What are Young Leaders?
Young Leaders are a valuable resource for any section – able to bridge the gap between the young people of the section and the leaders. They are also the potential leaders of the future! We should all be nurturing and supporting them in the start of their leadership journey (and it counts as service towards their Top Awards and DofE!)
A Young Leader is anyone aged 14-17 who works with a younger section in Scouting. They could also attend an Explorer Scout Unit or they could be undertaking Service as part of DofE through school or another youth organisation. Some Young Leaders don’t fall into any of the above categories, in this case they are classed as Explorer Scouts but only members of the District Young Leader Unit (membership fees do still need to be paid for them in this case!)
How can I support Young Leaders?
All Young Leaders need to be registered with their local Young Leader Unit and complete Module A (“Prepare for Take-off!”) within 3 months of becoming a Young Leader. The module covers the important basics, including the fundamentals of Scouting, safeguarding and health and safety.
The easiest (and preferred) way to register Young Leaders is to share them with the relevant Young Leader Unit on Online Scout Manager (OSM). This can be done by either their Explorer Scout Leader or by the Section Leader where they are a Young Leader (they should also be shared between their Explorer Unit and Section too!). The Young Leader Units are District based, as follows:
| District | OSM Unit |
|---|---|
| King Alfred | King Alfred: Young Leaders |
| North Oxfordshire | Oxfordshire Young Leaders: North Oxfordshire District YLU |
| Oxford Spires | Oxfordshire Young Leaders: Oxford Spires District YLU |
| Thames Chiltern | Oxfordshire Young Leaders: Thames Chiltern District YLU |
| Thames Ridge | Oxfordshire Young Leaders: TR District YLU |
| West Oxfordshire | Oxfordshire Young Leaders: West Oxfordshire District YLU |
Young Leader training
There are eleven modules and four missions in the scheme.
- Module A – Prepare for take-off!
- Module B – Taking the lead
- Module C – That’s the way to do it!
- Module D – Understanding behaviour
- Module E – Game on!
- Module F – Making Scouting accessible and inclusive
- Module G – What is a high-quality programme?
- Module H – Programme planning
- Module I – What did they say?
- Module J – Communicate it!
- Module K – First aid masterclass
There are four missions that Young Leaders must complete. These are completed with the Section meeting that the Young Leader supports and are best assessed by the Section Leader. The four missions are:
- Mission 1: Game. Run at least three games. One of which should be indoors and one outdoors.
- Mission 2: Activity. Run an activity that is not a game
- Mission 3: Programme Planning. Take a section’s ideas to a programme planning meeting
- Mission 4: Delivery. Take responsibility for organising and running part of the section programme.
Book the training modules here.
