County Development Service

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County Development Service - Banner

Growing scouting = quality scouting for more young people!

Together, we aim to provide scouting to as many young people in our local communities as we can. In order to do this we need to develop and grow scouting at every opportunity.

Our development service is a central part of our county approach to the growth and development of scouting across our districts.

The service is steered by the County Leadership Team, which consists of the County Lead Volunteer, the Team Leader of each of our county teams, District Lead Volunteers and Development Manager. This enables us to work in ‘real time’ and identify the projects that we provide support to.

When we talk about development we are referring to the ways we can deliver even better scouting to more young people, and prioritising those ideas. There are so many ways to do this, including:

  • opening new sections, groups and units

  • recruiting more adults to help out

  • building community support

  • engaging the parents of your members

  • providing support, tools and resources to make things easier

In short, if our plans intend to enrich or extend the scouting experience – it's development!

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Cubs chatting

 

Scout Group action for growth

Our most important area of development is to support and grow our existing scout groups. Our first step to do this is to carry out an action planning workshop which we call a group health check.

Whilst this might sound quite formal, it’s really not! A group health check is a chance to celebrate your group’s successes and the great things that happen every week at your section meetings and highlight any areas that could do with some improvement. By doing this everyone in your group gets the opportunity to work together and identify the areas you need support with.

The health check falls into three main categories: the green zone - good progress, the amber zone - initial progress and the red zone - opportunities for improvement.  Most groups will have a mix of zones and using this system will help you find quick fixes to help you move from red to amber or amber to green.

It is important to note that this is not a test, or a league table and you will not be asked to share your findings with anyone outside your group’s leadership team, (unless you choose too). It is also important to remember that this is not a set of standards that your group is expected to achieve.

Using the outcomes of your group health check and experience we have gained from other scout groups across the county and around the UK, our development team will help you put a simple action plan together and help you to turn the plan into reality. The result will be a happier, stronger scout group, which in turn will result in more leaders and members!

If you would like to discuss how this could benefit your scout group or If you would like to book a group health check, please contact our development officer, Matt (his contact details are at the end of this section).

Group Lead Volunteers inductions and support

Group Lead Volunteers are key to ensuring that we are providing successful scouting! They ensure everyone is happy, making sure the sections have a vibrant programme and ensuring that the group has everything it needs and is administratively sound.

We can support you in doing this and can help make things easier. We do this by providing a one-to-one session to break down the role and make sure you have all the “tools” you need. Get in touch so that together we can identify the areas where you need support and start the ball rolling.

New sections

Scouting is in high demand across South London and in many areas of the county supply outstrips demand and the only way to cope is to open new sections!

This might sound like hard work, but in reality, it is very rewarding and great fun. As a development team, we have supported the opening of dozens of new sections and scout groups and have some tried and tested methods to follow. Contact Matt to find out how we can help you do this too.

Support for recruitment

Constantly recruiting young people and adults means that scouting in South London will continue to flourish.

We have a number of tools to help you with recruitment and these include:

Going for Growth badge scheme
Our Going for Growth scheme has been designed to help you promote the amazing things that happen in your colony, pack and troop each week to the people in the local community. The scheme consists of 13 badges which can be easily run as part of a sections weekly programme. Badges are free of charge and cover the following areas:

  • Shouting about scouting
  • Bring your friends
  • Easy linking between sections
  • Growing your adult membership
  • Community awareness and involvement
  • Gaining top awards and taking part in a quality programme

You can find out more about the scheme, download the badge requirements and resources and order badges HERE.

Recruitment Events
We can also provide support at recruitment events and can provide some simple (and fun), recruitment tools to help you do this:

  • Recruitment stands - we can work with you to run a recruitment stand at a local community event and promote scouting
  • Scout Group recruitment leaflets – with information about all age ranges, volunteering and space for your own contact details
  • Publicity activities – when you go to school fairs or local events, do you want something more interesting than leaflets on your stand? Let us show you how you can bring your stand to life and get lots of people wanting to talk to you! (we can lend you the equipment you need).
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Matt Butterfield

Matt Butterfield

Matt looks after development across the county and can help with development at all levels he is also on hand to offer advice, help and support on the development of scouting in your group or unit.

You can contact Matt on:

07766 540 057

 

matt.butterfield@southlondonscouts.org.uk

 

Take a look at...

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Growing scouting