Explorers: YouShape: Your Unit, Your Say

Pick one thing you genuinely have not decided yet, ask it next week, and act on the answer. That is a youth forum.My youth shaped survival guide
 

Your District Youth Lead can come and run a forum with your Unit, help your Explorers set up their own youth-led decision-making, or support them to turn their ideas into action. Find your Youth Lead

Run a Unit Forum during a normal meeting. Give Explorers the space to discuss what they want from their Unit, agree priorities and make real decisions about what happens next.

You could discuss the next term’s programme, camps and expeditions, trips, adventurous activities, international opportunities, community projects, fundraising, equipment, budgets or what they would change about the Unit.

You might also know this as a Unit Council or Unit meeting — whatever you call it, the important thing is that Explorers have genuine influence over their Scouting and can see what happens as a result.

A forum that only works for confident talkers is not youth shaped — it just amplifies the loudest. Every young person has the right to contribute, and some will need extra time, support or a different way in. Never underestimate anyone’s ability to give their view; there are lots of ways to communicate feelings and ideas.

At Explorer age it can be particularly easy for the same confident people to lead every discussion. Make sure leadership opportunities rotate and that everyone has a way to influence decisions.

Not every discussion needs to happen with the whole Unit sitting in a circle.

Split Explorers into smaller groups and give each group a question or problem to work through. They can then bring their ideas back to the Unit.

For example, different groups could look at programme ideas, camps, social activities and community projects before bringing together a draft plan.

Smaller groups can make it much easier for quieter Explorers to contribute.

Where possible, the Unit Forum should be run by Explorers themselves.

One Explorer could chair the discussion, another could keep notes, someone else could manage a vote and another could make sure actions are recorded.

The volunteer team can help keep things realistic, safe and achievable without needing to lead every conversation.

Agree that everyone gets a chance to contribute, people listen to each other and different opinions are respected.

Make it clear that good leadership is not about talking the most. It includes listening, bringing quieter people into the discussion and representing views you might not personally agree with.

Specific questions often lead to much better discussions than very broad ones.

Instead of:

“What do you want to do this year?”

try:

“We have one weekend available between January and Easter and around £50 per person. What should we use it for?”

Or:

“We have four evenings still free next term. What experiences are missing from the programme?”

Giving Explorers the real constraints — time, cost, transport, equipment or volunteer availability — lets them make meaningful decisions rather than simply producing a wish list.

For an autistic young person, or anyone who finds very open-ended questions difficult, giving some clear starting points can make it easier to contribute before opening the conversation more widely.

Do not expect everyone to form an opinion immediately.

Share bigger questions before the meeting, allow Explorers to write ideas down first, use an online survey beforehand or give people time to discuss ideas with someone they trust.

Some young people will contribute much more effectively when they have had time to consider the question rather than being asked for an instant response.

Speaking, writing, anonymous surveys, online forms, sticky notes, ranking exercises, voting, smaller discussions or an anonymous ideas box.

Several methods means Explorers who do not enjoy speaking in front of the whole Unit can still have exactly the same influence.

Anonymous feedback can be particularly useful when asking about the Unit itself, such as what is not working, whether everyone feels included or what volunteers could do differently.

When reviewing the Unit, put out the previous programme, photos from camps, activity lists or events from the last year.

Ask Explorers:

• What should we definitely do again?
• What would you change?
• What did not work?
• What have we not tried yet?
• What opportunities are we missing?

This can produce much more useful feedback than simply asking whether everyone enjoyed the term.

An Explorer may be happier sharing their view with another Explorer, volunteer, Young Leader or somebody else they trust.

They can ask that person to raise their point with the wider Unit, contribute anonymously or send their thoughts before or after the meeting.

Nobody should have less influence simply because they are not comfortable speaking in front of a group.

At Explorer age, youth-shaped Scouting should increasingly mean young people taking responsibility for making things happen, not simply choosing from options created by adults.

Explorers could:

• chair the Unit Forum
• decide the questions
• build the termly programme
• organise activities
• research venues
• contact activity providers
• compare costs
• plan transport
• organise fundraising
• lead parts of camps
• run meetings
• manage projects
• present proposals to volunteers
• report back to the Unit.

Volunteers should provide the support, safeguarding and oversight needed to make ideas possible — while leaving as much ownership as possible with the Explorers.

If Explorers give their views, make sure something comes back.

“You told us the programme felt too similar each term, so this term you have planned four activities we have never done before.”

If something cannot happen, be transparent about why. Cost, safety, transport, availability or rules may create limits, but involve Explorers in finding the solution.

Rather than:

“No, we can’t do that.”

try:

“That option would cost £85 each and our budget is £50. What could we change to make something similar work?”

Closing the feedback loop shows Explorers that their views genuinely influence the Unit.

Move beyond asking Explorers to suggest a few activities for a programme that adults then create.

Give them the calendar.

Show them the available dates, budget, existing commitments and any requirements that need covering, then let them build as much of the programme as possible.

Different groups could develop proposals for different parts of the term before bringing everything together.

Once activities are agreed, Explorers can take responsibility for organising and delivering individual evenings.

The programme becomes something created with and by the Unit, rather than something presented to them by volunteers.

At Explorer age, there is no reason to hide the financial side of Scouting.

Let Explorers understand what activities, camps and equipment actually cost and involve them in deciding how money should be spent.

You could say:

“We have £750 available for activities this term. What should our priorities be?”

Or:

“We could spend £500 on one big activity or use it to subsidise several smaller activities. What would be better for the Unit?”

Budget decisions are a genuine opportunity for young people to weigh up priorities, affordability and value.

Give Explorers opportunities to take an idea all the way from suggestion to delivery.

For example, they could organise:

• a Unit camp
• an adventurous activity
• a social evening
• a community project
• a fundraising event
• an international trip
• a joint event with another Unit
• a skills night
• a District Explorer event.

They might research options, build a budget, divide responsibilities, promote the activity and help deliver it.

The volunteer team can support them with the areas where an adult is required while allowing the Explorers to retain ownership of the project.

Camps and residentials are ideal opportunities for youth-shaped Scouting.

Rather than deciding the destination and programme first, involve Explorers from the beginning.

Give them the available dates, approximate budget and any practical limits and let them research possibilities.

They could compare campsites, transport, activities and costs before presenting options to the Unit and agreeing what to do.

Explorers can then help plan menus, programmes, equipment, travel and activities.

Not every Explorer needs to organise every part of everything.

For bigger projects, create small working groups based on what people are interested in.

For example:

Camp team — campsite, programme and equipment
Food team — menus, shopping and dietary requirements
Travel team — routes, tickets and timings
Fundraising team — ideas and events
Programme team — activities and bookings

Groups can bring recommendations back to the whole Unit for decisions.

This gives more Explorers meaningful responsibility without expecting one or two confident young people to do everything.

Youth voice should include the things that are not working as well as activity ideas.

Ask questions such as:

• Does everyone feel welcome here?
• Is there anything that stops people getting involved?
• Do we actually do the activities you want to do?
• Are there enough opportunities to lead?
• What should the volunteer team do differently?
• What would make someone stop coming?
• What would make the Unit better?

Give Explorers a way to answer anonymously as well as openly.

Being youth shaped means being prepared to hear answers that may require adults to change something too.

Explorers should have opportunities to influence Scouting beyond their own Unit.

They could represent other Explorers at District or County youth forums, contribute to consultations, meet decision makers or work alongside their District Youth Lead.

Before attending, representatives should gather views from the Unit rather than simply taking their own opinions.

Afterwards, they should report back on what was discussed, what decisions were made and what happens next.

Explorer Scouting often operates across a District, so youth voice should not stop at Unit level.

Encourage Explorers from different Units to come together to discuss:

• District Explorer events
• joint activities
• programme opportunities
• international experiences
• Young Leader support
• Top Awards
• District priorities
• what Explorers need from their District.

Your District Youth Lead can help make sure those views reach the people who can act on them.

At Explorer age, the aim should increasingly be partnership between young people and adults.

Adults will still hold responsibilities for safety, safeguarding, finance and ensuring Scouting operates properly, but that does not mean adults need to make every programme decision.

Where a decision can safely and realistically be made by Explorers, let them make it.

Where it needs to be made together, involve them from the beginning.

Where an adult has to make the final decision, explain why and make sure Explorer views are part of it.

That is the difference between simply asking young people what they think and genuinely sharing power with them.

“YouShape”, “youth shaped”, “forum” and “representation” may mean different things to different people. Do not assume everyone knows the language we use in Scouting. Say what it actually means.

“YouShape means Explorers having a real say in their Scouting, making decisions, taking responsibility and helping make those decisions happen.”

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