What I did for my Independent Living Octant

Rainbows have roundabouts, Brownies and Guides have interest badges and Rangers have Octants which form part of the look wider programme. They range from things such as out of doors to personal values and their is something to suit everyone in them! Octants have 3 phases; phase 1 involves completing 3 small activities relating to the octant, phase 2 is one activity that takes around 20 hours and phase 3 is one activity that takes 30 hours. If a Ranger completes phase 1 and phase 2 of every octant then they earn the Chief Guide award which doesn’t happen very often! 

Rangers I talk to often say they struggle to think of ideas to complete their octants so I thought I would tell you what I did for my Independent Living Octant which was the first one I completed. I think the Independent living octant is a great one as it lets girls explore things they don’t in school and can help develop important skills from transiting beyond school and college. 

So for Phase 1 I made a CV, constructed a piece of flat pack furniture and researched higher education. Girls will often have support from school or college on making their CV and they are so useful to have ready when it gets to applying for jobs, college  and courses! The flat pack furniture was my new bedside table and for researching higher education I visited lots of open days and applicant days. 

For Phase 2 I completely redecorated my bedroom, I painted it, built the furniture and designed it all and was very happy with the outcome! And then finally for Phase 3 I did my First Aid qualification which I think is a great thing for everyone to do, whether you are part of guiding or not! 

I've nearly completed all of my octants, I am waiting to be presented one of them and then I just need to finish my  International one! I have really enjoyed completing the badges and when you look back at all the things you have done as a Ranger you find a lot of them you have already done! 

M x