District Lead Volunteer Induction
As a new District Lead Volunteer you want to hit the ground running and understand your responsibilities, so use our resources to give yourself the best start possible.
Welcome to your new role!
District Lead Volunteers are key to Scouts working well locally. We hope you’ll enjoy every minute and feel proud knowing that you’re creating opportunities for more young people and adults in your community.
What comes first?
Whatever your experience, there are key responsibilities you need to understand from day one.
These will be covered in more detail during your induction, but it’s important you’re clear on what they mean and what you're responsible for.
Reporting emergencies
Your volunteers should know what to do in an emergency, their Purple Card will help them with this.
Emergencies must be reported to you, as Lead Volunteer, so you need a clear way for volunteers to do this.
Set up a reporting method that works for you (like a form, email or phone call), and make sure everyone knows how and when to use it.
Safeguarding
The Yellow Card Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults says that all safeguarding concerns must be reported directly to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.
The UK HQ Safeguarding team works closely with District, County, Area and Region Lead Volunteers as part of the joint approach to handling concerns.
Do what you can to support your District while a safeguarding concern is being investigated, for example you could help your teams arrange cover or give advice for responding to concerns from parents.
Find out more in our guidance on Safeguarding procedures for Lead Volunteers or join a Safeguarding for Lead Volunteers webinar.
Join a safeguarding for Lead Volunteers webinarSafety
A key part of your role is making sure Scouts runs safely across your District.
This means ensuring volunteers understand their responsibilities, stay up to date with their learning, and follow safety procedures.
Share the safety pages with your team and attend the Safe Scouting webinars to understand your responsibilities.
Your key resources
What does a District look like?
Every District is different. It's your job to find out what works best for you and your District. You can have a look at the different local teams to help you work out who can go where and what everyone's doing.
You might have inherited a District with lots of volunteers taking on different tasks. If that's the case, use their skills to keep things running smoothly and provide a great handover if you're making changes to the teams.
Join our workshop "Building an Effective Team" to learn more.
Criminal record checks
If you or your volunteers need help completing a criminal record check, or if you want to know who needs one, take a look at our guidance for criminal record checks.
Managing issues
As a Lead Volunteer, you may need to help resolve issues that your team members bring to you. We have lots of guidance to help you overcome difficulties and deal with complaints. Check out Scouts' Complaints Policy and our guidance on constructive conversations.
Membership system support
For support with our membership system, learning system and volunteering opportunities tool check out the Digital Tool Guides.
Reviews
Holding regular and positive reviews can create a happy and effective team.
When a District Lead Volunteer is appointed, all Group Lead Volunteers and District roles will each be subject to a formal review within the first six months.
This will help you organise the District in the best way possible to keep it moving forwards.
Check out our guidance for reviews or join the workshop "The Review Process" to find out more.
Trustee Boards
District Trustee Boards play a vital role in the running of Scout Districts. Trustee Boards make decisions so that Scouts is run safely and legally so we can give young people the best quality experiences.
Read more about the District Trustee Board and how to recruit new Trustees.
You can also view join our governance support webinars.
Extra support
The best source of support is each other. You can:
- Create a network of other District Lead Volunteers locally
- Come to a District Lead Volunteer Support Day to connect with others
- Join our induction workshop series to talk to HQ and other new District Lead Volunteers
- Join the Manager and Trustees in Scouting Facebook page
Your induction package
You can get the ball rolling with your induction straight away. Some of it will be delivered locally by your Lead Volunteer, some by your National team and some will be self-discovery.
It’ll take around six months and there are four distinct elements to support you as you take on this new adventure.
You will have received an email the day after your new role was added online outlining the induction package in more detail, so check your inbox if you haven't spotted it yet!
Didn't receive that email or have any questions? Get in touch on [email protected]
Running things locally
We've put all the information you'll need on how to run local Scouts successfully in one place. Discover resources here to help run your team and complete your tasks.
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Check out the support availableFollowing rules and policy
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Find out more about our policiesDiversity and Inclusion
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Include everyoneGrowing Scouts
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