Welcome to the Adventure!
This page provides information for prospective and new members of the Group.
- About the Group
- The Trustee Board
- The Sections & Group Structure
- Activities
- Meetings
- Uniform & Badges
- Subs
- Data Protection
- What’s Next?
About the Group
Dringhouses Scouts started as far back as 1923 with Mr J Shaw running both a Wolf Cub Pack and Scout Troop. Group registration began in 1928 and the Group Scout Master, Mr H Dunnington registered the group formally with The Boy Scouts Association, Mr Shaw was still a leader at the time. In January 1930 Mr AG Ray became Cub Master with Miss DM Lang as Assistant Cub Mistress, she eventually became the Cub Mistress. In these early days the meetings were held in the Church Hall. in the early 1940’s the group started to meet in the loft of the building next to the old Vicarage. At this time the Group wore a blue and white necker. The Second World War created many challenges for the Group in terms of the availability of leaders, at this time the group was known as 1st Dringhouses. Unfortunately, the Group closed in January 1948, but was reformed on the 12th July 1950 with Harry Brownless as Scout Master and Ann Boyes and Beryl Hall as Cub Mistresses with 6 Boy Scouts and 18 Wolf Cubs.
The current Group opened as 1st Dringhouses (Parish Church) in February 1965 with 12 Scouts one Senior Scout and 12 Wolf Cubs. Sponsored by the Parish Church, but open to all, a tradition that continues to today. 1967 saw the word “Boy” removed and the movement became known as “The Scout Association“, Wolf Cubs became just Cubs and Boy Scouts became just Scouts. Venture Scouts started at Dringhouses in 1971, Beaver Scouts in 1987 and girls were finally allowed to join all sections from 1991. Our meeting place has changed a few times, moving out of the loft to a Nissan hut, then a temporary building, then a brick building and finally the brick building was joined to the Community hall via a covered atrium. We rely upon and are very grateful for goodwill and support of St Edward the Confessor Church.
We welcome girls and boys of all backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, faiths or no faith. The Group is run as part of The Scout Association (now known simply as “The Scouts”) and is divided into five sections for the different age groups (Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers). We have three of each section except for Explorers, where there are two. Sections meet weekly during the school term. We are one of 13 groups in York Ebor District and one of 26 across the City of York. With a membership of more than 300 children and young people we are the largest group in York (and north Yorkshire).
All adults in the group (be they leaders, supporters or trustees) are volunteers who give their time to provide Scouting experiences for our young people. When someone decides to become a volunteer they are welcomed by the group and District teams undergo a DBS check, references are sought and training has to be completed within six months of starting. All volunteers work in accordance with the guidance laid down by the Scout Association (in its Policy, Organisation and Rules) and within the additional policies maintained by the group. All volunteers follow a learning programme which helps develop the skills they need in their role. The Group is led by a Group Lead Volunteer each section by a Team Leader assisted by Team members. Our volunteers are the most valuable asset we have!
Not all of our adult volunteers are leaders. We have an Events and Programme Support team that allows adults to volunteer their time and skills in a more flexible way. And the Group Trustee Board whose members act as trustees of the charity and ensure the group is compliant with the appropriate rules, regulations and laws.
The Trustee Board
The Group Lead Volunteer joins the Group Chair, Secretary and Treasurer along with other non-uniformed volunteers to form the Trustee Board. Board meetings are held each term and there is an Annual General Meeting (AGM) during the summer term which all members and parents are encouraged to attend. Oversight of all the groups activities from a compliance perspective is the main function of the Trustee Board.
Fundraising
From time to time we undertake fundraising activities and we rely upon help from members and their families at these events. Any help or suggestions for additional sources of funding are always welcome. Common fundraising activities include:
- Collections at York Station
- Bag packs at local supermarkets
- The Group’s annual fair and
- Applications to various local and national funds
The Sections & Group Structure
A section is a group of young people and leaders who meet on a specific date, e.g. Tuesday Beavers is a section. A section is led by a Team Leader (leader in charge) who is assisted by one or more Team Members. On occasion Team Leaders may ask parents for help, typically this will be because additional adults are needed to help run activities safely or because a Team Member cannot attend through holiday, illness, or other reason. All leaders in the sections for that age group meet once or twice per term to plan the programme of meetings and events together. Team Leaders report to a Section Team Leader for the age group (e.g. Beavers, Cubs, etc.). The Section Team Leader helps coordinate activities within the sections and with adjacent sections. The Section Team Leader reports to the Group Lead Volunteer. The Lead Volunteer is responsible for managing the Group and they report to the District Lead Volunteer.
Here’s a list of all the sections and Team Leaders (email addresses are firstname.lastname@dringhousesscouts.org.uk):
| Section/ Role | Section Leader |
|---|---|
| District Lead Volunteer (York Ebor District) | Nigel White |
| Group Lead Volunteer | David Thorne |
| Group Chair | Annie Bennett |
| Section Team Leader (Squirrels) | Chris Rundle |
| Monday (Oak) Squirrels | Chris Rundle |
| Tuesday (Ash) Squirrels | Lisa Auckland |
| Friday (Elm) Squirrels | Ash Elliott |
| Section Team Leader (Beavers) | Nicola Silke |
| Tuesday Beavers | Nicola Silke |
| Wednesday Beavers | Olga Iwaszkiewicz-Bogdańska |
| Friday Beavers | Katie Harvey |
| Section Team Leader (Cubs) | Georgina Warwick |
| Romans Cubs (Tuesday) | Georgina Warwick |
| Saxons Cubs (Thursday) | Natasha Bayston |
| Vikings Cubs (Friday) | David Thorne |
| Section Team Leader (Scouts) | Vacancy |
| Dringhouses Scouts (Tuesday) | Vacancy |
| St Edward’s Scouts (Thursday) | Jonny Fry |
| St Helen’s Scouts (Friday) | Charlotte McCarthy |
| Section Team Leader (Explorers) | Andy Elliott |
| Nordic Explorers (Monday) | Vacancy |
| Yorvik Explorers (Wednesday) | Andy Elliott |
All leaders in the group have undertaken training as prescribed by The Scouts nationally. Often leaders have also completed additional training to further support our members. As a minimum all leaders have completed data protection training, safety, safeguarding and first aid all of which has to be retaken every three years. All adult volunteers in the Group also have a DBS clearance which is re-submitted every five years
Activities & Events
St George’s Day Parade
This is held in the City usually on a Sunday near to St George’s Day (April 23rd) unless this clashes with Easter. It comprises of a parade to the Minster and back from the Eye of York. We like to get as many of our members to attend this flagship event as possible.
Family Service
Members of the Group are invited to attend the family service at St Edward’s on the first Sunday of each month. Those attending should be wearing uniform. Family and friends are most welcome to attend too.
Scouting Activities
All Sections participate in a variety of Scouting and community activities, working within programmes developed by The Scouts. Meetings usually take place at our HQ but can involve outside activities, on the Knavesmire and elsewhere. From time to time meetings are held at the city activity centre Snowball Plantation near Stockton on the Forest and you may be asked to provide the members transport to the centre. Directions will be given by section leaders.
Camps
Camping is an important part of the Scouting programme. Each year there is a Group Camp, to which all Members are invited. Squirrels are typically invited as day visitors, Beavers attending group camp must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, who will have to have current DBS clearance prior to departure. Other camps are not attended by parents (unless it is a family camp). Unfortunately, Squirrels are not able to attend overnight events.
There is normally a charge to attend camps, you will be notified via the parent portal and by email about any camps or events that your child is eligible to attend. Please note there is almost always a strict sign-up and payment dead-line. Once these deadlines are passed our cancellation policy will apply, should you wish to drop out. Help is available for those who may have difficulty meeting the cost of camps. (See our member support fund for details of how to ask for support. .
It should be noted that no member is allowed to participate in external activities including camps unless subscriptions have been fully paid or alternative arrangements made.
Residential events (i.e. those events with an overnight stay) will be supervised by a permit holder who has completed the required training which allows them to run nights away. The permit holder may not be the leader in charge. Boys and girls are typically in separate accommodation, with younger age groups this may not always be the case, but parents will be notified in advance of the event so that any concerns can be discussed with all participants. We appreciate that a child or young person’s first night away from home without a parent is a big deal (for both parent and child) so please speak to the leader organising the event if you have any concerns or questions. What is clear is that nights away are great fun and also enable children and young people to grow in confidence and develop new skills in an independent setting which may not otherwise available.
Whether the overnight event is indoors or outdoors a kit list will be provided by the leaders organising it, if you have any problems getting hold of anything that is needed for a camp or event please let the leader in charge know as we may well have spares we can lend you.
Events in General
All activities undertaken are subject to a risk assessment process both prior to the activity happening and during the activity and the Trustee Board requires the routine review of these risk assessments and has a near miss and other reporting processes in place to periodically adapt and improve the risk assessments. Additionally, The Scouts define some activities as adventurous and these require the organiser to have a separate permit, e.g. archery, climbing, kayaking, and many more. All adventurous activities require supervision from a permit holder (or maybe more than one depending on the size of the group) and these also require approval from the Group Lead Volunteer and District Lead Volunteer before they can happen. Providing safe adventurous activities is a great way for children and young people to challenge themselves, grow in confidence and have fun learning by doing and the Group is keen to build it’s team of permit holders to ensure that more of these activities can happen. (If you are keen on say yachting or caving and already have experience or want to get some more, why not consider volunteering with our Event and Programme Support Team, we can provide additional training and support.)
Meetings
Sections meet weekly during term time, either in the Scout HQ or in the Church Hall (your section leader will let you know which before you start). Please try to walk or cycle to meetings, not only is it better for the environment, but the car park is small and often gets congested, please drive slowly when entering and leaving the car park as stationary vehicles and the church building make visibility difficult and at drop off and collection times there will be pedestrians (including children who can be unpredictable). There are bike racks outside the Scout HQ where bikes can be secured. When dropping off and collecting please accompany your child to the door and collect from the same place. This is important as you need to be sure that your child is safely in our care before you leave and we need to return them to you. Members of older sections may agree with their Team Leader that Scouts and Explorers can make their own way to and from meetings. Otherwise, please drop off and collect on time and do not let children and young people run in the car park and please stick to the yellow path.
Meeting start and end times are the same across each day of the week:
- Squirrels: 17:00-17:45
- Beavers 18:15-19:15
- Cubs 18:00-19:30
- Scouts 19:30-21:15
- Explorers 19:40-21:30
Please do not send your child to a meeting if they have suffered with diarrhoea or vomiting in the past 48 hours or if they are otherwise unwell.
Uniform & Badges
Scouting is a uniformed activity and all members wear uniform at meetings unless otherwise advised. Team Leaders will advise parents about uniform requirements and these can be purchased online at Scout Shops. There is no need to buy a uniform immediately, wait to be sure that your child is enjoying the meetings and wants to stay, this normally takes a few weeks.
We are also running a Uniform Exchange. The idea being that you can get used uniform when moving between sections or when joining, sizes of uniform available depend entirely what has been exchanged or donated, See the linked page for more information.
Uniform comprises:
- Squirrels: Red Squirrels sweater & necker
- Beavers: Turquoise Beavers sweater & necker
- Cubs: Green Cubs sweater & necker
- Scouts: Green Scout shirt, blue trousers & necker
- Explorer Scouts: Brown Scout shirt, blue trousers & necker
Your first necker (neck scarf) and all badges are provided by the Group. Replacement neckers need to be purchased and are available via the online shop £5.25 each. If you are struggling with the cost of uniform please let your section leader know as we often have second hand uniform (in good condition) which can be exchanged or given to you.
The term’s programme includes activities that work towards badges and you should be able to see which badges we are working on in the term’s programme on the parent portal where you can also view your child’s progress towards specific badges. You can also work on badges at home, but talk to your Team Leader first so that you don’t work on something which will be covered at a meeting. The position of badges on the uniform is clearly shown in the badges section of the parent portal, so check there (in a web browser on a laptop/ desktop PC, not on your phone as the image is not shown on the mobile site).
Subs
Subs are payable every month on the 10th day of the month. Currently subs are £15.50 per month, except August and are collected by direct debit via the parent portal. You are always notified before a payment is taken and can cancel the direct debit at any time.
We claim gift aid on subs, so please take a moment to complete the gift aid declaration in the parent portal as this is a significant source of income for the Group, if you cannot claim gift aid then please decline the invitation in the parent portal too so that we stop pestering you.
If you are having any difficulty paying subs please see our member support policy as we may be able to help.
Data Protection
All the information provided to the Group is kept in electronic form and is only distributed to Leaders and Executive Members as they specifically need in the legitimate interests of running the Group and providing safe activities. For activities and events it is vital that we have current contact information so that, should we need to get hold of you, we can Please ensure that at least two contacts are provided in your child’s record in the parent portal. You will be granted access to the information using the Online Scout Manager parent log in facility and upon leaving the group the data is deleted. (unless we are required to keep the information for legal compliance reasons).
On occasions, photographs, videos and audio of Scouts taking part in activities may be published by the Group. You give your consent for the use of photos in the parent portal. When giving consent please note that we will never name anyone in any photo (unless we get specific permission to do so). Photos will only be posted by the Group on its website and social media channels. Photos will not be used in the following ways without specific consent (which will be sought on each new occasion):
- Used in press releases or passed to the press
- Passed to other Scout Groups or parts of the Scout Association
- Used in advertising materials (other than social media)
See the Group’s data privacy policy/ notice for more details on how we store use and retain data we hold about you and your child.
What’s Next?
Soon after you receive the email confirming you have a place and around your start date you’ll receive an email from the system we use to manage member records Online Scout Manager (OSM), please take a moment to follow the link in the email and log into the parent portal and:
- Check all the details about you and your child are correct
- Make sure there are two contact people (we need two in case we cannot get hold of you in the unlikely event of an emergency)
- Make sure all details like special educational needs, medical needs (such as asthma and allergies) are complete
- Confirm the photo consent (see above and the data privacy notice for more information)
- Sign the gift aid declaration (if you pay UK income tax)
If you have any problems or questions please speak to your Team Leader or send us a message via our contact form