Programme Team Accreditations
Understand which programme tasks are shared through accreditations
Accreditation descriptions
Programme Teams support every section to run a safe, enjoyable and high-quality programme. Many tasks for Programme Teams can be organised flexibly, based on our volunteers’ skills, interests, and availability.
For other Programme activities, a volunteer needs permission to do specific tasks or take on certain responsibilities. For example, tasks around adventurous activities or nights away.
Programme Team Leaders and Lead Volunteers make sure volunteers with the right skills and experience take on these responsibilities by giving them accreditations. These are outlined in the descriptions below.
District / County Accreditations
Purpose:
Our Nights Away Assessors make sure adult volunteers have the right skills and experience to get a Nights Away Permit. They make recommendations to the Permit Approver or Lead Volunteer, who grants the permit.
On scouts.org.uk these will be recorded as 'Assessor - Nights Away (Indoor / Campsite / Greenfield / Lightweight Expedition)'.
Tasks:
- Use the Assessment Checklist to assess those adult volunteers who’d like a Nights Away Permit.
- Support volunteers who haven’t participated in nights away activities before. Help them with the planning, delivery, and evaluation of nights away events.
- Use the Assessment Guide to decide which level of permit an adult volunteer should have, passing these recommendations to the Permit Approver or Lead Volunteer.
- Help volunteers renew their permits when they expire (usually a maximum of five years from date of issue).
- Keep up to date with Scouts’ policies and remain active in the community.
- Support learning about nights away in the District and County.
Who can have this accreditation:
- Any full member (except anyone whose only role is Trustee, and any roles that do not have a criminal record check).
- Holders of a Nights Away Permit - the level of the permit (Indoor, Campsite, Greenfield, Lightweight Expedition) will determine the highest level of assessor accreditation that can be given.
- Those with experience of running residential and camping experiences.
- Someone with the ability to assess adult volunteers against the required core skills in the Nights Away Assessment Checklist.
What learning is needed:
- Module 25 Assessing Learning – Nights Away Advisor (in the future this will become Nights Away Assessor learning).
- To have attended at least one day of Nights Away Assessor (previously Advisor) update workshops within the last five years. This is the minimum rather than the target.
Who can give or remove this accreditation:
- District / County (or equivalent) Programme Team Leaders
- District / County (or equivalent) Lead Volunteers
County Accreditations
Purpose:
Our Adventurous Activity Assessors make sure volunteers have the skills, experience, and qualifications needed to safely lead an adventurous activity for young people in Scouts.
Assessors can be specialists in certain activities. For example, a paddleboarding Adventurous Activity Assessor can judge if a volunteer has the abilities needed to safely conduct paddleboarding activities for young people in Scouts.
An example of how this accreditation will be shown on scouts.org.uk is 'Assessor - Stand Up Paddleboarding (Sea B2+).'
Tasks:
Organise assessments
- Work alongside the Manager of the Activity Permit Scheme (MAPS) to organise and promote permit assessment courses.
- Respond to volunteers who’ve requested assessments and help organise relevant assessment opportunities.
Assess applicants
- Offer support to volunteers to understand their abilities before issuing a permit - Adventurous Activity Assessors can only assess activities they have an accreditation for.
- Give feedback to volunteers and support their development.
- Make recommendations to the County / District Permit Approver once an assessment is complete. The Permit Approver (always a different person) or Lead Volunteer then approves the Adventurous Activity Permit.
Review assessments
- Share and review previous assessments with other assessors to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
- Shadow other assessors.
- Work with and learn from other assessors to improve the scheme across the UK.
Who can have this accreditation:
Any full member (except anyone whose only role is Trustee, and any roles that do not have a criminal record check).
What learning is needed:
- Module 25 Assessing Learning – Adventurous Activities. (In the future this will become Adventurous Activity Assessor Accreditation Learning).
- A relevant National Governing Body qualification and meet the currency requirements (as outlined in the County Assessor Qualifications table) to make sure the person with the accreditation has the correct technical knowledge.
- Attend minimum two days of continued personal development in the last five years (between appointment reviews). This includes at least one day of technical learning relating to the activity, and at least one day of internal learning on assessing skills.
- Ongoing safeguarding and safety learning.
Who can give or remove this accreditation:
- County (or equivalent) / Region / Nation / UKHQ Programme Team Leaders
- County (or equivalent) / Region / Nation / UKHQ Lead Volunteers
- Manager of the Activity Permit Scheme (MAPS)
Purpose:
The King’s Scout Award Parcel Recipients receive parcels from UKHQ containing King’s Scout Awards for their location.
Tasks:
- Receive the King’s Scout Award parcels, and check the contents are correct.
- Let UKHQ know if there’s anything incorrect or missing from the parcel.
- Let the relevant Lead Volunteer know when the parcel arrives and what awards it contains.
- Communicate with the Lead Volunteer to make sure the King's Scout Award items (badges and certificates) are presented to the award recipients:
- In good time
- At a suitable occasion
- Following the relevant local procedure
Who can have this accreditation:
These tasks will be done by the County (or equivalent) Programme Team Leader as default. They can also be shared as an accreditation with any full member.
It's important to only have one King’s Scout Award Parcel Recipient per location, so UKHQ know where to send the King's Scout Award parcel to.
What learning is needed:
None
Who can give or remove this accreditation:
- County (or equivalent) Programme Team Leaders
- County (or equivalent) Lead Volunteers
Purpose:
Our Managers of the Activity Permit Scheme oversee the activity permit scheme and supports Adventurous Activity Assessors in their County. This makes sure every volunteer in Scouts leading adventurous activities for young people has the skills, experience, and personal suitability to do so.
Tasks:
Support Adventurous Activity Assessors
- Identify potential Adventurous Activity Assessors, carry out checks and, where suitable, give them accreditations.
- Support assessors' learning through their induction. Work with the Volunteering Development team in matching each candidate with a Learning Assessor.
- Make sure there are Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for all Adventurous Activity Assessors.
- Provide opportunities for Adventurous Activity Assessors to shadow experienced assessors, in order to learn from their previous assessments.
- Monitor Adventurous Activity Assessors, including their qualifications and up to take experience, in order to make sure they continue to meet the requirements set out in the Adventurous Activity Assessor Prerequisites.
- Carry out reviews of Adventurous Activity Assessors when their accreditations are due to expire.
- Promote funding opportunities to Adventurous Activity Assessors.
Oversee the activity permit scheme
- Manage the availability of permit assessments within the County.
- Work with MAPS from other Counties to co-ordinate support and opportunities.
- Support those applying for activity permits in finding the required opportunities.
- Support County and District Lead Volunteers in their roles within the activity permit scheme.
- By the end of each January, carry out an annual moderation of the provision provided by the County permit scheme.
Who can have this accreditation:
Any full member
What learning is needed:
Manager of the Activity Permit Scheme learning
Who can give or remove this accreditation:
- County (or equivalent) / Region / Nation / UKHQ Programme Team Leaders
- County (or equivalent) / Region / Nation / UKHQ Lead Volunteers
Purpose:
Our Unit Leaders oversee a team of young people before, during and after their attendance of international events such as World Scout Jamborees, Roverway, or World Scout Moots.
Tasks:
- Support the selection of young people for the event.
- Help young people with their fundraising so everyone can access these exciting opportunities.
- Run learning sessions for young people, preparing them for the event.
- Help event organisers with tasks needed to keep an international event running smoothly. These tasks will be shared out based on how the skills and experience of those involved fit with the immediate needs of event organisers.
- Check in on the welfare of the team, making sure they’re OK.
- Work together with other Unit Leaders to ensure the event is an amazing and memorable experience for young people attending.
Who can have this accreditation:
Any full member (except anyone whose only role is Trustee, and any roles that do not have a criminal record check)
What learning is needed:
Who can give or remove this accreditation:
- County (or equivalent) Programme Team Leaders
- County (or equivalent) Lead Volunteers
Purpose:
Our Visits Abroad Recommenders support adult volunteers through the (often complex) foreign visit process. They make sure volunteers have everything in place for a trip, assisting an application so it meets the criteria to be a valuable and safe experience for young people in Scouts.
Tasks:
- Provide advice to Team Leaders and support them in completing the 5-step Visits Abroad Process.
- Assess potential visits to help decide if they should go ahead as planned. If a trip is declined, recommenders offer support to adult volunteers encouraging them to reapply with an updated proposal.
- Make sure the relevant Visits Abroad Approver approves the visit.
- Once approved by the relevant Visits Abroad Approver, notify UKHQ about the trip.
- Inform Scouts in the host country that a group will be arriving and issue letters of introduction.
Who can have this accreditation:
These tasks can be done by Visits Abroad Approvers as default. Additionally, they can be shared as an accreditation with any full member.
What learning is needed:
- Read and understand the Visits Abroad Process
Who can give or remove this accreditation:
- County (or equivalent) / Region / Nation / UKHQ Programme Team Leaders
- County (or equivalent) / Region / Nation / UKHQ Lead Volunteers