Girlguiding - Rainbows, Brownies & Guides

dizsiebubba

But you dont have to donate it back x

slbhill

dizsiebubba wrote: »

But you dont have to donate it back x

Did I imply you did? Certainly hadn't meant to!
I was simply mentioning one of the reasons why it's worth claiming even if you don't feel the need. (It also provides a truer picture in the unit accounts and avoids putting your successor under so much pressure to take costs on herself if she feels she can't or shouldn't).

Ginger_Poodle

Wonder if anyone can advise me? I have heard two different answers to this...can girls join the Rainbows at 5, or is it when they start P1? I have added her to the waiting list for our 2 local groups but have heard different things from different people. Also, how long do waiting lists tend to be? Or is this like asking how long a piece of string is??? Many thanks...

kingfisherblue

Girls can start Rainbows at age 5 (4 in Northern Ireland). Waiting lists vary, but in my experience are often long for Rainbows, as there are fewer units than for Brownies.

In the meantime, why not look at the GirlGuidingUK website for more information? There is also a Rainbows website for the girls, so your daughter might want to look at that. Just scroll down the front page.

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk

slbhill

Ginger_Poodle wrote: »

Wonder if anyone can advise me? I have heard two different answers to this...can girls join the Rainbows at 5, or is it when they start P1? I have added her to the waiting list for our 2 local groups but have heard different things from different people. Also, how long do waiting lists tend to be? Or is this like asking how long a piece of string is??? Many thanks...

Definitely 5 in mainland UK, as kingfisher says. http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/about_us/what_do_girls_in_guiding_do/rainbows.aspx

I wonder if the difference is a local one. In our area there are never enough rainbow spaces and waiting lists can be enormous - occasionally it's so bad that a girl added to the list in plenty of time will never get a chance to join before she's old enough for brownies. In that kind of situations leaders will sometimes adopt a strategy to give as many girls as possible a chance - not letting them start until they're a bit older would be one example. It's officially frowned on - the "right" answer is to find more leaders & open more units but that's not always easy!! So it might be felt better to give (30 girls a one-year rainbow experience than to give 15 girls a two-year experienc and the other 15 none at all.

The waiting list question is, as you say, how long is a piece of string! Even in places where there are more girls than places, it depends on how full the unit is at the time, how many other girls of a similar age there are and so on. My guide unit has gone from having a waiting list, through a short spell where girls can join as soon as they are 10 and ready, and back to having a waiting list again, just because of the shape of the population profile in our area. The "millenium bulge" caused us no end of trouble! Worth finding your local contact and enquiring. Also, some places will only take girls onto the list at 4, while others will take them from birth. Good luck!