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The Helper Hat

Explore ways to help others and understand their feelings.

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You’ll need

  • Hat
  • Tokens or stickers (optional)
Guidance for volunteers (Healthy Relationships research)
PDF – 61.7KB
Download Guidance for volunteers (Healthy Relationships research)

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.

Healthy Relationships research

This activity is part of our Healthy Relationships research. Please read the attached guidance for volunteers before running the activity.

Make sure you've got consent from the parents or carers of all young people taking part, using the Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form you’ve been given.

For each scenario, make some notes about the groups' responses. When you've completed the activity, please share your feedback and your group’s responses using this form.

Submit your feedback and group's responses

Planning and setting up this activity

  • Some parts of this activity may trigger emotions or personal experiences for young people. It’s important to be aware that discussions about friendships and relationships can sometimes bring up feelings of sadness, frustration, or discomfort. That’s why it’s important to create a supportive space where everyone feels comfortable and to keep an eye on how each young person is coping. If you have a concern about a young person, always follow the Safeguarding Code of Conduct (Yellow Card) and report it to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.
  • Make sure you have a pen and paper, or another way to take notes.

Running this activity

  1. Gather everyone together and tell them that today they’ll be thinking about what it means to help someone. That could be our friends, families or people in our community. When we help others we make the world a kinder place! 
  2. Show everyone the “Helper Hat” and explain that whoever wears the hat is the thinker and problem solver for each scenario.  
  3. Give the hat to the first young person. 
  4. Read out a statement or scenario. You can help explain it if needed. 
    1. A friend drops their crayons all over the floor.
    2. Someone new joins your group and doesn’t know anyone yet.
    3. Your friend looks sad and quiet today.
    4. You notice someone dropped rubbish on the playground.
    5. Two friends both want the same toy or game.
    6. A younger sibling is scared to join in.
    7. Someone calls your friend a mean name and it makes your friend upset.
    8. Your friend wants to play a different game than you do. 
  5. Ask the young person to decide: 
    • What could they do in this situation? 
    • How would it make the other person feel? 
    • How would it make them (the helper) feel? 
  6. Repeat the process, giving each young person a turn with the hat. Encourage two or three helpful ideas per scenario before moving on. 
  7. After each scenario, you could ask the group whether anyone would do the same or do anything differently. You could give out a sticker or token for every “helpful” suggestion.
  8. Try to note down which scenarios the young people found easiest to answer or most relatable (easiest to understand and connect with), and what kind of “help” they describe. 
  9. Once all the scenarios have been used, ask the group how they found it. Did they learn anything about being a helper? How did helping others make them feel? Is there anything they can do in their daily lives to be helpers? 

Reflection

This activity was all about noticing ways you can help others and thinking about how your actions can make a difference. The Helper Hat encourages you to see when someone might need support, understand what helping looks like in different situations, and reflect on how it feels to give and receive help.

By asking yourself “What could I do to help?” and “How would this make the other person feel?”, you practise empathy, responsibility, and understanding how others feel. Think about your choices during the activity. What ideas for helping were easy for you? What was tricky? Did anything surprise you about what your friends suggested? How did it feel to think of a helpful action, and how do you think it would feel for the person being helped?

Talking about the scenarios and sharing ideas helps you see different opinions, and using the hat, role-playing, or drawing your ideas, lets you show your thoughts in your own way. By thinking about helping others, you can notice small ways to be kind and supportive every day, which can make your friendships, teamwork, and community stronger. 

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.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

  • To make this activity easier, you could read the scenarios to the group and model a helpful response, before the young person takes their turn. This helps them understand what is expected and gives them a clear example to follow. You could also limit the number of scenarios or give extra time for thinking about each one, providing prompts or hints if needed.
  • To make this activity more challenging, you could ask young people to name what they value in a friendship before or during the activity. This encourages them to think more deeply about relationships and the qualities that make a friend kind and supportive. You could also ask them to suggest their own scenarios where a helper might be needed, helping them apply their understanding to real-life situations and to consider multiple perspectives. 
  • This activity can be adapted to suit different needs and abilities. Always face the young people so they can see your expressions and gestures. Speak slowly, clearly, and at a steady pace, repeating instructions or scenarios as needed, and checking that everyone has understood before moving on.
  • Use simple, concrete language and visual cues, such as pointing to the Helper Hat, showing the scenario card, or using gestures to reinforce meaning. Pause regularly to give children time to process information, and offer gentle prompts or clarifications if someone seems unsure. Encourage children to ask for help or clarification, and reassure them that it’s okay to repeat ideas or try again.
  • Young people who find it difficult to act or respond under pressure can draw their solutions instead of role-playing them. They can also work in pairs or small groups to discuss ideas before sharing, reducing anxiety and building confidence. Extra time can be given for thinking about each scenario, and visual prompts such as pictures, tokens, or stickers can help children express their ideas. Some may prefer to point to or write down their response rather than speak aloud.
  • Maintain a supportive and calm environment, emphasising that there are no wrong answers and that everyone can respond in the way that feels most comfortable. Encourage positive reinforcement and allow children to take turns at their own pace, checking in individually if needed.
  • By using these approaches, all young people can engage confidently, feel included, and have the opportunity to explore what it means to be a helper in a way that suits their needs. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.