{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"type":"Image top","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWith the launch of Squirrels, Scouts\u2019 new programme for 4 and 5 year olds, we\u2019re helping young people gain skills for life where and when it matters most.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFollowing two years of pilots and pioneering work in Northern Ireland, Squirrel Dreys have opened across the UK. We\u2019re prioritising communities most affected by the pandemic, and supporting families and young people who\u2019ve fallen behind.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBy launching Squirrels, we made it our priority to recruit and welcome families and children from diverse socio-cultural communities, who may be new to Scouting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#ca1a10","title":"","image":"/media/14001/210510_squirrels_0363.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dadf67f18f3210","imageFocus":"","imageId":27030,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPromoting key skills when it matters \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThrough Squirrels, we strive to foster a supportive and nurturing environment for children aged 4\u0026amp;5. In these critical early years, vital connections in the brain are developed, and they will fundamentally shape these children\u2019s future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur programme\u2019s has been carefully designed to support informal learning and help 4\u20135-year-olds catch up. It\u2019s about promoting key skills like working together, communication, and language, as well as creativity and community awareness.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESquirrels get active, explore nature and have fun learning with friends, all while earning badges \u2013 just like other Scouts. New badges include Feel Good, Be Active, Explore Outdoors, Brilliant Builder and Exciting Experiments.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a positive, safe environment for young children to develop essential skills for life, starting them on a journey to become the active citizens and leaders of the future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBear Grylls, Chief Scout, has recognised the impact that Scouting can have on young children: \u2018I\u0027m so glad that younger children now have the chance to join our family of Scouts,\u2019 he said, \u2018and develop skills for life. We know from our pilot programme that 4\u20135-year-olds can really benefit from the activities that we offer. We believe that by offering opportunities at this early age, inspiring a sense of wonder, fun and curiosity, we can have a long-lasting, positive impact on young people\u2019s lives.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECalling for new volunteers\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo support the roll out of Squirrels, we\u2019re now calling for adults, including parents and carers to step forward as part of our\u00A0\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/september/squirrels/\u0022\u003E#GoodForYou\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u00A0campaign, designed to recruit over 5,000 new volunteers. We\u2019re showing adults how volunteering for Scouts not only helps young people, but is good for them too, supporting wellbeing and building skills for employment and education.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Squirrels\u2019, says Matt Hyde, Scouts\u2019 CEO, \u2018is part of our commitment to help young people, families and communities come back stronger from the pandemic. Our mission is to equip young people with skills for life.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018What we learn up to the age of 5 lays the building blocks for everything that follows. If you\u2019re 4, you\u2019ve spent a third of your life in lockdowns. That\u2019s why we\u2019re opening the first Squirrel Dreys in those communities that need it most.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018But to scale up this new programme, we need support from volunteers, partners, donors and MPs, to help us reach even more young people.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe believe Squirrels can be an opportunity to reach to families, adults, and children who have never engaged with Scouting. To support current leaders to explore their communities and reach out to new people, we have created the Furthering Reach toolkit, to support volunteers in recruiting new people.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGrowing in confidence \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECharmaine, the mother of Alexia, a 5-year-old in an early years\u2019 pilot group, shared the positive impact being in Scouts has had.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"\u2018Alexia has loved coming to the meetings. She\u2019s learnt so many skills, like confidence, independence, and learning to tidy up after herself. During lockdown, she set up a tent in the living room and camped there for two nights. The socialising has also helped her. She doesn\u2019t go to school with the children here, so it\u2019s good for her to meet other children.\u2019 \n\nShe agrees that parents and carers get actively involved too: \u2018If the children are making something then the parents can make something as well, so they know how to do similar activities at home. The leaders are very encouraging and very child focused. \n\nDuring lockdown they kept in touch and dropped off packs of activities for Alexia to do.  The best thing coming to Scouts is the skills they learn, the discipline it gives them, and the chance to get outside, play and interact with other children.\u2019","attribution":"Charmaine","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"\u2018I\u2019ve been to every single meeting and I love everything. I like being outside, going to the park and playing.\u2019","attribution":"Alexia","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Image top","cta":"Find an opportunity that\u0027s #GoodForYou","body":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019d like to volunteer, find our more, or support the roll out of Squirrels, we\u2019d love to hear from you. Join us as we start this exciting new journey, on the newest branch on Scouts\u2019 family tree.\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":"Find a volunteering opportunity","id":null,"url":"https://volunteeringopportunities.scouts.org.uk/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#ca1a10","title":"Get involved","image":"/media/13967/210510_squirrels_0049.jpg?rxy=0.5203426124197003,0.3333333333333333\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dae8b892f24b70","imageFocus":"","imageId":26996,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"09 September 2021","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Shop the Squirrels Scout Store Merchandise","url":"https://shop.scouts.org.uk/squirrels?utm_source=scouts.org\u0026utm_medium=referral\u0026utm_campaign=squirrels\u002Bnews\u002Bpage","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Find out more about Squirrels","url":"/squirrels/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Squirrels supporters","url":"/supporters/squirrels-supporters/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"How Portsmouth\u2019s reached new communities with Squirrel Scouts","url":"/news/2021/september/how-portsmouth-s-reached-new-communities-with-squirrel-scouts/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"How to start a Squirrel Drey","url":"/volunteers/running-your-section/running-a-squirrel-drey/how-to-start-a-squirrel-drey/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Volunteer today","url":null,"newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Information for parents","url":"/squirrels/","newWindow":true}],"id":76159,"nodeName":"Squirrels","title":"Announcing Squirrels for 4\u20135 year olds: inspiring a new generation with skills for life","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/14015/210510_squirrels_0621.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dadf67f1ca1830","caption":"Squirrels behind branches smiling in woods","type":"jpg","size":977820,"width":5388,"height":3592,"altText":"Two Squirrels, wearing red jumpers and red scarves, smile while surrounded by branches."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Announcing Squirrels for 4\u20135 year olds: inspiring a new generation with skills for life","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Our first new age range in Scouts for 35 years.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NjE1OSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/september/squirrels/"}