Date : 4th November 2020 

Dear parents and carers

We hope you all had a great half term break despite the weather.  This new term brings with its different challenges to the last with a new lockdown on its way.

Unfortunately, Scout HQ has suspended face-to-face Scouting once again. This has been done to protect our members, and to help keep each other safe. To avoid uncertainty, and further disruption, we have agreed that we will now not meet face-to-face again this year. Even if the lockdown does end in early December, we would only have a couple of weeks until Christmas to meet which wouldn’t make for a particularly good experience for our young people – especially as it is likely to still have to remain in small groups of members at a time and run an alternating week on week off programme once again.

We therefore aim to be back together in January, circumstances permitting. This wasn’t an easy decision to come to, but after much discussion and debate, we feel it is the right course of action.

But it’s not all doom and gloom! We have planned a full programme of online activities in a slightly different format to last time so we hope everyone will be able to join in with us. We’re going to continue with the event invites via Online Scout Manager as the feedback has been very positive, so look out for the invite emails each week with the Microsoft Teams details for the meetings, including what you will need and times, which may differ from what you’re used to and will include ‘extra’ sessions for special occasions.  Keep an eye on emails, the website and of course the Facebook group.

We know that none of us wanted this and we were all getting back into the swing of face-to-face meetings once again with all the measures in place, but we hope you understand why we’ve done this. 

We certainly looking forward to the next six weeks or so with the range of different activities we’ve got in mind and hope you’ll all be able to join in and enjoy them with us.

If anyone would like to Join the Leadership Team or Group Executive for the 18th Ipswich, please let us know.  We needed extra help before Covid-19 hit, now we need you more than ever to get the group reopened!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch.

Best wishes

Denise Bloomfield (GSL) / Stuart Parker (AGSL)