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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Go a little further

It’s time to explore the Activity Plus Badge. Where will your skills and hobbies take you next?
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
Set a target
PDF – 83.8KB
Download Set a target

Understand the Activity Plus Badge

The person leading the activity should use the information below to make sure everyone understands the Activity Plus Badge. It’s a good idea to ask plenty of questions to keep people engaged and find out what they already know.

  • An Activity Plus Badge is your chance to take on an extra challenge, going one step further to build on a badge you’ve already achieved.
  • You need to hold the chosen Activity Badge (if it’s a Staged Activity Badge, you’ll need the highest stage), then agree a target with your leader.
  • Once you’ve completed the challenge, you’ll need to show your leader how you’ve met the target.
  • You can get more than one Activity Plus Badge. You can even get more than one Activity Plus Badge for the same Activity Badge!
  • It’s worth remembering that a leader can also give you an Activity Plus Badge if you’ve gone above and beyond what was expected in an activity – or if you take on a challenge when you didn’t have the best facilities.

Choose a badge

  1. The person leading the game should give everyone a copy of the ‘Set a target’ sheet and a pen or pencil.
  2. On the top row of four hexagons, everyone should write or draw four things they’ve done with their group this year.
  3. Everyone should fill the second row (of three hexagons) with up to three Activity Badges they’ve done themselves.
  4. Everyone should fill the third row (of two hexagons) with two things they really enjoyed doing while earning an Activity Badge (or the top stage of a Staged Activity Badge).
  5. Everyone should fill the final hexagon with what they’d like to do for their Activity Plus Badge. The ideas in the other hexagons should make it easier to narrow it down.

Set a target

  1. Everyone should fill the space around the final hexagon with ways they’d like to extend their skills even further. What did they do or learn to achieve the Activity Badge in the first place, and what might the next step be? The more ideas, the better.
  2. Everyone should take it in turns to share their ideas with their leader. Together, they should agree a target.

Share achievements

  1. Everyone should check in with their leader (and their friends) as they work towards their Activity Plus Badge. It’s OK if things don’t go exactly to plan; everyone should support each other to try, try again.
  2. Everyone should think about how they'll share their achievements. They may want to take photos or collect other evidence along the way.
  3. Once they’ve met their target, everyone should share their success. They may want to make a little presentation or bring in some props. It’s up to them who they show – as long as they show their leader, it doesn’t matter whether they want to show one or two close friends or the whole group.

These are just ideas to get people started – it’s always best for each young person to agree something personal with a leader.

  • For Pulling (Fixed Seat Rowing) Plus, take charge of a boat under oars.
  • For Meteorologist Plus, keep a weather diary for longer – agree a number of months with your leader.
  • For Dragon Boating Plus, train for a month as part of a team to compete in a national dragon boating competition.
  • For Communicator Plus, become semi-fluent in a foreign language, visit a country that speaks that language and communicate with locals, or only speak in the foreign language for a whole day.
  • For another Activity Plus Badge, earn a personal or leadership permit or an NGB qualification.

Reflection

This activity’s all about going above or beyond what’s expected, whether people complete a badge in a challenging situation or set a target to try new things and take their skills further. Everyone should take it in turns to share the challenges they faced while earning the badge. How did they pick themselves up and keep going? Did people find it easy or tricky to decide on a badge and target? It’s OK if inspiration doesn’t strike right away – people can talk to a friend, or relax and wait for an idea.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

The targets should be individual for each young person – everyone should face an equal level of challenge (which means their targets will be unique to them). People should feel free to draw on the sheet rather than writing.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Activity Plus Badge