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Managing your Group's waiting list

Save time and keep on top of your Group's waiting list with some advice and top tips

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Wouldn’t it be great if everyone could join?

There are over 100,000 young people on Scouts waiting lists across the UK.

If you can stay on top of your waiting list, you can save time, welcome more young people into Scouts, and keep a great reputation in the community, even when someone can't join right away.

So, someone wants to join but you don't have space. What's next?

Step 1 - Gather details

Ask for more details and confirm that you'll add them to the waiting list.

You'll want to know their child's name and date of birth, their name and contact details, and their postcode, so you can give contact details for other Groups local to them.

Let them know a rough idea of when there might be a space.

Be clear that when a space is available they will need to respond to you promptly, otherwise it will be passed to someone else.

Use our example email to invite someone to your waiting list

Step 2 - Add them to the list

You can use online tools, forms or spreadsheets, whatever works for you to manage your waiting list, so long as you can easily store and view their details, keep on top of the admin and contact their adult.

Sort and add filters to your list to work out which section everyone is waiting for so you can offer the right person the next space. For example, you might want to sort the list so that those who have been on the list the longest appear at the top and add a filter to show only those for each section.

Create your list using our template

Step 3 - Keep in contact

While someone is on the list contact them to check in. That could be on a half-termly or termly basis, whatever works for you.

If they've found a different Group or club to go to, they might not tell you, so send them a message to see if they still need their space and to give an update on timescales.

You can also share details of other Groups that have space, or point them in the direction of the District Support Team, who could help.

Contact them regularly using this email

Step 4 - Get them in!

When a place comes up, head to the top of your list to see who is next and offer them the place.

Be clear that they need to get back to you or you'll offer the space to someone else.

Ask for more details like emergency contacts, and medical and additional needs.

Invite them to their first meeting, explain more about what they need to bring, add them to your youth management system and let all the volunteers in that section know!

Check in with them after their first session to see how it went and if they want to come back, and go from there.

Offer them a place with our joining email example!
Who gets the next place?

Prioritising young people based on certain criteria is possible, provided it’s a fair way to support those people.

You can take positive action to provide support to potential members who are under-represented because they share that criteria, and it puts them at a disadvantage. But bear in mind that the support needs to be balanced against the potential disadvantage to those who don’t share the criteria.

Instead of letting people jump waiting lists, use other initiatives, for example:

  • To become more representative, try changing your advertising to bring more young people of all backgrounds onto your waiting list
  • Consider what additional support and outreach you can provide to help young people who are underrepresented and share a disadvantage, for example how you manage and promote your waiting lists
  • If you're asking their adults to volunteer try to make sure that if they do, you accept others from the list who don't have an adult who can volunteer, as a result

If you're going to set criteria for prioritising young people, you need to be able to justify it and make sure there isn't something you can do that is less discriminatory to others.

Not sure what to do? Take a look at the Equality Act 2010 or get in touch with the Scouts Support Centre.

Top tips for managing your list

Managing a waiting list is a great task for someone who can't come every week but can sit in front of the telly on their laptop every now and then. You could even call them the Waiting List Coordinator if you wanted to!

A District waiting list can help spread the young people out, reduce admin time and avoid duplication of lists. See our advice on using a District-managed waiting list.

A great way of keeping those on your waiting list enjoying Scouts is to get them involved.

You might not have space at your regular meetings, but can you invite them to a camp, run a family day or have a Group BBQ?

If you can get them involved, you might bring in some new volunteers, or at the very least you'll be building on your great reputation in the community.

This small experience of Scouts could be the trigger they need to sign up to other adventures and give them skills for life they didn't have before.

It also means that when a place is available, they already know you and some of the other young people, which will make settling in a lot easier.

There may be adults of the young people on your waiting list who are willing to get stuck in. Could you find a space for their child if they can make a regular commitment?

Rather than just saying "No, we have no space, sorry." put them in touch with another Group

Having a big waiting list can feel like a great achievement; you've done an incredible job at growing Scouts and you should be proud of that!

Your next task is to help as many of those young people experience the skills for life that we offer and, if you don't have space, someone else will.

Have contact details handy for other Groups near you, even if they're in another District or County, so you can pass them on to those on your waiting list, or get in touch with your District Support Team for help.

They may not have realised there are others so close and, as we're one big Scout family, our main aim is to help find a space that's good for them.

For a waiting list to work well you need to have great communication. Set up an auto-reply to let people know that their email or message has been received, then make sure you get back to them quickly and regularly.