{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"Callum Linger is an Explorer Section Leader at Mersey Weaver Scouts. His Explorer Unit\u2019s only been running for a few months, but they\u2019re already meeting face-to-face. We caught up with Callum to find out how they\u2019re making it work.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen we chatted to Callum, his area was at readiness level Amber meaning that sessions could take place indoors and outdoors with up to 15 young people and 5 leaders per group.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#002f6c","title":"","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat made you decide to set up a new Explorer Scout Unit during lockdown?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a District, we noticed that there was a gap in our area \u2013 we wanted to make sure that we were catering for everyone and we were nearing capacity in the other Explorer groups as well.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIt looks like it\u2019s going really well \u2013 how long have you been doing face-to-face meetings?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re coming into our fifth week of face-to-face meetings, before that we had eight weeks of online meetings.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat have you been up to, have there been any highlights?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith it being a fairly new group, we\u2019ve tried a lot of wide games. They\u2019re good socially distanced, obviously, but it\u2019s been good for them to participate in games that get you to work as a team so they can really gel as a group together \u2013 they\u2019ve done that really well. We also ran an outdoor escape room that we found online, and had a unit Forum around a campfire \u2013 overall, it was really well received.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere have you been getting all your ideas for such a varied programme?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve had quite a bit of input from our District Commissioner and District Explorer Scout Commissioner, who set up the group. Most of our ideas we\u2019ve found online: we\u2019ve got ideas from the young people and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022/\u0022 title=\u0022scouts.org.uk\u0022\u003Ethe Scouts website\u003C/a\u003E too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre you able to include all of your Explorers without splitting into smaller groups?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, at the minute we can. We\u2019ve got about 11 \u2013 considering we\u2019re only in the early stages, the numbers are really good. We\u2019re able to manage it well, we can split down into two teams if we need to and rotate, making sure everything\u2019s cleaned and safe for the next group.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDoes it feel anything like a typical Explorers meeting?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was a Scout leader at the beginning of last year and, to be honest, it doesn\u2019t feel too different. Virtual and online is really good \u2013 it helps as a back-up, but actually face to face is a lot easier in so many different aspects. The Explorers have had to change their \u2018normal\u2019 but they\u2019ve done really well \u2013 I think we need to give them credit where credit\u2019s due.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHave you faced any challenges? How did you approach them?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI don\u2019t think so \u2013 it\u2019s just making sure that the programme\u2019s tailored and COVID-19 safe through risk assessments (and implementing them) and making sure that you\u2019re on top of cleaning everything, sanitising hands, and reminding them of the social distancing. Once the young people get the gist of it they do really well. It\u2019s just the extra bit of COVID-19 essentials. There haven\u2019t really been any other specific challenges that we\u2019ve come across.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHave you got any top tips for risk assessments?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI think the main thing to remember is that although it can be quite daunting, there are a lot of great examples out there. I think it\u2019s all about working together with the District and the examples that are on the Scout website, putting those together and building the foundations. I wouldn\u2019t let it put you off \u2013 at the end of the day, it\u2019s all coming down to the common goal of getting young people back face-to-face.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat impact has returning to face-to-face Scouts had for everyone involved?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor me it\u2019s been really positive. Throughout lockdown I found it quite difficult \u2013 it had quite a big impact on my mental health and there were times when I struggled. Luckily, I had quite a close network with my family which really helped. I think getting back face-to-face and seeing the young people enjoying the programme has been really positive for me and it\u2019s really helped.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd I think likewise for the young people. Obviously we\u2019ve opened a group that\u2019s fairly new, so not a lot of them know each other very well \u2013 it\u2019s been nice to see them getting to know people that they wouldn\u2019t necessarily have known before.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProviding it stays safe and you remain at the same readiness level, do you think you\u2019ll keep meeting face-to-face as the seasons change?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen we get into the colder months, we may swap the odd session to online but predominantly we\u2019ll try to keep it face to face as much as possible.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe often say there\u2019s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing! We just make sure they\u2019ve got their waterproofs with them and they should be OK. It\u2019s also about looking at making sure that the programme is suitable for the weather conditions and adapting things if we need to. I think most of it is common sense. We were out this week and it rained all evening and the Unit wasn\u2019t really too bothered by it.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat would you say to a leader who wanted to (and could!) go back to face-to-face Scouts but wasn\u2019t quite sure?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EObviously everyone is different and everyone has their different circumstances.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI think what we\u2019ve got to remember is that it\u2019s making the difference to our mental health and the mental health of the young people as well. It\u2019s not as daunting as you may think: it really is quite nice, quite relaxed. You\u2019ve just got to remember keeping your distance and sticking by the guidelines which you\u2019ll have put in your risk assessment anyway.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts have got not only the safety of the young people but our interests in mind as well. If it wasn\u2019t safe we wouldn\u2019t be running outdoors so just embrace it and try to get out as much as you can.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"21 October 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48592,"nodeName":"What it\u0027s like restarting Explorers","title":"What it\u0027s like restarting Explorers with a new unit","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/11625/explorer-reading-jpg.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd12f8ab00","caption":"Explorer Reading Jpg","type":"jpg","size":206468,"width":1000,"height":667,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"What it\u0027s like restarting Explorers with a new unit","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Callum\u0027s Explorer Unit has only been running for a few months, but they\u2019re now back face-to-face. We caught up to find out how it\u0027s going.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODU5MiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/october/what-its-like-restarting-explorers/"}