Information for Parents

The most important communication channel between the scout group and parents is Online Scout Manager (OSM).  OSM is where you can see details of upcoming meetings, sign your child up for camps and events, answer calls for parent volunteer helpers, track your child’s badge progress, and make payments for camps an events

Young people must wear the uniform appropriate to each section, either a jumper or a shirt, onto which any badges they earn will be sewn or stuck.  This should be complemented with suitable dark blue shorts or activity trousers. The uniform shirts and jumpers can be obtained online or from local suppliers.  

Everyone should be able to join the fun and challenge of scouting.  We don’t want any young people to miss out due to the cost. We aim to keep our subscription fees and the cost of camps and other special events as low as possible. However, if you’re concerned about the cost, please speak to a section leader in confidence; we may be able to provide assistance from our fundraising reserves for those who need it. 

Subscriptions We charge a fee of £45 per term for membership of any section.  We pass some of this fee on to the Scout Association, where it pays for the national scout headquarters and for scouting organisations at District (Newmarket) and County (Cambridgeshire) level, who organise events and activities in which our young people take part.  

The remainder is used to cover:  

• rental of the hall fees 
• for use of other meeting places
• insurance of our people and property
• public liability insurance
• costs of materials and resources for our weekly meetings 
• cost of badges earned for activities and challenges

 All of our leaders, helpers and officers are unpaid volunteers.  Major equipment purchases, such as vehicles and camping equipment, are paid for primarily out of our fundraising efforts.  Subscription fees are due at the start of each term.  All payments are made through the Online Scout Manager (OSM) system, using the GoCardless payments to transfer money from your bank account.  You will receive advance notice of any payment request, and payments are only taken if approved by you.

When a young person joins a new section (for example, moving on from Beavers to Cubs) after a few weeks of settling in, they will be invested into the section.  They will make or renew their scout promise and will receive a scarf (necker) and a woggle, along with District and Group badges for their uniform.   To cover these costs, we charge an investiture fee, of either £5 or £12.50 depending if would like a sections T-shirts.

1st Burwell is a popular and successful group, and most of our sections usually operate at full capacity.  We manage admissions to ensure that each section has a spread of ages, and to ensure that anyone who joins the group will be able to move up to the next section when they reach the appropriate age.  

The group is open to boys and girls of ages 4 to 18. We usually invite young people to join the group at the beginning of each term.  If a young person moves into the immediate area, having been an active member of a scout group elsewhere, we will try to accommodate them within the relevant section as soon as possible. 

Once a young person has joined the group, we will ensure that they will always be able to move on to the next section when they reach the appropriate age. 

1.  Young people moving into the area from elsewhere, who are already active members of a scout group 
2. Young people with a parent who is a uniformed leader in the group, or who commits to becoming a uniformed leader, or to provide equivalent support to the group through our Fast Track Scheme.
3. Younger siblings of Beavers, Cubs or Scouts already within the group. 
4. Anyone else on the waiting list, of an age that we can accommodate, with priority given to those who have been waiting longest. 

If a young person has special needs, admission will be at the discretion of the section leaders, who may suggest a trial period.  We are not able to offer one-to-one care during meetings, and may ask parents to provide any extra support that is needed. 

At any time, we have between 40 young people on our waiting list to join the group, but the group operates entirely through the efforts of volunteers and we are always looking to recruit adult helpers.  Because of this we offer the possibility of letting a child join the group more quickly, in return for a meaningful commitment of time and effort from one or both of their parents. 

The types of roles we have in mind are described below.  All roles would require you to devote some of your time to the group every week during term times (for example helping at Cubs meetings every week) and sometimes at weekends and during holiday too (helping at camps and other events).  To justify giving your child a place in the group, while others have to wait, we would expect you to provide this level of assistance to the group for at least two years. 

This may sound like a big commitment, but scouting is something that people of all ages can enjoy.  If you join the team of adult volunteers who help our leaders run our Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts sections, or who do important work in the background, you will sometimes work hard, but we also have fun together.  You can also gain the deep satisfaction of knowing that you are helping – directly or indirectly – young people in our local community to learn new skills for life and grow in confidence. 

If you can give us your time and enthusiasm, we will ensure that you are given all the training and support that you need to make your scouting journey a success. 

Section Assistant 

Most parents whose children join the group through the fast track scheme become a Section Assistant.  In this role, you assist the Section Leaders to deliver their program of activities and events to young people in one of our Sections (Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs or Scouts) .  This may be a different section to the one that your child joins.  

You will be involved in running games and activities as part of our weekly Section meetings, assisting young people to achieve badges and awards, helping at camps and off-site events, and generally helping your Section and the whole Group to take part in a varied, safe and exciting programme of events. 

As a Section Assistant, you will wear a uniform and be given training about how scouting works, how to work safely with young people and the basic skills needed for your role. 

 If you find you enjoy the fun, challenge and adventure of helping young people in this way, you can continue your scouting journey and training, to become an Assistant Leader or even a full Section Leader role.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves!