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Welcome to the 8th edition of the Beaver Scout eNews. We hope that the weather is being kind to you this summer and that you and the Colonies in your area are getting out and about and enjoy being outdoors. As a volunteer and staff team we have been getting out and about over the last few months, attending the Development Advice and Support Days and other meetings. We have enjoyed meeting you and hearing about Beaver Scouting in your local areas.

Some of you may have taken part in the last Your Programme, Your Voice which was run at the beginning of February. It is an online survey sent out via e mail to all those who hold an appointment of Beaver Scout Leader, Assistant Beaver Scout Leader or Colony Assistant. It is run three times a year and will ask questions on a variety of topics. The response we had in February was brilliant, the questions were on Beaver Scout Residential Experiences which is guiding the work we are doing in this area.

The new Programme Team workplan has been finalised and over the next few months you will see developments happening in different areas. Some of these areas are detailed below.

A major issue, particularly in the Beaver Scout section, is the number of young people on waiting lists who are wanting to join the Beaver Scout section. In the last issue of eNews we asked that the numbers be recorded accurately on the census. The total number of young people on waiting lists on the census for 2009 is 33,574, of those 22,418 are of Beaver Scout age. You may have come across the work the Regional Development Service is doing in England in this area, the work we are doing is to support this. To help we are in the process of updating the Factsheet (FS155058) which provides guidelines on running waiting lists and registers of interest.

The 2009/2010 cycle of workshops will include Programme, Adult Support and International and take place across the whole of the UK.

The workshops are aimed at developing those who are Supporters or those who support in Scouting.

Invites will go to supporters of the following:

The workshops will allow participants to engage with UKHQ, receive relevant information that will help support leaders and to support growth and development and to share in work that is relevant to the real needs of the Movement.

To find the latest information please visit:

www.scoutbase.org.uk/6to25/beaver/news/rdaas.htm

If you have any queries, then please contact us on adviceandsupportdays@scout.org.uk

It's still not too late to plan your Big Adventure! Remember, you don't have to create a brand new event, just get people involved in whatever you currently have planned.

The Big Adventure is all about getting parents involved in the leadership team for a residential or other event that you are running. By getting them involved and giving them a defined role they will get the chance to experience the fun of being an adult in Scouting, and hopefully volunteer to help out in the future.

Each Group has been sent a number of free resources to help you make the most of your Big Adventure. If you would like any extra resources please contact the Information Centre.

See www.scouts.org.uk/thebigadventure for more information.

The UK Programme Team is currently putting together a toolkit for all those who undertake a support role with in the 5 sections. The Toolkit will provide useful information on how to undertake their role as well as having useful tips on how to support the programme across the District, County/Area or Scottish Region. The toolkit will be available from later this year and all those in the target audience will hear from the Programme Team directly when it is released.

Thank you for reading this edition of Beaver Scout eNews and we hope that you have a good summer!

Andrew Wellbeloved

UK Commissioner for Programme

Karen Jameson

UK Adviser for Beaver Scouts

Jenny Winn

Programme and Development Adviser