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Supporting and approving Good Service awards

The information on this page is aimed at Commissioners and Award Advisory Groups.

Anyone can nominate an adult member for a Good Service award, so nomination forms may be received locally that need additional information added and then passing on to the next level (or the one above) for approval/further support.

Whether the decisions to approve a Good Service award can be made locally or by the National Awards Advisory Group (NAAG), it is the responsibility of the person approving/supporting the award to ensure all award criteria is met.

Local decisions

For the Chief Scout's Commendation for Good Service, Award for Merit, Bar to the Award for Merit and the Silver Acorn, the decision to make the award can be done locally.

To support them in this decision-making process, Commissioners are encouraged (but not required) to set up a Local Award Advisory Group.

Once the decision is made the individuals who approved the nomination form should submit the decision to UK Headquarters using the Good Service Award completion form.

Locally nomination forms should be kept for 12 months after the award decision has been submitted (in line with UK Headquarters timeline), and securely destroyed after this period. This is in case they’re needed for further queries from the Awards Team.​

Discover the next steps once the award decision is submitted.

To ensure awards being presented across the Scouts in the UK are for equal merit and achievement, part of the NAAGs role is to undertake moderation of the Good Service awards which is carried out in the following ways for the Good Service Awards decisions made locally:

  • Before awards are sent out, all submitted award decision are checked against the Scouts vetting system.
    • If an award decision is not approved by vetting, it is withdrawn from the process and will not be sent out.
  • Before awards are sent out, at least 10% of all award decision submissions are randomly selected and checked to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria for that award.
    • If an award decision fails to meet the criteria, it is withdrawn from the process and will not be sent out.
  • After awards have been sent out, at least 10% of Bar to the Award for Merit and Silver Acorn award decision submissions are randomly selected for the NAAG to review the citations supporting the award decision to ensure they are of the correct standard for that award.
    • If the NAAG feel the citation doesn't meet the required level, citations from additional awards will be requested for further scrutiny. If these are also found to be inadequate further action will be taken.

Due to the possibility of a request being made to review a Bar to the Award for Merit and Silver Acorn nomination form, a copy should be kept locally for a minimum of 12 months after the award date.

National Awards Advisory Group decisions

Locally completed nomination forms for the Bar to the Silver Acorn and the Silver Wolf should be emailed to the UK Headquarters Awards Team for processing.

Learn how the decisions are made nationally.

Before higher Good Service award nomination forms are reviewed by the NAAG:

  • All are checked against the Scouts vetting system.
    • If it's not approved by vetting, it is withdrawn from the process.
  • All are checked to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria for that award.
    • If an award decision fails to meet the criteria, it is withdrawn from the process.

To watch in full screen, double click the video

More information on the lower Good Service award processing

Read the guidance

Further details on the higher Good Service award processing

Learn about the process