June 2019 update

Reuben Cone, Publicity

Saturday 1st of June 2019

Report

• With help from the Webmaster I revamped SSAGO Support with a new logo, website and created all the events for the coming year
• Undertook a substantial social media audit, clearing out all the unnecessary people the accounts were following, reverted back to the original logo after a long overdue time with the 50th Anniversary one
• Logged the social media accounts for all clubs in a mega spreadsheet
• General social media work, producing posts and the occasional dank meme
• Went to Fundays - had a good time!

Aims

• Creation of SSAGO badge programme: Create infrastructure for SSAGO Clubs challenge badge system as mentioned in manifesto. Open to suggestions for other types of badges. E.g. nights away, committee positions, ‘I’ve been on a SSAGO International!’
• Overhaul of SSAGO social media: Starting with an update to cover pictures etc. Possibly produce an updated video with footage from Ball, Rally, Keele’s International and WSJ (If someone can film for me!) in time for Freshers. Would like to use Twitter to create more friendly interaction between clubs, currently our account is a bit cluttered and ‘following’ list needs slimming down.
• Motivate and guide clubs on their social media: Contact every club and encourage them to make sure things are up to date for the start of the new term. This includes the SSAGO website details like descriptions, committee and mascot details.
• SSAGO Supports: Make SSAGO Supports the best it can be. This includes attending as much as I can, encouraging members to attend and making sure we have a productive and enjoyable time.
• Scouting and Guiding: Some kind of push from official Scouting and Guiding channels closer to Freshers. Ranging from small things like a Facebook post to changing our content on their websites as I don’t think it’s a great representation of who we really are.

June 2019 update

Lucy Tregoning, Treasurer

Saturday 1st of June 2019

Report

• Completed the mandates to take control of the SSAGO bank accounts
• Started this years accounts, finalised last years accounts and have ensured that all transactions are accounted for in the last 15 months
• Started creating a database of resources for Rally and Ball committees
• Gone over previous budgets to see where SSAGO expenditure is too high, in order to change in the future
• Liaised with Rally & Ball committees to start the planning process and produce budgets
• Spent some time with the exec and have learnt LOADS about SSAGO

Aims

• Quarterly breakdowns of expenditures
• Curve unnecessary and unproductive spending
• Invest more money into Rallies and Support

Constitution Consultation Update

Joshua Smith & Lexie Massie

Friday 12th of April 2019

This is an update on the proposed new SSAGO Constitution following the full membership consultation that took place.

Overview of Updates

A massive thank you to everyone who took part in the full membership consultation on the proposed constitution changes. We have now used all of your feedback and proposed amendments to update the Articles of Association and Bylaws to create a draft. 

Key Updates

Several updates were made to the Advisory Committee to emphasise that apart from in exceptional emergency circumstances (i.e. the entire SSAGO Exec dies/resigns or SSAGO ceases to exist) they are purely advisory and do not make any decisions. It is up to the student membership of SSAGO to shape and determine its own future. 

The Complaints Process has been updated slightly so that in the event of a complaint being made about the entire SSAGO Exec the process will be followed by the Advisory Committee. Once that process was complete the Advisory Committee would feedback to the Full Committee (Reps) and advise them on how best to proceed. The Full Committee then would ultimately decide if and what disciplinary action should be taken. 

Any appeal through the Complaints Process now also would go to the Full Committee (Reps). 

As requested, a spreadsheet comparing the key changes between the old and proposed new changes has also been created. 

What’s Next? 

You’ve been provided 6 weeks to suggest any alterations the proposed changes. If you have any final final bits of feedback on the the final versions please do not hesitate to contact us by 5pm Monday. We then plan to hold a full members vote to approve the changes from Wednesday. Voting will remain open for two week. 

Responses to Your Feedback

What happens about bullying and manipulating behaviour?
Bullying and manipulation would be dealt with as outlined in the Complaints Process Bylaw and Members Code of Conduct. 

No repercussions if conflicts go un-declared and are later identified?
If a conflict of interest was to go undeclared and later be identified it should be dealt with through Complaints Process Bylaw. Depending on the severity of the conflict members may alternatively trigger a vote of no confidence as outlined in the SSAGO Executive Officers Bylaw.
 
Should a time limit be set for being on the Advisory Committee?
The member of the old SSAGO Exec who sits on the Advisory Committee is replaced every year as a new SSAGO Exec takes over. Representatives of Scouting, Guiding and SAGGA are selected by their respective organisations and may change as appropriate depending on the issue that comes up.

I think that ssago exec should be able to claim that an Advisory Committee member has a conflict of interest as. 
This is covered in the conflict of interest part of the Advisory Committee Bylaw. Where a member has has a conflict their respective organisation may be instructed to send a suitable replacement.  

The whole Advisory Committee takes away almost all power from Exec.
The Advisory Committee is intended to support the SSAGO Exec with advice and only make decisions in emergency circumstances where the SSAGO Exec cannot. These are situations such as when a complaint is levied against the entire SSAGO Exec or there ceases to be a SSAGO Exec able to make decisions (e.g. they are removed by vote of no confidence or all/mostly die). 

This Bylaw has been updated to make clear that this is emergency circumstances only. Where the Advisory Committee are involved in a the Complaints Process this has been updated to emphasise that they advise the SSAGO Exec how to proceed, or in if the complaint is about the SSAGO Exec they advise the Full Committee (Reps) how to proceed.   

I think that the Advisory Committee have the potential to have too much power and control over Reps and the Exec. Several of the policies give the Advisory Committee the final say on matters, and people who are not currently students should not be given this right. It is the Student Scout and Guide Organisation and with the Advisory Committee (consisting of potentially only 1 student member) having more control than the Exec, this isn’t right.
The Advisory Committee is only meant to have emergency powers if there is no SSAGO Exec (e.g. they are removed by vote of no confidence or all/mostly die). The relevant Bylaws have been updated emphasise this more clearly. The Complaints Process has been updated so that the SSAGO Advisory Committee either advise the SSAGO Exec or Full Committee (Reps) how to proceed, ultimately leaving the decision with SSAGO’s members. 

The SSAGO Full Committee (i.e. Reps) is be the ultimate decision-making body of SSAGO. The Advisory Committee should be able to advise on matters, but decisions should be brought before the full committee for ratification. We'd like this to not end up being a shadowy body above the exec. with the ability to make decisions that clubs/the membership cannot input into, or ultimately reject.
In the current SSAGO Constitution the Full Committee (Reps) has no say in constitutional changes to SSAGO and may have any changes to Policy Documents it makes rejected by The Scouts or Girlguiding. Where the constitution is split into Articles of Association and Bylaws the Full Committee (Reps) now has to approve all Bylaw changes. It may also amend, create and remove Policy Documents without the approval of The Scouts or Girlguiding. 

One area of concern is the role of the full committee to only "Jointly amend Bylaws" with the advisory committee - this puts the vote of all clubs (and by extension the full membership) on par with the three votes needed for the Advisory Committee to make a decision (does the current Exec member's vote in this committee count at this stage?), largely stripping clubs of the ability to effect change if the Advisory Committee disagrees - if this is not the intention then it needs some rewording - the advisory committee should not be above the full committee.
The current SSAGO Constitution requires approval from The Scouts and Girlguiding to make any constitutional changes. As the responsibilities of Scouting, Guiding and SAGGA have now been grouped together in the Advisory Committee this responsibility now falls with them. The constitutional restructure splits our current constitution into Articles of Association and Bylaws, so having any Bylaw changes approved by the Advisory Committee is a continuation of that policy. It has been updated from ‘jointly amend’ to ‘approve’. 

As with the current constitutional policy, it’s expected that were a change to be rejected it would be for a very good reason. This would allow SSAGO to reconsider the proposed changes and amend if appropriate. Were either Scouting, Guiding and SAGGA to become unnecessarily obstructive to SSAGO and frustrate the process of updating our constitution we would have to as an organisation reconsider our fundamental relationship with these organisations. 

The SSAGO Advisory Committee must be invited to all General Meetings and shall act as independent adjudicators to all votes" - adjudicators only if there's a tied vote, or does this small select group have the ability to override the votes of clubs/full members?
This meant the Advisory Committee would oversee the votes to ensure they were carried out appropriately and not that they would have a vote themselves. In the event of a tie the meeting chair has the deciding vote. This section was repetition of the Returning Officer and teller responsibility and has now been removed . 

How likely is getting all members in attendance (i.e. what is Scouting/Girlguiding's current track record of making meetings?) - if we don't get these then the input to the Advisory Committee is likely going to be just the current chair, previous chair, and maybe SAGGA?
The Scouts and Girlguiding over the past couple of years have always met with SSAGO together, and have requested more joint meetings as part of the Memorandum of Agreement to strengthen our future relationship. This is a continuation of that. Quoracy is deliberately three so if required the SSAGO Exec, SAGGA and old Exec representative could appoint a Returning Officer for the AGM and auditor for the accounts. 

It sounds like somebody needs to look up the definition of the word "advisory", as this all sounds like a bit of a power grab really.
The Advisory Committee would only have ‘control’ of SSAGO in emergency circumstances were there to be no SSAGO Exec or in the event SSAGO ceased to exist. Wording in the Bylaws has been updated to emphasise this more strongly that outside of this emergency circumstances their role is solely to support and advise SSAGO. 

Such a recent past Exec member is unlikely to be impartial on matters, whether they are in favour or not. 
A member of the previous SSAGO Exec sits on the Advisory Committee to ensure continuity between SSAGO Execs and advise on recent decisions or issues. Conflict of interest is covered in the SSAGO Meetings and SSAGO Advisory Committee Bylaws. Were a member to be conflicted on an issue in first instance an alternative member from the previous SSAGO Exec would be attempted to be found. If that were not possible they would have no say on that issue.

Almost half of the Advisory Committee could potentially be involved in the things they are advising on, which isn't right. The committee as a whole also reviewed this and came to similar results. They felt that as it is, it has too many potential places for conflicts of interests, and people abusing the system in the future. We considered several fixes, but all were major changes beyond the scope of this comment.
Conflict of interest is covered in the SSAGO Meetings and SSAGO Advisory Committee Bylaws. Were an old or current SSAGO Exec member to be conflicted on an issue in first instance an alternative member from the their respective SSAGO Exec would be attempted to be found. If that were not possible they would have no say on that issue. They would only be allowed to contribute to parts of the discussion if deemed appropriate by the remaining members. 

With the old and current SSAGO Exec members removed enough members of the Advisory Committee would be left for it to reach quorum. If the entire SSAGO Exec were conflicted that would suggest the complaint being dealt with is about the SSAGO Exec and that the Advisory Committee would be advising the Full Committee (Reps) how to proceed with that complaint.   

If we deem the Exec not be following these, would the Advisory Committee step in?
The Complaints Process would be followed. This has been updated so that were the complaint about the whole SSAGO Exec it would be dealt with by the Advisory Committee who would advise the Full Committee (Reps) on how to proceed. 

Potentially situations where this may come into conflict with SU policies for clubs? (e.g. if SSAGO removes national membership, but under our SU rules we cannot remove an individual's club membership, we may still need to let them be part of the club but also not a national member?)
As happens currently their national membership to SSAGO would cease. Depending on the severity of why they were removed it may be appropriate for their students’ union to be informed who may start their own disciplinary processes. 

Would putting a time frame for addressing complaints be worth it? Different complaints may take different lengths of time to address however.
No time frame is set to ensure flexibility for all issues that could crop up.  

Ensure there's a clear way to complain about an individual who could be on both Exec and Advisory Committee. I think this is best done through an online form where it shows you who will receive the email.
This is something that does not need including in the Bylaw but can be explored. 

Gives undue power to the Advisory Committee rather than the Full Committee.
The Complaints Process has been updated so the Advisory Committee would advise the Full Committee on how to proceed with a serious complaint involving the SSAGO Exec. This gives the Full Committee the ultimate power to decide any appropriate action. 

I wonder whether something about if other SSAGO clubs will hear about decisions made as a learning point (i.e. transparency or if will be confidential).
Most complaints will be confidential as is current practice to protect the privacy and welfare of the individuals involved. The SSAGO Exec can explore finding away to share learning points from this process. This process itself is developed from the learning points of the past few years of complaints that have been dealt with by the SSAGO Exec. 

For the final version, a proper diff between old and new should be produced - there are a lot of changes to the structure of meetings and votes which seem to shift power away from the Full Committee which are hard to spot without going deep and comparing.
A spreadsheet comparing powers and responsibilities of different groups and meetings in the current constitution and new constitution is below. 

Commented on the document relating to meetings at Ball, allowing things like no confidence votes online (which should make things more democratic and easier if it's ever needed) etc.
No confidence votes have been updated so voting can take place at Ball and online, but only once both parties of the motion have been given equal chance to defend their position.

Make the Advisory Committee advisory and retain the Full Committee's overall power.
The Full Committee gains additional powers in the proposed changes to amend parts of SSAGO’s constitution. The Advisory Committee would only have ‘control’ of SSAGO in emergency circumstances were there to be no SSAGO Exec or in the event SSAGO ceased to exist. Wording in the Bylaws has been updated to emphasise this more strongly that outside of this emergency circumstances their role is solely to support and advise SSAGO. 
 
Point 6.3.2 (in the Bylaws) seems to contradict an earlier point. It states that "Once called, a General Meeting must be at the next SSAGO Rally...", which appears to contradict 6.1.4 which says 2 weeks notice must be given for it to occur at a Rally. It appears that if you call a general meeting within the 2 week proceeding a rally that you have one rule saying you don't have enough time for notice and another saying that it must occur.
This has been corrected to say that an ‘EGM must occur within 8 weeks’ as the notice required to be given is already specified in 6.1.4. 

We would like the Exec to review the numbering within the document and possibly the layout itself to allow it to be more accessible and easier to read for members.
The layout of the document follows standard practise for most charitable organisations and is similar to that used by students’ unions. It brings our governing documents in line with the requirements to register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with the Charity Commission. It presents all of the content of the existing SSAGO Constitution in a much more ordered way and removes conflicting points. 

Something to remove the possibility of potential abuse of the system or conflict of interest.
Conflict of interest is covered in the SSAGO Meetings and SSAGO Advisory Committee Bylaws, and requires anyone with a conflict to not be involved in any decisions relating to that conflict. Any breach of this would be dealt with the Complaints Process and if required disciplinary measures.  

Potentially the member of a past Exec having to be from at least 3-5 years ago, or only present as a non-voting member. We also felt there should be a maximum term of approximately a couple of years for this member.
The member of the previous SSAGO Exec only serves on the Advisory Committee for one year before the are replaced by an outgoing member of the next SSAGO Exec the following year. They are on the Advisory Committee to provide continuity between the two SSAGO Execs.  

Have Honorary and Life memberships now been combined?
Honorary Membership and life membership are the same thing.  

Are we no longer stating "at least level 4 education" as that was the case before or is that assumed in "further education"?
The wording is taken from the current constitution. 

If an Exec member is no longer a student, however, count as a full member, do they pay associate or student rate?
They would be required to pay the Full Membership rate unless this was set differently. 

Where has SAGGA Rep gone in the Assistant roles?
SAGGA Liaison has now been added to the Assistant roles. 

This is the Student Scout and Guide Organisation, it shouldn't be possible for non/ex-Students to make decisions that cannot be rejected or amended by the actual Student membership of the organisation.
Students gain additional powers in the proposed changes and more control over their governing documents. Non-students would only have ‘control’ of SSAGO in emergency circumstances were there to be no SSAGO Exec (e.g. they are removed by vote of no confidence or all/mostly die) or in the event SSAGO ceased to exist. This is in line with SSAGO’s existing dissolution policies which have been updated to add emphasis on holding an EGM to elect a new SSAGO Exec or restarting SSAGO if it had ceased to exist. 

Reps Voting Results – February Rally 2019

Lexie Massie & Joshua Smith

Friday 12th of April 2019

22 clubs took part in the most recent Reps voting, and this article will summarise some of the key results gained from it.

Thank you to all the clubs who spoke to their members and voted with their views. It is great to see so many clubs engaged with both their members and with National SSAGO. A short summary of the key decisions made and their outcomes are outlined in this article. The full responses can be found in the resources below.

Key Outcomes

• The creation of additional SSAGO bank accounts was approved by 89% of clubs as it is hoped this will make the organising process easier for regional events
• The proposed changes to the Accident & Incident Reporting Policy Document were approved by 92% of clubs, ensuring the policy is up to date
• The Archive Team’s bid for an archiving weekend was approved by 93% of clubs, an event which will benefit the future of SSAGO archiving, as it will give more SSAGO members a chance to get involved, and would be good publicity for SSAGO having this information on the website
• The Exec-Elect’s bid for a 1 year student license of Adobe Cloud was approved by 81% of clubs as it will be a useful tool for the promotion of SSAGO over the next year, allowing us to create a more professional looking image

Badges

• 72% of SSAGO clubs would prefer badges that sit individually, whilst 16% of clubs would prefer interlocking badges for the proposed SSAGO Night’s Away badges
• There was a 50/50 split between clubs preferring the badges to be the same colour, and clubs preferring the badges to be a different colour

Constitutional Changes

A massive thank you to everyone who took part in the constitutional changes full membership consultation launched in February at the AGM. All the feedback you provided and proposed amendments have been addressed in a separate article available here. Using your feedback a final version of the constitution has been completed ready for full membership approval.  

Support

Thank you for letting us know what sort of support your clubs receive. We will use this feedback to identify ways in which SSAGO will be able to provide the support that different clubs require.

• Clubs receive varying levels of support from their Student Union’s, with many clubs receiving none or very little support. Many of the clubs have access to their SU’s minibuses, and are able to apply for funding, but the amounts gained from this are generally limited.
• Some clubs have good relations with their local Scouting and Guiding, and are able to use local Scout huts for a reduced fee and borrow kit. However some clubs currently receive no support from their local Scouting and Guiding.
• Clubs have requested even more publicity resources from National SSAGO. They would also like access to National’s merchandise links, so that they can order clothing and other resources for their clubs at hopefully a cheaper price. However, in general, clubs are happy with the level of support they receive from SSAGO.

What Next?

The Exec will now work to implement your decisions. If you would like anything to be discussed in our next SSAGO Exec meeting, or to raise any issues then please let us know. The Exec can be contacted at [email protected]

Introducing Lexie Massie

Lexie Massie, Chair

Sunday 17th of February 2019

Hello, I am Lexie, and I have somehow been elected as your Chair for the next year! I have been in SSAGO for almost 5 years now, spending 4 years studying Zoology at the University of Southampton, and have now come down to the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus to study a masters in Conservation and Biodiversity.

I discovered SSAGO at the very start of my first year, having previously been unaware of its existence, and very quickly became heavily involved. I have held the roles of Social Secretary, Quartermaster and Guide Liaison for Southampton SSAGO, and have been part of the working groups for Dino Rally and our upcoming international trip. This year I managed to start up a SSAGO for Cornwall, Kernow SSAGO, and held the role of President.

I have been a part of Guiding ever since I joined Brownies at the age of 7, and am yet to leave! 7 year old me definitely never thought it would become such a big part of my life, and I certainly have SSAGO to thank for that! As much as I enjoy being a leader, it is when I am with SSAGO that I feel the most at home. SSAGO has provided me with so many great opportunities, and I feel honoured to have been given the chance to run and support this fantastic organisation that we all love.

I am looking forward to spending the next year helping SSAGO to be the best that it can be! I want to make sure that you, the members, really feel listened to, and to be able to shape the organisation to how you want it to be. I am sure many of you have some great ideas for how you would like to see SSAGO progress, so please get in touch, and remember, SSAGO is known for being silly, so your suggestions certainly won’t sound silly compared to many of our beloved SSAGO traditions! How often do you really see a group of adults fighting over a cuddly toy?

Introducing Lucy Tregoning

Lucy Tregoning, Treasurer

Sunday 17th of February 2019

Well hello there, my name is Lucy and I’m your new Treasurer for the next year! Currently, I am studying Business Administration & Economics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, but I am originally from the Cotswolds.

Throughout the 11 years I’ve been a Scout, I have built a huge repertoire of experience, skills and friendships that have shaped me into who I am today. My mum always says that if you cut me open, ‘Scouting’ would be written on my heart and ‘be prepared’ would be written in my head. Within Scouting I have had many fantastic experiences including as a District Youth Commissioner; attending two World Scout Jamborees; over 250 nights away and been on the organising team for Strategy & Evolution. This year I am even organising a county all-adult ski trip!

I am relatively new to SSAGO but so far it has been a whirlwind of fun! It has been an honour to be part of Glasgow SSAGO and protect our Highland Cow. SSAGO has built me countless friendships so far from across the country as well as connect with fellow Scouts from my past.

After putting myself out there and having a knack for numbers, Treasurer seems a fitting role for me. As treasurer, I intend to make all the behind the scenes work and planning faster, easier and more efficient. This will be achieved by providing resources, improving the payment systems and being an available helping hand.

I look forward to meeting more of you! Let’s hope for another fabby year of SSAGO memories!

Manifesto for Chair

Lexie Massie, Chair

Tuesday 12th of February 2019

Who am I?

I am Lexie, and this is my fifth year in SSAGO. I was part of Southampton SSAGO for four years, and am now the Chair of Kernow SSAGO, a new club which I have recently set up for universities within Cornwall.

Why am I running?

I am running for the position of Chair because I really care about SSAGO. It has been a huge part of my life for the past 4 ½ years, and I talk about it constantly. Because I love SSAGO so much, I want to help ensure the longevity of this fantastic organisation. Being elected as Chair will help me ensure future members have the same, amazing experience I have had, hopefully getting them really enthused about SSAGO, Guiding and Scouting. At SSAGO’s 50^th Reunion Camp, I really saw the impact SSAGO has had on people’s lives, and I would like to keep this going, allowing SSAGO to continue to grow.

What would I like to achieve?

Although last years exec have made huge progress in securing SSAGOs future, they have only had a year, so it is still a work in progress. Therefore, I would like to continue working through the policy documents with the membership, implementing them.

• As much as we all hate surveys (sorry Josh!), I feel they are invaluable in helping SSAGO to improve, so I would like to continue with the post-event feedback forms.
  • I would like to review the previous full membership survey to ensure the changes that followed it, such as the increased food budget on Rallies, have had their desired effect.
• Work closely with the Members Officer to ensure that SSAGO as a whole is happy. As SSAGO continues to grow, there is a risk that current members may feel they are not being listened to, simply due to the size of the organisation, so I am keen to prevent this from happening.
  • Rather than setting up new clubs, I would like to put an emphasis on assisting new and struggling clubs, making sure they feel they really belong in SSAGO.
  •  Having set up a new club myself in this past year, I have found there to be very little guidance, which may make the task quite daunting for someone completely new to SSAGO.
  • Therefore I would like to continue going through the present factsheets, and making them more detailed where needed.

• Implement SSAGO Regions – I feel this will really help bring SSAGO clubs together, improving inter-club relationships.
  • This will likely have a positive impact on attendance at national events due to easier transport sharing, and new members feeling more confident as they have already met other clubs at a smaller event prior to Rally.
  • Benefits of these regions have already been shown by the South West and Midlands annual fresher’s camps.
  • Regions will be particularly important for Indie members as it would allow them to have more regular contact with other SSAGO members, hopefully increasing their attendance at national events.

Why am I suitable?

Having been a member of SSAGO for 4 ½ years now, I feel I have sufficient experience for the position of Chair.

• I have been on a variety of SSAGO committees, including holding the roles of Social Secretary, Quartermaster and Guide Liaison for Southampton SSAGO, Logistics for Dino Rally, and Secretary for SSAGO Reunion.
• Most recently I have set up Kernow SSAGO, and currently hold the position of Chair.

These roles have taught me a range of skills, including how to manage my time effectively, and has given me experience in working as part of a team.

I feel I would make a good Chair as I am really committed to SSAGO. I try my hardest to attend all national events, even making it to Lancaster’s Fantasy Rally all the way from Cornwall, and bringing two others with me! This is my 14^th Rally, and I have also attended 3 Ball’s, Witan and Reunion. Because I have attended so many events, I know lots of people within SSAGO, past and present. I have gained so much by being a part of SSAGO, and I would love to share these benefits with others.

Manifesto for Publicity Officer

Reuben Cone, Publicity

Tuesday 12th of February 2019

Hello!

I’m Reuben, a third year Biology student and current Chair of Keele SSAGO.

For almost three years SSAGO has been a massive part of my life. When I arrived at Keele, the club had half a committee, had never properly been to a national event and most importantly didn’t have a mascot. I jumped straight in as Treasurer on the committee, and as a team we helped to build the foundations with an improved logo, merchandise and adopted Scruffy Squirrel. In the year after that I became Scout and Guide coordinator which (as the name suggests) involved liaising with the local Scout and Guide groups. I helped to find leadership opportunities for our members and grow our clubs position within the local districts. Most importantly though my second year was spent helping to organise our Keele to Kandersteg trip. Taking plucky little Keele all the way to Switzerland was a rewarding and unforgettable experience. I learned many things about organisation, finances and paperwork – all skills that I hope will serve me well now. Going into my final year I became Chair. The year started with our Midlands Freshers Camp - anybody who saw me swaggering around in a deer-stalker will tell you I had a great time leading the weekend. Currently we are in the process of organising our next international trip to Germany, taking even more people away for an even better time.

Alas I now must leave Keele. Seeing the club I helped to set up thrive and grow is one of my proudest achievements. But I need something to fill the gap don’t I?

Why I’m running for Publicity Officer

• A new challenge - As mentioned, as much as I have loved my time with Keele, I feel I’m ready to step up to the next level on the SSAGO ladder and take on a larger role with the national Exec. 
• I’m an all rounder - previous officers tend to be suited to certain area of publicity, be it writing or graphic design. I have dabbled in all sorts of things! I know my way around photoshop, edited a few videos in my time, have written articles for local scouting magazines and have run the social media accounts for the club for a few years. 
• I enjoy designing things - I’ve created logos for both our trips, our freshers camp and our merchandise. I also designed our flag and enjoyed creating the Freshers Camp website and accompanying peripherals. I’ve also lead a complete rebrand of Keele University Quidditch Club with a new logo and kits.
• I think spreading the word about SSAGO is important - the fact that so many of our members come to university having no idea about who we are or what we do is such a shame. I am the first to go home and tell my fellow Scouters about what I’ve been up to with SSAGO. I’ve particularly enjoyed attending Gilwell 24 for the past 2 years helping to tell young people all about the great things we do!

What I’d like to do as Publicity Officer

• Make use of the online badge infrastructure - We all enjoyed the 50^th Anniversary Challenge badges, and Oli did a great job with the system of recording what we’ve done, but since then it’s been left to gather dust. I propose creating a system where clubs could create challenge badges, have a say in what you have to do to get them, and then offer it up for the rest of the organisation. Currently if a club wants to get involved with something for the whole organisation, it can only really be Rally or Ball – I believe this would be something more accessible to help smaller clubs contribute to the national programme.
• Make the most out of SSAGO Supports Events - The fact that people volunteer to promote SSAGO at events like Gilwell 24 is great. But from my previous experience, we have never fully utilised the opportunity to sell SSAGO to Explorers and Rangers. I propose an overhaul of our presence at these events: making sure we are getting the attention we deserve and are not just treated as general volunteers.
• Improve SSAGO awards - Cutlery Cup is a great way to honour the work that an individual has done for SSAGO. However as they say: teamwork makes the dream work! I propose opening up more categories of awards to allow members to celebrate a committee or perhaps the best non-national event run by a club. I would keep the Exec making the overall decisions, but would like to publicise the nominations for everybody to see.
• Get SSAGO featured in more TSA and Girlguiding media -Obviously I want as many people as possible to experience the same great SSAGO experiences as I have. To do this I want to develop SSAGOs image amongst our partner organisations. I believe our space on TSA’s and Girlguiding’s website needs improving to reflect what we really do. Furthermore being featured in both magazines and other media is crucial, and I believe these opportunities have been missed in recent years.

Thank you for reading my manifesto. If elected I will be sure to give my all to this great organisation in the hopes of making SSAGO bigger and better.

Manifesto for Secretary

Oli Bills, Secretary

Tuesday 12th of February 2019

Hi everyone! My name’s Oli Bills, and I’m the current SSAGO Webmaster, which means I spend most of my spare time making SSAGO better on the inside. As I come up to my final year in SSAGO, I’d like a final chance to help make SSAGO better on the outside as well.

It's important to remember what National SSAGO is for: To bring SSAGO together, to support the spirit of Student Scouting and Guiding, and to make the lives of every SSAGO member and SSAGO club better, easier and more fun.

I’ve gained a lot of experience over the years, both as a member and as an assistant, which I would like to share back, but most importantly, I’ve come to know the SSAGO membership and what we as an organisation are able to achieve together. This has inspired my ideas which I would like to propose to you:

In terms of experience, I went from having never been involved in Scouting to finding SSAGO when I started my Masters at Southampton and now being involved in as much as I can to make up for lost time! I’ve been heavily involved in my Scouting District and County and I’ve supported both Scouting and Girlguiding National and International Events. I’m a Beaver Leaver, I’ve been Social Sec and Secretary on the Southampton SSAGO Committee, I’ve chaired an international trip and the SSAGO Reunion 50th Anniversary, supported multiple national SSAGO events, was Publicity Officer on the SSAGO Exec before the reign of Josh and I’m currently doing a PhD, which means I can put myself through the worst and not just survive, but still be happy! Plus, if you’ve ever seen me type, you know my minutes will be both fast and verbose!

I hope you find some of these ideas as exciting as I do, and the big thing I want to do is open up National SSAGO to the membership, so if you have any other ideas or thoughts, I’d love to hear them and work with you!

Manifesto for Treasurer

Lucy Tregoning, Treasurer

Tuesday 12th of February 2019

Hi My name is Lucy Tregoning. I am a member of Glasgow SSAGO, I’m originally from Gloucestershire and have been a Scout for the last 11 years. Members need to see what money is spent on. I intend to release a simple, quarterly break down of expenditure to ensure the committee and myself are accountable to how the ‘pot’ is spent. Furthermore, I intend to curve unnecessary and unproductive spending in order to invest in positive actions that benefit all SSAGO members such as Rallies & Support. I think I would suit this role as I have a strong passion for finance and numbers, but most importantly I believe that SSAGO is a beneficial club to all it’s members. SSAGO builds friendships, skills and experience to prepare students for the rest of life. Well managed funds can create these opportunities for you and new members.

SSAGO Constitution Changes

Joshua Smith (National SSAGO)

Sunday 10th of February 2019

The SSAGO Exec is proposing changes to our Constitution. This will be a 6 week process that will include every member of SSAGO.

Overview

These changes restructure the constitution into in a format of Articles of Association and Bylaws. The Articles outline the fundamentals of the governance of SSAGO and the Bylaws outline how this is enacted.

This restructure allows SSAGO to register with the Charity Commission.

There is no major change to existing SSAGO policy or procedures. These have just been updated slightly to reflect how SSAGO currently operates, reworded where originally ambiguous and had conflicting points or sections fixed or removed.

The following additions have been made to the constitution:

• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Advisory Committee
• Members Code of Conduct
• Complaints Process

Following advice from SAGGA and The Scouts a Complaints Process and Members Code of Conduct has been added. This has been based on UK Government recommendations and incorporates content from our existing Activity Guidelines, Behaviour & Disciplinary Procedures Policy Document and Equal Opportunities Policy Document.

The responsibilities of The Scouts, Girlguiding and SAGGA in the current Constitution have been grouped together into a new Advisory Committee made up of a representative of each of these organisations. This committee will fulfil the tasks of those organisations and support the new Complaints Process.

The Process

An initial review of the changes is taking place in the Policy Fixers project group before a full membership consultation of the changes is formally announced at the AGM. Any member of SSAGO can get involved in the Policy Fixers group and discussions by joining here.

Following the AGM there will be a 4 week long full membership consultation of the proposed changes through the SSAGO Reps system. Members will be able to provide feedback and suggest amendments via their Club Representative. Feedback can also be sent to [email protected] or through the Policy Fixers project group.

Once the consultation is complete any final amendments will be made and the proposed change will go to a Full Members online vote for approval. The constitutional changes would then take effect by Aber Does ABBA Ball.

Reps: Voting Results

Joshua Smith (National SSAGO)

Wednesday 16th of January 2019

27 clubs took part in our most recent Reps. Here are the voting results and what they mean going forward!

Thank you to every club who took the time to talk to their members and vote in Reps. 27 clubs took part in the process and voted. It was fantastic to see so many Club Reps engaging with their members and discussing the issues online. Below is a quick summary of some of the key decisions made and what their outcomes mean going forward.

Key Outcomes:

The new InTouch, National Events and National Expenses policies have been updated with approval of  87%, 77% and 94% of clubs respectively. These bring our procedures up to date and in line with those of The Scouts, and provide more clarity on how national events should be run and what national expenses may be claimed by volunteers.

A new Branding & Publicity policy was also approved by 90% of clubs. This outlines how the SSAGO logo which actually belongs to the Scout and Guide Graduate Association (SAGGA) may be used. It should also provide a consistent SSAGO brand through future years. If you have any questions about if this policy effects your club then please do get in contact.

An Events Officer will also be created following approval from 97% of clubs to support future national events. Further information on getting involved in this role and other national SSAGO opportunities will be released soon.

Club Reps also provided thoughts on Great 48, Associate Membership and other SSAGO issues that will be reviewed and considered by the SSAGO Exec. You can view all of these responses in the referenced resources below. If you have anything to add to any issue raised please do get in contact.

What Next?

The SSAGO Exec are now working to implement your decisions. If you would like anything discussed in our next SSAGO Exec meeting, or to raise any issues then please let us know. The Exec can be contacted on: [email protected]

What have we been doing?

Melissa Roberts (Aberystwyth Student Scout and Guide Organisation)

Friday 9th of November 2018

Check in with what you're exec and the assistants have been up to, and get to know them a little if you are new to SSAGO! Don't forget you can contact the exec with any queries or ideas on [email protected]

Exec

Joshua Smith - Chair 

Hello SSAGOers, my names Joshua and I'm your current national Chair. I'm responsible for overseeing all of national SSAGO to ensure it's safe and running smoothly so you can have a great time.

Recently I've been working on our relationship with Scouting and Guiding, sorting out some of our rules and policies, and trying not to get too ill. One thing you'll notice about national SSAGO is we all wear pink which may or may not have been my doing. It's a great colour!

Do shout if you have any SSAGOy questions, I'm happy to help! I can be contacted on [email protected]

Lauren Whittaker - Secretary

Attended Gilwell 24 and Gilwell Reunion to promote SSAGO!

Uploading resources to the website: new clubs factsheet, current/old club reports, rally feedback, reps voting result. All available via resources section https://www.ssago.org/resources

Worked with Jimmy to create a way of sharing ideas between SSAGO clubs - to be implemented in the future.

Updating the Incident and Accident reporting policy.

In the process of establishing an online Notifications system, with Vicky (Notifications Officer) and Oliver (Webmaster).

Talking to Larah regarding her role as Archivist - has lots of exciting ideas!

Acted as Chair for a short period whilst Josh recovered from illness.

Otherwise writing exec and reps minutes/agendas.

Started work as a Land Surveyor and joined a Brownie unit in Hemel Hempstead!

Edwin Burkinshaw - Treasurer

Hello SSAGO!

If you haven’t noticed what I’ve been up to lately then you’re probably not in the Facebook group having to put up with a million posts a day from me! I am of course referring to Lancaster Fantasy Rally, our next big international SSAGO event in Lancaster with people coming from Ireland and the Netherlands (Hence the international) which has more or less taken over my entire life at the moment! (Also if you haven’t already then book now at https://rally.ssago.org/ )

There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make sure everything about Rally goes as smoothly as possible, and as such felt Rally deserved a mention before going into all the boring treasurer bits.

It’s been a busy summer for all the exec, we’ve been up to all sorts of things and I’m sure you’ll be able to read about all sorts of things in my fellow exec members blog posts, so I’ll stick to the treasurer specific stuff.

Following last reps, we’ve been implementing the updated development fund policy and have already had a bid from HUGS that’s been approved and sorted, and they now have a very nice flag! We’re also looking into new ways to use the development fund to help benefit SSAGO as a whole, which are still in discussion at the moment but once we know what we want to do you’ll be hearing a lot more about that!

In terms of SSAGO events we’ve been working with SW Freshers, Lancaster Rally (Yup, I’m working with myself, that guys annoying for sure!) and Nottingham Rally and trying to sort them out with deposits and bank accounts, no matter how much of an uphill battle that can be trying to sort out HSBC! Hopefully when I manage to get HSBC to work with us we’ll be setting up several new accounts for different purposes, including a north and south account for freshers camps and a shop specific account as well as the Witan account.

Most of my jobs aren’t the most exciting but I’m definitely here, behind the scenes frantically trying to stay on top of everything!

Edwin

 
Jimmy Austin - Membership 

So by now most of you will know who I am but for those new to SSAGO, I'm Jimmy this year's Members Officer and I'm just starting my 3rd year of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leicester. It's hard to believe I'm halfway through my year on the National Exec, I've been at my busiest in the last month with lots of action going on within clubs. With the help of some very enthusiastic SSAGO members we now have new clubs in; Worcester, Winchester and Falmouth, so welcome to all the new members at these clubs! Just because freshers is now over, this doesn't mean you have to wait until next year to create a club, do get in touch and I can then help support you. I've also now completed my training meaning I can process DBS's for anyone that requires one to help at SSAGO supports events. Over the coming months I will be working on rolling out the support role in SSAGO regions, as well as doing some work to update the factsheets area on the website. If you think there is a topic that you would find helpful or want more information on please let me know or come and have a chat at November Rally!

Melissa Roberts - Publicity 

Hello fellow SSAGO-ers!

I’m Melissa, also often known as Mel, and I am responsible for everything to do with publicising SSAGO and our events! I’m part of Aberystwyth SSAGO and have just started my MA in International Politics here!

Hopefully, you’ve seen some of what I’ve done throughout freshers, with lots of facebook posts and tweets, and even more, posters being sent around the country to freshers fairs! Since the last blog post I have been working on 2 major things - SSAGO Support events and Freshers Publicity resources. We have had support teams at Fundays, Gilwell 24, Wellies and Wristbands and the Exec had a (very successful) stall at Gilwell Reunion. Every club had the option of a free publicity pack for the first time this year, they contained posters, business cards and stickers to be used for all things SSAGO! I've also been working with Oli (Webmaster and a Publicity Officer from times gone by) to get a final version of a publicity and branding policy sorted which has been in the making for about 5 years and is now ready to be voted on at reps!

Please feel free to call on me for any publicity related things, or anything else I can help with! You can get hold of me at [email protected]

I look forward to seeing everyone at Rally in November!

Assistants 

Oliver Bills - Webmaster 

Hey SSAGO!

My name's Oli and I'm the SSAGO Webmaster - I develop and look after all of SSAGO's technology - from the main website, the events system, the membership system (and so many other systems you'll probably encounter at some point!), emails and various bits of technical magic. At some point, you'll probably end up getting an automated email from me!

What have I been working on recently? All the stuff for Freshers, both for prospective SSAGO members and tools for committees, the Witan website, the Rovers 100 website, making the events system better (which you'll hopefully encounter when you book on to your first SSAGO event!), improving the Reps system for club reps, preparing things for the next SSAGO elections (even though they're still a long way away at the moment!) and using Summer to fix a lot of bugs and issues.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on the SSAGO website and all of our SSAGO systems or any other ideas you might have - get in touch at [email protected], or find me in my pink hoodie at Rally and come and have a chat, or if you're a techy person and want to get more involved, make sure to join the Web Team at https://www.ssago.org/projects and get involved in the fun!

Oli

Larah Korrison - Archivist 

Hallu!

           I’m Larah and I’m SSAGO’s Archivist! What’s this fancy sound word I hear y’all say… archives are essentially old records, books, documents and sometimes artefacts, the original evidence for everything we know in History class. My role is about looking after and promoting our archive collections and sometimes helping clubs with theirs.

           Lately I’ve been working on a few projects behind the scenes that will hopefully come to the surface. Last year we celebrated 50 years of SSAGO (although our roots go further than that), and I’ve been working with a few SSAGO members to finalise our interviews that we did at the birthday camp. I’ve also been working with Aber SSAGO over the summer to organise their records and they’re now deposited into the University Library, Hugh Owen. I’ve also been digitising a large collection of Cambridge’s SkyBlue termly magazine that has been running for decades now, the next stage will hopefully be getting them onto the website for everyone to enjoy. I’ve also utilised some of my contacts to do some Witan investigations. Witan was an international camp that was set up after the second world war to reunite Western Europe. Witan meaning, ‘Meeting of the Wise’, was run every 2 years and usually by a different country. Over this summer I’ve managed to piece together a timeline of most Witans and even have a physical and digital donation of a Pennant which were made at SSAGO rallies as a souvenir, today we have badges. Next Witan will be at KISC, witan.ssago.org  

           Look out for World Digital Preservation day on the 29th Nov and Explore Your Archive 17 - 25th Nov… some nice treats are coming your way! If you’re interested to find out more, you can join our Facebook group and project at https://projects.ssago.org/. Feel free to post questions or share stories – maybe your parents were involved in SSAGO? You can also read about SSAGO’s History on our website at https://www.ssago.org/pages/display/history

And as the cherry on the cake I’m always looking for people who fancy to get involved with the archive, there’s plenty of fun things to do just ask if you’re interested!

You can get hold of me at [email protected] or feel free to Facebook me (Soz not a Twitter person).

Joe Barnes - Quartermaster 

Hey SSAGO,

I’m Joe, the National Quartermaster. I’m Studying Materials Engineering and the University of Liverpool, and I am responsible for running the online shop (www.shop.ssago.org) where you can buy SSAGO badges, neckers, hoodies etc., as well as selling these items at Rally.

Since last rally, it’s been a fairly quiet period for the Shop; I’ve only had about 20 orders to process over the summer. I’m in the process updating the items on the shop so you’ll soon be able to buy newly redesigned national hoodies, as well as reordering a few items and trying to sort out a few returns.

Of course, you’re all wanting to know what the deal is with the 50th Anniversary badges, so I’ve been replying to lots of emails and Facebook posts about them, and Oli and I are working to be able to get these badges to you all in the least painful way possible, so keep an eye on your emails!

If you have any suggestions of new items to sell in our shop, or improvements that could be made, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me: [email protected] 

Please find me and introduce yourself at rally (as long as I’ve had coffee) – I’ll be in a pink hoodie!

Joe  -- SSAGO QM

If you want to contact any of the exec or assistants simply email their role @ssago.org (eg [email protected]), or catch them at rally in their very bright pink clothing!

Exec october

National SSAGO

Friday 9th of November 2018

Check in with what you're exec and the assistants have been up to, and get to know them a little if you are new to SSAGO! Don't forget you can contact the exec with any queries or ideas on [email protected]

Joshua Smith - Chair 

Hello SSAGOers, my names Joshua and I'm your current national Chair. I'm responsible for overseeing all of national SSAGO to ensure it's safe and running smoothly so you can have a great time.

Recently I've been working on our relationship with Scouting and Guiding, sorting out some of our rules and policies, and trying not to get too ill. One thing you'll notice about national SSAGO is we all wear pink which may or may not have been my doing. It's a great colour!

Do shout if you have any SSAGOy questions, I'm happy to help! I can be contacted on [email protected]

Lauren Whittaker - Secretary

• Attended Gilwell 24 and Gilwell Reunion to promote SSAGO!

• Uploading resources to the website: new clubs factsheet, current/old club reports, rally feedback, reps voting result. All available via resources section https://www.ssago.org/resources

• Worked with Jimmy to create a way of sharing ideas between SSAGO clubs - to be implemented in the future.

• Updating the Incident and Accident reporting policy.

• In the process of establishing an online Notifications system, with Vicky (Notifications Officer) and Oliver (Webmaster).

• Talking to Larah regarding her role as Archivist - has lots of exciting ideas!

• Acted as Chair for a short period whilst Josh recovered from illness.

• Otherwise writing exec and reps minutes/agendas.

• Started work as a Land Surveyor and joined a Brownie unit in Hemel Hempstead!

Edwin Burkinshaw - Treasurer

Hello SSAGO!

If you haven’t noticed what I’ve been up to lately then you’re probably not in the Facebook group having to put up with a million posts a day from me! I am of course referring to Lancaster Fantasy Rally, our next big international SSAGO event in Lancaster with people coming from Ireland and the Netherlands (Hence the international) which has more or less taken over my entire life at the moment! (Also if you haven’t already then book now at https://rally.ssago.org/ )

There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make sure everything about Rally goes as smoothly as possible, and as such felt Rally deserved a mention before going into all the boring treasurer bits.

It’s been a busy summer for all the exec, we’ve been up to all sorts of things and I’m sure you’ll be able to read about all sorts of things in my fellow exec members blog posts, so I’ll stick to the treasurer specific stuff.

Following last reps, we’ve been implementing the updated development fund policy and have already had a bid from HUGS that’s been approved and sorted, and they now have a very nice flag! We’re also looking into new ways to use the development fund to help benefit SSAGO as a whole, which are still in discussion at the moment but once we know what we want to do you’ll be hearing a lot more about that!

In terms of SSAGO events we’ve been working with SW Freshers, Lancaster Rally (Yup, I’m working with myself, that guys annoying for sure!) and Nottingham Rally and trying to sort them out with deposits and bank accounts, no matter how much of an uphill battle that can be trying to sort out HSBC! Hopefully when I manage to get HSBC to work with us we’ll be setting up several new accounts for different purposes, including a north and south account for freshers camps and a shop specific account as well as the Witan account.

Most of my jobs aren’t the most exciting but I’m definitely here, behind the scenes frantically trying to stay on top of everything!

Edwin

Exec Blog: 5 months in

National SSAGO

Thursday 6th of September 2018

Here is a summary of what the Exec have been up to and what we are working towards! Main decisions: Development bids accepted: Wifi hotspot for use at National events and Aberystwyth archive materials. Updated Development Fund policy and since approved by reps. Payment deadlines to be introduced to National events. Kudu Bird to be repaired and box to store it in to be bought (similar to the Gadaffi plate). What have we been up to: Since handover in April we have had 5 Exec meetings so far, in addition to catch-up meetings. All of the Exec made it to Gilwell 24! All with the help of other SSAGOers we spread the word to other Explorers, Senior Section members and leaders. We’ve also had support teams at Magic and Mayhem, Fundays, and Wellies and Wristbands! Updating the constitution, which includes writing articles and association, which will be sent to the Charity Commision as part of becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Signed the Memorandum of Agreement with TSA! Preparing publicity packs and getting ready for the new academic year. InTouch and National Events policy updated and awaiting reps approval later in the year. Preparing and sending out Fresher’s publicity packs to clubs. Helping to set up new clubs: Worcester and Winchester. What the exec are currently working towards: Aiming to become a charity by January 2019. Introduce an online forum to discuss reps voting, activities and Fresher’s ideas. Updating the Incident Reporting policy. Making a Factsheet for new clubs, to introduce them to how SSAGO works. If you would like anything to be discussed at a future Exec meeting please email us. The Exec can be contacted on: [email protected]

Reps: Voting Results

Joshua Smith (National SSAGO)

Saturday 4th of August 2018

32 clubs took part in our most recent Reps. Here are the voting results and what they mean going forward!

Thank you to every club who took the time to talk to their members and vote in Reps. Together we achieved a phenomenal turnout of 82% of clubs. Below is a quick summary of some of the key decisions made and what their outcomes.

Key Outcomes:

Following it’s backing by 92% of clubs the Memorandum of Agreement between SSAGO and The Scout Association (TSA) has now been signed. After four long years of hard work, this concludes the process of re-formalising and updating SSAGO’s relationship with TSA. The SSAGO Exec are continuing to work with Girlguiding to complete their version of the agreement.

An application from the SSAGO Exec to use some of the Development Fund to provide clubs with free publicity packs for freshers was approved by 85% of clubs. Further information will be distributed soon on how to get your hands on them.

The Development Fund Policy update was approved by 94% of clubs. This update allows bids which don’t quite meet the funds requirements, but that the SSAGO Exec feel would still be beneficial to SSAGO to go to Reps for approval to be voted on by SSAGO clubs. Any club can apply to the Development Fund. You can read the new policy here to see how it works and complete an application form here. All application need emailing to [email protected].

Payment deadlines will be reintroduced to national event bookings. Further details on how these deadlines will work will be finalised over the next few weeks. Don’t forget to keep the 16th-18th November free in your calendars for Lancaster Rally!

The Kudu Bird will be repaired (56% Approve) and a new secure box obtained (62% Approve) for it to ensure it’s preservation for future generations of SSAGO. If you want to get involved with helping research and preserve SSAGO’s heritage you can join the SSAGO Archive Team here or email our Archivist at [email protected].

What Next?

The SSAGO Exec are now working to implement your decisions. If you would like anything discussed in our next SSAGO Exec meeting, or to raise any issues then please let us know. The Exec can be contacted on: [email protected]

The Assistants have been busy!

Melissa Roberts (National Exec)

Thursday 21st of June 2018

Check out what the team pink assistants have been up to in the last few months!

Harriet Bell - International Officer 

• Spoke with Jimmy (Membership Officer) about my role, expectations and what I want to achieve this year
• Updated International team on who I am, what I want to do and how the International Team will play an important role in building links with other SSAGO-like clubs across the world
• Worked with Melissa to create a poster advertising the International Team and what we do, to share with the whole of SSAGO
• Compiled a list of the clubs that we know of so far, which ones are yet to be contacted and some more leads to investigate- so far we know of 17 countries with SSAGO style clubs!
• Invited all known International groups to Duck Rally, highlighting the potential to stay on longer at the site and the good chance of nice UK weather!
• Working with the Rovers 100 crew to bring International aspects to the events and badges, along with generally helping organise the camp
• I am also working on an email to send out to uncontacted International clubs, to explain what SSAGO is and how we can link up with them, where in person at camps or online

Joe Barnes - Quartermaster 

• I’ve had various Skype meetings with Oli, Josh, Mel and Edwin to get used to my new role and to how the online shop works.

• I inherited the online shop with over 70 orders in varying stages of completion, so I have been working to remove old orders and to post orders that need posting.

• All outstanding old orders that hadn’t been paid for by the end of last week were deleted, so place these orders again (and pay this time) if you still want the stuff you ordered.

• I had 5 very large parcels arrive containing all of the SSAGO stock, which have had to find new homes in my house.

• I counted the excessive number of stamps I received from Dale (procrastination from revising…)

• I’ve nearly set up a computerised sale system for the Shop at Rallies, so sales should be faster and easier.

• I realised I’m the only Assistant without a mascot… so I found myself one.

• I’m trying to resurrect the printer so we can have newsletters on Rally.

• I’ve been working on getting the online shop re-opened now that I have the stock.

• Non-personalised clothing and past rally badges are now on sale, so head over to www.shop.ssago.org to buy lots of cheap things!

Reps: Voting Results

Joshua Smith (National SSAGO)

Wednesday 16th of May 2018

31 clubs took part in our most recent Reps. Here are the voting results and what they mean going forward!

Thank you to every club that voted on the issues discussed in our most recent Reps meeting and everyone who got involved in the process. We had an amazing turnout of 31 clubs.

A breakdown of the voting results is now available on the SSAGO website for every member to see along with how every club voted. This is linked to below along with the meeting minutes and other referenced materials.

The Key Outcomes Are:

The Memorandum of Agreement with both The Scout Association and Girlguiding has been provisionally approved (86% Approve, 14% Reject). The SSAGO Exec will continue to work with both organisations and use your feedback to finalise the agreement.

Regional Coordinators will be incorporated into SSAGO Regions (88% Approve, 3% Reject) as they are developed further. Your feedback on what they should do and how they should be appointed will be used to shape the role.

Online payments will return (74% Approve, 18% reject) and the transaction fee cost will will be covered by SSAGO absorbing it (85% For). The SSAGO Exec will now work to get these back up and running on the SSAGO website.

A development fund for application to have another Web Hack weekend for the the SSAGO Web Team was approved (89% Approve, 0% Reject). The SSAGO Webmaster will now organise the event. If you are interested in joining the Web Team or other SSAGO projects you can do that here.

It was fantastic to see the amount of engagement we had from members around SSAGO in this process. We will continue to use your feedback to improve it. If you think of any other improvements we can make on the system please do get in contact.

What Next?

The SSAGO Exec will be working over the next few weeks to implement your decisions. If you would like anything discussed in our next Exec meeting, or to raise any issues then please let us know. The Exec can be contacted on: [email protected]

First Month on the Job!

Melissa Roberts (National Exec)

Wednesday 9th of May 2018

Check out what the new exec have been up to in their first month on the job!

Joshua Smith - Chair

It's been one busy first month, what withhandover, a new team and lots going on! Here are a few of the things I've been up to:

• Had individual catch ups with all the Exec Members (minutes viewable here).
• Caught up with the Rover 100 project (minutes viewablehere).
• Chaired the new Exec's first two Exec meetings (minutes viewable here).
• Working with The Scout Association to get the SSAGO Active Support Unit is set up.
• Collected event feedback for UWE Ball (results viewable here).
• Fixed SSAGO's internet banking and handed it over to the new Treasurer.
• Distributed Roverway merchandise and have prepared the shop to handover.

Lauren Whittaker - Secretary

• Updated email log and made a new one for this year
• Written minutes and agendas for exec meetings
• Working with Larah to get the Kudu Bird fixed
• Working on creating a new incident form
• Uploaded Rally and Ball feedback forms
• Encouraging Glasgow SSAGO to go to summer rally, now have 6 going!
• Been to Perth for the first Scottish SSAGO regional event
• Otherwise been pretty busy with fieldwork, exams and interviews!

Edwin Burkinshaw - Treasurer

• Filled in several mandates to update signatures on the accounts
• Closed the Plymouth Rally account
• Began contacting the new national events to help them with their events with their budgets (If anyone from Birmingham Chocolate rally want to get in touch with me for a budget template/an update on some stuff to help just drop me an email ;) )
• Began work on updating not one but 2 policy documents, the Exec Expenses document and Development Fund policy document with updated drafts hopefully being ready for Cambridge rally reps
• Been doing lots of payments and trying to sort out the receipts so we know what’s gone where
• Spent lots of time dealing with HSBC and learning very well why everyone rants about them
• Set up Cambridge rally with online access to their bank account
• Sent south west freshers camp a loan for their campsite
• Beginning work on setting up a new bank account for the shop, a new Witan account and then looking into regional accounts
• Listened to feedback and been updated by many members of SSAGO and tried to act upon it where possible

Jimmy Austin - Members Officer

Hi Everyone,

Well, that first month went pretty quick! I spent most of it trying to bring myself up to speed on how SSAGO works behind the scenes this includes reading up on lots of the SSAGO policy documents, factsheets, and surveys. I've also been busy sorting out the last few Indie members and clubs who are still to pay membership fees. I've also had quite a busy time on my placement having to complete a project in London for the last two weeks which has eaten up a lot of my time. However whilst I was in the Capital I managed to meet up with the new Indie Rep, Daniel Nixon, and also some members of the London Indie contingent to discuss how to bring the group back to life. I've also spoken to all my other reps and SSAGO assistants who work with me to find out what they want to do this year. My next big challenge to finish in the next month is the factsheet for new clubs, started by Anona (Last Year's Members Officer), with the aim to get it edited and sent for final review by Reps at Duck Rally.

Melissa Roberts - Publicity Officer

I can’t believe we are a month in! It’s been a very busy month but I’m still really excited for the year ahead. We have some amazing national events ahead, a summer full of support events and regional activities for you to get involved in. I’ve got a few things on the go at the moment;

• I made a video for Scoutadelic which is now the most watched episode in the series! There’ll be more SSAGO episodes in the future, let me know if you want to get involved.
• I’ve added lots of events to the website. Some of these are ones that SSAGO are supporting and others are ones that you can attend and enjoy the activities yourself, find them here
• I’ve been in contact with Gilwell 24 and Fundays to organise our role in these events, we’re playing a big part in these so we need lots of helping hands!
• Booked our place at Gilwell Reunion and applied for a seminar session
• I’ve done lots of general publicity following up ball, advertising rally, the cutlery cup, Rovers 100 and the SSAGO Support events
• I survived my dissertation and my 21st!

James Frith - Publicity Officer 2017/18 Annual Report

James Frith, National Publicity Officer

Saturday 31st of March 2018

Following the AGM, the national Exec decided to make sure their full annual reports were available to all the membership through our Exec blog!

This year has been pretty amazing in terms of SSAGO Publicity!

In terms of Outreach and increasing our presence with both The Scout Association and GirlGuiding - we’ve volunteered at more events than ever before, including our first national GirlGuiding events; “Wellies and Wristbands” and “Sparkle and Ice”, as well as run our first timetabled talks at Gilwell Reunion to showcase SSAGO to a wider and more varied Scout audience!

The new, improved and increased Merchandise range has not only provided members with a more colourful SSAGO wardrobe, but also helped to increase SSAGO awareness and outreach too! This, coupled with updated banners and publicity materials available to clubs throughout freshers has hopefully positively impacted your publicity as clubs, as well as SSAGO Nationally!

Looking inward, we’ve had the biggest active membership increase ever, with increased engagement with SSAGO National Events (largest Rally ever, go Young Goats!), Challenge badges, SSAGO News, Online voting, using our resources, etc - all of which would also not have been possible without Oli, our wonderful Webmaster, who is continuing into the new Exec year.

This year he’s created the Online shop, Membership perks, badge functions, upgraded the online election system, event system, admin systems… and countless other improvements that keep SSAGO’s Website well ahead of the standard!

As mentioned at the AGM, hopefully you’ve noticed all we’ve been doing, and hopefully will continue to see what SSAGO Publicity Officer and Webmaster can achieve with Mel taking the reins!

I have included a few stats from my year as Publicity Officer below:

• SSAGO promoted at 10 Scout and/or Guide events over the year through the “SSAGO Support” brand
  • Moot briefing weekend
  • OxonJam
  • Fundays x2
    • Woodhouse and Gilwell at the same time
  • Gilwell 24
  • World Scout Moot in Iceland
    • Took Percival up a Volcano as promised!
  • Wellies and Wristbands music festival x2
    • SSAGO’s first official national GirlGuiding event
    • Foxlease and Waddow Hall at the same time
  • Gilwell Reunion
  • Intense
  • Scarefest
  • Wintercamp
    • Organised but unavailable due to personal reasons
  • Sparkle and Ice
    • SSAGO’s second official national GirlGuding event
• Designed new publicity card leaflets and stickers, made available to all clubs during freshers and beyond
• Designed and procured:
  • 2 new roller banners
  • 2 new parade banner
  • SSAGO orange flag
  • Ensured all were available for clubs to use during freshers and beyond (used by over 10 clubs across the UK during the few weeks of Freshers alone!)
• Designed new SSAGO merchandise:
  • Exec
  • Assistants
  • World Scout Moot
  • SSAGO Support
  • Roverway
  • Indie
  • SSAGO Project Teams
    • Media, Archive and Web Teams
• SSAGO Active Membership has risen to 600+ from less than 400, and overall membership has risen to 950+ from 890, with a peak of 1100 before the Christmas membership cull
• Made multiple SSAGO publicity videos
• Increased SSAGO facebook page likes from 900 to 1450+, and facebook group members from 1400 to 1600+
• Stepped up Instagram use with 325+ followers and twitter use with 600+ followers, Snapchat gets sporadic use
• Written or have encouraged the writing of 20+ SSAGO news articles so far
• Organised and delivered SSAGO’s first programmed talks at Gilwell Reunion
• Designed Leeds rally badge and shirts, Moot badge, 50th Anniversary challenge badge…
• Organised the SSAGO ‘spoons event - for no real reason other than it sounded like a challenge and would be fun!
• 1 hour a day average plus 15 weekends (including Rallies, Ball, etc)
• Dealt with emergent SSAGO issues and stress throughout!

All in all, it been a full on year, and while I’ve enjoyed it I’m quite looking forward to finishing with SSAGO and focusing on my other volunteering roles in Scouting and beyond, as well as my career and professional development, plus of course Wedding planning for next year!

Ciao SSAGO!