Redesigning our 14-24 year old provision

We know that our provision for 14-24 year olds could be better.

We want young people to get the best possible chance in life. To be prepared for jobs. For further study. For life. 

We have a lot to be proud of. Since the launch of Explorer Scouts and Scout Network, except during the pandemic, our numbers have grown year on year. In 2019, 76% of young people agreed that “section leaders were delivering an amazing experience”.   

But we know we could do better. Too many of our Scouts don’t continue to Explorers, and too many Explorer Scouts don’t make it to Network. So, we’re now starting work on reviewing our offering for 14-24 year olds. 

Our focus 

Over the next five years, we’ll be exploring what Scouting should achieve for future generations of 14-24 year olds. With nothing off the table, we’ll explore the outcomes we hope young people can achieve, the activities that will get them there, and the programme and support that make the delivery of those activities as easy as possible. 

What does that look like? 

• Discovery: Exploring what young people, volunteers and society want scouting to achieve for 14-24 year olds
• Co-Design: Creating ideas that could make those achievements a reality
• Piloting: Testing those ideas out locally, finding out what works and what doesn’t
• Roll Out: Implementing a new approach to supporting 14-24 years olds build skills for life

Volunteer-led

We've got the right team in place to make sure that we have a clear direction and influence on decisions, and re-imagine how we support teenagers and young adults. 

• Our board: they'll make sure we're asking the right questions, to the right people, coming to the right conclusions and ensuring young people and volunteers feel consulted at every step of the journey. Half are under 24, and represent communities we seek to serve. 
• Our youth panel: they're a pool of 14-24 year olds who are going to seek out exciting and impactful ways to support older young people – in Scouting and the wider youth sector, at home and aboard. They’ll spot what could work for the future, and what they would rather see left in the past.