{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"With early years pilots underway across England, Tim Kidd took a trip to 13th Southampton Sea Scout Group to explore how these trials may help to open up opportunities for us to welcome new adult volunteers to Scouts, and give four and five year olds the tools they need develop skills for life.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/4061/tim-early-years.jpg","width":3497,"height":2334,"altText":"Tim Kidd visiting an early years pilot","caption":"Tim Kidd visiting an early years pilot","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003ETim went along to the group\u2019s welcome session, where young people took part in engaging storytelling, a bird-feeder-crafting activity, a couple of games and a sing-along. The session ended with a closing ceremony, where Tim was able to present everyone with a certificate and stickers to celebrate how well they\u2019d done.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELater, he took time to chat to the leadership team about the pilot and ask how they thought it was going.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It was fascinating to see the pilots in action and talk to the leaders about the progress.\u2019 Tim said \u2018The children and volunteers were very enthusiastic, but we\u2019ve got to look at the results of the pilots.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECollectively, the pilots in England have led to 74 new volunteers joining us so far. That\u2019s 20 more than we\u2019d originally planned.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the ground at 13\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C/sup\u003E Southampton, they\u2019ve managed to recruit two leaders into the pilot \u2013 one of whom is completely new to Scouts \u2013 as well as two part-time helpers and a new Assistant Cub Section Leader.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThree additional adults have also become members of the Executive Committee, with two of these taking up gardening tasks to help keep the outdoor area fit for activities.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrankii Newbery, who supports groups taking part in early years pilots, considers what we\u2019ve learnt about volunteer recruitment so far.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The early years pilots have presented a great opportunity to get to know families more.\u2019 She says. \u2018For a lot of parents and carers, taking their children to a Scout meeting will be their first experience of leaving them outside of an educational or childcare setting, or with family and friends. Because they usually stay and chat, we\u2019ve been able to identify areas where they can lend a hand. As a result, we\u2019re seeing many parents take up tasks and even getting involved with roles outside of the pilots, because they\u2019ve had that little bit of extra communication and involvement with us.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E13\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C/sup\u003E Southampton has used a range of recruitment techniques and helped us test Scouts for four and five-year olds, which has benefited the whole group.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGroup Scout Leader Amanda has been supporting the leaders and youngsters: \u2018I\u2019ve seen a significant difference in everyone \u2013 they\u2019ve grown in confidence, developed skills and supported one another.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETim Kidd summarised: \u2018I was impressed with the quality of the programme and the level of interest from adults wanting to get involved. We\u2019re still exploring if this is right for Scouts, but what I\u2019ve seen is promising\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019d like to know more about the early years pilots, sign up for our next live webinars on Thursday 7 November and Thursday 5 December.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"15 October 2019","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48467,"nodeName":"How our early years pilots are helping to bring in new volunteers across the board","title":"How our early years pilots are helping to bring in new volunteers across the board","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/4061/tim-early-years.jpg?cc=0,0,0.00010602988757607332,0\u0026width=800\u0026height=534\u0026v=1d9becd32b3fd50","caption":"Tim Early Years","type":"jpg","size":832456,"width":3497,"height":2334,"altText":"Tim Kidd visiting an early years pilot"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"How our early years pilots are helping to bring in new volunteers across the board","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"With early years pilots underway across England, Tim Kidd took a trip to 13th Southampton Sea Scout Group","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODQ2NyJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2019/october/how-our-early-years-pilots-are-helping-to-bring-in-new-volunteers-across-the-board/"}