Welcome to Scouting
Scouting is a youth movement with over 28 million members in 216 countries and territories.
The experience of Scouts will stay with children for the rest of their lives. In the UK, each week the Scout Association helps over 460,000 young people aged 6-25 enjoy fun and adventure while developing the skills they need to succeed, now and in the future.
Scouting is open to all girls and boys aged 6 to 25 of every faith, ability and background.
There are five sections
- Beavers Scouts 6–8 years
- Cub Scouts 8–10.5 years
- Scouts 10.5–14 years
- Explorer Scouts 14–18 years
- Network 18–25 years
Whilst the activities they take part in will depend on their age, each section gives young people the opportunity to learn by doing. Scouting is all about adventure at all levels and in many forms.
Join our Waiting List
If you are interested in joining the Witney Buttercross Explorers, Scouts, Cubs or Beavers, or if would like to find out more about becoming a parent helper or leader, please contact us at join.wbsg@gmail.com or join our waiting list below. Please also read through our admissions policy.
Join our waiting list on Online Scout Manager (OSM)
Collection Notice
Information provided about yourself and your child(ren) (‘personal data’) on our waiting list form on Online Scout Manager (OSM) will only be used for the purpose of registering your place on the Witney Buttercross Scout Group (WBSG) waiting list. We are processing your data only because you have given us your consent to do so by submitting the form on OSM. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us. In this event, we will stop the processing as soon as we can. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before your withdrawal of consent. Access to your data within WBSG will be provided to those who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above. We will only retain your data for as long as we need it to meet our purposes, including any relating to legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Your data will be held securely in accordance with WBSG’s policies and procedures and will not be shared with third parties. Further information on OSM’s security and privacy policies is available on the OSM website.
We (WBSG) are the ‘data controller’ for this information, which means we are responsible for looking after it in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and associated data protection legislation. If you wish to raise any queries or concerns about our use of your data with respect to the purposes described above, please contact us via join.wbsg@gmail.com in the first instance.
Admissions Policy
Witney Buttercross is a large and popular scout group and we operate a waiting list for each age group.
In general, young people are admitted to our sections three times a year: in January, Easter and September.
We do our best to start new Beavers in a Colony soon after they turn six, but we cannot guarantee this. Being on the waiting list means that when your child is old enough and there is a space available, it will be offered to you. Children who have been on the waiting list the longest have preference, i.e. when there are two children with birth dates in the same school term and only one place, the child who has been on the waiting list the longest will have priority.
When spaces arise within our groups, we reserve the right to give priority to:
- the children of leaders and Exec members;
- the children of potential leaders and Exec members;
- our own members moving on;
- our own waiting list;
- children who are already members of another Scout Group in another part of the county or country who have moved to Witney. This is in accordance with the District’s policy.
We are always in need of adult leaders. If we don’t have enough leaders, then the numbers in our sections have to be restricted, or sections may even have to close. This is why, as part of our policy to attract and retain adult leaders, the children of adult leaders (or adults undertaking supporting roles for the group) will be given priority for places in our sections. If you are interested in going into uniform as a leader or assistant leader, or want to support our scout group in another way please contact us!
Policy last updated March 2016