Welcoming Cubs and moving on

• It can help to plan ahead and welcome new Cubs in small groups so they’re not the only new face in the room.  The flexibility in the age ranges is there to support this - Beavers can move up between ages 7½ and 8½. 
• The Cub logbook, available from Scout Store, is a useful tool to help young people feel connected and comfortable with their new Pack. It explains who Cubs are and what they do, and has space to add info about their Pack.  
• Consider arranging to meet the new Cubs with their parents or carers before the meeting to introduce yourself and tell them the plan for their first meeting. Explaining who Cubs are can help new members feel at ease.
• Play a quick game or two to help new Cubs forget their nerves and meet their new friends.
• Get Cubs involved in supporting new members. This is a great task for older Cubs or Sixers, and helps then towards their Team Leader Challenge Award too. 
• Some new members might benefit from visual stories to help them understand what Cubs is and what they will be getting up to.
• Support Cubs through their Membership Award as they settle into the Pack.

• Plan ahead to make sure that young people move at the right time for them. Cubs can move up to Scouts anytime between age 10 and 11. 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 here as well as further practical information on our
  inclusion and diversity pages.
  
• Regularly link up with the Scout 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.
• Spend some time chatting with Cubs about moving up. What do they think will be different about Scouts? What will stay the same?   
• Remind Cubs of former members who have since moved on to Scouts, 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 Cubs have learned during their time with you, and to help them process the change.

‘We have a conversation with the young person’s parents or carers to let them know we’re running online. We then post out a copy of the Beaver logbook before a special online meeting for the new young people, their parents or carers, and our main leaders. We chat about what we get up to, introduce our leader names, complete the first few pages of the logbook together, and talk about how things work more generally. We might also run a quick game or quiz.’

1st Barnham Scout Group

‘Our moving up ceremony involves the young person walking in front of their screen from one side to the other and waving. We all wave and say goodbye. At the Cub meeting, the new Cub hides behind their jumper or a towel while everyone waves hello, then they emerge wearing their Cub uniform.’

North Leeds Beaver Colony and Cub Pack