Empowered, valued and have a sense of belonging

Our adults like to feel empowered, this means that they know that they are listened to, that their views are duly considered and that they can have a positive impact on their programme and how local scouting operates.

There is a wide range of opportunities for everyone to have a greater involvement in decision-making. For whatever reason, there is a perception that many areas are out of reach to all but a ‘select few’. Addressing this perception will be a major step forward in empowering our adults.

The development that needs to take place to make our adults feel valued should happen on two fronts; internally and externally.

Internally, the main obstacle to people being valued is in not being acknowledged or others not even being aware of the roles people carry out, the difference they make and the successes they have. Therefore, the crucial point is to demonstrate the value of roles and areas that are not familiar to others in scouting. This is to ensure that people feel valued within our organisation.

Externally, those in scouting do not feel valued by the parents of members. Therefore, the key is to raise awareness of what our volunteers give and how they have made a positive impact on the lives of young people of all ages.

For young people (our young leaders), the question of value can be addressed in terms of their presence and how they are used and deployed. We need to make better use of the skills and abilities of our young leaders to run and develop scouting. This will also impact on our aim of being shaped by young people.

Are you proud of being a scout?  Do you “advertise” the fact?  What would make you feel more comfortable to do so?

Our understanding is that, overwhelmingly the feeling across the county is “Yes”! 

However, whilst the vast majority of our adults are happy to admit to being a scout if asked, very few seem to go out of their way to advertise the fact that they are. Many feel comfortable in wearing ‘i.scout’ or group hoodies and polo shirts, having car stickers or talking about what they do in scouting but conversely some do not feel comfortable in overtly drawing attention to their involvement.

For some, the question of pride is not so much what activities we provide but who we provide them for. 

The ethos of being open to all no matter what ethnicity, religion, level of income, ability, gender or sexuality is what sets scouting apart from other youth organisations. World scout jamborees are a perfect example of how you can have the whole world represented in one place and see young people engaging, sharing and having a fantastic time with hundreds of new friends?  This is something we can all be proud of and in some way we should seek to emulate it in our local communities.