If young people are the heart of Scouting and volunteers are what make it happen, young leaders are the best of both! Young leaders give up their evenings to help younger Scouts develop and grow, whilst also growing themselves. Many Explorers will become young leaders either for their DofE; to learn skills to put on university, apprenticeship or job applications or because they had great young leaders they looked up to.

Being a young leader can help them to stand out in the future but it also shows them as motivated young people who have a passion for making a difference. It’s important not to forget that they also make a big commitment when volunteering and should always be included when recognising volunteers.

The aim of the Young Leader scheme is to give young people the opportunity to experience leadership and develop themselves whilst taking part in Scouting. It allows Explorers to support younger sections and work alongside experienced adults to learn about their own styles of teaching and planning.

They will often lead games – which can teach them about balancing risks with enjoyment – or run activities – which can show them a range of delivery methods and behaviour management. As they progress through the scheme they can take on more responsibility – maybe they could be in charge of running the points competition between lodges, sixes or patrols or they could plan a series of activities to help the young people complete a badge.

The main benefit for Explorers who are also Young Leaders is that they get to take part in programme and help deliver it – it’s the best of both worlds!