Welcome to Basingstoke East District Scouts
Our history
Basingstoke East Scouts was established in May 1979 at a time when Scouting in Basingstoke was its highest with membership across the borough of Basingstoke and Deane numbering over 2000 young people and some 25 – 30 groups in all. It was decided that the borough would be split into three districts: Basingstoke East Scouts, Basingstoke West Scouts and Silchester Scouts.
Basingstoke East Scouts is defined as ‘covering the civil parishes of: Ellisfield, Herriad, Weston Corbett, Weston Patrick, Upton Grey, Tunworth, Winslade, Cliddesden, Mapledurwell and Up Nately together with that part of Basingstoke Town Centre which lies to the east of the western ring road’.
Our people
As of January 2020, the number of young people currently Scouting in Basingstoke East was at an all-time high with 724 in our groups across the District. Obviously, none of this would be possible without our dedicated team of adult volunteers that work tirelessly to ensure that our young people have the best possible scouting experience that is safe, fun, challenging and adventurous. We are continuously looking at how Basingstoke East Scouts can continue to provide more opportunities for the young people of Basingstoke and have many exciting new ideas of how to bring Scouting closer to you.
Basingstoke East Scouts is currently made up of 12 Scout Groups and we are also fortunate enough to have 2 additional groups for our oldest scouts (14 – 18 years).
Basingstoke East Scouts is led by two core teams of essential volunteers:
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees shapes and approves the strategy of Basingstoke East Scouts and monitors our performance against that strategy.
Operations Team
The Operations Team is made up of a group of lead volunteers who provide leadership and management across Basingstoke East Scouts along with specialised support in areas like programme, adult support and safety. It is their job to work with group volunteers in providing the best possible Scouting experience for our young people.
Our vision and strategy
Under the direction of Basingstoke East Scouts lead volunteer, Keith Hawkins we have the following vision and strategy that underpins all our decisions.
- By 2021 we will have prepared more young people with essential skills for life, supported by dedicated volunteers delivering an exciting and adventurous programme.
- By 2021 we will be growing our provision, shaped by young people and making a bigger impact in our local community.
Our goals
Our plan is to continue to grow, become more inclusive, to be shaped by young people and to make a bigger impact in our local community.
Growth
As part of a national movement, we have grown for the last 13 years, At a local level, we want to continue that positive trend, bringing skills for life to more young people in Basingstoke East.
By 2021 we aim to have:
- 800 young people aged 6 – 18 in our sections
- At least 300 frontline adult volunteers making our vision possible
Inclusivity
Scouts is open to all. We believe it is our priority to reflect the diversity if the community we are in.
By 2021:
- We will have a dedicated Muslim Scout Group to serve the needs of that community
- We will have extended the Scouting opportunities available to deprived areas of Basingstoke East
- Our adult volunteers will reflect the demographics of our society
Youth Shaped
Over the last four years, we have ensured that there is a growing momentum to ensure that young people are shaping their experiences and taking on leadership roles. We want to continue to build on this in every age group.
Community Impact
Since the launch of a national action campaign ‘A Million Hands’ in 2015, over 250,000 young people have had the opportunity to take part in high quality social action on four big issues of our time.
Achieving our goals
Our volunteer members are key to the success of this plan, so we have developed a series of actions that members can take to help achieve these goals. Our essential team of lead volunteers support all our valuable volunteers to ensure that they have the necessary skills and experience to provide the best possible Scouting for our young people.
