Young Leaders (The Scout Association)

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Young Leaders
Young Leaders Scouts Badge complete.png
Owner The Scout Association
Age range14–18 years
CountryUnited Kingdom
Founded2001
Affiliation Explorer Scouts
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Website
http://www.scouts.org.uk
WikiProject Scouting fleur-de-lis dark.svg  Scouting portal

Young Leaders are Explorer Scouts who choose to provide leadership in Squirrel Scout Dreys, Beaver Scout Colonies, Cub Scout Packs or Scout Troops alongside adult volunteers as a part of the leadership team. Training of Young Leaders is achieved through eleven lettered modules covering the necessary skills to play an active part of the leadership team, with members challenged to apply what they have learned through four 'missions' in their sections. [1] [2]

Contents

Recognition of the scheme is achieved through a series of badges and culminates in the Young Leader belt buckle award which is worn with their uniform. The Young Leaders Badge is awarded upon the completion of the compulsory training module and is surrounded by one of four mission badges as each 'mission' is completed; the buckle is awarded only through the completion of every module and mission. [3] The scheme has been popular with young people looking to volunteer in their community. Since its launch in 2002, the scheme has grown from 1,245 young leaders to 10,394 a decade later with transferable skills being highlighted as a benefit. [4]

History

The 2003-2015 design of Young Leader award badges. Young Leader scheme badges.jpg
The 2003–2015 design of Young Leader award badges.

The Young Leader's scheme emerged in the early 21st century from the newly introduced Explorer Scouts programme for 14 to 18-year-olds, which was formally launched in 2002 following six years of reviews looking at the future of the movement and the youth programme. [5] [6] The full scheme launched in 2003, allowing Explorer Scouts and those of a similar age to volunteer with the younger sections as part of the leadership team. [7] Training was split into self-contained modules, lettered for identification, to match the refresh in the adult volunteer training scheme that was launched in September of that year. [8] Completion of the first module awarded the Young Leader with the diamond shaped badge, dark blue in colour with a purple border and 'YL' in the centre, while completion of the missions that put the learnt skills into action was recognised through a further trapezium-shaped badge being awarded that was placed around the edge of the original award. [9] Completion of the full scheme, including all missions and modules completed, resulted in the award of the Young Leader's belt buckle to be worn with uniform.

The scheme was an unexpected success and the number of Explorer Scouts volunteering as Young Leaders had reached 10,394 by 2012, within the first 10 years of the scheme. [10] That year the contribution made by Young Leaders was recognised by the Scout Association in evidence provided to Parliament's Education Select Committee linked to services to young people and the then current ideology of the big society. [11] In it, the Scouts supported the creation of a National Citizen Service, believing that graduates of the scheme may seek to continue volunteering as a Young Leader while describing the benefits of the scheme saying that "It is our view that this exposes young people to a culture of volunteering at an early age and encourages them to take active leadership roles in their communities." [11]

In 2015 the wider Scout programme was refreshed which included the Young Leader's scheme with the modules receiving updated content and delivery methods. [12] The design of the badges and awards was also updated to an acorn and oak leaves to reflect the Gilwell Oak and the role of Young Leaders as future leaders of the movement. [13] The Young Leader belt buckle was also added to the adult uniform and a recognition badge for the adult uniform added to mark a young person's time as a young leader upon becoming an adult leader. [14]

Membership and organisation

Members of The Scout Association's Explorer Scout section are able to become Young Leaders, instead of or in addition to the normal Explorer Scout programme, between the core ages of 14 and 18 years of age although they can join from 13.5 years of age. These full Explorer Scout Young Leaders wear the Explorer Scout uniform and make the promise like any other Explorer Scout as well as being able to take part in the full Explorer Scout programme. [15]

In addition, 14 to 18-year-old members of Girlguiding and 14 to 18-year-old young people completing The Duke of Edinburgh's Award can become Young Leaders to complete the volunteering elements of their awards. They must complete training like other young leaders but cannot access the wider Explorer Scout programme and can only volunteer for a fixed amount of time. [15] [16]

The Young Leaders of a District are considered to be in a separate Explorer Scout Unit, and are under the supervision of an Explorer Scout Leader, although this may not always be the case, in which case the District Explorer Scout Commissioner or District Commissioner takes on this responsibility. A Young Leaders' Unit might have its own weekly programme, separate to other Units within the District, or may only provide training and possibly some other events in the year. [15] [17]

Training

Modules

Young Leaders have a training programme, similar to that of adult leaders, comprising 11 self contained modules. These can be run individually over a longer time frame or combined into a longer course. [18] These modules also count towards part of their Wood Badge if they choose to become an adult in Scouting at the age of 18, counting as prior-learning. [19]

Missions

There are also four missions for Young Leaders to complete, which involve running games and activities for their relevant section. The purpose of the missions is to apply what has been learnt in their sections day to day, similar to the validation phase of adult Scout leader training. [32] Upon completing each mission, an additional badge can be added around the edge of the standard Young Leader badge. Upon completing all modules and missions, Young Leaders are entitled to wear a Young Leader belt buckle to recognise this achievement.

Part of the scheme's appeal is that volunteering with the Scouts as a Young Leader can contribute towards completing other awards and schemes by other youth organisations.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "The Young Leader Award". scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Missions". members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Recognition – Young Leaders Scheme". members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Sellgren, Katherine (19 April 2012). "More teenagers opt to be scout leaders, census shows". BBC News website. BBC. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Our Movement, Our Future..." Programme Review Implementation. Scoutbase (The Scout Association). Archived from the original on 7 June 2002. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "A Decade of Adventure". Scouting (The Scout Association). Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Haddock, Graham (November 2002). "Launch of the Young Leaders" (PDF). Scoutbase. The Scout Association. pp. 34–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "The Passing Years: Milestones in the progress of Scouting" (PDF). members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  9. ↑ Wellbeloved, Andrew; Veitch, Gemma (2009). "Seven steps to mission success". Explorer (Supplement of Scouting Magazine). The Scout Association (October/November 2009): 10–11.
  10. ↑ Sellgren, Katherine (19 April 2012). "More teenagers opt to be scout leaders, census shows". BBC News website. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  11. 1 2 House of Commons Education Committee (23 June 2011). Services for young people: Third Report of Session 2010–12. Volume II: Oral and written evidence. London: The Stationery Office Limited. pp. 126–127. ISBN   9780215560186 . Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  12. ↑ "EXPLORER Scout Programme Updated slides" (PDF). members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "The Gilwell Oak: Exploring our Roots". Scouts Heritage. The Scout Association. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Policy, Organisation and Rules" (PDF). members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. January 2015. p. 132. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 "Policy, Organisation and Rules: 4. The Scout District". scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "Explorer Scout Young Leaders' Scheme". members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  17. ↑ "Young Leaders – Information for Beaver, Cub and Scout leaders" (PDF). members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  18. ↑ "Young Leader modules". The Scout Association. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  19. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 12. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  20. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 28. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  21. ↑ "Young Leaders Placement Agreement" (PDF). The Scout Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  22. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 36. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  23. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 40. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  24. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 44. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  25. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 49. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  26. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 51. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  27. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 57. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  28. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 63. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  29. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 66. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  30. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 69. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  31. ↑ The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. p. 74. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 The Scout Association (April 2018). Preparing to Lead: The Explorer Scout Young Leader Delivery Book (PDF) (1 ed.). London: The Scout Association. pp. 6–8. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  33. ↑ "Young people build community spirit with over 3 million hours volunteered". DofE.org. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  34. ↑ "The Duke of Edinburgh's Award". members.scouts.org.uk. The Scout Association. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  35. ↑ "Young Leader's Logbook" (PDF). The Scout Association. p. 7. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  36. ↑ May, Melanie. "National Citizen Service & Scout Association announce three-year partnership". UK Fundraising. Fundraising UK. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  37. ↑ Weakley, Kirsty (21 July 2017). "NCS Trust announces £1.5m partnership with the Scouts". Civil Society News. Civil Society Media. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  38. ↑ Ricketts, Andy (21 July 2017). "Scout Association signs three-year partnership with National Citizen Service". Thurd Sector. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  39. ↑ Etherington, Stuart (21 July 2017). "National Citizen Service partnership with Scouts is a step in the right direction". NCVO. National Council for Voluntary Organisations. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
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