Kelly Banks, kbanks@scouts.ca (613) 552-0367
(Serving Carleton, Loyalist, Odawa, Rideau, Valley Highlands)
Heather Lee, hlee@scouts.ca (613) 868-7229
(Serving Algonquin Hills, Heritage, Nepean, Odawa, Upper Saint Lawrence Valley)
May 2013
Who will count towards ratio in September?
The final phase of the screening chart will come into effect Sept 1st, 2013. This information has been published on the Volunteer Screening Policy Update since June 2012.
- Scouters Returning in their Section must have a full WB1 in that Section or they will not be allowed to register and/or participate in the delivery of program for the 2013-14 Scouting year until they have done the training.
- New Scouters require the following to be able to work “on the floor” with the youth:
- A clean VSS and PRC.
- An Interview and 3 reference checks done by 2 fully Active and Registered Scouters – one of whom has Interview Training.
- An Application for Adult Membership.
- Mandatory training items – CYS training, Accessibility Training and WB1-Module 1.
- Council Approval (through the Council Registrar)
- Once a new Scouter has completed these steps they can start their role running program for the youth. The difference starting September 1st, 2013 is that they will NOT count towards ratio until they have completed their Full WB1 in their Section. They can be on the floor and participate wearing the uniform but are not considered towards ratio until they have completed all of the training for their role. This is the same for returning Scouters moving from one Section to a new one. They will not count towards ratio until they have completed their full WB1.
Another way to think about it is to consider 4 levels of adult participation in Scouting:
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OCCASIONAL
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PENDING
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ACTIVE
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FULLY ACTIVE
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|
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Application
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Application
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Application
|
|
Code of Conduct
|
Code of Conduct
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Code of Conduct
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Code of Conduct
|
|
Tracked in Myscouts.ca
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Tracked in Myscouts.ca
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Tracked in Myscouts.ca
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Tracked in Myscouts.ca
|
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NOT ratio
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NOT ratio
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NOT ratio
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RATIO
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NOT uniform
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NOT uniform
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UNIFORM
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UNIFORM
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Screening for occasional visit
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Missing requirements
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All screening
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All screening
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5 visits max
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Not participating in role
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All manadtory training
ONLY WB1, Module 1
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All Training with
Full WB1
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Non-member
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Non-member
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member
|
member
|
April 2013
Spring Promotions and Registration!
There has been a tremendous amount of promotional activity and recruiting going on this month and it will continue into May.
- At the National level there has been TV advertising in big networks.
- We have had spokespeople interviewed on many TV news shows about Good Turn Week.
- Newspaper advertisments will be coming out the first week in May to communities across Eastern Ontario.
- We will have a booth at the Ottawa Children's Festival at the end of June.
- Many local Groups are working with sponsors, Churches, and schools to get more visible or perform community service.
What does your Group have planned to get visibility? How is this tied to registration? With all the screening and training requirements it just makes sense to promote, recruit and register members (particularly adults) in the spring. Begin the process now so that you have leaders up and running before Sept.
Spring registration opens on May 1st for the up-coming 2013-14 year. Now is the time to share registration savings with parents. Returning or new members can save $10 by submitting their registration forms and fees to either the Group or myscouts (if your Group accepts on-line registrations).
PENDING people will not be able to register for the up-coming 2013-14 year until they have completed all the screening and training. Only compliant members can register.
Upcoming Dates for Groups:
- Groups need to ensure that their 2013-14 fees have been set in Myscouts before May 1st. If you need assistance please contact your Area Registrar, AC or ASM.
- Myscouts "How to Register a member" webinar will be held May 7th and May 14th. Priority will be given to Group Registrars and GCs. GCs will be getting this info soon.
March 2013
Linking Activities are a Great Way to Encourage youth to move on to the next section.
It's not too late to include older youth in the next section. Have the 3rd year Cubs join Troop for the JOTT hike. Have the White Tails join the Pack Scouttrees activities. Are the Venturer Scouts doing a spring Camp?
It is easier and takes less resources to retain members than finding new ones. Here are the national 2010-11 statistics on retention between sections:
- 55.68 % of first year Cubs moved up from Beavers
- 50.15 % of first year Scouts moved up from Cubs.
- 64.80 % of first year Venturers moved up from Scouts.
- 49.87 % of first year Rovers moved up from Venturers.
Linking can help improve these numbers and provide more personal challenges for the youth. How many Colony Leaders have had a difficult time engaging White Tail Beavers in the spring? Are they bored and looking for something new? Why would they ask to join Cub Scouts if they are bored in Colony and know nothing about the Cub program? Joining a new section of youth and leaders might be intimidating for any age group.
This spring introduce your older youth to the program in the next section up. Provide an opportunity to meet the youth and leaders. Give them a taste of the program and how it is unique/different/fresh/challenging/exciting.
February 2013
What can a Scouter do to help their Group be successful for the up-coming Year?
Now that each member is recorded with
myscouts.ca you can view your own data including emergency info, training and history. If you haven't visited the website recently please do. If you notice anything that needs to be up-dated or corrected please make the corrections where you are able or contact your Group Commissioner. This is your active file. Please ensure it is current.
For those of you who are Section Leads or Contact Leaders. Please verify the information listed for your section is accurate in
myscouts.ca. There needs to be contact information listed for every section (meeting day, location, person) so that potential new families and current parents can find the meeting.
There are some specialty courses coming up very soon. If you are interested in getting more training please contact your Group Commissioner about taking a Woodbadge II course or the WB1 Group Commissioners course. Anyone on the Group committee or considering a Group Committee role can take the WB1 GC training.
This is the time to start locating new leaders and Group Committee members for next year. All leaders must be fully screened and trained before they are active in their roles with the youth. Police Records Check applications, training and interviews all take time to complete. Don't wait until Sept. to invite people to become leaders. Doing it this spring gives them time to complete the process and even visit 2 meetings to get their feet wet. Be proactive.
Is your section providing a great program to the the youth? How can you tell? Feedback from families, members returning and attaining the Program Standards are all good ways to measure success. Does your section qualify for the Program Quality Award? Review the check list and talk to your Group Commissioner.
January 2013
What’s the best time to hold a Bring-a-Friend Event for your Group or Section?
There are generally 3 times in the year when we get new members but youth participants and adult volunteers are welcome to join at any time.
The WInter Discoutned Fee of $90 will be available to new members joining Scouts starting Feb Ist, 2013. This is timed to coincide with Bring-a-Friend Events and Scout-Guide Week.
The bulk of new members join early in the fall which aligns with back-to-school. In Jan/Feb many families are looking for a new activity. This is also a time when Scouts are very busy getting out in the community for Scout- Guide week. This year Scout-Guide week is Feb 18th to 24th.
Another good time to promote Scouts and attract new members is in the Spring. A potential member can have 2 visits to regular meetings and then would need to join. This gives new youth an opportunity to try out the program and then pre-register at a discount for Sept using the Spring Discounted rate.
The spring is also a good time to recruit new leaders and Group Committee members. It will help anticipate ratio requirements for Sept and give the new Scouters an opportunity to get their screening and training complete before they need to participate as Leaders in Sept. Starting in the Spring also gives them time to be mentored in their role.
For those Scouters who are pending, not able to access elearning or are having diffculties getting into their profiles in
www.myscouts.ca please contact your Group Commissioners. They will be able to assist you or find you the help you require. Everyone should be working towards being active and having access to the reasources they need.
November 2012
At this time we would like to highlight the Group Committees and thank these volunteers for all the hard work they do for Scouting behind the scenes. Many members and non-members do not understand how these people contribute to the Scouting program. To read the Bylaw Policy and Procedures in full: http://www.scouts.ca/bpp/en/section-2000.pdf
BP&P 2003.4 – Groups/Sections/Partners/Sponsors
There are 11 program responsibilities and 9 Administrative responsibilities for the committee to manage. Without these volunteers regular meetings and special events would not be managed easily or well. The strongest Groups (large or small) have properly functioning Group committees and hold regular planning meetings.
A properly functioning Group Committee frees up the Section Scouters so that Leaders can focus on providing program for the youth. These volunteers are not only required by Scouts Canada’s policy, they are essential to a healthy, sustainable program.
To all the treasurers, commissioners, secretaries, registrars, administrators, special events coordinators, sponsor reps, communication managers and section leads
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
DID YOU KNOW?
Each Group Committee should have a minimum of 3 non-section Scouters to support group activities?
A Group Committee is a group of Parents, Section Scouters, a Sponsor/Partner representative and a Group Commissioner? The Scouter in charge of each Section automatically becomes a member.
They prepare and submit to the supervising council, and the Sponsor/Partner, an
annual report covering the activities of the Group/Section? This report shall include
a schedule of real property and audited * financial statements.
September 2012
Welcome back to a new season! Many sections are now up and running. Camps are happening and plans are being finalized. There are a number of resources available to help you manage the new season:
Very soon sections will start seeing Area Team visits begin. Please take this time to ask questions and show off your programs. This is an opportunity to communicate in person. Let us know some great program ideas we can share throughout the Council. Let us know what your training needs are.
There has been lots of discussion around the Child and Youth Safety policy this fall and there have been some challenges with the myscouts/elearning. We would like to take this time to say thank you for your patience. Now that we are becoming more familiar with the changes we can get back to why we are here – running Great Program for our youth.