lakes_stu

Apologies if I have misunderstood this, but It might be worth pointing out that here in the UK, Girlguiding has not folded into Scouting in terms of a merger or anything similar. We (Scouting) are fully co-ed, but Girlguiding remains completely separate and is going as strong as ever. If the numbers are to be believed, I think they have slightly more members than we do. I think Guiding and Scouting can often attract girls who are looking for different things. So the two do not really impact on each other as such. There are of course exceptions, but girls who want to scout join Scouting, an

Im sure Family Camps can be a very effective way to recruit more Leaders. Maybe its something we should try. One thing that is common here is operating a 'parent rota' where parents take it in turns to help with a meeting a couple of times a year. Some groups are very strict about this while others are much more informal, with everything in between. DBS checks are renewed every 5 years, although I am sure any issues flagged up in the interim would result in immediate action. We also need to take safeguarding and safety training every 5 years, although it should be and generally is an ongoi

In our group, we have 1 Beaver scout Leader, 1 Assistant Beaver Scout Leader (me!), 1 Cub Scout Leader, 1 Assistant Cub Scout Leader, 2 Cub Scout Section Assistants, 1 Scout Leader, 1 Scout Section Assistant and 1 Group Section Assistant. Out of these, about half have been in Scouting as youth members. One was in Girlguiding and was a leader there but left because she felt it was a bit wishy-washy (her exact words wont be repeated here, but thats the general reason). All but 2 are (or have been) parents of kids in the group. Ages range from 23 to 48 I think. "Family Camps" are not too

Not a problem. Again, I apologise if I have come over a little opinionated. Its just that I am passionate about what we do (aren't we all) and wish the best for the BSA and its members. Things can seem a little black and white sometimes! As @@Cambridgeskip says, keep the questions flowing. I am really enjoying this, as I feel I am learning a lot too (from my colleagues here in the UK as well as you guys overseas).

If you have space (and BSA ever allows it), allow girls to join your existing pack/troop. Don't change your programme though, keep doing what you have always done well. That's the answer. Sorry if this sounds a bit blunt, it is not my intention to offend or upset. I just feel that Leaders can continue to focus on delivering a great programme without having to worry too much about gender.

We only have a couple of kids who are old enough to join Beavers who are having to wait thankfully. Our Cub pack and Scout troop actually have spaces (although we have a few Beavers due to move up soon). However, there is a group near to us where it's 2 Beaver Colonies are full and they have over 60 waiting!!! Sorry, straying off topic now.

There is a joke that following the next ice age, scientists will initially find 2 things - fossils and Icelandic tents

Yep, the classic scout tent in the UK is made by Blacks of Greenock. They call it the Icelandic. Far less popular than they used to be in my experience (they are not cheap for one thing) but they last forever (IF they are properly looked after). http://www.blacksofgreenock.co.uk/13-tents

Personally, I can't say that I have experienced this. At the moment, we try to rotate our Lodge Leaders so that everybody gets the experience at some point during their time with us. This is not the practice elsewhere though, but I can't really say for sure. I know that our Cubs had a girl Sixer fairly recently, but the other Sixers were all boys. I think the pack only had 3 or 4 girls at the time though.

Yes, a Beaver Colony (as we call a Tiger Cub pack) is normally limited to 24. We can take more by arrangement with our line manager, but I'm not sure how many do. Cubs and Scouts can take more (as they do not require as much individual support as they get a bit older - in theory), and I think Explorers are only limited by the practicalities of their meeting place. As a result, it is very common for groups here to have long waiting lists.

@@Hawkwin, that's a tough one. I didnt join as a leader until after co-ed was universal. I really dont know any different. I do remember when I was a Cub and Scout though. It was a lot of fun then, but its just as much fun now. So from me at least there are no regrets. I do get peeved with parents tear a strip off me about their son having to wait to join because (and I quote) 'the girls have taken all the places'. This tends to come from parents who are least likely to step up and volunteer.

Could you focus on providing the bulk of the team from the keener Dad's, and perhaps have some kind of rota for when you need a Mum? I can understand this. Our colony has 19 boys and only 5 girls. I don't know the exact details of what BSA is planning as yet, but is there any chance that girls could be allowed to join a Den with boys?

To answer this from the even younger 6-8 perspective. The rules are exactly as @@Cambridgeskip says. However, it probably happens more often with Beavers, as we often run sleepovers in church halls and similar spaces. We have a couple of tents that can be pitched indoors, but not enough for the whole colony. When we have 'District' sleepovers there can be about 100 Beavers all in the one room (changing space in segregated toilets). The adults always sleep in a separate room and come to an arrangement regarding changing.

Take a look at rules 2.3 and 2.4 http://scouts.org.uk/media/819396/Chapter-2.pdf

I suggest taking a look at https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=419,304 and exploring some of the information there and on linked pages. @@Cambridgeskip, @@PaulArthurs, @@ianwilkins do you know if there any any factsheets or parts of POR that may be worth quoting here? I'm at work right now and having to be a bit discreet!!!

Thanks @@Cambridgeskip, you said it better than me

@@Hawkwin That is a very good question, and I suspect it is one that a great many in the BSA might be asking either right now or if there is prospect of going fully co-ed. The answer is - nothing!!! Not in my experience anyway. In no way have we made the programme specifically girl focussed. We make sure that it is accessible to all (and I mean all) and those that like what we offer join us. There are other options for those who would prefer something different. As for merit badges, obviously as a Beaver leader the badges that I know about are designed to be achieved by 6-8 year olds,

@@RememberSchiff, I am not 100% certain how to answer on the basis of mixing boys and girls, but we require that our Beavers (who are max 8 years old, and some of whom have not yet turned 6) are brought into our meeting place by a parent and collected directly from us at the end. For a regular Beaver meeting, there will be at least 2 adults present at all times. At least one of these will normally have completed basic training, although can still be working towards their Wood Badge. If we have an extra event or meet away from our usual place, the required ratio is 1 adult to every 6 Beaver

UK Beaver Scout (our equivalent of your Tiger Cubs I think) Leader here. More than happy to help with any concerns or questions where I can.

Looks great, Skip. You have got me wondering if I could run a heavily modified and well supervised equivalent to this with the Beavers around our local suburb center (for want of a better word). It actually seems similar in concept to the quiz that accompanied the 'night hike' (more of a short evening walk, but adventurous for the Beavers) we did around Pudsey last year. If we can find enough DBS'd adults we can split into lodges and make it a bit more Beaver-led. Thanks, will have a think...