Adding a new member to the county team
Steps in the volunteer joining journey
So that new volunteers understand what they need to do and feel welcome, as quickly as possible, the Team Leader should keep in regularly contact in their first few weeks.
During this time the Team Leader should talk about:
how our County team is structured and works
what time they have to volunteer
what tasks they’ll do
the yellow card
the learning that they’ll need to do
and generally, support them through their first few weeks of being a county volunteer.
All new volunteers will have to complete vetting and safeguarding checks when they join Scouts, existing volunteers do not need to do this (unless their DBS has expired.)
Here’s a handy illustration which explains the steps new volunteers will take to become a full member:
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The digital system, on scouts.org.uk, will show a set of steps, relevant to each new volunteer, that they need to complete when taking on a new county role.
All steps, except for some parts of Growing Roots learning, will need to be started within six weeks of becoming a member. They can be done in any order at any time.
When an existing volunteer changes or adds a new role
There are some additional checks if a volunteer changes to a new role, or is given an additional role:
- The volunteer should have a conversation with their new Team Leader about their new role before they take it on. This replaces the need for another Welcome Conversation
- Declarations to confirm their agreement to how they apply to that role
- A Trustee declaration (if the new role is as a Trustee)
No other checks need to be re-done.
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Click here to submit the details for a member member of the county team to be added to the membership system.
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If the person is new to Scouts...
Criminal record checks
In England and Wales, we use a mobile friendly self-service criminal record check process through Atlantic Data.
Please note, we don’t use the Disclosure Update Service. This means new volunteers will have to complete a criminal record check, even if they’ve already completed one for another organisation.
References
We need references so we can keep young people safe and check all new volunteers are right for Scouts. To make our references process easier:
- Volunteers will directly enter their referee information and requests will be sent automatically.
- Referees will be able to respond directly, and references with no comments or issues will be approved automatically. Any issues flagged by references received will be reviewed locally.
Welcome conversation
When a volunteer first joins Scouts, they’ll attend a Welcome Conversation with their Team Leader and a volunteer who has the Welcome Conversation Volunteer accreditation.
It’s an opportunity to chat to new volunteers, find out more about them, make sure they understand and commit to our values, and how we keep young people safe.
Internal check
Our UK Headquarters will automatically check a new volunteer's name against internal records.
Declarations
Volunteers will continue to make a commitment when they join to accepting Scout values, following Scout policies and completing the learning required.
All charity trustees in the UK must also complete an eligibility declaration form saying they are eligible to be a Trustee.
Growing Roots learning
New volunteers, or volunteers starting a new type of role, will have six months to complete their role relevant Growing Roots learning.
When a Young Leader moves into an adult role
Members who complete the Young Leaders’ Scheme and continue volunteering as an adult volunteer still need to do all the same steps on the joining journey as any other new adult would in Scouts, regardless of how well they know the adults around them.
Explorer Scouts and members of Scout Network who decide to take on roles will also need to do the same.
Young people who were previously Young Leaders still need to complete Growing Roots learning.
What this space! This page will evolve overtime with new tools and resources added as they are identified.
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Need help
Email our Volunteer Support Service at volunteer.support@southlondonscouts.org.uk