Key Information

POR is a set of guidelines that governs the running of the group and any activities undertaken by its members, it gives guidance on the roles of Leaders and Executive members. The POR document is freely available for any parent or guardian and can be found on the Scouting website at
https://scouts.org.uk/por/

All information is held confidentially in accordance with the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) electronically by Online Scout Manager which is accessible by the leadership team of the Scout Group and yourselves via the
parent portal
.

The Mildenhall Scout Group Executive Committee asks that this data is checked regularly and at least every term to ensure it stays accurate, as parents can amend the data at any time you do not need to wait for this check.

All information is given voluntarily but is needed to help ensure the wellbeing of all the members whilst in our care. Some information is required by the UK Scout Association for the annual census which gives statistics on how many people are Scouting nationally.

The group will retain your personal information, throughout the time you/your child(ren) are a member of Mildenhall Scout Group. We do need to continue to hold data in a much more limited form for longer (just name, badge and attendance records) to fulfil our legal obligations for insurance and legal claims. We will also keep any Gift Aid Claim information for the statutory 7 years as required by HMRC.

Online Scout Manager (OSM) has been designed by leaders for leaders – it gives leaders the ability to do all their administration in one simple, secure, system. It is not just a system for leaders though,
OSM’s Parent Portal
provides the parents the facility to ensure their own child’s basic address and contact records are kept up to date with all the relevant information about medical and dietary needs as well as allergy details. It also gives parents the tools to see the programme, view badge progress and load evidence of any work their child may have done at home, sign their child up to events and parents can also record their child’s apologies for a weekly session and give a reason.

Please visit the Online Scout Manager page for more details.

Mildenhall Scout Group operates a Gift Aid system as a form of fundraising, this means that we can claim back the tax that you have already paid on the subscription costs. This equated to 25p for every pound paid or £10 for each child’s termly subscription. All we need from you is a declaration that a parent or guardian pays tax, this can be done in OSM

Once a young person has been attending for about 3/4 weeks, has decided they would like to become a member of Mildenhall Scout Group, the section leader will arrange a date for investing the young person into the Beaver Colony, Cub Pack or Scout Troop.

The young person will take part in an investiture ceremony, when they say the promise of their choice and be presented with their group neckerchief, woggle and starter badges (world, district and group). Parents and guardians are most welcome to attend the ceremony. Details will be sent out at the time via OSM e-mail.

We expect young members to be ready, respectful, responsible role models and show a reasonable degree of behaviour and if necessary, we will contact the parents to discuss any problems. Only in exceptional circumstances will a young person be asked to leave the Group.

Parents can inform leaders of their child’s absence from standard weekly sessions via the programme on the OSM parent portal. If a young person misses three sessions without any apology being given they may lose their place in the group.

The Group is required to hold an Annual General Meeting every year to:

• receive the annual statement of the Group Executive Committee (including the annual statement of accounts)
• to elect an Executive Committee for the coming year. Presentations will also be given by each section.

Mildenhall Scout Group usually hold their AGM in May and all parents are invited to attend.

Like most things in life, nothing is free. As a group we try to keep our costs to a minimum and fundraising helps us to achieve this.

As of September 2020, out termly subscriptions are:

• Beaver Scout subscriptions £30 per term

• Cub Scout subscriptions £35 per term

• Scout subscriptions £40 per term

The subscription costs cover – membership fee paid to national HQ, running of Mildenhall Scout HQ, activity and equipment costs, badges.

• Membership Fee £45 per year (included in above)

Capitation is the UK Headquarters membership fee which is calculated based on the number of Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts and Explorer Scouts. The membership fees help UK Headquarters deliver a wide range of services and support for all the volunteers and young people. Services including vital safeguarding advice and insurance for all to a reassuring voice on the end of the phone at the Scout Information Centre.

Additional costs could be for camps and day trips that are arranged through the year, although the group does its best to subsidise the larger more expensive camps.