When you first start Cubs it is all a bit confusing. Hopefully by now you will have read the Welcome Guide and things are becoming a bit clearer but it is likely you still have a few questions. This page has answers to the questions we get asked most often.

What time is Cubs?
We meet on a Tuesday night from 6.30 to 8pm.
For safety reasons we ask that all our Cubs are collected from the hut - we do not allow any Cubs to leave the hut alone. In the summer months many of our meetings take place in outside. If you get to the hall and find it all locked up then we are hopefully on our way back!

Arriving at the hall
We try to provide a Cub leader at the hall by at least 6.15pm and Raksha is often there earlier than that. However, the Beaver leaders have asked that Cubs arriving early wait outside the hall until their meeting has finished. Please note that in the gap between Cubs and Beavers, you need to remain responsible for your children - we cannot expect the Beaver leaders to look after them as they are clearing up the hall in preparation for our meeting. For child protection reasons, it is not acceptable to leave one Cub with a leader in the hall on their own so please stay with your Cub until another leader arrives.

What is Cub Uniform?
Full uniform is a green Cub sweatshirt with our red, white and blue group scarf and blue Scout activity trousers. In the summer you may prefer to wear a green Cubs polo shirt instead of your sweatshirt. You can also buy a Cubs baseball cap but this is not uniform so can only be worn at camps etc.

Where do I get the Uniform from?
You can purchase uniform from the School uniform shop, Broadbridges, near Waitrose in Horsham or direct from Scout Shops via their website. It is also available from Camping & Outdoor World at the Hilliers garden centre in Horsham. You will not be able to buy the group scarf - it is presented as part of the investiture.

Where do the badges go?

When will my Cub be invested?
The Cub Scout Membership Award takes about 4 weeks complete. The investiture happens at the end of that award. We like to wait about a month to give new members a chance to settle in. Uniform is required for the investiture but should not be worn until then.

What happens at the Investiture?
The Investiture is when each new member formally makes their Promise. It is then that they are given the badges to go on their uniform and their scarf. Parents are normally invited to the Investiture which will normally take place at the end of a meeting. Photography is encouraged, as it is a special moment for the Cub making their Promise.

What do I have to pay?
While you are doing your membership badge you do not have to pay subs to the Cubs. However, if you are a Beaver you will still need to pay them subs for the half term while you are visiting Cubs. Generally our subs of £20 are due at the start of each term once you have been invested. Cheques should be made payable to "Parbrook Cub Pack". We do not make any charge for badges or the scarf that you receive when you are invested but will charge if you have to replace them at the rate of £1 per challenge or activity badge.
In addition, all people joining Cubs are required to buy a membership pack and Cub "powerpack" handbook. This costs £5 which should be paid when you start visiting Cubs.

Why are your Subs different?
If you have contacts with other sections at 1st Billingshurst you will spot that they pay more subs than we do. They generally pay £30 a term. Ours is reduced because we subsidise it using our "Parbrook Cashback" - the money that we earn through our online shopping when you click through to sites like Waterstones, Expedia and Amazon via www.spendandraise.com/parbrook. If you keep shopping, subs will keep dropping.

How does this work for Beaver Scouts?
If you are already in 1st Billingshurst as a Beaver Scout you will continue to go to Beavers as well as visiting Cubs for the period that you are working on your membership badge. You should pay your Subs to Beavers until you formally swim up. On the evening of your swimming up there will be a ceremony at Beavers and then you will formally be invested into Cubs at your pack meeting later that evening. Cub leaders and possibly the Group Scout Leader will attend Beavers for the swimming up ceremony.

What do you do each week?
The answer is given on the programme for the term. A paper copy is given out at the start of each term or you can see it online.

I'd like to help but I'm not sure what you would expect me to do
Please see our guidance for parent helpers which will explain what we would like you to do.

We have just done astronomy at school so does that mean I can have the astronomers badge?
It isn't just astronomy, Cub badges pop up all over the place. However, we would not generally award badges just because the topic has been done at school or anywhere else away from the pack meetings. The exceptions are our staged badges such as swimmer and musician where you can get your teacher to sign off that you have reached the required standard.

I'd like to work on badges at home. What do I need to do to get them signed off?
We're really pleased when the Cubs work on badges at home. You'll find the latest requirements in your Powerpack or by clicking on "badges and awards". Just print off the requirements and get a parent to sign off what you have done. We'll validate it by working through the requirements with you and may ask you to demonstrate your ability to the other Cubs. We think it is important that everybody knows what they have done to earn their badges and so you won't find us giving away activity badges for just turning up.

We sometimes camp with our friends in another Scout group. Will it count towards nights away?
We will only award nights/hikes away badges (or credit activities towards the next badge) for Cub activities that you have carried out with us. This means that for example, should you have contacts with another group and go off and camp with them, it would not count towards your nights away - in the same way that activities that you might do with another group or with the school do not count towards your challenge badges. This might seem unfair but trying to keep up with people doing activities outside Cubs is an administrative nightmare and it is better for all the Cubs to have a level playing field where they can compare their nights away and look back on the activities that they have done together.

My eldest son is already a Cub and now his younger brother is about to join. Will they be in the same six?
It might seem a good idea to put brothers together but we generally avoid this. One of the nice things about Cubs is the chance to mix with different people who may not go to your school or be in your class. Putting brothers together reduces this mixing and may import family tensions to the pack.

I've paid my camp fees but now can't come. Can I have a refund?
As a general rule we will only refund camp fees if a replacement camper can be found. This is because even before we get to camp we may have had to spend money on buying food or paying the camp site fees. However, we look at each case individually and if we are not out of pocket as a result of a late cancellation you will get your money back. Refunds are normally paid as a credit for a future activity.

You haven't answered my question
The start and end of a pack meeting is always a pretty hectic time but please ask us if there is anything else you want to know. Alternatively you can e-mail or phone.