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Appendix C - Child protection scenarios

Appendix C - Child protection scenarios

  1. A Beaver Scout has had an accident and hasn’t made it to the toilet in time. They ask you for help getting changed. What would you do?
  2. You arrive at your section's meeting and the heating is broken. Your section leader asks you to run the session alone whilst they go with the engineer to have a look at what has happened. What would you do?
  3. A Beaver Scout has started being aggressive towards others. What would you do?
  4. A Scout is showing up late all the time. What would you do?
  5. A Scout is showing an unwillingness to play games. What would you do?
  6. A Cub Scout is behaving older than their age. What would you do?
  7. A Squirrel Scout is being very clingy with you. What would you do?
  8. A couple of Cubs are messing around, and an assistant section leader tries to make them do press-ups as a punishment for not listening. What would you do?
  9. A Scout finds you on social media and comments on your posts. What would you do?

Child protection scenarios - Points for discussion

  • Make sure the Beaver Scout is okay and knows that accidents happen.
  • Tell the section leader, who will explain that you're going to talk them through what they need to do through the door.
  • They will ensure another leader is close by so they can see or hear what is happening.
  • If they do need to help the Beaver Scout, they will make sure another leader is present and will minimise the amount of time helping them get dressed.
  • You should never be left alone with the section. The Section Leader should always be there.
  • Explain to the SL that you're not allowed to be left alone
  • Young people don’t just suddenly become aggressive or depressed. Something must have happened to bring up these feelings.
  • Having the young people draw up a code of conduct is a good way to set expectations and boundaries about behaviour, so they can decide what is nice or not nice.
  • You might want to talk to the young person to find out what has upset them and let your leaders know that something doesn’t feel right.
  • Leaders can talk to parents to find out if something has happened outside of Scouts.
  • Between the ages of 10 and 14, Scouts are starting to hit puberty. It can affect their behaviour and timekeeping. Ask yourself: what were you like when you were that age?
  • It might just be that the Scout in question is very busy. We all know people who are late to everything
  • It could also be a cause for concern. For example, maybe they don’t have anyone to take them to Scouts any more, maybe Scouts is clashing with another activity, or perhaps they are being bullied and have changed their routine to avoid someone.
  • It might help if you ask the Scout if there is a reason for being late.
  • Young people start to change physically and emotionally as they get closer to puberty. This means that they may not want to take part in activities. This could be because the activities are not varied, interesting or challenging enough for them.
  • It’s important that there is variety in the weekly programme so everyone a chance to do the things they like.
  • As an ESYL you can probably talk to a Scout to find out why they don’t want to join in, and you can then let the leaders know.
  • If they say that the game is ‘stupid’, ask them for some ideas. What would they like to do instead? -Scouts should be involved in programme planning and in setting their codes of conduct
  • It’s also possible that they are being bullied or that something else has happened to them.
  • There is a chance that they won’t want to tell you why they don’t want to join in.
  • If you think they are being bullied, you must report it to your leader.
  • Cubs are at an age where they are exploring their identities and starting to push the boundaries. Sometimes this involves them presenting in a way that seems more ‘grown up’, as they may want to be more like the older kids. This is especially true if they have older brothers or sisters.
  • Their behaviour may be a concern to you if they don’t interact as much with the younger members, or seem to talk like a parent.
  • It would also be a concern if they start swearing or behaving in a sexualised way.
  • There may be something else happening in their life that means they are copying adults or feeling like they need to be an adult. For example, being a young carer can cause a young person to take on a great deal of responsibility, and may impact their behaviour. You should any concerns to your leader. They can help you address the behaviour.
  • If the young person is just testing boundaries, it may be as simple as telling them it’s not appropriate to behave in this way.
  • Young people, especially Squirrels, can sometimes be very touchy and want to be close to adults.
  • This may be because they are in a new environment and feel scared, or it could be because they are being bullied.
  • Equally, it could be that they are like this with their parents at home, so think it's normal.
  • It’s important as ESYLs to help the young people you're working with to develop their social skills. You can help them to understand what is and isn’t appropriate, and that relationships with parents are different to relationships with other adults.
  • A simple way to manage clinginess is to make sure that the young person in question always has something to do.
  • If the clinginess is a change of behaviour, then you may be concerned and should report this. Something may have happened that they feel they need ‘protection’ from a leader.
  • Speak to the section leader of the section. It isn’t appropriate to ask young people to do press-ups as a punishment.
  • Asking young people to do a punishment of any kind is not acceptable.
  • If you do not feel comfortable talking to the section leader, speak to your Explorer Scout Leader
  • Make sure your social media channels are as private as possible to prevent the situation from happening.
  • Speak to the section leader and make them aware. Doing so ensures that you're being open and transparent.
  • Do not encourage the behaviour by replying online.
  • Ensure that you and the section leader set boundaries, and make it clear to the whole section what is and is not acceptable.
  • All online communication between adults and young people follows strict guidelines, that way we don’t place anyone at risk of harm. There must be no individual online communication between an adult and a young person. All online communication should be within a group, age appropriate and
    with more than one adult involved.