Closing a Scout meeting

Before you begin

• Having a way to close a meeting is really important part of its structure. It gives everyone the chance to come together to say goodbye, and routines can be a really great source of support when people are learning new things.
• There’s no one right way to do a closing ceremony, as long as it gives everyone a chance to reflect on the meeting and say goodbye. When they do this, closing ceremonies bring people closer together.
• Lots of groups choose to include ‘flag down’ as part of their closing ceremony. You don’t have to, and it might not be the best fit for your group, but we’ve included some instructions in case you want to give it a go. If you decide to try it, choose the person to lower the flag before everyone gets into a horseshoe shape. Make sure they feel happy and confident before you begin.
• The best closing ceremonies are usually the ones that listen to young people and what they want their ceremony to look like. Why not get them involved with the design?

Share peaks and pits

1. About ten minutes before the end of the meeting, everyone should stand in a horseshoe shape.

If you have Patrols, everyone should be in them.

2. Everyone should think about the bit of the meeting they enjoyed most – this is their ‘peak’. If they’d like to share their peak with the group, they should put their hand up.
   
3. The person leading the activity should choose two people with their hands up to share their peak.
   
4. Everyone should think about a part of the meeting they found tricky, challenging, or frustrating – this is their ‘pit’. If they’d like to share their pit with the group, they should put their hand up.

It’s great if the pits have a happy ending, but it’s also OK if they don’t yet. Sometimes it takes some time (or some extra help from others) to figure things out.

5. The person leading the activity should choose two people with their hands up to share their pit.
   
6. Everyone should think about ideas to help people feel better about their pits. They may want to think about reassuring people they’re not alone, ideas to move forward, or a way people could try something different next time. The person leading the activity should choose a few people to share their ideas.

Everyone should remember to respect other people and care about their feelings. They should share kind and constructive thoughts – it’s not a place to blame people or point fingers.

7. The person leading the activity should thank everyone who was brave enough to share. They should reassure everyone that it’s OK to find things tricky, and that it’s OK for people to respectfully disagree.
   

Flag down

1. The person leading the activity should remind anyone of any important notices or letters. They may want to give people a heads-up about the next meeting, too – do they need to bring anything special with them?
   
2. The person leading the activity should call ‘Troop alert’. Everyone should stand up tall and look smart, with their feet together and their hands by their sides.
   
3. One person should walk across the horseshoe to the flag. They should loosen the cord from the cleat hook and gentle lower the flag.

Make sure everyone has a turn at lowering the flag over time. It’s up to you how you choose people – you could do it at random, go down the register, or choose people when they try especially hard or meet a goal.

4. They should take a step backwards, then return to where they were standing.
   

The person leading the activity should say goodbye, and everyone should go home.