Is Brownies just a bit rubbish compared to Beavers?

In my experience, yes. DD swapped to cubs and it's much better.

Nah - but your particular Brownie Pack sounds rubbish.

The individual Colony and Pack Leaders make all the difference.

There are some fab Brownie Packs out there and many fab Beaver Colonies. But no doubt there are some poor ones too.

Has there been any communication or explanation for the Pack closing for half a term? I mean, if someone is dealing with serious illness or trauma and they don't have enough Leaders to continue without that person, I'd have sympathy, but the fact you say you have offered to Volunteer and been turned down seems to suggest that isn't the case.

I'd look what else is available in your area on days you can get to in places you can get to and see if they have any spaces.

My own personal experience is that my dd started at Brownies and got bored quite soon in. There were no places to move to Beavers, so at 8 she joined cubs (as the only girl initially), and thrived.
But I wouldn't extrapolate from that that ALL Scout Groups are better than ALL Brownie Packs and Guide Companies.

I’ve never seen anyone so excited about manky old crisp packet as when we do litter picking! The girls loved it, they were quite competitive about spotting rubbish and being the one to retrieve it!

It really depends on unit (and area as well?)
I do sometimes think wistfully about scouts as well for by daughter cos she'd love the camping/outdoor etc etc but we stopped beavers purely because the one near us stopped. So the nearest one to go to was brownies so she just progressed from there into guides. In guides they've been on one camping trip which was still in our city postcode for A night. Had one sleepover where guides is. And had a residential with outdoor activity things. Apart from that they do games and normal stuff in the guides hall. She's been there 2 years. But she's settled there and does enjoy being there so I'm going to keep her there

Just the major downer about our unit (area?) is that there's no separate group when they age out of guides and are supposed to go on to be Rangers. So when they age out (age 14) the girls just stay on at the same unit apparently and 'help out' but from what I can gather they kind of help out but also join in (because of course they're pretty much the same age anyway).

Depends entirely on the leaders. Some are good. Some are bad. Why doesn’t she go to the same unit as her brother?

It’s the unit. I pulled dd2 out of brownies because the leaders were so shouty but even they did loads of badges with the girls. Dd1 completed the book. You should have been given the badge book and a drawstring bag with some bits in.
Guides was sooooo boring. I wouldn’t bother with either again but the church hall was right by my house and all their class mates went..

Sounds like the unit. Ours wasn’t brilliant but they did a few nice activities. I took a relaxed approach to it as the subs weren’t very much. Sometimes dd went sometimes she didn’t. She’s actually stuck with it and goes to guides most Friday nights. It’s not very productive but they play games , do some crafting and it’s quite a nice relaxed, sociable thing for her to do. She always comes out smiling and at 13 I’m always grateful for anything that gets her off a screen.

@Clefable I think many children don't actually get the opportunity for crafts that often.

I'm currently planning my Mothers Day crafts for my Cubs, it will be messy, invve lots of glue, will have dubious results and they will have a lot of fun.

@Clefable The litter picking! My DD has always described most of her Rainbows/Brownies/Guide sessions as "fine" or "alright" (even the crafts, which she likes), but she's done litter picking a couple of times with all three groups and she always comes out with the biggest grin on her face and an enthused "that was sooooo much fun!" 😅

What’s funny is that I try not to do too many crafts and get lots of varied other stuff in the programme for them, but every week without fail the girls ask ‘Are we doing crafts today?’ And a collective groan when I say no

I just did an exercise last week where I asked the girls what they wanted to do more of at Brownies and they all said crafts and baking. When we show them different activity cards, they almost always pick the ones that involve crafts.

We are meant to be girl-led where we can be, so it’s a balancing act between trying to offer a varied programme with other stuff and doing what the girls themselves want to do. They do enjoy the other stuff (I think), we’ve done all sorts out and about, sports, geocaching, archery, litter picking, visits and day trips, but without fail when asked what they wanted to do, it’s always crafts/baking 🤷‍♀️

I moved my children to a different Cubs/Beavers unit for the exact same reason.

They are like night and day, it’s very much dependent on the leaders and the organisation of the groups.

Would definitely try a different unit.

I've ended up running my DD's unit, and I try and fit in as much as we can. It's hard though when the other leaders are not a keen to do stuff out of group or organise trips, so a lot falls to me... but we crack on.

The not starting back til Feb is weird. We have school holidays off and maybe an extra week after Christmas or summer break.

Odd about them turning you down to help to, maybe they can't be bothered with the training and getting you set up on the system, i would have bitten your hand off with an offer for help!

Definitely heavily dependent on leaders. I run Rainbows and Brownies and we do a huge amount, loads of badge work, life skills, outdoor pursuits and camps, trips, activity weekends, all that stuff. I have big waiting lists for my units. But I know of other units just a few miles down the road that are basically a social club for the leader and their pals and do barely anything. These things always come down to enthusiasm and capability of volunteers (and capability in terms of support as well as their own personal capability because it’s hard work). The programme itself has plenty of scope for fun and fulfilling activities.

The activities at both Scouting and Guiding depend on the skillset of the leaders and the facilities available. Its a lot easier for me to do fires and shelter building with our Cubs on our privately owned field and woodland, than for the Brownies to do the same in the church hall.

DD tried rainbows and hated it, she’s flourished at Beavers/Cubs and Scouts so far. The activities, physicality and range of personalities suits her perfectly. I think girls are sold short with weeks on end of crafts and stationary pursuits

DD has attended 2 different rainbow units and 1 beaver unit. She likes them all.

I prefer beavers, it's more disciplined than the rainbow units and there's a lot of focus on personal skills like ironing and having smartly shined shoes. They also go boating (although they are sea scouts so obvs) and spend time working on the boats.

Overall I felt beavers is more life skills and rainbows is more "fun".

I have heard that the Brownie unit really depends on the leaders. My DD unit was a new unit and she was getting bored of the crafts and colouring but they changed the day so the guide leader could assist and it seems a lot better.
When she was getting bored I suggested Cubs but she wanted to stay with her friends.
Overall I find Brownies more risk adverse than DS's beavers. Like last year for pancake day the Brownie leaders heated up pre made pancakes whereas the beavers made their own on a stove with 1:1 supervision.

I would say it is odd you haven't got a book or had any meetings in January. If she wants to stick with Brownies I would look into another unit because thats not great.

Change the unit. Some will be rubbish and others more proactive.

Just agreeing with PP that it varies hugely with the leaders.

Vote with your feet and find another activity that suits her...

I recommend getting her friends to try Cubs with her.

Definitely depends on the unit. DD's Brownies didn't do many badges but she wasn't really interested in that, she just liked going and playing games, doing crafts, etc. She's in Guides now and they don't do many badges either but that's okay for her. Again, she likes the games and crafts.

DS currently goes to Beavers and enjoys it, DD would've HATED it.

Sounds like a poor unit. If look to switch to another. Maybe see if her school friends go to one and can recommend? My daughter's unit is run the same as school terms so it seems very strange that your daughter's unit hasn't met in January. Typically it's 10 sessions between sat Jan and up until they break for Easter (excluding a week for Feb half term). Ours does badges each term plus a mix of activities in the hall as well as outdoor/off site activities. They also do 1 or 2 overnight trips a year - usually a PGL 2 night break and then one other sleepover opportunity.

Would she try girls brigade? That’s very much the in thing at our school and is girls only, with badges!

It really depends on the group and leaders. I help run the pack my dd is in and we do promise ceremony at the beginning of each term and we do a wider variety of activities. I don't know anything about Beavers but again it will depend on the people running it. Could you offer to help out?

Look to change unit. My Brownies are very active - we go climbing and bouldering, have a go at Archery, and soft axe throwing as well as doing lots of fun activities in the meeting place.