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Evaluation of Woodcraft Folk TREE Project Year 1 Report - APPENDIX Cadence Works and LandE Cadence Works and LandE Cadence Works and LandE Cadence Works and LandE April 2010 April 2010 April 2010 April 2010
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Evaluation of Woodcraft Folk TREE Project of Woodcraft group… · environmental projects including; road crossings, ecology (South Downs), recycling, tree conservation, plastic bags,

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Page 1: Evaluation of Woodcraft Folk TREE Project of Woodcraft group… · environmental projects including; road crossings, ecology (South Downs), recycling, tree conservation, plastic bags,

Evaluation of Woodcraft Folk TREE

Project

Year 1 Report - APPENDIX

Cadence Works and LandE Cadence Works and LandE Cadence Works and LandE Cadence Works and LandE

April 2010April 2010April 2010April 2010

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Contents

SECTION ONE: ABOUT YOUR GROUP.......................................................................................... 3

SECTION TWO: CAMPAIGNS AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES ...................................................... 6

SECTION THREE: YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES................................................................. 8

SECTION FOUR: SKILLS AND INVOLVEMENT............................................................................... 9

SECTION FIVE: QUESTIONS FOR LEADERS................................................................................. 15

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SECTION ONE: ABOUT YOUR GROUP 2. Are you a:

The biggest group were Venturers.

3. Are there some spare spaces in your group so new people can join?

The majority have spare spaces, but one fifth have waiting lists.

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4. What kinds of activities do you do in your group? Please chose as many of these as apply.

Other activities which groups enjoyed were very varied and included:

bug hunts badges raft building den building international exchanges

visits to the local council

visits to local experts

a recycled fashion show

first aid work packs singing music theatre trip Yoga tai chi meditation blind international food tasting

pre-driving courses activities in the dark initiative challenges

street dancing fundraising events pea fairs circus skills

5. What are your group’s favourite activities? Please list a few examples and tell us why you enjoy

them.

Again the list of favourite activities was varied and extensive:

group activities in the forest

working on an allotment,

outdoor activities with fire

local country park activities

Problem solving day trips camping meeting friends cooking role play hostelling walking climbing arts and crafts film nights plasticine modeling pets evening obstacle challenges taster sessions drama pea fairs swimming beach walks street orientation wide games making Bivvys organizing events hosting other

groups yoga going to gigs wassailing trees making sock

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monsters juggling getting involved in

local campaigns hide and seek discussions and

story telling

Crafts and camping especially feature heavily as favourites amongst many of the groups. Team games

and activities which required full group input were also much enjoyed.

6. What activities haven’t been so popular? Again please give us a few examples and tell us why you

haven’t enjoyed these activities as much.

Again there was variety in the answers. One commonly disliked activity that did come across, was

discussion sessions. Several groups did not like discussion sessions, there were a number of reasons

for this;

“they don’t really go anywhere.”

“it’s just sitting, not moving around.”

“sometimes they are about things we don’t care about enough.”

“it’s difficult to retain attention and keep quiet for long.”

Other less enjoyed activities included singing when there was no accompanying music or

when there were no song books to sing from, drama when people were unenthusiastic, map

reading, and games which went on for too long.

7. What do you like most about your Woodcraft Folk group? Choose as many as are suggested by

your group.

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SECTION TWO: CAMPAIGNS AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES 8. How often do you run activities (such as discussions, performances, campaigns etc.) that are

themed around issues that young people in your group feel strongly about?

These themed activities centred around topical issues such as:

Child labour People

Trafficking

Millennium

Develop’t Goals

The BNP Cuts in youth &

comm’y grants

Iraq War Religion Sexual Health Community Vegetarianism

Amnesty Environment Bullying Haiti Drugs

Israel/Palestine Recycling Pornography Nuclear Power “Hoodies”

10. Would you like to do more activities in your group based on issues you feel strongly about?

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11. Is there any particular local action project or campaign that you would like to get off the

ground?

For those groups who said yes, the campaigns they were interested in taking part in tended to be

environmental projects including; road crossings, ecology (South Downs), recycling, tree conservation,

plastic bags, planting an orchard, potholes and litter. Other social themes also came out, such as the

Haiti fund and violent video games.

One group was involved in saving the venue where they meet (Windmill Hill City Farm). Other groups

noted that because their members were not all from the same place it might be difficult to identify

one specific local project. One group said that they would like more information about local projects

so that they know what is going on nearby which they can get involved in.

12. If you would like to do more campaigning or local action projects, is there anything you’d like

the TREE programme to provide by way of support, for example training, funding, mentoring or

anything else?

Funding was by far the biggest support that groups would like TREE to provide them with. Training

was also mentioned, especially in relation to DFs groups who need the training to help them to work

with younger groups (e.g. Pioneers). One group suggested that a news letter written by young people

would be a good way to share ideas and to get involved with other groups activities. This comment

links with some of the concerns expressed in the stakeholders interviews; of how to share best

practice and how to improve communication between groups, especially groups which are currently

quite isolated.

One group felt that it was a nice idea but that they currently weren’t receiving any support from TREE.

Another wasn’t too sure what the TREE programme actually is and are therefore unsure about how it

might help them.

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SECTION THREE: YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 13. Can you think of any things you would like to do in your group to make it easier for disabled

young people to get more out of Woodcraft Folk?

Many of the groups currently have no disabled members. Most of them say that if they were to gain

any disabled members they would do their best to make them welcome, although few refer to

specific actions which would be taken. Some groups suggested that awareness games could be used

to promote equality and others said that they would fundraise to buy special equipment.

Many groups talk of making disabled children “welcome” or “taking care of them” and whilst it is clear

that every effort would be made to cater for their social needs, there seems to be a lack of

recognition that environmental factors play a big part in excluding disabled young people. This said,

one group is currently in the (early) process of considering moving their venue to a local disabled

school. Another couple of groups also mention perhaps getting extra carers/helpers in to increase the

ability of disabled young people to participate.

Several of the groups admit that whilst they would try their best to make activities inclusive, their

venues are not particularly accessible. One group meets in a cellar two flights of stairs down.

Obviously groups like this would struggle enormously to make themselves accessible to disabled

young people. It is perhaps worth noting however, that even groups with good access often do not

have any disabled group members. Perhaps this points towards a general perception of the

organization as not being suitable for disabled young people as well as the inaccessibility of some

group venues. One group suggests that they might need to go into local schools to tell the children

what Woodcraft Folk is about, and to let disabled (physically and mentally) children know that the

movement is for them as well. Another reiterates the point that Woodcraft Folk might need to do

more to advertise itself as a disabled friendly organization.

14. If you are disabled, is there anything you’d like to add about your experience of being in this

group?

There were few comments for this question, mainly due to the fact that few groups had disabled

members.

• One young person with dyslexia would like there to be less reading involved in group games.

• Another likes the fact that games at his/her group are non-competitive, not having winners

and losers “is great.”

• Two young people answered that they enjoyed their groups and that they felt they were

treated the same as everyone else.

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SECTION FOUR: SKILLS AND INVOLVEMENT 15. Who plans the programme of activities for your group?

16. Do any of the children or young people in your group help make decisions on behalf of your

district, region or nation?

17. If yes, can you estimate roughly how many young people help make decisions at:

District Level: 8.1

Regional Level: 2.4

National Level: 3.4

Figures are an average (1dp) based on the groups who answered this question.

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18. Do any of the children or young people reprsent the group at the Annual Gathering?

19. Do any of the children or young people in your group currently have any responsibility or

involvement with:

The majority of those answering had been involved in producing promotional material of some sort

(posters, banners, bunting etc). Other involvement included applying to the YDF for project funding

on a yearly basis, leading workshops, being on a camp committee, planning group sessions and being

involved in taking photos and making films for website.

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20. What do the young people who have done these things say about their experience?

21. Would young people in your group like to have more opportunities to run projects, take on

committee/planning roles or promote Woodcraft Folk?

22. How do you think TREE can help more young people take on these roles and enjoy them?

The most common response to this question was “What does TREE mean?” Many groups seem

unsure about what TREE stands for, what it aims to do and how it can be used to support them. It was

suggested by some that more training would be helpful and others suggested that the provision of

promotional materials by TREE could be useful to them. One group felt that TREE in itself could only

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do so much for local groups. Rather they felt that young peoples’ involvement in these roles was

down to local leaders and their willingness and ability to encourage their group members. Some

wanted TREE to provide them with more information about what was going on in their local area for

them to get involved with.

23. Do you want your group to offer you these opportunities?

24.Do you feel that being in your group provides you with:

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25.Recognising success – what do you think your group is particularly good at? This could be an

activity or a way of doing things, or a combination of both.

Groups tended to hold cooperation, good group dynamics and a welcoming atmosphere as group

successes. One group noted the diversity of its members as a strength and another its inclusiveness.

Another believes it helps raise its members confidence. Specific games and activities were again

mentioned as things that groups were good at.

One group feels that it communicates well over email and through its website. It also felt that its

leaders had come up with some particularly inspirational ideas for sessions. Likewise another group

felt that because Woodcraft resources for educational activities are “a bit dry” the commitment of the

leaders was very crucial to the success of these sessions.

The involvement of the young people in group decisions and the planning of activities was noted by

another group as its most successful element.

26. Can you think of a time when your group improved the way it does things because of something

you had seen/heard another Woodcraft Folk group doing?

Although few of the groups returning the survey expanded on this question there were a few

examples of groups sharing experience. Mixing up the age groups at times, ideas for session activities,

and the young people organising their own trips away were all ideas which one of the groups was

inspired to use by another.

One group felt that it had had very few opportunities to actually meet up with other Woodcraft

groups.

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27. Can you think of a time when another Woodcraft Folk group have improved the way they do

things because of something they have seen/heard your Woodcraft Folk group doing?

Again groups tended to list specific activities such as songs and crafts, or themes such as awareness of

food miles. One group told us that it had leafleted in school playgrounds and that other local groups

now also do this. Another told us another group had altered the structure of its camp because of what

it had seen them doing.

28. Are there any other stories you’d like to tell us? Has your group changed the way it does things

to make young peoples’ experiences of Woodcraft Folk better? This could be the way the group

works, how you do activities or something else.

Many of the groups did not answer this question, but of those who did; one group was pleased with

the way its members were beginning to take responsibility for sessions - “YPs now take responsibility

for planning and running sessions. Natural growth and development - evolved and developed as the

YPs have.” Another felt that its DFs committee had learnt to be more inclusive thanks to N.E training.

One group felt that having the opportunity to go abroad (Germany) and meet with diverse groups

there had been very beneficial to them. They felt that too many of the Woodcraft groups have only

white members and they had enjoyed discussing multiculturalism and racism in the media with the

German group of largely Turkish and Palestinian children.

Another group felt that looking outwards towards its local community was important for Woodcraft

Folk groups so that they don’t become too stifled and inward looking.

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SECTION FIVE: QUESTIONS FOR LEADERS 29. Roughly how many people currently attend your Woodcraft Folk group night each week?

18 (this figure is an average of all the groups answering this question).

30. How many young people are on the register i.e. what is the biggest number that could turn up if

everyone came?

23 (this figure is an average of all the groups answering this question).

31. Over the last 3 years would you say the number of young people attending your group has:

For the groups who said their membership had increased, there were several reasons why this might

be. Advertising via posters or online was mentioned by one group, a better of programme of activities

including trips abroad by another. Some groups said that their membership had increased by word of

mouth and by older members introducing friends. Sometimes efforts to increase membership have

been made at a district level; supporting new leaders, encouraging more parental involvement and

buying new camping equipment.

One key issue which was identified by this question was the benefit of continuity and of fluid

movement from one age group to the next. Many of the groups whose numbers have increased point

to the proximity to suitable “feeder groups” as a reason for increased membership. Commonly

Venturer groups have grown thanks to local Pioneer groups moving their members up at 13. Several

of the groups experiencing declines have been Pioneers because of a lack of local Elfin groups for

members to move up from and a loss of older members to Venturer groups. The answers to this

question clearly show that some areas are suffering because they lack the full range of Woodcraft

Folk groups, while others thrive thanks to the continuity their district can offer.

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For groups whose numbers have not increased, some have identified a small number of “core”

members in their group, with others joining, staying for a few weeks and then leaving. There is clearly

some difficulty in retaining new members.

32. Are there any disabled young people or people with specific needs in your group?

33. Has your group changed or adated any of the things it does or the way it is run to make it easier

for people with a disability to join in?

Most commonly groups have talked about adapting games to be more inclusive. For different groups

this has involved moving away from reading and writing based games (to help children with dyslexia),

explaining activities more fully and allowing children who can’t take part in run-around games to be in

charge of the game instead. One group talked about how it had adapted its activities to be inclusive of

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a child with visual impairment. Their adaptations involved getting rid of games which involved small

or fast moving objects and replacing them with things like throwing games using a beach ball. Some

groups mentioned having a support worker or specific one-on-one time for children with ADHD.

Making games non-competitive has also been a successful technique for making games feel more

inclusive.

34. Do adults from your group:

35. Does your group have links with other Woodcraft Folk groups?

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Groups which expanded on this question typically had connections with other groups through camps,

exchange visits or through specific activity evenings. One relatively isolated group in the North West

told us about an evening where they had met the Lancaster group halfway between their two venues

and had an evening together in the woods. There was also the mention of different age groups (e.g.

elfins with pioneers) within the same area meeting up for activities or sharing leaders.

36. Does your group have links with other organisations which work with young people locally?

The following are examples of some of the local organisations which the groups have links with: Youth

forums, the Co-op, local Multi-cultural centres, after school clubs, community festivals, youth

councils, student groups, black empowerment youth groups, local charities and youth clubs.

37. Does your group find links with external organisations helpful?

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Groups answering yes tended to think these links were helpful because they provide either funding,

training or resources (including volunteers) for their Woodcraft Folk group.

Some groups talked about experts from local organisations providing them with interesting and

educational activities, often on local wildlife and the environment; in a similar vein, other groups felt

these links helped to broaden their horizons.

As an expansion of Q28, one group thinks that these links are important to keep it from:

“operating in an exclusive Woodcraft bubble.”

38. How many volunteers aged over 18 are currently involved with your group?

Average = 5

39. Do you have any young volunteers helping to run your group?

An equal split between those do and who do not.

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40. Over the last 3 years would you say that the numbers of volunteers working with your group

has:

41. Do you have enough leaders and volunteers to support the work your group does?

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42. Do you feel your group has access to the right training to help develop and support volunteers?

There was a very mixed few of training opportunities amongst the leaders; some felt that “training

within the folk is good” while others said they “don’t have any training.” Time and distance were both

identified as barriers to training opportunities, one leader said that it “can be hard as a leader with a

young family to commit to a training weekend.” This sentiment was reflected by another leader who

felt that training was too infrequent and that giving up weekends to do it was undesirable. One leader

felt that while s/he had received general training about Woodcraft Folk, training about working with

specific age groups would have been useful.

43. Do you think there is an opportunity to establish new Woodcraft Folk groups in your area?

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44. If yes, what might they be?

45. The TREE programme can support new Woodcraft Folk groups to become established. In your

area, what support do you feel TREE could offer which would help this happen e.g. training, funds,

resources, volunteer recruitment?

All four of the above examples (training, funds, resources and volunteer recruitment) were viewed as

things which TREE could do to support the various districts. Attracting new volunteers appears to be

something that groups feel they definitely need more help with. The promotion of Woodcraft Folk,

not just to children (especially those younger than Pioneer age) but also to volunteers and adults as

something enjoyable to be involved in, is something important which needs further attention.

Two different types of training were requested through this question; one for general training

(including for volunteers) and training to become trainers (i.e. leaders to receive training so that they

themselves can train up new leaders and guide them when setting up their own groups.).

One leader suggests that guidance on how to find cheap meeting places would be very useful since

schools are becoming too expensive to rent. S/he would like to see TREE provide them with a guide to

setting up a Woodcraft Folk group on or near a council estate. Another leader would like a lead from

HQ to be clearly identified.

46. What are the top three challenges facing your group currently?

Maintaining member numbers seems to be a key challenge affecting many groups, whether this be

because older children leave and are not replaced by younger ones or because they simply lose

interest. Maintaining adult and volunteer commitment is also an issue which is commonly sighted.

Some groups struggle to get regular commitment out of their volunteers and others find it difficult to

attract volunteers in the first place. Other challenges include; gender imbalance in membership and

leadership (i.e. too many boys not enough girls/not enough women leaders), a lack of motivation in

the group, the loss of the group dynamic when older children leave, costs and future sustainability,

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poor venues, bad behaviour, keeping the programme exciting, impending loss of large numbers to

other groups (e.g. Pioneers moving up to Venturers next year), how to get YPs involved nationally,

making sure all members are equally involved and stopping the formation of cliques.

47. What support would most help you address these challenges?

There was a lot of overlap in the answers to those for questions about training and how TREE might

support new groups (Q45). Many answers were vague, with few specific actions being requested by

groups. Answers tended to focus on providing training for new leaders and to get more YP involved in

helping out with Elfin and Pioneer groups. Support from the central organisation to help forge links

between feeder and recipient groups was also mentioned. Only a few leaders made specific and

focused requests for support - one suggested that Woodcraft Folk should make funding application

forms more accessible for YP to fill out. They also suggested a “dedicated regional liason to inform our

YP how to run groups, reach other new people.” This would help YP to take on a more active role in

the organisation, funding and running of their groups. Also, in addressing the problem mentioned

above in Q46 – to get YP involved nationally, one leader wants to see subsidies to be available to YP

and volunteers from poor backgrounds when going to national events. One group thinks that a forum

for discussion would be useful and linked to this, another leader thinks that new ideas are needed to

keep group sessions fresh and interesting.

48. How would you describe the TREE programme and what it is trying to do?

The most important point which this question has highlighted is that a large proportion of the groups

who answered had little or no knowledge of what the TREE programme was or of how it might help

them. Here are just a few of the responses;

“I would have to know more about TREE and understand it better before I could answer this

question.”

“We don't know much about the TREE programme. We would like someone to come and talk

about it with our group.”

“Have not had any direct contact with it until now, so remain somewhat unclear as to its

overall purpose and goals.”

One group thinks it is about identifying what can be improved within Woodcraft Folk, which is

somewhat right, but missing he crucial element that TREE is about not just identifying but also

remedying problems; being a source of support rather than just a critical evaluation.

One group thinks that TREE is about re-energising the movement, two talk about TREE as trying to

establish new groups and helping both new and old groups to flourish. Four think the programme is

about empowering young people to have more of a say in where Woodcraft Folk is going. Also that it

is about making decision-making processes more accessible to YP. A couple of groups think TREE has

set out to increase publicity and awareness of the movement.

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One group have summed up TREE succinctly – “Make WCF more widely known. Expand membership.

Train and empower leaders and YP. Promote aims and principles of folk.” This seems to be the best

understanding of the TREE programme that we came across in the survey, although collectively other

groups have just about covered all the key aims. One comment which is definitely worth mentioning

is that despite being a good idea, the TREE programme might have become somewhat confused in the

minds of the YP because it has come along at the same time as lots of other initiatives. The leader of

this group thought that perhaps his/her group members might be a bit overwhelmed by it.

49. In your view, will the TREE programme help you in tackling some of the challenges facing your

group currently?

This chart serves to reiterate the comments in Q48 – too many groups don’t know what TREE is about

and this is reflected in the fact that a clear majority of the groups responding didn’t know whether it

could help them or not.

50. Do you have any other comments you would like to make about your group, Woodcraft Folk

generally or the TREE programme?

A couple of the groups commented that perhaps Woodcraft Folk HQ was overwhelming them with

the amount of stuff being sent through. The impression is one of leaders hard pushed for time, often

running several groups at once and not really finding time to get through all the information being

sent their way –

“At the moment - the sheer amount of stuff coming from TREE programme etc is

overwhelming. I find running a Venturer group and keeping the other 2 groups running

smoothly is enough. The Venturers too are overwhelmed and get confused what is what.”

Conversely however, some groups have made it clear that they would like more information

Below are the full comments.

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o “In general, while I'm sure that people at the centre of the Woodcraft Folk are very committed

and diligent I sometimes think they have an unrealistic expectation and vision of how the majority

of groups run. I think that people who end up running organisations like the Woodcraft Folk have

had very good, positive experiences of the organisation and have probably come through very

long established groups with experienced leaders and structures. That isn't the reality for most

groups, most groups I've seen have recently appointed leaders who have not been trained and

who rely more on each other for support than they do on the region or the national organisation.

My experience of National Woodcraft is that, through no fault of their own, they seem to always

end up demanding more and more of fewer and fewer people. Right now I think TREE is another

example of that I'm afraid. The idea that there is a model for a Woodcraft group is not right in my

opinion, I have never seen 2 groups which I thought were the same, they all seem to run

differently and value different things. For example, as a leader I'd like to do more 'issues' based

sessions but I don't because my group doesn't want to do that, likewise I know another leader

who does lots of 'issues' based sessions because that's what her group likes to do but would like

to do more of the kind of activities we do (cooking, walking, craft etc). These 2 groups have very

little in common other than being called 'Woodcraft Folk'. Too much of the

literature/surveys/projects seem to be more about ticking boxes (are we a diverse organisation?

do we provide a good environment for people with disability etc?) than providing genuine help to

groups and leaders. I think we should have more confidence in our values, we should not need to

endlessly defend ourselves as a progressive movement. That should almost go without saying,

unless national Woodcraft is generally proposing some form of membership drive. This is not

meant as a massive criticism, I've met nothing but very pleasant committed people who run the

organisation at a higher level and I think we get most things right but it is a plea for a bit more

'joined up' and more realistic thinking though

o “Our group now faces stiff competition from a local drop-in centre that provides the same

activities but for free. I doubt that in the long term we will survive.”

o “Our young people are great and have been brilliant to helping to run groups; they currently help

with the Elfins and our DFs are leading the Pioneers. However they are just not experienced or

organised enough to manage the group administration; collecting in camp forms, getting in

consent forms for new members or ensuring that adults coming to camp are members with CRBs.

This is also one of many willing to help with some group nights but not take on the leadership

committment. There is plenty of support in the form of the group handbooks but we are just short

of people willing to take on the committment.”

o “We can't run before we can walk. TREE mustn't come across as lecturing people to tell them their

young people must be running everything and if they're not then you're doing everything wrong.

Involving young people in decision-making is not straight forward (eg, when I ask pioneers what

activities they want to do, they pick one of two of the same games every week. They need to be

reminded of what's on offer, reminded of what they liked before etc) - it requires the right

interventions from leaders and facilitation skills that we need support to develop). It can also be

disempowering if it is not done properly - so inviting them all to a district meeting and then

running it as normal will not help them to want to be involved. You need to spend time thinkning

about how to run your meeting differently. So we need an understanding of the reasons why

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groups might not be involving young people as much as they could - and I would be certain that in

virtually every case the will is there, but people are short of techniques and time.”

ENDS