Explorers Leadership Challenge Award
Explorers Leadership Challenge Award
The Leadership Challenge Award is all about being a great member of a team and knowing when and how to take the lead. Think about the different roles needed within a team, and how everyone can contribute and be at their best.
Whether it’s providing a programme of activities for a younger section, meeting and learning from leaders in your community, or completing projects whilst taking on several different roles within a team, use this Challenge Award to help you get there.
How to earn your badge:
Choose an appropriate challenge to be completed as a group of Explorers. It should fit the theme of this Challenge Award and should be achieved within 6 months of starting.
Use these six ‘Experience Principles’ to plan how you will complete your challenge. You should do something within each principle.
Create - Bring something into existence
Experience - Try something out
Discover - Learn something new
Mobilise - Bring others together
Solve - Fix a problem
Reflect - Know and care for yourself
Record your progress and achievements in whatever way you want to.
Share your evidence with your Leaders or fellow Explorers to demonstrate how you engaged with the Challenge Award theme through the six “Experience Principles”.
Tips
- When taking part in any activity, remember to let someone know-
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- Where you’re going.
- Who you’re with.
- What time you plan to start and finished.
- A plan for communicating your progress.
- Ask for help if you're visiting new places or trying new activities.
- When volunteering with unfamiliar teams, make sure you have a key contact person to liaise with and understand what to do if you feel unsafe or uncertain.
- When mobilising in social action locally, consider everyone's safety and delegate tasks accordingly, especially in unfamiliar areas or locations.
- Have a clear plan and risk assessment for your activities and check the area beforehand to confirm it is safe and appropriate for leading activities.
- Make sure that any external provider you use follows The Scouts' requirements by checking the Externally Led Activity guidance.
- All activities for this badge must be safely managed and have local approval.
- All activities must have a thorough risk assessment and make sure it is shared.
- Use the safety checklist and activity guidance to help you plan and risk assess the activity.
- Support Explorers to review and understand the Externally Led Activity guidance. External providers need to meet Scouts’ requirements.
- Achieve or work towards your Young Leader Belt
- Take on a leadership role in a local club, such as volunteering as a dance teacher
- Take part in a Youth Forum and lead on the implementation of some of the ideas (eg: in your Explorer group, take responsibility for running a few evenings that are agreed at your planning meeting)
- Help run a District or County event such as your local St George’s day – gather ideas and feedback from Young People in the local area, and then plan and deliver an activity as part of the event
- Learn about different leadership styles from leaders in your community and try some of them out in different places
- Find out about how highly successful people have got to where they are; you could find out about Bill Gates, Dwayne Fields, Greta Thunberg, or anyone else you find inspiring
- Reflect on your skillset and ability to work in a team. Think of ways you could continue to develop this and speak to your leaders or any other mentors about putting this into action for 3 months
- Help run a District or County event such as your local St George’s day – gather ideas and feedback from Young People in the local area, and then plan and deliver an activity as part of the event
June 2026.
Requirements can be adapted to suit each young persons abilities. See our guidance on flexibility.