Our Group uses Online Scout Manager to help all the Leaders, Volunteers and of course parents organise and manage everything from Subs payments to the programme we plan for all of our members.
How Does it Work?
Your first point of contact with us will be when you add your child to our waiting list area, we will ask for basic info, a contact email and phone number to be able to contact you when there are available spaces. You can join the waiting list at any age, so get your names down quick! You will be sent an automated email straight away which will give you access to OSM so you can keep your details up to date while waiting for a place. Please check this regularly as it will be the only way we can get back in touch.
We will contact you again when there is a space to check you are still wanting to join, and at that point your details will be transferred into the appropriate section, ie Beavers (6yrs), Cubs (8yrs), Scouts (10yrs) or Explorers (14yrs+). If for some reason we have not contacted you then please check your contact information on OSM to make sure we have the most up to date email and phone numbers, after that please feel free to contact us via the email address provided in the email..
Your first message from OSM after joining will be a welcome email which will be an invite using a unique link to directly access the system if you haven’t already logged in. Once logged in you will be automatically be able to log in to each section as your child moves up. Please do not share or forward any of these email links as they are unique to your child. This will be followed by an email asking you to set up your subs payment for the term.
Once online, you can access details about payments, badges and sign up to any events coming up.
Below is a quick guide to the main areas of OSM along with some videos from the developers – the system is updated regularly and some of the screen layouts may change but the main menus are the same.
If you have any difficulties at all finding what you need please contact your section leader and they can help out or pass on your questions to someone who can get in touch to help.
Parent Portal – Overview
A brief overview of what the parent Portal is
Parent Portal – Personal Details
This screen allow you to update contact details for yourself and your child. We would ask you to try and always keep this up to date so we can always get hold of the correct people if necessary. Please ensure you always have at least two separate contacts listed along with mobile numbers so we can get in touch with someone in the event of an emergency.
The email addresses are used by the system to send out notification about activities and payments, as well as messages from Leaders so it is very important we try and keep these as accurate as possible. When you first login you will probably find there are only your name, email and phone filled in – this is normally the information we get when your child is added to the waiting list, so please go through and add all contact details for parents, emergency contacts and medical details which you think would be useful for your Leaders to access.
Parent Portal – Events
This screen will be empty unless you have an event planned for the current term. These will then be shown in a date ordered list showing the name of the event and the cost. A tick or cross will show on any which you have already decided to go on or not.
Clicking theses will then show you more details about the event which have been published by your Leaders, times, dates, location and cost are all shown at the top of the screen along with a list of attached documents which you may need. These might be consent forms to download and return, or maps or kit lists for the event. Below that you will find all the details about the event which have been shared.
The details about the event may sometimes be purely for information purposes, but generally if these are shown on OSM then we will try to enable booking and payment online as well. The attendance field at the top of the page will allow you to sign up for the event if it has been enabled, you may also be also to sign up for a waiting list if it is only available for a limited number of members – you will then be notified when a space becomes free.
Once you have notified us that you wish to attend, we can send out emails quickly and easily to those members on the list to update you about the event. If paying online is available, this will normally be done through the Camps & Trips schedule and you will be notified when this is due to be taken. You will then normally be reminded about the event a few days before.
Parent Portal – Badges
The badge screen is a fantastic way of keeping track of what your child is achieving at Scouts. Each badge which is being worked on my the section is shown here, the amount of the badge which is highlighted shows what has already been completed. By clicking on the badge image it shows all the requirements for each badge and what has been completed already.
By keeping up with this information you can find out about the work we do at Scouts, and also help your child by starting other badge work at home and away from the meetings. Many of these badges can be done outside of the usual meetings, then the information brought back to show your leaders to obtain the badges. The group programme through the 3 terms is built around this badge work to enable members to achieve as much as possible working towards their Chief Scout award badges.
If you are wondering where these badges should be displayed, then the Uniform tab at the top of the badge screen will give you all the details.
Parent Portal – Payments
Making payments in the Parent Portal
Subscriptions
This will be a repeating payment which funds the activities of the group, this is charged 3 times a year at the start of each term. If possible please setup the automatic payments so these are paid on time.
Camps & Events
This will cover most of the normal additional activities which your child can attend throughout the year, including camps, trips, sports activities etc. Each activity will be notified separately and you will be notified in advance of any future charges.
Major Activities
Sometimes there may be a time where a larger camp requires a number of payments, eg a deposit and a balance charge. This would then be setup as a new schedule to allow you to pay each of these individually or automatically with a direct debit.
All payments are controlled by GoCardless which is a secure online system that handles the Direct Debit payments, no financial details are held by the Scout group. The system using Direct Debit transactions, we cannot accept Debit or Credit card payments. Some smaller events may still ask for cash payments.
There are 2 ways to make the payments on the system;
Recurring Subscription
This will stay active for any future payments and is a great way to set up and not have to worry about the terms subs payments being paid on time. These payments will be taken automatically on the due date shown on each schedule. You will always be notified of any upcoming payments and given the opportunity to immediately cancel a payment with a direct link in the email.
One off Payment
Some payments will allow you to use the Pay Now feature where you can do an immediate payment. This still uses the same Direct Debit authorisation, but will only initiate a single payment. The next time a payment is due you can go back and press the Pay Now button again, the Direct Debit will still be active to complete the payment. Subs charges normally allow you to use the Pay Now feature within 1 week of the due date.
Cancellation
All of these Direct Debits can be manually cancelled at any time using the payments page or links on the payment notification emails. Any existing payment schedules are automatically cancelled by the system when your child leaves the group.
Other Items
Emails
The emails menu will show you a list of all the messages you have received via OSM for the last 3 months, great for catching up on lost messages about upcoming events and meetings!
Gift Aid
This option will allow you to update your declaration online, even if you have filled in these details on the paperwork when joining we would be grateful if you could do this via OSM.
Gift Aid has enabled us to claim back a significant amount of money which helps greatly with funding the Groups activitives and equipment. By completing this online it simplifies the administration of claiming these funds for those volunteers involved. From time to time we may send out reminders to ask for this to be completed.
Access
The final part of the main menu allows you to see who can access these screens for your child. This is normally restricted to the contact email addresses shown on your personal details pages, but if anything seems to be incorrect then please contact us for help.
Help and Account Settings
At the bottom of the menu you will find the Help menu which contains further tutorials and videos, and also a Settings menu which allows you to update your account email and password.
Please ensure this shows your name and not that of your child in the group. The email shown here is purely for login purposes so please also ensure you update your contact email addresses in your childs personal details section.