The District has a very clear five year plan to enhance the scouting in our district. That was formed at our first district development day back in October last year. We have started to work on the key objectives of that plan and we will be helping every group to plan for a better future.
We have introduced a far better district website which is aimed at promoting much more our scouting to the wider community and to improve the communication between us all. The web site needs further work and we are looking for you all to use it to its full potential and to fully promote your groups much more in the coming year.
We have improved the way we recruit, appoint and train and support our leaders and sectional assistants. We now have a much larger appointments committee and we have greatly enhanced the training team. We also now have Thelma as an ADC group support she will be supporting all groups to improve and support you with your development plans next year. I have high hopes that these initiatives will bring many more adults into our groups over the coming year.
We have a greatly improved district camp site at Wilverley and we are spending funds to make it more attractive for you to use and we have a long term project to provide electric to the buildings making it more suitable for you all to hire.
We are in negotiations with the Council to secure most of our scout group headquarters land giving scouting in Southampton a far better security of tenure.
I have tried by being OUT and ABOUT the district to forge close links between groups and the district team and in particular for me to be seen at group events. Can I please thank those of you that have been kind enough to invite me to your activities it is a part of my job that I look forward too and enjoy immensely.
Can I pass on my thanks to you all for being patient with me and for offering me your support and kindness through my first year I am extremely grateful.
The main focus for the next twelve months will be how we can get more adults involved in our scouting.
We must recruit much more and to have a consistent approach to how we welcome adults into our groups and retain them.
Adult recruitment is a job for us all 24/7 365 days of the year. I would ask you all when was the last time you asked someone to get involved? For some of you that was recently for some you have never asked. With every adult we can find it gives several young people an opportunity to enjoy the scouting adventure.
The reality is that in Southampton the amount of Children of scouting age is dramatically increasing. To give you some idea the following schools have needed to increase its admission number to meet the demand.