Skip to main content

Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

The future of the Wood Badge

Find out about the future of the Wood Badge and how completing it will become optional

Quick links

The Wood Badge is an international award dating back to 1919. It shows a volunteer's personal commitment to learning and development with Scouts.

In our new approach to learning, completing the award will be optional and volunteers can choose to work towards it as part of their ongoing development.

After research and talking to our members, we are re-developing what the award should look like today and plan to release a new Wood Badge framework in the future.  

Moving to the new Wood Badge framework

When the My Learning digital tool launches, the new Wood Badge framework won’t be available. However, we’ll continue to deliver the current Wood Badge, with some changes. 

For existing volunteers working towards an additional Wood Badge 

If you‘re in the middle of working towards a Wood Badge when the new digital tools go live:

  • If it’s in addition to Wood Badge(s) you already have, you won't be able to earn another. But the learning you've done towards it will be on your record in the new My Learning digital tool.  
  • If it’s your first Wood Badge, the learning you’ve had validated on Compass will be visible on the new learning tool. You can then continue to complete the modules you need to earn a Wood Badge.
  • If you've migrated across with all other training completed you'll need to complete the Creating Inclusions and Delivering a Great Programme or Leading Scout Volunteers learning (Depending on the type of Wood Badge you are working towards) and will then be automatically recommended for your Wood Badge

As part of our new approach to learning, there'll no longer be a system for multiple Wood Badges for each of your roles. But if you’ve already got more than one, they’ll carry across and show as awards on your record.

Two way to get a Wood Badge

Moving forwards you'll only be able to earn one Wood Badge. However, there will two ways of achieving this. One will be focused on helping those delivering our programme. The other will be focused on helping those in a role that involves leading or supporting volunteers.

Anyone can pursue either of these paths to a Wood Badge, and you'll no longer need a Personal Learning Plan developed with a Training Advisor.

You can more detail on the two routes to earning a Wood Badge below: 

The content for the Section Wood Badge will be a mixture of Growing Roots learning where relevant and continuing modules from the Adult Training Scheme:

*To gain the Section Wood Badge, you'll still need to do this learning even if you have an automatic sign-off of Growing Roots learning on joining the new digital system.  

The content for the Managers and Supporters Wood Badge will be a mixture of Growing Roots learning where relevant and continuing modules from the Adult Training Scheme:

*To gain the Managers and Supporters Wood Badge, you'll still need to do this learning even if you have an automatic sign-off of Growing Roots learning on joining the new digital system.

  

Growing Roots

Find out about the learning you have to do as a volunteer new to a role and what this will mean for current volunteers.

Find out more about Growing Roots