JUNE Photo: Steve Sheppard FROM THE BOROUGH COMMISSIONER

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1 JUNE 2016 The Spur The Newsletter of Torbay Scouts Est (Registered Charity No: ) Photo: Steve Sheppard FROM THE BOROUGH COMMISSIONER Group Annual General Meetings Yes, It is that season again. Time for your group to be not only thinking, but arranging to hold it s Annual General meeting. Well done the 14th Torbay for being the first group this year to have held their AGM Please let me know the date, time and place of Your AGM so I, or a Borough representative can be present. Devon County Scout Council s AGM The County AGM will be held on Saturday 16th July at 3pm at Mary Tavy Coronation Hall, PL19 9QA. Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Network and Leaders are invited to join in a fun day starting at 10am. There will be lots of activities, including a inter-district Bubble Football competition! More details will follow so please put it in your diaries Please keep the date Free your support will be needed

2 Devon County's Organisational Structure Hello, and welcome to an update from the County Commissioner. You will find a PDF document of the Organisational Structure via our website - Organisational-Structure.pdf - in the Spur Extras, and the video at - v=dkgzhx_yj5u&feature=youtu.be - Devon County's Organisational Structure Summary: We have published the line management diagram for the county. We have organised ourselves into clusters to make it easier to communicate and work together. The working groups are flexible with space for everyone to contribute at county level. A handy list of contact details is included to help improve communications. Thanks for every thing you do for Scouting. It really makes a difference to over 8000 young people across our county.! 2

3 Marc Coton, County Commissioner. Torbay Scouts Website A reminder that Torbay Scouts website can now be accessed at torbayscouts.org.uk Please take a look and let us have your comments. We need to keep it up to date and relevant to Scouting in Torbay - We have even added a calendar to the site and as you will see and most of the Cub events have been added. if you have dates to share please them to fisher.il@blueyonder.co.uk we even have a district diary, but need your input. torbay-scouts.com and torbay-scouts.co.uk will still redirect you to the home page and torbay-scoutcampsite.co.uk will take you directly to the main campsite tab. District news, as you will see from the site, will appear on the home page from time to time but only of you supply the details, and photos if you have them. We also need you to make sure that your groups/section leaders contact details and website, if you have one, are up to date for your groups page on the site. We are also in the process of uploading a calendar of campsite visitors/bookings - This calendar will be password protected for security reasons, if you feel that you like to access the calendar to see who is on the site, please let me know and I will let you have the password. I am also in the process of uploading the district directory to the site, again this page will be password protected for security reasons when available. The Spur, and spur extras, will also be available to download as a.pdf! 3

4 Please note you will still get your copy of the spur and many other bits ed to you via Dave Johnson s Spur mailing list. We would like this site to be user friendly and relevant to today s scouting in Torbay, if you have any comments, ideas, problems, broken links, would like anything changed taken out or added etc, etc. please let us know. In the first instant please can you send any of the above to the DC at fisher.il@blueyonder.co.uk preferably in a word document and pictures as a.jpg It is your site, please make use of it. Compass I am in the process of making sure that compass is up to date, each GSL has been sent a copy of the adults registered to their group, surprisingly enough out of 13 sent out over 5 weeks ago 12 have been returned, only one group is still outstanding. All adult volunteers are now able to access and amend details on their on compass profile Please check your details on your personal records, amending or requesting amends as appropriate. If your record is out of date and needs amendment please let me or Lynne know as soon as possible. All permits should now be loaded to compass - unless you know differently!! 4

5 DBS important Notice Given the importance of having a valid disclosure, all Leaders need to check their DBS to make sure it is still valid (the Scout DBS has a five year life span) With effect from 31 March 2016, the Scout Association will be re-introducing the automatic suspension of adults who do not have a valid disclosure. Please make sure your DBS is updated before it expires. Campsite and Headquarters. We have had several slight problems regarding the use of the campsite by Local Groups. Please be aware that all local groups can use the campsite free of charge, you are also welcome to use the building, But a small charge will be made to cover use the hall/building and the use of electric and/or gas. To save any future problems, it is important that you make a booking with the bookings secretary even if you have a set of keys for the site. All Groups wanting to use the site during a weekday, evening or at weekends make sure the booking secretary is aware - watcombebookingmanager@gmail.com -! 5

6 this will save any future confusion or double bookings Ian Fisher, DC Discounts for Trespass Clothing My name is Brian Harvey, and I have recently taken over management of the Trespass outdoor store on Fleet Walk in Torquay. I have had many Scout members asking in store if we provide a discount, and unfortunately until now this is not something we have been able to offer. I aim to change this as I feel very strongly about the Scout way of life and the values you instil on your members, and I do not believe it should cost them an arm and a leg to buy the necessary equipment for many of the activities they will grow to love. From today, I will ensure that we can offer all Scout members a 10% discount on all Trespass stock, including items that are already at sale price. No proof of membership is required as I appreciate this is not something your members may have on them at all times. I would be extremely grateful if you would be able to pass this information on, although I appreciate you are very busy. If you have noticeboards at each location, I would be happy to provide some A5 posters for display to make this a little easier. Please let me know your thoughts on this. I am also looking into holding an hour after we would usually close (18:00-19:00) to invite all Scout members for an even larger discount. This will not be a regular thing, but in the past it has proved very popular with colleges and universities to get themselves fully kitted out with a much lower price tag. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this, and to see if we can work together in any way. I look forward to hearing from you.! 6

7 Cheery regards, Trespass Torquay Living Coasts I have recently started working at Living Coasts in Torquay, and part of my new role is to engage and encourage local people to strive towards a world rich in wildlife by taking action for conservation. The bulk of what this involves is working with people in the local community who care about the Torbay area, which has led me to your name as District Commissioner of Torbay Scouts. Having done a little research into the Scout network we have in the area, I am ecstatic to see that conservation particularly within the local community is something you place great emphasis on within your overall ethos. This is something that marries perfectly with what we are trying to achieve here at Living Coasts as a conservation charity. In consideration of this, I would love to explore the possibility of working together on a joint venture designed to be mutually beneficial for both Living Coasts and the Scout network in Torbay. We are always on the lookout for like-minded people to help promote conservation and I am sure that we have a great deal to offer young nature enthusiasts. I d be happy to invite you along to Living Coasts for a chat if you are interested in discussing this further.! 7

8 Best wishes, Tom James. Informal Learning Coordinator. Living Coasts, Torquay The Bushcraft Cave My name is Calum Sloan and I run a company called The Bushcraft Cave - an online retailer and outdoor equipment specialist. I am ing you as; having worked with local scout groups in our area recently (Hampshire) and helping them purchase new equipment at a discounted price. We would like to offer you a similar proposition. We are fully aware that you are a self funding organisation and cost is vitally important. We are passionate about the world of bushcraft and outdoor pursuits and would like to give you the opportunity to purchase equipment at a reduced cost so that your scout group may be safer and better prepared when out in the field. Please feel welcome to have a look at our website - We generally stock the items most relevant to Bushcraft, but do have access to the whole range offered by each brand.! 8

9 If you would like to talk further and find out any more information, please reply to this or contact me on Calum Sloan, Partner, The Bushcraft Cave Adult Training Just to introduce myself to the people who don t know me, I am Simon Squires and I have just accepted the role as Deputy County Training Manager. I ve been in Torbay Scouting for a few years now and help with the County Training Team. I run my own training and consultancy company, so training is my bread and butter. You have all seen the following in the Spur: Safeguarding I am awaiting details regarding safeguarding courses First Aid First Aid courses are also in hand and again I am awaiting details I am here to help with your training requirements, to advise or simply to have a chat. We are long overdue courses, but as you can imagine I can t change this over night, so here are some to get going with.! 9

10 First Aid - 26 th June 2016 I am awaiting confirmation of the venue, but it will be run in Torbay. If you have completed an external first aid course please ensure your record of this is up to date on Compass. Anyone who would like me to check or update their records (copy of certificate needed) please let me know. If you would like to book this course please training@devonscouts.org.uk Multi Module Training Weekend 26 th & 27 th November 2016 This will cover a selection of modules to help you complete your Wood Badge. More information about this weekend will follow in the next few months. On a closing note if you have any training modules to validate or any Training Advisors need them added to Compass please let me know. Simon Squires Deputy County Training Manager simonsquires@me.com Polite Reminder:- For all local Scout Groups - If you wish to use any of the campsite facilities on your section evenings, can you please ensure that a booking is made via to watcombebookingmanager@gmail.com This address is to be used for all camping availability enquiries. Thank You Elaine Harrison, Centre Booking Manager! 10

11 Footnote from the Editor Closing date for contributions to the July 2016 issue of The Spur is Monday June 27th 2016 Contributions should be ed in Word please to: or can be posted to David Johnson, 11, Boundary Road Chelston, Torquay. TQ2 6LR or by telephone (evenings 8 to 9.30) on ! 11