Beavers

[dottyhearts]

Evening all,

My son has just joined the waitlist for our local Beavers group.

Does anyone have any idea how much it costs to attend each week? Or does this vary by area?

What other sort of costs do I need to factor?

Anything else I should know?!

Varies by area. We were £120 for the year, look for uniform second hand. Uniforms come up small.

I was a beaver leader until about 4 years ago. We charged £35 a term, including insurance, most activities and a snack/ drink each meeting. Any additional costs were minimal as most colonies will keep their costs as low as possible.

We always begged people to give us any old uniform to sell in for a few pounds or give to parents who needed it. Scouting aims to be inclusive of all needs.

£40 a term here (but I'm pretty sure they have a fund in case someone can't pay). They do their best to recycle uniform too.

Great tips! And thank you re costs.

Is it likely they will let him try it out for a week before committing?

He's super shy and I worry he won't get on with it but equally I know it's the type of activity he loves!

I'm a Squirrels leader and we usually let the children have a 4 week trial period before they start to pay and then we charge £10 a month.
My DS is just about to move to Scouts, he started in Beavers when he was 6 (Squirrels wasn't around then). It's an amazing organisation, the children get to learn so much and learn so many life skills. I hope your DS enjoys scouting as much my DS does.

Yes he'll get to try it out for a few weeks first. Our Beavers/Cubs/Scouts have an investiture ceremony a few weeks in to the term and they don't need their Beaver jumper until then.
Our Beavers and Cubs is about £65 a year.

SE London here: Our subscription is £110/year.

Normally the childen attend and don't pay until they are invested and they also don't need uniform until then. Our Beaver leader invests around 2x a term depending how many are joining when. Here they only need the jumper and wear trousers of their own choosing as long as they are sturdy.

We have a couple of activities per year where you will pay extra, I think they aim for not more than £25 in total unless they are the older ones and start camping (in dorms) with the cubs before they move up.

Our group is very outdoorsy, we are lucky and have great areas we can access for very little fees, and the leaders do like the children to wear hiking boots. As they are quite expensive and children grow fast, there is a decent second hand trade for boots and also proper outdoor coats so it's worth checking with your leaders.

DD is a Young Leaders with the Beavers and loves their activities.