Policy, Organisation and Rules

Intro.1. World Scouting

Intro.1.1. Origins
Robert Baden-Powell's vision led to the founding of Scouts, a global movement that is active throughout the United Kingdom and in many other countries.  

Scouts is a member organisation of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). 

Intro.2. Purpose of Scouts

Intro.2.1. Mission and impact
The purpose of Scouts is to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.

Intro.2.2. Programme and sections
Through participation in a programme based on the Scout method, both young people and adults develop valuable life skills. This programme is primarily delivered within sections:  

1. Squirrel Dreys
2. Beaver Colonies
3. Cub Packs
4. Scout Troops
5. Explorer Units
6. Scout Networks 

Intro.2.3. Teams in support of programme delivery 
Adults working within Groups, Districts and Counties (noting that Northern Ireland has no Counties), as well as in Country Headquarters and UK Headquarters, support the delivery and quality of programmes in each section. 

Intro.3. Scouting programme

Intro.3.1. Programme delivery
In every section, the Scouting programme is delivered by a volunteer Section Team, working in partnership with young people. This enables young people to: 

• participate in fun indoor and outdoor activities
• learn by doing
• engage in spiritual reflection
• take on responsibilities 

They make choices, undertake new and challenging activities, and live by the Scout Promise. 

Intro.3.2. Organisational structure
To support the delivery of programme, Scouts has a clear organisational structure:  

• Sections belong to Groups, which are part of Districts, which in turn form Counties (note: Northern Ireland has no Counties). 
• These local structures operate within broader regional and national frameworks, together they comprise the Federation of charities that together form the Scouts.
• Each Group, District, and County (again, noting Northern Ireland’s different structure) operates as a separate charity (even if not a charity in law) with its own Trustee Board, operating collectively within the Federation governed by our Royal Charter. 

Intro.4. About Policy, Organisation and Rules

Intro.4.1. Purpose of POR
The primary purpose of POR is to describe how Scouts is structured, organised, led, managed and governed.  

Intro.4.2. Supporting safe delivery of programme and growth of Scouts 
While POR sets out many Rules, it cannot cover every situation. Much relies on the judgement of responsible individuals at all levels. Everyone involved is expected to act in ways that support the safe delivery of the programme and the development and growth of Scouts. 

Intro.4.3. Scope of POR 
POR applies across all parts of The Scout Association including: 

• the United Kingdom
• the Channel Islands
• the Isle of Man
• British Scouting Overseas 
• the Overseas Territories. 

Some parts of POR are not yet fully followed within each of the five Overseas Territories. Each of the five Overseas Territories is working towards full compliance with POR, through a plan agreed with each of the Overseas Territories. 

Intro.4.4. Terminology used in POR

a. Definitions Chapter:
Certain key words and phrases have specific meanings in POR. These specific meanings are clearly defined in the Definitions Chapter of POR. The download (PDF) versions of POR have these key words and phrases highlighted throughout the text of POR.

b. Scouts:
The term Scouts has two distinct meanings.

1. it refers to the entire Federation (for example “my child has joined Scouts” applies to a young person joining any section from Squirrels to Explorers)
2. it refers specifically to the Scout section, whose members meet in a Troop. 

In POR, the meaning of Scouts is usually clear from the context. 

c. County:  
The term County is used throughout POR for simplicity, but its meaning varies by location. Depending on the context, the term County in POR should be read as:

• Area: in Wales and British Scouting Overseas 
• Bailiwick: for Guernsey  
• Territory: each of the five Overseas Territories 
• County: in England, noting that the Isle of Wight is an English County 
• Island: for Jersey and for the Isle of Man 
• Region: in Scotland (see the definition of Region for more detail)

There are no Counties in Northern Ireland. The role of County in Northern Ireland is fulfilled by the Northern Ireland Country team. Variations in POR for Northern Ireland are indicated by ^[NI]. 

The notation ^[NI] is used throughout POR and indicates that a specific point or rule either does not apply or has been amended in Northern Ireland. If clarification is needed, Northern Ireland volunteers and staff should consult their Regional Lead Volunteer or a member of the Scouts NI Country team. However, the principles of all POR policies and rules apply fully in Northern Ireland.

d) Charity:

Scouts is a Federation of charities. In POR we often refer to this simply as the Federation. The lead charity in the Federation is The Scout Association.  

Most, but not all, organisations within the Federation are charities in law.  There are two routes to being a charity in law:

1. Federation members who are registered with the relevant regulator (see POR 5a.1.1.2)
2. All excepted charities in England and Wales (see POR 5a.1.2.2).

Federation members that are not charities in law can occur anywhere but most commonly occur in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, BSO, Isle of Man, Jersey, each of the five Overseas Territories and Scotland.

Intro.4.5. POR structure

a. Content:
POR contains:

1. policies  
2. rules  
3. mandatory procedures and mandatory processes
4. information 
5. best practice advice   

In POR, each chapter, heading, and paragraph is numbered for reference (though these numbers may change between editions). 

b. Policies:
Policies are authoritative statements of principle that govern the work of Scouts.  

1. All policies of The Scout Association which apply to all Scout units must be included in POR – including at least the policy statement and the associated responsibilities. This ensures clarity, consistency, and accessibility throughout the organisation. 
2. Local policies may be developed by specific Scout units (including UK and Country Headquarters) but these must not conflict with POR, which contains the only official movement-wide Policies. They must be accessible to all members of the Scout unit. 
3. The definition of Policy in the POR Definitions Chapter includes an outline of a transition direction of travel to have all Policies consistently described in POR. 

c. Rules:
A Rule is a specific guideline, instruction, or principle that tells members (and, in some cases, non-members) what they must or should do in a given situation. 

1. All official rules that apply across the Federation must be recorded in POR. This supports consistency of programme delivery and management across the organisation.
2. Local rules are not permitted. Local procedures may be used to support operation of Scouts, provided they do not conflict with the rules (and the mandatory procedures) set out in POR, which is the sole source of official rules for Scouts.

d. Mandatory procedures or processes:

1. In addition to rules, POR also describes mandatory procedures and mandatory processes. These are not rules but do describe procedures or processes that must be followed in a specific way to ensure fairness and consistency – for example to suspend a person from membership.
2. All mandatory processes and mandatory procedures must be recorded in POR

e. Local decisions:
POR delegates authority to Counties (^[NI] Country), Districts, and Groups where appropriate, enabling local decision-making. Local decisions and procedures must not conflict with POR.

f. Legal compliance:
As part of complying with POR, members of Scouts are expected to comply with the law of the land.  POR does not override legal obligations.

g. Information:
POR also provides factual and contextual information which does not require specific action but supports understanding.

h. Flexibility:
The advice in POR should be followed as closely as possible, however there may be some situations where it is difficult to adhere strictly to every detail (for example constituting Group Scout Councils and Group Trustee Boards exactly as described in POR Chapters 5b, 5c and 5d).