The impact of Scouts on young people

Our Scouts Experience Survey is our annual online survey we’ve run every year since 2018. Previously, we compared Scouts with non-Scouts across our Theory of Change outcomes.

Each year, we have seen fewer Scouts aged 13-17 engage with the survey. This year’s insights reflect the views of 594 young people who took part. Starting in 2024, we plan to thoroughly review and refresh the approach to make the survey more engaging. This’ll increase our ability to assess the impact of our Theory of Change on young people in Scouts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21, Scouts moved to a mixture of online and in person (when restrictions allowed). In some cases, Scouts couldn’t be delivered at all. With the easing of restrictions during 2021/22, we expected Scouts to return to the pre-pandemic participation levels, so we’ve compared the 2022 survey to our 2019 pre-pandemic results where possible.

We found positive consistency between 2022 and 2019:

Adventure – Scouts were just as likely in 2022 as they were in 2019 to be physically active, value the outdoors, and have the courage to try new things.

Skills for Life – Scouts were just as likely in 2022 as they were 2019 to be independent and communicate effectively.

Leadership – Scouts were just as likely in 2022 as they were in 2019 to be responsible and trustworthy. By taking initiative and acting as role models to help others make a positive difference, Scouts were just as likely to show leadership.

Citizenship – In 2022, young people in Scouts were back to supporting their community as they were in 2019. The 2021 results showed some Scouts felt less connected to their communities, and 41% less were volunteering across their community.

Connectedness – Scouts in 2022 were just as likely to have meaningful friendships and relationships, care about other people, and have respect and trust for others, including those from backgrounds different to their own.

Wellbeing – Compared with 2019, in 2021 we observed declines in many wellbeing outcomes for young people in Scouts, including decreases in happiness, the sense that life feels worthwhile, perseverance and grit, and confidence and self-esteem.

The 2022 results show that some of these outcomes have improved, and are now recovering to pre-pandemic levels:

• 6% increase in happiness compared with 2021, just 5% lower than 2019
• 5% increase in perseverance and grit compared with 2021, just 4% lower than 2019
• There’s no longer a significant difference in life feeling worthwhile compared with 2019, following a 7% drop in 2021
• There’s no longer a significant difference in feelings of confidence and self-esteem compared with 2019, following a 4% drop in 2021

There’re some outcomes that haven’t yet returned to the pre-pandemic levels – perhaps reflecting the pandemic’s longer term impact on young people. Compared to 2019, young people in Scouts reported having less courage to take risks and tackle challenges, lower problem-solving and team-working skills, and being less satisfied with life. Young people also report having less of a sense of responsibility to their local, national, and international communities than in 2019.

We’re committed to giving our young people the chance to make new friends, connect with their local area, ignite their journey of learning skills for life, and rebuild their confidence in the areas that are falling behind. The insights from this survey feed into our programme activities that we’ll develop in the year ahead.

To support volunteers delivering those amazing experiences to young people across Scouts, we’re transforming how volunteers are welcomed and supported in their roles with training.