{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"Heather Anderson is a Beaver Scout Leader at Wells Scouts. Her Beaver Colony\u2019s started meeting face-to-face again, so we caught up with them to see what they\u2019ve been up to.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen we chatted to Heather, her 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\u003EHow long have you been doing face-to-face meetings?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is week three, we started in the last week in September.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat have you been up to since then?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe first week we made large marble mazes. The week after that, the weather was looking a bit dicey, so we practised putting up the dining shelters, which we\u2019re going to need repeatedly over the next few weeks. When we got them up, we played with the marble mazes and looked at some camp blankets from people who had left Scouts, then we had to take the shelters down.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis week, the plan was to put the shelter up again and start a mini pioneering project, but the weather was so fab that we just put a tarpaulin down and completed the pioneering! They made pyramids, covered them with tissue paper, and aimed water pistols at them.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/?section=Beavers\u0026amp;setting=Socially%20distanced%20outdoors\u0026amp;setting=Socially%20distanced%20indoors\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?section=Beavers\u0026amp;setting=Socially%20distanced%20outdoors\u0026amp;setting=Socially%20distanced%20indoors\u0022\u003EI used the webpage to look for activities\u003C/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u2013 especially when we were planning. We\u2019ve concentrated on classic things like pioneering and cooking.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre you able to include all of your Beavers without splitting into smaller groups?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENo, we do two sessions \u2013 12 come and work in three groups of four Beavers, then we repeat it all later in the week. That\u2019s because the other leader has the time \u2013 we were planning half of the Beavers every other week, and looked into providing some sort of Scouts at home for the week the Beavers weren\u2019t there, but for us it works better to run it twice a week.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDoes it feel anything like a typical Beavers meeting?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENormally we\u2019d have 24 Beavers who are quite energetic when they arrive. It\u2019s only an hour long, with 12 of them, and they can\u2019t play their usual games when they arrive, so that feels different\u2026 but once you\u2019re into the activity it feels the same.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do the young people think about being able to meet face-to-face again?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve got a couple who are nervous and a couple who ask why we can\u2019t do some things; overall, they\u2019re really pleased to be out doing something. If you keep them engaged enough then they don\u2019t miss seeing all of their friends \u2013 they come to Beavers to be able to do whatever activities we\u2019re doing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHave you faced any challenges that you had to overcome?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI asked two Beavers what they\u2019d done over the summer, and each had a grandparent that had died. Although I knew that that was something that might come up, I wasn\u2019t as prepared as I could\u2019ve been!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/supporting-life-issues-and-young-people/supporting-our-members/bereavement-support/\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve got some resources on bereavement\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 hopefully they\u2019ll help other groups. How did you find the risk assessments? Have you got any top tips?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/october/watch-getting-back-together-safely-qa-sessions/\u0022\u003EI watched the webinar\u003C/a\u003E and I read \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://prod-cms.scouts.org.uk/media/10832/getting-back-together-safely-a-framework-for-restarting-scout-meetings-and-activities-v3.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eall of the guidance\u003C/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and took notes \u2013 then I let myself think about it for a bit. When I met with the other leader, we talked about how we\u2019d do things and then we had half a plan! He just wrote it up while we were sitting there \u2013 we\u2019d already got an image of what it would look like in our head.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt feels daunting but I didn\u2019t find that the hardest thing. What I found harder was writing the guidance I sent out to the parents. We didn\u2019t give them an actual risk assessment because it wouldn\u2019t have meaning for them \u2013 we created almost like a contract that said what the leaders, parents, and Beavers all needed to do. Where I could, I explained why as well. It was quite a difficult document to write but it\u2019s worked really well.\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\u003EI haven\u2019t written to the parents yet because I\u2019m waiting until the weather turns, but yes. We shortened our meeting time to an hour, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s unreasonable for Beavers to be outside for one hour under a dining shelter. They can wear a coat, a hat, gloves\u2026 and we can do things that\u2019ll keep them warm. A night hike is an idea I\u2019m saving for when the weather\u2019s a bit more rubbish.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn nights that are particularly cold, we can have hot chocolates. I\u2019m going to write tips for people too, so they turn up with their coats and hats ready.\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\u003EIt\u2019s really about talking to your team. Until you talk to people about how they feel you don\u2019t know what you can do. That includes young leaders and their parents \u2013 they\u2019re really important. It\u2019s a team effort. Once you know what people are comfortable with, you can suggest things and go from there.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"21 October 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48593,"nodeName":"What\u0027s been happening back at Beavers for Wells Scout group","title":"What\u0027s been happening back at Beavers for Wells Scout group","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/11624/cub-carrying-leaves-jpg.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd12edfca0","caption":"Cub Carrying Leaves Jpg","type":"jpg","size":117803,"width":1000,"height":667,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"What\u0027s been happening back at Beavers for Wells Scout group","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"We talked to a Beaver leader to find out what they\u0027ve been up to in the three weeks since they\u0027ve got back together. 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