Tuesday 29 October 2013

Module 7 - Scouting For All

Returning home from a week away in the caravan my first job (aside from the laundry mountain) was to prepare for the Module 7 course that I was to deliver last night.  

Before going away I had printed off the trainers notes and read through them, just to get my head around the content, and ensure that I wasn't going to be desperately searching for some resources at the last minute.  I was quite pleased with myself because I realised that I'd need to put together a powerpoint presentation so that I could show The Scout Association's Vision to 2018, and also an outline of the Equality Act.  I would also need to show "Inclusion Matters" - a video available from The Scout Association.  I got on the phone to Gilwell (UK Scout HQ) to find out where I could download the video from and also on the e-mail to somebody in the District who was going to be at the course, to ask him to bring his laptop.

Yesterday I sat down and once more went through the notes for the course.  The material is for 3 1/2 hours learning - I was hoping to get it down to two, or at most two and a half (started at 7.45pm and finished by 10.20pm, so not too bad).  As I went through the material I put a powerpoint presentation together.  I try not to use Powerpoint too much, so just had the Objectives, the Vision to 2018, the Equality Act, the module Validation criteria and a brief summary of the content of each session on the screen.  I also printed and copied all the resources I was going to need for each part of the course - case studies, role cards, activity sheets and so on.  I was pleased that this only took me an hour or so.

In the afternoon I took a drive with the children to our District Office so that I could pick up the flip chart and projector (we threw in a dog walk and a playpark while we were there).  Then I made sure that I had my training box, my training material, tea, coffee and sugar by the door ready to go.  On the way to the course I stopped to get milk and biscuits, and of course, sweeties - I don't run a course without sweeties!

I was pleased to get eleven participants.  I knew about eight, so there were a few extras which was good.  A disappointing turnout from the other Districts though, at our last team meeting we had said that we were going to encourage all Leaders to attend this training, but clearly not!

I'm not sure that the evening went amazingly.  Inclusion and Diversity are so important for the development of Scouting, but it's not exactly the exciting bit of what we do.  Part of the course material is also about exploring your own attitudes, and that can be a bit uncomfortable for some people.  I was also conscious that the material was fairly new to me, and that in places I was searching for the right words, and struggling to get across the "fizz" which makes training memorable.

That's done though, and now I just need to follow up from some queries that I got early in the evening.  Tonight it's the Appointment's Advisory Committee.  I'd better go and print off the relevant information to give the new volunteers about training.

Thursday 17 October 2013

A bit of paperwork.

Here are a few of the bits and pieces I've been playing with this week:

Clearing my e-mail inbox!

Assistant District Commisioner (Adult Training) (ADC AT)

I've been contacting participants who I know did their First Response (basic First Aid) three years ago this coming February, and offering them the opportunity to do a 2 hour refresher course before their First Response runs out.  I've contacted my First Response trainer to get a few dates and have asked the participants to complete a Doodle Poll.

A nice fat expenses claim form - First Response booklets, as well as groceries and resources from my Camping and Traditional Skills Training camp mostly.  Signed and delivered to the District Treasurer along with all the receipts.  I also gave him all the remaining cash and cheques from participants at the Skills Training camp.

I've sent off the form to UK Headquarters recommending a Cub Leader for her Wood Badge - this means that she has completed all the training required for her role.

We have a couple of new members on the District Executive Committee, so I've sent them the link for the e-learning for Module 1 of the Adult Training Scheme, which is recommended but not mandatory for their role.  It covers key policies of the association, as well as Child Protection and safety.

I'm delivering Module 7 - Scouting for All when I get back from my holiday, so I've spent a bit of time planning and preparing for this.  It's been completely rewritten, and is all about Inclusion and Diversity and how we can achieve this.  I'm a little disappointed only to have eight participants so far, but hopefully more will come out of the woodwork while I'm away.  I sent out Joining Instructions to those participants that I know about so far.

Deputy District Commissioner
I'm in the unfortunate position that I'm looking into a complaint about a Scout Group.  The sad thing about a complaint in Scouting is that it means that somebody hasn't had a good time in Scouts.  It would be inappropriate to comment any further about that here, but I've been doing some work looking into this complaint.

SHQ Training Support Team
We held a series of Training Adviser support events in the eight Regions of Scotland, which, while not as well attended as we had hoped, went very well.  We want to build on this and offer ongoing support to Training Advisers, so are hoping to provide some form of resource to shine a light on some of the things that the participants themselves came up with on the events.  I'm having a bash at this, trying to get some ideas on paper for the rest of the team to work on.

18-25 working group - UKHQ
I had a couple of documents to look at and comment on following a Development Day in September.  I've also looked at the transport options for getting down to our next meeting at UK HQ in Gilwell on the edge of London.

So... all in all a busy few days, even though I've not had any meetings to attend!

Monday 14 October 2013

Reminder for training

ADC (AT)
I'm running the new look Module 7 - Scouting for All on Monday 28th October.  It's been completely rewritten and explores the Equal Opportunities and Religious Policy of The Scout Association, as well as what we mean by inclusion and diversity, and how we might achieve them in local Scouting.  I've just sent out an e-mail to all the Leaders in the District inviting them to come along to this Module, even if they already have their Wood Badge (which you achieve by completing all the required training for your role).  I've already got 7 people signed up from across the Region, but it would be good to have a good turn out for this training.

My roles in Scouting

So I've told you I volunteer with The Scout Association, I haven't told you what I do... so here goes:

I have too many roles, I'll be the first to admit that, and I'm trying hard to shed a couple of them, but volunteers who say "yes" to things, get asked to do more - so I need to work harder at saying "NO".  If you're thinking of volunteering for The Scout Association, the first thing I'll say is don't be put off by the volume of volunteering indicated by this blog.  We welcome you regardless of how much time you have available to commit, as long as you want to do the best for our young people.  

Not all roles in Scouting involve young people.  None of mine do.  I do come across them quite regularly, which is important as it reminds me what we're doing this for, but my roles are all to do with the adult volunteers.  

In this blog I'm going to try hard to ensure that I don't reveal particulars about people or places that would be inappropriate or cause upset should a person recognise themselves, so please forgive me if I don't give all the juicy details in some of my posts!

Deputy District Commissioner (DDC)  - The District Commissioner is responsible for what happens in his District.  He supports and manages Scouting throughout the District, makes sure that rules, guidelines and policy are being adhered to, and grows and develops Scouting in the District.  I'm his Deputy.

Assistant District Commissioner (Adult Training) (ADC AT) - Just to clarify, this role only exists in Scotland, not elsewhere in the UK, where County Training Managers and Local Training Managers fulfill these duties.  I make sure that there are opportunities for all adults in Scouting to do their required training and encourage them to do so.  I record the training completed on the Scout database.  I manage a team of Training Advisers who support a few Leaders each as they work through their training.  In practice this means that I am also a Trainer (delivering the training) and a Training Adviser for any Leaders for whom I have not found a Training Adviser!

UKHQ Volunteer - UK Scout Headquarters is at Gilwell Park just outside London.  Paid staff there look after Corporate Partnerships, Communications, Insurance and so on, and also support the volunteers in the areas of programme, development and training.  I'm part of a project group currently looking into the 18-25 year old Section.

SHQ Adult Training Support Team - Scottish Scout Headquarters is at Fordell Firs, just outside Dunfermline.  The Scottish Commissioner for Adult Training (she's a volunteer too, her other job is as a Headteacher!) has a small team to help her in her role - I'm on that team.

When I post on this blog, I'll try to remember to indicate which role/hat I'm wearing for each one.

What is Scouting?

I'm a volunteer in The Scout Association in the UK.  Here in Britain we have about half a million Scouts, both boys and girls, between the ages of 6 and 25.  Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.  We do this by offering a fun and active programme balanced across the following areas:  values and relationships, physical recreation, outdoor and adventure, global, skills and community service.  
UK Scout logo
Scouting in the UK is part of a world-wide family of Scouting involving 30 million Scouts across 161 Countries!

The World Scout Emblem
To find out more about Scouting in the UK please go to www.scouts.org.uk