Annual Report 2020
Manager's Report (James Baker)
It would be very easy to focus on what's happening in the world at the moment and forget everything else that's happened this year, but we've achieved a huge amount and I think it's important we reflect on that.
As well as many of our usual events, we've supported a number of new events this past year including Trooping of the Colour in London and the Mud Run at Ferny Crofts. We tried to add some additional Northern events to our roster, but unfortunately these fell through for various reasons. We will keep looking to do that though, and I look forward to working with our new Events Coordinator to make this happen. We did unfortunately lose the Cenotaph Parade as an event this year - but this was through no fault of our own, and should the opportunity reappear we will certainly be looking to get involved again.
We've also had a wide range of socials - from Powerboating off the South Cost, to Sledding and Ice Hockey, to a trip to Scotland. A big thank you to Hayley for organising these, and for taking on the challenge of running some virtual socials whilst we're all in lockdown!
Of course, the big social event of the year was the 75th Anniversary - which seems a very long time ago now! I'm sure it'll be an event that is remembered for a long time though, and I want to thank everyone who was involved in making it a success. In particular, credit must go to Phil for keeping all the finances in check.
On the membership front, we continue to grow. Claire has been working hard to get new applications processed as quickly as possible, and has approved over 35 in the past year - so thank you Claire for all the work you've done! I would encourage all members to continue to support events wherever possible though, as almost half of Active members have not attended an event in the past 12 months. As a reminder, Active members should be aiming to attend at least 2 events a year.
The Portal has continued to work well as our main platform for running the QSWP, and recently we have moved it to different hosting and made some underlying changes to ensure it is more robust, more secure, and has the ability to scale in the future. This will cost slightly more per month, but shouldn't drastically affect our budget and is important to keep the Portal running.
Whilst we've achieved a lot of the past year, it would be remiss of me not to mention the future. There is currently a lot of uncertainty about future events this year, and all of the events for the next few months at least have been cancelled. Whilst this is undoubtedly the right thing to do, it is obviously disappointing and frustrating - particularly where a lot of effort has gone into the organisation of these events, such as our zone at the now cancelled Essex International Jamboree. Again, thank you to everyone who had committed to these events, and to those of you who gave up huge amounts of time to help with the planning and organisation.
I remain hopeful that the events later in the year - such as CarFest, Gilwell Reunion, Fright Night and Scarefest, Thanksgiving and the Festival of Remembrance - will go ahead in some form, and I encourage everyone to get involved with these events and make them a huge success if they do go ahead. It's too early to say at the moment which will, but as soon as we hear anything we'll be sure to let you know!
As you'll be aware I am now entering my second term as manager of the QSWP, after being reappointed into the role back in the Autumn. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to carry on taking the QSWP forward, and I'd like to thank you for your trust and support.
Finally then, I just want to thank everyone who has supported the QSWP, and in turn the events we've attended, over the past year. I regularly get e-mails from the organisers of events thanking us for the hard work of our team, and that is down entirely to you. So thank you, keep up the good work, and I look forward to working with you all at an event later in the year.
Finance Report (Phil Jones)
This has been my first year as Treasurer - and a fairly busy one at that, especially with the 75th Anniversary's Celebrations, which has meant a much high turnover through the accounts than normal.
Over the course of this year we have successfully finished the process of swapping over Bank Accounts from HSBC to Lloyds and have now completely shut down the HSBC account. We have also closed down the legacy PayPal account, to which some people were still paying their membership, this has now made things a lot of easier as it has reduced the sources of money and problems.
As you can see by the account's summary sheet presented, we have shown a deficit within this accounting year but this has largely been due to the 75th Weekend Away / Celebrations with £2,885 of fees for this event being collect within the previous accounting year. Originally it had been agreed that the QSWP were going to subsidise the event by £1,250, but in the end we only subsidised the event by £605, returning the remainder of the subsidy to general funds.
You will also notice there has been a high level of income with regards to Shop sales this year, relating to both online sales and direct sales in person. We are considering this to be unusually high this year due to the 75th and this figure also includes the sale of the anniversary badges, which is why the shop sales prediction in the coming years budget is much lower than that of this year's actual sales.
The merchandising costs are almost double the budgeted cost this year due to the fact that we had to purchase a large supply of Neckers, which will either be sold through the shop or given to new members at their first event, We have also purchased 4 new flags due to The Scout Associations branding changes, which we were hoping to have up at the AGM but as plans have changed slightly we can't, so you will hopefully see them at your next QSWP Events.
Events Report (Caroline Hicks)
It has been another year full of events for the QSWP, with members attending our usual Gilwell based events, whilst also supporting smaller local and county based events too. As ever our most popular events have been the Day of Celebration and Achievement, Gilwell Reunion and Remembrance. We have also had people attend thanksgiving, Duke of Edinburgh presentations and more besides! It's also been great to see the social events so well supported, along with the annual QSWP weekend away!
Sadly this year it was decided by the Royal British Legion not to have supporting youth groups attend the Cenotaph Paradethis year, which I know was a disappointment for many members, however it appears that for now we are still undertaking duties at the Festival of Remembrance and I know we will keep a check on if this decision is changed.
Looking forward, its shaping up to be a very different year, with many of our events cancelled due to the current pandemic. I hope everyone is doing ok presently and, you are all staying safe. I'm sure when we are back to attending things it will be better than ever!
I've had a great three years as Events-Co-coordinator, and although sadly due to a variety of personal reasons the last year has seen me need to attend less events, its always great to see everyone attending things and supporting events on social media. I wish my successor the best of luck in helping to shape the future of events in the QSWP, and look forward to seeing the QSWP become more inclusive of its membership than ever, with more events being run up and down the country.
Members Report (Claire Mollart)
We have continued to grow our membership this year, by about 45 new members and there are 9 applications outstanding at the time of writing. Our total membership stands at 269 people, with 162 active members and 107 friends, about a quarter of whom are members whose active membership has only recently lapsed and is therefore likely to be renewed shortly.
Our membership spread has increased slightly compared to this time last year. We now cover more of Wales and a couple of extra postcode areas in the South East and West. Growth in the North of England has been minimal. We still have representation in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
There have been a couple of changes to membership processes in the last year. If an application has been pending completion for 12 months with no contact from the applicant, their application is removed. A one month notice period is given. Also, applicants are now advised when applying that they have to pay their first year's membership fee within three months or their membership will be revoked and they will have to reapply. This tidying up process was required due to having an increasing number of new members who never pay, sign up to events or communicate with us.
All in all, the application process seems to be ticking along fairly smoothly, and I've nothing further to report but to thank James for his continued support and regular updating of the application system.
Social Media Report (Sarah Paget)
Social media has continued to gain support and interaction over the year. We have a good interaction from the likes of Tim Kidd and the rest of Team UK, which generally guarantees us a good audience spread.
We have continued with the two previous accounts on Facebook and Twitter as well as adding Instagram to our online profiles. In the past year the focus has been on trying to show more of our informal and smaller events. With posts and interactions during and following events to reinforce that we don't just do the big national events, but can turn out to county hosted events to support scouting in a wider sense. The word is getting out as we have had enquiries come through from Districts, Counties and Events who would like our support in the future.
Twitter has become a staple of how we communicate with our wider audience. A good proportion of the messages Scout HQ send out, along with updates from QSWP are most easily shared via Tweet. This coupled with some regulars who like, retweet and comment we have seen steady interactions with our twitter audience throughout the year.
- We've gained 101 new followers
- Our interaction continues to gain bigger boosts when Tim Kidd and the rest of Team UK interact with us.
- Our top tweets and interaction continue to be around remembrance and DofE Gold presentations, but we also gained a lot of interest for our 75th anniversary.
- Oct-Dec 2019 with our 75th anniversary and Remembrance ensured that this was our period with the most interactions.
| Period | Tweets | Impressions (Overall Total) | Followers/Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 Figures | 186 | 45k impressions 11.25k average p/q |
806 |
| Apr - Jun 2019 | +24 | 19k | +34 |
| Jul - Sept 2019 | +5 | 8k | +11 |
| Oct - Dec 2019 | +16 | 22k | +39 |
| Jan - Mar 2020 | +8 | 11.5k | +17 |
| Totals | 284 (+98) | 61k impressions 6k average p/q |
921 (+101) |
For the fifth year in a row we have increased our followers, this year by 101 new followers. Our overall impressions are up from 45k to 61K and this can be directly related to our interaction around the National Day of Celebration at Windsor last 2019 and our 75th Anniversary weekend in October 2019.
Top Tweets 2019-2020
| Tweet | Impressions | Engagements | Retweets / Likes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Birthday to us! We're 75 years young. We're celebrating with a party @gilwellpark with members past and present. Thank you to @TimothyKidd for welcoming us and thanking us for our "75 years of exceptional support" @UKScouting #qswp75 | 4163 | 451 | 7 / 53 |
| Remembrance weekend and it's an honour to be supporting @PoppyLegion at #FestivalofRemembrance Today the team have been selling poppies & programmes at both performances. #LestWeForget #RemembranceDay2019 | 2932 | 446 | 5 / 69 |
| Congratulations to everyone who collected their @DofE Gold Award at St James Palace yesterday. We had four stewards on duty. @RoyalFamily @UKScouting #1sttime2020 #QSWP #topawards | 2785 | 295 | 1 / 46 |
| As many of our members head of to @2019_wsj with @ukcontingent we want to wish everyone safe travels. Have an amazing time, have fun and make memories #wsj2019 | 2211 | 110 | 4 / 29 |
| It's our 75th Anniversary this year. Spaces are still available for members and former members to join us for our celebration on 5th October. Check out qswp.org.uk/75th.html for more information #anniversary | 2055 | 95 | 6 / 11 |
In 2012 a Facebook page was created to run alongside the Group. Groups are designed to be closed; allowing for chat, instructions or complaints to be voiced without the wider world knowing. Pages are the public face of the organisation or company, with anyone being able to like the page and see what is being published. For that reason, the group will not be analysed for social media purposes, as the message and influence should be limited to the membership.
That said the posts and likes for the page can be compared below:
| Date | Posts | Likes | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 - 2016 | 19 | 195 | - |
| 2016 - 2017 | 7 | 248 | +53 |
| 2017 - 2018 | 9 | 284 | +36 |
| 2018 - 2019 | 23 | 345 | +61 |
| 2019 - 2020 | 14 | 411 | +66 |
| Total to 30/03/2020 | 411 | ||
There has been a significant increase in likes on the Facebook page in the last two years. The reason for this is most likely from our general advertising of the 75th Anniversary which we held at Gilwell Park in October 2019. Despite the increase of likes the general audience participation is low. Facebook is becoming increasingly a generational platform and this is clear when we look at the statistics relating to our followers.
Whilst we gain audience likes and follows there is less sharing than on Twitter. With the majority of our fans being aged between 25-34 years of age this follows the trend that Facebook isn't the platform of the next generation. They are preferring Instagram or even Twitter if they aren't using other social networking spaces.
We will continue to post updates on Facebook as it does have an audience and allows wider Scouting audiences an insight into our work as most Districts and Counties only have Facebook Pages to keep their local areas updated.
This was always going to be an experiment for 2019-2020 and overall it can be called a success.
- The account was created following the AGM on 27th April 2019.
- We have made 22 posts and gained 161 followers up to 31st March 2020.
- The aim for 2020-2021 would be to gain more interaction on Instagram and start developing stories.
Here's our top five posts with likes, impressions and reach:
Top Instagram Posts 2019-2020
| Date | Post | Likes | Impressions | Reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/10/2019 | Our 75th Anniversary celebrations are well under way @gilwellpark_ Thank you to @timothy.kidd for welcoming members past and present to our special evening | 37 | 283 | 130 |
| 09/11/2019 | A pleasure and an honour to be representing @scouts by supporting @royalbritishlegion at the #festivalofremembrance once more. Today the team have been selling poppies and programmes. | 33 | 275 | 173 |
| 18/07/2019 | Many of our members are heading out to Virginia with @ukcontingent for the 24th World Scout Jamboree. Our members are supporting CMT, IST and Unit Leaders. From those at home – Safe Travels, have an amazing time and make a lifetime of memories | 29 | 300 | 174 |
| 02/06/2019 | Some of the team were seen out in London yesterday. They were supporting the Youth Enclosure, as they watched the Colonel's Review on Horse Guards. This was the full dress rehearsal for the Trooping the Colour which HM The Queen will attend next week. |
29 | 292 | 159 |
| 12/05/2019 | Huge thanks to Phil for organising and 1st Portsmouth Sea Scouts for hosting our latest social event. Phil took ten of our members Powerboating. They tested their seamanship skills, and their sea legs on a run to Cowes for lunch and back to Portsmouth. Our socials are a popular part of the QSWP calendar. They provide the opportunity to get to know other members of the team and have fun! |
29 | 246 | 117 |
Summary
Our social media image continues to provide coverage of the wide range of events we are involved in. We are always looking for more ways to share our stories. If anyone can share images of any of our events either to the Facebook group or by email to media@qswp.org.uk we can continue to inspire new participants in the Queen Scout Award and hopefully gain more events. We particularly like sharing images of our green and gold neckers or red t-shirts/hoodies. We always prefer natural images of people working and socialising than staged ones, where possible.
Social Report (Hayley Butterworth)
What a year! Since the last AGM, there's been 5 social events in total. Here's a quick run down...
In May last year there was a Powerboating Social between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight - an excellent day out expertly organised by Phil (big thanks!).
At the end of November we had a Christmas social as is becoming a regular feat. This year we headed to Milton Keynes for some sledging at the SnoZone, followed by an evening of Ice Hockey - MK Lightning verses Hull Pirates. A very wintery themed social with a high attendance!
Fast forward to February and the QSWP hit up Edinburgh! Staying at 71st Craigalmond Scout Hut (opposite Edinburgh Zoo), over two days we climbed up Calton Hill, viewed the Castle (from the outside - it was too windy to open to visitors), visited the National Museum of Scotland, laid sticks for Greyfriars Bobby, sampled the local beverages and were all aboard the Royal Britannia. An excellent weekend (if a long train ride for some)!
And lastly the main event...
In October we held our annual weekend away, however this was also our 75th Anniversary of the QSWP celebration. With record numbers of QSWP members in attendance (current and former friends), a Disney singalong quiz, a photo booth, chocolate fountain, a very big cake, photographs on display of our work over the years and an expertly piloted drone to fit everyone into the same photo, Gilwell was the only natural location for such a magnificent event - and it was definitely one to be remembered.
We'll be looking to do a similar number of social events next year (Coronavirus permitting), so if you have any suggestions of activities or locations - shout up!