Best Practice Award Winners – 2021

BRAVO to the following winners of this year’s Best Practice Awards!

Category – Diversity and Inclusion

Winner – Andrea Leadbetter 

Taranaki Zone

Andrea has been instrumental in the integration and inclusion of te reo Māori in her Zone.  Andrea is currently studying Level 5 te reo and has taken on the role as Zone Kaiāwhina to support Kaiārahi in integrating te ao Māori into the Youth Programme and all that they do in the Zone. 

Here are some examples of just some of the many things Andrea has done to promote Inclusion and Diversity.

Andrea collaborated with external providers to facilitate a te reo Māori session at the Taranaki leadership weekend, helping to provide volunteers with a greater understanding, and a starting point for korero. Continuing this work, she has also collaborated with external providers to guide six Kaiārahi through a 6-week te reo Māori course, and gained support from the Zone team to provide funding for the supporting resources.

Category – Community Engagement/Service

Winner – Callum Fisher

Greendale/Tamatea Scout Group

Callum has been instrumental in establishing a community native garden in Anderson Park (conveniently located beside the Greendale/Tamatea Scout Den). Callum has worked with the Napier City Council, nurseries, sculptors, businesses, and local iwi to bring to life a vision the Greendale/Tamatea Scout Group has had for a year or so. When completed – Ki Uta, Ki Tai will symbolise where the Greendale/Tamatea youth do their adventurous activities (hills to sea), and give them a place to learn about our native flora and, hopefully, fauna. It will also be used by the whole community and all sections of the Scout Group will be responsible for looking after this garden for generations to come.  Giving back to the community is a big part of Scouting and Callum hopes this garden will provide space for the community to come and relax and enjoy their surroundings. 

Category – Youth Development

Winner – Jessica Rogalsky

Johnsonville Scout Group

Jess shapes her programme delivery to ensure her youth can access every part of Keas. Jess is particularly skilled at working with Kea with sensory processing disorders and autism, ensuring that programme elements are clearly signposted, are adaptable and accessible, and meet the personal growth needs of these Kea. 

Programme highlights over the last 12 months have included visits to the Wellington Marine Education Centre, the medical ship MV Koha, Space Place observatory, campfires, Zone Kea sleepover, and activities with other Kea Clubs.

During lockdown last year, Jess ran a vibrant programme online. Having assessed the needs of her Kea, she facilitated active, movement-focused meetings that were joyful and gave Kea a space to process their feelings about lockdown. Intent on making online meetings a chance to explore things her Kea couldn’t normally do at the den, Jess invited guests like an equine vet and a professional musician to join her Kea via Google Meet.  Jess has also provided advice to other Kaiārahi on making Scouting inclusive for tamariki with disabilities, acting as a professional consultant on the development of the Neurodiverse Scout Group (www.neurodiversescouts.com).

Category- Programme Delivery

Winner – Nicholas Ford 

1st Mikotahi / Taranaki Zone

As Zone Training Leader, Nick has hugely shaped how the programme is delivered in the Taranaki Zone and beyond. In particular, he has created fantastic systems to help both youth and adults manage a youth-led risk assessment system for their adventurous activities. Nick uses his wealth of experience in outdoor instruction to support young people to take ownership of their adventurous experiences. He also uses this knowledge to support the adults who support young people, helping our Kaiārahi to have the confidence in supporting a youth-led programme.

As a front-line Kaiārahi, Nick has been instrumental in supporting both youth members and adults, including being the driving factor behind transforming one of our Groups from the brink of closure, to now being the largest in the Zone. His passion for Scouting shows in everything he does, and he consistently demonstrates an exceptional commitment to delivering a quality programme to all youth members.

Category – Youth Leading Adult Supporting 

Winner – Ngati Toa Sea Scout Group

Over the last 12 months Ngati Toa Sea Scout Group has significantly progressed from being adult led, to youth led / Kaiārahi supported.  Part of this was the establishment of the Watch Leaders Council, and supporting the Watch Leaders to take control of aspects of the program. Over the past year this has seen them now leading pretty much all parts of the section nights and the youth are supporting and leading each other in training the younger members in sailing skills.

This year has seen the success of this as youth transfer to our other sections with Kea and Cubs now actively leading parts of their programs.

This includes senior youth investing junior youth, senior youth leading games at Kea nights, senior youth in each section supporting and guiding juniors to be their best, and programs being initiated and developed by youth of all ages.

Category – Supreme Award 

Winner – Jonas Anderson

Northland Scout Group

Jonas works alongside whanaū, youth members, and leaders to ensure everyone is safe at scouts and scouting is accessible for all. One example of this is prior to a new youth member starting scouting, Jonas will have an in depth conversation with both the whanaū and the youth member about their needs, things that help, and things they want to get out of scouting. Similarly, he is also a great advocate for leaders with additional needs. 

Jonas strives to be the best leader possible for youth members. He frequently consulted with a variety of experts including teachers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, disability advocates, and adults with autism/ADHD. 

Jonas realised there was a lack of accessible resources and training. To assist with solving this problem, he put together the Neurodiverse Scout Group website. https://neurodiversescouts.wordpress.com/ The Neurodiverse Scout Group is a collection of tips, advice and information for anyone who works with neurodiverse young people in Scouting: leaders of youth, leaders of adults, families, and other youth members. 

Jonas helps to ensure youth members are supported by adults to plan, run, and review their own adventures including camps and overnight activities. Northland Scout group has a training structure where the younger or less experienced youth members get trained, mentored and supported by the older Scouts and Cubs.

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