Managing Awards
Late Joiners
Children should participate in activities appropriate to their age and ability. Ideally, a new member would join in with their peer group on the activity currently being worked towards, but would gain the first of the core Activity Awards and work through these in order.
Wearing the Awards
The awards are metal with a pin-on fastening. The awards are placed on the armband as set out below. When members move up to the next age group, they carry the highest award gained up to the next age group and continue to wear that on their armband.
There are three rows on the Anchors armband:
Row 1 – Anchors Membership Award (centralised)
Row 2 – Anchors Activity Awards (centralised)
Row 3 – Service Badge (centralised) with Special Anniversary/Event or Recruitment badges (either side of Service Badge).
A maximum of two Special Anniversary/Event or Recruitment Badges may be worn on the Anchors armband.
Armband example above shows ALL awards/badges which can be obtained during a member’s time in Anchors based on joining at age 4/5 and going through until end of session in which they attain their 8th birthday. It shows them completing the optional Yellow Activity Award along with all the core Activity Awards. Also shown on the armband is the Anchors Membership Award, 4 year Service Badge, Gold Recruitment Badge and the World War 1 Award Badge.
Presenting Awards
Some Companies present awards as soon as they are gained; others choose to present them at a parents’ or awards night or at a Church Parade service. Leaders should remember that the award scheme is planned to cover the three years that a child is in the age group and only one of the core awards (green, blue, red) should be presented in any single session.
Record Keeping
You can keep track of progress with awards for all members using the functionality within Online Brigade Manager, from there you can record completion of individual activities and the system will let you know when an award is due. Parents/Carers and other leaders can also view the badge progress through OBM.
Alternatively, you can download a record card template which can be printed out and used to record progress.
Download Anchors Record Card
Transitioning from the old Anchors Programme
The transition in terms of awards should be straightforward as there is no change to the overall structure of the awards scheme. There has been an increase in the number of activities which are required to be completed for each award and this is linked to the increase in the Activity Areas (formerly Programme Zones) from 5 to 6.
It is recommended that leaders make the transition from the old award scheme to the new award scheme at the end or beginning of a session. Awards for the old programme will continue to be stocked by BB Supplies to allow for a transition over a 3-year period.
An optional badge for those working with 4-year olds has been introduced in response to feedback received from leaders working with younger members; to provide an award for each year within the Anchors age group. The highest award gained in the Anchors age group has been changed from the Blue award to the Red award, fitting in with the Anchors identity. This award will move on with the child when they transfer to the Juniors age group.