So you have a new Young Leader. What do you do now?
Although the Young Leader scheme has now been running for a few years, many Section Leaders are still a little unsure about how the scheme works and how to involve them in running their Section. This article aims to give a few hints, tips & pointers about what you should (& shouldn’t!) do.
Before you start you should meet with the prospective Young Leader (YL.) It will give you a chance to assess how ready they are to get involved and what their maturity is like. You need to feel confident that the young person can cope with a leadership role. This is especially true for the Scout Section – it is important that the YL is coming along as a leader, not as an older Scout. This can be especially hard where the YL still has friends in the troop. There is a guideline of a minimum gap of six months between a Scout leaving a troop and returning as a YL, but for many a year or longer may be better. In these circumstances perhaps better for the YL to help with Beavers or Cubs at first.
You also need to consider how they will fit in with your existing team. If you have too many YLs then there may not be enough for them to do and they will get bored. It is recommended to have no more than 3 YLs at any one time, but if you already have a strong team then you may wish to reduce that further.
Young Leaders Scheme
The Young Leaders Scheme usually runs within the District Explorer Scout programme, though it may be complemented by your County/Region. Ideally there is a Young Leader Unit operating in the District run by an Explorer Scout Leader (Young Leaders) who will able to give you & your YLs full information about its programme.
Once you have agreed to take the YL on, you need to do ensure they are registered with the District. This will be via either the DESA or ESL (Young Leaders), or the DESC if those posts aren’t filled. They will give the Young Leader a copy of the programme for the local Young Leader Unit. All those in a YL position are required to be Explorer Scouts, apart from those doing service for Guides or Duke of Edinburgh Award (see below.) If they aren’t already an Explorer Scout then they can join solely as a YL, but should still be offered the opportunity to join in the wider Explorer Scout programme.
The core programme of the Young Leader Unit consists of a series of training modules. There are 11 of these and they are similar in concept to many of the Adult Training modules, though of course aimed at a younger age range. These may be delivered one at a time, or several over a day or weekends or a mixture of both. In addition there may be other activities, often involving other Explorer Scouts in the District. Like the adult training scheme, there is a compulsory module. Module A, Prepare for Take Off!, covers topics such as child protection & risk assessments and needs to be completed by all Young Leaders within 3 months of starting. On completing Module A, the YL receives a badge. If this is not done in time the Young Leader should cease his service until Module A is completed.
The YL may sometimes need a little encouragement to participate in the Young Leaders Scheme – after all, many adults find it difficult to complete their training too! It maybe helpful to outline the benefits to them – gaining skills, greater involvement & satisfaction from their role and sharing experiences with other Young Leaders.
The final part of the scheme is the Missions. There are 4 of these and they keep YLs involved in the running of the Section. They will need your cooperation and support to do these, but in return you will gain both the short term benefits of easy programmes and the long term benefit of a more experienced and capable YL. It needs to be remembered that YLs are part of a training section, and by taking them on you are taking on some of the responsibility for developing them.
Involving YLs in Running Your Section
When your Young Leader starts helping with your Section they should be introduced to your Colony, Pack or Troop as if they were just another leader. If you give the other leaders names such as Bagheera or Baloo then give the new YL one too. Make sure the YL knows about any ceremonies you use and what they are expected to do during them.
Initially, the new YL may take a little while to find their feet, especially if they haven’t come through the Section themselves. It’s a good idea to start with some straightforward tasks – perhaps helping run a game or activity – and over time build things up, progressively giving them a little more responsibility. It should be possible to grow their involvement in line with their Module completion e.g. if they have just completed Module C (That’s the Way to Do It!) then perhaps you could get them to do some skills teaching to reinforce what they have learnt.
You should involve the YL in your programme planning. This will help them to get more involved, allowing them to know what is expected of them on an evening and taking on some responsibility for parts of the programme. They can also be a great source of new ideas. This may mean some changes for you – for example, holding the meetings in a suitable place for young people, perhaps a cafe rather than a pub!
Over time the YL will become more than just a ‘spare pair of hands’ and should get involved in all aspects of running the Section. For example, the later Missions include involvement in Section Forums and administration. They will probably still require some help or guidance, but there are clear benefits to you & your team.
What Young Leaders Cannot Do
Hopefully, once your YL has settled down they will become an active member of your team. Sometimes it is easy to forget that they aren’t adults, but they are still young people and this restricts what YLs can be allowed to do:
– they must be supervised at all times and never given sole responsibility over a group of younger people.
– you cannot use a YL as a substitute for having the requisite number of adults present at your meetings or events.
– as young people they are subject to the Scout Association’s Child Protection Policy.
– if they participate in any residential or adventurous activities then you need to obtain their parent or carer’s permission.
When a Young Leader Finishes
When a Young Leader ends their time with your Section its easy to perhaps just shake their hands and say thank you (which, of course, you should do!) but there are other things to consider. Some are administrative – for example liaising with their ESL or DESC to sign off service for Scout or Duke of Edinburgh Awards, and notifying the DESA/ESL(YL) that their service has stopped.
If they are turning 18 you may wish to encourage them to take out a warrant. Alternatively, if they are heading off to University you may want to register them as a Section Assistant so they can continue to help whenever they can. In each case, the Young Leader training may count towards their adult training.
There are things you may wish to do for the Young Leader. They may be applying for jobs or University and require a reference – you could offer to supply one, either now or perhaps even when they graduate. Or if they are going away you could help them get involved in their new locality.
Guides & Duke of Edinburgh Award Service
If you have 14-18 year olds doing service with you for either Guides or the Duke of Edinburgh Award then most of what has been said above applies to them too. There are a couple of small differences. In neither case are they required to join the Scout Association, though still need to be registered with the District, participate in the Young Leaders Scheme and complete Module A within 3 months. There is a caveat – if someone doing Duke of Edinburgh Award service exceeds the time required to for the award they are working on they do need to join.
Those doing Duke of Edinburgh Award service have some extra requirements. They are expected to complete module A plus two further hours of training. This most likely to be more modules with the Young Leader Unit, but it could be skills training or perhaps their school offers something relevant. The DESC is responsible for assessing both their training and service, and it is expected that they will sign the participant’s Record Book.
Finally
Although many YLs start because they are expected to do service, most come to enjoy it and doing what you can to make it a fun experience for them makes everyone happy, and the YL more likely to stay or recommend you to their friends!