Supporting those with additional needs and neurodiversity

Scouts is designed to be flexible to support all members to take part, achieve and reach their full potential. When joining a Section, the young person is joining the Group and should be encouraged to progress through Scouts with their peers.

It's important to remember that the young person themselves and their parents/ carer are the experts on their individual needs.

Volunteers should be guided by them in terms of practically what is required, how they talk about their needs and their expectations for how others, both adults and youth members, will work in partnership with them in Scouts.

On these pages, you can find further information on making reasonable adjustments and working in partnership with parents and carers to identify young people's needs. You can find out how to plan support strategies within the Policy and Approach pages, too.

A positive and open relationship with parents and/or carers is vital to support inclusive Scouting. The more information the volunteer team have, the better equipped they are to support the full participation of young people with additional needs and neurodiversity. 

In this section, you can also find further information on the following topics which are particularly relevant to adult volunteers directly involved in delivering the Programme to young people: