{"alias":"storyCaseStudy","byline":"","standfirst":"","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWith our new \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/squirrels/\u0022\u003ESquirrels\u003C/a\u003E section, we\u2019re reaching even more young people.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s not just our new members of four and five-year-olds we\u2019re reaching, either. Squirrels creates even more brilliant opportunities for \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/running-a-squirrel-drey/how-to-start-a-squirrel-drey/empowering-young-leaders/\u0022 title=\u0022Empowering Young Leaders\u0022\u003EYoung Leaders\u003C/a\u003E to join Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYoung Leaders play an important role in any section. They help run activities alongside our adult volunteers, and make sure everyone\u2019s safe and happy.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are 366 Young Leaders supporting Squirrels, making up 19% of all Squirrels volunteers. In \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/beavers/\u0022\u003EBeavers\u003C/a\u003E, 24% of the volunteers in each section are Young Leaders, so Squirrels is quickly catching up. \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe spoke to a few Young Leaders to find out why Squirrels is great from their perspectives.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17864/squirrels-23-jpg.jpg","width":2000,"height":1334,"altText":"Young leader reading a Squirrels story to young people","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELois, 16, a Young Leader at Squirrels in 25th Braid\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u2018I\u2019ve been in Scouts from Beavers through to Explorers, but I wanted to help with something different. Because Squirrels is so new, I thought there wouldn\u2019t be many people to help.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u2018I wanted to learn how to support young people, as it\u2019s not something you learn without experiencing it. I love the variety of things you can do and learn while helping Squirrels, and everyone is so happy and excited to be there.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I ran a session on first aid, which refreshed my knowledge and developed my skills, too. For instance, if someone skipped the queue and upset another person, I tried to help while making sure the rest of the group stayed safe and could continue, and I checked no one was left out.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Squirrels has helped me get better at problem-solving, communication, creativity, self-awareness, and working in a team \u2013 that\u2019s been important when coordinating who\u2019s doing what, when, and where.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I\u2019ve been contributing ideas at planning meetings and we\u2019re working towards lots of different badges, like the navigation and community helper badges. Each session has a storytelling element to introduce the topic. We always read a story at the start, which gets everyone settled and ready \u2013 it\u2019s part of our routine.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s so nice to help other young people who you don\u2019t meet at school. It\u2019s about seeing the real world. I\u2019d encourage anyone to join if they wanted to, it\u2019s really fun.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"It\u2019s great to be a Young Leader in Squirrels, because you get to do something for your community. It\u2019s about giving something back.","attribution":"","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/14459/squirrels-19-jpg.jpg","width":7360,"height":4912,"altText":"A group of Squirrels are playing on a patch of grass in front of a wall. They are playing a running came and all looking over to the right. They are all wearing red jumpers with blue neckers and have big smiles. There are four boys and three girls and they\u0027re all having lots of fun. One girl is even holding a rainbow umbrella!","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAce, 16, a Young Leader from 54th Portsmouth\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I used to be a Young Leader at Beavers, but I was told I could be great with Squirrels, too. I joined as a Squirrels Young Leader back in 2019, when we were testing to see if Scouts could work for a younger age group. I\u2019m really interested in child developmental psychology, so I thought it\u2019d help me further my knowledge in that area.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Squirrels is great for young children, as we\u2019re able to educate them at their prime developmental ages. We help them learn motor skills and vocal recall skills to give them a boost in school. If we educate young people more at a younger age, less issues will come up for them in the future. The social skills they develop are important, too.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"You see such diversity. People come together from different walks of life and backgrounds and form bonds. If they have any issues at home, they can get away, come to Squirrels, and be themselves.","attribution":"","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I\u2019m always the one who reads stories at the beginning of sessions. I think the children feel more comfortable with a younger face. Last week, we had a donation of Lego to help with their creative badges.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u2018The children did their Lego designs themselves in groups, with an adult supervising each group. I went round all the groups, and I helped them fill out their engineers manual with their ideas and designs.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Before I was a Young Leader, I was quite unconfident and bad at public speaking. Now, after going through Young Leader training and getting involved, I\u2019m much more confident and I\u2019m speaking publicly where I can.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I\u2019m not sure what I want to do in the future, but child development will be one of my choices for college. If I don\u2019t do that, I\u2019ll learn more in the background, as I\u2019ve always loved this topic.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17299/210510_squirrels_0654min.jpg","width":2000,"height":1334,"altText":"A female Scout volunteer is crouched down in the woodland with three Squirrel Scouts, one boy and two girls. They are looking at and holding leaves. One girl is showing a leaf to the leader, who is talking and pointing at part of the leaf.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMillie, 16, a Young Leader at Squirrels in 1st Callington\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I wasn\u2019t in Scouts when I was younger. My little brother started Squirrels and they were looking for Young Leaders, so I decided to try it out.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u2018I\u2019m currently home-schooled and I\u2019m deciding whether I want to work in a nursery, so going to Squirrels helps me talk to a younger age group and get used to how they think.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I like that it\u2019s hands-on, and we do practical things with them \u2013 things they\u2019ll need later in life. We made cupcakes a few weeks ago \u2013 it was quite messy, but very fun! We do lots of different activities, and I help to instruct the activities with mini groups. We\u2019re working towards lots of different badges.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I regret not doing the activities when I was younger, but it\u2019s fun helping them. I\u2019ll definitely stay with Squirrels, and maybe try out other sections, too.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"It\u2019s good that being a Young Leader in Squirrels helps both of our futures \u2013 mine, and the young people.","attribution":"","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EA massive thank you to all of the young leaders and adult volunteers running Squirrels \u2013 we think you\u2019re amazing. We know you\u2019re making a huge difference to the lives of little four and five-year-old Squirrels all over the country, helping them develop the skills they\u2019ll need as they go through life.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"Sign up to the list to find out more details","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re running Squirrels Young Leader events on 12 and 14 July, and we have exciting evenings planned.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ll share a brand new resource to help young leaders in their roles, support them in spreading the word of Scouts, and give them the chance to create a brand new activity.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ll also talk about what\u0027s next for Young Leaders if they\u2019re off to university, or embarking on another adventure in the New Year.\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":null,"id":null,"url":"https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-0KGeT3N9EqWt8YapC6clHbjfjJZ3iVPgbVuPJB0i6FURVZTT1M1RzhIQlVEVVlCRkRYRkxSTTBKUSQlQCN0PWcu","newWindow":false,"target":"_blank"},"colour":"#ca1a10","title":"If you\u2019re a Squirrel Young Leader, or know someone who is, this is for you","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"04 July 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":46653,"nodeName":"Young volunteers leading the way with Squirrels","title":"Young volunteers leading the way with Squirrels","type":"storyCaseStudy","image":{"url":"/media/17864/squirrels-23-jpg.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dadf67f8700f50","caption":"Young volunteer reading story to Squirrels outside","type":"jpg","size":446686,"width":2000,"height":1334,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Young volunteers leading the way with Squirrels","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Find out about the brilliant things Young Leaders have been up to with Squirrels. 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