This change means that there now needs to be two other changes, which the survey seeks to consult on:

1. Removing the bar to full membership to atheists; and
2. Creating an alternative version of the Promise for atheists and agnostics or those who are still seeking.

This is something that has been discussed ad nauseaum on Escouts over the years, and I am pleased that it has now been picked up by HQ. There are always some people who object to any non-religious people being in Scouting, but generally everyone is in favour. The debate more often resolves around exactly what change could/should be made to the Promise than whether or not a change should be made to the rules!

I am fully in favour of this change and whilst I do not think that atheist young people have are excluded (see my previous post on this topic), that is not the same situation with regards to Leaders, and as such there are inevitably atheist Leaders who make the Promise but cross their fingers when the say the “Duty to God” bit – which isn’t exactly helpful.

There should be no bar on anyone joining Scouting based on their own religious or spiritual beliefs, so long as they are able and willing to assist young people in exploring their faith and beliefs, even – and especially – if it is in a different direction to their own beliefs. The current situation bars an atheist who would be willing to do this, but allow in a fundamentalist Christian/Muslim/*insert other religion here* who would not. This is clearly not the right situation.

In order to allow atheists to make the Promise, there needs to be an alternative Promise for them just like for for other religions. And just like them, in my opinion the tone and rhythm of the promise should remain the same to allow us to all be able to make the Promise together, regardless of personal religious beliefs. As such, in my opinion, the non-religious alternative Promise should read should like:

On My Honour, I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to Humanity and to the Queen,
To help other people
And to keep the Scout Law.

Meaning that only one word has changed – “God” to “Humanity” – and the intention and the rhythm of the promise remains unchanged (after all, is the core of any religion not their duty to humanity?).

Hopefully the consultation will reveal that the vast majority of Scouts support this, and the change will soon become finalised. So I urge you to complete the questionnaire and let your voice be heard – the survey is open until 31 January 2013.

You may have seen (and it may be how you got here!) that Scouting Themes 4 WordPress has been mentioned in the last Scouting+ email nationwide. This was to announce the launch of the Scouts 4 WordPress theme and encourage new people to make use of the resource.

On that first day, nearly 1,700 people visited the site to view it and more than 700 downloaded the theme!

Hopefully it (and the others I have produced) will be useful to a great number of Scout Leaders across the country.

This is the Scout Promise:

On My Honour, I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to God and to the Queen,
To help other people
And to keep the Scout Law.

But what does the Promise mean? It essentially, a promise that we make to ourselves and to others. It states the values that should all try to act out in our lives and intend, as Baden-Powell said to “leave this world a little better than you found it.”

One big misconception – such as the one made by the NSS – is that that “Duty to God” equates to being a member of a Christian organisation. This is absolute rubbish. Not only is Scouting more than open to young people regardless of belief (for example, variations on the Promise include using “Allah” and “my Dharma” for Muslims and Buddhists), the statement isn’t even about religion: it’s about spirituality.

Spirituality and religion do not equal each other; they are not the same. And we as Scout Leaders do not expect young people to be religious, though different Groups will have different expectations and involvements – for example, some Scout Groups are sponsored by Churches or Mosques and have some religious expectations; but of course the vast majority don’t. What we do expect, though, is that young people are open to new experiences and ideas.

I think the NSS are truly barking up the wrong tree with this claim that any children are being excluded; it is absolutely not the case (and since they can’t provide a number of so-called “complaints” they have received…). However, they do have one point about adult volunteers. An avowed disbelief in a higher being is a bar to being a full Adult Member – and I disagree with this. I believe that the requirement should instead be based on willingness to help young people develop their spirituality, regardless of the individual’s own.

When I make the Promise myself – as I did last weekend at our St George’s Days service – I am quite happy to say the line “To do my duty to God and to the Queen”. But I am not religious at all; but I am not an athiest. I struggle to believe at times; and I especially find it hard to believe in the same God that the organised religions promote.

But my duty remains the same: to be a good person and make the best of myself, to respect others and their beliefs, and to leave this world just a little bit better than I found it. I’m not sure what more any God could want from me.

• a dynamic content slider on the front page for news or other important information
• six widgetised boxes (one specifically for Members Resources, such as programme details)
• easy log-in access for leaders and parents
• social media links and sharing capabilities

Along with the theme itself, we have also been working on providing some branding text and images to make it even easier to set up and run your website. The images have been sized to be used with the Scouts 4 WordPress theme, but can easily be edited to other purposes.

On the Branding Support page, you will also find a suggested website layout and what content could be included. You are not expected to reproduce this completely; the intention is that it gives you a helping hand and some text to get you started!

Click here to preview the Scouts 4 WordPress theme.

Click here to go to the Branding Support page.

Sometimes I just have to wonder if journalists even read press releases properly before writing a story based on them. Just look at the headlines from reputable news sources below:

The problem with these stories? They’re wrong. There is no change to the Scout uniform at all – that remains the same. All that has happened is that a new clothing range has been launched with reference to Muslim girls. It is serving an apparent desire for girls – Muslim or not – to have a longer dress-like i.SCOUT hoodie for casual Scouting-wear. It is clearly not replacing uniform, and is there to enable and encourage further diversity.

Scouting is and must always be open to all young people, regardless of faith or background. This new range of “hoodie dresses” will allow a greater number of Muslim girls to take part in Scouting activities.

It is simply an extension to the i.SCOUT casual clothing range – and that’s not uniform. This is uniform.

But, back to the poor journalism. Many people have become confused by this and it has led to the typical Daily Mail reactions such as the currently “best rated” comment from James in Surrey:

Looks like integration has gone out the window then, along with Scouting tradition. Bending over backward to appease the minority, yet again, how typical.

Followed closely by other such idiocy, including:

Stop the pandering NOW! What’s going to be next? I shudder to think.

And:

The Scout movement… Another traditionally Christian institution, valued for instilling discipline & skills & fair-play in youngsters, with a once-immediately-recognised uniform…. now destroyed by politicaly-correct multiculturalism. Do these muslim scouts say the Scouts Promise “To do my duty to God and to the Queen,”?

Actually, the last comment (from Brian in London), is the most offensive. Simply because it is so totally backwards… surely instilling fair-play in young people includes respect for others (which is also one of the Scout Laws) and involves including as many people as possible in Scouting? Plus of course, Muslim Scouts make the same Promise as every other Scout in the UK, replacing only he word “God” with “Allah”.

Producing activity Scouting-wear that allows and encourages more Muslim girls to get invovled is nothing other than a good thing. This is not new uniform, and Scouting is not allowing itself to be controlled or changed by some imagined “evil multiculturalism” – it is encouraging diversity and for more people other different backgrounds to benefit from the everyday adventure, learning and development that we as Leaders provide.

It really is great news that the Duchess of Cambridge is making the Scout Association one the five charities she is supporting in her new role in the royal family. The Duchess will be helping out at groups close to where she lives, with Beavers and Cubs, at a time which suits her busy lifestyle.

Exacly what role she will be taking on is not yet clear, as is whether Kate will be taking a warrant appointment as an ABSL or ACSL or Section Assistant, or just attending as an Occasional Helper.

I do hope that she does wear a proper uniform and makes the Promise and not just the i.SCOUT casualwear (however much I like it), as we are, after all, a uniformed organisation.

But really it doesn’t matter too much, as the key thing is that she will be giving that time she can.

The Duchess has an incredibly busy life, which makes it all the more inspiring that she has chosen to volunteer alongside us.

Over the last few years it has been our mission to make it easier for adults who volunteer with us to give as much or as little as they are able – it is how we change our society: many people doing a little bit.

Bear Grylls, Chief Scout

Flexible volunteering allows people to use their time to support good causes at a time that fit into their life. Just like every penny, every minute of your time counts – and can and will be put to good use for the benefit of young people.

But it looks like the 40,000 Scouts who were able to attend had a great Jamboree!

But I have my eye on making it to the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Japan in 2015…

As usual, the final evening before the summer for my Troop was a family BBQ where we invite all member of a Scouts family to come and enjoy the (hopefully sunny) summer evening. The Scouts decided that they wanted a rounders match between them and their parents and other adult family members. After a terrible start for the adults, the game ended with a draw just as the BBQ was ready.

Unfortunately the rain then decided to come down! Meaning that the tug-of-war we had planned was abandoned. But everyone appeared to have fun, and pretty much all the food was eaten. It was nice that the paernts and Scouts thanked myself and the other Leaders (and our three superb Young Leaders) for everything we do.

So we now have six weeks Scouting-free relaxing weeks? Nope! This summer we are going to be making some substantial changes to our Scout Hut storage to give us more space – meaning shifting all our kit our and going through and inventorying everything we have and what, if anything, should be chucked.

In addition to this, we have the usual planning and preparation of next term’s activities, including a Parents and Scout camp we are going straight into on our return.

I am also spending some of this “summer break” on website designs. I have just launched a new Scouting WordPress theme – Woggle 4 WordPress. And I have also been asked to work on a website for our District Explorer Units to use. so that is also taking up some time.

So despite this being the “summer break”, it isn’t a complete break for us volunteers. – just a slight change in pace. But we keep on Scouting because we enjoy doing it!

a guide to becoming a scout leader

This intrigued me, so the first thing I did was go and Google the keyword myself. Interestingly, there was virtually nothing out there useful which appeared. Yes, there was a sponsored link to www.scouts.org.uk, but that’s not really the same.

So, how does one become a Scout Leader?

Note: This is a brief guide and the specifics will vary depending on local Scouting provision!

Step 1

Decide on your motivations. Why do you want to be involved Scouting? How much free time do you have to give to Scouting (don’t worry if you don’t have much – there are roles to suit you however much or little free time you can spend Scouting!)? Do you have any special skills? What do you expect in return?

The answer to these questions shouldn’t put you off: Scouting has many many roles to suit you whoever you are and whatever your skills, interests and however much time you have to volunteer!

Step 2

Which section/age group would you prefer to work with?

• Beavers: 6-8 years old
• Cubs: 8-10½ years old
• Scouts: 10½-14 years old
• Explorers: 14-18 years old
• None of the above – there are many non-Leader roles in Scouting too, including becoming part of an Active Support Unit

Each Section has their own specific needs and different people are better suited to different Sections – and you can always move between Sections at a later date if you change your mind!

Step 3

So you now know why you want to volunteer as a Scout Leader and have an idea about which section(s) you want to volunteer with. Now you need to contact your local Scouting!

There are a multitude of ways to do this. Scouting often appears in local volunteering literature or websites and many groups/districts/counties have their own websites with contact forms (like my Group and my District do) where you can offer to volunteer. Or you can fill in a form at scouts.org.uk instead

Step 4

Once you have contacted your local Scouting representatives, you will usually be contacted back pretty quickly.

What happens now will depend on how each Group/District/County run their volunteer recruitment process, but will usually involve having a meeting or discussion with someone. This discussion should cover the role you are to undertake.

Step 5

Once everyone is happy with your role, you will need to complete a AA (Adult Application) and CRB form (including details of referees). This is because Leaders and other Adult Members may have unsupervised access to young people, and safety comes first!

Shortly after this has been completed, you should be able to start volunteering!

Step 6

Once all the forms are complete and returned, there is one final administrative step (though you can start volunteering before this step is completed). This is the Appointments Advisory Commitee – and it’s not as scary as it sounds! Your Scouting “line manager” will explain this to you before it your appointment, but it is usually a short discussion with other people involved in local Scouting to ensure that everyone (including you!) are happy with the role you are doing.

Step 7

By now, you are involved in Scouting and hopefully very much enjoying it! But in order to move your appointment from “provisional” to “full”, there is one final step to take within your first five months.

As Scouting is committed to ensuring that both our Adult and Youth Members are safe, there are three compulsory “Getting Started” training modules which will usually be covered over a couple of evenings (depending on local training organisation):

• Module 1 – Essential Information
• Module 2 – Personal Learning Plan
• Module 3 – Tools for the Job

Step 8

Congratulations! You are now a full Adult Member in Scouting!

I promise that it isn’t as arduous as it sounds!

Updated with help from Escouts.

The Association has produced advice for Scouts on sexuality and “coming out” and factsheets for Leaders and other adult Members. The UK Chief Commissioner, Wayne Bulpitt, has also made a video for Stonewall’s anti-bullying campaign “It gets better… today”, which he makes it clear:

In Scouting we believe that all young people, irrespective of their sexuality, gender, race, creed or background, have an equal opportunity to develop and to be themselves.

I am very pleased that the Scout Assocation is undertaking this exercise and focusing on spreading the positive message about the movement, including attending Pride marches – we are here and open to everyone, regardles of sexuality.

Unfortunately, there are also people who object to it on outdated moralistice views and otherwise spreading misinformation (such as that only Christians or religious people can join – rather than the truth that the rule is purely that only those with an avowed disbelief are prevented, and even that is only from a uniformed role).

We should spread the message that Scouting is open to all so that we can have more Leaders getting involved and thus allow more young people to experience Scouting.