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Joining FAQs

How much does it cost?

Each member pays £165 per year, split into monthly payment of £15 per month (excluding August).

Lots more information on finances and where the money goes is available on our Uniform and Costs page

Where do we meet?

We are lucky to have a purpose built centre for our headquarters. Our address is:

The Scouting Centre, Shepway Close, Folkestone CT19 5SJ

Parking is available in Shepway Close and the hall is a short walk along a fully lit path.

When do we meet?

All our sections meet weekly.

Squirrels4-6 yrs oldTuesdays5pm to 6pm
Beavers (1)6-8 yrs oldMondays5.15pm to 6.30pm
Beavers (2)6-8 yrs oldWednesdays5.15pm to 6.30pm
Cubs8-10.5 yrs oldTuesdays6.45pm to 8.15pm
Scouts10.5-14 yrs oldFridays7pm to 9pm
Explorers14-18 yrs oldWednesdays7pm to 9pm

How does the joining list work?

The joining list process is broken into 3 stages, as explained below:

Submission

  1. Parent is pointed to the 11thfolkestonescouts.org.uk website.
  2. Parent completes the registration form.
  3. Form is submitted to Online Scout manager.
  4. Parent is emailed a copy of their submission.
  5. Membership Matters team is emailed a copy of the submission.

The next step

  1. Membership Matters team review submission on the joining list.
  2. Admin checks the age, and if less than 5 3/4 the parent is contacted to acknowledge receipt.

Review & Offer

  1. The Membership Matters team/section leader reviews the list for members who are in the correct age range.
  2. The section leader contacts the parent and offers a place or identifies a likely start date if in the future, and updates the Contact Record.
  3. The section leader liaises with the parent throughout the offer, keeping the Contact Record up to date throughout
  4. Once the offer is accepted the section leader will transfer the submission with their OSM instance to enable the parent to easily receive section communications such as programme & event details and complete the data collection requirements

Where is my child on the joining list?

The joining list is not strictly linear, a number of factors will be taken into consideration to ensure that the young person gets a quality time in scouting.  Which may mean if your child gets close to the upper age range for their current section, they will be considered for the next section.

For example Johnny has been on the list since he was 4 years old, but he is now 7 years and 10 months old. Janey has been on the list since she was 5, and is 5 years 10 months old, it is likely that the place will be offered to Janey over Johnny, because Janey will have more time in Beavers than Johnny will. By the time Johnny has settled in it’ll be time to move him to cubs, and unsettle him again.

Our preference is to maximise  the experience for the young person, over strict linear churn through the joining list.

The ages at which the joining list administration team move young people between lists is as follows:


Age Ranges
Squirrels0 years – 5 years 10 months
Beavers5 years 11 Months – 7 years 10 months
Cubs7 years 11 Months – 10 years
Scouts10 years 1 month – 13 year 6 months
Explorers13 years 6 months – 18 years

However there may be some variations at the discretion of the relevant sections leaders. Our admissions policy is final.

What do I wear?

Comfortable clothes that you don’t mind possibly getting a little bit dirty. We are often outside or using paints or other messy craft items, so don’t wear anything brand new or precious. Trainers are great and in the winter months please do bring a coat as we may be heading out for some of the meeting. You can see what we’re planning to do each week by looking at the front page of our website and scrolling down to the programme section.

Then what?

Come back a little bit before the end of the meeting time and come back into the hall. They’ll often be tea/coffee that you are very welcome to help yourself too. We’ll only let Beavers & Cubs leave the hall if we can see an adult to collect them, so please do come in.

Hopefully we’ll then see you next week and everything will be a little less scary!