| Roadmap from RED to AMBER |
| Following consultation with the National Youth Agency (NYA), The Scouts have released our roadmap from RED to AMBER readiness level. Until 29th March: We remain in RED and no face-to-face activities are permitted. From 29th March: We’ll move to AMBER with groups allowed to meet outdoors in group sizes of 15 plus leaders (5 maximum). From 12th April: We will remain in AMBER with groups allowed to meet both indoors and outdoors in group sizes of 15 plus leaders (5 maximum). Also from 12th April: You’ll be allowed to take part in non-residential day trips and visits. Further updates including residential activities in the UK and larger group sizes are expected to be announced in the coming months. These dates will follow the governments roadmap – they’re subject to the vaccination programme continuing at the same rate and the rate of infections reducing across the Country. Please continue to follow all COVID-19 restrictions while meeting with your group. If you’ve had an AMBER risk assessment approved by your District, this will still be valid – but we encourage you to review your risk assessment before meeting again. If your AMBER risk assessment hasn’t been approved yet, we’d recommend you complete one this month, detailing risks for both indoor and outdoor activities. Don’t forget that before meeting face-to-face, all adults will have to have their mandatory safety and safeguarding up to date. You can view full guidance on ‘Getting everyone back together safely’ by clicking here. To view the full communication from The Scouts, including information on international travel, first aid training and other key updates by clicking here. |
| Virtual Camp 2021 |
| We are finalising our Virtual Camp programme and we will be publishing the schedule for each section this weekend. In the meantime, please download the invitation below and share with the young people in your section. File Download: Virtual Camp Invitation Parents and carers can register their interest to receive the latest information direct by visiting our website: www.gmwscouts.org.uk/events/virtualcamp/ Section Leaders do not need to do anything during the weekend, we will be creating a passport for young people to share with their leaders after the event listing the badge criteria met by completing each activity. We are also putting together sessions for leaders to support the delivery of virtual programmes and the return to face-to-face Scouting. If you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing, programme@nullgmwscouts.org.uk |
| County Team Opportunities |
| We currently have an opportunity for a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Adviser to join the county team. This vacancy comes at a really exciting time, as we are improving our approach to Top Awards. As part of the County Strategy, we have set up a Top Awards Steering Group. This group will focus on allowing QSA and DofE to become more accessible and will address all aspects of both schemes including how to register, support and guidance, delivering courses, expeditions and much more. We will also be carrying out a review of assessors and instructors, with a view to increasing the number of qualifications across Greater Manchester West. As DofE Adviser, you will be working alongside our QSA Coordinator (Steve Ralph) and ACC Network (Oliver Horne) as part of the Steering Group as well as the Programme team. Potential candidates should already have a keen interest in the DofE scheme however, full training will be provided. File Download: Role Description for County DofE Award Adviser File Download: County Application Form Applications are being accepted up until 30th April 2021 and should be emailed to county.office@nullgmwscouts.org.uk |
| Census Update |
| Thank you to everyone involved in completing this year’s census at Group, District and County levels. We have the final numbers for this year’s census and our County is 23.6% down on membership, lower than the national average. Thank you to all our volunteers who have continued to deliver programmes to young people over the past year, this has massively helped to retain many of our youth members. Whilst it’s always disappointing to lose members, there are obvious reasons due to the challenges brought during the last 12 months. We now need to concentrate on how we retain our existing members and work with our groups, and with the support of regional and national teams to rebuild and grow our membership. We are also pleased to report 13 groups in Greater Manchester West received over £13,000 of funding from the HQ Recovery Fund. |
| Website |
| Introducing our new look County Website! www.gmwscouts.org.uk We will making some further changes to the existing content and adding new over the next couple of months. If you would like to see anything specific on our website, please get in touch by emailing, comms@nullgmwscouts.org.uk |
