{"alias":"contentPage","byline":null,"standfirst":null,"content":{"layouts":[{"type":"sidebar","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EMeeting virtually became popular during 2020 with Scout groups across the country meeting online to take part in fun, adventurous activities building their Skills for Life, and the Early Years pilots were no different.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u0027ve put together \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities?setting=Online\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?setting=Online\u0022\u003Eonline activities and games \u003C/a\u003Efor an online Scout programme to help run virtual sessions that are fun and interactive for everyone to get involved with. Additional Beavers and Cubs videos are also suitable for young people aged four and five years old with some support from their adults at home to complete the activities.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe know that \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/taking-scouts-online/\u0022 title=\u0022Taking Scouts online\u0022\u003Edelivering online sessions\u003C/a\u003E \u003Cspan\u003Ecan be \u003C/span\u003Ehard work, so here are some of our top tips to help run a virtual programme. And remember, virtual sessions are a great opportunity to get older siblings and other family members involved to take part and will give the leaders a slightly easier meeting.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"accordion","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","showExpand":false,"items":[{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EYour meeting doesn\u0027t need to be an hour long. A 15-minute catch-up, or 30-minute meeting is long enough to touch base with everyone in the pilot and share what they have been doing since you last saw them.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Make it work for you"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EMake sure everyone is muted when they arrive in the meeting and unmute them to talk. They might not understand that while you are explaining instructions everyone can hear them humming or singing, make the most of the mute function.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Mute, mute, mute"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EJust because you\u0027re the leader doesn\u0027t mean you have to run every meeting. Encourage a parent or another leader to run an activity.\u00A0 They could share a skill or check out the \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/?name=press%20play%20and%20go\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?name=press%20play%20and%20go\u0022\u003EPress-play-and-go videos\u003C/a\u003E we have at Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cdiv\u003EEncourage parents to attend the sessions and get involved with the activities and games. This will give you an opportunity to as them to run an activity or game for you.\u003C/div\u003E","label":"Encourage everyone to get involved"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EMake the most of the tech-savvy younger generation and ask them to run a game or activity. There\u0027s lots of example games and activities that would be easy for a young leader to run.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Utilise your young leaders"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EYou don\u0027t need to run meetings every week. Ad hoc meetings to share some activities, games or events are just as beneficial. You can set activities using the \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022/activities/?https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities?setting=Online\u0026amp;setting=At%20home\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Activities\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities?setting=Online\u0026amp;setting=At%20home\u0022\u003Eactivities finder\u003C/a\u003E for everyone to do at home and share with the group.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Make it ad-hoc"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EMeeting online isn\u0027t always easy. Young people want to talk to each other and don\u0027t always understand that this is difficult. If it all falls apart don\u0027t worry, just seeing you and their friends in the group is sometimes just what they need.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Take a breath"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWhether you are a tech-whiz or digital-newbie there are plenty of ways that you can run fun meetings, activities and games online while it is unsafe to meet face to face.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExplore the \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/taking-scouts-online/digital-platforms-for-scouts/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Digital platforms for Scouts\u0022\u003Evarious platforms\u003C/a\u003E available to get your group meeting, download some \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022#\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Zoom backgrounds\u0022\u003Eexciting backgrounds\u003C/a\u003E to make your meetings more colourful or explore some of our exciting \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/?setting=Online\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?setting=Online\u0022\u003Eonline activities.\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome activities are great for running during online meetings. Make sure that if there are any resources required for the meeting that you send out instructions the week before.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are also lots of fantastic online games that can be played during meetings. Encouraging a parent to be on hand helps everyone to be involved.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Make use of resources"}]}]},{"items":[{"type":"Image top","cta":"Find out which platform to use","body":"\u003Cp\u003EHere are some popular platforms you might want to look at when deciding how to run your session online.\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":"Digital platforms for Scouts","id":null,"url":"/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/taking-scouts-online/digital-platforms-for-scouts/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#ca1a10","title":"Digital platforms for Scouts","image":"/media/14599/dsc_5701_mmp.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dadf67f92ecb70","imageFocus":"","imageId":28007,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESafe Scouting looks a bit different online. Although you are unlikely to be required to do first aid during the online meeting there are many safety issues that everyone needs to be aware of when joining a virtual call.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMake sure that you know how to keep yourself and the young people in your group safe while hosting online meetings.\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":"Staying safe online","id":null,"url":"/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/safeguarding-in-the-programme/scouting-online-safely/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#ffe627","title":"Staying safe online","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":"Top tips on running an interactive virtual meeting for Squirrels, with information on using resources, virtual backgrounds and games.","pageType":null,"location":null,"browserTitle":"","versionDate":"15 July 2023","reviewDate":"24/12/2020","redirectUrl":"","id":50249,"nodeName":"Running interactive virtual meetings for Squirrels","title":"Running interactive virtual meetings for Squirrels","type":"contentPage","image":{"url":"/media/13973/210510_squirrels_0073.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dae8b82be056c0","caption":"Volunteer smiling on the phone","type":"jpg","size":918481,"width":6720,"height":4480,"altText":"A volunteer wearing a red, white and blue scarf smiles while talking on the phone."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Running interactive virtual meetings for Squirrels","headerSubTitle":"","headerCta":"","headerCtaText":"","headerCtaLink":"","headerBackgroundColour":"ca1a10","showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Online Squirrels activities","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities?section=Early%20years%20pilots\u0026section=Squirrels\u0026setting=Online","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Press-play-and-go","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/?name=press%20play%20and%20go","newWindow":true}]},"subHeader":"Top tips on running an interactive virtual meeting for Squirrels, with information on using resources, virtual backgrounds and games.","silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDI0OSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/running-your-section/running-a-squirrel-drey/running-interactive-virtual-meetings-for-squirrels/"}