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Where, When, What, Who and How...

Each of our Sections aim to meet once a week during school term time. There are also many opportunities for members to take part in extra events throughout the year. These might include day trips, weekend camps and longer expeditions as well as a whole host of other activities.

Detailed below are the normal meeting times for each of our Sections:
The Group meets in its Headquarters in The Russell Vinter Hall, Glebeland Gardens, Shepperton.

Click Here for a map showing location of 1st Shepperton (St Nicholas) Group HQ

What Do I Need?

For the first few meetings, you need nothing at all to try Scouting for yourself. The Scout Association produces a range of uniforms for all age groups as well as an extensive range of books to support the development of members as they progress from the Beaver Scout Section through to the Scout Network.

The Section Leader will agree a time when it is suitable to purchase a uniform and start working on the Scout Programme. Uniforms can be purchased at the online Scout Shop (Link above) or at Laurie Maskall Menswear in Lower Sunbury

Avenue Parade, The Avenue,
Sunbury-On-Thames,
Middlesex
TW16 5HS
Tel: 0800 7831891

Additionally, Scout Shops Ltd operate a mail order service and can be contacted on 01903 766921.

What Will It Cost?

The 1st Shepperton (St Nicholas) Scout Group charges subscriptions ('subs') to cover - for example - costs of equipment and materials and the upkeep of our Scout HQ. Current cost c£70 per year.
Included within this subscription is the annual Scout Association membership subscription, which is paid to Scout Headquarters for the day-to-day running of the Association and includes insurance for all members.
An extra charge is normally required for special events, camps and other outings but we always endeavour to keep this to a minimum. If anyone has trouble in meeting these costs you can discuss this in confidence with your Section Leader.

Remember you can also Gift Aid
If you pay tax, the 1st Shepperton (St Nicholas) Scout Group can use Gift Aid to claim 28p for every £1.00 you give in subscriptions or donations. All you need to do is sign the Gift Aid Declaration that is included with the membership application form. All the money will be used to benefit members of our Scout Group.

Leadership - DID YOU KNOW?

• None of our Leaders are paid – they are all volunteers.
• The majority of our Leaders have full time jobs and families.
• 44% of our Leaders are female.
• Leaders get involved because they want to have fun and make new friends themselves.
• Leaders don’t have to be ‘superheroes’ who know everything. They are given training on the job and learn new skills as they go along.
• Whilst all our volunteers are passionate about what they do, many help out on a flexible basis due to other commitments. Some may help out once a week or fortnight whereas others help once a term or at summer camp.
• 27% of volunteers help out in Scouting as they are a parent of a current Member. Many were not Scouts when they were young but have learnt new skills and made new friends through Scouting.
• Not all volunteers wear uniform.
• Many of our adult volunteers say they are more confident in their everyday lives as a result of their involvement with Scouting.
• Not all adults who volunteer for Scouting work with young people. There are a variety of other jobs that need to be done such as gardening and general DIY, organising events, doing the accounts and writing press releases.
• All our Leaders are covered by a comprehensive insurance policy while taking part in Scouting.
• New Leaders in Scouting go through an enhanced criminal records (CRB) check to ensure they are fit to work with young people.

The adults who run our Scout Group are called Scouters, they are unpaid volunteers who give freely of their time for the benefit of our young people and fully support the aims of the Scout Association. All leaders are required to undertake training or learning appropriate to their role. This training normally takes place in their own time; the vast majority of our Leaders also have full-time jobs and family commitments.
Section Leaders are responsible to our Group Scout Leader, David Fern who, in turn, is responsible to Neil Gray the District Commissioner for Spelthorne.

District Commissioner (DC) - Neil Gray
Group Chairman - Stephen Morris
Group Scout Leader (GSL) - Dave Fern
Assistant Group Scout Leader (AGSL) - David Parkinson
Scout Leader (SL) - Lorraine Joel
Assistant Scout Leaders - David Caulder, Emma Caudwell
Other regular Scout helpers - Geoff Lulham, Justin Daltrey, Carl Gabriel
Website - Justin Daltrey

Medical / Dietary Information

It is essential that you inform the Section Leader if your child suffers from any medical condition or if they require any specialist medicines or treatment. It is also necessary for information to be supplied to the Section Leader about any dietary need of your child. In the first instance, you should provide this information on the membership application from and, thereafter, update the Leaders if circumstances change.

Child Protection

It is the policy of the Scout Association to safeguard the welfare of all members by protecting them from physical, sexual, and emotional harm. The Scout Association takes all reasonable steps to ensure that, through relevant procedures and training, members and adults taking part in Scout activities do so in a safe environment.

Parental Permission

It is taken as understood that you give your permission for your child to take part in Scout activities during the normal meeting time. However, when your child becomes a member of our Group, in addition to providing the usual personal information, you will also be asked to provide permission for your child to take part in activities that may take place away from the Scout HQ.
In addition, you will also be asked to give permission for your child's image to appear in any newsletters, newspaper articles and on our website. In order to protect your child, we undertake never to associate a name with a picture, unless the article so merits.
Your permission is sometimes needed for specific events, camps and activities that may take place at a different place or time. You will be asked to complete a separate parental consent form in such circumstances.

Helping Scouting

The Scout Association is run by volunteers and it encourages parents and guardians to assist in the leadership team on a regular or occasional basis. Any support that you or your family can offer Scouting is welcomed, appreciated and valued. To that end, each new member is given a welcome pack which contains blank Scout Association membership forms and CRB forms.
Help is particularly appreciated with practical skills, outdoor activities, as well as with transport, equipment and fundraising. You may also be willing to assist occasionally with the Section meeting night, with administration and fundraising. In addition, you may also consider taking on a uniformed role within the Group.
If you require any further information, please contact our GSL - David Fern via stnicksscouts@btinternet.com

Support Your Child

The Scout Association encourages you to support your child's involvement in Scouting activities:
Please ensure that you deliver and collect your child at the appropriate times and place, as advised by the Section Leader. Always check that an adult leader has arrived before leaving your child. Please tell the Section Leader if someone different from usual will be collecting them. Members are never left unsupervised, but if you are persistently late, the Section Leader may ask you to make other safe arrangements for collection.

Our members wear uniforms to distinguish themselves and to make themselves clearly visible. The wearing of our uniform also serves to instill a sense of pride in the Group and Scouting in general, as well as showing their individual achievements in the form of badges. Because of this, please ensure, unless advised to the contrary by the Section Leader, that your child wears full uniform (including top, neckerchief and woggle) to each meeting and that footwear (that includes socks) is black in colour (all black trainers are acceptable) and clean. It is acceptable, nee advisable to bring a change of clothing and footwear for games and outdoor activities.

Please ensure that you return all forms and payments on time. If you have difficulties completing forms or making payments then please speak in confidence to the Section Leader, we aim to make Scouting available to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.
Please ensure that you inform the Section Leader of any change in the family situation that is likely to affect your child's behaviour. It is not necessary to give details and of course all information will be treated in strict confidence.

Please aim to take part in at least one fundraising event a year, such as helping at our stalls at the Shepperton Fair or one of our many Jumble Sales and Race Nights. It only takes an hour or two of your time but keeps the cost of subscriptions down and helps fund many more exciting activities for all the Troop to enjoy.

Finally, Thank you and very well done for reading this far,
I'm sure not many will have made it all the way to the bottom of the page to discover that
next weeks winning lottery numbers are... (just kidding but if you do win all donations very gratefully received).

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