The first Area update from me as a new Area Commissioner is overshadowed by the great loss of the late HM Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen was the patron of the movement and will be dearly missed and I wish to thank everyone in advance for engaging with local activities and events to pay their respects to our late monarch.

What is the Scout HQ’s guidance?
More information on the Scout’s guidance on paying respects and continuing scouting during this sad time can be found here Scouts from the home page.

Will there be an Area event to celebrate the late Queen?
I appreciate that a few people have contacted me directly asking if there will be any coordinated Area event to pay respects. I have discussed this with the District Commissioners, and I have decided that we will not be organising an Area event. In line with the above Scout HQ guidance, Groups are trusted to engage with local activities and events to honour the memory and reign of HM the Queen. 

Clwyd representatives for Operation Feather
I’m very proud to share that four Scouts from Clwyd Area have been selected for duty at Westminster Hall while Her Majesty The Queen lies in state before her funeral on Monday, 19th September. This is being organised by Scouts HQ directly with the Scouts themselves, and it is, undoubtedly, a great honour that they will remember for life. The four Scouts selected are:

  • Aled Williams – Assistant Explorer Scout Leader – Flintshire
  • Ethan King – District Youth Commissioner – Wrexham
  • Megan Sayer – District Youth Commissioner – Wrexham
  • Sarah Drew – Scouts Assistant Leader – Wrexham

Out of the 9 selected for the whole of Wales, 4 are from Clwyd which is a fact we should all be extremely proud of!

August was a hectic month as I stepped into the role as the new Area Commissioner, but I am pleased to report that there has been good progress. I have spent many evenings of the last month in meetings with the Area leadership team and others, getting to know people better and trying to obtain a pulse check. I’ve also had the pleasure of attending a few events and meeting some young people and volunteers, which has helped fill in some gaps. It’s clear to me that I still have very much to learn about the Area.

My main focus so far has been working with the Area leadership team to start the process of creating an Area plan and other supporting fundamental documents. We have agreed on a new benchmarking framework to assess the Area’s strengths and weaknesses and conducted an objective ‘as is’ assessment to know where we are starting.

We have another session booked for mid-September to add further meat to the bones and agree on the Area objectives. We will also decide on the initiatives we will take to challenge the weakness we have identified whilst further improving our strengths. Once we have finished the next planning session, I will share the progress with you all via different mediums to keep you all in the loop. Please be patient with me whilst we wrestle this into shape; it’s a big job, but we are tackling it head-on.

In late October, I will send an open invite to the Area to attend a video briefing on the new plan to anyone who wants to hear. I’ll make sure to record this and make it available to those unable to attend. More on this in October, but I hope you can join us.

Some of you may have noticed that the Area website has an update. Many of the pages have been refreshed and brought up to date, with additional updates happening all the time. Over the coming months, the website will become the central repository for news, communications and calendar events/booking.

I hope to see many of you at the Clwyd Area Annual General Meeting held at Gladstone Scout Campsite on the 25th of October. I’ve included more information on this below. I’m planning to present the Area plan at this meeting, though not the entire document.

The following month will entail more planning meetings, but I intend to get out and about in the local Groups to visit the young people and volunteers. I am looking forward to it!

The Area leadership team have created a new Area organisation chart and contact directory, available from the Scouts Clwyd website using the link below. This document aims to explain who is who at Area and who/how/why to contact them if required.

This new Area structure is based on changes that Scouts UK is making in 2023, and as such, we thought it would be best to get ahead of the curve and start planning for what the structure should look like instead of looking backwards. You will notice that there are a lot of vacancies!

I hope you find this document and the updated website helpful and that it helps you. You can find this document by going here:

Clwyd Area Scouts – About our team

So that you know – changes to this document will be made as and when needed and communicated accordingly. I would appreciate feedback on improving this document and making the Area team accessible and available to all.

Regional Surgery and Drop-in Session

When: Saturday 24th September
Where: 10 Market Street, Abergele
Who: Anyone who wishes to attend

Module 10b available during the day (First Aid validation)

It is that time again when we would like to invite you to a drop-in chat and coffee session. It’s an excellent opportunity for:

  • Networking
  • Support you and your groups in getting back to face-to-face scouting
  • Discussing funding opportunities
  • Providing well-being sessions
  • Support with Risk assessments and programme provision
  • Raising training concerns and obtaining help
  • Discussing training validations and getting your training validated
  • Anything else you want to talk about

Not available face to face?

Not a problem. If you want to chat anytime but are unable to come over to Abergele, we can arrange to have a Zoom call with you if you’re unable to attend. Send a message to aceryriamon@scoutscymru.org.uk, and we can put it for you.

Clwyd Area AGM

When: Tuesday 25th October
Where: Gladstone Scout Campsite, Manor Lane, Hawarden
Who: Anyone who wishes to attend

An agenda will be issued before the meeting. The aim is to use the forum to hear from young people and leaders attending the International Jamboree. The Area Commissioner will also present a brief session on the Area plan. We would also like to hear from the Scouts assisting with Operation Feather.

Next year’s AGM will be expanded to a full symposium format, and the date will be agreed upon and broadcast with the Area calendar before the end of 2022.