Announcing our new strategy: Skills for Life

Today we are incredibly proud to introduce our 2018-2023 strategy: Skills for Life: Our plan to prepare better futures. This is a key moment for the Scouts, setting out our plan for the next five years, inspired by a bold new vision: 

By 2023 we will have prepared more young people with skills for life supported by amazing leaders delivering an inspiring programme. We will be growing, more inclusive, shaped by young people and making a bigger impact in our communities. 

Skills for Life is a strategy that supports and empowers both young people and volunteers. It’s a strategy to bring communities together and contribute towards a better society. 

Building on success; working together

The new plan, which is introduced alongside a new brand and visual identity, will help us prepare even more young people with the skills they need to succeed in life while making a positive impact on society. It builds on the work of our previous strategy, Scouting for All, and we will continue to focus on each of our four key strategic areas, helping Scouting grow, become more inclusive, youth shaped and making a bigger impact in local communities.

Produced in close collaboration with volunteers, young people and members of the public, the strategy is result of a two-year consultation with over 15,000 people.

We will focus on growing our numbers by 50,000 more young people, increasing access to Scouting for young people from all walks to life (including starting Scouting in 500 more areas of deprivation), and ensuring young people are driving change, and making a bigger impact in local communities.

Key initiatives

• More support for volunteers: A renewed focus on improving volunteer recruitment, training, and support; as well as aiming to recruit more adults from a more diverse range of backgrounds.
• Digital transformation: Major digital investment to aid programme planning and delivery for all groups; and improving the consistency and ease of programme delivery for all Scouting members. 
• A review and refresh of the programme for 14-25-year olds: Ensuring that programmes are youth-led, relevant and accessible to young people from all backgrounds, with a focus on employability and life skills.
• Exploring early year’s provision: Researching, piloting and evaluating different models to extend Scouting to under-6 year olds.
• Inclusivity: Continuing to ensure that our demographic better reflects the demographics of UK society, with an aim to grow in another 500 areas of deprivation and under-representation; on top of the 834 groups established in similar areas in the last 4 years.
• A new brand: A new brand focusing on skills for life as the key benefit of Scouting, will go live at the same time as the new strategy.  The new visual identity reflects a more relevant image of Scouting in a digital age, while still retaining our strong heritage, including the fleur de lis.

‘Scouting in the UK has experienced unprecedented growth in the last 13 years,’ said Matt Hyde, Chief Executive, ‘with nearly half a million young people coming to Scouts each week to gain skills for life. This gives us a powerful and important role to play in local communities, as we continue our work to bring communities together and champion inclusiveness, social mobility and civic participation. This knowledge is at the heart of our new strategy, which is all about preparing young people with the skills that they need to succeed in life - practical skills, character skills and employability skills.’ 

This is an incredible moment for UK Scouting,’ said Chief Scout, Bear Grylls. ‘We’ve got a new vision, a new brand and renewed determination to change lives for the better. It’s a vision that inspires me and I hope it inspires you too. Now let’s get out there and deliver this amazing plan together.’