Update on the Venturer Scout Review, November 2007
The following appeared in SA Scout; Volume 1 Issue 03 - November 2007.
All members , youth and adult, should have received a copy of SA Scout.
Some of the text has been removed which listed ideas that have not been adopted since it is not relevant to this discussion.
The “dot points” of the original article have been changed to numbers so that reference to a particular point can be made within the discussion forum.
Please note that no other information is available. You may wish to search the national Scout website for more information. But as of late November, none could be found.
So... if you would like to discuss the proposed changes, go to the forum.
Significant changes have been made to the Venturer Scout Award Scheme. A recent meeting of the Venturer Scout Section Review Committee has:
- Reached agreement on the requirements of the new Venturer Award level (the mid point to the Queen’s Scout Award) which could be attained by the majority of Venturer Scouts through general participation after 12-18 months of Venturing.
- Agreed to the existing four main areas but changed name of Adventurous Activities to Outdoor Activities. In doing this there is a need to define the scope clearly to differentiate between regular sports and outdoor activities.
- Agreed to retain tapes but not the Diamonds.
- Added a specialist strand to the Award Scheme to recognise the different paths Venturers follow.
The decisions follow feedback from:
- The Youth Forum at the Jamboree
- National Youth Council Conference
- Venturer Think Tanks which were set up in each of the Branches last year
- The National Website www.scouts.com.au
After much discussion, the Committee made the following decisions about the overall Award Scheme.
The Committee agreed the process of obtaining Awards would eliminate some of the red tape and paperwork and would consist of -
- Award requirement is to be aimed at the Venturer Scout doing their personal best.
- Unit Council, working with the trained Venturer Scout Leader, approves all aspects of the Venturer Award level.
- Venturer Scout takes proposal as objectives, written or oral, to Unit Council.
- Unit Council considers and renegotiates with youth if necessary.
- If proposal is of project type, this is negotiated between the Venturer Scout, Venturer Scout Leader, Unit Council and Examiner.
- Examiner at Venturer Award level is authorised by Unit Council, working with trained Venturer Scout Leader.
- This information is shared at the District level.
- Examiner at Queen’s Scout and Endeavour Award levels (a new 'level' which incorporates the Major Interest Award) is authorised by District Leader (Venturer Scouts) or equivalent.
- This information about authorised examiners is shared at the District level.
- Project is considered by Unit Council.
- Project is accepted and approved by examiner.
- This is noted by the Unit Council.
The Committee undertook to review the Award Scheme content that is ready to make changes by the next meeting. The Committee is also starting to look at the publications, with the understanding that Award Scheme changes will need to be incorporated as decisions are made.
Other aspects of the Venturer Section which were discussed included:
- The use of the name Venturers within Scouting as the short form of Venturer Scouts.
Venturing Skills Award being created as a mid-point to the Queen’s Scout Award.
This is a typo. Confirmed by Julie Creed. It should read:
Venturer Award being created as a mid-point to the Queen’s Scout Award.- Scouts of the World Award - links to be shown within the Award Scheme.
- Duke of Edinburgh Scheme.
- Roles of Leaders.
- The DVC to assume a training role as well as monitoring badges.
- Special Interest badges and their relevance.
- Age groupings were confirmed.
- Re-affirmed the importance of the fundamentals.
For further information on the Venturer Scout Section Review, talk to the BC Venturers in your Branch or check out the National Website www.scouts.com.au
By:
Julie Creed
National Commissioner for Youth Programs
The latest review (review 2) has not been made available (as of 29 November 2007) to this web site.
But information is available from other states. Information that has been made available to Victorian venturers and Leaders is presented here.
The June 2007 update (shown below) is also available as a download:
UPDATE ON VENTURER SCOUT REVIEW1.doc (30KB)
The South Australian representative is the Branch Commissioner for Venturers:
Steve Palmer
Phone: 0408 807 933
Email:
