Return To Face-To-Face Guiding Soon

20 May 2020
Welcome Back Leaders, we are delighted to welcome you back to Girl Guides face-to-face meetings! 

It has been a while that we’ve all been in isolation at home and I know we will all enjoy being back together again. The next few months at Girl Guides will be a little bit different so we’ve done everything we can to prepare for everyone’s safe return. 

Please make sure you make your own decision about bringing the girls back to face-to-face meetings and consult with your District Manager or Region Manager. You need to feel safe first and foremost and confident that you can ensure that girls adhere to the physical distancing rules.  When you return is a Unit, District and Region decision and will depend on the local situation, eg. The State or Territory rules or if you meet in a local Council or School Hall this will depend on their rules. Don't forget, Guiding can always continue with Guides@Home.

When you return to meetings it’s important to know that the safety of all our Girl Guides,  staff (where applicable) and volunteers rests in all of our hands – ours, yours and your families. We have provided some safety guidelines and an important checklist for you so that we can all ensure we have done everything we can to make our halls as clean, hygienic and safe as we possibly can for our return to face-to-face Guiding. We need everyone’s commitment to all the new rules, guidelines and procedures that will help us to return to Guiding safely and keep our community centres and Guide Halls open. 

These resources have been made for you to be in line with the Government’s health guidelines for community groups and the halls in which we meet. We need everyone’s help by;

1. Reading these guidelines. 
2. Keeping these guidelines and GGA posters somewhere handy for you and your parents, carers and families to refer to. 
3. Paying special attention to the following ‘Rules for Leaders’, which must be strictly managed by you when your Unit returns to Face to Face Guiding. 

It is all of our jobs to meet the guideline expectations in every way and every day to avoid any risks or threats to the wellbeing of our Guiding family and the community. We have sent parents similar information to support you in asking them to help with the physical distancing and cleanliness rules too.

Thank you for all of the great work keeping Guides going while we have been isolated from each other. We look forward to seeing you all soon – in person!


Sarah Neill 
State Commissioner 
 

Rules for Leaders 

Your health and hygiene are so important for your return to Girl Guides meetings. Please download the  Girl Guides Australia (GGA) Checklist for Leaders and Hall Posters (links below). Read these carefully and follow these and the additional Guidelines below to ensure that health and safety is the number one priority and proactively managed. 

• Download and print the ‘Girl Guides Australia (GGA) Checklist for Leaders. Put a copy of this up in the Hall or in a folder that is used every meeting.   Follow this each time you prepare for and finish a meeting. It has important reminders for hygiene and physical distancing.
• Download and print the ‘Welcome to Girl Guides – We are practicing physical distancing’ poster. Put this at the entrance to your Hall each time you meet.  
• Download and print the GGA ‘Be Social While Keeping Your Distance’ poster and put up around the Hall for the girls.
• Download and print the GGA ‘Don’t Forget to Wash Your Hands’ poster and put up in kitchen and bathroom areas for the girls.
• Inform your other Leaders and District Manager (or similar) immediately upon feeling unwell. 
• Stay home if you are unwell (refer to COVID-19 symptoms in the following FAQs).  
• Parents are required to check and advise you on their child’s health before attending meetings.
• Everyone is welcome to wear their own face masks.
• Ensure you have sanitiser and tissues ready to be available in your hall at the entrance.
• Try to hold meetings or activities outdoors where possible  - follow the maximum numbers allowed for your state/territory. In most states/territories this is 10 people in a group at present.
• If meeting indoors then also follow the maximum numbers for your state/territory and the 4 square metre rule for indoor spaces. – see Guidelines for Community Halls here. You may need to split your group into separate meeting times.  These Guidelines for Community Halls apply to Hall hirers also.
• No sleepovers, camps or District/Region events are permitted at this stage.
• No cooking or food sharing activities at this stage. Girls to provide own water bottle and snacks (and not share these) if an activity requires this.  
• Do not allow hugging, kissing or touching amongst the girls or with or between Leaders.
• Furniture must be arranged so it is 1.5 metres apart. 
• Cough/sneeze into your elbow or a tissue and dispose of tissues immediately; ensure girls do this too
• Wash or sanitise hands after coughing, sneezing, bathroom visits and before eating; ensure girls do this too.
• All bathroom and high touch areas (such as door handles) to be cleaned and bins emptied frequently, ask the girls and parents to assist with this, they could take turns
• All internal doors to remain open (once everyone is inside) and lights turned on upon arrival to limit unnecessary touching.
• If a girl is found in deliberate breach of the rules, then contact her parent or carer to collect her immediately and the Guide will not be allowed to return to meetings until permitted.
• It’s up to you. We encourage Leaders to return to Guide meetings if you can, but if a Leader or a member of a Leader’s household is at a greater risk of a more serious illness if they are infected with COVID-19 (because of an underlying medical condition or age), we strongly encourage you to consider whether you should return to Guiding face to face. 

Uniform

Leaders are expected to wear their Guiding uniforms as usual.  

Poster Downloads