Squirrels

We recognise that times are hard for some folk at this time. Our leaders are conscious of this and review their plans to ensure maximum benefit of Scouting in their section at an affordable cost. All camps and visits have a costed plan to check safety and affordability.

Our monthly membership fee is £12, payable each month throughout the year. Payments should only be paid to the nominated account as we no longer accept cash. The best method is a standing order although you can pay by cash direct into our account at a bank. Our bank details are available from the leader team.

At £12 our membership fee is at the median amount charged by other groups in the Wyre Forest District. Like most groups we have a hut to run and keep up to date with costs all the year round. It's also important to remember that half of the membership fee goes to pay National, County and District levies for the support and services they offer to us. Overall, the Exec feel that the monthly fee is value for money.

It is vital that membership fees are paid regularly. If at any time parents / carers feel they are unable to pay, please contact the GSL to explain - gsl@wf8.org.uk. All cases will be kept private - the Exec of the Group have the final say on any help that can be given but no individual will be named in their discussion or decision making.

The Exec gave a commitment at the start of 2022 that they had no plans, after reviewing the Groups fiscal responsibilities and plans, to increase fees for the next two years. The Exec will review that again in early 2023 and report their findings prior to the annual general meeting in June 2023.

GSL

Follow this link to find some very useful tips if your Young Person is camping with us at WF8 for the very first time

https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/april/nights-away-prepare-your-child-for-their-first-camp/

Clink on the link berlow to see over 70 YP and leaders from WF8 at this years Wyre Forest St Georges Day Parade in Kidderminster

https://youtu.be/5rIBiNMquvE

Thank you to all parents for completing the gift aid declaration in time for our submission to the Inland Revenue. 

We were able to submit our claim early and I am pleased to tell you that we raised over £3167 through Gift aid based on subs paid across the group in the tax year 2022/2023. This makes a big difference to the Group Funds and allows us to continue to offer top quality scouting in a top quality venue for yet another year. With no increase in the membership fees charged.

Thanks again

Matt,GSL

UNIFORM

Each Section has its own uniform. For the Squirrel's this is a red sweatshirt, Beavers this is a turquoise sweatshirt, for Cubs a green sweatshirt and Scouts a teal green shirt. All sections wear the Group scarf, which is Maroon, together with Black trousers and dark smart shoes. No jeans at any time. There are also T-shirts/ shorts/fleeces etc available but they are entirely optional.

The uniform may be purchased online from shop.scouts.org.uk 

When a child joins a section we advise that the uniform is only purchased when they are ready to make their promise (usually after 3/4 weeks). When a child moves from one section to another they may wear their old uniform until they acquire the new uniform. The scarf should not be worn until the child has made their promise in each section. 

One Group Scarf will be provided when a child first joins the Group along with Group, District and World Scout badges, nametape and woggle. The joining fee for all sections is £10 to help cover the costs for these items. The leader will take payment for this either direct to the section bank account or by card transaction. We do not accept cash for any transaction.

A replacement scarf costs £5 each. A woggle will cost £1

Badges earned during membership will be free, the cost included within the monthly subscription

SUBSCRIPTIONS

To meet the costs of running the Scout Group a monthly subscription of £12 is payable by all members when they join the Group and monthly thereafter.  Subs should be paid by Standing order to Sort code 204606, account number 83410536, account name Kidderminster St Johns Group 8th Scouts. For the reference please state your childs name. Subs are paid each month (no break for summer) and we ask that payments are made on the 1st of each month in advance

ONLINE SCOUT MANAGER / PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use an online system, Online Scout Manager (OSM), for the management of our section’s administration (programme records, badge / award progress, member information). This is primarily used to directly capture and maintain all necessary personal information about our members and their parents/carers and remove the need for any paper forms. However, there are also a lot of other useful functions (such as managing events online, visibility of programmes, badge tracking etc) that we are looking to utilise where possible.  A link can be found at the top of this website.

In the first instance we will send a link to new to parents/carers to then set up individual access. We then ask that any personal information we have is checked and updated as necessary, and consent section completed. On an ongoing basis we then ask that this is updated when any change occurs to ensure we have accurate information at all times.

We also have a form to capture information from new member’s and their parents, and identify where you will be able to help the Group,. The leader will provide this or a link

Please complete these forms and return to your Section Leader and notify us of any changes thereafter.