What do Guides do?

Being a Guide is all about learning new skills, making your own decisions and having fun.  Guiding provides a safe environment to explore new possibilities and achieve personal goals while making friends and having adventures. And it’s up to each Guide to work out which opportunities are relevant for her, whether it’s improving her football skills, party planning or learning about independent living.

What to know?

• Guides work together in Patrols. They elect their own Patrol Leader and are encouraged to plan their own activities. Patrols provide a ready-made group of friends and helps the girls to feel that they belong to something special.
• Any girl aged ten to 14 who wishes to, can become a Guide.  At the moment the Histon Guide Unit is full, but names can be added to the waiting list.
• Each Guide chooses the top she wants to wear from the options available in the Guide wear collection. This choice allows Guides to be themselves but also makes them feel part of the unit.
• The Guide Promise is:
  I promise that I will do my best:
  To love my God,
  To serve the Queen and my country,
  To help other people
  and
  To keep the Guide Law
• The Guide Laws are:
  o A Guide is honest, reliable and can be trusted.
  o A Guide is helpful and uses her time and abilities wisely.
  o A Guide faces challenges and learns from her experience.
  o A Guide is a good friend and a sister to all Guides.
  o A Guide is polite and considerate.
  o A Guide respects all living things and takes care of the world around her.
• The Guides programme covers five main sections which are:
  o healthy lifestyles
  o global awareness
  o skills and relationships
  o celebrating diversity
  o discovery (of new experiences and adventures).

Programme

The Guide programme is structured to enable Guides to participate in activities in five zones. The skill of the Leader is in ensuring that all programme zones are covered over a period of time.

Typically, Patrols will use a number of activities from a Go For It! pack for each zone and work their way through these. From time to time, the Leader may spot an opportunity to extend the programme or to help the Guides gain more from an activity by using her own expertise and adding extra dimensions.

The five programme zones are detailed below:

Healthy lifestyles

‘To encourage in Guides a healthy lifestyle by promoting physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Areas covered could include:

• body image
• healthy eating
• exercise
• smoking
• drug awareness
• mental health issues.

Global awareness

To increase awareness of global issues and of the contribution each Guide can make. Areas covered could include:

• travel
• refugees
• environment
• citizenship
• development education
• world issues
• international activities.

Skills and relationships

To develop Guides’ self-confidence and self-worth and to improve their interpersonal and life skills. Areas covered could include:

• communication skills
• conflict resolution
• rights and responsibilities
• faith and personal values
• teamwork
• self-reliance
• self-esteem.

Celebrating diversity

To promote in Guides active citizenship and to develop their awareness of rights and responsibilities for all. Areas covered could include:

• discrimination
• community action
• cross-community links
• disability awareness
• gender stereotypes.

Discovery

To challenge Guides with new experiences and adventure. Areas covered could include:

• visiting places
• new experiences
• creative and adventurous activities
• learning new skills.