New Programme – Scouts
Programme Themes
A team from Headquarters consulted over 12,000 Volunteers and young people, and they all said how much they love going Outdoors! As such 50% of the programme should be outdoor and adventure focussed. Take part in an expedition, learn how to use an axe safely, build a bivouac and sleep in it…the Scout programme will offer young people lots of opportunities to go outdoors, learn new skills and have fun. The updated Challenge, Activity and Staged Activity Badges are brimming with Outdoor Adventures for Scouts, ready to go! World and Skills make up the other two programme themes and again there are updated badges on these areas to support their delivery in the programme.
When Headquarters consulted Leaders and Scouts, they all talked about how important the Chief Scout’s Award is. This is the big one – the Chief Scout’s Gold Award is the highest award in the Scout section. It might seem like a lot to do, but when we tested it with Leaders and Scouts, they loved it.
The new requirements for the award are.
- Earn six activity or staged activity badges of your choice. They could be badges you gain outside of your normal meetings or ones you’ve achieved through your programme.
- Complete the nine challenge awards. These are:
- World Challenge Award
- Skills Challenge Award
- Creative Challenge Award
- Outdoors Challenge Award
- Adventure Challenge Award
- Expedition Challenge Award
- Teamwork Challenge Award
- Team Leader Challenge Award
- Personal Challenge Award
Scouts can earn awards as they go through the section and take part in challenges. They all help to make the time in Scouts fun, interesting and worthwhile. There are seven awards in the Scouts section and they are; World, Skills, Creative, Outdoors, Adventure, Expedition, Teamwork, Team Leader and the Personal Challenge. As Scouts earn them, they work towards the Chief Scout’s Gold Award.
Brand new in the Scout Programme are the Team Work and Team Leader Awards. Everyone in the Troop can do these Awards, not just the Patrol Leader and APL. To complete the Team Work award, Scouts must take part in team games, understand their role in the team and take part in Troop Forums. Once they have done the Team Work award, Scouts can take on the Team Leader Challenge where they have to lead a team, teach another Scout a new skill and help a new member of Scouts settle into the Troop.
Activity badges are a great way to try something new and then get better at it. We have added some exciting Activity Badges to the Scouts Programme such as Air and Sea Navigation, International, Local Knowledge, Environmental Conservation and Global Issues.
If a Scout has achieved the highest level of any of the activity badges, and they want to get better at their chosen activity, the Activity Plus or Instructor badges could be their next big challenge.
Leaders can award it if a Scout demonstrates significant achievement in an activity. It can also be awarded if a Scout has gone above and beyond their abilities, or if they have taken something on even though they don’t have the best facilities available.
Activity Plus
There are now 14 Staged Activity Badges for Scouts to achieve. Staged activity badges give young people the chance to try something new or get better at something they already know. Scouts can choose the right stage that matches their skills, rather than age. Scouts can do Stage 1 or Stage 2, or jump ahead to other stages if they are ready.
With staged activity badges, Scouts get to try the same challenges as Explorers!
Young people across all ages should have the chance to have their voice heard on all aspects of Scouting, including programme and activity planning and the way that their Section and Group is run. This is to ensure that Scouting meets their needs and remains relevant to their interests, and to meet our vision towards 2018. Youth involvement includes young people doing the following:
- sharing their ideas
- learning from and teaching each other and adults
- taking part in decision making
- assisting with planning the programme, including activities and camps
- becoming more involved in all aspects of Scouting
Youth involvement will also help leaders to keep their section growing and interested. We don’t know what the needs and interests of young people are until we ask them, and improving youth involvement will give leaders more opportunities to find out what young people actually want.