Scouts of a New Tomorrow
Introduction
This report is the basis for the opening keynote presentation by David Kitchen, District Commissioner, at the recent District Conference.
Retention
Some loss of members must, of course, be expected. Many of the reasons for leaving, such as instant entertainment, a wide choice of leisure-time activities, and pressures of education, are beyond the control of Scout Leaders, however good they may be.
Our investigation showed that many Groups could be proud of the number of members they retained. Nevertheless, we find that far too many members leave the Movement every year - perhaps as many as 20% of the total membership - which must be a challenge to every Scout Leader.
We believe that the following suggestions, if carefully carried out locally, will greatly reduce this loss.
Principal reasons for the loss of members
In our opinion, there are three principal reasons for the loss of members. They are:
the poor standard or lack of training in some of our Section Leaders,
the imperfect application of the Group system,
a lack of progress in each Section, primarily due to either unimaginative programmes or undue delay in completing badges.
Full use of the Group System
The Group system has been in operation for over 95 years and has proven successful in many very strong Groups. Yet, the evidence before us shows that it is not fully appreciated in many places.
We urge all members of The Scout Association to do everything in their power to build up the complete Group of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers, with the necessary complement of Leaders for each Section and with a Group Scout Leader at the head who can concentrate on the administration of the Group as a family unit without the distraction of running a Section.
The aim is that every young person entering the Scout Movement should find themselves in a family of Leaders, Scouts and supporters, in which they feel at home in a scout atmosphere and in which they will want to remain; to secure this atmosphere:
each Section should be interested in all the other sections of the Group,
each Section should feel that a vital part of its work is preparing its members for the Section above,
the older Sections of Explorer Scouts should take a lively and practical interest in the progress of the younger Sections and set them such an example as to make them want to continue their membership until they are old enough to become Explorer Scouts.
This bears very directly on the loss of members, for there is little incentive for a member to go up from one Section to another where the Leaders work in isolation from one another and show no evidence of a family spirit.
To bring home to the Scouts the essential unity of the Group, during each year, there should be a number of Group activities embracing all Sections, such as parent's evenings and going-up ceremonies.
The Group Scout Leader will be helped in attaining this result by the full use of the Group Leaders Meeting and the Group Executive Committee.
A Minimum Standard
The following minimum standards are suggested for the use of District Commissioners when assessing the efficiency of a Group in order to see where the stimulus is needed.
It is stressed that they are minimum standards, all of which should be achieved and not ideals to be aimed for. If a Group continues to fall short of these standards, the District Commissioner might have cause to consider whether it or one of its Sections should be closed or merged with another Group.
Numbers and Attendance To have as many members in the Scout Troop and Explorer Scout Unit combined as in the Cub Pack.
Membership Records To have a clear system of records showing full details of each youth member, including date of joining, attendance at meetings and camps, the subscriptions paid, and the badges awarded.
Programme
To have an assured and regular meeting place for meetings throughout the year.
To have a planned programme for each meeting and at least one weekend camp every year for the Troop.
To ensure that, on average, investiture occurs within three months of joining.
Group Leaders Meeting To ensure that this is alive and operating, with the Leaders of all Sections working as a team for the benefit of the Group as a whole and availing itself of any facilities provided by the District or County.
Group Committee To have this functioning with Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, and keeping proper accounts, records, and an inventory of Group property.
The Group Scout Leader
As we indicated in the above section, we regard a Group Scout Leader without other duties in Scouting as vital to the well-being of the Group, and it is disappointing to find that 1 in 4 Groups does not have one. We urge, therefore, that District Commissioners, Executive Committees and Group Leaders Meetings should accept, as a matter requiring immediate action on their part, the responsibility for filling all vacancies for Group Scout Leaders.
Whether or not the Group Scout Leader is technically accomplished in Scouting is not important, but it is essential that they are a good administrator and a leader of people, one who can use the particular gifts of all their team - whether leaders or supporters - for the good of the whole Group ... we cannot emphasise too greatly that the Group Scout Leaders the Movement needs in open or sponsored Groups should largely be found amongst the supporters and parents - many of whom will have these gifts of administration and this ability to lead an adult team - and not by taking able and experienced Section Leaders away from their work with youth members.
We would stress that many of the Group Scout Leaders we need can be found from the ranks of our supporters and parents - people often without previous Section Leader experience.
Even where it has not yet proved possible to find a Group Scout Leader who will have no other duties in the Group, we would point out that under P.O.R. 3.43.c, the District Commissioner should appoint an Acting Group Scout Leader; this should be the Section Leader in the Group best qualified for the role, but whoever is selected must understand quite clearly that they are responsible for those duties of administration that fall to the Group Scout Leader, but this places too heavy a burden on a volunteer who has a Section to run it should not continue for more than six months.
The Group Leaders Meeting
A lively Group Leaders Meeting significantly strengthens the unity of the Group, but we have found that many Groups do not meet. Group Leaders Meetings are an obligatory part of our structure, except where the Group consists of one Section, and District Commissioners are asked to ensure that this valuable piece of machinery is in good working order. Any isolation of Sections of a Group must be broken down.
Meetings should be at regular intervals with good notice so that all Leaders in the Group can attend. In a normal Group, the Leaders should meet at least six times a year.
There is no need for meetings to be formal and in uncomfortable surroundings. If they can be held in somebody's house, with a cup of tea, so much the better. A record of the proceedings should be kept, and the Group Scout Leader should see that decisions are promptly carried out. It would be a help if an Assistant Section Leader could act as recorder.
The business to be discussed will vary with each Group, but a few examples of matters which will be common to almost every Group are - a survey of continuity of programme from one Section another, arrangements for going-up, transfers of Scouts, preparations for Group events and matters which should be submitted to the Group Executive Committee.
The Group Executive Committee
Group Executive Committees are obligatory under Charity Law as the trustees of the Scout Group.
A strong Group Committee is a tower of strength to the Group Scout Leader and provides a body of enthusiastic supporters to take a great deal of responsibility off the shoulders of the Section Leaders, especially with financial matters. In addition, it allows using the services of many supporters and parents to strengthen the continuity of the Group as Leaders come and go and spread interest in the Group among a more extensive section of the community.
Occasional meetings, on a District basis, have been found valuable in enabling members to obtain a fuller realisation of Scouting and of the help that they can give.
One danger into which a Group Executive Committee may fall is for the membership to become static. Therefore, the Charity Commission recommends that positions such as Chair, Treasurer and Secretary be limited to 10 years.
Conclusion
Now that you have read the report, you will have seen how, from the findings of the investigation into the participation rates of scouting, we have been led into something like an overhaul of the basic features of Group organisation and the Scout method. You may well conclude, too, that apart from a few details, we have arrived at little that is novel. We should not wish to dispute that, for what has been borne upon us is that where we fall short of the best we might do, it is largely because we do not use with confidence, courage and breadth of mind the means which Scouting offers to gain our objective, which is better Scouting for more young people for a longer time.
We know that the conditions of today are not those of 50 years ago. There are more youth activities, and worthy ones, on offer for the choice of young people now than ever before. There have been revolutionary improvements in social conditions, especially materially, and there have been revolutionary advancements in education. Yet we have a society that seems to exhibit a wider indifference to religion and a greater number of broken homes than before. There is an appreciable hardcore of youngsters who appear to elude the basic benefits of education. We have to contend with the influence of easy and often worthless entertainment and what, for a teenager, is often too easy money. If the spectre of the worst poverty has been exorcised, the spectre of mass environmental destruction has arisen to create an even worse and more widespread sense of insecurity, and such insecurity is one of our youth's worst enemies.
All this may well mean that the demands upon a Scout Leader’s understanding, patience, example and flexibility of mind are greater than ever before. We acknowledge with gratitude that Scouters in their thousands are striving to rise to the height of the occasion, treating difficulties as opportunities to be seized. We remind you and ourselves that if there are many adverse forces, there are also many influences on our side.
Afterwards
The difficulties we see in scouting now are not that different from those we have seen in the past; you may have thought that the writing style in this report seemed old - you would be right.
This report is not new. It is an updated version of Scouts of Tomorrow, first published in 1956. Terminology and numbers have changed, but the basic principle of this report still stands the test of time.
We continue to believe that every young person entering the Scout Movement should find themselves in a family of Leaders, Scouts and supporters who feel at home in a scout atmosphere and in which they will want to remain. The Group System remains the best way to achieve this, and the full use of the system must be supported by every level of our organisation.
