Planning for AFTER Lockdown

[London Scouter]

I would imagine that many more groups than normal would meet during the Easter school holidays - after the year we've had, the concept of term-time vs holidays has rather broken down.

And travel options are still likely to be constrained, so people are more likely to be at home during the holidays.

[campwarden]

Oh yes I agree, but I hadn't even really started thinking about the next batch of programmes because it still seemed such a remote prospect. Suddenly it's less remote.

I'd also be reasonably content if Scouting didn't return till Easter (ie after the switch to British Summer Time) - the extra hour of daylight will make all the difference for decent open-air programmes without faffing around with lighting etc.

Indeed a return for the summer term (possibly with some daytime activities over the Easter holidays instead of the usual camps?) Would make total sense as most groups probably have a fairly "outdoor" summer programme.

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I would imagine that many more groups than normal would meet during the Easter school holidays - after the year we've had, the concept of term-time vs holidays has rather broken down.

And travel options are still likely to be constrained, so people are more likely to be at home during the holidays.

Beat me to it. I imagine most troops (and a fair amount of cub packs / beaver colonies) would ordinatlriky have run a residential of some form during the Easter holidays. Especially this year as I believe Easter falls at the start of the hols, leaving the middle weekend free for scout camps etc.

For groups with access to their own hq or a local campsite it would be fairly easy to run some daytime activities... even something like small group archery sessions (e.g. leaders spend a day, 6 kids at a time on the range for for hour then clean kit before next group)

[Nick]

We won't start back outdoors until the summer term, the weather, light levels and lack of easily accessible outdoor areas make it less attractive for us to start back earlier, especially only for a week or two at the most.

There are also so many wonderful and interesting virtual Scouting resources on the Facebook 1st Virtual Scout Group that we are already struggling to fit them all in this term. Already trying to work out how to use some of them when we start back indoors face to face next autumn (hopefully). The difficult part will be meeting and identifying over 1/2 the troop as I haven't actually met them in person as they are recently moved up or transferred in - Zoom has the really helpful feature of showing their names on the screen!

[Bushfella]

It is my plan to restart when we have a couple of things in place. Virtual meetings have not worked for us.

At least some of our team need to be vaccinated before we can start back.
Our programme will be greatly reduced and mostly outdoors and socially distanced.
Our indoor venue will need to meet our Covid RA requirements.

We may do some away day activities but we will not be camping until social distancing is no longer an issue.

[wealdbrook]

As much as I'm usually more optimistic than most on deadlines to reopen... I'd wait another 12 hours before starting the planning. See exactly what the organ grinder says.

The "leaks" in the papers today seem similar enough to probably be true but you can never guarantee what he will say until he says it.

Or what will be contradicted by the rest of the Cabinet and not actually appear in the wording of the regulations - I mean, that has never happened before has it....

[pa_broon74]

We've always said Easter, and thought that was an out-there estimate. Now though? I think it might be the summer.

It's less about what the parameters set by government are, and more to do with what we feel we can do. Kids are still all out and about not paying much attention to social distancing, that style would be cramped by us continually hectoring them to stay apart, (never mind the age split in the middle of the group...) And, the sheer mountain of paperwork required just to get together.

Perhaps the process for reviewing Covid WRA's will be streamlined, but we don't know that as yet and may not know it.

(I wonder, were it not for WRA's coming in more generally, if we'd be required to do Covid WRA's for review. There's still absolutely nothing that qualifies most DC's better than most leaders in this area.)

[Simon11]

For groups that already have an approved risk assessment for reopening under amber status, you shouldn't need to submit a new RA to the DC. It should just be a quick reviewing of the RA, updating any minor changes if required and reminding all leaders about the procedures again.

[pa_broon74]

For groups that already have an approved risk assessment for reopening under amber status, you shouldn't need to submit a new RA to the DC. It should just be a quick reviewing of the RA, updating any minor changes if required and reminding all leaders about the procedures again.

I'm not sure it'll be as straightforward as that. We never restarted face to face at all. Those that did had problems getting their Covid RA okay'd.

I'm not 100% up to speed on this (here or else where in the UK), but - if the details of the lockdown easement are different from what's gone on before, will Covid WRA's need to be reviewed again to suit? Is that going to be a local rule/requirement, or is it something that'll be mandated by HQ?

[Simon11]

Assuming you had already restarted with an approval for RA given in Autumn 2020, if for example some guidance from Scouting HQ changes, such as you can have 18, rather than 15 young people, you don't need to get a new RA approved through the district.

[Simon11]

https://assets.publishing.service.go...pring_2021.pdf


Paragraph 103 says from March 29: All children will be able to access any outdoor childcare and supervised activities.Parent and child groups can also take place outdoors with a limit of 15 attendees(children under five years of age do not count towards the attendee limit.)

Await update from Scout HQ, but this looks like when we could come back.

[campwarden]

https://assets.publishing.service.go...pring_2021.pdf


Paragraph 103 says from March 29: All children will be able to access any outdoor childcare and supervised activities.Parent and child groups can also take place outdoors with a limit of 15 attendees(children under five years of age do not count towards the attendee limit.)

Await update from Scout HQ, but this looks like when we could come back.

Useful link, thanks Simon!

I suspect much of today shall be spent reading the details therein rather than the press interpretation of it.

[claire.shadbolt]

I am going wait until the NYA and TSA guidance before attempting to get my head around it.


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[dralphs]

All the TSA page has at present is

February 22nd 2021

We’re aware of the latest Government announcement ​about reopening schools in England. We’ll work with the National Youth Agency (NYA) to see how this affects face-to-face Scouting. ​If there are any updates, we'll email members and update the website.

Update to the readiness level table for Gibraltar, moving from Red to Amber.

[Bushfella]

It is all academic. We can only really wait till we are each in a position to go back. Just because NYA says, yes, does not mean it is right for any individual group to go back. Here, in Kirklees, I think that we have been out of some form of Lockdown for about three weeks since last March. We are not alone.

Even if we do go back, if social distancing remains a requirement then an awful lot of what we normally do, simply cannot be done. It is a bit nightmarish.

Imagine, kids mix at school ( and forget about they can only meet with one friend out of school, that is just pie in the sjy drivel - just watch them walking home from school at the end of the day in groups as large as the pavement can carry.

We then bring them into Scouting and we tell them we are, say, going on a hike, but they have to maintain social distancing? It just is not going to happen - and I challenge anyone to say that they have a group of kids who would do a hike without grouping and chatting to each other.

It is going to be a very difficult time with social distancing.

[campwarden]

I am going wait until the NYA and TSA guidance before attempting to get my head around it.


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Oh I'm having to read the government document for work rather than for anything else

It certainly does look like, subject to tsa and nya interpreting and adding to the guidance, like a move back to Amber should be on the cards soon.

I would expect it to take the nya a few days to process it and then TSA will have their bit to do - I certainly wouldn't be booking anything with parents at this stage but I'd possible be getting some provisional ideas pencilled out.

From a work point of view its very much "heres a roadmap" but treating all the dates very much as "moveable feasts". It's interesting though that Boris has repeatedly said

"Driven by data not dates"

Yet has released dates... and said "not earlier than" when surely being driven by data should work both ways... delay if needed, but also bring forward if the data says its safe.

For the events industry its cautiously good news. A lot of events are making positive decisions for summer and autumn 2021 based on the roadmap, although some are struggling to gain cancellation insurance (insurance isn't something we do - if clients ask us we just refer them to the same broker we use). For smaller events this is less of an issue (e.g. school fetes where outgoing commitments are fairly low, just the odd deposit for activities) but the festival side of the industry would really appreciate a government underwritten insurance scheme right now.