At our 1st Clanfield Beaver Colony, we offer a diverse and exciting program for children of all abilities. Our Beaver program is specifically designed for children aged 6-8 years old of any gender to develop skills, create friendships, and have fun in the great outdoors. Our dedicated leaders work tirelessly to ensure that every child in our program is given the opportunity to learn something new, and experience new things in a safe, supportive environment. Please note that waiting list times will vary depending on our current numbers and we aim to keep numbers at 30 maximum.
Our sessions run from 17:30-19:00 on Mondays during term time.
What we do
Get Outdoors
We love to get our Beavers outside and active. Some of our previous physical activities have included games, grass sledging, tennis, football, swimming and rock climbing. We take our Beavers on nights away at least once a year, working towards their Nights Away badge.
Learn new skills
We’ve previously introduced Beavers to new skills such as baking, first aid, gardening, painting, crafts, and shelter building. Instead of learning from books, we learn by exploring, playing and doing.
Make new friends
It’s important for our Beavers to have fun and make new friends as well as learn new things, so we give plenty of opportunity for play. Beavers work as a team to help other people, in their local communities and beyond. Whether they’re changing the whole world or helping a friend take the leap to try something new on a rainy Monday night, they always lend a hand.
Earn Badges
Challenge Badges
Challenge Badges are all about stepping outside your comfort zone. Try out something you wouldn’t normally be interested in. Take the lead on something that scares you. There are 6 Challenge Award Badges Beavers must complete to achieve their Chief Scout’s Bronze Award. These are the Personal Challenge Award badge, My World Challenge Award badge, My Outdoors Challenge Award badge, My Adventure Challenge Award badge, My Skills Challenge Award badge and the Teamwork Challenge Award badge.
Activity Badges
Become an expert in something you love, or try something shiny and new. From healthy eating and camp craft to disability awareness and cycling, there’s something for every Beaver. There are 24 Activity Badges, four are required to achieve the Chief Scouts Bronze Award.
Staged Badges
Staged Badges are achieved by members of Scouting throughout their Scouting journey. Scouts can start earning them from Beavers onward and all the way through to Explorers. There are 15 Staged Badges Beavers can earn. From Stage 1 First Aid all the way to Stage 50 Hikes Away.
Meet Our Beaver Leaders
Our leaders are all volunteers who are passionate about helping young people grow and develop into well-rounded individuals. We aim to provide a variety of activities that challenge and inspire children, helping them learn valuable life skills along the way.
Nathan
Mark
FAQs
Where can I buy the uniform?
Uniform can be purchased at our local scout shop, second hand, or online from the scout website. We require a Beaver uniform jumper, a Beaver polo shirt and one of our purple and green scarfs. A scarf can be purchased once your new Beaver is ready for their investiture. Branded trousers/shorts and caps are not required, however we do ask that Beavers wear practical trousers/shorts and shoes to their sessions as there’s lots of running around involved!
Do I need to buy the badges?
There is no need to buy badges as these are provided by the section as part of our termly budget. We plan our sessions with badges in mind and aim for our Beavers to achieve as many as they can whilst having fun. If sewing is not your forte, then badge glue can be purchased online.
How much does the membership fee cost?
We charge a small fee per term for each Beaver. This is currently £40 and the amount can change depending on the programme, however we always strive to keep costs as low as possible. Your fee will go towards our adventure activities, supplies, amenities and badges. Camps will incur an extra cost, which we try to keep as low as possible whilst providing the most fun and adventure.
Can I stay with my child for the session?
Absolutely! Our Scouting Guidelines require 1 adult per 6 Beavers when outside of the hut. We always need a parent or three to stay and help cover us, especially if we are running a session outside of our usual meeting place.
My child is nervous, what can they expect from the session?
Our Beaver sessions start at 17:30 on a Monday evening. This is usually in our meeting hall at Hyden Lodge, however any changes to our location will be communicated via email before the session. Our Beavers will talk and play games amongst themselves until the start of the session. We sometimes start with the Beaver ceremony opening, and will then head straight into our activities for the evening.
Within the Colony (Beaver Group) the Beavers are part of a Lodge. A Lodge is a smaller group of Beavers, led by an older Beaver who takes on a peer leadership role as a Lodge Leader. When your child is invested they will be assigned to their Lodge, and given their Lodge coloured woggle. The Lodge becomes their team for team games and each Lodge is tasked with looking after each other. The Lodge Leader will do their best to make sure your new Beaver feels welcome in their group.
Parents arrive to pick their Beavers up for the end of session at 19:00. Please arrive promptly, as parents will be arriving to drop Scouts off for their session at 19:15.
Where can I find the programme?
We use OSM (Online Scout Manager) which is a platform used to simplify our record keeping (such as keeping track of your child’s badge progress). It also has a parent portal which allows you to communicate with the leaders and stay up to date. Parents can also easily sign up to help at each session via OSM. Our programme for the term can be found on here, alongside payment details and a sign-up link is provided upon your Beaver joining the colony.
Get In Touch
Hyden Lodge, Little Hyden Lane, Clanfield, PO8 0RU
beavers@clanfieldscouts.org.uk