Good afternoon,

I hope you’re well.

Here is a summary of the information in the email below:

  • County drop in sessions
  • Oxon Gathering save the date!
  • Trustee conference
  • DofE Whatsapp Group
  • First Response Learning
  • External First Aid Certificates
  • Poacher 2026 International Jamboree
  • Awards Day
  • Oxford Mail Supplement
  • Blenheim Palace Triathlon
  • Channel 5’s Children’s TV Series – Animal Care Club
  • Photography Competition – Cobalt
  • Eggventure Fun Day
  • Bidwells Oxford 10k
  • Top Awards
  • Congratulations Bosun – MBE

County drop in sessions

We are looking to run some drop-in sessions around the county, starting with one in each district. We would like to make the sessions useful as possible for everyone, so we need your help. What can we do to make the session useful for you? Ideas could include training on digital tools, such as the membership system, OSM etc. having someone there to chat to about permits etc. the possibilities are endless, but we would like to know what you would like.

Got an idea, please let us know on our quick online form: https://forms.gle/BnJFcPT7CDoUBwb76

Oxon Gathering – Save the date

Oxon Gathering is returning for 2025, which is a volunteer only event. It is running 12th – 14th September at Jubilee House Campsite, nr Beckley. It will be a relaxed weekend aimed to provide support across all Scouting areas, for all volunteers. From skills workshops to activities that you can take part in – there will be something for everyone.

More information to follow soon.

Trustee Conference

We’re excited to share information on the Trustee Conference, on Saturday 7th June 2025, for all Trustees and perspective Trustees across Oxfordshire.

We’ll be covering a range of topics all focused around the role of a trustee board and how they support scouting. We’ll look at the transformation changes that have been implemented, dealing with ongoing governance issues, the risks the trustees manage, recruitment and adult support, building insurance and safety – something for everyone. The day will be a series of workshops, so you’ll be able to pick if you join us for the day or just a morning or afternoon. The conference will take place at the Holiday Inn, Peartree Roundabout, Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 8JD. With coffee from 9.30am and the conference concluding by 3pm.

The conference also offers the opportunity to network with likeminded individuals who hold a similar role to you in Oxfordshire.

Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

Places can be booked by completing this online form: https://forms.gle/PSoz9tj6vLim9Us19

DofE Whatsapp Group

This is for all volunteers involved with DofE from Explorer Leaders to Expedition Assessors – it’s a great way to ask for support if you need someone to fill an expedition place, or have found somewhere great to complete the residential section. The link to join is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KqbQAZAD3BMABbE6Cto2ff

First Response Learning

We have a variety of First Response courses available in the County over the coming year. More courses will be added as trainers and venues are confirmed. We have been working with Scout Groups to ensure venues move around the County and try to hold the courses as close to as many as possible.

The blended approach for first aid continues but is only recorded on the membership system once both elements are completed, as First Response. We will be offering two types of course locally:

·       First Response – covering module 10a+b (6 hour course)

·       10b practical only (30 minute). Please note to attend a 10b course, you will need to have completed the Module 10a element, which can be complete online here.

Details of all the courses available can be found here.

External First Aid Certificates

If you have completed an external first aid course which you would like to use for Scouts, please be aware that a First Aid Trainer needs to confirm that the syllabus of the course meets the Scouts First Response criteria. If there are elements which are not met, you will be requested to cover these either via an online conversion course or in some cases attendance of a 10b course (see above), before the learning can be added to your profile. The whole first response course does not need to be retaken, but the missing elements will need to be covered.

Please send your external certificates to Firstaid@oxonscouting.org.uk where they will be reviewed. Your course certificate needs to be uploaded in My Learning, so please make sure this is provided.

The First Response criteria includes:

  • Life support: The principles of first aid and initial response (arriving and managing an incident), emergency life support, CPR (including technique for children and an explanation of what AED is and how to use it), management of an unconscious casualty (child and adult) and choking. 
  • Trauma and injury: Shock, bleeding, fractures (ambulance imminent and non-imminent) and sprains, head injuries, dental incidents and burns.
  • Major illnesses: Asthma, anaphylaxis, heart attack, stroke, seizures, diabetes, sepsis and meningitis.    

To help our First Aid Trainers confirm the criteria it would really help if you can send in both your certificate and the syllabus of the course attended. If your course has extra elements added on the day to cover the Scouts syllabus, please ask the trainer to provide confirmation of the additional elements covered (e.g First Aid at Work does not normally cover Child CPR, dental incidents and some major illnesses).

Poacher 2026 International Jamboree

Bookings have opened for the adventure of a lifetime in Lincolnshire! Your group can join 5,000 Scouts and Guides from across the world for a huge range of adventurous activities, exciting entertainments and lasting friendships, from 1st – 8th August 2026. 

Participant fee: £300

Leader fee: £30

More details can be found at www.poacher.org.uk – bookings are open until 31st October 2025, or until the event is full – whichever comes sooner.

Awards Day

Thank you to everyone who has supported scouting and young people in Oxfordshire achieve their top awards. Awards day takes place at Youlbury Scout Adventure on Saturday 10th May 2025.

If you would like to attend awards day to see your sections recognised for their awards you are very welcome to join us, we are operating in three waves as follows:

9am – King Alfred & North Oxfordshire

11am – Oxford Spires and Thames Chiltern

2pm – Thames Ridge & West Oxfordshire

Oxford Mail Supplement

Clubs are being asked to send in photos of their kids’ clubs for a special photo supplement in the Oxford Mail. 

Whether it’s scouts, gymnastics, chess club, or different kinds of sport – you can have a treasured photo in print.

We are asking all clubs – except football clubs – to send in a group picture. 

Pictures for the supplement should be submitted by Friday, April 18 to: supplements@oxfordmail.co.uk

Blenheim Palace Triathlon

Blenheim Palace Triathlon, which is taking place on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th June.

The Blenheim Team are looking for volunteers to help support during the event and wondered if local Explorer or Network sections would be interested in supporting as a group.

There are various roles they are recruiting for and more details on what is involved below. The roles include: 

  • Welcome Team
  • Rewards & Finish Team
  • Aid Station

Shift Timings

There are two shifts per day for each of the roles. The morning shifts start time is usually around 6:00-7:00 am and between 12:00-1:00pm for the afternoon shift.

Donation

Groups can earn £40 per volunteer, which is a fantastic way to fundraise for the Scouts in Oxford.

Next Steps

Could you please let me know if you are interested and would like to discuss the possibility of volunteering as a group, if easier I am happy to jump on a call with you, if you could please let me know when a suitable time is.

For your information, volunteers must be aged 14 or older and if members of the group are under 18 years of age, adult support is required.

Please contact blenheimvolunteers@motivsports.com if you would like to be involved.

Channel 5 Children’s TV Series – Animal Care Club

We’ve received the following message from Animal Care Club who are looking for 7-8 year olds. Could you please share this with relevant parents in your Sections.

We’re delighted to have been commissioned to make series two and three of Animal Care Club for Milkshake! on Channel 5. Each episode will be around 11 minutes long and will feature four children (working in pairs) looking after animals of all shapes and sizes! We’ll be featuring farm animals, zoo animals, pets and wildlife in the series and at every opportunity children will be getting involved with animal care. It’ll be a really fun, educational series and will be a fantastic experience for the children taking part. 

We’re looking for 7-8-year-olds. We’d ask if the parents could kindly fill out the application form (link below) which asks for a short clip (max 2 minutes long) with the children who are interested (with full parental permission)  

www.cognitoforms.com/DaisybeckStudios1/AnimalCareClubApplication

Photography Competition – Cobalt

We’ve also received the following message from Cobalt for either Sections or Young People to get involved with. Please consider taking part or passing on the details to your young people:

I’m excited to share a fantastic opportunity for your Scouts, Cubs, and Beavers to get creative and work towards their Photographer Activity Badges! Cobalt’s Capture a Moment Photography Competition 2025 is back, running from 1st April to 31st July 2025, and it’s a perfect way for your young photographers to have fun, win prizes, and support a great cause—all for free!

We’re inviting children of all ages to grab a camera or smartphone and snap their best photos for a chance to be featured in Cobalt’s 2026 calendar. Entry is completely free for Under 16s, with no limit on submissions, making it an ideal activity for your group to get involved in during meetings, camps, or half-term breaks.

As a Scout and Beaver leader myself I know that the competition aligns brilliantly with the Photographer Activity Badges:

  • For Scouts: The competition is a great chance to produce photos for the badge (e.g., landscapes, portraits, or black-and-white shots), practice camera settings like focus and exposure, and even edit their images to meet the badge criteria.
  • For Cubs: They can take photos of their local area or during a camp, present their best shots, and experiment with black-and-white or editing tasks as part of the badge requirements.
  • For Beavers: It’s a fun way to take 10 or more photos, share what they love about them, and create something like a poster or slideshow to display their work.

All proceeds from the competition will support our Teenage & Young Adult Cancer Care Nurse—a cause we hope will resonate with your group. For those who may not know us, Cobalt is a Cheltenham-based medical charity dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by cancer, dementia, and other life-limiting conditions. Through our specialist care, innovative imaging services, and community support programs, we’ve been making a difference in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, The West Midlands and beyond for over 60 years.

There are some exciting prizes to motivate your Scouts, including a £50 cash, and a framed copy of the entry as well as a place in our exhibition. Entries can be submitted at www.cobalthealth.co.uk/photocomp, where you’ll also find more information, including details about our judging panel and some of the previous years’ entries.

Eggventure Fun Day

Please check out the poster attached for an amazing adventure at Scout Adventures Youlbury

Bidwells, Oxford 10k

We’ve also had the following message from Bidwells Oxford 10k looking for Groups of volunteers to support this years event:

I hope this finds you well. I am reaching out from the charity Muscular Dystrophy UK ahead of our annual Bidwells Oxford 10k, taking place this year on Sunday 11 May.

With an expected 6500 runners it’s going to be our biggest event yet. We are super excited, but also really in need of some support from volunteer groups to assist on the day and help make the event a success.

If this is something you’d be interested I supporting then please get back to me letting me know or fill in this form here: https://www.musculardystrophyuk.org/get-involved/volunteering/detail/bidwells-oxford-10k-2025-volunteer/ you’ll also find all the info you’ll need by following that link.

For the first time this year, all of our volunteers will be entitled to free entry into one of our 2026 Town and Gown 10k events!

Top Awards

The County Top Awards team are here to support you. Top Awards can be achieved by young people of all ages from a Squirrel earning their Acorn Award to an Explorer Scout / Network Member earning their Kings Scout Award. Please fill out the form below outlining any support you would like to see from the Top Awards team including any specific questions we can get back to you with an answer for! https://forms.office.com/e/b2TArDteVx

 Congratulations Bosun – MBE

Bosun (accompanied by his guests) travelled by train and black cab to Buckingham Palace. He had a pass which allowed the taxi special passage right up to the gates. He was warmly greeted by the staff of the Royal Household and impeccably looked after throughout. He gradually moved through the corridors and grand rooms of the Palace – where he admired the portraits, sculptures, and decor; and met other recipients. There was a very broad mix of people who were being recognised for diverse contributions, from ‘Services to Shipbuilding’ to ‘Services to Digital Growth’ to ‘Services to Peace and Reconciliation’. At length, Bosun reached the Throne Room where he had a 2-minute audience with the Princess Royal who presented him with his MBE for ‘Services to Young People’. Bosun then descended the Grand Staircase in style and exited into the courtyard, where he had some formal photographs taken, before departing by black cab for a celebration lunch at the Royal Air Force Club on Piccadilly. 

He really had no idea about the celebration at the Pavilion, and our ‘cover story’ of ‘a restful cup of tea and a quiet dinner’ meant he was entirely surprised when the taxi driver ‘missed the turning’ and took us to the Memorial Hall car park instead.

Have a great month!