As Scouts, we believe in preparing young people with skills for life. We bring communities together and contribute to society. Above all, we aim to build better futures.
This section will help you find key information for all new and existing members, about Scouting in general, our Scout Group, volunteer information, uniform, subscriptions, fundraising and lots more.
Our Group is made up of four sections: Squirrel Scouts 4-6 years, Beaver Scouts 6 - 8 years, Cub Scouts 8 - 10½ years, and Scouts 10½ - 14 years.
When a Scout reaches the age of 14 years, they can move on to one of our District Explorer Units.
You can jump to any section by clicking on the headings below.
When dropping off, you are responsible for your child until a section team member has recorded their arrival on the register.
Squirrels & Beavers may arrange for parents to drop off and collect from their meeting place, alternatively use the grass or shelter adjacent to the car park at Overstone Scout Activity Centre as a waiting area for collection.
Cubs & Scouts will be met by team members on the grass or shelter adjacent to the car park at Overstone Scout Activity Centre.
When arriving at any meeting, all Young People MUST ensure that a team member has marked their arrival on the register. A responsible adult must stay with Young People until a team member marks them on the register.
At the end of a meeting all Young People MUST ensure that a team member is aware that they are leaving and who is collecting them. We expect that Parents / Careers will be available at the end of a meeting and must let team members know that they are collecting their child/ren.
Team members need to know that Young People are safely collected. If anyone else will be collecting your child, please inform a team member first.
No Young Person will be allowed to leave until team members consider suitable arrangements have been made to ensure safety of all our Members.
Should you arrive late for a meeting, or need to attend a meeting, you will be required to walk your child to their meeting place and ensure they are recorded on the register by a team member.
IMPORTANT: All visitors entering the Overstone site, MUST take appropriate precautions for their own safety. This is a woodland site with uneven surfaces that can become slippery when wet. You must always leave your car at the main car park and walk to your required destination. There may be slip and trip hazards, vehicle movements and other users of the site, so always be aware of your surroundings, be mindful of where you walk, use a torch when daylight begins to fade and most importantly DO NOT RUN...
Each section develops their own termly programme. We involve our youth members in the planning of the programme as a planned activity each term.
In addition to our weekly programmes, we plan in a range of other activities throughout the year. This may include camps, sleepovers, expeditions, activity days, trips and a variety of community events.
Communication from all sections is sent by e-mail via OSM. The Scout Section also use Facebook to communicate to members adults.
All Section Team Leaders will endeavor to email out any information for meetings, 1-2 days prior to them with relevant information.
Unless told otherwise your young person should be prepared to attend Tuesday meetings at their allocated section time, in full uniform and wearing a necker. They should also have suitable footwear and a coat as some activities may be outdoors.
Where possible more notice will be given for changes in meeting places and times.
Each section has developed its own code of conduct with our members, which uses language appropriate to the age range in question.
The Code of Conduct is enshrined in our Scouting Values and Scout Laws:
A Scout is to be trusted.
A Scout is loyal.
A Scout is friendly and considerate.
A Scout belongs to the worldwide family of Scouts.
A Scout has courage in all difficulties.
A Scout makes good use of time and is careful of possessions and property.
A Scout has self-respect and respect for others.
We expect Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to follow their code of conduct. This is to maintain a safe and enjoyable environment for all our members (including our team members - who are volunteers). Bullying, in any form, will not be tolerated.
Most discipline issues will be dealt with within their section. Repetitive discipline issues will be referred to the Group Scout Leader, who will meet with the parents and child to discuss the issue.
Under serious circumstances, or where a discipline issue remains unresolved, the matter will be referred to District / County. The District / County Team may decide that a formal suspension or dismissal is necessary.
Please remember, all adults in our group are volunteers who choose to give their time for the benefit of our members.
We strive to ensure a safe, healthy and productive environment for all our volunteers. Bullying and harassment are incompatible with the Scouts’ values, and will not be tolerated from any source.
Full uniform should be worn to every meeting. When your child is invested into the group, they will receive a Group Scarf, woggle and their badges.
Details of the uniform that your child will need for their investiture.
Squirrels - will need Activity Trousers or Shorts and a Red Squirrel Jumper.
Beavers - will need Scout Activity Trousers or Shorts and a Blue Beaver Jumper.
Cubs - will need Scout Activity Trousers or Shorts and a Green Cub Jumper.
Scouts - will need Scout Activity Trousers, Long Sleeve Scout Shirt and Brown Scout Belt.
A full range of uniform, equipment and everything Scouting can be purchased from the Northampton Scout Shop - 97 Ivy Rd, Northampton NN1 4QS.
The shop is open during school term time: -
Monday 6:30pm – 8pm
Wednesday 6:30pm – 8pm
Saturdays 10am – 2pm
Second-hand uniform may be available to help keep costs down. If you have any well-kept old uniform, please pass these to your child’s section leader. Second-hand uniform, when available, can be purchased for a small donation. Please speak to your child’s section leader for further details.
The Group t-shirts are not official uniform. Team members may ask for them to be worn at events like fun days, camps and events. At these events, uniform is not needed but the young people are still representing the 46th Northampton (Overstone) Scout Group.
Group t-shirts should not be worn as part of activity kit / ‘rough kit’.
Group Necker should always be worn unless otherwise informed.
When an activity takes place where uniform is unsuitable e.g. certain craft activities indoors or fire lighting outside, team members will request the Young People come in ‘rough kit’. This should consist of a t-shirt, sweatshirt or fleece, activity trousers or tracksuit bottoms (but not the nylon type) and robust footwear. Rough kit MUST be suitable for the weather depending on the time of the year. We advise using clothes that the young people and parents don’t mind getting dirty or in some case damaged.
It should also be noted that the weather at all times of the year can be very changeable and Young People should either be dressed appropriately or have with them suitable clothes for all conditions.
Jeans must NEVER be worn especially in wet and cold conditions. When jeans get wet, they do not dry quickly, and the Young Person will become extremely cold. It is preferable that t-shirts and sweatshirts should be plain and not carry large logos or statements or football colours.
Nylon based tops shirts or tracksuit bottoms should also be avoided as these can be dangerous near heat and fire.
As your child progresses, they will receive badges for their uniform. Many badges are completed by attending weekly meetings, camps and events. Other badges require some independent work at home to achieve them.
When moving from one section to another the following badges should be transferred from one uniform to the other:
• District Badge (rectangular with Northampton District emblem)
• Name tape (green tape with group name)
• World Membership Badge (round, purple Scout emblem)
• Staged Activity Badges (blue with the purple border): the highest of each activity may be transferred.
• Joining in Awards (small square awards): the highest may be transferred.
• Chief Scouts Award from last section.
Badges are best sewed onto a uniform as this allows the uniform to be reused. Badges are easily transferred to either a new uniform or camp blanket (if leaving a section). This is a great opportunity for members to learn how to sew.
The investiture is where the prospective member will be asked to make their Promise. A copy of the promise can be found in the “Our Group” section of our website. Please ensure that they try to learn both the promise and law prior to being invested.
At the investiture ceremony, the member will receive their Group Necker (if applicable), woggle and badges. Parents, family and friends are welcome to attend this brief ceremony.
When a member is ready to move up to the next section, they take part in Moving On. This usually happens over three weeks, where the member attends both their current section and the one they are moving up into. It gives them the chance to get to know their new section and to ask any questions. At the end of the 3 weeks, there is a short ceremony to say goodbye to the section they are leaving before being welcomed into the section they are joining with their Investiture ceremony.
Members who attend for the three-week period will receive their ‘Moving On’ Award.
The following section provides details of our charges:
There is a £10 joining fee for each new member to cover the cost of items such as a group necker, woggle, badges etc. This is paid directly to the section in cash.
As a charity, we are reliant upon several sources of income. Most income comes from Annual Subscriptions paid to the Group by all our members. Part of the subscription goes to the Scout District / County / HQ to pay for insurances, upkeep of local district facilities (such as Overstone Campsite & Activity Centre) etc. The rest goes towards room hire, upkeep of equipment, activity resources and supporting some events. Other sources of income include donations, as well as payments for specific camps and events.
We use Online Scout Manager (OSM) Parent Portal to collect payment which is similar to ‘ParentPay’ used by lots of schools.
To spread out the cost of our Annual Subscriptions we collect it in six equal payments of £22. This also makes things easier for us when new members join or people leave. These payments are collected at the beginning of each school half term.
You will receive an email from OSM allowing you to setup a Direct Debit for Annual Subscriptions. Once setup, the system will send out an invoice by email before collecting money on the stated date using your nominated account. You will need to set this up for each child you have in the Group and each time they move between sections. It should take no more than a few minutes.
If you haven’t received an invite to the OSM Parent Portal or are unable to gain access, please contact your child’s section team leader who should be able to help. Please log into your child’s record soon as possible and check your details are up to date.
Throughout the year, your child will be given the opportunity to take part in camps and other activities which may have an extra cost. We try to keep these costs to a minimum and subsidize these activities where possible.
We attempt to keep the cost of being a member as low as possible but recognize that costs can add up. If you have financial hardship, please contact our Group Lead Volunteer (gsl@overstone46scouts.org.uk), who can provide support.
As a registered charity, fundraising is extremely important and supports us to fulfil our charitable aims. You can support us by attending our fundraising events including social and community events.
You can support us by joining easyfundraising.
easyfundraising partners with over 7,500 online shops and brands who will donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice. It won't cost you any extra. The cost is covered by the brand.
Just follow the link below and every time you shop with a registered retailer, the group will benefit.
The Gift Aid scheme enables the Group, as a registered charity, to reclaim a tax rebate from the Inland Revenue on all your donations. OSM will send an email asking you to make an online Gift Aid Declaration.
Further details will be provided in the email and you may cancel the Gift Aid Declaration at any time.
This is an important source of income for the Group, so please take a few minutes to fill in your details if eligible or decline if not.
All our team members are volunteers who give their time freely to plan and run meetings or events.
Your child will get to meet their section team during their first meeting. We also arrange several events each year where the Group get together, allowing members to meet teams from other sections.
Our adults have a responsibility to make our Programme fun and exciting. They also make sure that it is safe. Our policies, rules, code of behaviour and advice on child protection and safety are there to ensure our young people stay safe while they enjoy themselves and learn.
Our Trustee Board is a team of volunteers who work together, as charity trustees, to make sure our group is run safely and legally. At the heart of their role is a focus on strategy, performance and assurance.
Effective Trustee Board governance helps our volunteers deliver fantastic programmes that give young people skills for life.
If you would be interested in supporting the Board of Trustees, please get in touch by clicking the link below.
We use a system called Online Scout Manager (OSM) to securely store and manage data relating to our members. This data includes contact details, permissions, medical information and badge progress. You should receive an email inviting you to access your child’s OSM record via our Parent Portal. If you haven’t received an email, please contact your child’s section leader who should be able to help.
It is very important that we have a reliable method by which we can contact you in the event of an emergency. We will use the information on OSM to do this, so please make sure these details are kept up to date
Most of our communications are sent out by email using the OSM system.
Occasionally we will take photographs, videos and audio of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts taking part in activities. These may be submitted to the local newspapers or used in the Group, District or County Newsletters. They may also be uploaded to Scouting digital media or put on display.
When doing so the Group will never intentionally identify the Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts by name.
If a name is required for any article, then we will contact the parents / carers to seek permission before using or passing on any name or other details.
Consent to use your child’s image in this way is requested when completing your child’s details on OSM.
Your privacy is important to us, and we want to be able to communicate with our members, volunteers and supporters in a way which has their consent and is in line with UK law on data protection. We need your consent on how we contact you. We will use the contact details you enter into OSM and require you to confirm how you wish us to contact you.
We can only use your personal data where you consent. For example, we may not be able to let you know about upcoming activities and events outside of our Scout Group (except in certain limited situations, such as where required to do so by law or to protect members of the public from serious harm).
Consent to hold Sensitive Information is requested when completing your child’s details on OSM.
You can find out more about how we use your data from our “Privacy Notice” which is available HERE.
You can withdraw or change your consent at any time by updating OSM, contacting your child’s Section Team Leader, our Group Lead Volunteer or our Data Protection Lead or by emailing gsl@overstone46scouts.org.uk
Please note: all processing of your personal data will stop when you withdraw consent, other than where this is required by law. This does not affect any personal data that has already been processed prior to this point.
You can find information on our website and social media:
Website www.overstone46scouts.org.uk/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/overstone46scouts
Each section also has a closed Facebook group you should request to join via your Section Team Leader.
All adults who potentially have unsupervised access to youth members are required to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. You will need a DBS check if you are interested in helping at a meeting, attending a family camp or other events.
Please speak to your child’s Section Team Leader, who will arrange for a check to be performed. There is no cost to you for this check. Checks can take up to a couple of months to perform, so it is best to do this early.
Lost property will be held by leaders until claimed. Any property not collected at the end of each term will be sorted and where the owners cannot be identified, items will be given to charity or recycled.
All our Section Team Members hold first response qualifications to deal with emergency first aid situations. In the event of a cut, bump or graze, our Leaders will administer first aid. This will be recorded using our local accident book, and you will be informed upon collection of your child. If your child has a more serious accident requiring a trip to accident and emergency or a subsequent trip to a doctor or dentist, please keep us informed. In this event we are required to make a formal report to the Scout Association.
All members are covered under the Scout Associations Personal Accident and Medical Expenses insurance cover. Further details of the cover can be found at www.scoutinsurance.co.uk.
When your child leaves our Scout section at around 14 years, this is not the end of their Scouting. Now new adventures within await them and they have some options to consider. Your child’s details will be passed to our District Explorer Unit who will welcome them them and discuss what options work best for them and you.
The Group is entirely run by volunteers. We need lots of people with differing skills and experience to help run a Scout group.
If you are interested in getting involved, click the link below.