Scouting Snapshots

February is YouShape month and we aim to encourage young people to make more decisions, shape their own programmes and take on leadership roles within Scouting.

This year, as part of YouShape 2019 we are proposing the introduction of a YouShape Award to further embed Youth Shaped Scouting as a key part of the programme.

We are also visiting a number of groups within Blackpool to celebrate our young people working in partnership with adults.

Involving young people in decision making is essential for our governance structures to stay informed and responsive to the fast-paced changes facing young people in the 21st century.

By encouraging a mixture of experiences and ages on our executive committees and district team, we are more likely to encourage healthy debate and make better decisions which are relevant to the lives of young people in today’s society.

For more information on Youth Shaped Scouting and to keep up to date please visit blackpoolscouts.org.uk/youthshaped and follow @BlackpoolScouts on social media.

Teams rise to the challenge

As part of the Chief Scout Silver Award for the Cub Scout Section, the youngsters are required to take part in seven challenges.

So over the last two weeks the Cubs of the 44th embarked on the Team Work Challenge in programmes put together by their leaders.

There were plenty of team fun games, such as passing a ball over each other’s heads in relays and making a container to fit an egg inside,

Paul Harris, leader with the Cub section, said: “Our team challenge continues with a number of team games and an indoor league where Cubs challenge each other in board games. The winner is the Cub that played and won the most games.”

Adventurer inspires leaders

Leaders from Blackpool District attended the West Lancashire regional managers conference last Saturday at the University of Bolton.

Blackpool leaders who attended the event were Rachel Tax, Lyn Porter, Stephen Chow, Nichola Bonsor, Steve Williamson, Stewart Swan and Joan Swan.

They enjoyed interesting talks from other Scout leaders and adventurers.

Lyn Porter, one of the Blackpool leaders who attended, said: “The day was led by regional commissioner Andrew Corrie and there were around 20 different workshops for us to attend covering topics like growing the exec committee, recruiting adult volunteers, strengthening small sections, social media, mental health and working with children with autism to name a few.

“The workshops were run by Scout leaders from east and west Lancashire.

“There was also a talk from Mark Wood, Scout adventurer.

“He has led over 30 major expeditions reaching the magnetic North Pole, the geomagnetic North Pole twice and completed solo expeditions to both the geographic north and south poles.

“It was an amazing experience to listen to.”