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Investing a Scout

Welcome new Scouts to your Troop (and the worldwide Scout family) as they make their Promise.

Back to Activities

Read the Scout promise

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples can be found here. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Remember, this is only one example of how a promise ceremony might be done. There are many other ways to carry out the ceremony – Scouts just need to be welcomed, make their Promise, and be given their scarf.

  1. Before they begin, the person leading the Investiture should remind the whole Troop what’s about to happen and set the scene.
  2. Everyone should stand in a horseshoe shape. The person leading the Investiture should stand in the opening of the horseshoe, and any adults helping them should stand to their right.
  3. The person leading the Investiture should call the Troop to alert.
  4. The new Scout should move forward from their patrol and stand in the middle of the horseshoe, facing the people leading the ceremony.

If you have Patrols, it may be nice for the Patrol Leader to bring the new Scout forward (then take one step backwards).

  1. The person leading the Investiture should ask the new Scout if they understand what’s meant by ‘honour’ and if they understand the importance of the Promise and Law. If they say ‘yes’, the Scout holding the flag should lower it so that it’s about waist height. It should still be between the person leading the Investiture and the new Scout.
  2. The new Scout and the person leading the Investiture should put their left hands on the flag. They should make the Scout sign with their right hands.
  3. Anyone else who’s made their Promise should make the Scout sign.
  4. The new Scout should repeat the Promise after the person leading the Investiture.

It’s up to the new Scout how they do this. Often, person leading the Investiture says a line, and the new Scout repeats it make it a bit less daunting.

  1. Once the new Scout’s made their Promise, everyone should stop making the Scout Sign. The person with the flag should lift it.
  2. The person leading the ceremony should present the new Scout with their badges. If the new Scout doesn’t have a Group scarf, the Section Team Leader should give them this too. They may shake hands as they welcome the new Scout to the worldwide family.

The Group Lead Volunteer may want to help out with this bit, if they’re around. If a Patrol Leader came forward with the new Scout, they may give them their Patrol badge.

  1. The person leading the ceremony should salute the new Scout and the new Scout should return the salute. The new Scout should turn to face their Troop and salute. The Troop should return the salute.
  2. The new Scout should now return to where they were standing before the Investiture. If a Patrol Leader came forward with them, they should go back to their place too.

Reflection

Investitures remind Scouts that they’re local, national, and international citizens. How does it feel to be part of a Scout family that has members across the world? What responsibilities do Scouts have to others across the world? What responsibilities do Scouts have to others in their local community, and to one another?

Investitures also remind people that Scouts is a great place to build friendships. Have people made any new friends already? Do they think they’ll meet new people as a Scout? Do the things people do as Scouts help them to build stronger friendships? Do people feel connected to others in their Troop or Group?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

It’s OK if some people want to say the Promise line by line, repeating the person leading the Investiture. It’s also OK if they want to say it at the same time as someone else, or if they’d rather make their promise in private rather than in front of an audience.

Everyone should be able to choose which version of the Promise they make. They should also choose how they make it – they don’t need to remember it all, or even say it out loud. They could use sign language or Makaton, or answer questions to show that they’ll do their best and follow the Promise.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Membership Award
Scouts YouShape Award: Lead

Anyone who’s especially interested in the Investiture could help support new members when it’s their turn to be Invested. They could take a mentor role, chatting with new members so they know what to expect and answering any questions they may have.

Young people should always choose which version of the Promise they say. This makes sure it fits with their beliefs, and lets them take ownership of their Scout journey from day one.