Here is the list of our frequently asked questions, please click on the links to find the answer you need. If you don't see what you are looking for, please contact us.
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Where do the badges go on my uniform and where can I find out more information about badge work?
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What happens when it is time for my child to move up to the next section?
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What do I do if my child has a medical condition you should know about?

Where do we meet?
Our Scout HQ is Rear of 29-31 Birchwood Way, Park Street, Hertfordshire, AL2 2SF
How do I join the group?
To join the Beavers, Cubs or Scouts you will need to complete the application form on the Scouts website.
Your details will go to the St Albans District who will then send to them to us.
Should my child be in Beavers, Cubs or Scouts?
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Beavers is open to boys and girls of age 6 to 8
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Cubs is open to boys and girls of age 8 to 10.5
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Scouts is open to boys and girls of age 10.5 to 14
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Explorers is open to boys and girls of age 14 to 18
What can I do if the waiting list is full?
1st Park Street is a very popular and successful Scout Group and as such, places in the Group are in high demand. Unfortunately you may have to wait in turn for a place to become available. To ensure a fair system for all, places are offered strictly in the order in which they were placed on the waiting list.
Please mention if you are interested in becoming involved in the leadership of the group. We can always find a place for children of parents who are prepared to become Section Leaders.
How is 1st Park Street Scout Group structured?
At 1st Park Street Scout Group we cater for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. A group of Beavers is referred to as a 'Colony', a group of Cubs is referred to as a 'Pack' and a group of Scouts is referred to as a 'Troop'.
Each of these is also referred to as a 'Section' and each has a section name as listed below.
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Thumpers Beaver Colony - Wednesdays - 6:00pm to 7:00pm
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Birchwood Cub Pack - Mondays - 6:00pm to 7:30pm
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Colne Scout Troop - Thursdays - 7:30pm - to 9:00pm
The Group Scout Leader (GSL) leads the Scout Group and has a team of key people to help. The uniformed Section Leaders each lead their team of assistants and helpers together with the young people in their section. Together they are responsible for the delivery of the programme for the young people who are members. The 'business' side of the group is managed by a body called the 'Executive' which is led by the Group Chairman. More information on the Executive Committee is available further through this document.
What are the contact details of the group leadership?
There are e-mails for each of our sections and are listed below and found within the parents' area of this website under the heading Contact us.
Where do I buy Uniforms?
The official uniform for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts is available from 'The Scout Shop'
Oak Yard, Chene Drive, Waverley Road, St Albans AL3 5PE
(Near St Alban's Hospital)
Telephone: 07710 249812 (Shop Hours Only)
The Shop is open on Monday between the hours of 7:30pm - 9pm and Saturday 8:30am - 10:30am and is only open during school term times.
Group Necker's (scarfs) are awarded to your child when they are invested into the section that they are to join. This is covered within the £10 admin fee when you first join. Spare Necker's if required are available from your section leader for £4.50.
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Full Beaver Uniform - Beaver jumper, Group necker / scarf
Full Cub Uniform - Cub jumper, Group necker / scarf, Blue scouting combat trousers
Full Scout Uniform - Scout shirt, Group necker / scarf, Blue scouting combat trousers, Scout belt
Where do the badges go on my uniform and how can I find out more about badge work?
What are the Scouting Terms/Dates?
We follow the same term dates and holidays as defined by the county schools:
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January to Easter is the Spring Term
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Easter to July is the Summer Term
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September to Christmas is the Autumn Term
Beavers, Cubs and Scouts do not attend during school Summer, Easter and Christmas holidays. We also break for half term during the same weeks as the local schools.
How do I pay my subscriptions?
Subs are £42 per child per term and should be paid before or on the first meeting of each term.
If your child happened to join at a half term you will be require to pay half the full amount £21
At 1st Park Street our preferred payment for subscriptions is using GoCardless via our informational system MyScout.
When your child joins, their Section Leader will send you the instructions on how to proceed setting up payment.
When joining the group for the first time there is an additional one-off registration fee of £10.
What are my subscriptions used for?
A proportion of your subscriptions per term stays with your child's section and goes towards paying for sectional activities and supplies such as crafts/activity materials and badges. The remaining goes into Group funds and is used to pay for your child's personal insurance and the running costs of the hut such as electricity, water, and maintenance. In addition to covering the running costs, the Group will usually fund the purchase of larger pieces of equipment,various other expenses and necessary training for Section Leaders to gain skills that the group requires to be able to do activities such as Archery, Shooting and Climbing.
What is Gift Aid?
Gift Aid is a valuable source of Group funds. When you register for Gift Aid the Group will receive an extra 28p from the Inland Revenue for every £1 of your subs payment. So for a £42 subs payment, we receive an extra £11.76 and this provides a substantial boost to our funds.
All UK resident taxpayers are eligible for Gift Aid. You will receive a Gift Aid Form along with your subs pack at the end of your child's first term. Please help us by filling this form out and returning it to the Treasurer.
What happens when it is time for my child to move up to the next section?
Your present Section Leader will speak to you about this during the term prior to your child's progression to their next Scouting section. Our Group follows the set age criteria recommended by the Scouting Association for each of the Scouting sections.
We recommend that any parent who believes their child should move up early should speak to their Section Leader about the matter.
What happens when my child reaches 14?
At the age of 14 your child is eligible to move up to Explorer Scouts. Explorers are run at a District level and as such you need to request to join much like you did to join the group. You need to go to http://scouts.org.uk
What does the Scout Group expect of parents?
Scouting is run by unpaid volunteers, and all money for equipment and its maintenance is raised through subscriptions and fundraising. To help us succeed with this, we ask every family within the Group to help at just one of the Group's fundraising events during the year, and to support our fundraising events where possible. Please indicate on the enclosed Membership form which fundraising events you would prefer to help with.
Parents are asked to help out at their child's meeting on a rota basis of a minimum of 2-3 meetings per year, and to offer their help when needed to undertake activities held outside the hut. Outings require an increased ratio of adults to children for safety and to comply with insurance requirements therefore, if there are not enough helpers, the outing can not go ahead.
Why must I be DBS checked?
To help safeguard the young people we aim to DRB check all new parents. This ensures peace of mind when parents help with transport, camps, rotas, fundraising etc.
You will find a number of DRB application forms enclosed with this information pack and each parent should complete one of these forms. The form is treated in strict confidence. It will be checked by our DRB coordinator and passed directly to the District DRB administrator for processing.
What do I do if my child has a medical or social condition you should know about?
You must inform us if your child has any sort of medical or social condition that may become relevant to his/her time in the Scout Group. You can enter details of the condition on the registration form or you can tell your section leader directly if you would rather. Either way, this information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Please don't try to hide any condition as it may do more harm than good. We strongly believe in equal opportunity for all children and guarantee that your child's condition will not negatively affect the way in which they are treated within the Scout Group.
What do we do in the community?
We have forged a strong link with St Stephen's Parish Council and have taken part in activities such as flower bulb planting around the local area and other similar events. We are very keen to continue with such activities and encourage everyone within the Group to join in.
We also take part in two annual parades, which all children from every section are expected to attend.
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The first is the St George's Day parade in late April. This begins in St Albans Abbey, followed by a parade along St Albans High Street.
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The second parade is Remembrance Sunday. This is held at the Park Street War Memorial opposite The Falcon Public House. We meet in the Car Park at the rear of Park Mill off Burydell Lane.
Your Section Leaders will provide you with further details regarding these parades nearer the time.
Communications and Internet
E-mail is a fast and cost effective way of communicating information throughout the group. All communications from the Group Executive are now carried out via email so it is very important that you provide your Section Leader with your email address at the earliest opportunity.
Your children will still receive some paper based letters from their section leaders in addition to emails from time to time.
The group has its own website at / Information about Group events and fundraising activities, along with other helpful information can be found on it. We would like you to encourage your child to contribute an occasional article about their scouting experiences.
Once your child has been invested, you will be provided with a username and password so that you can access the 'secure' part of our website. Here you will be able to view an up-to-the-minute termly programme of events for your child's section and lots of media from recent events including photos and videos.
Data Protection
By indicating your agreement and signing the registration form you are giving the Scout Group your permission to store information about you and your child including any medical information that you tell us about on the registration form.
The information which is held is only that which is essential to the administration of the group and this information will not be disclosed to anyone outside of the movement. The information is held in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
If you have any questions or concerns with regards to data storage, please contact our GSL using the enclosed contact details