Update from the County Commissioner 24/02/21

This from the CC, Mark Edwards: 

Dear Team North Yorkshire,

Well, good news and increased hope that we will begin to emerge from lockdown restrictions as they are definitely on the horizon. Whilst I know you will all be chomping at the bit to get back, the National Youth Association appears to be making some announcements next Monday 1st March and I am sure The Scout Association will follow on fairly swiftly after that. I guess we really need to make sure we follow what guidance we will ultimately be given. Meanwhile, please ensure you keep up to date with the guidance on Getting Back Together Safely.

What I am under no illusion of is that covid compliant risk assessments will need to be in place. Again, while I have no official announcement, I think we would reasonably expect to be able to use risk assessments already in place and only need to re-submit if there are:

a. Significant changes to your place of meeting, or

b. Significant changes in any national arrangements. (Both of which I expect would be very rare).

What is very clear is that you should begin plans should you be contemplating going back to face-to-face meetings.

As ever with our approach here in North Yorkshire, there is no pressure to do so. Each section, each Group and each District needs to consider carefully what is best for you and what you as a volunteer feel able or ready to do.

Training.

During ‘Finish it in February’ there has been an amazing effort and a great big thank you to all our trainers who have been working hard to adapt learning for Zoom. We have had an amazing response and many leaders have welcomed this style. Maybe going forwards, we can offer a blended mix of training, utilising this method as well.

One comment from a set of leaders was that they were able to attend as it was: “in the evening, they had put the children to bed, no childcare issues, no long travelling involved, and the weekend was still free.” Due to the success, courses are being added each week so look out for them on the County website calendar.

Safety and Safeguarding Training.

It is now essential that the last 110 volunteers in the County complete this training and if yours runs out in the next month you must renew before it runs out. We have now had a year to complete this training and we cannot put our young people at risk or The Scout Association at any further risk of litigation. I know that some of you feel that you are not actively Scouting at the moment and are in roles that are not necessarily delivery-focussed, but we all have a duty to ensure the reputation of The Scout Association and the integrity of the rules are upheld. I would love us to be as near as 100% compliant by 8th March, that magical date!

To complete mandatory Safety Training click here...To complete mandatory Safeguarding Training click here

1st (virtual) North Yorkshire Scout Group

We will continue to run this until the end of the current programme on Tuesday 9th March.
I know from parental feedback that this has been really useful and whilst uptake has been small, it has meant that more young people have been re-engaged with Scouting. I would like to say a huge thank you to those leaders that stepped up and gave their time to deliver this for our young people. Registration for sessions in all Scouting sections can be made  click here.

St George’s Day Celebrations "Journeying on Together", Sunday 25th April

We are going to hold what we hope will be our last online County Day during the Covid-19 period. We will hold a series of online events throughout 25th April, starting on the hour at 9am, 10am, 11am, then 1pm, 2pm and culminating in a St George's Day service and renewal of promises at 3pm.

What is also really exciting, is this event will be a joint one with Girl Guiding across the County, so has the potential to be a mammoth event! We hope this will be our biggest and best and we can celebrate the journey we will now take together to return to more normal Scouting and Guiding. So, we need two things from you:

1. The offer to run an activity. We have had some amazing creative and practical activities in the last year. So, how about offering one of those fantastic activities you have run in your section that we can all share in? We start each session on the hour and sessions can last any time between 20 minutes and 50 minutes. You can do it live or if you want it can be pre-recorded and broadcast during the day. It would be great to have as many activities each hour as we can muster.

If you want to do this, contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 12th March, with the following information:
• Name of your activity.
• Any materials participants need to gather before hand.
• Which section is it suitable for or is it for everyone (we would welcome activities for all sections, including leaders).
• What time slot(s) you would prefer.
• If you are doing your session live or recorded.

2. We would also like to have a badge for the event. It needs to have the theme of the day 'Journeying on Together' along with 'Guides and Scouts of North Yorkshire, April 2021.' We need a great design that symbolises us moving on. Entries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 12th March.

So that’s all from me at the moment and I’ll continue with a briefing over the next few weeks as things change and emerge. But as always thank you, keep safe and keep Scouting!

Mark

Mark Edwards
County Commissioner

 Everything starts with one small step!