Girlguiding Kent Weald county

Rock on!

If you’ve climbed up a rock, abseiling is often the easiest way back down. It’s also a sport in itself and can help fundraise for projects when people are sponsored to abseil down tall buildings. 

Abseiling involves lowering yourself down natural rock formations, buildings or other outdoor structures. It has long been used in rock climbing, caving and mountaineering to descend slopes or cliffs that are too steep to walk down. In recent years however, abseiling has become a popular sport in its own right.

Get your game on!

Throughout weekly meetings, at division, county, region and nationally we have lots of opportunities to take part in lots of games, activities and sports. https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/our-programme-and-activities/activity-finder/

Sleepover with friends

Even at Rainbows our girls may get the opportunity to have their first sleepover. We offer activities that will help give your daughter a sense of freedom and gain vital skills to help develop independence and self reliance.

Learn about body confidence

From as young as seven, girls say they feel embarrassed and ashamed of how they look. Fear of their bodies being criticised holds them back from doing everyday things they would like to do.

• 36% of girls aged 7 to 10 say people make them think that the most important thing about them is how they look.
• 54% of girls aged 7 to 10 said ‘stop judging girls and women on what they look like’ was one of their top three priorities for change.

With the help of WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) we have developed Free Being Me, a body confidence badge for Brownies and Guides. Sessions help girls recognise myths about how girls and women ‘should’ look and be happy in their own skin. We’re also supporting girls to call for change through our Girls Matter campaign.

Explore the world!

We’re part of a truly global movement so Girlguiding can offer its members a huge range of amazing international adventures

Girls and volunteers can travel abroad with their local unit, join a social action project in a developing country or represent girls at an international seminar. We have opportunities big, small and suitable for all ages – including lots of life-changing opportunities for volunteers. Get exploring the world with guiding!

Take action to make girls’ lives better

We support girls to talk directly to politicians and change-makers. Because when you speak out, you make change happen.

Why is campaigning important?

We know from our research that many girls and young women don’t feel listened to by people in power. Through campaigning, you can ensure that key issues you care about are addressed in a real and tangible way. We’re here to support you to do that.

You know better than anyone what girls want, so all of Girlguiding’s campaigns are led by girls. You tell us what you think through our Girls’ Attitudes Survey and the Advocate panel – and we’re consulting with you more and more.

Girls leading campaigns

• Our advocates are campaigning to end sexual harassment in schools. In 2017, Girlguiding’s Girls’ Attitudes Survey revealed that 64% of girls and young women aged 13 to 21 had experienced sexual harassment in school in the past year. More than a quarter (27%) had seen or experienced girls’ skirts being pulled up by boys at school.
• In 2016, girls got involved with Recl@im the Internet to tackle online abuse – one of the top three issues they’d like to see change on. Our Advocates spoke at the launch of the campaign at the Houses of Parliament. They also attended the Recl@im the Internet conference in July 2016, to ensure girls voices continue to be represented in the campaign.
• In 2015, girls drew up a list of eight changes that would make a difference to girls’ lives as part of our Girls Matter campaign – addressing everything from media sexism to sex and relationships education. During the general election, they lobbied politicians to take action. Over 10% of cross-party MPs signed up to support their demands and over 5000 people pledged their support.

Spend the night under canvas

Girls can push their limits and get active at camps and residential holidays from an overnight to a much larger camp.

Many camps run for a week or longer, so girls can form lasting friendships and gain independence while being supported by fully qualified leaders. There’s always something to keep girls occupied from adventurous activities like kayaking, to evenings watching performances and singing and dancing at a traditional camp fire.

Experience the buzz of a large camp. There are camps taking place across the UK, some with up to 8,000 participants from all over the world!

Take your next step towards leadership in guiding

The young leader qualification is designed to help you take an active, positive part in running a Rainbow, Brownie or Guide unit. It’s open to young leaders aged 14-17 helping in a unit. If you would like to become a young leader talk to your leader or local commissioner. If you’re new to Girlguiding, register as a volunteer as a first step.

Why should I get involved?

You’ll develop skills in leadership, communication and team working – all of which make impressive additions to any CV. Working towards the qualification will also help you to contribute more to your local unit leadership team and become more confident in your role.

What’s involved?

The young leader qualification is made up of six practical modules, which you complete at the same time as volunteering with a unit.

• Module 1: GO and sectional training – focuses on the Girlguiding membership system (GO) and learning more about the section you are working with.
• Module 2: Leadership – looks at different leadership styles and when you should use them, for example with girls of different ages.
• Module 3: Planning – allows you to demonstrate how well you understand the programme for the section you volunteer with. It’ll help you to make sure that the programme is right for the range of ages and abilities in your unit, that all girls take part in planning the programme, and the activities are enjoyable for the girls.
• Module 4: Working with girls – allows you to demonstrate that you understand the girls you work with and can provide the best opportunities for them to grow and develop.
• Module 5: Local guiding – looks at the structure of guiding in your local area and how you’re supported within this.
• Module 6: Your role in guiding – is about you showing that you understand the Promise and Law, and your commitment to guiding.

When live music, dancing and high-adrenaline activities collide

There are numerous events for girls and leaders to take part in, whether its an festival-style event that is exclusively for Guides and Rangers, like Wellies and Wristbands which aimed to give girls the full festival experience or Sparkle and Ice, a winter weekend of adventure thrills and activities to keep the cold at bay. 

Keep an eye on the Girlguiding website for details of future events and adventures.

Be a musical star!

We offer a wide range of opportunities for girls to express themselves through song and dance. Weekly meetings, division, county, region and national will all host performing arts events to learn new skills and gain new experiences.

We encourage girls to get involved in local Pride parades, put on plays and gain their music and performing arts badges.

Be part of the community

Whether its planting a new community garden, litter picking, fundraising for a local organisation or representing Girlguiding at a local event, we encourage girls to be active in their local community.

The #iwill campaign encourages girls to engage with their local area through social action. Youth social action has a double benefit – it helps build communities and develops character strengths and life skills in young people.

Without our 80,000 leaders guiding simply wouldn’t happen. Being a leader is so rewarding. You get to work directly with girls, help them to grow into confident young women and have loads of fun along the way. Every week will be a little different but you’ll plan and run activities with your team, from parachute games to cooking challenges and everything in between.

Who can complete this qualification?

The role of leader is a woman-only position and the full leader development programme is also woman-only. To achieve our mission of supporting girls and young women to develop and fulfil their potential we provide a girl-only space and have women as role models for our young members.

You can only become a leader when you’re 18 but you can start working towards it from the age of 16. Many of the courses are available outside of the leader development programme, and so these can be completed by any volunteer.

What will I learn?

The becoming a leader training is split into three learning areas. This will help you explore, develop and apply the skills needed to run a Girlguiding unit and provide a great guiding experience. You’ll have lots of help and support along the way. The learning areas are:

• Building foundations: you’ll learn how to deliver guiding in a fun and safe way, whilst following our policies.
• Engaging guiding: you’ll learn how to involve young members in creating the very best Girlguiding experiences in a way that is suitable for all.
• You and your team: you’ll learn to work as a team and manage the unit.

You’ll need to complete all topics within these three areas but if you’ve been in guiding for a while you may find that you’ve already done some of them.