Beavers - home visit?

[Rflowerco]

Hi all, I just wanted some advice from mumsnetters out there about a matter we are pondering over!

Our child is soon to join Beavers. When we rung up to enquire, the leader said he tends to come around to your house for a meet and greet, and to get to know the child/family on an individual basis.

We thought this was a really nice touch, but a few times that we have told this to other people - in-laws, neighbours - there has been raised eyebrows over whether this is a normal procedure or ‘dodgy’.

I have tried to explain that these groups are heavily crb checked, but I would just like to ask for any extra info to back us up.
Have other families experienced this as the normal practice?

We are getting a bit fed up of people’s reactions and are getting to the point of avoiding to go into conversation about it. Thanks all

We didn’t have that when DS joined beavers. Neither did my nephew who is with a different beaver company

Some do this so the child meets the adult in their home setting and feels more comfortable at the first session.

It’s not something our beaver packs do as we wouldn’t have the time!

I'm years out of date probably, as DS is 16, but I have never had or heard of this, with friends' younger children. Could you check with the Scouts HQ for further clarification?

Thanks raffle for your reply

I think it sounds intrusive tbh. Beavers is just a club for your kids to go to - I don't see why they need to meet the whole family.
Reminds me of health visitor checks when you have a newborn - they want to meet the family to check you aren't keeping your kids in a dungeon or something!

Macassar, that’s really helpful thank you.
CremeEgg - that’s a good idea and something we will look into next I think. I hope we won’t offend anyone in doing so.

My DD is 16 so may be out of date.
No checks from brownies but the school teachers visited when DD started primary school.It felt intrusive but DD enjoyed showing them her bedroom and everything in it!

Madasa*

Iwannasee - I didn’t think of this angle, but that’s a good point come to think of it!

I think it's a great thing to do. We had this with my child's reception teacher, and it's really not that different as my Dd who started with Beavers is now in Scouts, do it's several years of building relationships with the Scout group.
Having said that it should be your choice. You should not feel any pressure to accept the visit.

Hi Hotterthana, we did initially think perhaps it’s like a school thing - we tried to link this in with anyone who’s reaction was unsure. But I guess because it isn’t a school setting people are still not convinced by it all...

Thanks PutYourBack
It’s hard to know what direction to go in as a parent. Seem to offending everyone and their dog recently with any choices we make! 🙃😝

Sounds odd. And there's no such thing as heavily CRB checked.

The DBS check confirms someone has never been caught doing something dodgy. That is all. It's not a catch all character reference.

I'd ask why he's coming to your home.

I'm a Brownie Leader. We don't do that.

Seems odd and unnecessary for a 6 or almost 6 year old with no SEN. I've never had a home visit for nursery, school, or any clubs!

Thanks Heratnumber, sorry to be unclear I just meant that they required to have them updated like at a school setting. Thanks for the background knowledge that’s super helpful.

Thanks Windswept, good to hear from someone more versed in kids clubs, we are relatively new to it all.

I’m in a muddle and unsure too now! Though better to get a full balanced view of something!

Anyone other mumsnetters have experience of an actual home visit taking place? Any experiences would be of great help.

Any organisation that requires DBS checks updates them regularly. But they still don't really mean anything. I wouldn't take a DBS check as a guarantee that someone is "ok".

I have just moved to Cubs after 6 years as an Assistant Beaver Leader.

This is not something I have personally done, but that was probably because I did not have the time. I know that our Beaver Leader has in the past visited new Beavers before they started to tell them a bit about what we do, and it did seem to help them to settle in a bit more easily. A few that were fairly local that is, by no means everyone.

It was a good opportunity to start building a good relationship with parents, and this was really useful to help us provide the best possible experience for their child during their time with us. Not least because it gave the parents (and indeed the child) the chance to ask whatever questions they may have had about Scouting, and possibly to discuss any concerns discreetly too. Finally, it gives us a chance to discuss what we as a group expect from the family (very little unless specifically asked, but its worth the chat). In our group, when we welcome the child we also welcome the parents!

Thinking back, when I joined Cubs myself in the mid 1980's, the Leader did actually visit me at home, and it did help if I remember rightly (although I still remember being nervous at first).

So, although this may not be a common thing to happen, I would not consider it to be intrusive or odd in itself.

You are absolutely right that a DBS check only proves that someone has not yet been caught. This (along with checks carried out during our appointment procedure) is why we as Leaders follow a code of conduct. This can be found at members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/3099/young-people-first-code-of-good-practice-for-adults-yellow-card if anyone would find this useful or reassuring.

Hope this helps, sorry I was a bit late to reply!