Girlguiding South West England
Girlguiding have announced the appointment of Laura Cottey as Girlguiding South West England's new Chief Commissioner.
Laura will be known to some of you already, having been involved in Guiding across four of our Counties. She is currently an Assistant Leader with Shipton Bellinger Brownies in Wiltshire South and holds a Girlguiding role as Lead Volunteer for Growth, Retention and Collaboration - she spoke at the Region's Membership, Growth and Retention Conferences in 2019 and 2020.
Laura will commence her appointment on 1st June. She says she is 'extremely honoured to take on the role', and you will be able to read her message to the Region's Volunteers in our April Newsletter.
With Units in England returning to outdoor Guiding, there is now no limit on the number of girls, young women and Leaders who can be present at a meeting. However, you do need to be mindful of the amount of space available to do this safely and activities need to be COVID secure. You can find out more on the Girlguiding Website - click here.
Before Units do start meeting face-to-face, Leaders will need to clarify who holds A Safe Space Level 3 within the Unit and how first aid will be provided. It will also be necessary to have a risk assessment signed off by a Commissioner - see below for further information on this.
Virtual Guiding can of course continue if Units are not able to meet face-to-face.
In accordance with UK Government's advice to try and restrict the spread of COVID-19, Region staff are continuing to work from home, however we now have access to the office telephone system so you can call us on our direct dial numbers - click here. We will do our very best to provide you with our usual high level of service and support, and we appreciate your continued patience during these difficult times.
A reminder that our online training opportunities are still available - click here to find out more, and all the Region's resources and badges are available from our online shop - click here (please bear with us as despatch and delivery might be slightly delayed).
We hope it won't be too long before we are all back at St Ann's; keep watching the Region Website and Newsletters for the latest updates.
If you have joined Girlguiding during lockdown and made your Promise virtually, or have renewed your Promise virtually during the past year, this is the badge for you!
Priced at £1.00 plus postage and packing, our new cloth badge is not Section specific and is a perfect keepsake if you renewed your Promise as part of the sunrise ceremony during the Region's record-breaking virtual sleepover event to celebrate World Thinking Day - and if you did take part in the event, remember our range of virtual sleepover badges and World Centre badges which you are also eligible for. Click here to go to the online shop to place your order.
If you place an order on the Region's online shop which comes to more than £60.00 before postage and packing is added, you will be eligible for a 10% discount. Call Lucy on 01722 343183 or send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to take advantage of this offer.
Click here to go to our online shop and enjoy a browse!
Every Unit should have a minimum of one Leader with a current 1st Response qualification and it is a requirement for a First Aider to be present at any Guiding activity. If you are a Leader whose qualification has expired during lockdown, or you are a Leader-in-Training and need 1st Response to complete your Leadership Qualification, help is at hand!
Read more ...
New checklists and risk assessments are being issued by Girlguiding with the return to face-to-face Unit meetings, and Region are offering support for Commissioners who are signing these off for the first time.
Read more ...
Two relatively new e-learnings are available from Girlguiding which Leaders would find useful.
Read more ...This is your website and we want to hear what you're up to. Get in touch to send us your stories and photos.
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