Sarah Fletcher Section Leader Beavers Sarah has been a Beaver leader since 2015 when her youngest was in Beavers and has continued because she loves it so much! Sarah was a girl guide in her early years and was lucky enough to experience many opportunities that Guiding provided - she has since converted to scouts and loves being part of the 1st Sid Vale group. She loves planning lots of activities and hopes that Beavers gives the children a good start to their scouting experience with 1st Sid Vale Scout group. Contact me Not available This page was last updated ​

Brian Manwaring Active Scout Volunteer Supporter ​ Contact me Not available This page was last updated ​

Gareth Hughes Group Chairman Committee I was lucky to involved in Scouting from an early age; moving through to the Venture Unit, which of course is now the Explorers. At the time I was living in Wales and our Venture Leader was very much focused on the outdoors and we spent a lot of our time walking and climbing in the Snowdonia mountains. My son joined a Scout Group as a Cub, and when we moved to Sidmouth 16 years ago, he joined the 1st Sid Vale Scout Group. The rest as they say his history. I was encouraged to be involved with the committee and I have been Chairman since around 2005. In simple terms I chair the Group Committee which aims to make sure that the Scout Group has the facilities and resources needed to deliver good Scouting in the Group. I enjoy being involved with 1st Sid Vale Scout group; there’s always lots going on. It’s great place to meet people and to see young people try new adventures. Contact me Not available This page was last updated ​

Vikki Snowball Section Leader Cubs Hi I am Akela for the Wolf Pack, I first joined as a helper when my son was a Cub, he is now a bit bigger. I am the leader with the crazy ideas who loves to plan camps and activity days. The organisation comes from my day job in Administration, I love creating activities that are full of fun. As all the leaders will tell you once you join you never seem to leave, this is due to the fun I have had and the amazing leader team we have at 1st SidVale. The adventures we get to be a part of with the Cubs are so much fun and I love seeing the Cubs grow and achieve, although I do get sad when they move to Scouts! I am sure I will be here for a while yet as there is a few years of crazy fun ideas in me yet. Contact me ​ This page was last updated ​

Ben Ardley Team Lead Communications Team Hello, I'm Ben and this is my personal Bio. Contact me Ben.Ardley@devonscouts.org.uk This page was last updated ​

Ian Fletcher Explorers Explorers Hi I'm Ian, I’m a cyber security consultant working for NHS Digital. I’m married with 3 children and as a family we are all involved in scouting one way or another! We moved down to Sidmouth in 2010 and, wanting to get involved in the community, immediately looked at joining the Scout Group. As well as finding working with young people really rewarding (I was a Cub Leader before moving to the Explorer section), it is great to be involved with a charity that makes such a difference to young people and the community! Contact me Not available This page was last updated ​

Nancy Craven Group Skills Instructor Training I've been involved in scouting since childhood. I was a Brownie and a Guide. Then aged 15, myself and 4 friends were the first girls to join our local Venture Troop! I had a wonderful 3 years with them and gained the Queen Scout Award. My daughters were Beavers and Cubs in London and when we moved to Devon in 2007 I decided to become a volunteer - to support them and the Sid Vale Scout Group. I started as a Cub Leader and then became Group Scout Leader in 2012. I love being involved in scouting because it offers young people a way of gaining from and contributing to, the community in which they live. Scouting volunteers are generous, warm, fun-filled people who do their bit for others. Scouting offers lots of fun and a place to develop lifelong skills and attributes. Contact me Nancy.Craven@devonscouts.org.uk This page was last updated ​

Chris Hodgson Section Leader Scouts My Name is Chris Hodgson, I run our very large and busy scout section with the help of our other leaders and helpers. I have been in scouting as an adult since 1989, being involved at Group, District and county level. I have been a scout leader, Cub leader and Group scout leader. ​Why Scouts? I believe wholeheartedly in the ethos and values of scouting, I love the great outdoors, (& play there at every opportunity) but above all else I do it for the young people and what we as adults can give to them. It also gives to me in many ways. ​I am a BMC (British Mountaineering Council) HMLE (Hill & Moorland expedition Leader) I hold a MTA (Mountain training association) CWA & CWAA qualification (climbing wall award, climbing wall abseiling award). ​I have a scouts T1 permit (hill and moorland permit), scouts climbing and abseiling permit, scout’s nights away and expedition permit. I have the scout leaders wood badge (For finishing all training). I'm the District Nights away advisor and I hold a Rescue and emergency care certificate. And in my spare time I am a DOE leader too. So, your young people are in safe hands. Come and join us for the fun and adventure of a life time. Contact me Not available This page was last updated ​

Simon Snowball (Snowy) Section Leader Cubs I am Shere Khan, the Cub leaders have Jungle Book names, I first joined when my son was a Cub (now a Scout) as a helper and as many will tell you once you join you never leave. I am a building site manager but have other skills I enjoy teaching the Cubs and I am known as the leader who cooks the BBQ and loves doing the backwoods cooking. As a leader for 1st SidVale I am very lucky with the resources and leader team we have. The Cub section is fun and full of adventure, meaning that I get to have as much fun as the young people. Contact me ​ This page was last updated ​

Activities Scouting is full of fun, adventure and friendship. As Bear Grylls, Chief Scout says ... ​ "Two things matter in life: following your dreams and looking after your friends.” Our Scout Group is made up of a Beaver Colony, two Cub Packs, a Scout Troop and a active group of Young Leaders. The sections are run by teams of volunteer leaders and helpers who design a programme of exciting weekly activities that build skills, friendships and confidence. There’s also opportunities to join in weekend activities – like District Beaver Fun days, the Devon County Cub Challenge and the Regional Scout Cooking competition. We aim to offer all our youngsters the chance to take part in overnight stays at least once a year. For Beavers this might mean a sleepover in the Scout Centre and for Cubs a 2 or 3 night camp in The Field or other Scout facility in the County. Scouts are regular campers and also make visits to the Boy's Brigade facility at Hay Tor on Dartmoor. Our Young Leaders are encouraged to plan their own camping expeditions both near to home and further afield. Here's a brief look at some of the activities at Scouts. Climbing Our Scout Centre has a two storey indoor climbing wall. Youngsters get regular opportunities to use the wall during their weekly section meetings and at extra activity days and camps. Almost anyone can climb – you don’t need to be super fit! Good technique is more important than physical strength and our qualified instructors help youngsters to gain skill and confidence on the wall. Climbing is a very social activity – you’re never alone on the wall, and over time it can help develop concentration, determination and problem-solving. Shooting The upstairs room in the Centre is designed to be used as an indoor air rifle range. Target shooting is an international sport and many of our top shooting athletes, including Olympic participants, started their shooting careers in Scouting. Our nationally qualified instructors offer youngsters the opportunity to test out their marksmanship skills - the ability to repeatedly place shots in as small an area as possible on a target. This requires a certain degree of physical skill but it is primarily a mental sport -being able to focus and concentrate in the present moment on the task in hand. Youngsters also learn how to operate in a calm and disciplined manner – they learn how to manage a risky activity safely. Archery Evidence of archery goes back 50,000 years and has its origins in hunting food and defending yourself! However, in scouting today we like to offer it as an exciting and rewarding activity that enables young people to develop a wide range of useful skills. They develop the hand-eye coordination to aim, it builds physical strength as they become better able to control their bow, and they need patience to practice and focus to shut out distractions. Archery sessions are always run as a group so young people learn to take turns and to support each other. They develop confidence as their skills improve. Best of all anyone can do it. Kit can be adapted to enable people with disabilities to enjoy the sport too. We offer archery as an activity within our regular weekly meetings and at special weekend activity days and camps. Camp Craft Why do Scouts like camping? Because it gives us all the chance to learn how to take responsibility- to stay warm and dry and safe and not hungry. This is not trivial, and it requires a great deal of teamwork and individual strength of character to achieve. Scouting is one of many good organisations for young people. But camping is what makes scouting great! So in Sid Vale we aim to offer all our youngsters the chance to camp at least once a year. We like to make the most of the amazing camping facilities we have: a wonderful flat field, surrounded by woodland, off the beaten track. We aim to teach youngsters camp craft skills - tents, fires, knife skills, knots, cooking, map reading and so on - during our weekly meetings and then to make the most of them during camps either at our own base or further afield. Sharing the camping chores, having fun together and enjoying each others company – the bedrocks of scouting and an opportunity to learn skills for life.

Top Our Sections Beavers 6 to 8 Discover Cubs 8 to 10 and a half Discover Scouts 10 and a half to 14 Discover Explorers 14 to 18 Discover All our Sections are open to boys and girls and meet weekly in term time.

What’s the best thing about Beaver Scouts? Activities, trips and making friends are all part of what makes it so much fun for girls and boys. As well as earning activity badges, many Beavers Scouts get to go on camps and sleepovers, often for the first time. Beavers are between 6 and 8 years old. We meet once a week during term time. Leaders Sarah Fletcher What we love to do Being creative – making things and singing, playing games, going on visits and investigating nature. Learning about themselves, getting to know other people, discovering the worlds of science, nature and technology and Exploring the natural and manmade world are all what makes Beavers fun and full of adventure. What Beavers have to say The best thing we did was swim in the rain. I wasn’t even sure we were allowed to, it was brilliant! I mean we were wet anyway, so I guess it didn’t matter too much about the weather. Activities, trips and making friends are all part of what makes it so much fun for girls and boys. They do climbing, archery and lots more, As well as earning activity badges; many Beavers Scouts get to go on camps and sleepovers, often for the first time. Our Beavers "What do we have? FUN!" "What do we make? FRIENDS!" "Who are we? BEAVERS!" We build our programme around the Beaver Badge scheme covering all sorts of topics that help the youngsters find out about themselves and the world around them. By the end of their time in Beavers most of them will gain the Bronze Chief Scout Award -of which they are very proud! We have one Beaver Colony of 24 boys and girls organised into 4 Beaver Lodges - Blue Kingfishers, Brown Boulders, Green Otters and Red Rapids. We start and end all our meetings with a Beaver Damn We also have a long waiting list of youngsters waiting to join . We would dearly love to be able to open a second Colony - just need another Leader. Downloads Badges and Awards A diagram to help you position your badges on your uniform. ​ Click to view/download the PDF