Yoxford and Peasenhall Primary School launches Scouts Squirrels group

A new scout group which is believed to be one of the first set up in Suffolk held a launch day.

Yoxford and Peasenhall Primary School launched its Scouts Squirrels Drey last Thursday.

Squirrels are the newest section of the scouting family aimed at four to six-year-olds.

Group Scout leader from 1st Fressingfield Scout Group Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne was there last Thursday to officially launch the new group.

He said on the day: "I am delighted to be here. It is wonderful to see the school sections go from strength to strength and for 1st Fressingfield Scouts to be leading the way.

"As CEO of Consortium Multi-Academy Trust, we are committed to providing a broad range of opportunities to enable our children to develop skills for life, and incorporating scouting into the curriculum is a real example of ‘learning at it’s best’."

At Yoxford and Peasenhall Primary, which is part of the Consortium Multi-Academy Trust, scouting is 'fully embedded' within the curriculum for all pupils from Years 1 to 6.

With the launch of the Squirrels Drey, Yoxford and Peasenhall Primary are now able to extend the group to Reception children.

The scouting activities are organised and led by school staff who are also uniformed leaders of the Scout Association, and the objectives are based on actively engaging and supporting young people in their personal development and empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.

Gail Jerman, headteacher, said: "I am very proud to be part of this new scouting section and to see our youngest children make their promise.

"This is the start of an exciting scouting journey for them and an opportunity to develop a range of characteristics including resilience, curiosity, risk taking and collaboration."