Brownie Badges

[BrownieBadgeGiving]

DD is 8 and does Brownies.

She loves it, the craft, the games etc. are really good for her in general.
Usually each half term they have badge given, unless less than half the girls don’t have badges to be given.

October half term, they’d had a lot of new starters so no badges given. December/Christmas Brown Owl had covid so it moved online for 2 weeks and promised to do it at February. February badge giving was cancelled on the night when they realised the older girls (the 9- and 10-Year-olds) where all from the same school and away on a residential.

We’ve just been told the Easter one won’t be going ahead as they don’t have enough DBS checked leaders to open on that night and have to have so many leaders with DBS checks even if they have parents helping to open. So that one will also be online.

I am frustrated for DD, she’s done 4 interest badges since the start of the summer holidays and has gone nearly 1 full academic year since she got a new badge – they’ve given out the event badges – Queens Commemoritive, Remembrance, Christmas and Thinking Day that everyone locally gets but the programme and interest badges haven’t been given. She wants to keep going to see her friends and loves the sleepovers but finding it strange that her badges have stayed the same since last Summer.

I know one girl left at Christmas to go to Guides and her Guides leaders gave her her badges, even though they also usually do badge giving each half term.

I accepted October being the first half term of the year they didn’t have enough to give out, and December/Christmas was unavoidable to be online. But it seems a bit unfair now that DD has no idea if/when she’ll get any badges and has no idea of progress. She’s desperate to work towards Silver (she has Bronze) but doesn’t know if she’s got it or whether she needs to do another Interest badge -there’s two themes she hasn’t touched the Interest Badges for yet.

It seems it’s local policy to do a half termly badge giving as Rainbows before this was the same. But WIBU to ask if badges can be given out at the start of the summer term? Or will there be new starters then to?

I feel so sorry for the two girls off to Guides who’ve not had their badges either, so it’s about all the others as much as DD.

So WIBU to ask for at least a progress report for DD? I don’t expect details like at school just a “Yes she needs to do an Interest badge from this theme” or “No she’s fine and will get her Silver next time”

I do half termly badges for reasons others have mentioned. It's an afternoons trek out or delivery fees and I can't do that on a weekly basis.

We order ours after we've done our planing. So we know what badges were working on and order them. And then the beavers get them once complete. I think our lot would mutiny off we went to half termly! They really love the badges but of the evening!

Of course if someone does something outside of the meeting (stuff we can't really do like cycling) then we'd have to get that separately and we wouldn't order online for 1. But we get though so many that we do keep a stock of the regular activity badges plus some of the lower staged badges too.

DBS check is funded by girlguiding. I’d suggest you step up as a leader if you want to have a say in how the group is run. Clearly they are struggling for leaders. If you do your leader in training it is all paid for. Nothing comes out of your pocket and you can help run the group as you see fit

As a leader, I would definitely not be offended to get a polite email saying;
"Hi Brown Owl, 'Brownie' has really enjoyed Brownies and working on interest badges at home over this year. She has been asking when she'll get the actual badges as she is wanting then sewn onto her sash and to show them off, so I just wanted to drop you an email and ask when they'll be awarded, or whether there's anything else she needs to do at home to achieve them? Thanks XXXX (Brownie's mum)"

If you're willing to volunteer, you definitely won't have to pay for your own DBS check, but if you're only able to attend a few times a term to regular sessions, you may not need one (If you'd not be left alone with any girls, and weren't coming more than a few times a term - further guidance is on the website about this). The cost they may have been referring to is census, which is an annual subscription payment for all members, for our area this year it was near £50 a head, and we definitely couldn't have afforded to have four more adults to pay for if they were only helping out a few times a term. You may be able to be added as an occasional district helper to avoid this charge though.

All leaders will do it differently, I'm a Guide leader and do it differently depending on the badge/when girl tells me/activity I am running that night to be honest.

Interest badges if I have them in stock (I attempt to keep 1/2 of each of them) I will hand out that night, if I spot it means the theme award is due as well I do that as well. SB/Challenge badges - I have spent today, my day off from work, putting all the badges due from this term in envelopes for all the girls. Plus a print out of where they are on the programme. Event badges - as I get them I will hand out that night, and add to folder if a girls is missing. I have a folder with a pocket for each girl and I will add in badges as I get them if I don't hand out straight away.

My Son's beavers hand out badges once a term, so scouts are just as varied in process.

DBS are free, and if you are listed as an Occasional Helper you can be DBS and not have to have membership paid for you.

I would love for someone to offer to do my admin, adding badges etc to go is another job to do, I know many leaders who just do it on a bit of paper, we do not have to update Go. I am not joking when I say I have spent today on Guiding Admin, organising forms for next term, chasing payments for a guide holiday, sorting 3 activity days, inviting girls to join us next term, sorting out the celebration for 3 Gold awards next week and sorting this terms badges. I still need to finalise planning for the holiday for 30+ kids I am running in June. This is on top of a crazy nearly full time job and 2 of my own children who don't come to my unit. Cut your leaders some slack, ask nicely and offer to do some of the admin for her.

Hi guider here, it is worth asking her leader if she can have any owed badges soon.
This poster will help you see what she needs for each theme award. Is she doing interest badges at home?

As for the online records. I don't use that for my unit, we use paper records as I find it easier. Your brownies may run theirs similarly

I’m a girl guide leader and we don’t only give one badge a term. We give them out when they’ve put in the work. We’d rather they stick to the themes so everyine is doing the same badges at the same time but it’s not a hard and fast rule

@Neverplayleapfrogwithmrpipes Yes she does Interest Badges at home, apart from occasionally when the DC runs events for all the Brownies in the area and does a badge or two with them (hasn't done any this year yet, but there was one last year) - but again these badges are given by the unit not the DC.

She has 2 interest badges on her uniform already (she doesn't like the badge sash), and is waiting for 4 interest badges. She's also got 2 skills builders, 2 themes and her Bronze on her uniform. I guess we're waiting for 2 or 3 skills builders, 1 or 2 themes and possibly her Silver, although I'd love to know how far away she is from that.

She did Rainbows beforehand and did all 6 themes and got her Gold, and did all 12 Interest Badges she just loves doing them.

My eldest daughters unit gave badges out once a year at parents night.

my younger daughters current unit gives them
out as soon as they do them other than an odd time we have sprung a last minute interest badge on them. She asks us to wait till
she has enough badges or uniform to get free postage from the guide shop. We used to have a shop in Glasgow but it closed a few years ago so I think they need £35 worth of badges before it’s free. I do know she has a stack of all the common interest badges like painter, baker,dancer,performer but we have had to wait for some of the more unusual ones like language.

they also do 2 skill builders a term and they get them as soon as they do them.