Beavers

[wickedfairy]

DS has not long started Beavers and enjoys going. I am glad that he likes it but.....

Every week - numerous, numerous emails/texts telling me about what is happening this week (usually only a few days before) and I need to do/buy something, which doesn't give me a lot of time to get it sorted, especially as we are working and sometimes the emails come the day before and DS is at the childminders straight away before Beavers the next day. It costs 400 pounds a year (yes, really) and although I think it is expensive, we can/will pay, as DS enjoys it. There is a parents rota, which you are automatically put on and our working hours will make it difficult to ba around for the majority of these times, although they will not be too frequent.

Thing is, for paying a hefty amount - I just want to pay and leave them to it, tbh. I don't want to help, I don't want loads of mails asking me to do things - I just want to pay and for him to turn up and enjoy himself.

So - AIBU and a total grumpy cow? (I am suspecting that I probably am - what do you all think?)

I'm surprised they accept help from parents without them being CRB checked. My brother helps with beavers and needed a CRB before he could start.

400????????????????

Ours is, I think, a yearly fee of 40 quid only! Then obv pay extra for trips but the 6 year olds I know haven't done a sleepover yet so not sure of the costs.

I would be querying this. Even if its turns out to be 300 for 3 terms, that's still a heck of a lot!!!!!

I really would have a quiet word, either with one of the leaders or even one of the parents of an older beaver - the accounts usually get circulated with the agenda / minutes of the AGM and would broadly detail outgoings.

It would be a shame if the cost was putting off parents from helping, as I'm sure if you're feeling like that then you're not the only one.

Occasional volunteers are allowed without CRB checks provided there is always a leader in the room at the same time, it's the same with helping in my DCs school.

AKissIsNotAContract, on the CRB front - any parent going on camp (Beavers need to be accompanied by a parent) needs to get a CRB check through Scouts first so most are covered anyway. I think (though should probably check) parents withiout the CRB just need to be helping alongside one of the leaders.

Our Beavers runs for a hour a week inline with school term times, so 39 weeks - that's a tenner a session.

Local childminders don't charge that for childcare

That's more than the dance class my DD2 goes too and I'm not expected to help out

I don't mind taking my turn, but if I was paying £10 a session for something I'd expect to be able to dump and run to be honest

I thought this was a thread about Madonna stripping

Wow - that's a lot for scouts/guides. I thought that they had to be cheap to ensure it is open to everyone. Do they use a proper scout hut or hire a village/school hall? My only guess would be with subs that high would be because of hall fees.

Could one of you maybe volunteer to take on communications/admin to maybe get them more organised? Or volunteer dh to help out at the meetings and have someone watch the other dc even if its just once a term?

I tend to keep a cupboard of shoeboxes/toilet roll tubes/marge tubs/jam jars etc - just for last minute/oops I forgot moments (which happen far more frequently than I care to admit). Would that help you out?

Cubs seem to spend every other week, playing football/rounders/ any other kind of sport, in the park = FREE
Bring in something to show you do a hobby = Get the Hobby bage = FREE
Walk along the river = Get the walking / rambling (whatever) badge = FREE

All these aren't free though - no idea how much Cub badges are but Guiding badges are about £1 each. There is also venue rent and an annual subscription to the central body (for insurance etc) that need to be covered. The sports equipment needs to be bought and maintained. Only about 1/3 of the subs my units collect is actually available for activities.

But still £400 is ridiculous!! I very seldom ask for extra money or need anything bought in for anything that happens in normal session times. I know my budget and we work with it. As far as possible we subsidise other activities out of gift aid revenue but usually need a donation.

£400??!!

We paid £11 per month by DD. Sometimes extra for the odd fun day or trip.

I'd question where that money is going if I were you. It seems very excessive.

But... YABU for not helping out. It's the parent helpers that make Beavers work. Without volunteers, the clubs simply wouldn't happen. Surely, if you're dropping off and collecting DC an hour later, you're not working in between?

We get a rota at the beginning of each school term and then reminder emails a few days before.

I think your troop must have the distinction of being the most expensive in the U.K.

Do they issue badges with gold thread in them ?

TBH I do expect to have to help out a little with beavers/cubs/scouuts/brownies etc but have made it clear that I can only do this at the weekend so I do fundraising weekend support activities and as I truly appreciate the folks who run it and the amount of time they give up to do so I chip with with a little extra funding/gifts for the leaders after camping trips or at Christmas.

My kids get a lot out of it so I want it to be able to keep it all going and if that means turning out of bed early on a Saturday or Sunday or giving up a Saturday afternoon once a term then that's what I do. I just can't really do weekday stuff even in the evenings.

There is an annual subscription to Scouting UK for each member - not sure exactly but in the region of £35 I think. Plus whatever the group charge.

I pay £120 per year per DC which includes this fee. The beavers, cubs and scouts all charge the same. Then we pay for extras eg indoor climbing £10, camp is about £20 per night including all food, activities etc.
The group have their own HQ and run a couple of mini-buses, for which we do fund-raising throughout the year.

And we do have a compulsory parent rota for the beavers and cubs, unless you help out in other ways behind the scenes. It enables plans to be more ambitious as the leaders know they have reliable help for days out, camps etc.

I think that sounds very steep. I pay £100 per annum for Scouts & the same for Explorers which I think is very reasonable. £400 is unbelievable!

We pay £40 per term, which includes the £30ish which needs to be paid to the scout association each year. We pay very little ontop- just extra days out or sleepovers. The parent rota is a necessary evil as it means we can plan craft and other activities that young children need help with. In our case DH is on the rota even though I am an assistant beaver leader and do am there each week. I am glad your DC is enjoying their first scout experience, but I would ask to speak to the GSL (group scout leader) about where all that money goes!

OK, am I having a blonde moment here?????**

Have checked the letter again. It says:

30pound Scout membership fee (inc insurance) plus
100 pound (payable quarterly) for membership.

I took that to mean 100pounds per quarter. Does it mean 100 annually that you can pay in 4 installments? If so, I am very dense and also very sorry. Now I feel very unreasonable....... FFS.

Now I would have no qualms about helping out... Oh God, if the above is correct I feel a total arse. DH actually will do the helping, as he would like to and has been told if in the same room as other adults (i.e. at the Scout Hut), no CRB required but he would need this to go on camp, etc.

Ok - so from the info above, is it 400 or 100quid a year?????

That sounds like £130 a year in total which makes much more sense!

We pay abut £25 a term as well and a small extra for camp, maybe £5 but not when it's at the scout hut that they own.

Bloody hell. Can I retract my IABU-ness please?

I will now scurry off to be extremely embarrassed.......

Sorry about that but thank you for clarifying (hopefully!)

You will look back and laugh at this one day Fairy!

It's £25 per quarter...

You will be paying £130.

The reason things will be last minute will be because they don't have enough leaders to organise everything because people just want to 'drop and run'...

We have a rota for parents as well. It then shows you know what we're doing, how we treat your children and means we can actually go home at the end instead of spending another half an hour clearing up after the children (that's the parent's job). I expect one duty per term, that's a whole three hours a year, not much is it?

We welcome siblings btw.

, I am, actually, slightly disappointed that it's a normal amount! I wanted to know what you got for a Beaver group that charged £400 per year! When I have to help with Cubs (and when I was down for Beavers), I used to either take DD with me, or do some childcare swapping with another mum. TBH, I'd rather stick pins in my eye than help with a load of hyper6/7/8/9 year olds on a friday nigth, but I know that if you don't have enough helpers, the groups can disband.

See, now I feel bad for moaning when I completely mis-understood!

We will surely help out. When it is not an extortionate amount of money, we will do our share

DS's Cubs has struggled with helpers. DD (aged 12) is a Guide, and is working for her Community Action Badge and so is volunteering to help out at DS's Cub meetings for a while.

I know both the Cubs and Guides are eyeing me up as a helper at the moment, although I've already told them I can't commit regularly until MIL is better. But even occasional help is better than none.