COVID-19 News Bulletin #1 - 24th March 2020

We are living in very uncertain times.  I’m mindful that many of you will have been impacted by Covid-19 directly or indirectly and I wish you and your families well over the coming months. I hope that as Scouters we can help each other out. I intend to provide a Newsletter each week regarding Scouting In Suffolk. This will be sent to every adult member, so please check that your e-mail address is correct in Compass if you did not receive this email directly. 

The key communications over the coming months will be the weekly email newsletter and our new website portal https://www.suffolkscouts.org.uk/coronavirus. Our Facebook and Twitter pages will be updated from time to time but are not our official source of news. All content we post will be based on UK Government and The Scout Association guidelines.

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Coronavirus.. just so you know what it's all about

The short video below gives a very straightforward explanation of what this is all about.. and whilst it is simple, it carries a very clear message for everyone to understand things better.

Click on the Read More link to open the page fully

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The Great IN-doors

We know that the coming days and weeks are going to be difficult for families across the UK. Scouts have always been active members of our communities and we know that now is no different. Thank you for the incredible hard work that so many of you are already putting in to support your young people and their families.

As experts in developing skills and bringing new experiences to young people, we know you’ll agree that it’s only right for us to step up and do what we can to support young people and their families across the UK.

So, with that in mind, we’d like to introduce The Great Indoors. We’ve pulled together over 100 existing activities from our programme planner that are perfect for parents and carers to do with their children if they’re stuck at home over the next few weeks.

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CMAT - Rock Climbing - Peak District - CANCELLED

CANCELLED: The CMAT Team have arranged a rock climbing weekend in the Peak District at Glenbook over the weekend of 24th-26th April. The details are now available on the CMAT Activities page and the calendar.      (links corrected 09:05 16-Mar)

 

Welcome to 1st Brandon !

I am pleased to announce that following a restructure in Norfolk of one of their districts, the 1st Brandon Scout Group has now joined Suffolk Scouting. Despite being a part of the County of Suffolk, Brandon was, following various council boundary changes, part of Norfolk Scouting. 

The group is now part of the Bury St Edmund's District and I know the District Commissioner, Martin Brooks, and the Bury St Edmunds team are looking forward to supporting them and getting to know them.

If you wish to drop a line to the Group, please contact the Group Scout Leader Kate Butcher at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Group has three sections with roughly 30 young people. The Group has regularly achieved top awards including last year with 10 cubs who earned the Silver Chief Scout Award.

You will see more publicity about 1st Brandon soon in the local press. Please join me in giving a big welcome to 1st Brandon to Suffolk.

Mark Pearson
County Commissioner – Suffolk

Strengthening our County Team

We’re now motoring through 2020 and I hope it has started well for you so far. I am pleased to announce new members to the County Team who will be working to support the Skills For Life and Suffolk Strategy which in turn will be helping you to run a great programme of activities so that our young people can achieve their Top Awards.

The County Team has been structured around five areas that are focused on:

• Programme and Youth Shaped (Ollie Smith)
  • Supporting leaders to run ever better quality programmes
  • Ensure more young people achieve top awards in each section of Scouting
  • Create programmes that are shared across the county.

• Growth and Inclusivity (Keith Gleen)
  • Support Groups and Units to increase the proportion of young in Suffolk who take part in Scouting
  • Set up new sections, groups and units in areas of deprivation or population growth

• Perception and Community Impact (Colin Winter)
  • Create a media team for Suffolk
  • Get the Scouting message out to adults and young people in the County
  • Be a leading authority on youth matters in Suffolk

• People
  • More leaders and Execs are recruited and stay within Scouting
  • Succession planning and talent spotting
  • Activities run by Scouting professionals

• Compliance and Operations
  • Suffolk Scouting is robust and safely delivered everyday (100% of mandatory training is up to date)
  • Our website and technology is secure and compliant to regulations
  • Monitor our Scouting and take action when required

I am pleased to announce new members of the County Team who will be part of these workstreams:
 

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Gone Home : Ken Bristo / Ivan Dadswell

News received about two of our scouting members who passed on recently.

Ivan Dadswell was a scouter, GSL and ADC in the Woodbridge (later Deben) District and latterly Group President at Kesgrave. His funeral will be at  All Saints Church, Kesgrave on Tues 3rd March at 14:30 followed by burial where he will be laid to rest next to Irene in the new churchyard.

Ken Bristo was a former Deputy County Commissioner and member of the County Leadership Training Team bringing new leaders on-board. His funeral is at Westerfield Church on Tues 10th March at 11:00.