Renewing our promise to help other people
Contents
- Reflecting on new beginnings
- Refocusing our priorities
- Renewing our promise to help other people
- Our purpose and method
- Skills for Life: Our plan to prepare better futures 2018-2025
- Growth
- Inclusivity
- Youth shaped
- Community impact
- Three pillars of work
- Youth programme
- Volunteering
- Perception
- The impact of Scouts on young people
- Keeping young people safe
- Safeguarding
- Fundraising
- Our finances
- Trustees' responsibilities
- Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of The Scout Association
- Consolidated statement of financial activities
- Balance sheet
- Statement of cash flows
- Notes to the financial statements
- Our members
- How we operate
- Governance structure and Board membership – 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
- Our thanks
- Investors in People
Renewing our promise to help other people
In Scouts, we bring young people together to have fun and make friends, creating great futures along the way. We’re good at it, but it’s not always easy.
This year‘s been particularly challenging for so many of our volunteers. I know we’ve asked a lot of them.
As we adopt the cultural changes and adapted ways of working for our new Volunteer Experience, there’s been a lot to get used to and our volunteers’ feedback has been invaluable. This’ll pay dividends in the long run, and we’re already hearing newly recruited volunteers talking positively about their experience. But change takes a lot of time and energy, and there never seem to be enough hours in the day. And of course, we’re all juggling work and family commitments too.
That’s why I’m more grateful than ever to our 140,000 volunteers who’ve continued to deliver great, and most importantly, safe activities to our young people. It’s been a full-on year, and as I travel around the country, I’m pleased to hear their feedback so we can improve and get things right. We rely on the goodwill and support of our volunteers, and we neglect that at our peril.
That’s also why Summit25, our national conference in Birmingham, was such a key moment. Gathered together, we had fantastic conversations about what needs to be a priority for us as we support young people. At the top of the list were two core parts of what we do, making sure there’s outstanding support to Scouts locally, and delivering great activities while keeping young people safe. It was so helpful to look forward and set the framing for our next strategy which, over the months ahead, we’ll continue to work with you on.
It’s so important we take a step back and reflect on why we offer opportunities and life skills to young people of all backgrounds. People like Sophie, a Beaver Scout with cerebral palsy and a rare respiratory disease. She’s visually impaired and unable to walk on her own.
Ever since she joined, Sophie has thrived in Scouts. In the two years she’s been a Beaver, she’s played games and explored nature. She’s never made to feel like the odd one out and she’s finally found a space where she belongs.
Sophie's mum, Nicola
That’s a fantastic tribute to the volunteers and young people who help make Scouts so welcoming. It’s a reminder for us all to keep going and keep supporting young people. We’re making all the difference to young people lives, and creating better, kinder and closer communities too.
Looking ahead, we’ll continue our focus on safety. The past year has seen a change towards being more reflective and open about what we’re learning. We also established a new approach to reviewing risk and compliance and I’m grateful to the many volunteers who stepped up to assess and support safety across Nights Away, training, safety visits abroad and adventurous activities. We’ll keep building on this, supporting our volunteers locally with assurance, making sure everyone gets the support they need.
Thank you again to all our volunteers and supporters this year. We couldn’t do it without you.
Carl Hankinson
UK Chief Volunteer