Managing your patrol

How do I get my patrol site fit for inspection before Colours?

Make sure everyone gets up and eats breakfast (yes everyone), make sure the kettle is full and on for the washing up. Start the tidying then, to be fit for colours you need to:

Wash up after breakfast
Ensure your tents are ready for the day loop/roll brailed if onsite or doors closed if not
Get your activity kit ready for the day (boating/hiking kit etc)

Be prepared to change your jobs rota if you find extra jobs that need doing, ensure everyone has a job to do each time, even if it’s only little. Once one person is fully ready they can then help someone else/swop with them so they can get ready. A patrol that works well as a team will find they are able to be fit for inspection in plenty of time before Colours.

As a PL my patrol got up at 745 and we were ready 13/14 days

Improve my inspection score?

Is your patrol site clean and tidy? - things like litter and food on the floor around the site can lose you quite a lot of points.

Are your tents pitched right, if you keep losing points on them do something about it. If you need help to change the way a tent is pitched come and ask a leader for help.

Make sure my patrol remember what we need to get from stores on their first trip?

Write down if you run out of something/are about too. Perhaps on the end of the patrol box in chalk (please come and ask for some when you are at camp). Or have a notebook that they can take with them.

Remember that some items you need to return the container to get more, e.g. washing up liquid, squash etc.

“cheat” inspections/get away with doing less?

Well here is a secret; inspections are really about making sure you are all looking after yourselves properly, making sure you are not going to get food poisoning from a dirty kitchen, you have washed and your toilet isn't grim. If you take that as a basis then you can work out what is necessary and what is luxury.

Vital

Pots/pans/plates/cutlery/mugs etc all clean and grease free
Cooker and tables (where you cook and prepare food) are clean
You patrol box (where you store food) is clean
You have water and soap to wash hands by/in the toilet tent
The toilet has space left for an emergency visit!
Change your tea towel regularly you cannot dry up with wet teatowels and a 5 day old one probably has as many bugs as the toilet. Make sure you keep the tea-towels hung up to dry and only use them to dry clean things (your table and cooker will dry naturally)

Important

Your kit is organised so you can find it
- Wet kit is on the washing line to dry
- Dry kit is not mixed in with other peoples, you don't want to wear someone else's pants!
- You can find your boots when you need them rather than having a full kit inspection
Change the grass in the wet pit and empty your bin (no one wants to find a fox has been through it and spread it across the field)

Luxury

Almost everything else, that's not to say they are not important but you won't be pulled off the water for a small amount of litter or a lack of gadgets, but if your washing up is not done….

Stop my patrol disappearing when the jobs need doing?

Have a rota and as far as possible stick to it
You may well have to help the younger ones with all tasks including the washing up, they will probably be useless to start with
Incentivise - if you get it done we will organise fun activities in the evenings, if you are not ready you won't be taking part.

Make my patrol work better from about day 3 onwards?

Make sure they get some sleep, camp is hard work, for everyone but your patrols ability to work as a team will quickly fall apart if they are tired. Make sure your APL is getting them all into bed as soon as cocoa is over, by the time you return from PLC they should be in bed.

Get everything done when I am duty Patrol?

There are a couple of additional things you need to do the day you are Duty Patrol, the main thing is the Colours. Whilst you regularly do Colours in the Scout hut it can be a bit daunting when everyone is watching and the flagpole is a lot taller, so you should try and get a practice in beforehand. In the morning this means you need to get your patrol jobs done, as it is no excuse for not being fit for inspection. You need to be finding the Duty SPL to help you at 8:40 to have enough time to practice, by 8:55 the Prep flag must be up and you fallen back in ready for the main ceremony.
If you think this might be a struggle being ready 15min earlier, why not practice the night before after sunset colours, you could take the opportunity just before evening ents.

The additional job this year is duty patrol need to write a blog post for the website, so that we can tell the parents what you have been up to. This can be written at any point during the day and handed in at PLC if not before.

Be a Great Patrol Leader?

Being a good leader is a fine line between being in charge and not being bossy! Remember we are ALL at Scouts to have fun! If you stand on the side just bossing people about they will soon get fed up and will not get the jobs done.

Lead by example; be prepared to help with ALL Jobs. Don’t do it all yourself, give others clear instructions and let them have a go, even if it does take a little longer. In the long run your patrol will know what to do and things will be done much quicker

There are dirty jobs to be done! Make sure everyone takes a turn. You may need 2 small people to do a job you could do on your own. Don’t take jobs off people if they struggle. Help them to complete the task and give them a sense of satisfaction. A well placed “WELL DONE” goes a long way!

A rota will demonstrate that you are all doing the same amount of work.

Your scouts must understand the purpose of the task you set and exactly what you want them to do.

Team spirit is the key to success but it is not always so easy to achieve! Keep a diary of difficulties and discuss at PLC.

Know your Stuff!

The first key strength to being a good leader is to know what you are talking about!

As a Patrol Leader you have many years of scouting behind you and have a wealth of experience to pass on to the younger scouts in your charge. Brush up on your skills before leading an activity. We have a good library of scouting skills books and a load of leaders who will help.

Is the Leader always right?

Some Leaders have different ideas on how best to do things. There often isn’t a wrong and a right but just a different approach. If there are leader differences we will also use the scouting skill book to come up with a common approach or may decide that it simply doesn’t matter! Should you get different advice from leaders make sure to let us know at PLC or there and then if it’s urgent.

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