THE QUEEN's GUIDE AWARD - Details

How to start
The first step is to contact your County Queen’s Guide Co-ordinator to find out the arrangements in your County. Also notify your District/ Division Commissioner with your plans to work on the Award, since they will be interested in your progress and will help you to meet your challenges. You will need to choose a mentor who will help you to plan your way through the Award. This person will help you to review your progress during the Award and offer you advice and guidance. Your mentor can be your Unit Guider, Commissioner or anyone else that you know through Guiding. A meeting needs to be arranged with your mentor, the date of this meeting will be the official “start date”, and can take place anytime between your 16th and 26th birthdays, allowing time for completion before your 26th birthday. The Award must be completed within three years of this date, or before your 26th birthday, which ever is sooner. The clauses may be completed in any order and you may choose exactly how you do this. At your planning meeting you should complete a rough plan of when you intend to undertake each clause. An award plan (available from Louise) should be completed.
During your initial planning meeting you may identify the need for some time out during the Award. This could be for something like :

College courses
Starting a new job or other work commitments
Gap year
Moving house
Getting married
Having children

You can take up to twelve months out from the award, which should be planned at the beginning of the Award where possible and agreed by the Queen’s Guide Co-ordinator. However if you have started work on the Award and the need to take some time out arises without much warning, this can be arranged in discussion with the Co-ordinator. This period must not be used as extra time in which to complete clauses, but as a break. Any work undertaken towards the Award in this time shall not be counted.

No project may be used for more than one clause. Projects undertaken, for example for Look Wider, the leadership Qualification and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award may be used provided they are planned as such in your initial meeting with your mentor. Work which is required as part of a school or college course may not be used, although you may wish to take something you started as course work to a further or higher level as your personal challenge for any clause.

Where an award or qualification from a body other than the Guide Association is involved, then the conditions for both the Queen’s Guide Award and the additional qualifications or awards must be fulfilled. Every clause must be fulfilled whilst working for the Queen’s Guide Award, with the exception of work previously completed for the Senior Section Permit or Camps and Holiday Licence, which can be counted.

To register for the Award you must complete The Guide Association Queen’s Guide Award form (S/QG). The completed form should be returned to the County Queen’s Guide Co-ordinator, and also to the Region office and one to Guide HQ. A copy of the Award plan should also be sent to the Queen’s Guide co-ordinator.

If you have not yet made your Promise, you will need to make it before the end of your second year on the Award. You should discuss this with your Unit Guider, District Commissioner or Senior Section adviser.

How do I know when I have met a challenge and completed a clause or element?
For each clause or element you should pick someone who can confirm you have met the challenge. (The mentor and Co-ordinator must agree with the choice.) This person, your assessor, should give useful pointers for getting the most out of the clause, and chat to you about the success and the progress you are making, so consultation before and during the challenge is important. Once you have completed a clause you should fill in you record book and get the appropriate assessor to sign it off.

The Finish
Once you have completed all the clauses, ensure that your record book is completed and send it to the County Queen’s Guide co-ordinator. She will check through your record book against your plan and confirm that you have completed the award with her signature. She will notify your Region Office and forward your record book to Commonwealth Headquarters to be signed by the Chief Guide.
When you have confirmation that you have completed the Award you may choose to have a celebration event. This could be your opportunity to say thank you to your mentor and those who have helped you and a chance to display everything you have achieved to become a Queen’s Guide. You could invite family and friends as well as the local media and other people involved in Guiding in your area. There will also be a formal presentation of the Award organised by CHQ. Details will be forwarded to you.