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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Youth Commissioners

Youth Commissioners support volunteers to make sure that young people shape their programme, influence decisions, and take the lead.

What do Youth Commissioners do?

Youth Commissioners are volunteers responsible for driving youth shaped Scouts in their local area. They’re aged between 18 and 25 when they’re appointed.

Youth Commissioners support volunteers to embed young people’s ideas and decisions into local Scouts. They play a key role in the leadership and management of their District, County, or Area.

District Youth Commissioners

District Youth Commissioners support volunteers in their District (including Section Leaders, Group Scout Leaders, Assistant District Commissioners, and District Explorer Scout Commissioners), helping them to understand the importance of being youth shaped and put it into practice.

District Youth Commissioners can:

  • Support volunteers to put the views and ideas of young people at the heart of their section’s programme.
  • Promote participation in the YouShape award and top awards.
  • Help to make sure that young people get regular opportunities to take the lead, including promoting peer leadership and the Young Leaders’ Scheme.
  • Inspire and motivate young people in the District and make sure they know about all the different opportunities available to them in Scouts, including what they can do when they turn 18.
  • Influence decisions that are made in the District as a member of the District Trustee Board, making sure that young people are at the heart of decisions.

Download an example role description for a District Youth Commissioner.

County Youth Commissioners

County Youth Commissioners support volunteers in their County (including District Teams, District Youth Commissioners, and Assistant County Commissioners) to make sure that the County’s activity is informed by young people’s ideas and feedback.

County Youth Commissioners can:

  • Help to make sure that the County programme is shaped by young people.
  • Create opportunities for young people to provide feedback (often through a County Youth Forum).
  • Promote the YouShape award and top awards.
  • Support the District Youth Commissioners in their County, bringing them together to support each other, share ideas, and work towards a shared vision.
  • Inspire and motivate young people in the County and make sure they know about all the different opportunities available to them in Scouts, including what they can do when they turn 18.
  • Influence decisions that are made in the County as a member of the County Trustee Board, making sure that young people are at the heart of decisions.

Download an example role description for a County Youth Commissioner.

UK Youth Lead team

The UK Youth Lead and team are here to help.

We’re delighted to announce our four newly appointed Deputy UK Youth Leads, who’ve been successful following a national search.

  • Ollie Faragher, Deputy UK Youth Lead (People) – Ollie will look to find new ways to embed youth shaped Scouting in local and national governance structures and support the projects relating to the volunteer experience.
  • Jake Vickery, Deputy UK Youth Lead (Programme) – Jake will help more young people achieve their YouShape Award, improve peer leadership and shine a spotlight on brilliant examples happening locally.
  • Robert Mason, Deputy UK Youth Lead (Youth Commissioner Engagement) – Robert will focus on the growing number of Youth Commissioners locally, improving the support they get. He’ll look at how we can improve Youth Commissioner recruitment, training and inductions.
  • Izzie Inga, Deputy UK Youth Lead (Perception) – Izzie will put young people at the heart of our internal and external communications. She’ll support young people to engage in media and public affairs opportunities, our social media channels and other projects relating to perception.

Deputy District, County, and Area Youth Commissioners can be appointed to support the work of the District, County, or Area Youth Commissioner. The role descriptions and responsibilities for the deputies can be agreed locally depending on what support is needed. You may choose to appoint one deputy to focus on programme and one to focus on people – but it’s up to you to decide what would work best.

A District Youth Commissioner or Deputy District Youth Commissioner must start their role between their 18th and 25th birthdays. Find out more in POR Chapter 16.

Youth commissioners need to complete some getting started modules (Module 1, GDPR, Safety, Safeguarding, Module 2, and Module 4) in the first five months of their role. Youth Commissioners will also need to complete the Trustee induction, but Deputy Youth Commissioners don’t need to do this. Both Youth Commissioners and Deputy Youth Commissioners need to complete Manager and Support Wood Badge and first aid within three years of being appointed.

Youth Commissioners are line managed by their District, County, or Area Commissioner. These volunteers should work closely with each other to make things happen and keep youth shaped moving forward locally. We suggest finding regular opportunities to catch up, share progress, support each other, and come up with new ideas.

County and Area Youth Commissioners are ex-officio members of the UK Scout Council. This means that they’re automatically members of the UK Scout Council because of their role. It’s one way we make sure that youth members are well represented in our largest national governance body. Find out more about your responsibilities and get support in this guide.

Youth Commissioners and youth shaped works a little differently in Scotland. Find out more on Scouts Scotland website.