Girlguiding- have your say.

[averylongtimeago]

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/events-and-opportunities/event-and-opportunity-finder/health-safety-and-welfare-policy-consultation/?fbclid=IwAR15d1wPMjN-kCVpi7vCT6EHqklp17bOHzLF1nFeEHztSNN_hzod4RxjL3E

Girlguiding are considering changing their rules on where to allow meetings, specifically they are considering banning the use of private homes and gardens for any meetings of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers.
This will have a huge impact on many units, for example our group uses a field owned by a former guide's parent, for cook-out, campfires and outdoor games. We, and all the other local uniformed groups, have used this field for over 40 years- it's safe and private and allows us to do activities we can't do in the small garden at the back of the hall. Lots of groups have the same: a parent or leader will offer their field or garden, or a small group of Guides or Rangers meet at a leaders house to use the kitchen.

A lot of groups don't have access to a safe local park, or to outdoor space where they meet. For small groups of Rangers, halls can be too expensive.

Obviously whenever we meet, in the hall or elsewhere, leaders do risk assessments and are careful to keep the correct ratio of girls to leaders.

Aibu to ask you to have a look and fill in the survey? It asks for your role in guiding- there is a space for "other".

It doesn’t sound like it’s actually allowed at the moment though, it says the DBS check doesn’t cover meetings at private homes. I’m a leader and didn’t think it was allowed and tbh I don’t think it should be. From an insurance POV and it doesn’t sit right with me from a safeguarding POV

The policy points out planning meetings etc are ok to be held in private homes.

@Wearywithteens

Are girlguiding still allowing male bodied people to share tents and accommodation with girls (and without parental consent)?

I think the court case for the leader banned by GG for raising safeguarding concerns re this hasn’t happened yet so I imagine they will as soon as Covid allows.

That is a worry - I wouldn’t want my daughter coming home from Guide camp pregnant!

@gardenbird48, @NoIDontWatchLoveIsland - no leader would hold a camp under those conditions, you couldn't mitigate the risk in the risk assessment (as leaders obviously can't share with the girls either), so the event would never take place unless the children were in separate tents.

My unit is adventurous, we love camp fires, night hikes, knocking nails into stuff - we've just booked dragon boat racing for the summer term. GG has to acknowledge currently thinking, but doesn't have the acumen to deal with it in a way that's fitting to the history and aims of girlguiding.

@MadeOfStarStuff it's no different though to any other shared space. Unless you're lucky enough to have a guide hut, there are always going to be other members of the public who are not DBS checked in your space. Same with trips.

My nice enclosed garden with electronic gates is significantly safer than the local park (with the weed dealer).

20:21underneaththeash

And you think separate flimsy tents mitigates the risk?

Imagine a 15 year old girl. She thinks her friend is a nice safe female who is physically similar to her. She invites her into her tent for silly games, late night chats, sending daft texts to friends/boys. Her friend is actually a hormonal 16 year old boy, hes considerably stronger than her and could easily physically overwhelm her.

In a mixed residential where the girls KNOW who is a boy and who is a girl, the girl will factor that knowledge into her behaviour.

It is grossly unfair to allow boys along girls in those situations where the girls do not know.

[quote underneaththeash]**@gardenbird48, @NoIDontWatchLoveIsland - no leader would hold a camp under those conditions, you couldn't mitigate the risk in the risk assessment (as leaders obviously can't share with the girls either), so the event would never take place unless the children were in separate tents.

My unit is adventurous, we love camp fires, night hikes, knocking nails into stuff - we've just booked dragon boat racing for the summer term. GG has to acknowledge currently thinking, but doesn't have the acumen to deal with it in a way that's fitting to the history and aims of girlguiding.[/quote]
They may not have a choice though. You might want to check the GG policy on this - it seems fairly clear that guiders are not allowed to let any other parents know about the presence of a male child on a camp and from Katie Alcock’s experience in this - they don’t seem to want to consider the safeguarding implications.

She was also concerned with the restrictions imposed around disclosing information that may be given to a guider by a trans child - that they are taking medication without the knowledge of their parents for eg - the guider would not be allowed to tell the child’s parents which afaik is huge safeguarding red flag.

From Katie Alcock’s account - she was a guider who raised some concerns re safeguarding and was expelled from GG.

The outcome letter to the appeal justified my expulsion on the grounds that I had said I would put safeguarding ahead of the letter of Girlguiding policy on transgender issues, if a conflict arose. In other words, I identified that Girlguiding had imposed a hierarchy consisting of transgender issues and safeguarding, and placed transgender issues at the top of that hierarchy. Not only do I feel that this was wrong and contrary to the fundamental principles of Girlguiding (as well as basic child safeguarding principles), I think it was discriminatory against me as a person with Gender Critical Beliefs to expel me for this.

www.womenarehuman.com/a-mother-fighting-for-girls-safety-takes-on-army-of-girlguiding-lawyers/

What does not covered by DBS in a private space really mean? Is a field a private space? We used to hold camps on private fields/woodlands a lot in scouts - are there different DBS rules? The places we did them had separate loos from the main house for the scouts but it was just a local leader's farm. I understand the concern re private homes but an outdoor space is an outdoor space surely? The local church hall's field isn't somehow safer than a farmer's field.