Types of national honours
Types of national honours
Through the Skills for Life Strategy, the Scouts offers volunteers and Groups opportunities to make a real difference to their community. Contribution over and above the normal commitment to the Scouts can sometimes be worthy of a national honour.
Read on to learn more about the different national honours and which could be more relevant to those in the Scouts.
For individuals
You may wish to consider locally nominating a member for the Scouts if they meet the criteria for any of the national honour awards listed below
Awarded for having a major contribution in any activity, usually at national level. Other people working in the nominee’s area will see their contribution as inspirational and significant, requiring commitment over a long period of time.
Awarded for having a prominent but lesser role at national level, or a leading role at regional level. You can also get one for a distinguished, innovative contribution to any area.
Awarded for having a major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.
Awarded for an outstanding achievement or service to the community. This will have had a long-term, significant impact and stand out as an example to others.
Awarded for a ‘hands-on’ service to the local community. This could be a long-term charitable or voluntary activity, or innovative work of a relatively short duration (three to four years) that has made a significant difference.
Nominations for the British Empire Medal should be considered locally for members of the Scouts where the individual has made a contribution to their local community by way of or in addition to their contribution to the Scouts.
Members of the National Honours Subgroup can also assist with supporting such nominations as they are being constructed.
For Groups
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS)
Within the Scouts, our programme encourages ‘Community Impact’ via our Skills for Life Strategy. Some of this work may also be considered for a King’s Award for Voluntary Service. Equivalent to an MBE, the King’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest national award given to volunteer groups across the UK and is awarded for life.
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service uses the term ‘group’ for who can be nominated which, for the Scouts, means a Group, District or County including Explorer Units and Scout Networks.
To be nominated, the group needs to have made an impact in their local community by providing a direct benefit to it through their work.
Importantly, that work will have been different or innovative to that which is normally provided by local Scouting.
Like all Scout awards, the first step is the nomination. You can read all about it on the Government's King’s Award for Voluntary Service website. Just follow the guidance.
If you're thinking about nominating a group for a King’s Award for Voluntary Service and want to discuss the process, someone from the National Honours Subgroup would be happy to chat to you.