Our adult welcome process

Getting involved might feel like a big step, but we want to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible. At Scouts, we learn by doing, and this means that from the very beginning you will be able to try out some tasks with the support of the other members of your team.

We are passionate about giving you a warm welcome and providing you with all the information you need when you need it. Your team will support you through your entire journey as a volunteer. They’ll let you know exactly what happens next and answer any questions you have.

If you haven’t already you will soon meet your welcome buddy who’s job it is to make sure you are given a warm welcome and support you through your welcome journey. They will answer any questions you might have, show you around, introduce you to other volunteers and help you get started. They are your main support, guiding you through your welcome.

During this stage you will begin your new role. Please remember that if you are working with our young people, you can start to get involved immediately but only in a supervised capacity for now, as it is the policy of The Scout Association that unsupervised access to young people is not permitted until a clear Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) certificate has been received.

Please take some time to fill in the relevant parts of our Adult Information Form. Please ensure you complete them clearly and correctly as this is the information that we will use to set-up your national membership record. If you have any questions regarding the form, please do not hesitate to ask your welcome buddy or the person who gave you the form or the other members of your team who will be able to help you. Once complete please pass it to your welcome buddy who will ensure that your details are added to our adult membership system and the form is then safely destroyed in line with the General Data Protection Regulation.

For uniform roles
As you will totally appreciate, our overriding consideration when making adult appointments is the safety and security of our young people. For this reason, everyone that takes on an adult role in scouting are required to have a cleared enhanced DBS disclosure and two satisfactory references.

As a movement, we are committed to meeting the NSPCC guidelines around safer recruitment. This framework helps us to minimize the risk of appointing someone unsuitable and helps us make sure that new volunteers are ‘safe’ to work with our young people. To ensure a fair and consistent process we do this through disclosure (DBS) checks, references, welcome chats, and learning.

During this approval stage we will ensure that we have received your references and that you have completed and then we have received your disclosure and barring service check.

Adults that help on an ‘occasional basis – occasional being defined by the UK Government as providing support no more than three times in a thirty-day period – do not require a DBS check, unless during that time they:

1. are staying overnight (in the same establishment as young people)
2. may have unsupervised access to young people
3. will be involved with the handling or management of money or personal data

If any of the above are applicable, then they are required to complete a DBS record check through The Scout Association and the check must be cleared before they take part.

PLEASE NOTE: The Scout Association does not accept DBS checks from other organisations. This is because the nature of the information that may be disclosed on an enhanced scout DBS criminal record check may differ from that provided to another organisation.

We seek to be open and accessible to all. A criminal conviction will not necessarily prevent an individual from volunteering. This will, however, depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of their offences.

All convictions, including those that are spent will show on a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Some criminal convictions, disciplinary proceedings or behaviour may disqualify adults from certain roles in scouting, specifically any convictions or disciplinary proceedings which involve the harming of children, young people or vulnerable adults in any way.

For Trustee Board Members, Administrators and Scout Active Support Members

For Trustees 
Your Scout Council (normally at the Annual General Meeting), will approve your election or nomination.

For co-opted members of Trustee Boards or Administrators
Your trustee board will approve your appointment.

For Members of Scout Active Support
Your Scout Active Support Manager will approve your appointment.

A list of the adult appointments that do and do not need to attend a meeting with the appropriate appointments panel can be found in appointments process section of the current edition of The Policy, Organisation and Rules of The Scout Association which can be found at: www.scouts.org.uk/por

At this stage in the welcome journey your DBS check and references will be underway or complete and you will be invited to take part in a welcome conversation.

Firstly, it really is nothing to worry about! It's a friendly chat, with two experienced members of local scouting, one will be from within your Scout Group or local Explorer Scout support team (someone you already know), and the other will be a member of local scouting. Each conversation will involve different topics and they will both last about 30 minutes. During the chat you will have an opportunity to ask questions and we can make sure that you understand your new role, and our policies, and have everything you need to get started.

 During the chat you will have the opportunity to:

• share a little bit about yourself- why you want to volunteer and any skills or hobbies you might have
• look at make volunteering for scouts work for you – making sure scouting fits around your other commitments in a flexible way
• find out about key resources and identify how we can support you
• discuss the importance of safeguarding and safety within scouts
• ask any questions you have

Getting you started
We know that you are excited about your new role and to help you we provide lots of support and guidance. Some of this support we call 'getting started' so, at this time we will also support you through this learning. Getting started learning comprises of a combination of different topics, and different roles are required to complete a different combination of topics. We explain things in more detail below.

The learning aims to introduce you to your new role and give you the basic information and skills you need to get started. This learning needs to be completed before your full appointment can be made. So with this in mind, you need to complete the learning within five months of joining scouts. This really is plenty of time, as each topic will only take you around 30 minutes to complete.

Your getting started learning consists of a combination of learning and you can find out more by clicking here.