Member opinion
Making the programme my own
‘The fact that the themes run through all the levels is brilliant’
Martha Coleman is leader at 1st Grange Park Brownies, Guides and Rangers. She shares her experiences of using the new programme with different age groups
‘We introduced our Guides and Rangers to the programme about a year ago, and the Brownies started using it last term. We started out by doing things as a whole unit so we and the girls could get our heads around it, and we’ve all really enjoyed it.
‘As leaders, we can pick up a skills builder or unit meeting activity (UMA) and slot it into each week, which means we’re able to divide the planning more easily and take more of a team approach to running the sessions. It also makes it easier for the Rangers to help out, as they now have greater ownership of the programme.
New skills
‘I feel like I’m learning new things. For example, I’ve discovered that origami is not my forte! But we were able to have a go. Under the old programme we’d have just done things that we already had the skills for. Now everything’s laid out step-by-step, so I didn’t have to be an origami expert to run an origami activity.
Continuity
‘The fact that the themes run through all the levels is brilliant. We went on our annual camp during the May half term – the Guides did Camp skills builder stage four and the Rangers did Camp stage five. We were able to do similar activities but aimed at the different age levels.
‘We realised the Rangers had completed level four while they were there too, so they were pleased to get two badges out of it. It makes the transition easier for the girls when they move from Brownies to Guides as well, because they know they’re going to carry on doing similar things.
‘I feel like I’m learning new things,’ says Martha
‘As leaders, we can pick up a skills builder or UMA and slot it into each week’
Choice and empowerment
‘The girls enjoy choosing what they want to do – the structure helps them decide, and that’s really empowering. We can put it to the whole unit to work out which skills builder they want to do, and then work out together what level to aim for.
‘When we started the programme with our Brownies, we did “eyes closed, hands up” to pick which of the six themes they wanted to do. They chose the Be Well theme, and then we did it again so they could choose between First aid and Feel good. They love the new badges and the colour coding really helps them spot what they’re working towards. They’re all keen to push forward.
Flexibility
‘We’ve found the resources super flexible. One evening we’d organised a mini-golf trip which we had to cancel on the day because of rain; at the last minute we were able to use the programme to run a session that didn’t need resources and that still counted towards their UMA hours. It was really simple, and the girls were even happier because they knew they were still working towards something while they were having fun.
I’ve also found that, if an activity has lots of resources that we don’t have to hand, we can make simple switches to use other items and in doing so, we make the activity really reflect our unit – we own it!
‘Before the new programme came in, I was a little apprehensive about what it would be like, but I really love it. It’s a new challenge, but that’s a real positive – it’s reinvigorated my love for guiding.’
Martha says the new programme has reinvigorated her love for guiding
‘The girls enjoy choosing what they want to do – the structure helps them decide, and that’s really empowering’
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