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Get more young people involved

Without young people, there is no Scouts. Spread the skills for life and start new young people on their life changing Scouts journey.

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Numbers of young people in Scouts may fluctuate locally based off many different things, but there are steps you can take to try and increase your membership and help more people access the life-changing adventure we provide.

Step 1

Check your local demographic

What does your catchment look like and are there enough young people to sustain Scouts?

Use data from your nearest schools to work out how many young people are in the area.

You could email schools directly or head to Get Information About Schools to find what you need.

ONS Census Maps are really great to explore what your local area looks like. Are there enough young people? What is the ethnic make-up? Are there areas of high population that you've never tapped into?

Are there communities that are underrepresented by Scouts locally? Use the Furthering Reach Toolkit to help you find those who haven't been involved and invite them in.

 

 

Step 2

Look at your programme

A thriving programme that works towards badges, and is challenging, relevant and rewarding, will naturally bring young people through the door. The better the programme, the more they'll talk about it and the more their friends will want to join as well.

The Programme Development Toolkit gives you a chance to dive into your programme and see what's going well and what isn't.

After filling in the form, you'll get a personalised plan sent to you with ideas of what you can do to improve, including activities to try, webpages to go to and badges to include.

Everyone in Scouts should have the opportunity to achieve their top awards.

Have a look at your current young people - when was the last time someone achieved a top award?

Does your programme over the next few years give everyone the chance to achieve their top award?

You don't have to create a programme by yourself, from scratch! Check out the tools available for you to help plan an amazing programme:

 

 

Step 3

What other barriers are there?

They may be a number of reasons you don't know about that are stopping young people from joining your sections. If you can identify them, you can overcome them.

The best place to start is by asking the parents and carers of your current young people. Ask them:

How can we bring new young people into Scouts?

What might be stopping them?

Is there anything you can do to support us with this?

A common barrier to young people joining Scouts is a diary clash, so consider reviewing your section times and days.

Are there any other clubs at the same time that young people are going to?

Would parents/carers with children in multiple sections struggle to get them all where they need to be?

Could it be easier for young people to attend if it was during the day on a weekend? Every other week? Or online every now and then?

How easy is it for a young person to get to you?

Do what you can to make accessing your meeting place as easy as possible. Check out local bus routes to help support those without cars. If your meeting place is down a dark alley, consider getting lights to put out while you're meeting.

Don't rule out moving your meeting place if that's the main barrier, or maybe rotating between two or three venues to make getting to Scouts as easy as possible for local young people.

If costs are stopping young people from accessing Scouts, see what you can do to help.

Check the deprivation of the area to see if families may struggle with your fees.

Talk to your District or County to see if they have funds to help those who can't afford Scouts.

If you haven't already, set up a fund within your Group to support anyone who needs help.

 

 

Step 4

Bring in more young people

There are young people nearby, you have a great programme and you've broken down the barriers. Now you need to bring young people in!

Check out our resources and ideas below to help you spread the word of Scouts and grow your sections.

Bring a friend evening

A bring-a-friend evening is an easy way to boost numbers. Are your young people having fun? Do they tell their friends about it? Get them to invite them along one evening.
 
Run a bring-a-friend evening

Make the most of social media

Are you on social media? Are you visible to everyone? Are you making use of Instagram, Facebook and X? Regular posts that show the amazing things you are doing will help to promote Scouts.
 
Tips on using social media

Visit schools

Organising a visit to a local school is a brilliant way to tell more young people about the fun they could be having every week at Scouts. They’re bound to want to get involved.
 
Using schools to recruit young people

Open Events

Open events are a great way to showcase the Scouts. You can invite young people along to have a go at a range of exciting Scouts activities, such as cooking on campfires and making recycled rockets.

Run an open event

Taster sessions

Taster sessions build on open events you may have held. They're an opportunity for new young people to try out Scouts over a few weeks to see if it’s something they’d like to do regularly.
 
Try the activity finder page for ideas

Recruiting Explorers

Making connections with local schools and colleges is a good way to recruit Explorers. It’s also important to focus on making sure that existing Scouts are having a great experience. If your Scout programme is really strong, they’ll want to move up into Explorers.
 
Ideas for recruiting Explorers

Waiting Lists

Managing your waiting list in the best way can save you time, improve the perception of Scouts locally, and increase the number young people accessing Scouts.

Manage your waiting list

Managing joining enquiries

A joining enquiry is often the first interaction a young person and their adult have with Scouts, so we want to make sure it’s handled in a positive and efficient way and as easy as possible for our current volunteers. 

Top tips on managing joining enquires