Joining beavers/ scouts

[MorningBrew]

We have enquired to join Beavers locally for our dc.
I personally haven't done scouting etc. Not quite sure what exactly I'm signing him up for but he loves nature and I think of it as of forest school kind-of-thing... Is that right?

I thought it's secular though.

They've sent us a 'promise' he'll be expected to make later which says 'I promise to love God'.
That doesn't sit very well with us, as we are not religious but we do take our promises seriously.

Does anybody know if this is something that you can request to be changed for the individual child?

You could certainly change it for my DC (to 'world' I think), I guess it might depend group to group but I'd be really surprised if you couldn't ask for it be changed.

Both my DC have loved it and got loads out of it.

My 3 dc have all been/going through Rainbows, brownies, beavers, cubs scouts and have thoroughly enjoyed their time there. It does vary from group to group as to what activities are on offer, but in general they are usually working towards gaining a badge so activities might be map reading, games nights, cooking, hiking, first aid, fire lighting.

They encourage the children to go on the parades/services for St George’s Day and Remembrance Sunday but they certainly aren’t compulsory. We’ve never felt it religious at all. There’s a good section on the Scouting website about changing the words to their Promise. I’m absolutely sure that. changes could me made. www.scouts.org.uk/beavers/being-a-beaver/promises-and-ceremonies/

@BraveMaeve Thank you! I hope they'll be ok with that.

Everybody tells me it's the best value club for young kids. I really hope it's good for our dc too.

@ChittyChittyBoomBoom Ah, great! Thank you so much. It does sound good!
That's all very helpful.

I think it totally depends where you are.

My Dc both so scouts (squirrels and cubs) and both said my world as their promise

However

It's not the 'forest school' thing we were hoping for. It's lots of colouring, cutting out and running around in the school hall at the moment.

The camps are great fun but if it wasn't for those I'm not sure my older Dc wouldn't still be keen.

I don't know about Scouts but I believe in Girl Guides they changed the words so you don't have to promise to God. Not sure if scouts changed it. They can be a bit churchy/pretend military with the flags and salutes and all that.
Even though it's technically non religious there are usually church links like a St George's Day service etc.
Maybe look into the Woodcraft Folk as an alternative group.

We’ve been lucky and found it great value for money.

Rainbows got a little samey with crafts and singing so dd was ready to move on, only to find brownies to be similar. That’s when she transferred to Cubs, which suites her interests more. My niece’s Brownies does lots of exciting and different things so we were perhaps unlucky as a lot does depend on the skills and interests of the leaders.

DS1 went straight through from Beavers to Explorers
DS2 is currently in Beavers
Both were allowed to swap out god if they wished - we left it up to them
DS1 did but DS2 didn't (I think he just wanted to be like everyone else)
The same went for parades and church attendance - but both have wanted to be involved, I think they just wanted to be flag carriers.
Ours do a mix of outdoors stuff, crafts, games, camps, all sorts really.
They have also been encouraged to get badges outside of the group and DS2 has just completed a snow sports badge and is doing his creative and swimming badges outside of the meetings.

Loads of versions of the promise to include different religions, no religion and even changes for those who are, for example, refugees who don't want to promise duty to the king and county.

What they do depends somewhat on the skills and attributes of the volunteer leaders though there is a framework and all groups should be ensuring all children have the chance to complete their challenge awards and therefore reach the highest award for their section (bronze for Beavers, silver for Cubs etc). For Beavers this includes outdoor and adventurous activities, camping, finding out about the world around them and about Beavers in other counties, some element of faith (but this does not have to be Christian or even religious, it can be a time of reflection) and things such as health and wellbeing and age appropriate life skills and household skills.

There are definitely different versions of the promise available to reflect individuals and family circumstances/beliefs.

As to the activities, it varies depending on the location (what can Leaders do in the location, what's local to get out to), the skills of Leaders, the number of Leaders (bare minimum is more crowd control, plenty means lots of time to interact and help teach skills), resources available int eh Group etc. And also it can differ over time as the makeup of the group changes - some kids want to do lots outdoors while others want to do lots of crafts, some years there are some boisterous kids who need to have energy run off where others years it can be much calmer.

But generally it's a great place to learn interesting stuff and life skills and to make different friends that can be friends for life.

Thank you everybody.

Do parents sit on the side and watch or wait in a car park? Lol. Or may be this varies too?

Dump and run!

Some parents might choose to stay lurking the first couple of times but mostly we'd rather you didn't, in the nicest possible way. The kids just get on with it and settle if you leave them.

DD was a Scout, now an Explorer and helps with the Beavers as a Young Leader. She moved from Brownies to Scouts as she got fed up with craft and girly things.

All are without parents so you drop off and collect. It's a huge mix of things but not a typical forest school. They do go out but it depends on the actual facilities and what is around the area. Ours do it at least once a term but more in Spring/Summer. It all depends what the leaders plan and the make up of the group.

Otherwise they do learn a lot about all kind of things, this is the Beaver Badge list
www.scouts.org.uk/beavers/activity-badges/
Not all will do everything, it all depends on the skills of the leaders as well and what is available in the area.

Ours take the older ones to camps with the cubs so they get used to the idea of a camp, they sleep in dorms, not tents yet.

No idea about the promise, I totally forgot what DD said.

If you can please do volunteer to help and support the group - the reason it's so cheap it's all volunteers running it (& often managing the buildings) & it makes a huge difference if parents don't just dump and run but support them by signing up to a rota to help every now and again or regularly or even attending any events they run or being on the committee etc! I am sure it will be appreciated ❤️

This absolutely.

We are all volunteers and it's not just an hour a week as lots of planning has to go into the programme and leaders have to undergo training. Plus camps take up a whole weekend and we have to find childcare for our own DC's!

Some Beavers have a parent rota so that each parent helps out once a term, some rely on parent volunteers to offer.

Hopefully your child will enjoy Beavers, there are different games and activities and we tend to go out and about (walks/gardening/trips) more in the summer months when the evenings are lighter. Our Beavers particularly seem to enjoy running around the big hall making lots of noise!

Round here all groups are run from church halls and are very Christian focused it's always been like that

It's not for everyone but it's done mine no harm whatsoever

Honestly if you tried to sit and watch ours, you will like be run over, hit with balls and covered in pancake mix and glue. Our hut is rather cramped.

We are lucky.. we have our own grounds including little woodland so can do a lot more of the outdoor stuff.

We have versions of the Promise fir every religion and non religion, and other nationalities if appropriate. Also Sign Language and Makaton

Woodcraft Folk might be worth looking at too, if you have a local group.

Some groups have parent rotas, so please check before you dump and run. Certainly don't have all parents hanging around. Also, certainly for the younger sections actually stay with your child before they go into the hut/ hall. Most leaders work so can sometimes be delayed getting to the hut, have been known to find a lone child sitting outside the hut waiting to be let in. Check what the protocols/policies are for your group

Most groups will be looking for volunteers though, either as leaders, parent helpers, fundraising, Exec committee.

I was not from a scouting family. DS went through all sections, has also spent 4 years being a young leader. Both DH and I have helped in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, don't have time to be leaders but have helped with camps, been committees etc. Certainly worth doing in my opinion. Our group is not religious, apart from asking young people to attend Remembrance Day parade and St George's Day parade. Have alternative promises if you don't want to include God.

Depending on your group/District there will be a variety of camps/events, including some international ones.

I recall there being the option to refer to other gods in the 90's so I wouldn't be shocked it it's not there today OP

@MorningBrew
I generally run round taking the other child to his activities (beavers night is also rock climbing night and the driving between the two is a 50min round trip) but sometimes when needed act as a volunteer especially for trips or certain activists or even teach a session (on my career subject) most other parents walk the dog, go for a run or pop home - it's a village group for an hour so lots of scope.

I should point out I was assuming common sense when I said dump and run and that people wouldn't just leave their child but saying that we often have children left before the start of the meeting so....

Oakley is right, dump and run sensibly having seen DC into the Dena Dh that Leaders are there (and that DC is happy there in initial weeks), is fine mostly once you engage with Leaders enough to know if parent help is needed occasionally in different things.

Dump and run without checking Den is open or that Beaver Leaders are on-site is not on. Our Scouts do boat work on Saturdays when Cub meeting is on and lots of parents dump up to half an hour early and often Cub Leaders aren't there yet so there's no leader the Cub knows and boatwork is often not the place for Cubs (between the work being done and the type of chat the older Scouts may be having).

Depending on the set-up, there is normally a difference between the meetings in a church hall and Christian orientated.

Church halls are cheap compared to community halls. Ours is set in one for 75 years and apart from helping with decorating the Christmas tree and the offer to participate in the church parade there is nothing religious going.

We are on the hunt for a new home as the church will be demolished and see a huge difference in rent. We most likely will end up at another church.

It's not that usual for groups to own land and are able to build their own, at least not our area in Greater London.

non religious alternative is ‘to love our world’

www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/inclusion-and-diversity/including-everyone/faiths-and-beliefs/the-scout-promise/