events that we offer as a County, should either be scalable, or repeatable in order that potentially every young person in the county can attend a county event if they wish, rather than us being limited by numbers.  My County Team have a Strategy Day in January where we will all get our heads together and plan how we can achieve this.  It is not realistic to expect this to happen for the 2023 county activities, but certainly by 2024 our County activities should be running at a different scale.  If anyone out there would like to become involved in this type of thing, please send me an E-Mail and let me know.  These things cannot be achieved by a very small team, but will need to be the result of many people, young and old, working together.  There is an amazing amount of Leadership talent around the county, it would be great to have everyone involved.

Currently around our county we have over 4,000 young people on Want to Join Lists, that is equivalent to 200 Sections with 20 young people in it.  That is 4,000 people that would like to become members of the Scout Association, that cannot, and that is not a statistic that we can be proud of.  During 2023 the County Team will be working with the District Commissioners and the Growth and Development team, in order to try and address this issue.  The reality is that most Groups are full, have a lack of leadership, or a lack of available meeting places.  My intention is that together we will develop a District Development Plan for every District in the county and together we will work towards finding a home for those people on the Want to Join lists.  It will mean recruiting new Leaders, opening new Sections and starting new Groups, liaising with the Local Authority if necessary, working together we can make this happen.

Summer 2023 we are organising a County Award Celebration event in June.  Every Leader and Adult volunteer that has been awarded a Good Service Award between April 2022 and April 2023 will be invited to the event.  Plans are currently being made and if it is a success, I would like it to become an annual event that celebrates the achievements of our Adult volunteers.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you, for all that you do to make Scouts in Hampshire as successful as it is today.  Please take a well earnt Christmas break with your families, and I look forward to working with you again in the New Year.  I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas.

Paul.

Headshot of Hampshire Lead Volunteer Paul Bell

Calling all adults and young people! We have some exciting opportunities for you to learn new skills to help promote the brilliant work you're doing with Scouts in your community.

February 2023 sees the return of Hampshire Scouts' training events for adults and young people to help them tell their Scouting stories to the media, on social media and to others to spread the word and help grow your group. Taking place at Runway's End Outdoor Centre near Aldershot, it's free of charge.

Location: Runway’s End Outdoor Centre

Scouts Speak Up: Friday 3rd to Saturday 4th February, free, food and accommodation indoors included plus an adventurous activity. Scouts, Explorers and Scout Network aged 13-25.

Adult Media Workshop: Sunday 5th February, free, food included. Open to any adult volunteer in any role.

Aim: to promote the good news stories of the Scouts by communicating effectively with the media, on social media and with those outside the movement.

These courses are free-of-charge and funded by Hampshire Scouts, so sign up while spaces are available. Timings will be confirmed once registration closes.

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