Tools to support Trustee Boards
Tools to help Trustee Boards make sure the charity is well managed
Quick links
Executive Committees are now known as Trustee Boards. To learn more about what we are doing to improve how we volunteer at Scouts, visit the Volunteer Experience webpages.
Tools to support Trustee Boards
Here are some guidance and tools to help your Trustee Board with some of your governance tasks.
At Trustee Board meetings, you may talk about the day-to-day running of Scouts, but your focus should be on making sure things are going to plan, the budget is well-managed, and there’s support in place.
Access the Trustee Board Meeting Agenda Prompts to get an overview of some of the topics you may need to discuss at your meetings, and suggestions of how often to have these discussions.
Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are Scout Council meetings with important legal aspects and key, mandatory aspects the Trustee Board must cover.
Access the Annual General Meetings webpage to get tips on how to run your AGM and to get an agenda template and script.
Scouts carry out an annual census to create a detailed picture of the young people and volunteers who are members of the organisation.
Access the Census webpage to find out more information.
Trustees need to indicate they have agreed to new Sections, Groups or Districts or any changes required to Group or District registrations, as appropriate.
You'll find the forms to make these changes on the Registration forms webpage.
Check out the Engaging with the local community webpage to know more about identifying and mapping your community and get tips on how to make contact with your local community.
Every charity must have a governing document, in Scouts we call this a constitution. The constitution is formally adopted through the charity Annual General Meeting (AGM) and it's good practice to re-adopt it at every AGM.
Access the Your Constitution webpage to find out more about how to create a constitution for your Group, District or County/Region/Area (Scotland).
Trustees volunteer together to make sure Groups, Districts, and Counties/Areas/Regions (Scotland) manage money well and have enough money for now and in the future.
This means the Trustee board should have clear information on which bank accounts are used and what are the procedures for managing them, create and follow an expenses policy, and make the arrangements for accounting and reporting are in place.
Here are some resources to help Trustees look after finances and make sure proper accounts are kept:
- Accounting and reporting: Independent examination of accounts, receipts and payment, scrutineer's report to the trustees and the Trustees' annual report
- Banking: information on maintaining accurate financial records
- Gift Aid: how to claim back taxes as donation to your charity
- Grants and funds for your local Group
Access the Finances webpage to discover more resources.
Trustees make sure Groups, Districts and Counties/Areas/Regions (Scotland) have the right insurance for people, buildings, and equipment.
Check out the Insurance webpage to discover more about what insurance automatically provided by the Scouts and what additional insurance cover you may need to purchase.
Trustees must follow POR, key policies, and charity regulations.
Being a Trustee in Scouts learning provides more information on what this means, and what are the charity regulators and regional variations.
Trustees look after records of ownership of property and make sure buildings are well maintained and safe.
Check out the Your Scout building webpage to get more information on property management, maintenance, insurance and sponsorship agreements.
Some Groups, District and Counties have appointed the Scout Association Trust Corporation (SATC) to hold title to land as a Custodian Trustee on their behalf.
Check out The Scout Association Trust Corporation webpage to find out more and to understand the procedures required for appointing the SATC.
All Scout Units are independent charities.
Those based in England and Wales may not be required to register with the Charity Commission, as they've been ‘excepted’ by a ruling of the Charity Commission.
Check the Registering as a charity webpage to find out if your Unit should be registered as a charity.
Identifying, monitoring, and managing risk is a key part of good charity governance and Trustees must develop and maintain a risk register.
Access the risk register webpage to find out more and to get a risk register template.
Trustees make sure we keep all our members safe, and everyone follows the Scouts Safety Policy.
Check the safety checklist for Trustee Boards to find out more about how to keep everyone safe.
Trustees must also report serious incidents to the relevant charity regulator.
Recruiting and appointing Trustees
Trustee Boards are making changes to their membership. These include how Trustees are appointed, term limits, who can be a Trustee and how many Trustees they have. Find out more about the changes to the Trustee Board membership.
For guidance and information on recruiting Trustees, check out the following resources: Recruiting new trustees, Open selection process for appointing Trustees, Volunteer joining and trustee agreement.
Checking a new Trustee is eligible
This section explains where you can find out about the Trustee eligibility checks for your charity. It applies to all members of Trustee Boards in Scout Groups, Districts and Counties (and equivalents).
When recruiting new Trustees, you’ll need to check they’re eligible. This process is different depending on where your charity is located.
The relevant team responsible for your admin support can do this check on behalf of the Trustee Board. For more information on Trustee Board administration and organisation, see Moving to Trustee Boards.
It’s important to keep a record that the trustee eligibility checks have been carried out. For example, it could be added as an agenda item and noted in the minutes of the first Board meeting following the Annual General Meeting (AGM):
On [Date], [Full Name] reported that searches were made of the Individual Insolvency Register, Register of disqualifications, and Register of removed charity Trustees. They checked for all Trustees and found no adverse information.
Below is a summary of the checks required as of January 2024. Legal requirements can change, so make sure to read the England and Wales Charity Commissions guidance for the latest information on Trustee eligibility.
There are three registers to check. If a person is listed on one or more of these registers, they’re not able to be a Trustee.
OSCR are currently reviewing Trustee eligibility checks for Scotland based on changes to Scottish Charity Law in August 2023. You can read more about these changes in this article.
Below is a summary of the checks required as of January 2024. However, please check the OSCR website for the latest on Trustee eligibility checks as further measures are being introduced.
There are three registers to check. If a person is listed on one or all of these registers, they’re not able to be a Trustee.
Below is a summary of the checks required as of January 2024. Legal requirements can change, so make sure to read the Northern Ireland Charity Commissions guidance for the latest information on Trustee eligibility.
There are two registers to check. If a person is listed on one or both of these registers, they’re not able to be a Trustee.
Please follow advice from your relevant charity regulator.
Guidance for new Trustees
If you're a new Trustee, check out the Trustee basics webpage to understand what to expect and where to start.
Discover Trustee basicsYou might find useful
Other useful resources:
- The Essential Trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do
- Trustee recruitment resources
- Trustee Board Team Description
- Moving to Trustee Boards
Charity regulators: