{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Wendy Human, UK Commissioner Programme Assurance","standfirst":"","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/6942/programme-of-events-the-great-weekender.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":"Drawing to show Programme Of Events The Great Weekender","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve been UK Commissioner for Programme Assurance for over a year and I\u2019m still blown away by the energy, resourcefulness, and skill of our adult volunteers as they deliver the programme. It\u2019s one of the most important roles we have in Scouts. It\u2019s the reason Scouts exists. And it\u2019s ultimately what changes young people\u2019s lives (and our society) for the better.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen I took on this role, we didn\u2019t have the greatest story to tell about how we supported you to deliver a great programme. The 2018 Scout Experience Survey found only 18% of Section Leaders regularly used programme resources curated by UKHQ. Of those who used these resources at least \u2018rarely\u2019, only 10% were clear they would recommend the resourced to other Section Leaders; we had a Net Promoter Score (a measure of how likely someone is to recommend something) of -46. We knew we had to do better.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWe\u2019re doing our best\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETwo years on, I\u2019m proud of the progress we\u2019ve made. Our \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/\u0022\u003Eactivity finder\u003C/a\u003E now holds over 1,200 activities; you can filter by section, setting (including online and socially distanced), type of activity and outcomes for young people. It\u2019s currently used around 40,000 times a month and has a Net Promoter Score of \u002B36.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur \u003Ca href=\u0022/programme-planner/\u0022 title=\u0022Programme planner\u0022\u003Eprogramme planning tool\u003C/a\u003E should help you to plan a balanced programme, setting goals to help young people achieve specific Challenge Awards (and, ultimately, top awards) and develop a range of skills for life. It isn\u2019t used by as many people at the moment (around 500 a month), but users are happy \u2013 it has a Net Promoter Score of \u002B7.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019m really proud of the volunteers and staff who have been working so hard to provide the right activity support during the coronavirus pandemic. They\u2019ve created guidance on how to adapt existing activities and badges, organised The Great Indoors Weekender, and produced activities designed for online and socially distanced settings.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShowing our working\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGraeme Hamilton, our Deputy UK Commissioner, has been writing insightful weekly blogs \u2013 they\u2019ve inspired me to be more transparent about what HQ volunteers and staff are working on to support you with programme delivery. I\u2019ve noticed that when we \u2018show our working\u2019, we end up producing even better activities. We\u2019ve been trying this through reaching out for ideas, soft launches, and asking you what we should prioritise through various Facebook groups. I want to be more consistent in sharing what we\u2019re choosing to prioritise.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOver the past three weeks, our volunteers and staff have:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EProduced or adapted five activities that need very little (or no) equipment. \u003Cstrong\u003EWhy?\u003C/strong\u003E This was a result of feedback from Facebook (when England was still allowed to meet socially distanced) that Section Leaders needed more activities they could do outside when it was dark. The activities were: \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/moonlit-morse/\u0022\u003EMoonlit Morse\u003C/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/dancing-in-the-dark/\u0022\u003EDancing in the dark\u003C/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/light-painting\u0022\u003ELight painting\u003C/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/sporty-statues/\u0022\u003ESporty statues\u003C/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/giants-wizards-and-elves/\u0022\u003EGiants, wizards, and elves\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EAdapted eight activities to be delivered online. \u003Cstrong\u003EWhy?\u003C/strong\u003E To respond to England\u2019s change in readiness level and provide leaders with activities to help them continue with Scouts during lockdown. The activities were: The name game, Shaky sorbet, Astronaut pudding, A tale of three norths, One-minute professor, Dashing digits, Five ways to wellbeing chatterbox and Hands up, hands down.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWorked on content with a new partner to create innovative activities. We can\u2019t say much more about this right now \u2013 but it\u2019s exciting stuff. \u003Cstrong\u003EWhy?\u003C/strong\u003E This partnership will help leaders deliver badges and young people develop skills for life.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EThought about how we can help Beavers and Cubs develop financial skills without it feeling like school. \u003Cstrong\u003EWhy?\u003C/strong\u003E This partnership with HSBC helps young people understand finances, an essential skill for life.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EStarted work on how to explain COVID-19 mass testing to young people, which will impact every single one of our members in the coming months.\u003Cstrong\u003E Why?\u003C/strong\u003E This partnership with the Department for Health and Social Care will help young people to feel in control (and help others to feel the same) when mass testing is rolled out.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe next three weeks\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe work doesn\u2019t stop there. Over the next three weeks, HQ volunteers and staff will be producing two online sessions so Section Leaders can \u2018press play and go\u2019 on an activity video, with all the guidance they need to use it in their session. \u003Cstrong\u003EWhy?\u003C/strong\u003E Feedback suggests Section Leaders are tired of planning virtual sessions and delivering them online. It also suggests that videos may be the best way we can help leaders to continue supporting young people to maintain their peer networks and develop skills for life. Scouts Cymru have already delivered similar content with fantastic feedback.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re also working our socks off to create 25 more activities that will help young people get stuck in and stay involved. We\u2019re covering skills like stepping up to lead, thinking on your feet, and staying active, as well as understanding mass testing and building financial skills. \u003Cstrong\u003EWhy?\u003C/strong\u003E Because partners are supporting us to produce activities that are especially relevant to Scouts right now and will help young people develop the skills they need for their futures. Keep an eye on the activity finder to see when they\u2019re released.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore conversation\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe magic of Scouts happens locally. Our work isn\u2019t intended to replace what you already do so well or change what makes Scouts unique. In fact, 90% of what we produce is based on ideas from local Scouts. The team that work with me on this has Section Leaders involved throughout, and we test most of our resources with young people before we release them.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, we know that there are volunteers who have little or no experience of Scouts \u2013 and we want to make it simpler to get involved with Scouts for the first time. It\u2019s important that we make it as easy as possible to become a Section Leader.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI think everyone will benefit from us showing you our working and asking for your steer on priorities and content. Look out for future, shorter blogs that talk about what we\u2019ve been up to and what we plan to work on next.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you\u0027re interested in sharing your thoughts about our new programme resources, \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/40ec5b6e4bc84e41bf9dc2b657169df0\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Esign up to the programme community of interest\u003C/a\u003E and we\u0027ll be in touch when there\u0027s something you might like to feed back on.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/em\u003E\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"20 November 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48604,"nodeName":"It\u2019s why we\u2019re here","title":"It\u2019s why we\u2019re here","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/6942/programme-of-events-the-great-weekender.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1daa86b1cccc5c0","caption":"Programme Of Events The Great Weekender","type":"jpg","size":364919,"width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":"Drawing to show Programme Of Events The Great Weekender"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"It\u2019s why we\u2019re here","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"What HQ volunteers and staff are working on to support leaders with programme delivery.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODYwNCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/november/it-s-why-we-re-here/"}