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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

Good morning campers

Put your knowledge to the test as you have a go at helping imaginary campers with their problems and questions.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • Scrap paper
  • Tables
  • Chairs
  • Access to computers or laptops (optional)
  • Access to mobile phones (optional)

Before you begin

  • Set up the tables so there’s plenty of space for the campers to approach them and have conversations with those sitting behind them. You’ll need at least one table for every eight people.
  • Put chairs behind and in front of each table so people can sit down to chat.
  • Put pens and paper on all of the tables. Put a computer and phone on half of the tables. If you don’t have access to computers or phones, people can pretend to use them instead.
  • Prepare the example scenarios, and come up with some of your own too. You could print or write them down, or just tell groups about them.

How can I help?

  1. Everyone should think about situations where they’ve been a customer asking for help. For example, has anyone had to return a product, ask for help when something broke, or ask for help when buying a ticket?
  1. Everyone should split into groups of up to four people.
  1. Half of the groups should go and wait behind a table. They’re the activity centre staff and volunteers. The other groups should each face a table – they’re the customers about to ask for help.
  2. The people leading the activity should demonstrate one scenario, to show everyone how it works.
  3. The customers should be polite, and the staff and volunteers should try to solve problems creatively and professionally. They should pretend they’re in a real situation, for example, they could pretend to go and find a manager, or pretend to go and get something they need.
  4. The person leading the activity should give each group of customers a scenario.
  1. The customers should approach the staff and volunteers and explain what’s happening and what help they need. The staff and volunteers should help them to resolve the situation.
  2. When groups finish, the person leading the activity should help them think about how it went. Would they like to do anything differently next time?
  3. The groups should swap over so both get a turn at being the customers and the staff and volunteers.
  4. Once everyone’s had a turn in both roles, the pairs of groups with computers should swap with the pairs of groups without computers, so everyone can repeat steps five to eight for the other type of scenario.
  • Someone in a Scout group is disabled – their group needs a campsite that’s close to the toilets (and easy to access), but they’ve been given one right on the edge of the field and the toilets are a long way away.
  • A school group of 60 students has arrived. When they started unpacking at their campsite, they realised that they don’t have enough equipment – they’re missing tents, sleeping bags, tables, and benches.
  • A group completing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award have woken up to find that their food and rubbish has been torn up and eaten by foxes overnight.
  • A Scout group wanted to have a campfire. They dug a hole right in the middle of their pitch, rather than collecting an altar fire.
  • It’s the first morning of a group’s stay – the showers aren’t working in the toilet block and there’s a horrible smell coming from the accessible toilet.
  • Someone’s calling up to book a camp for 10 people next April. They’d like to know what dates are available, how much it’d cost, and whether they can bring their dog with them.
  • A school group would like some more information on what activities are available and how often the shop will be open.
  • A Scout group would like to cancel their booking and get a refund.
  • A school would like to book accommodation for next year. They’d also like some information about other activities that are available in the local area (such as a trampoline park), how far they are from the campsite, and the best way to get there.
  • Someone leading a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award would like copies of the general risk assessment for the campsite, the rock climbing risk assessment, and the raft building risk assessment.

Reflection

This activity needed people to help others, and care about the impact of their actions. Were all of the queries and problems equally important? People might think about how they’d prioritise if they had lots of queries at once. How can people working or volunteering at campsites affect customers’ experiences? How can customers affect people working or volunteering at campsites?

The activity also helped people to develop skills. Most of the scenarios needed people to do different things at once, including speaking to the customers and finding out more information, deciding if they needed to ask for help, and thinking about solutions. How did the groups work together? Would people do anything different next time? It’s important that everyone has a role in the team, and sometimes it’s useful to have someone organising everyone too.

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.

Heavy and awkward objects

Never lift or move heavy or awkward items alone. Ask for help or, if possible, break them down into smaller parts.

Outdoor activities

You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.

Snow and ice

Be careful when activities involve snow and ice. Check surfaces and reduce the risk of slipping where possible. Have appropriate supervision for this activity.

Poles and long objects

Be careful when moving poles or long items. Take care if the ends are sharp. Have appropriate supervision for this activity.

Dark

Provide some light, so the environment isn’t completely dark. Everyone must be able to see others and move around the area safely.

Online safety

Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

Phones and cameras

Make sure parents and carers are aware and have given consent for photography.

To make it more challenging, have two groups of customers for each group of staff and volunteers. Then, the staff and volunteers will have to decide how to manage their time – will they all work on one scenario, or split up? Will they speak to the second group of customers while they’re waiting for more information or answers for the first group?

If role play doesn’t work for some people, they could just discuss the scenarios in a group and talk about what they might do (or what the people in the scenario should do).

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Activity Centre Service Activity Badge

Give people the opportunity to put what they’ve learned into practice – how would they ask questions next time they’re organising a camp? What would they do if they had a problem while camping? 

Let people come up with their own scenarios once they’ve got the idea. They could build on their own experiences as campers or volunteers.