Guiders Staff Room Part 2

You ok Lucysmam?

We've got next term planned to November. Left it to find a Christmassy challenge for the most few weeks- think we'll be doing Christmas around the world. It looks great fun. Bit odd planning Christmas while sat in the park on a sunny day!

Planned world traveller, partly on the back of the success of the Dutch night, and speaker badge.

Looking at the growing up wild badges, how much would you do on average?

Pack holiday in 8 weeks time ish- Eeek!

Hooray - camp accounts balance if I add a random amount of the Gift Aid money
One of the other leaders still hasn't decided if she's coming back and we need her specific role for something. I can't do it (time/not enough hands!) and it would be really helpful to know but I don't want to hassle her.

Right - last term's challenge record sheets - tick
Accounts up to May - tick (need something I haven't got to do the June/July/residential accounts.
Leaders for county sleepover that I don't want to go on due to feeling very jaded - sorted
Parents told about sleepover- tick
Can't finish planning due to not knowing which leaders are staying - but have started
Tick list for module I was supposed to be finishing on camp - got- but whether I'll be allowed to do it due to the complaint remains to be seen.

Well, I was sorry in many ways to resign, but I just couldn't sustain the time commitment that it required. I didn't want to become That Leader - the one that cries off at the last minute - so felt it better to hand over the reins and go.

All the best to everyone gearing up for the new term.

Hello everyone.

I'm here just to say well done to everyone who is ploughing on (and I feel the pain of anyone who is struggling). I'm in awe of how much you continue to offer the girls, especially the sleepovers. I've now resigned from Guiding. Things changed at home, so I had less time to offer, and I couldn't continue to be the only one doing the admin, shopping and prep. In all the years I was involved, I never managed to find anyone to (say) help with the accounts.

If you don't take all your girls on residential how do you offer places?
We offer three unit residentials each year and then any other division/county ones which come up if we have leaders to support them.
Brownie holiday (long weekend which can accommodate most of the pack) is local and offered firstly to those who haven't been on a brownie residential before, then to girls in Y5 (their last chance) then to others 'first come first served'.
Autumn overnight is offered on a first come first served basis to those who have been away with Brownies before. We have never turned anyone down; it's a special trip and quite expensive so we are more likely to struggle to make up numbers for this one. We do state that if we are oversubscribed we'll take older girls first but have never had to do this.
Summer camp: we can accommodate the whole unit.

I'm ok thanks Groovee, one foot in front of the other very slowly :)

I tried to crack on too drspouse but my head's just not in it. Got all sorts of other stuff to do too

Tried to get down to some paperwork tonight but most of it I can't do because I don't know what's happening with the unit and some I had left bits in the hall. Gah.

Oldest Guide has now left along with the ones whose parents were complaining. Can't help feeling a bit paranoid (she was a lovely girl with a lovely mum though and I don't think there's anything related).

You are a saint for doing that many sleepovers. Mum will struggle to find a unit that does anything approaching that many. Maybe suggest she asks other units how they do it so she can have a reality check.

I allocated based on who had been to fewest overnights in past, then gave preference to the older ones if it was tied on nights taken.

If you do them frequently could you have a special younger grls sleepover?

I have 30 brownies (and not really enough commited/warranted leaders but enough to get by with me doing all the planning/prep/paperwork). I have been trying to do a sleepover a term. I can't/don't want to take all 30 (we have some very strong characters) but the number I take varies depending on how many leaders I have available, what we are doing and where we are going (normally village hall type places).
I allocate places to the oldest girls first, so the oldest 15/18/20 get offered places then if they don't want the place I go down the list. (They generally all can go though).
Last term I had a complaint about the unfairness of the system. The girl has been with us for 12 months and has not been invited again to the sleepover. I explained for a number of reasons we are extremely short of leaders for the overnight and that next term they will have moved up the list considerably (losing 6 to guides this time). Parent still cross. It makes me wish I didn't bother giving up my time tbh.
If you don't take all your girls on residential how do you offer places? I've thought about saying first reply slip back to me gets the place, but I know that I see more than half of the families at school each day so they would then have an unfair advantage on those who go to a different school to my children.
How do other big units deal with this situation? Is there a perfect solution that I just can't see (but not doing two sleepovers a term so they can all come with us). I've had so many problems with parents/leaders this term I almost feel like giving the whole thing up. And I've still got the accounts to sort out and my sleepover license stuff to write up (I had to do my license this time as the guider who normally comes with us as license holder has said she can't come with us anymore (fair enough, she is already taking her girls away, it was only my time constraints stopping me in the past), this was another reason I limited numbers this time as we didn't have a license holder only me being tested.

Hope guiding is providing a break for some of you.

For Brownie leaders, do you have six time? How do you fit it in your meeting? Just pondering different meeting ideas.

We plan a 2-3 weeks in the term where the prepromsie head to one side and the others either spend the 20 or so minutes doing small group work, GFI, planning an activity or sorting Adventure records.

Sometimes we just get them to run the evening

Hiya

I'm doing a bit better but rather fed up with trying to sort out stuff with or for guiding people who don't respond to any means of contact.

I just feel like giving up on the whole lot to be honest. It takes a lot of time and planning but if my fellow leaders can't value or respect my time and effort, why bother? At the very least I can stop feeling like an incompetent stalker when I keep my head and hands down at district meetings.

It will be a short journey on quiet roads. Could you strap him in forward facing for that distance? I hate doing it but have had to put one of my DCs in a taxi for a sorry airport journey without a seat at all.
If you are dropped on site, you'll have potentially a long walk up the drive (if it's Waddow, as you aren't disabled), and you won't be with your Guides or most of your kit.

OK fellow Guiders I need some advice - and possibly a hug/ slap.

I'm taking 6 Guides to Wellies and wristbands. I'm also taking DS with me. The venue/ Guiding have asked that if you're travelling by car that the girls are dropped off at a local school and they'll be transported in by minibus. Absolutely fine.

I asked on the Facebook page last night if it'd be OK to drop me, DS and the kit off at the site (as we've done previously) and the girls come in on the minibus. I've seen these kind of arrangements previously and it's disorganised chaos with everyone being rushed, groups split up people shouting and generally no place for a toddler to be out of a car or his car seat. I was initially told that all 'kit' be taken to the drop off - to which I asked if they considered my son to be 'kit' - which in other circumstances I might find funny, but right now I'm feeling more than a bit apprehensive and to be honest, quite cross as organising this for my group has been a litany of chaos from their perspective.

I then explained that I wasn't happy about him not being in his car seat to which I was told that he could be strapped in, despite the minibuses not having isofix, which I think means he can't be rear facing.

I was then told pretty much not to bother emailing as this person was the person replying and she'd say the same.

I'm sat here this morning alternating between being really cross and for some reason wildly anxious (I am genuinely shaking as I type) about this. Rationally I know it'll probably be fine and I'm being precious. But it doesn't feel that way. Do I push this? Ask to speak with this person's manager about the decision and her behaviour? Or just leave it and try not to get any more worked up.

I do understand that organising this sort of thing can be a nightmare, and that patents like me can be infuriating - but I would always spend time making sure other people feel supported and comfortable.

Thanks. I will email her in the morning now.

Glad to hear the parents you have spoken to have been supportive drspouse :)

So sorry to hear this lucysmam. You sound incredibly strong

Commissioner rang and kind of said she thought other leaders should pull up their big girl pants, but one is quite new and is now thinking this happens all the time (I've had one other complaint, less serious, in 10 years). She's going to pass the outcome on to the complainers tomorrow I think.

Couple of other parents we've spoken to have been v supportive. So we'll tell the other parents soon I think.

In that case definitely give her the heads up that they'll be coming and why. If your district is like mine, it's another circle of support.

I doubt he'd turn up to meetings. Both would have to come to Guides. Dd1 would have to come to Rainbows in Jan. Dd2 is in my Rainbows unit atm, will be going to Brownies in Jan so then both would be at both meetings.

DC is lovely. There are two of them actually who job share.

I think a head's up is a good idea just in case but I will mention it to the WPC who is dealing with it too and see what she advises.

Thanks DrSpouse. Will have to begin planning the term with the other leader when I can pin her down.