Woodcraft Folk get funding cut because of anti-war stance
TLIO | 16.03.2005 16:39
The Woodcraft Folk - a children's organisation set up 80 years ago by Labour party supporters who found the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides too militaristic, is in peril after the Government withdrew it's funding.
Youth movement lost funding 'because of anti-war protests'
The Guardian
by David Batty
Wednesday March 16, 2005
http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,,1439170,00.html
The Woodcraft Folk, a liberal alternative to the Scouts and Guides, today claimed its opposition to the Iraq war led to the government axing its funding.
Jess Cawley, chairman of the Woodcraft Folk general council, said he could not think of any other reason why the organisation's central government grant had been withdrawn for the first time in 40 years.
The official reason given by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for refusing the group's application for a £52,000 grant, which represents 20% of its annual budget, is that "it does not have sufficiently robust outcome indicators" and "does not represent good value for money".
The department added that the group had failed to provide sufficient information that its work would promote the outcomes of the government's child welfare reform programme, Every Child Matters.
Mr Crawley said: "How can we not be good value for money? We have five paid staff - the other 3,000 youth leaders in our organisation give their time, energy and enthusiasm entirely free of charge.
"The government would deny that the grant has been withdrawn because we were against the Iraq war. It's pure speculation on my part but I can't think of another reason."
Members of the Woodcraft Folk, which was set up 80 years ago by Labour party supporters who thought the Scouts and Guides too militaristic, were heavily involved in demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq.
The group, which has 9,000 young members, provides educational, leisure and residential courses and facilities to another 9,000 young people across the UK.
The Woodcraft Folk is mounting a campaign to persuade the DfES to change its mind, as well as seeking to raise alternative sources of funding.
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North, has also received the support of more than 50 MPs for an early day motion calling for a reversal of the decision.
A DfES spokesman said: "All bids were subject to a very rigorous assessment process, and a panel was convened to quality assure the process of rating the bids, and to agree recommendations with the minister. The panel included a voluntary sector observer.
"Bids were assessed against national significance, quality and value for money, with a strong focus on outcomes as specified in Every Child Matters."
The Guardian
by David Batty
Wednesday March 16, 2005
http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,,1439170,00.html The Woodcraft Folk, a liberal alternative to the Scouts and Guides, today claimed its opposition to the Iraq war led to the government axing its funding.
Jess Cawley, chairman of the Woodcraft Folk general council, said he could not think of any other reason why the organisation's central government grant had been withdrawn for the first time in 40 years.
The official reason given by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for refusing the group's application for a £52,000 grant, which represents 20% of its annual budget, is that "it does not have sufficiently robust outcome indicators" and "does not represent good value for money".
The department added that the group had failed to provide sufficient information that its work would promote the outcomes of the government's child welfare reform programme, Every Child Matters.
Mr Crawley said: "How can we not be good value for money? We have five paid staff - the other 3,000 youth leaders in our organisation give their time, energy and enthusiasm entirely free of charge.
"The government would deny that the grant has been withdrawn because we were against the Iraq war. It's pure speculation on my part but I can't think of another reason."
Members of the Woodcraft Folk, which was set up 80 years ago by Labour party supporters who thought the Scouts and Guides too militaristic, were heavily involved in demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq.
The group, which has 9,000 young members, provides educational, leisure and residential courses and facilities to another 9,000 young people across the UK.
The Woodcraft Folk is mounting a campaign to persuade the DfES to change its mind, as well as seeking to raise alternative sources of funding.
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North, has also received the support of more than 50 MPs for an early day motion calling for a reversal of the decision.
A DfES spokesman said: "All bids were subject to a very rigorous assessment process, and a panel was convened to quality assure the process of rating the bids, and to agree recommendations with the minister. The panel included a voluntary sector observer.
"Bids were assessed against national significance, quality and value for money, with a strong focus on outcomes as specified in Every Child Matters."
TLIO
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You don't know the history, Jimmy
16.03.2005 20:25
Jimmy, the founders of scouting way back at beginning were not all agreed about what sort of a movement they were trying to build. Opinions ranged all over the place and there were serious fights and explusions (what happened in the US was clearly "negotiated" but it WAS an expulsion/reorganization with apparently part of that being that the details would be kept secret for a LONG time).
You should consider the eventual mainstream of scouting to be a compromise between those who thought the scouts should be MORE "military" and those who thought less. For example, remember that Constance de Markievicz took HER branch of scouting into battle Easter 1916. So you shouldn't assume the disputes over "militarism" was a "left" thing.
The negotiated settlement here in the states MUST have included (remember, it was a secret deal, so just my guess of the terms).
1) Seton to leave, but not replaced as "Chief Scout" (they had only an "acting" afterwards)
2) The official starting data revised to the reorganization date, all reference to the original 1st manual, etc. deleted (a rewrite of US scouting history).
3) Original founding troops could wear their original numbers in spite of being a different number in the reorganization
4) "Order of the Arrow" retained
To get a sense of why Seton was forced out I suggest that you look at a copy of an early handbook of "The Woodland Indians" (Seton's organization predated the Scouts) and you will see that he had a somewhat different vision. Seton was "not military enough", too individualistic/anarchist oriented, too non-sexist (no separate girls organization, too spiritual (but not in the organized religion sense), too elitist, probably focused on a somewhat older age group (like the "Explorers")
Mike
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