We are living in very uncertain times. I’m mindful that many of you will have been impacted by Covid-19 directly or indirectly and I wish you and your families well over the coming months. I hope that as Scouters we can help each other out. I intend to provide a Newsletter each week regarding Scouting In Suffolk. This will be sent to every adult member, so please check that your e-mail address is correct in Compass if you did not receive this email directly.
The key communications over the coming months will be the weekly email newsletter and our website https://www.suffolkscouts.org.uk/coronovirus. Our Facebook and Twitter pages will be updated from time to time but are not our official source of news. All content we post will be based on UK Government and The Scout Association guidelines.
The Adventure Continues !!
I am pleased to say that the County team are planning a support programme for you to use remotely with your sections. This is being led by Ollie Smith, with the assistance of Jo Cracknell, Angela Humphrey, Jamie Mortimer, Karen Pettit and Sam Bolger (adventurecontinues@suffolkscouts.org.uk). Details of the programme will be shared by email and on our website, and will be available soon. If you have already started running programmes remotely, that’s great news. Please share your experiences with me, Ollie and the programme team as we will also be able to share your ideas with other groups around the County.
Whilst we are working on our local initiative, there are already on-line programmes (The Great IN-doors) available from The Scout Association which can be found here.
You may also want to continue Scouting through online meetings using Microsoft Teams (which we can support at County level) or other similar platforms. Details of registering for Teams (a free service to you) together with safeguarding considerations will be issued soon by email and published on our website.
Running Your Group
We have set up a Frequently Asked Questions page on this website. We will include information there covering subs, insurance, DBS checking, mandatory training etc. Our information will always be sourced from UK Government, The Scout Association and the County Team. Again, you may need some conferencing facilities that Microsoft Teams can provide for you to meet with your own executive/management groups.
Quick Checks
· Check your HQ insurance policy to ensure you remain covered during a period of non-use for both buildings and contents.
· Take time to call your fellow Scouters in your group or district to ensure they are OK.
· All campsites and face-to-face Scout training academies have been closed in Suffolk.
· Filing Charity Commission Returns. The Commission has stated that there will be flexibility on filings that are required imminently; please call the Commission to be granted an extension, details here.
Kind regards
Mark
Mark Pearson
County Commissioner – Suffolk
