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Welcoming Beavers and moving on

Welcoming new Beavers and preparing to say goodbye to the older ones are both really important times for Scouts, so we’ve got advice and activities to help.

Advice for leaders

It’s a good idea for volunteers to meet regularly as it helps you to build relationships, organise joint activities, and plan young people’s move from one section to another.
Joint activities that you run together help members of both sections get to know each other and feel comfortable with others outside the section they’re currently in.
If a young person’s moving to a different area, you can point them towards the group finder. They can use this to get in touch with a group in their new area.
  • It can help to plan ahead and welcome new Beavers in small groups, so they’re not the only new face in the room. 
  • Send young people some information before their first session, including the names and possible pictures, of their new volunteers and young leaders.
  • A Beaver logbook, available from Scout Store, can help new Beavers feel connected and comfortable with their new Colony.
  • Inviting parents or carers to attend the first meeting with their new Beavers can help everyone to feel more comfortable.
  • Consider arranging to meet the new Beavers with their parents and carers before the meeting to introduce yourself and tell them the plan for their first meeting. Explaining who Beavers are can help new members feel at ease.
  • Play a quick game or two to help new Beavers forget their nerves and meet their new friends.
  • Get Beavers involved in supporting new members. This is a great task for older Beavers.
  • Some new members might benefit from visual stories to help them understand what Beavers is and what they will be getting up to.
  • Support Beavers through their Membership Award as they settle into the Colony.
  • Plan ahead to make sure that young people move at the right time for them. Beavers can move up to Cubs anytime between age 7½ and 8½. This core flexibility in the age ranges means that young people could move up with a small group of friends, which may help them feel more comfortable. 
  • Extra flexibility is sometimes needed to support young people with additional needs; find out more about section flexibility as well as further practical information on our inclusion and diversity pages.
  • Regularly link up with the Cub section so you can build relationships, plan joint activities, and share ideas.
  • Support young people to complete their Moving On Award, which involves spending three weeks with their potential new group while keeping up their regular routine. Doing so helps them make friends and get used to how things will work in their new section.
  • The Cubs activity log, available from Scout Store, is a useful tool to support young people joining Cubs. It has information about the section and space for them to write information about their new Pack. 
  • Spend some time chatting with Beavers about moving up. What do they think will be different about Cubs? What will stay the same?   
  • Remind Beavers of former members who have since moved on to Cubs, to reassure them familiar faces are waiting on the other side.
  • Consider having a moving on ceremony. You could use this as a time to celebrate all the skills Beavers have learned during their time with you, and to help them process the change.
  • You could send anyone moving on a Scouts card which you can buy online, or download for free.


Supporting activities

Welcoming new faces? Investing new Beavers into your Colony? Preparing to say goodbye? We’ve got an activity for that. You can find even more activities using our activity finder.

Investing a Beaver

Welcoming a new Beaver to the Colony (and the worldwide Scout family) is an exciting time, especially for the person making their Promise.

Ages: 6 to 8 | Takes: 15 minutes

Welcome a new Beaver

Moving on from Beavers to Cubs

A moving on (or swimming up) ceremony is an exciting chance to celebrate moving from a Beaver Colony to a Cub Pack.

Ages: 6 to 8 | Takes: 10 minutes

Moving on from Beavers

Packing up

Take the lead before you leave by teaching everyone a new game (or an old favourite).

Ages: 6 to 8 | Takes: 50 minutes

Play packing up

New tricks

You’ve learned a lot so far, so it’s time to pass it on and help others learn a skill.

Ages: 6 to 8 | Takes: 10 minutes

Teach someone a new trick

Best paw forward

Use your curious words to find out what it’s like to move up to Cubs.

Ages: 6 to 8 | Takes: 10 minutes

Put your best paw forward
Beavers Membership Award

New Beavers can work towards their Membership Award by going to meetings, getting to know other Beavers, and learning about their Colony.

Beavers Membership Award >
Beavers Moving On Award

By moving on to Cubs and going to some meetings, Beavers can earn one last badge: the Beavers Moving On Award. This can help support those who are getting ready to say goodbye to their Colony.

Beavers Moving On Award >