New Girlguiding Programme - an index of skills builder cards and unit meeting activity cards

With the launch of the new programme comes a plethora of 'activity cards' for the prescribed Unit Meeting Activities that must be done, as well as for the prescribed Skills Biulder Activities.

With 12 UMA cards per pack (3 packs available), and 5 Skills Builder Activity Cards per level, per topic, per theme, we have a LOT of A4 cards to 'scan' through when planning.

Skills Builders:

There are 6 stages (levels) -
* Rainbows = 1,2
* Brownies = 2,3
* Guides = 3,4,5
* Rangers = 5,6

Each of the 6 themes has 2 topics at each level, and 5 activities to complete at each level

This means for Level 3, we have 6 themes x 2 topics x 5 activities = 60 cards at level 3, and the same at level 4, and level 5.

OR if you think if it in themes, we have
Express Myself theme, has 2 topics "Communicate" and "Innovate"
* Communicate stage 3 has 5 activities
* Innovate stage 3 has 5 activities
* Communicate stage 4 has 5 activities
* Innovate stage 4 has 5 activities

* Communicate stage 5 has 5 activities
* Innovate stage 5 has 5 activities

On top of that there are compulsory Unit Meeting Activities (a guide must do 5 hours of these per theme, in order to get the theme award, as well as the SB level and an interest badge).  

So, all in all, a LOT of different activities to try and fit in over a 2-3 year rolling programme. It feels like a planning nightmare, trying to ensure that 24 girls at 3 different stages, cover all elements required for the badge, as well as ensuring the programme is sufficiently girl-led (despite the prescriptive approach of the new activities), varied, and caters for the individual.

To try and help with this, i've collated key information from each activity card into a summary index spreadsheet which tells me what the activities at each level and topic are, the timing/duration, what resources are required, what space (indoor or outdoor) is needed, and any comments or concerns I have. 

If you want to have a look at my efforts, you can download the SB and UMA Index spreadsheet from here - be warned, it's not pretty and contains many typos.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be adding information about the minimum number of girlrs required to run each activity, and whether a leader is required (many activities DO need leader input and DO need larger numbers, despite the blurb on the GG website telling us these are brilliant for small groups, and designed to be self-led.  

If you've got any suggestions or corrections, plesae do let me know!


DOWNLOAD LINK: SB and UMA Index spreadsheet 

New Girlguiding Programme - record sheets for girls older guides, and for those who lose their badge books

So, Girlguiding has launched a new programme For Every Girl, from Rainbows up to Rangers. Here is the official overview. 

Guides will now all have to buy  a new Badge Book which contains all of the clauses for the interest badges, and to record all of their progress.  However, I know that most of these will get lost/mislaid within the first couple of weeks of owning them, and at £8 a shot, I can't see parents replacing them very often.  

So with help and inspiration from another guider, i've put together a record sheets on which girls can record their progress on a single page. These will be left in our patrol boxes in the hall, so less chance of losing them. Also means i can take them all home a the end of term and update the GO records accordingly.






Guides who complete a Skills Builder level in all 6 themes, plus an interest badge in all 6 themes, plus 5 hours worth of unit meeting activities in all 6 themes, are eligible to start the Guides Gold Award Challenge. If they complete this, they are awarded the Gold Award.  

It is intended that with the new programme, it will take girls 2-3 years to achieve the Gold Award. With this in mind, girls who have achieved 2 Guide Challenge Badges (ie. been in guides for at least 2 years), and have less than 2 years left in guiding (i.e. aged 12 or above) have some alternative ways to achieve the Gold Award.

For girls who have completed 10 (or nearly 10) of their BP clauses by July 2019, they can then do the Gold Award Challenge instead of a BP Adventure, and be awarded the Gold Award (instead of the BP Award).








For girls who have not started the BP, or don't want to continue with BP clauses for the next year, they can do 2 skils builer stage badges (in different themes), plus new interest badges (1 in each of 3 themes), followed by the Guides Gold Award Challenge.  They will then be awarded the Gold Award.










DOWNLOAD LINK: Doc and PDF versions of these files are here, if you want them.