The impact of Squirrels: exciting news of our success so far
Squirrels Scouts has been making waves across the organisation. Our new section is inspiring young people, supporting our amazing volunteers, and helping Scouts grow in exciting ways. Our latest research highlights some brilliant areas where we’re seeing progress.
The background
In 2018, we started Squirrel Scouts for 4- and 5-year-olds to reach new communities and support young people at a key stage of their development. Now, there are over 1,700 Dreys helping more than 25,000 young people.
Our new findings
In 2024, we launched a study to explore the impact of Squirrels on young people, volunteers and Scouts overall. So, what did we discover?
Impact on Scouts as a whole
Squirrel Scouts has made a real difference to how Scouts is organised and how it’s viewed:
- Community perception: Parents and carers now see Scouts as more fun, relevant, and inclusive than ever before.
- Promoting inclusivity: We’ve opened Squirrel Dreys in areas that are more deprived in the UK (24% in IMD 1-3 and 45% in IMD 1-5). There’s also a better gender split compared to other sections, with 30% girls included.
- Volunteer recruitment: Squirrels is now supported by 6,000+ volunteers – 46% who are new to Scouts.
- Shifting waiting lists: Squirrels have reduced some of the pressure on Beaver waiting list pressures (but Squirrels have also created their own high demand for places!)
It’s his favourite activity of the week, and he counts down the days until he can go again.
Parent of a Squirrel Scout, anonymous
Impact on young people
Squirrels has had a big impact on young people, with parents and carers seeing incredible differences:
- Confidence: 78% of parents and carers noticed that their child’s confidence had increased.
- Teamwork: 82% said they had better team-working skills.
- Trying new things: 87% said they were more likely to try new things.
Incredibly, 92% of parents and carers in our survey said their young person enjoyed Squirrels and 98% said they’d recommend Squirrels to others.
He had a speech and language delay. However, when he started Squirrels, this made him realise that there are other achievements beyond academics in school. This gave him confidence.
Parent of a Squirrel Scout, anonymous
Impact on volunteers
The introduction of Squirrels has brought a new wave of energy to our volunteer network too:
- Volunteer growth: 79% of District Lead Volunteers reported more volunteers joining.
- Parental engagement: 74% of District Lead Volunteers saw more parents and carers involved in Squirrels compared to other sections.
The added workload for existing leaders, especially Lead Volunteers, has been a challenge, but it’s clear that the positive impact on groups makes it worth it.
Our findings show that with the right support and capacity, the rewards are well worth the effort. However, it’s important to make sure you have enough capacity to take on the challenge!
Introducing Squirrels has made me even more excited about Scouts.
Group Scout Leader, anonymous
Want to open a Drey and join the fun?
Squirrels is more than just a new section – it's an opportunity for us to grow as an organisation, reach new communities and provide young people with more skills for life than ever before.
Let’s get started!