A year of challenge, learning and change

This is my last year as Chief Executive of Scouts and it’s been one of the most challenging of all my 11 years here. As with all the challenges that we’ve dealt with during that time, the key, as ever in leadership, is how you listen, learn and change.

Earlier this year, the inquest into the death of Ben Leonard (an Explorer Scout) in 2018 brought the vital importance of safety into sharp relief. Taking time to have challenging conversations internally meant we responded comprehensively to the Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths notice. It’s this mindset that has enabled us to refocus our approach to keeping young people safe, with a comprehensive programme of work creating a stronger culture of safety going forward. That same approach was evident in many of the safeguarding changes we made 10 years ago, which transformed our approach to Safe Scouting and more recently by listening and acting on recommendations from survivors in the Yours in Scouting campaign.

We also focused, quite rightly, on keeping young people safe at the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Korea when we relocated the 4,500-strong UK contingent to Seoul. I was there with the Scouts and they coped so well with the changes to their jamboree journey. Our young people’s character and resilience shone through, and my heartfelt thanks goes to them as well as the volunteers and staff who supported them so well. This was another moment of adversity, but we acted with courage when we needed to.

It’s so important that we regularly hold a mirror up, acknowledge where things haven’t gone as planned, and respond robustly. By doing so, we can make sure this wonderful movement continues to not just survive, but thrive and make the major difference we know it does.

We’ve continued to inspire over 440,000 young people this year, growing the movement, while playing a vibrant role in public life. It’s been a year powered, once again, by the kindness and commitment of our Scouts and volunteers. They’ve truly lived their promise to
help others.

In May 2023, our young people and adults were among the 7.2 million who took part in The Big Help Out, a national day of volunteering, borne out of the Scout movement. I found it so inspiring that our Scouts seized this moment to use their skills to do so much good. Everyone from our youngest Squirrel to our Joint President, HRH The Princess of Wales, lent a hand. It was a bright, inclusive moment for the whole country and brought us together in a true spirit of service as the culmination of the King’s Coronation weekend.

I’m proud that our Scouts get the chance to become active citizens. Our A Million Hands programme has delivered over 150 activities, helped Scouts earn over 110,000 Community Impact badges, and inspired over 700,000 hours of service in our communities.

Our young people continue to astonish us with their achievements. Hannah Sawyer, aged 15, overcame her anxiety to become a confident Young Leader with Beaver Scouts. Scouts gives Hannah a safe place to be herself and has allowed her to feel comfortable while playing a vital role in her Group. It’s especially encouraging to see Scouts like Hannah beginning their volunteering journey.

Celebrating our Scouts’ successes is important too. Over 2,000 young people, volunteers and guests attended our Day of Celebration and Achievement at Windsor in April, including our very first King’s Scouts. These are the leaders and changemakers of the future; our bravest and best.

And it’s great that an increasing number of employers recognise the value of the skills young people gain through Scouts, but there’s more to do. I was particularly pleased to see us articulating the benefits of our programme for developing skills for working life. The Employability Badge report from Demos showed that the skills Scouts gain prepare them for a rapidly changing workplace. More than half of those who attended Scouts felt prepared starting work for the first time. This is compared with just 37% who didn’t take part in any extracurricular activities.

It’s essential to give every young person every chance, regardless of background, race, or gender. Equity, diversity and inclusion remain central to our work and we’re continuing our journey to become a fairer, more inclusive movement. Working with partners like The Unmistakables has helped us identify how Black British communities can access Scouts more easily. Listening, and operating in a spirit of openness and humility, remains key to inclusive growth.

Our generous donors and partners make so much of our work possible. Not only do they provide resources to scale up what we do, they lend their expertise and creativity to broaden and deepen it too. We’re especially grateful to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, whose Uniformed Youth Fund is helping us reduce waiting lists by creating places for 10–18 year olds in Scout Troops and Explorer Units. The Youth Investment Fund, the government initiative to transform out-of-school provision, has also had a remarkable impact on Scouts locally enabling them to create opportunities and improve meeting places. Scout Groups have received a remarkable total of £17.5 million in funding.

Meanwhile, imaginative partnerships are enriching our programme. UK Space Agency, Rolls Royce and Raspberry Pi are helping us develop young people’s STEM skills, while others like Warhammer and Disney are inspiring creativity, teamwork and supporting wellbeing. We’ve expanded our biggest partnership with GO Outdoors, whose support for Scouts is stronger than ever. My sincere thanks to each and every partner for their contribution.

It’s been a huge honour and privilege to lead this great movement over the last 11 years, working with our extraordinary volunteer and staff teams to support so many young people. There’ve been so many highlights – the launch of our social action campaign A Million Hands, delivering Scouts in more communities, our rebrand, launching Squirrels across the UK, and many more. We’ve faced challenges together too, not least supporting the movement through the pandemic with #TheGreatIndoors, our Hike to the Moon and Race Round the World. Thank you to everyone who’s helped us achieve these amazing things together. I’ll never forget your kindness and friendship.

I know Scouts will go from strength to strength, but only by us continuing to face into our challenges, learning and moving with the times. When all’s said and done, we’re about one thing – preparing young people for the future with skills for life. Every young person deserves every opportunity. As long as we continue to create these, the future remains bright.

Matt Hyde OBE
Chief Executive