December is here!
With the holidays coming up and the New Year fast approaching, its time to look back on what we have achieved and plan what comes next.
A new District Commissioner
Soon to be called District Lead Volunteer – see more below
This year we’ve seen the reigns of District Commissioner (DC) being passed over from Callum Mcintyre to Matt Jackson – there’s a new Sheriff in town.
The DCs role is to lead the District, ensure Scouting is following the rules, oversee all the groups and organise all of the District teams. Matt has been hard at work putting together new teams in the district, with some fresh new faces and some old friends.
Matt has been hard at work, not only preparing these teams but preparing them for the new Scouting approach. These new teams are being organised under the new names so we are ready for the new system.
If you don’t already know about the Fresh Approach and Warmer Welcomes coming next year, you’ll find out more in the coming months as the District transitions to the new approach. But don’t worry, not much will change for our Scout Groups and Scout Leaders (except some name changes), the bigger changes will happen at District/County levels.
The New Scouts Approach – A quick look
Why?
The new system will allow for much more flexibility in Scouting, promoting a more team-based approach. This allows people to share their skills with other teams more easily – which is what Scouting is all about. It also takes away the stress of trying to run an event by yourself as you can much more easily get more people involved.
Under this new structure, District will also become even more support-based to help make all our volunteers’ lives easier, from programmes to paperwork.
New Teams
Programming Team – Lead by Jeanette Walker – Supporting the programmes of our Scout Groups, plan amazing events and support any of our leaders from Squirrels to Scouts. There are still positions available for Section Leads in the programming team so if you want more info or want to lend a hand – contact Jeanette @ jeanette.walker@leedstemplars.org.uk!
14-24 Team – Lead by Peter Mason – Supporting our Explorers, Network and Young Leaders teams to help our young people make a positive impact in society as they step up, speak up, and find their place in the world.
Youth Lead – Matthew Plant – Supporting all our young people, ensuring their voices are heard and helping them to access the YouShape awards.
Volunteer Development Team – Lead by Jas Brereton – Supporting our District’s volunteering experience – ensuring they have an enjoyable experience and making it easy for people to join and learn new skills.
Support Team – Currently looking for a Team Leader – Provides tools and resources to all of our volunteers, including digital support and resources, managing waiting lists, help with financing, buildings and anything else you can think of. This team already has some enthusiastic fresh new faces to district so if you think you can lend a hand contact Matt @ matt.jackson@leedstemplars.org.uk.
Check out Our People page for more info.
Communication
Matt has been hard at work expanding the District communication channels using Slack, Facebook groups and email, These will be the first port of call for all our district information and news – and don’t worry if you don’t use all of these, we will be communicating to leaders in all of these channels to everyone up to date.
You might already noticed – there’s a new website! Updated to the fresh feel of the new Scouts UK – Skills for Life branding. Matt has been working with Stephen from the Support team to design and build the new website. The aim is to let everyone be able to post their amazing Scouting moments on here and link it to any social media they like. There are more plans to help with digital support in the District so keep your eyes peeled for our plans in the coming year.
Our Social Media channels have also had a fresh lick of paint – Matt has been working with Catherine from the Support team – who will also be looking after our waiting lists – to get them up and running alongside the new website. Check them out:
New Year and beyond
As we work towards our priorities for our year ahead, keep in mind that not only is Matt new to the role of DC, but also is working towards the transition towards the new Scouting way and volunteer experience – so keep him some extra christmas cheers (or a gift if you feel generous).
While you wait, here’s a few things to look out for:
District Ice Hockey – 14th January – Jo put together an amazing opportunity for our young people to see Leeds Knights vs Bristol Pitbulls. Whether you are already an Ice Hockey fan or a newcomer, its sure to be an great time for our young people, their families and leaders!
District Bowling – 7th Feburary – Our District Bowling competition is back – but with a twist. Based on feedback, this year the Cubs and Scouts will be separated so that the younger Cubs can go home earlier and not be out too late but still get to meet all the other Cub packs.
District Camp – set for July 5th-7th – Jeanette will be spear-heading the next district camp and is looking for your ideas to make this camp even better than ever before. Keep an eye out in the future as she is looking for ideas and feedback from everyone in the district and will be arranging different ways to make sure everyone’s voice is heard.
To keep in the loop, head over our new Calendar and Events page where you can add all the events or event just events for each section to your calendar:
