Trustee Board

1st Blofield and Brundall Sea Scout Group is registered with the Charity Commission.  The charity number is 1018467.

Purpose

The Trustee Board is a team of volunteers who work together, as charity trustees, to make sure Scouts is run safely and legally.

Together, Trustees make sure the charity is well managed, risks are assessed and mitigated, buildings and equipment are in good working order, and everyone follows legal requirements and Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR).

Their support helps other volunteers run a fantastic programme that gives young people skills for life (and experiences they’ll remember forever).

Members

Chair, Treasurer, Trustees Group Scout Leader (Ex-officio)

Responsibilities of the Trustee Board

The trustees work together to:

Manage money well

• Have enough money for now and in the future. This means having a reserves policy and making sure fundraising takes place, if it’s needed.
• Have a budget in place. Trustees then agree how to manage the budget with other volunteer teams.

Follow Scouts policies and relevant legislation

• Follow POR, key policies (including safety, safeguarding, data protection, and equality, diversity and inclusion), and charity regulations.
• Follow employment law if staff are employed, and act as a responsible employer in line with relevant legislation and Scout values. Make sure effective line management is in place for each staff member, which can be delegated to others.
• Create Trustees Annual Report and Statement of Accounts
• Have Statement of Accounts audited by an appropriate person before the Annual General Meeting. If they’re a registered charity, they’ll need to share it with the charity regulator.
• Hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Look after buildings, insurance and property

• Look after records of ownership of property and equipment.
• Have the right insurance for people, buildings, and equipment.
• Make sure buildings and equipment are working well.

Manage risks

• Maintain a risk register and put the right risk mitigations in place.

Help the charity to operate well, today and in the future

• Work with Lead Volunteers to meet their charity aims.
• Champion Our Volunteering Culture, and make sure volunteers are aware of it, reflect on it, commit to it, and apply it in their teams.

Trustees also:

• Make sure effective administration is in place to support the work of the Trustee Board.
• Make sure records of Trustee Board meetings are kept, and complete any actions that are agreed.
• Run open selection processes for appointing Trustees.
• Co-opt Trustees onto the Board if they need people with particular skills or knowledge.
• Get expert advice, if needed. This could be on health and safety, managing money, buildings, equipment, or employment.
• Network with other Scouts Trustees to share knowledge and experience.

Trustee Board size  

Trustee Boards should have a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 12 members. This allows for a variety of viewpoints without making decision-making difficult. It also follows the Charity Governance Code’s recommendation.

Ideally the Group Trustee Board should include a parent of at least one Member of each of the Sections in the Group.

Types of Trustee

The Group Trustee Board is made up of three types of Trustees.

Ex-officio Trustees 

Ex-officio trustees have a role on the Trustee Board due to their role in Scouting.  At Group level this is the Lead Volunteer, commonly known as the Group Scout Leader or GSL.

Appointed Trustees 

The Trustee Boards will agree on an open selection process to recruit new Trustees. The Chair, Treasurer and Trustees are all appointed at Annual General Meetings (AGMs) by the Scout Council, based on the outcome of this selection process.

Responsibilities of the Chair and Treasurer

In addition to the responsibilities above, the roles of the Chair and Treasurer have additional allocated tasks :

Chair

• Lead the Trustee Board.
• Plan when Trustee Board meetings should take place, and decide what to talk about at each meeting.
• Lead Trustee Board meetings and the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
• Liaise with Lead Volunteers.
• Lead recruitment for new Trustees.
• Support other Trustees by organising inductions, making reasonable adjustments (where needed), checking in to see how they’re getting on, and carrying out annual reviews.

Treasurer

• Look after finances, such as making sure the Group is collecting all membership fees and making all payments.
• Share details about income and spend with other Trustees.
• Make sure Gift Aid is being claimed.
• Make sure proper accounts are kept and draw up policies on finance and investment.

Co-opted Trustees

Are members recruited throughout the year. Co-opted Trustees may be chosen to do a particular task, or to bring new skills to the board; there must be no more co-opted Trustees than elected Trustees (excluding the chair and treasurer).

Trustee Term Limits  

Trustees can serve a maximum continuous term of 9 years (starting from the AGM held in 2024).

Appointed Trustees are appointed for up to three years and can be re-appointed (by the Scout Council at the AGM).

Co-opted Trustees are appointed for an initial period of one year (by the Trustee Board). They can stay on longer if agreed by the Trustee Board, but if their appointment continues beyond the date of the next AGM, they should become appointed Trustees at that AGM.

Trustees may only be on the same Trustee Board for a maximum of nine years, before taking a break of at least three years. This applies to all trustees except the ex-officio trustee.

Eligibility to be a Trustee

All members of the Group Trustee Board are charity trustees and registered with the Charity Commission as such.  To be a charity trustee you must be able to agree to the Trustee Declaration: