;

To all AACs/ACCs Cub Scouts
Please copy and forward to all ADC's and others working in the Cub Scout Section

After nearly 12 years of supporting Cub Scouting and its Leaders Jackie Martin has moved onto the Scout Section. During her time with our Section Jackie has always endeavoured to find answers to problems and questions as quickly as possible and the support she has given to the three National Commissioners is immeasurable. As well as being our support in the Office Jackie has written articles for SCOUTING Magazine on Cub Scout matters as well as well as contributing to Around the World in 80 Days and editing Millennium Chase. Last year Jackie was part of the Design Team that worked on the new Programme. Many thanks Jackie, for all your work with the Cub Scouts we hope you enjoy working with the Scout section as much as you did with us.

From September 1st Jackie's successor as Programme and Development Adviser for the Cub Scouts is VERITY STEDDON. Verity has worked for The Scout Association since April of this year. As well as supporting the Section, Verity has responsibility for the National Programme Initiative 2003 and Queen's Scout Receptions.

Verity's manager is SARAH HOBBS. Sarah has also worked for The Scout Association since April of this year. As well as being Verity's manager she also manages Fiona Taylor who is the Programme and Development Adviser for the Beaver Scout section. Sarah is a Venture Scout Leader in Kent in her spare time.

Back in May, the ADC Cub Scouts in my local District resigned and I offered my help to the District Commissioner to run the Cub Scout Leaders meetings in addition to my National Commissioner's duties. This has enabled me to see Cub Scouting from a different angle and its also allowed me to try out one of the developments I suggested in the last Bullet Point News.

I suggested that we should communicate with each other more by e-mail and I invited you and your ADC's to forward your e-mail addresses to the Cub Scout Office so that two directories can be built up, one for AAC's / ACC's and one for ADC's. Practising what I've been preaching I've done a similar thing for the Cub Scout Leaders in the District and out of 15 Packs, only 4 haven't got access. Now if that were repeated nationally then information could be passed between us more regularly and quickly so if you haven't let us have your address yet, then please do. To date we have received about 30 addresses and this Bullet Point News has been sent to those people electronically.

Next year Her Majesty the Queen, Patron of the Scout Association, celebrates her Golden Jubilee and The Scout Association's first National Programme Initiative will support this. The pack of activities for all members of the Scout Group to take part in is being distributed at the end of September to every Group Scout Leader in the UK to enable Leaders to start planning activities.

The pack will remind us of the positive effect Scouting can have on the community. There will be a wealth of ideas on the theme of Be Prepared... to make a difference. The focus will be on three areas:

• Let's Celebrate
• The Commonwealth
• Our Future

To all the District's Counties and Areas who are regularly sending minutes of your meetings to The Cub Scout Office for us to read. It's much appreciated as it does give us a picture of Cub Scouting around the UK. If you haven't yet done this please add us to your mailing list (or e-mailing list).

By the time you read this, the Cub Scout Team will be out on the road again visiting the Regions. We look forward to meeting you and sharing information. If we are not due for several months then you can still contact us direct in the Office. Details at the end of Bullet Point News.

David Walsh has written the Cub Scout Pages (with Val Bright doing Programmes on a Plate) for nearly four years. But with the launch of the new programme next year feels the time is right to stand down, so we are looking for a new person to start writing the pages from the SEPTEMBER 2002 edition. Because of deadlines we do need to have the new sub-editor in place by Easter. Initially the successful person would be contracted for a year with the option of a further year. You would also be required to be a member of the Cub Scout Core Team meeting with us at least twice a year. From personal experience its best to build up a team of writers and readers who you can share ideas with. One other requirement is that you can work three months in advance because of deadlines. Oh, and I nearly forgot, you get paid for each edition! If you think you could support the Section in this way then please send some examples of your writing to the Cub Scout Office by November 30th. Although we will recommend someone to the Editor of the magazine the final decision lies with Anna.

The Pack that my eldest daughter Lauren helps with decided to continue meeting each week during the summer holidays. This is an idea I wholeheartedly support as I know from being a Headteacher in a primary school that families take their holidays at all times of the year. Nowadays there are so many other activities taking place during the holidays so why shouldn't Cub Scouting be one of them? If you run your Pack during the summer please let me know how successful it is.

When I started helping out in the District I discovered that there were fewer Cub Scouts in the 15 Packs than there were children in my school. At this time of great change in Scouting I thought it would be a good idea to send a Cub Scout newsletter to each family in the District that keeps them in the picture about the changes and other happenings. If anyone would like a copy of it, only 2 sides of A4, then please send me a SAE via the Cub Scout Office. It may even help with recruitment of more adults!

It is apparent from visits, meetings and newsletters that it is felt we could have more Cub Scouts in our Packs if we had more adults. So how do we recruit them? Adult Support have produced a number of resources to help present Leaders recruit more so one way is to talk to your ACC or ADC Adult Support and ask to look at the material. Alternatively contact The Information Centre at Gilwell Park and buy them yourselves. A third way I feel is a very practical way. When I'm talking to Leaders the majority have joined Scouting because either they were brought up in a Scouting family like I was or they joined because their son or daughter joined.

I believe that we miss opportunities to recruit new adults by not organising enough activities that involve them so why not organise a Recruitment Month.

As a County, Area or District decide on a certain month to run it (you may wish to involve the other sections as well). Prior to the month, support the Pack Leaders by producing an ideas sheet of activities that can involve parents. Leaders may also wish to produce something about their Pack or Group to give to parents to come along to the Pack Meetings that month. If it is thought that this method is too intensive then why not organise a Pack Meeting each month that involves the parents.

Talk to the parents who come along and get them involved from the start. Ask if they can come along each month on a rota basis. If they can't, but are willing to help more infrequently, accept their offers. If they like helping out circumstances might change.

If you try this out please let us know how successful it was.

'Your fellow Scouters may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do'

Colin McKay, A Canny Crack, April 1996

Enjoy your Scouting,

Best wishes

Ian Railton
National Commissioner for Cub Scouts