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The relevant areas of the Programme pages have been changed to reflect the updates to the Balanced Programme. The Programme Zones and Challenge Badges have been changed and the information about the resources has been updated. There is some art work still to update, which will be done in the coming weeks.

More information about the updates to the Balanced Programme can be found in the December/January issue of your section's Supplement or by contacting the Scout Information Centre.

At the beginning of the year, new resources were published to support the updates to the Balanced Programme. These have proved to be a success, particularly the new Programme Plus resources. Please click on the link to see which publications are essential, recommended or useful for each type of role:

The Programme Team eNews newsletters aim to keep Assistant County/Area Commissioners and County/Area Scout Network Commissioners informed with news and opportunities.

more about Programme Team eNews...

It's still not too late to plan your Big Adventure! Remember, you don't have to create a brand new event, just get people involved in whatever you currently have planned.

The Big Adventure is all about getting parents involved in the leadership team for a residential or other event that you are running. By getting them involved and giving them a defined role they will get the chance to experience the fun of being an adult in Scouting, and hopefully volunteer to help out in the future.

Each Group has been sent a number of free resources to help you make the most of your Big Adventure. If you would like any extra resources please contact the Scout Information Centre on 0845 300 1818 or e-mail info.centre@scout.org.uk.

If you are taking part remember to tell us about your event before 30th April 2009 for the chance to win a free Garmin handheld GPS device. See The Big Adventure for more information.

Beaver Scouts are young people usually aged between six and eight years old. Here you will find out more more about the Programme for Beaver Scouts, and ideas for helping run a Beaver Scout Colony.

more about Beaver Scouts...

Cub Scouts are young people usually aged between eight and ten-and-a-half years old. Here you will find out more more about the Programme for Cub Scouts, and ideas for helping run a Cub Scout Pack.

more about Cub Scouts...

Scouts are young people usually aged between ten-and-a-half and fourteen years old. Here you will find out more more about the Programme for Scouts, and ideas for helping run a Scout Troop.

more about Scouts...

Explorer Scouts are young people usually aged between fourteen and eighteen years old. Here you will find out more more about the Programme for Explorer Scouts, and ideas for helping run an Explorer Scout Unit.

more about Explorer Scouts...

Scout Network Members are young people usually aged between eighteen and twenty-five years old. Here you will find out more more about the Programme for Scout Networks, and ideas for helping run a Scout Network.

more about Scout Network...

Programmes Online (POL) is The Scout Association's online programme planning tool. If anyone wants to run a training session on POL there are some Powerpoint presentations available.

Please read through the briefing document to see which presentation is most suitable for your situation.

POL Interactive

POL Non Interactive

POL Scrolling

Recently there has been changes made to the flexibility of ages between the Beaver Scout and Cub Scout sections. The Scout Association has recently been able to confirm that Section 71 of the 1989 Children Act does not apply to Scouting.

Please have a look at the briefing note and FAQs for further information: