Parents

The most important aspect of parent involvement is the encouragement you give to your child. The boys and girls who get the most out of Scouting are those who put the most into it. All children have times when they need encouragement, and certainly times when they need some help.
This is where you come in.

Northridge Para Vista Scout Group is a fully voluntary organisation. The Leaders all have full daytime commitments like yourself. Other than the time at the meeting nights, they all spend many hours preparing for the various activities, keeping up with training requirements and many other activities behind the scenes.

The support given will depend on the individual circumstances of each family. Areas in which regular help is needed are:

Transport
Occasionally transporting the children to various activities included in our program.

Working Bees
The Scout Hall and Shed need regular maintenance activities to ensure the facility is kept in good repair and that our members and tenants are in a safe and pleasant environment. The Committee has three working bees each year and each family is expected to assist at one of them, or in some other tangible way (for example offer specialised skills for a particular project - for example electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, carpentry, accounting.

Assisting on meeting nights
This particularly applies to the Joey and Cub sections. There are occasions when the Cub Leaders can do with an extra pair of hands, eyes and ears. If we call for a little extra help, it is good to know that there are parents willing to assist.

In the Joey section parents play a vital role in maintaining an effective adult/child ratio. It is usual that two parents are on a roster to assist with each meeting.

Parent Helpers have volunteered to provide regular assistance to the uniformed leaders. Parent Helpers undergo an annual Police certification check and assist with cooking at camps, supervising activities and other general tasks. 

Parents Committee

The Parents Committee’s main function is to support the Leaders to ensure that we have an active and healthy group. The committee:

• controls group finance,
• maintains (and cleans) the hall and grounds,
• completes submissions for special funding, organizes fundraising and social activities,
• seeks potential leaders,
• promotes the Group and Scouting in community to ensure growth in membership.

The Parents Committee is elected at an Annual General Meeting usually held in April of each year. Members are required to attend meetings each month to plan and develop activities with the Leader in charge. Visitors are welcome.

This Committee includes a chairperson, treasurer and secretary, and at least one representative from the hall maintenance, fundraising and publicity committees.

Joining the Parents Committee is one of the ways in which interested parents can support their child's Scouting without the weekly commitment of being a Leader. It is also a good way to get to know other parents and to find out what is happening in the Group.

Becoming a uniformed leader
Leadership is not for everyone, but if it interests you, please speak to any one of the leaders. They will tell you that they get just as much fun out of it as the kids, and a very real sense of achievement and of doing something worthwhile for the community. Experience is not required. Remember, there is no such thing as a professional Scout Leader. Most Leaders used to be just a Mum or Dad like you, but the Scout Association provides an “accredited” leader training program. Without volunteer leaders we wouldn’t have a Scout Group for your child to join! Do you have a special interest in adventurous activities (eg canoeing, hiking, camping), you could be an activity Leader for the Group and pass on your skills to our youth. Find out more

To ensure our Scouting activities may be run safely, timely and with fun for all, we therefore ask parents to observe and reinforce with their children the following code of conduct:

Please try to be on time for activities, and have the appropriate paperwork with you, this just maximizes the time we get having fun on activities.

Please respect our opening and closing ceremonies at every meeting.

Please respect our investiture ceremonies; these are important to all youth members.

Please help educate your children about the importance of respectful behaviour during these ceremonies.

Please hold your catch up chats with other parents outside the Scout Hall, in the kitchen or back room.

Please effectively manage siblings to ensure they are not an interruption or distraction to our Scouting activities and ceremonies.

Please effectively manage siblings within the Scout Hall and other activities sites for their own safety and the safety of our youth members.

Parent help is crucial to our Scout Group. Parents are encouraged to seek out things to help with from cleaning the kitchen or assisting with an activity. Check the full list on the entry area notice board.

Please remind your child to behave responsibly with their fellow Joeys, Cubs and Scouts to allow all youth members and Leaders enjoy our activities. Please also ensure your child is ready and willing to participate themselves.

Finally, a reminder that all our Leaders happily volunteer their time to Scouting and your child – please ensure your child is respectful and responsive to all Leaders at all times.