We are looking for a Scouting Support Lead. In this important role, you will:
deliver operational support to the Regional Leadership Team to support the effective delivery of our 2022-25 Regional Strategy.
provide leadership to the Regional Support Team to harness and maximise theircontribution to the Regional Strategy i.e. in delivering the goals of Growth, Youthshaped, Inclusivity, Community Impact
sustain and grow Scouting across the Region, by supporting existing volunteersin the recruitment and retention of volunteers to meet the needs of Groups,Districts and the Region as a whole.
You will work closely with existing Scout volunteers and structures and provide sustainable support for them. Home based, you will be confident working independently to deliver multiple projects and tasks concurrently and be able to communicate and support effectively with volunteers, members and the public. You will be responsible to the Regional Lead Volunteer.
We make a big difference. You could too.
We’re a national charity and a membership organisation. You’ll be passionate about the work we do helping young people to become the best they can be. You’ll enjoy forming relationships and working with our amazing volunteers and always be on the lookout for where we can make the biggest difference.
What it’s like working with us
We’re a values-driven, award winning flexible employer. We want South East Scotland Scouts to be the best place to work and offer a wide range of family and carer friendly benefits, including flexible hours, to support work/life balance. We believe in supporting and developing our people, with a focus on wellbeing and continued personal and professional development.
Apply
If you have the skills and passion, then we’d love to hear from you!
We’re a volunteer team, so if you haven’t heard from us two weeks after of the closing date that means you have not been selected for interview this time.
If you would like to have an informal chat about the role please email Martin, Regional Lead Volunteer at martin.elliot@sesscouts.org.uk.
Interviews
Interviews will take place during January/February 2024.
We are now a year into our 2022-25 strategy. We set ourselves some ambitious targets but how are we progressing turning our words into action and how can we all get involved in helping us to achieve our aim:
By 2025 we will have prepared more young people in South East Scotland with skills for life, supported by amazing leaders delivering an inspiring programme. We will be growing, more inclusive, shaped by young people and making a bigger impact in our communities.
Our strategy covers 4 areas – Growth, Inclusion, Youth Shaped and Community Impact. We will look at Growth in more detail following the Census so today I want to focus on the other three areas.
Inclusion
As Regional Lead Volunteer, Inclusion is one of my key priorities. We have made progress in a number of ways:
Extended learning opportunities including Adjustments to Scouting and Mental Health training for managers
Introduced an inclusion fund to support Sections, Groups, Districts or Regional led activity
Participation in Edinburgh Pride
Appointment of a new Inclusion Lead as part of the restructured Regional Leadership Team
Embedded support for additional support needs in activities including SEEE and in our Centres
By 2025 we will have:
Actively reduced barriers to membership for both young people and adult volunteers to help make Scouting in the Region representative of our wider communities.
Expanded adult learning to support inclusion equity and diversity
However, there is still more we can do. We recognise that areas within the Region which are most deprived according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) have less access to Scouting and we will be working with Scouts Scotland to look at how to increase provision in these areas.
We also plan to introduce further learning opportunities with a focus on particular inclusion topics e.g. autism, supporting LGBT members.
We are also looking for people to get involved and support this important priority. If you are interested in being part of our inclusion team or finding out more you can contact our Regional Inclusion Lead, Alison Robertson at alison.robertson@sesscouts.org.uk
Youth Involvement
As we implement our Strategy it is crucial that young people are central to shaping our future direction. We have made some progress:
Involving young people in all key decisions e.g. staff recruitment or recruitment of senior volunteers
Appointed a Regional Adviser for Youth Involvement
Grown South East Explorer Expeditions (SEEE) to support young people to achieve top awards.
Working with youth representatives e.g. MSYPs and Regional Adviser (Youth Involvement) to shape Regional policy
Worked with Districts to identify ways to increase support and empower Explorer Scout Young Leaders
By 2025 we will have:
All young people in South East Scotland have an opportunity to shape their experiences at Scouts
50% of young people will be achieving at least one top award for their section
As part of the restructuring of the Regional Leadership Team I plan to appoint a Regional Youth Lead to the team to ensure that the decisions that we make are shaped by young people. I am working with the new Scottish Youth Lead Mollie Reid to ensure that we do this in line with the new Scouts Scotland Youth Shaped strategy so look for more details on this in the new year.
Community Impact
Groups across the Region continue to have a positive impact on their local communities including our Region wide event in August where members from all districts joined me for Jamie’s Journey raising over £2300 for charity.
By 2025 we will have:
50% of sections take part in at least one community impact project per year
As part of this year’s AGM we would like to celebrate some of the ways that Groups, Units and Districts across the Region have been supporting the aims of our Regional Strategy so if you have and images, videos or stories that you can share that show how Scouting locally has been supporting our aims of Inclusion, Youth Shaped and Community Impact then please share them with us by e-mailing communications@sesscouts.org.uk .
So, we’re well on our way to cleaning and stowing the boats to keep them safe and away from any winter storms (we’ve already had two!!).
But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped – it’s only a few short months until Spring and our 2024 season!
In 2024 we hope to have no building work disruptions, we have no planned outages expected, we don’t anticipate any further pandemics coming along, so – we’re planning for and hoping for a full season of activities on the water for Scouts of all ages across the Region.
Our building work is all but finished (one adjustment needed to some flooring in one of the shower areas to encourage the water to run off down the drains) so please do take an opportunity to pop in and have a look around if you’ve not done so already.
Please check our website for days and times when there will be people there, so you don’t turn up and find the door closed.
The early autumn and it’s storms have already seen two publicised wildlife ‘events’. Sadly a dead whale was washed up at the far end of Whitehouse Bay and had to be disposed of after a post mortem by a number of vets; and Storm Babel blew hundreds of seabirds off course by long distances – the bird watching community was quite excited and recorded many instances of seabirds they would not normally expect to see at our location.
A reminder
To any Groups whose bookings were unfortunately caught up in the delays to our building works – remember the offer to ‘get in quick for ’24 – see below:
So, if your Group was one of the unfortunate ones, please do get in touch with us before the end of this year, so we can plan between us for a firm date for next year, ahead of our online booking system opening up. We’ll do our best to accommodate you and try to make up for any disappointment this year. The best way to get in touch is through bookings@longcraig.comand we’ll take it from there.
If you’ve not yet been in touch, please do so before the end of December as we need to plan your dates into our 2024 calendar.
Our gains and acquisitions this year.
Although 2023 was curtailed by the building works in the early part of the year, we’ve had good success in the acquisition of some really useful pieces of equipment which will enhance our centre and help us move forward with our plans for the future:
– A large gas barbeque – donated by some local people who can no longer make use of it (a second BBQ to the one we already have – now we can barbeque more)
– We were successful in applying for a grant from the ALDI Scottish Sports Fund which will get us two outboard trolleys so we can store and transport the small outboard engines that we sometimes use on the Drascombe longboats – this will save a lot of handling and also damage whilst in transit up and down the pier – Thank you ALDI!
– We have also had success in obtaining a grant from the Forth Yacht Clubs Association which will get us two waterproof boat covers for our Wayfarer dinghies – this will aid our desire to keep some sailing boats in usable condition over the winter, by helping keep the leaves and dirt and birds off them when stored ready for use in our new storage compound – Thank You FYCA!
– We are soon to receive an additional Wayfarer dinghy from a kind benefactor many miles away who is no longer able to use it himself. Whilst this could expand our fleet of these dinghies, we are considering disposing of one of the very old boats we have, which is not in great condition, and is retained only as a spare boat if it’s needed. So, the net result is we would be back up to six working Wayfarer dinghies again.
– Our newest Wayfarer, which spend all summer back at the makers due to some faults in its’ manufacture, has also arrived back at Longcraig, so we’re keen to see it back on the water at the earliest opportunity.
And a few things we are looking for:
Every year, the sea tried to ‘break in’ to our grounds and shoreline at Longcraig. We’ve worked hard to help prevent this causing too much damage, but it is a constant fight. And last month’s storms – Agnes and Babet – were no exception! Tons of seaweed washed up, and some minor damage to our shore defences.
We’re on it, but we are seeking a few small items to help us.
These include used garden forks; used metal rakes; used grass rakes – all to help with returning the seaweed to the sea, instead of on our grass areas.
Offcuts of concrete reinforcing bars – the 19mm round kind – lengths of 1 metre or longer – we use these for pinning down the timber along the shoreline. – see photo!
The 2023 season on the water is fast coming to an end, but we do still have a few things to offer:
• We’re running a Powerboat Course in November – this can be at level 1 or Level 2 and can be for adults or for older scouts and Explorers.
• We can also support meetings such as AGM’s, planning meetings, or training sessions should you be seeking a venue and looking for somewhere slightly different – now with great showers, toilets and changing facilities!
TYPE 1:
We’re always keen to see or hear from adults who would like to help out with what we do – up front on the water, or simply behind the scenes making the Centre operate.
We continue to offer opportunities to come and meet with us and see what we do, and what you could do as a volunteer. Our next planned drop-in session is on
Sunday 12th November – Longcraig 2pm.
Please simply contact us at getinvolved@longcraig.info with your preferred meeting date and your contact details.
We’ll take care of the rest!
If you can’t make the set aside date above, please still get in touch!
We’re not planning any dates in December because everyone is too busy, but we will be setting aside some dates through the winter and early spring to continue with this opportunity.
Do you have any parents in your Group who might be interested in this? Please do let them know!!
TYPE 2:
We can also offer a different type of volunteering, which is to provide an opportunity for groups of adults, scouts or explorers to come along during the ‘closed’ season and give us the benefit of your volunteering – this could be just for one event, or it could be – say – once a month for a period of time. This can count to a number of outcomes, such as DofE volunteering, various scout badges and awards, or simply to lend a hand for a few hours. Things you might get involved in could be checking of buoyancy aids, fixing boats, painting, and decorating some parts of the centre which were not impacted by the recent building improvements, beach protection work, or behind the scenes stuff like preparing our land activity kits.
If you’re interested, please get in touch to make arrangements or discuss further.
2023 Fireworks and Bonfire night
On Friday evening 3rd November, Longcraig played host to the South Queensferry (21st Craigalmond) Scout Group for their annual fireworks and bonfire night. After all the storms, rain, wind over the past few weeks, Friday turned out a pleasant day for preparation, and a perfect evening for the fireworks – just a light SW breeze to blow the smoke and sparks away from causing any harm. The fireworks were accompanied by a bonfire, then everyone tucked in to hot dogs, hot and cold drinks and lots of social chit-chat. The event was open to all the young people and also their parents/carers, nearly 250 people turned up this year (the beavers were away at camp, so they had separate adventures and fun!)
We would like to invite you to join us at the South East Scotland Regional Scout Council AGM on Tuesday 21st November at 7pm.
To make the event more easily accessible to all members across the Region, it will again be held virtually on Zoom. You can register you attendance here. Pre-registration is essential to confirm your attendance.
2023 AGM Agenda
Welcome and Opening remarks
Apologies
Approval of Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on 10th November 2022
South East Scotland Regional Scout Council Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year ended 31st March 2023.
Election of Office Bearers and Trustee Board for 2023-24
Approval of Independent Examiner/Auditor
Regional Lead Volunteer’s Report and Presentations
Vote of Thanks
All are welcome to attend and the following papers are available:
If you would like to submit a question relating to the business of the AGM, it would be helpful if you would send this in advance to the Regional Secretary at secretary@sesscouts.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 17th November.
As you are probably aware, South East Scotland Region is an Early Adopter with regard to the Transformation of the Volunteer Experience.
As part of this, our membership data currently on Compass, including the training members have completed and which has been validated, will transfer over to a new Digital System in 2024.
However, training which has been completed but is unvalidated will not be migrated onto the new system.
Therefore, if you have unvalidated training, it is very important that you take action before the end of the year otherwise you may need to re-do some modules post the Transition to the new system.
1. Getting Started Modules
This comprises:
All Volunteers
• Essential Information (Module 1)*
• Safety*
• Safeguarding*
• GDPR*
Leaders, Assistant Leaders, Section Assistants
• Tools for the Role – Section Leaders (Module 3)
• Personal Learning Plan (Module 2) not section assistants
Managers & Supporters (GSLs, DCs, ASU Managers, assistants and deputies of same)
• Tools for the Role – Managers and Supporters (Module 4)
• Personal Learning Plan (Module 2)
Trustees (including office bearers)
• Trustee Introduction*
REQUIRED ACTION BY END 2023: If you have completed the modules marked with *, but not had them validated, please send the Certificate generated at the end of the module to your Training Adviser or Line Manager and ask them to validate the training on Compass.
If you have completed either version of Tools for the Role,please send the certificate to your Training Adviser and discuss with them what you will do / have done to meet the validation requirements.
The Personal Learning Plan for Leaders, Assistant Leaders, Managers and Supporters can be done in discussion with a Training Adviser – reach out to them to arrange a meeting to discuss.
2. Training Beyond Getting Started – (Wood Badge Requirements)
This comprises Modules 5,7,8,9,11,12a,12b,13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 plus any other additional modules you have completed.
REQUIRED ACTION BY END 2023. If you have completed these modules, but not had them validated, please engage your Training Adviser or Line Manager and work with them to have your training validated and ask them to update Compass.
Alternatively, for Modules 5,7,8,9,11,12a,12b,13,14,15,16,17, 18 and 19 you can go into this online portal and submit your validation evidence and a member of the Regional Team will review this and confirm validation.
3. Mandatory Ongoing Learning
There is a requirement to complete the Safety, Safeguarding and First Aid Modules (for some roles) within the first five months of joining as a volunteer and then every three years. Please check Compass to see when your mandatory learning expires and, if necessary, renew any that have expired or will expire soon. For Safety and Safeguarding simply work through the online learning then send the certificate to your Training Adviser or Line Manager and ask them to validate the training on Compass.
For First Aid, either book a face to face course (check Eventbrite for dates), or if you prefer the blended model register here and begin working through the elearning. Don’t forget that after the elearning you still need to join a Zoom session (10A confirmation) and then a practical demonstration (10B) to complete the requirements.
To enable us all to get ready for the new Membership System, which is coming in early 2024, it would be very helpful if all adult volunteers in South East Scotland could update the key elements of their personal information on Compass.
You can login to Compass here and more details of how to check/update your details can be found here Updating-Compass.pdf.
It’s November so that means it is finally Gang Show month!
For many weeks over 250 young people have gathered on a Sunday to rehearse for this year’s show. Supporting them are many adult volunteers who have been busy looking out or making costumes, painting scenery and props, orchestrating the music, keeping the paperwork up to date and the finances in order and much, much more.
The Edinburgh Gang Show is hailed throughout the country as one of the leading shows of its kind and already we are aware of people travelling far and wide to come and see our efforts.
There is something for everyone in the show, but one thing is guaranteed – the energy and enthusiasm of the young people onstage is amazing!
Don’t just take our word for it. Come and be part of the adventure! “There’s no show like the Gang Show!”
