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Starting Rainbows © Girlguiding 2020 girlguiding.org.uk
Welcome to Rainbows
Becoming a Rainbow is a whole new world.
Rainbows is for girls aged 5-7 (4-7 in Northern Ireland).
Being a Rainbow is all about having the space to try new
things and have fun. Through taking part in a range of
different activities with girls their own age, Rainbows
develop self-condence and make lots of new friends.
What do Rainbows need?
Rainbows don’t need anything in particular to get
started – as long as they’re in sensible clothes and
shoes (think fun and active) then they can join
straight away. Your Rainbow leader will talk to you in
the rst few weeks to organise things like uniform,
once your child has settled in.
Girlguiding produces everything you’ll need – comfy
Rainbow uniform, a Rainbow handbook (which tells
your child all about being a Rainbow), and a range
of Rainbow accessories and resources to help her
feel at home in guiding. You can buy these online at
girlguidingshop.co.uk, from our Guiding Essentials
catalogue or from our local volunteer run shops.
Only if you buy directly from us can you be sure that
100% of prots stay in guiding, enabling us to offer
life-changing opportunities to even more girls and
young women.
If you have any questions about what your child needs
to get started in Rainbows, please speak to your
Rainbow leader.
What does it cost to be a Rainbow?
All Girlguiding groups (also called ‘units’) charge
subscriptions or ‘subs’ to cover the costs of
equipment, activities and hiring the meeting place.
These can be paid weekly, monthly or each term.
There’s also an annual subscription paid by all
members that covers the day-to-day running of our
charity and your local guiding area. This is sometimes
included in subs.
Because all Girlguiding units are different costs can
vary. Your Rainbow leader will let you know the costs
for your unit and when these can be paid. There’s
usually an extra charge for special activities, days out,
residential events and holidays. Your Rainbow unit
leader will share all the information you need about
these in advance so look out for more information.
We try to make guiding affordable for all girls and
there’s help at hand if you can’t meet the costs.
If you’re concerned about any of these costs, speak to
your unit leader and she can tell you about ways we
can help, including our grants.
As Girlguiding is a charity, if you pay income tax we
can use Gift Aid to claim 25p for every £1 you give us,
including your child’s subs. So we’d really appreciate
it if you could sign the Gift Aid form on p7: the extra
money will go straight back to your child’s unit.
What you should do to support your
Rainbow and the volunteers
at the unit?
All of our units are run by volunteers who give up
their time to create an environment that empowers
young members to be the best that they can be. The
Girlguiding community treats everyone with respect
and dignity and values the support that parents/carers
can give to help to set positive examples. You can help
and support your Rainbow and the volunteers at
your unit by:
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Encouraging your Rainbow to get involved and
bringing her along regularly to unit meetings.
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Letting your unit leader know in advance if the
young member is unable to attend.
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Keeping your personal details up to date on
the membership system and informing the unit
leaders of any changes. This is to ensure your
Rainbow’s safety.
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Looking out for information and returning
paperwork (such as consent forms) promptly.
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Making payments on time.
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Encouraging your Rainbow to understand and
uphold the Girlguiding Promise.
Moving on from Rainbows
Once your child turns 7 years old, she can continue her
Girlguiding journey in Brownies, for girls aged 7 -10.
When the time comes, your Rainbow leader can tell
you everything you need to know and support you and
your child to make the move.