Guiders Staff Room Part 4

[Groovee]

Moving on from Part 3

[scissy]

I've been having a break from MN. Our Brownie Unit is thriving right now, I appreciate as a team we are luckier than most.
However, I feel SO tired. Brown Owl is retiring at the end of the summer term. I'm not sure I want to take over...

[InflagranteDelicto]

Me too, from both a leader and DC perspectives. The poor leaders!

[Becles]

Just spent 30 minutes wincing at this thread of a Beaver leaving a sleepover at 11pm and being found in a housing estate by random teenagers...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5025125-to-be-horrified-child-escaped-overnight-camp?reply=133647941

[InflagranteDelicto]

Lovely to hear from you all!

@CrazyCrocs that's interesting feedback- I'll certainly send it back from my area too after a chat with the LuT in my Guide unit. Are you on any of the FB groups?

Last weekend I was away with my Guides, it was a great weekend. I was QM for the first time ever, with the logic that if I'm in the kitchen, when the other leaders GAW assessor comes I'll be 🤐 😉 . So proud of myself.

I'm finding it really hard to get Brownies to go away though. In May 23 we had 10 come away. Of those 10, only 2 are still in the unit! (5 came away as Guides last weekend though😃). We were going to go away in Jan but only 6 signed up and we decided to postpone it to Oct. Just praying I have more that'll come by then!

I'm finding my Div Comm role hard. Dealing with people really isn't my strength and I've had two complaints come to me that were downright nasty and personal about the leader.

[Falifornia]

Oh @Sittinonthefloor that must be very dispiriting for you - Guides has so much to give but I agree that they are the most challenging section to both "recruit" and retain.

For me, things are very different at the Rainbow end of the spectrum, with huge waiting lists and not enough leaders! But I long ago accepted that we can only do what we can do . . .

My post COVID "I've had a gutsful" wobble (mostly around feral behaviour) has definitely eased. Although my current cohort is "spirited", I can maintain discipline fairly easily.

Still hate the "new programme" (blimey, it must be > 5 years now) but am delivering it with the adaptations most of us are making.

I've also learned to grey rock some of the more "corporate" stuff that comes down from CHQ, instead of letting it wind me up 😂.

At the end of the day, I do feel that I'm delivering the Five Essentials as required.

But way more importantly, I send 18 girls home wearing smiles every week, after an hour of proper fun, with messages of empowerment embedded. And I go home smiling too . .

Sending support your way as you navigate the tricky job of keeping your unit going! x

[Sittinonthefloor]

Just popping in to see how everyone is? I’m finding it hard to attract new guides (rural area - and children around than there used to be). Once they come they stick but it does feel like the end is inevitable once the current batch of 14/15 year olds leave.

[CrackIes]

@CrazyCrocs I’m also going through the Leader Training and have found the same when it comes to the compulsory webinars, it’s so hard to find any with room!

The more I do the training, the more I feel frustrated by the unit I’m supporting. They hardly follow the programme as they don’t like it so the girls are lucky to get one badge a year, b1tch about some of the girls, but, what frustrates me the most is that the girls have absolutely no say in what we do. Possibly it’s because I’m an “outsider” whereas the other leaders have been there years and the young leader is the daughter of an old leader so it’s very much a clique and is ran with the attitude of we always do things this way so that’s how it will stay, but change isn’t bad!

[MrsFionaCharming]

That’s tough CrazyCrocs! I guess volunteers who are completely external to Guiding are probably quite rare, most people either were Guides or have daughters who are, so pick this stuff up by osmosis over time.

Definitely worth feeding back to HQ that a ‘basics of Guiding’ thing would be worthwhile.

In the meantime one of the handbooks aimed at girls might answer some of your questions? They’re about £3 from the Guide shop.

[Ihaveausername]

@CrazyCrocs You should have a mentor who should be able to discuss this with. If not speak to your local Commissioner who will help. Thank you very much for volunteering but sorry you are not having a good time with this.

[CrazyCrocs]

Hi All,
Just found this thread.
I am a young person (25) who has been in guiding for a year. I love my unit, but I am majorly struggling with the leader in training course. I just feel like the website is clunky, there is no room on the many compulsory webinars and it doesn't explain the structure of guiding clear enough (i.e. The badge system, unit vs county vs district, current set up of organisation). No one in my family or friend circle is a member of guiding and it feels like other leaders around me have been in guiding so long they don't know where to start. Does anyone else feel the same? Honestly sometimes I feel like all the leaders and webpages are talking in some other language that i'll never grasp! I would love to progress further and run my own unit someday in the future but I feel like I won't be able to get there with the lack of thorough basic training. I feel like anything like risk assessments, money and basic safeguarding is covered but not the outline of guiding operation. Please let me know your thoughts 😀

[ScopsOwl]

It feels like Girlguiding is at worst being dismantled, and at best restructured into an organisation which is much more standardised.

It doesn't feel as if most volunteers/members are being consulted or kept in the loop at all. I am watching slightly nervously to see what next year brings, because I do not think we have got to the end of the changes yet.

[InflagranteDelicto]

I honestly don't know. But recent discussions within division leave me wondering if its linked to the recent fire regs changes.

But they could have been honest with us if that was the case.

That said- the company I used to work for was asset stripped and sold off over the last 18 months. Wouldn't surprise me that they had £££ signs in their eyes.

As a volunteer, a member, I do not feel listened to or appreciated as a member.

[Becles]

I've been looking at the closing ceremonies for Waddow, foxlease and the other Girlguiding tacs. So deeply saddened that what I love so much is now a pale imitation of the core mission.

I feel so patronised and dismissed like an airhead who couldn't possibly understand what the clever blokes or London folk know.

Not sure if it's me or just the thin end of the wedge to asset strip and gut the organisation.

[InflagranteDelicto]

This is why we do it, the Ranger said she'd learnt what to do in Guides. Knowing the details of the incident, this award was deserved.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02KkZpaiADxE6idrhC3BpgUVTYsZAsW4xpugm4VqcyXkUWwFw6hrsSkVu6w4qXo5hKl&id=100064395474122

[InflagranteDelicto]

Catching up - the run up to Christmas has been busy.
I saw the trans post but after it locked for comments on fb. Very interesting that there's so many feeling able to be vocal about how damaging trans ideology is, but like you, I suspect at minimum they'll get a toe the line or else email.

Census for us is predicted to be £58 p/h. I'd at least like a working Go. I look at OSM (used by my husband & gang show) and despair.

On the plus side (and why I do it) my units have been great this season.

[Groovee]

Scotland have Scottish HQ then County. I think ours were over £50 this year. Leaders are despairing at how much it costs us.

[MrsFionaCharming]

£33 to HQ for census, plus maybe £3 extra per person for county? Next term is going to be a very frugal one I think, we may not have much left after that and the hall rent!

[MillicentMargaretAmanda]

I'm off work at the moment and spotted the post come up, so tracked the comments with interest to see when they would be deleted. Most of the ones now gone were about "Monica", Fair Play for Women and safeguarding concerns...

[Gonzales27]

I'd love to be able to see all the hidden posts, I'm confident that the majority weren't actually offensive!

[Becles]

Did you see the toe the line or else posts?

Given Aimee Challoner and co helped Girlguiding develop the trans policy and after the Monica Sulley scandal, you'd think they'd keep their heads down on this because of the mass safeguarding own goals. Also note the subliminal message that volunteers shut up about any safeguarding concerns or worries. They glossed over that in safe space.

Interesting theyngot this out bang on time but most things such as the Black History Month stuff we get well after planning or vague usefulness. We know at least where their priorities lie.

[drspouse]

I met a parent whose DD had been told to leave Rangers when she started identifying as a boy. I think in theory that doesn't happen any more but some leaders on FB groups were suggesting this should happen a few years ago.

[Sittinonthefloor]

interesting replies though - they’ve had to turn off comments. Several from people saying that they are glad to be in a ‘trans inclusive’ organisation because their daughters were supported when they came out as ‘non binary’ (which I imagine everyone would do, as they should, not least because it makes no difference to anything or anyone else). How can people not see that including girls who don’t confirm to female stereotypes in a girl only space is not the same as suddenly welcoming some men or boys! Which changes the entire purpose of the group and does affect everyone else!

[drspouse]

I couldn't see a similar tweet - maybe they've worked out they will just get roasted.

[Gonzales27]

The latest post on Facebook post for trans awareness has really got my goat and is a bit tone deaf "confidence and privacy at all times" doesn't found very safeguardy to me. I think this might be the last straw, I don't think I can be a leader much longer.

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0dXiFet3HdMW3AKrErgXf6n9K1zRGSh8QRxUMZouzrDc5XAkfw9Hf72TGEvtQ34p2l&id=100064781318308

[Noodledoodledoo]

At least you are on half term - we are back and good job I didn't need the emergency contact list, add new people, change roles - I did but most jobs can wait and I have all parents numbers on my phone with permission!