County Commissioner Blog

The important things first. I hpe you have a fantastic Christmas and many thanks for everything you have done for Cheshire Scouts this year. 2012 promises to be even more exciting and stimulating and of course it will be a "Cheshre Challenge" year. 

Its always a good time of year in December to review the previous 12 months while contemplating the forthcoming new year - so here goes.

Cheshire got off to a really good start with encouraging census results, which were slightly better than the National results, and we outperformed the rest of the region in many of the statistics.The traditional "County events" such as the AGM and St Georges Day Awards Dinner were all well attended and enjoyed by those who took part. The Cheshire Hike proved as popular and successful as ever.

Our Cheshire Show involvement had a bit of a makeover with a new team organising our participation and a number of new volunteers helping out. The stand was much improved and won an award from the show organisers. The Beavers celebrated 25 years with a party and Explorer Scouts had their first big County event - Tattonbury that was well received despite the bad weather.

New Communication Initiatives

Early in the year we launched a new email service making communication with Cheshire County Scouters easier and much more reliable. Then we launched our new website which has been really well received and is helping make a positive contrition to the promotion of Scouting, including attracting "want to join" enquiries, including adults. Both these initiatives have been complimented by the launch of "Cheshire Scouting Plus" which is being used to distribute news and information about 5 times a year. All of these initiatives are designed to reflect national branding.

World Scout Jamboree

Certainly one of my highlights has been watching the WSJ Contingent prepare for the Jamboree and then take part and then listen to the stories and experiences on their return.All the participants had a fantastic time and each of the three units enjoyed a very individual experience with home hospitality.

Summer Activities

There was an encouraging number of camps and expeditions over the summer months so well done to all leaders who organised these activities. Please keep up the good work, its makkes a real difference. 

PR

Over the last year Cheshire has received a significant amount of local press coverage including the census results, Jamboree contingent members and Chief Scout Awards to name just a few of the stories. We have also been very successful in getting a letter published in most of our local newspapers, which carried the name of each local DC giving a positive impression of young people following the riots and disorder during August.

 Campsites

Both our campsites have benefited from further investment including £60,000 being spent on activities, which has included a new climbing wall at Forest Camp and a zip wire at Tatton Park. Discussions continue with both our architects and the local authority in relation to further development of Lake View. The decision to transfer the running of water equipment to the Campsite Management Team has paid significant dividends providing easier access to equipment and a staggering increase in its use.

Winners all

Warrington Orientals 14 & under team Dragon Boat Team won at the National Youth Championships in Marlow this year and the shooting team also scored another national victory.

Cheshire Leader to head UK team at Roverway

Richard Taylor who is a member of CAMO Network in Warrington has been appointed as UK contingent leader for the next Roverway taking place in Finland in 2012.

This is very short overview of the year but I think it shows how active Scouting in Cheshire really is. Well done to everybody who has contributed to our success.

Debbie and I wish you a very happy Christmas

This was a question I was asked a little while ago so I thought I would give you a insight into some aspects of the role. There are some conversations and meetings, which I can't share with you because of their confidential nature. Currently I deal with around 30 - 40 emails a day covering a multitude of topics and County Office can get up to 100 emails each week .

It has been an interesting couple of weeks since my last blog which started on Saturday 1st October with a day spent at Gilwell working on a project to look at how skills acquired in Scouting can be used to support those seeking jobs or university placements. Debbie then spent the following day working on a project around Beaver sleepovers.

Monday saw me attend a meeting in Chester of a new organisation called Youth United. This is an initiative by the new Lord-Lieutenant to bring together uniformed organisation's with the aim of sharing best practice, resources where possible and to discuss shared concern. The group has decided to concentrate on adult recruitment within the first initiative likely to be at the Cheshire Show.  

On the Tuesday I attended the transitional executive meeting for the new Mersey Weaver District, which will be launched in January, bringing together North West Cheshire and Widnes Districts. The meeting chose the new district badge, designed by a Cub in Widnes and continued its work dealing with a number of practical issues to ensure a successful launch in January.

Wednesday evening was dedicated to a meeting with the data team who are tasked with finding ways to bring together the various data resources available to us and then presenting them in ways, which are useful at a County, District and Group level. Good progress is being made, however as you can imagine this is a big piece of work. During the morning I had the first meeting with our newly appointed Activity Centre Manager, Dave Metcalfe, to discuss the job role and how we could deliver the expected outcomes of this new role

Thursday brought the launch of Cheshire Challenge in Warrington West where there was a good turnout of Leaders and once again real enthusiasm for this initiative. This was the first time they had tried the format of holding all the sectional meetings on the same night and it appears to have gone down well.

Friday evening was the Knutsford District celebration dinner, which included a presentation by some of their members who had attended the World Scout Jamboree, all in all it was a great night.

Saturday started with a regional meeting in Preston where the subject was local incident planning which has generated some serious discussion within the County about how prepared we are for a major incident. This will be the subject of a number of announcements in the near future. Then it was off to Tawd Vale  campsite where I was a judge at their annual "Festival of Lanterns" event.  They had around 300 camping with 15 groups spending the day preparing a display using candles and fire, with a few using light bulbs and generators. Some of the displays were amazing including a paddle steamer, a number of Harry Potter themed displays and one incorporating two huge bonfires on the theme of "Fire of London". You can see more about this event in the current edition of Scouting magazine. Also in this issue on their Jamboree report one of the pictures features members of the Cheshire contingent.

Sunday gave me a day to catch up with emails and the other paperwork, which built up during the week.

Monday was one of the regular meetings, which I now have with the two Deputy County Commissioners, Val Thomason and Dave Hopley where one of the key topics was working towards finalising the County diary/planner for next year. As events and activities are agreed they are now being placed in the diary on the website (www.cheshirescouts.org.uk)

Tuesday was a meeting with Paul Cook the County Media Development Manager to discuss a number of PR opportunities, which we are currently working on. These are all aimed at presenting a positive impression of Scouting within Cheshire and hopefully encouraging more adults to come forward to help us. It was also an opportunity to meet a new member of the team, details of which will be announced in the near future.

Wednesday saw me in Holmes Chapel where the group has acquired a new headquarters, which was formerly a youth and community Centre. It is a really good two-storey building with lots of space and will be a real asset to Scouting in the area. Currently they are working on a business plan to carry out improvements and to make it a sustainable asset.

Thursday was a meeting with the regional development manager to discuss some initiatives in the County but at least it gave me a night off!

The weekend has included lots of paperwork, hundreds of emails and a visit to a county training course with the opportunity of meeting a group of leaders from various Groups and Districts who were able to raise a number of interesting points around a host of subjects. Real food for thought!

All good fun!

It's been a while since I updated the blog and I've learnt an important lesson - if you get out the habit of weekly updates its hard work getting back into the routine! In truth so much has been going on over the summer months and certainly in September that it could be a very long "catch up blog" so I have picked out some of key points.

Tattonbury

This proved to be a very popular event for Explorer Scouts with very positive feedback from the participants. One District has reported that as a result of Tattonbury they believe they have retained Explorer Scouts who may have left the movement. Another District has successfully recruited a new leader who was in one of the bands performing at the event.

WSJ Send Off

The send off party organised for the World Scout Jamboree contingents was held on Sunday 17 July following the Tattonbury event.  Unfortunately the weather was awful however the contingent members played their part in making this a memorable afternoon.

WSJ

All the participants had a fantastic time and each of the three units enjoyed a very individual experience with home hospitality.  They are now busy planning their reunion events, which will take place during October. One of the outcomes from these events should be a presentation, which participants can use at a group and District level. All DC's have been asked to organise a District event at which leaders and supporters will be invited to watch a presentation by their representative members of the contingent. I believe this could be a significant PR opportunity to promote Scouting to the local community including local councillors and local MPs. A schedule of dates will be produced in the near future.

Summer Activities 

There have been an encouraging number of camps and expeditions over the summer break. Reports on the various events are filtering through and they will be reflected in next year's annual review.

Website

The website continues to attract interest from both within the County and further afield. Parents of the WSJ contingent were very appreciative of the updates and coverage given to the Jamboree. Many of them felt they were able to be part of the Jamboree as a result of the coverage given.

The website has been nominated for a national award and currently has a link on it to make it easy for those wishing to vote.

PR

Over the summer months Cheshire has received a significant amount of local press coverage much of it focused on the Jamboree contingent members. We have also been very successful in getting a letter published in most of our local newspapers, which carried the name of each local DC and basically tries to give a positive impression of young people following the riots and disorder during August.

Cheshire Challenge 2012

We have just completed two weeks of launch events for the Cheshire Challenge 2012. This started with a briefing session for the County Team, which focused on their involvement and their role in delivering the key aims of the challenge. This was followed by a similar event as part of the regular DC meeting and finally it played a significant part in the sectional team meetings held in Runcorn last week with the ADC's.

The booklet and supporting material is once again of a very high quality and the whole scheme has been very positively received. It is now available on the Cheshire Scouts website which will play a major part in providing additional programme ideas throughout next year. 

The significant difference between Cheshire Challenge 2012 and the last challenge event is that next year's challenge is clearly aimed at being a key part of our retention strategy. 

Project - Statistical Analysis 

We have started a project where the aim is to bring together the various parts of statistical analysis, which is available to us, with the aim of producing helpful reports, which can support both Districts and County initiatives. For example we have started to look at the achievement of the Chief Scout Award and using this data to identify groups who continually fail to produce award holders so that they can further supported.

Project - Adult Recruitment

This project is now underway and will include input from the RDS. Two training dates have been added to the County planner for next year, which will be open to leaders from around the County who have a responsibility for recruiting adults within their Group or District.

Forest Campsite

Discussions continue with both our architects and the local authority in relation to the development of Lake view. Natural England has raised a number of concerns, which generated about 25 questions from the local authority. Following discussions with the campsite management team answers have now been sent back to the local authority who will use this information as the basis of their response to Natural England. We can only await further developments.

Joint working - Guides

A second meeting has been held with the Guide Commissioners covering Cheshire with the aim of finding areas for cooperation. This reflects a national and regional strategy for greater cooperation between our two movements. Dates are now in the diary for two meetings next year, which can be supplemented with additional meetings if required.

In addition to the joint working at Tatton Park on water activities two other areas have been identified for closer working. The Guides will be active supporters of Chamboree in 2014 and will nominate a Guide representative to serve on the Chamboree Executive. A project is being investigated with the aim of combining data on membership numbers to produce a document detailing the impact our joint movements have locally.

Youth United

This is an initiative is being championed by the Lord Lieutenant with the aim of bringing together uniformed organisations to see if expertise and facilities can be shared. A second meeting is planned for later next week. It follows a successful trial in London.

Orientals win at Marlow

Warrington Orientals 14 & under team Dragon Boat Team won at the National Youth Championships in Marlow this weekend. They beat the next fastest team in the final by 0.72 of a second. They have brought the impressive Dragon Boat trophy back home! Congratulation to all involved.

I have just returned from a trip to the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden with my fellow travellers; Chris Harris (Regional Commissioner), John Woolley (CC in Manchester) Steve Buckley (DC Alderley), Cathy Bland (ACC Cubs) Katheryn & Keith Hadaway (parents), Chris Ralston (Warrington), Alan Wilding (Chester), Hilary Roberts (Chester) and Jo Turner (Chester)

On the flight out from Manchester to Copenhagen we met up with Mark Tarry Deputy Chief Commissioner for England and a selection of other leaders heading for the same destination.  Also on the flight were a group of Guides on their way to spend ten days on the "camp in a camp" activity with Swedish Scouts & Guides. They will be hosting groups from the World Scout Jamboree each day.

The weather in Copenhagen on arrival was warm and sunny. 

Our visit to the WSJ site in Sweden took place on Saturday with an early morning start for the 2 hour coach journey. During the visit I met up with all the Cheshire Leaders and lots of Explorer Scouts, all of whom seem really happy.  The site was very muddy in lots of places and the day was punctuated with some very heavy downpours, a reminder of the World Scout Jamboree send-off at Tatton Park! The good news is that weather has improved since we left with a heat wave.

All three Cheshire units have received a visit from Wayne Bulpitt,  UK Chief Commissioner who when I caught up with him  at Copenhagen airport for the return journey home was very complimentary about the standard of camping and spirit in the Cheshire units.

There appears to be a huge range of activities, which on my visit participants were just getting to grips with.  Many of them  are a reflection of the style of Scouting in Sweden which is of course giving Scouts from Cheshire a different perspective on Scouting.  Many of the Cheshire contingent who I met were very excited at the opportunity of meeting Scouts from different parts of the world and had obviously engaged in some very interesting conversations with them. 

The catering arrangements are really interesting with each Patrol deciding what they want to eat that day, then going to the supermarket to buy food before cooking it. The only complaint I came across was the lack of chocolate, biscuits and crisps. In Sweden they believe that fresh fruit is better for you therefore they have not provided chocolate etc. Being ever resourceful our units have set up a network to identify where the chocolate is being sold before spreading the word. One unit has even devised a way to create chocolate time treats, the recipe is a closely guarded secret I'm told!  Another unit has found a way of reserving a table (not easily achieved) in the Swiss food house where they are serving chocolate fondues.  Other unit members I came across are simply on a mission to try every variety of ice cream they can find on the site.

One of the other challenges that they have found is the way in which some Scouts are quite happy to walk around the shower block naked,  not something we are known for in Cheshire!

Parents will be pleased to know that most of the unit members have been doing some of their own washing.

The two Cheshire units have both been on "camp in camp" where they go off site for 24-hours, usually in a wilderness type location to have the opportunity of camping Swedish style.  Our consolidated unit experienced the other option, which was a hike with Scouts from a variety of countries.

Despite the bad weather on the day of our visit and the fact that they had already experienced lots of rain everybody seemed really happy, inspired at the opportunities they were having to meet people from around the world and genuinely excited about the rest of their time at the Jamboree.  Many unique members have already experienced "meal swaps", this is where they visit another unit, from a different country and eat with them, in return members from that unit joine the Cheshire unit for dinner

The Cheshire members are doing us proud and I know they will have some amazing stories to tell on their return. It was both a pleasure and privilege to spend a little time with them and share a tiny fraction of their experience.