to think that Rainbows and Brownies should be scrapped...

[Bardette]

...and all kids can just go to Beavers and Cubs.
In our area there is a long waiting list for Beavers. My son would like to join a colony but we have been told there it will be at least a term until a space will be available.
Girls can go to Rainbows or Beavers, but boys can only go to Beavers. As girls take up half the spaces in Beavers and all the spaces in Rainbows that means three times the number of places available to girls in local clubs.
Surely it would make more sense and be fairer to have two Beaver colonies?

chocolate

You are being much too sensible

Fact

And as an extra, I think there is a place for both mixed and single sex youth activities. People gain different things from the different approaches and some suit some people and others suit others. I really can't see any as wrong,mor that any organisation needs to supply all of the above combinations and experiences.
Perhaps there is a big need for boys only again.....we'll it needs setting up then. And I don't think it is the job of either Scouting or Guiding movements to do it. They do plenty, plenty, plenty. Someone else needs to step in if they want it that much.

heyN0nny, can't argue with that at all about the website! (As an aside, do let them know. There is a big revamp/consultation of the website happening as we speak. One of the things that a number of us have said is that it is really hard to find the link to register yourself or your daughter.

digital.girlguiding.org.uk/

That aside, registering as a volunteer through my link will automatically send an email to the District Commissioner (sort of our line manager) for a particular area. She then should get back in touch to talk about how you might want to volunteer, where and when, and where might need help and suit you.

Alternatively, Google "girlguiding county office" and add your county and that should find a phone number of someone to talk to.

We don't tend to advertise exact meeting times or places on the internet, more for child protection issues, but the website definitely needs sorting!

Everyone else has already said what I think so I don't want to repeat. But I did at a term being considered a long waiting list.

Madwoman regarding your post wondering about why the girls value their girl-only space, I think it is because they feel freer to be who they are there.

I've been a guide guider for many years. At my first unit, when I was at uni, the unit was full of the most non-stereotypical guides that you can imagine: streetwise, 'cool' and rebellious. They loved it. It was because they didn't have the pressure of looking cool for the boys, they were altogether doing a range of activities with confidence.

When we took them to a Guiding campsite, they gave up hair straighteners in favour of French plaits and pigtails (their choice) and lost the make up. They acted like their age (10-14) and not like mini-wannabe adults. It was wonderful to see. However, on their final morning, the plaits came out, the make up went on and the tough mask went up.

Now I do guides in a totally different area with more of your 'traditional' type of guides. We took them camping at a shared guide and scout campsite last year. As soon as boys arrived at the neighbouring field, the behaviour of the eldest guides changed immediately. They became obsessed with trying to see them, became extremely giggly and more reluctant to do the sort of activities they enjoyed the previous day.

I agree with our single-sex status. Our waiting lists are massive, with a large number of girls having to skip Rainbows because of the waiting list, despite being on it since they were three and despite there being 4 units.

We'd open more if we could get more leaders. As it is, pretty much every leader runs at least two sections! Same with scouts. You want places, you need to volunteer.

I have a DS and am already planning to volunteer once he gets to age to ensure that he gets a place.

RufusTheReindeer......I am absolutely loving how much my FACT has wound you up, laaaaa laaaaaa laaaaa laaaaaa fact.

lucille

Oh no it hasn't

I love the English version of the office and David Brent says it all the time

It is one of my favorite things he says!

Total aside but beavers swimming up to cubs is possibly the cutest thing I've read all day
Are you going to answer any points put to you Lucille or just take the piss out of Rufus? Why is single sex ok for your children but no one else's?

Of course he is a complete twat...but I love him !

Bollocks!!!!!

Forgot to say fact

Rufus is quite wrong. Our scout group had a waiting list from practically birth- they had to accept the inevitable in the end. Girls want to join boy things but boys don't wasn't to join girl things.
They just need leaders. If OP becomes a leader they will get places.

I agree with the OP is all. Fact!

Lucille, I don't understand your point that it is not 'okay' for one organisation to be offering mixed sex activities and the other not.

These are 2 voluntary organisations which are each free to offer exactly what they wish. One chooses to offer a mixed activity, the other an activity for girls. Neither is duty bound, not morally obliged to offer activities for both sexes, seaparately or together. The fact is that no one in current times has chosen to offer a boys only organisation. Until someone does that, there will be less activities available for boys. But this is not the fault nor responsibility of either the Scouting or Guiding organisations. I cannot see how you can see them, as voluntary organisations which are separate and already providing thousands of children with brilliant activities each week as somehow wrong in what they do.

There probably is a place for boys only activities. If someone decided to set something up and could get enough volunteers to run it (and of course that is the tricky thing, which hinders all of these organisations) then I suspect there would be many takers. Great! The fact it isn't in existence at the moment is no ones fault.

Rufus isn't quite wrong

The scouting organisation as a whole was suffering

In our village there are two cub groups, one decided to accept girls and one did not. Both are fully stocked and one (the mixed one) has a huge waiting list

Just because your local group didn't have a problem (as ours didn't) doesn't mean that the organisation didn't have a problem

Bollocks forgot to say fact again!!

lucille

It's much more difficult than it looks

delphin, the problem for the Scouts as a whole was really that they didn't have enough male leaders. I don't doubt that many groups had big waiting lists, but often those of us in Scouting and Guiding could make big dents in our waiting lists if we had more leaders!

OP, have you considered investigating whether there is a St John Ambulance Badger unit near to you, they take mixed sexes from age 5-10, then move on to cadtes from 10-18. They learn life saving first aid as well as completing other badge subjects and having a lot of fun.

This Woodcraft troll has only just recovered the ability to type after reading 'the paramilitary wing of the Co-op'. Fantastic

Woodcraft is still going. Obviously, like every other group, it's limited by the number of volunteers and we have a waiting list. I've recently been away for a weekend which involved canoeing, climbing etc. I don't think girls miss out - and we recently looked askance at a local Brownie group organising a spa evening.

All together now: "Hark the beating of our tomtom..."

It depends how they were run. Ours did lots of camps, had own boats etc. my son was too late of waiting list for Beavers at 22 months! They resisted taking girls until they had to.
Lack of leaders is the problem.

Oh - and Madwoman we don't recruit... We waft them in on tie-dyed waves of incense, peace and love...

Would also agree with the lack of leaders

The waiting list in 1st rufusville scouts was immense but they have finally managed to get some new leaders so they could open another pack.

The first girl started about 7 years ago, picture in the local paper and everything

We don't actively recruit here for scouting or guiding. Could fill all places several times over. It is a shame how many kids are denied the chance of the uniformed organisations.

I just looked at the local woodcraft group for my 6yo but it is age 10+, hardly comparable to beavers or rainbows ...

Or even the non-uniformed ones, Swampytiggaa...

There are younger Woodcraft sections (Woodchips for the under-sixes, and Elfins for the six-to-nines) but there clearly aren't enough volunteers to run them in your area, Mayhem.