No badges at Brownies for over a year, probably UR but frustrating

[NoBrowniesBadges]

DD is 8, almost 9. Has been a Brownie for almost for almost 2 years (started in September of Y3 and is now Y4).

She absolutely loves going. But has not had any badges at all since June 2022. We finished tonight for summer no badges given. No-one in the units had any badges at all since June 2022. They usually do a half termly ceremony or at least they did in DDs first year there.

She’s feeling a bit lost by it all, she was looking forward to getting the kings coronation badge (they got the queens jubilee last year so no reason to think they won’t get the kings coronation one) and is due to get her anniversary badge as well (think it’s her 4 year one as she did Rainbows before Brownies). We’ve also done a couple of Interest Badges which haven’t been given. We also don't have the Thinking Day Badge from this year which usually get given out to all the girls to.

Is this typical of units? No badges given for ages? I don’t want to complain as DD loves going and wants to keep doing it but want to gauge if it’s typical. I'm trying to work out how many badges DD might be expecting - 7 or 8 I'd guess, which will be nice as she usually only gets 1 or 2 per badge ceremony.

At ours they usually get them every half term or so.

Even random ones like the Kings coronation. And random Christmas ones that they dont have to do anything for

@MMorales Thats what happened last year, they'd get them each half term, so Thinking Day was given before February Half Term, the Queens Jubilee was given on the last meeting of the year etc. but nothing since June 2022.

When mine did brownies they seemed to get a badge for turning up. They had too many to fit on the gilet by the end.

You don't have to complain, but why not just ask?

Have they lost a leader I wonder?

I expect they haven't got enough volunteers to organise badges as well as run the evenings giving up their own time, and respond to emails about badges giving up their own time to do so.

When DS was at beavers he didn't get any badges. He worked on loads in lockdown which the beavers leader signed off but refused to give him. In the end (for genuine reasons) I spent £80 on badges for him to go on his jumper. He didn't even have his investiture badges after 18 months.

In cubs we do badge awards ceremonies every half term or so.

That’s not right.

We give them to our Cubs as soon as we physically have them. (Sometimes can take a few weeks. We make a real effort to ensure its up to date for Summer holidays.

First thought was wow they broke up early for the summer! My second was I don't know how you didn't ask when you collected her and she has no badges. Definitely email and clarify as no badges at all for a year is not right.

@SeeingSpots I know about the early finish, it's apparently because attendence is patchy at best for June and July due to girls commiting to other things or holidays so they finish early and charge us less.

Will email and ask, I am happy to help with the admin side of things if thats the issue, I can't help at actual meetings because I only really like my own DC, but could help with the admin side of things.

Could you ask if they need volunteers to help do the badge ceremonies? Best case scenario they say yes and the girls get their badges, worst case you find out what the problem is and you can manage your daughter's expectations.

Our Rainbows troupe gets badges at the end of every half term.

For interest badges that she's done at home, has she taken her "proof" in to the leader? If so I would email (assuming you have contact details) and simply ask "wondering what's happening with DD's interest badges, she has completed badges x, y, and z at home but hasn't yet received the badges, do you need to see the proof again? If not can you let me know when she will receive them as she's getting a bit worried now she will miss out."

For the ad hoc badges, or if you simply want to keep her motivation up, you can buy some of the badges on the Guides website. The kings coronation badge is on there for £1 as is the World Thinking Day badge (£1 also).

Or ask the leader if they are intending on getting those badges for the girls, and if they say no then buy them yourself rather than miss out.

Mine got a badge for the coronation so she should have had that at least!
I get the impression the leader has to order them and pays out of subs? So maybe the leader just isn't in top of ordering or the activities they are doing doesn't align with badges they have stocked up.

Ask politely when badges will next be given out. And then offer to volunteer if you can - most units are short of helpers ;)

I'm a Brown Owl and I would say that's not right. My unit try to do 2-3 badges every term, skills builders and/or interest badges, or sometimes a challenge badge. We dont have a special awards night, I give them out as they earn them as far as possible. If her unit is following the programme she certainly should have had some badges this year.
Not all units give out the random badges like the jubilee or coronation ones because they cant afford them. We give out the special ones like the coronation ones but not Christmas ones and not always the Thinking Day ones. I have a large unit and the cost of the badges soon adds up.
I would suggest you speak to her Brown Owl, it might be that she has forgotten to give them out, Ive certainly done that!

@44PumpLane I sent the evidence into the leaders at the email address, and got a reply to say that DD had done enough to get the badge.

Definitely enquire, it may be that someone who normally orders the badges and organises their distribution has not been able to and nobody else has been able to step in to cover. Your daughter and her friends shouldn’t miss out because of this though and you may need to raise it with the commissioner who should be able to sort out what badges your daughter is due. You can also order some badges on their website, I think I saw the coronation badge on there and, though you shouldn’t have to, that may be a way to get it sooner.

Offering to help with the admin is a lovely idea.

In contrast my DD has been at brownies since June 2021 and has a total of 40 badges, half recieved the last year at least. Recently recieved sports badge and badge for viewing little mermaid at the cinema. There were several coronation badges too.

I'm a Guide leader and it's very strange that she doesn't have badges as Brownie leaders are usually great at sorting badges.

Definitely volunteer to help with admin as the paperwork can get on top of you. But be aware you will need a DBS and possibly a short safe guarding training which is on line and very straightforward.

We don't get all the special badges for our Guides though as the costs do mount up and we don't want to increase our termly subs.

I would definitely offer to help out with any admin if you can, if that is the issue regarding lack of badges etc

My daughter is in the younger end at Rainbows but they do both Rainbows and Brownies on the same night.

She came home tonight with 8 badges including the Kings Coronation badge and a bag full of prizes.

First time we got any badges and she started before Christmas 2022. I honestly can not fault the work the volunteers do to make the organisation work, it takes a lot and I admire the dedication and energy they have to host so many children each week and arrange all the activities.

Ooh I hadn't seen there was a badge for going to see The Little Mermaid! We didn't go to a Girl guiding mass viewing but we did go ok Sunday (one of the dates of the mass viewing) and I like the badge so I've bought it for my two, along with the Earth Day 2023 badge as we did some stuff ourselves to celebrate Earth Day anyway!

We get badges every few weeks. But ours is a well organised group. We moved there after DC were at another group which was run awfully. No badges, no fun, very old fashioned ethos and just weird 70s vibes 😂

By the next term the whole group had stopped running completely.

I would enquire nicely about it - but it MAY be the final straw as it sounds like it's on its last legs.

Are there any other more established groups nearby? Or volunteer to help keep your current group afloat (if you like the people!) 😊

I volunteer financial admin and help organising stuff. I love it!

Have they lost a leader recently? Or was there a keen "background mum" who helped out with the admin?

I don't think there's any harm in asking, or offering to help out with that admin side (if you're genuinely offering help). Worst case, badges are available to buy from the website.