Can you run Beavers and Cubs together??

[Lyndzeh]

We've only recently reopened our Cubs and Beavers, our Beaver Colony currently only has 6 beavers, who have just been invested and our more excited than ever about wearing there uniform and necker and getting badges etc!

And it seems the Beaver leader has suddenly decided she has too much in her life and thats the end of Beavers basically so we find we have no beaver leader!

So i was wondering if there is any rule against running Beavers and Cubs together? As it seems such a shame to shut Beavers down!

[jshirra]

I'm not sure on rules for running them together but what about running both sections in an evening...beavers from 4:30-5:30 then cubs 6 - 8 or whatever...ok your all down for a while longer but you could set up a rotation for it! maybe get the GSL, SL, CSL and maybe the ASLs, ACSLs to come up with an arrangement for coming down and helping...

other option as i see it is to play the guilt trip with the parents....at the end of a section meeting, bring the parents in and say that unless some of them come forward and volunteer then their child will no longer be able to be involved! you would be surprised at the response!!!

HTH

[curtisuk]

I have know a few leaders try it with cubs and scouts and it worked for a while but then the cubs had nothing to look forward to when they moved up. so yes you can do it foir beavers and cubs but once eberey so oftern is fine but all the time you will find it hard.

Do as Jamie said same night bevers small break then cubs with all other leders taking turn but make sure you have a parent rota to help out as well. also try to have one or two leaders that are there most of the time to give consitincy of who is in charge so the beavers know who is the boss!!

[shiftypete]

Yes Beavers and Cubs can be run together but you need permission to do this from your DC

See http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/....htm#rule_3.11 for the relevant piece or POR. It also mentions guidelines available from the Info Centre for this so it might be worth contacting them.

[Akela Ben]

In January our beavers dropped to 3 so we joined the Beaver and Cub meetings together. We have had no problems what so ever it has been a good occurrence, but we have got Beaver numbers up to 6 and we are hoping to recruit more by September so we will seperate again. If it stops either section closing you should go for it.

[Lyndzeh]

Ok thank you for your opinion and views =]

[Chris Lambert]

If it stops either section closing you should go for it.

Not necessarily. You need to consider the best way to provide scouting in the local area. Running the sections combined is almost certainly going to be to the detriment of the cubs - activities will have to be adjusted to make allowance for beavers, adult time is going to be split, etc. It will also put additional load on the existing leaders and potentially cause them to want out sooner than they would otherwise.

Of course it is sad to close a section/group but that is only one thing to consider - it may be that closing Beavers and maintaining a strong cub section is the better option than struggling to run both together.

On the other hand the leaders may be able to cope with it and offer the best of both worlds.

[derekchambers]

interesting thread, we have been told by our church that we can use the hall from october half term from 3:30, we are looking at getting beavers started and probably have a few paprents that would go on a rota but as of yet no leader.

We have enough enquuiriess and also enough younger siblings to get the beavers going just need a leader and some idea of what beavers do - never done them before


Del

[wolfie]

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We have enough enquuiriess and also enough younger siblings to get the beavers going just need a leader and some idea of what beavers do - never done them before


Del

Have copies of our Colony term programs if they would help give you an idea? Just PM me if you want them

[John Simpson]

I have a leader from another scout group that helps with my Cub section he has had trouble with his scouts and only has one Scout so I suggested that he came along with my group but for his scout to keep his own ties with there group ie to keep his necker colours and group badges i also said that if any cubs were to be invested then they could be done in his colours until he got enough numbers to run the scouts separate again this way i have extra help and a group keeps going My suggestion is is there a group near by that you could maybe join in with until your problems get solved

[ianjames]

The only draw back to running Beavers and Cubs together is the age range, if you have a young Beaver at 6'ish and a Cub around 10 1/2 I'm not sure the same activities would work, so you may still end up with someone working with Cubs and another working with Beavers on a different thing, you haven't really gained on the lack of adult numbers.
If you close Beavers you will loose those progressing through into Cubs and possible cause a problem with Cub numbers in the future.

[shiftypete]

The only draw back to running Beavers and Cubs together is the age range, if you have a young Beaver at 6'ish and a Cub around 10 1/2 I'm not sure the same activities would work, so you may still end up with someone working with Cubs and another working with Beavers on a different thing, you haven't really gained on the lack of adult numbers.

Ah but if you have low numbers then you can probably run them joint with only 2 Leaders so actually in comparison to running separately you have halved your leader requirments

[Raksha]

We have enough enquuiriess and also enough younger siblings to get the beavers going just need a leader and some idea of what beavers do - never done them before Del

Think Explorers. Think small Explorers. Think food and fun. Think ball games. Think silly songs. Think Beavers are cleverer than Explorers. Think Beavers are twice as much fun as Explorers and you are on the right lines. Of course, Explorers and Explorer Leaders may disagree with me, but the Explorers I have met, all seemed to enjoy Beaver programmes!

[Kaawaterloo]

The only draw back to running Beavers and Cubs together is the age range, if you have a young Beaver at 6'ish and a Cub around 10 1/2 I'm not sure the same activities would work

I think if you've got no other chioce then for the short term is probably a good idea, but I don't like the idea long term. Beavers needs a sense of being able to move on and to be challenged as they progress in the section, just like a form of growing up and acknowledging their age. They've got to be able to get used to new challenges.

Trying to balance two different ages groups, and keeping things fresh and interesting sounds a little difficult to do when you've got to consider what could be exciting for a very young, new six year old, could turn out to be quite boring and not challenge a lively, clever, and possibly bored ten year old.

[jshirra]

Think Explorers. Think small Explorers. Think food and fun. Think ball games. Think silly songs. Think Beavers are cleverer than Explorers. Think Beavers are twice as much fun as Explorers and you are on the right lines. Of course, Explorers and Explorer Leaders may disagree with me, but the Explorers I have met, all seemed to enjoy Beaver programmes!

no argument here


another question i have...i remember reading that the reason for the strict cub age boundaries was because of the different child protection laws for the sections...so why does this not apply for joint sections?

also, you have to think about meeting lengths...beavers can't be more than an hour (?) but cubs should probably be a minimum of an hour and 1/2 (i would think anyway!)

Cheers1