Getting started with the new Explorer Programme

Aim: Help Explorers understand what’s changing and give them a say from the start.

Begin your session by running through the 'Discover the New Explorer Programme' for young people. Look at the Activity badges and Challenge Awards and discuss how they have changed and their inital reactions.

You can then run the activity 'Introducing the New Explorer Programme' or run through the directions below.

Start off by getting some badges in front of your young people.This works best if it’s visual, printed sheets, screenshots, or even just writing options up on a board.

Ask them to rank badges from most interesting to least. Then get them to pick out specific requirements they actually like the look of. This usually gets people talking pretty quickly.
Once they’ve had a look, keep that conversation going:

• What stands out?
• What sounds fun?
• What would you actually want to do on a Tuesday night?

Next, split them into small groups and give each group a badge. Ask them to take one requirement and change it. Make it better, make it more realistic, or just make it something they’d actually want to do.

You’ll start to see the shift here, they’ll realise they’re allowed to shape things.

After that, bring in the Chef badge. Let them help decide what meal they want to cook over the next few weeks. Keep it realistic, but let it be their choice. If they pick something ambitious, you can always help scale it. You can find loads of suitable recipies on the Activity Finder.

Finish the session with a short Challenge Award discussion. Don’t over-explain it. Just ask simple questions like:

• What does “adventure” mean to you?
• What about “community” or “leadership”?

Put them into small groups, give each group one theme, and ask what that could actually look like in real life. Then bring it back together and ask how any of those ideas could link to the badges they’ve just looked at.

You’re not trying to communicate everything here. You’re just opening the door.

Aim: Build basic cooking confidence.

Cook the meal they chose in Week 1.

Keep it simple: something like a pasta dish, stew, or curry.

Let them take the lead where you can. You’ll probably need to guide things, but try not to jump in too quickly. Give them space to figure things out.

Make sure the basics are covered:

• Hygiene
• Knife safety
• Following a plan

This week is about getting familiar and building confidence.

Link to Experience Principles:

• Discover – learning about ingredients or techniques
• Create – producing a meal

Aim: Get them adapting and thinking.

Now cook the same meal again, but in a different setting. That could be outside on a stove, a Trangia, or even a campfire if that’s realistic for you.

This is where it gets interesting. The meal’s the same, but everything else changes.

Afterwards, take a bit of time to talk it through.
Reflect on the following:

• What was harder?
• What did you have to change?
• What worked better than expected?
• How does this link to Scouting?
• How does this link to what you might do in the future?

Don’t rush this bit. This is where a lot of the learning sits.

Link to Experience Principles:

• Solve – adapting to a new environment
• Experience – trying something new

Aim: Think a bit wider.

This week is less about cooking and more about understanding the bigger picture.

Run an activity around food waste or food production. The Scouts “Food for Thought” activity works well, but anything that gets them thinking and talking is fine.

You don’t need to lecture. Keep it discussion-based:

• How much food do we waste?
• Why does it matter?
• What could we do differently next week?

If it fits, you can start thinking about how they might reduce waste in their final cook.

Link to Experience Principles:

• Discover – understanding issues
• Mobilise – thinking about action

Aim: Get them planning and working as a team.

Set up a “Ready Steady Cook” style challenge.

Split them into small teams and give each team a £5 budget. Using a supermarket app, they need to plan a three-course meal.
They should:

• Decide on their menu
• Create a shopping list
• Find recipes if they need them
• Agree roles within the team

Let them take ownership of this. Some teams will be organised, some won’t, that’s all part of it.

Link to Experience Principles:

• Create – designing a menu
• Mobilise – working as a team

Aim: Bring everything together.

This is the final session where they cook their meals.
You can add some structure if you want:

• Give them a time limit
• Have a simple judging system (leaders or peer vote)
• Create a few categories like taste, creativity or teamwork

Once everything’s done, take a bit of time to reflect as a group:

• What went well?
• What would you change?
• What have you learned over the last few weeks?

Make this feel like a proper finish. They’ve worked towards something, recognise that.

Link to Experience Principles:

Experiance – Cooking your menu
Reflection – Looking back at how you did