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SCOUTING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
The World Scout Movement started in
England with an experimental camp on Brownsea Island, Dorset, in
1907, where Robert Baden-Powell
and a small party of boys put into practice his ideas for training
young people for responsible
citizenship. In August of the following year, the first proper Scout
Camp was held at Humshaugh, near Hexham,
Northumberland.
Today, there are well over 25 million
members in over 210 countries and the Movement is still growing!
Two-thirds of the International
Membership are in developing countries.
Scouting in the UK is firmly committed
to co-education so that boys and girls have increased opportunity
to do their growing together
and meet the aims of Scouting through one programme. In 1991, girls
were admitted to the Beaver Scout,
Cub Scout and Scout Sections. This complements the admission of
young women to the Venture Scout Section in
1976, and builds on the work of women Leaders and Helpers since
the early years of the Movement.
The Aim
The Aim of Scouting is to promote the
development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual,
social and spiritual potentials,
as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their
local, national and international communities.
The Method of achieving the Aim is
by providing an enjoyable and attractive scheme of progressive training
based on The Scout Promise and
Law guided by adult leadership.
United Kingdom Membership
In the United Kingdom, the total membership is 579,451....(1998
census).
This comprises of:
| Section |
Age Range |
No. of Members |
| Beaver Scouts |
6 - 8 |
129,202 |
| Cub Scouts |
8 - 10½ |
190,006 |
| Scouts |
10½ - 15½ |
125,984 |
| Venture Scouts (Now
Explorers and Scout Network) |
15½ - 20 |
23,855 |
| Commissioners |
|
4,615 |
| Scouters, Helpers and skill instructors |
|
87,871 |
| Total Leaders |
|
92,486 |
| County and District Adminiistrators |
|
4,431 |
| County and District Advisers |
|
1,363 |
| Members of the Scout Fellowship |
|
12,124 |
Organisation
In the United Kingdom, The Scout Association Headquarters is at
Baden-Powell House in London, Gi l wel l Park, Essex,
and Lancing, West Sussex. There are
200 employed staff. The Organisation is decentralised in some 9,548
Scout Groups, each of which comprises
one or more Scout Troops and Cub Scout Packs and possibly a Venture
Scout Unit.
There may also be a Beaver Scout Colony.
The Groups are supported locally by about 964 Scout Districts which,
in turn, receive support and
guidance from 113 Scout County Organisations.
Promise and Law
The Scouts, with the Guides, are unique
amongst youth Movements in having a Promise and a Law which Members willingly accept as a guide to the standards
of conduct required of them.
BEAVER SCOUTS
In October 1982, The Scout Association
introduced ’Beavers’ for its six to eight year olds in response
to a growing demand within the
Movement for such an optional activity to be available at the discretion
of the Scout Groups. In April
1986, they became a recognised Training Section and took the title
of Beaver Scouts.
In the United Kingdom, Beaver Scouts
wear a simple ’uniform’. Their Promise is straight forward - ’I
Promise to do my best to be kind
and helpful and to love God’. The Beaver Scout Motto is ’Fun and
Friends’ which describes their aims.
Beaver Scouts learn about themselves,
exploring their feelings and developing good habits of health and
personal safety. They get to
know people, finding out about people in their family, the family
of Scouting, the local community and
the wider world. Beaver Scouts explore, discovering the exciting
world of science, nature and technology, exploring
the natural and man-made world. Beaver Scouts care, growing in their
love of God and responding to the needs
of others, the local community and the wider world.
CUB SCOUTS
Baden-Powell’s original intention was
that Scouting should be for boys between the ages of 11 and 18.
But younger boys, seeing the
fun and adventure older brothers and friends were having as Scouts,
began asking to join too. However,
the physical development and interests of boys differ considerably
over and under the age of 11, and Baden-Powell appreciated
that training must therefore be designed on quite separate and distinctive
lines although being complementary
to each other. In 1914 ’Junior Scouts’ were announced and in 1916,
they became ’Wolf Cubs’.
In 1966, as part of a ’modernisation’
plan, a number of sweeping changes were introduced in preparation
for the years ahead and the Section
became known as Cub Scouts. New proficiency and Training schemes
were introduced and the Cub Scout
Law and Promise revised.
In 1991, the Cub Scout Training Programme was updated again, based
on the themes of Challenge & Adventure.
Even after 80 years, the magic is as
strong as ever. There are nearly a quarter of a million Cub Scouts,
boys and girls, in the United
Kingdom, and there could be many thousands more, but for the lack
of sufficient adult Leaders in some
areas.
SCOUTS
The Scout Section caters for young
people aged 10½ to 15½. Each Scout Troop consists of small units
(Patrols) of six to eight boys
and girls, one of whom is Patrol Leader who shares responsibility
with the adult Leader for maintaining standards
and training other members of the Patrol. Together, all Patrol Leaders
in a Troop form a Patrol Leaders' Council
which takes the acceptance of responsibility a stage further to
cover some aspects of the functioning of the Troop,
planning activities and monitoring Members' progress.
Outdoor activities feature prominently
in the Scout Troop. The highlight for most Members is the annual
summer camp or expedition, and
much of the rest of the year is devoted to preparation for this.
Even in winter there may be Patrol
hikes or weekend camps. Map reading, camp cooking, first aid and
other skills can be practised at any time of the
year.
Often there will be more adventurous
activities like rock climbing, pioneering and orienteering where
Members gain experience in the
use of equipment. Scouts are offered a wide range of other activities
ranging from technology based subjects
such as electronics, computing or amateur radio to cultural activities.
All these activities are embraced
in a continuously updated progressive training scheme designed to
encourage and support boys and
girls as they develop through the Section age range.
VENTURE SCOUTS (Soon to be Explorer Scouts)
The Venture Scout Section evolved in
1966 following a major review of the Association's Policies in order
to adapt them to the rapidly
changing society. It provides a programme of activities and experiences
for young people aged between
15½ and 20.
The Venture Scout Section completes
the progressive training scheme that started with the Cub Scouts
and continued into the Scout
Section. It is also open to young people who have never been Cub
Scouts or Scouts. Venture Scouting offers
opportunities for adventurous activities, more challenging community
service projects and broadening international
experience through projects and expeditions overseas.
Originally, the Section was open only
to young men between the ages of 16 to 20, but since 1976, young
women have been able to join
Venture Scouts and follow the same programme and activities alongside
the young men as equals.
Venture Scout Units are self-motivating,
self-programming and self-governing. The scope of the activities
can range widely, depending on
the interests and initiative of Unit Members. Parascending, mountaineering,
canoe expeditions and deepwater
sailing are becoming increasingly common.
As in the other Sections, there are
Progress Award. The Venture Scout Award encourages each Member to
take part in a wide-range of
self-selected activities and show personal development. The Queen's
Scout Award, the pinnacle of any
Scout's career, incorporates challenge, service to others, self-reliance
and initiative.
ADULT LEADERS
The Scout Movement depends upon the
quality, commitment and enthusiasm of its adult leadership. Volunteers
who give their time freely to
help the development of young people. All Leaders have to undertake
training to equip themselves
to do a better job and the Movement's training programme has become
recognised by professional trainers
as one of the best of its kind.
The Scout Association has an effective,
well tried and tested system for vetting adults coming into the
Movement to protect young people.
SCOUT FELLOWSHIP
In fulfilling its aim of preparing
young people to take a constructive place in society, one of The
Scout Association's strengths
has always been its ability to attract a strong element of adult
support for the Leaders who have the prime responsibility
for training and activity programmes.
Men and women over the age of 18 are
welcome to join the Scout Fellowship and there is no restriction
on those who have had no previous
connection with Scouting. By joining, people who believe that Scouting
serves a valuable purpose in
helping young people to develop as responsible citizens have an
opportunity to share in the work in whatever
way they can according to the time they can give and their professional
circumstances.
SAFE FROM HARM
It is the policy of The Scout Association
to safeguard the welfare of all young people by protecting them
from physical , sexual and emotional
harm. Called ‘Young People First’, the policy includes a code of
good practice for adults in Scouting. In 1997, The Scout Association published its Equal Opportunities
Policy covering both adults and young people. |
