Start Girls' Brigade - Information for Parents
Girls' Brigade offers a programme of fun activities for girls, designed to educate, challenge and inspire along with Christian teaching that is relevant and meaningful to girls today. Companies meet once a week, from Sept to April/May each year.
The Girls' Brigade Companies are run in local churches/missions. We have almost 300 in NI so there is one close to you! Click here to Find a Company near you.
The local church/mission provides:
- Leadership & Overall Management
- Premises
- Insurance
- Pastoral support
- Financial support
Girls are grouped into sections according to age:
How to Join
Your daughter can join a GB company at any time but the best time is at the start of the season in September. In the Find a Company section on this website you can view the company meeting night and times and e mail your chosen company for more details. Generally you do not have to be a member of the particular church or mission to send your daughter to their GB company.
Leadership
Each GB company is led by a female volunteer from the church/mission, referred to as the Captain. She will have several other female leaders to help her, who may be in charge of a particular age group, referred to as Officers. Each company may also have some additional female helpers who work under the supervision of the Captain or an Officer. Each company also has a company Chaplain. Frequently this will be the minister/pastor of the church/mission. The Chaplain is the most senior officer in the company and must approve all nominations for leadership training.
To become a Captain or Officer in GB each leader must undergo comprehensive training certified by GB HQ, in areas such as child protection, programme planning, leadership skills, practical skills, safety etc. There is also an ongoing programme of training for Captains and Officers in programme areas such as sport, craft, drama, camp leadership, music, modern dance, etc.
The Cost
Each GB Company pays a subscription per member to GBHQ each year, currently this is just over £10 per girl per year. Parents may be asked by the GB Company to make a contribution towards this either through GB Week (collection card given to each girl to collect donations from friends & family), a small weekly donation, or a one-off amount at the start of the year. Some Companies also do some fundraising during the year which parents are asked to support. Details of the cost of membership may vary and can be found by e mailing the company direct using the contact details in the Find a Company section of this website.
Uniform
The girls wear a distinctive uniform that promotes a sense of belonging, equality and identity. Each section in the GB has its own uniform. Uniforms are on sale in our online shop at www.gbnishop.co.uk. Provision for uniform varies from Company to Company. Some operate a uniform lending system for a nominal charge. Go to our Uniform Page and view the official uniform required for each section.
Why send your daughter to GB?
GB has a lot to offer 21st Century girls. It is a safe caring, nurturing place where girls can just be girls and:
- find creative, and sporting talents, and enter competitions,
- have fun in a safe & caring environment,
- make lifelong friends,
- build confidence & self esteem,
- discover God and the relevance of the bible today,
- develop practical skills & life skills,
- escape from the pressures of school,
- find a place where girls can be girls,
- find a sense of belonging,
- gain access to the Duke of Edinburgh's and other awards.
Click here to find a company near you
Taking Care in GB
GBNI operate under the following policies and guidelines:
- Child Protection Policy
- Anti-bullying Policy
- Alcohol & other Drugs Awareness & Education Policy
- Photo/Video Guidelines
- Health and Safety policy
Contact Us for details of any of the above these policies
General information about our child protection policy is included in our information for parents leaflet.
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