Supporting people with additional needs

Disability inclusion at Scouts

At Scouts, we encourage all members to take part, achieve and reach their full potential. Our programme, badges and activities are designed to be flexible to reflect a person’s individual needs. 
 
It's important to remember that disabled people and people with long-term health conditions are the experts on their individual support needs. Disabled members, whether youth or adult, may be supported by parents and carers, as well as other support workers. 

Volunteers should be guided by disabled members and those who support them when discussing what support is needed. Always take the member’s lead on how they talk about their own needs and expectations for how others, both adults and youth members, will work in partnership with them at Scouts.

We want to make sure that, as far as possible, disabled members have the same access to our services and support as non-disabled members.

Social model of disability

Scouts uses the social model of disability. We believe that people are disabled by society, so it's the responsibility of organisations like Scouts to make changes to remove or reduce that disadvantage.  

We use the term ‘disabled people’ (identity-first language), rather than ‘people with disabilities’ (person-first language), because there’s growing agreement in the disability community about this being the preferred language. This term’s also in line with the social model of disability.

Agreeing adjustments

A positive, open and continuous conversation between volunteers, young people, and parents and carers is key to making Scouts safe and inclusive. The more information the volunteer team has, the better equipped they are to support the full participation of disabled members.  

Discover our guidance on agreeing adjustments.