We know there’s a lot of information to read – and documents to complete – but hope that, whilst there may be some initial inconvenience, your child’s experience with Scouting will be a happy one, and one they will remember throughout their life. If at any time you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Leaders before or after a meeting. Our contact information will also be provided in the welcome letter on joining.
In this section you’ll find information on joining and attending Beaver meetings including the following:
- Subscription
- Gift Aid
- Saturday Scout shop
- Starting Beavers
- The Promise
- Investiture of Beavers
- Events and activities
- Parental involvement
Subscription
Membership subscription is £25.00 per term and is due at the beginning of each term. Please speak to the leader to discuss the amount for your child’s first term as it will depend on the start date. There are three “terms” in a Scout year. Each year, our Scout Group is required to register the name of each Beaver, Cub or Scout with the central Scout Headquarters together with a payment for each individual, which is paid from your subscription monies. The remaining subscription money is for us to pay for resources and District Scout events. All leaders and helpers are unpaid volunteers.
Cheques should be made payable to “7th Bristol Beavers”. NOTE: This is for Beavers payments ONLY.
Gift Aid
7th Bristol Scout Group is a registered charity eligible for Gift Aid. This is a government initiative that allows you to increase the value of your donations (subs) at no extra cost to you. For every £1 you give, we can claim an extra 25p from HMRC. This includes any donations (subs) you have made in the last four years and any future donations you make. Please print and complete the below gift aid form if you are a UK tax payer.
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Saturday scout shop
The Group runs a Saturday shop on the forecourt of Pavey House that is manned by the parents of both the Scout and Guide organisations that use the building. The money raised is solely for the upkeep and maintenance of the building, plus insurance. It is a condition of Membership that parents take a turn in the rota to serve in the shop for a 3 hour period, one or two Saturdays a year. The income from the shop enables the Group to keep the subscription cost to a minimum.
Starting Beavers
When a young person joins Beavers they will be assigned to a lodge to help them settle in. A lodge is a group of Beavers. This also helps the older children achieve some aspects of their Challenge Badges. During the first few weeks your child will need to learn their Beaver Promise and the Beaver Motto. You may stay for Beavers, if your son or daughter is anxious, but be prepared to join in all our activities! After a few weeks they are ‘invested’ as Beavers in a special ceremony which you are welcome to attend.
The Promise
The Promise is a simple way to help young people and adults keep the Fundamentals of Scouting in mind. The Promise is the oath taken by all Members as they commit to sharing the values of Scouting. It is therefore vital that every Members considers the Promise and discusses its meaning before making the Promise and being invested into Scouting.
The Beaver Scout Promise (core promise)
I promise to do my best
To be kind and helpful
And to love God.
The Beaver Scout Motto
Be prepared
Alternative promise
Scouting is available to people of all faiths as well as people who are humanist, atheist or have no affirmed faith and therefore must therefore take account of the different religious obligations or non religious beliefs of its Members.
Similarly, people of other nationalities resident in the United Kingdom, who may become Members of the Association, owe allegiance to their own Country. To meet these circumstances, there are different variations of the Beaver Scout, Cub Scout and Scout Promise that can be made, allowing for the individuals obligations while upholding the essential spirit of the Promise. Please see the document below for full details of the Promise and the variations.
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Investiture of Beavers
Before making their Promise, receiving their membership badge and becoming a Member of the Scout Movement and the Beaver Scout section, the Beaver Scouts complete the following activities. This is all covered before and during the investiture ceremony.
Area One – Know about the Colony
- Attend at least four meetings
- Get to know other Members and Leaders in the Colony
- Find out about Ceremonies and traditions in the Colony
- Find out about activities available in the Colony
Area Two – Know about joining the Colony
- Know and show an understanding of the Beaver Scout Promise
- Know and show and understanding of the Scout Motto, Sign and Handshake
- Know what to do at their Investiture
- Know the meaning of the badges that they will receive at their investiture
- Show a general knowledge of the family of Scouts, worldwide Scouting and the history of Scouting
Area Three – Promise
- Become a Beaver Scout by making the Promise
The ceremony will take between 10 and 15 minutes. You are very welcome to come and watch (and take photos). As part of the investiture your child will be asked to say the Beaver promise (with help, however it would be helpful if you could spend a little time practicising with them before the investiture – see the above information).
Events and activities
Membership of Beavers (and all sections) includes attending the annual St Georges Day Activity, Remembrance Day service at Bird Cage Walk and taking part in a variety of exciting District Events. We occasionally ask for parent volunteers to enable us to run some of the additional events.
Parental involvement
To ensure that the children can enjoy a reasonable level of comfort and a varied programme, parents are required to participate in meetings through the parent rota.
SCOUT REGULATIONS STATE THAT THERE MUST BE A RATIO OF 1 ADULT TO 6 BEAVERS TO HOLD A COLONY MEETING INSIDE. FOR 7th BRISTOL SCOUT GROUP, THIS MEANS THAT A MINIMUM OF FOUR ADULTS (INCLUDING THE WARRANTED LEADER/FIRST AIDER) MUST BE PRESENT EACH WEEK.
IN THE EVENT THAT ONE OF THE TWO PARENTS DOES NOT ATTEND, THE GROUP SCOUT LEADER WILL BE INFORMED, AND THE BSL MAY HAVE TO CANCEL THE EVENING AND ALL CHILDREN WILL NEED TO BE COLLECTED IMMEDIATELY.
In order that the weekly activities are not the responsibility of any one person it has been agreed that parents will help with (and on occasion prepare) activities on the days they are on the rota to attend the meeting. It is a requirement of membership that parents attend on their scheduled dates.
The Leadership Team will have planned the outline programme and an information sheet/rota will be issued to all parents in advance. The team may (time permitting) prepare an “estimated timed” planning sheet for each evening which will be available to assist the Parent Helpers.
The team may contact parents to source any additional materials that may be required in advance. Generally however, resources and materials will have been identified and sourced in advance of the evening. If for any reason you cannot attend the evening allocated, please hand over any materials you may have been asked to source to a member of the team or your replacement parent – (see note below)
At the end of the evening, please help clear all materials and resources back into the Beaver store cupboard. Most materials have a storage place, to keep the cupboard tidy, but if in doubt just ask.
Further information / in progress
Annual membership / health and safety form
Personal Sensitive Data Sheet
Shop rota agreement / letter
Sewing Tips (or how to glue the badges on)
The Beaver progression
Kit List for Camping
Kit List for Sleepovers
Kit List for Days Out