Working in partnership with parents and carers

Plan an appropriate time and location for the conversation to take place. Choose a neutral and comfortable space, where you can talk without interruptions.  

The initial conversation should include the relevant volunteer (usually the Section Team Leader), parent or carer and young person (if appropriate).  

Before the meeting, it may be useful to research the type of additional need(s) the young person has. Remember that each young person will be different, so avoid making any assumptions, and take the lead from the young person, parent or carer in the language they use to describe the young person’s additional needs. 

Try to put the parent or carer at ease – this is not an interview, it’s the start of an ongoing partnership to support the young person. 

Always treat everyone with dignity and respect, make sure the conversation can take place privately. Make sure privacy and confidentiality is appropriate to the age of the young person and the situation.  

Be honest about your level of knowledge and skills. You can explain you’re keen to learn from them and their young person as experts on the young person's needs. Let the parents or carers know that volunteers should only provide care that they understand and feel competent and confident carrying out.

Be positive but realistic. Help them understand what to expect from Scouts. 

Explain to the parent or carer how you plan to store and share any information you record, and make sure they’re happy with this. 

You can start the conversation with some simple introductory questions, which will help you understand more about the young person.  

• How’re you hoping you or your young person will benefit from Scouts? 
• Do you or your young person know anyone already attending our group?

You could introduce Scouts and your Group or Section. Throughout the conversation, you can explain: 

• Scouts is run by adult volunteers.
• Scouts is all about supporting young people’s development through fun and adventure.
• Scouts is inclusive and we aim to support the full participation of all young people. There is a lot of flexibility within Scouts to meet individual needs.
• What the programme and activities are like – giving the parent or carer an insight into the programme and a sense of what a typical section meeting looks like will help them give you the most relevant information about the young person's needs.
• We aim to work closely with young people and their parents or carers to plan how to best support the young person.
• When a young person is due to move up to the next section, it's important that Leaders of both sections meet with parents or carers to discuss how to support the young person during the transition.
• Think about the resources available to you in your meeting place; consider how this would change if you were on a visit or Nights Away experience. 

You could also use this downloadable list of conversation starters and question tips and the individual support plan template to guide the conversation. 

Remember, this is just the start of an ongoing partnership with the parent or carer. You can discuss how to keep communication open between volunteers and parents or carers. For example, communication preferences and frequency.

You could ask if the parent or carer would like to arrange a pre-visit to the section or meeting place with the young person. You could also ask if they’d like to attend the first meeting with the young person and/or become part of the section volunteer team to support the young person directly in section meetings and at events on a regular basis. During the discussion, they may express an interest in being part of the wider volunteer team to support all young people in the section. This can be discussed further outside the discussions about the young person's support needs.

Find out the best contact details for the parent or carer during the meeting and explain who the parent or carer should contact if they have any questions. 

Agree when you’ll next meet to discuss how things are going.  

Be honest with the parent or carer – you could explain that there may be situations where the group doesn’t have the capacity or resources to meet the young person’s needs, in which case the District Lead Volunteer would try to find an alternative group. 

Remind the parent or carer of your obligations to make sure both the young person and the whole group are safe at all times. 

It’s good practice to share your notes with the parent or carer after the meeting, to make sure there is a mutual understanding. Communicate with the young person's parent or carer regularly. Check that the adjustments being made are still the most effective and supportive way of helping the young person.