Frequently Asked Questions

How can I help?

There are plenty of different things you can do to help out from joining our Parent Rota to help out our Leaders to run their programme of activities, or sitting on our Committee to help drive the Group forward to helping out at our camps.

Or – and we’d love this – why not decide to be a fully-fledged leader and assist more formally in the running of a section? You could help us potentially open Scouting to more young people. Our leaders do it because it’s actually a lot of fun!

No matter what you decide to do, helping in any capacity makes you stunning and we are very appreciative. Scouting is completely voluntary and as they say – many hands make light work!

Just get in touch through the website or talk to your section leader to discuss the next steps!

Is there training involved?

This depends on the role. Rest assured the Scout association provides an excellent and comprehensive training package.

Parent helper:
No. Just a DBS check.

Sectional Assitant/Assistant Leader/Leader:
Yes, with varying degrees of how much, plus a DBS check.

Helping out at camps:
No. Again, a DBS check is required.

Sitting on our Executive Committee:
Yes, a few short online modules, plus a DBS check.

I can not commit to regular meetings, what can I do?

We get it – modern lives are busy and then add children into the mix and the hours of the day disappear.

You can still help in many many different ways. We aim to make volunteering as flexible as possible – as we want you to enjoy yourself!

Get in touch and I’m sure we will find a role to match you and your schedule.

It’s only an hour a week, right?

For some, yes!

For your section leaders, it’s a little more involved to ensure our programme is as engaging and enjoyable as it can be.

Volunteering with Scouts is flexible for you. If you can only help out at the section meetings with no other commitment – totally fine. If you can only do one committee meeting a month, that’s okay too. Scouting is not designed to be a chore.

Is there a waiting list? Why do you have a waiting list?

Yes, we have a waiting list for all sections.

Due to the size of our building, limited days of the week and primarily, not enough adult leaders, we have to limit how many young people we allow into our sections.

Why can’t you guarantee a place or offer a timeframe on a place becoming free?

We have limited spaces in our sections, we also have nearly 100 names on our waiting list for our sections.

Whilst the sections have age-limits, it is in our discretion as to when the young person moves to the next section which can make section planning and offering places an art form, more than a science.

We try our best, however, without additional adult support, we can not expand our group to open more places.

How do we communicate?

Facebook
We are on Facebook where we have a public and private group to share what we are up to at our section meetings and camps. It also helps us spread group-wide information.

Access to the Private Group is limited to parents of young people who are part of the group, Leaders and other Scouters.

WhatsApp
Each Section also has a Parent’s WhatsApp group to help share messages about week-to-week planning and important information. Ask your section leader for details!

E-mail
Each section and every volunteer within the group has their own 14th Sale email address should you need to get in touch with them directly. We do not publicise phone numbers, however, please ask your section leader directly if you wish to call them.

OSM
We use a system called Online Scout Manager as our administrative assistant to help us spend more time on providing exciting programmes for our young people. We may distribute information via a bulk email from OSM if we require a response or want to ensure you have seen the message.

How much does Scouts cost?

£12.50 per month, every month.

However, this does not include the cost of camps, using external providers for activities or uniform (other than what we provide)

Why do I pay all year when you only meet during term time?

The monthly fees are designed to cover all the costs of running the Scout group, not just the week-in-week-out bits. It helps us, and most parents, to budget if we spread the costs evenly throughout the year.

Who decides on the cost?

The Executive Committee – who oversee everything the Group does – are ultimately responsible for how much is charged to each young person. The charges are worked out to enable us to cover our costs, we never aim to make a profit.

What do the monthly subs cover?

1. Running costs of our building – utilities, insurance etc
2. Membership/Capitation fees we pay to our County (Greater Manchester West) and National HQ to fund ‘The Scout Association’ as a whole
3. Badges – we love to award badges to enthusiastic Scouters
4. Programme costs – supplies to help us provide the exciting activities.
5. Miscellaneous – new equipment, improvements, contingency planning.

Now onto uniform

What does 14th Sale provide?

Once your young person has settled in, we invest them into the group.

We provide the necker (the scarf around the neck), a woggle (to keep the necker together) and a set of badges.

Parents/Legal Guardians will need to provide the uniform.

Where can I get my child’s uniform?

We do not have an affiliate supplier and we do not recommend one supplier over another.

Locally, Petites Modes on Tatton Road, or Tru Uniforms on Sale Road, supply Scouting Uniforms

Or you can buy online from such places as:
Scout Shop | One Stop Scouting | Glasgow Scout Store

Do I have to sew all these badges on?

In short, yes. Sewed on badges last longer than those who ‘cheat’ and use wonderweb.

We teach our young people how to sew from a young age and as such, they should be able to sew them on themselves. They may just need a little help.

Some badges move onto a new uniform when your young person progresses onto a new section (or outgrows their uniform), therefore, it is easier to snip a few stitches, rather than purchasing replacements.

What to wear and when?

Generally, for normal section meetings, we expect the top half of uniform at the very least i.e. jumper/shirt and necker in a presentable manner.

We expect our young people to be generally clean and presentable.

For camps and meetings that may have a messy or physical element to them, we allow more casual wear, however, your section leader will give advance notice on what is expected.

For formal occasions, we expect full uniform – neat necker, shirt/jumper, trousers/skirt (school wear) and smart/school shoes. Again, we will give advance notice of these events.

My child needs/may need additional support, can you accommodate?

We do not wish for any young person to miss out on the joy and thrill of Scouting and we truly aim to be an inclusive organisation.

Please get in touch with your section leader or through our website to discuss anything that we may need to do to assist in welcoming your young person to Scouting.

My child cannot undertake an activity you have planned – will they miss out?

One of the fundamental tenants of Scouting is to be accessible and available to all. For any badge or activity we undertake, we can make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure everyone can achieve what they want to achieve in Scouting without limitation.

These ‘adjustments’ are done in consultation with the activity provider (if external to the Scout Group) and the parents/legal guardian to ensure a happy solution for all.

I’d like to discuss my child’s needs privately, who do I contact?

Your section leader is always willing to discuss anything discretely should you require.

However, confidentiality is not guaranteed. This is to allow those who need to be apprised of the discussion to be informed to ensure the ongoing safety of the section/group as a whole.

I would like to raise a complaint, who do I contact?

If it is regarding an activity or an incident (that does not involve a leader), please speak to your Section Leader in the first instance.

If your complaint is regarding a leader/adult volunteer, or you feel your section leader is not the best person to speak to, please contact Anna, our Group Scout Leader, directly at gsl@14thsale.org.uk.

If you do not feel we have dealt with your complaint in a professional and satisfactory manner, you may escalate your complaint to our District, our County or national HQ directly.

If there is an incident, what do you do?

Scouting has strict Safeguarding procedures to protect those under our duty of care i.e. the young people and volunteers and everything we do is thoroughly risk assessed to ensure things do not go wrong, however, incidents do occur.

If there is an incident that requires medical intervention (or the possibility of medical intervention), we will;
1. Call the emergency services if required
2. Stabilise the situation i.e provide first aid, ensure the safety of all concerned etc.
3. Contact the Emergency Contact we have on file to inform them of the situation
4. Report the incident to our superiors

If there is an incident that does not require emergency medical attention, we will:
1. Undertake the necessary steps i.e. first aid to stabilise the situation and ensure everyone is safe.
2. Notify the Emergency Contact of the incident and discuss the next steps.

On camps or activities away from our hut, we have a single point of contact who is independent of the event that we will contact who then distributes information to the Emergency Contacts. This is to allow those at the event to focus on the immediate situation. Therefore, you may receive information from someone other than your section leader.