Group Leadership Teams
Understand how a Group Leadership Team supports Section Teams and the Trustee Board
Team Description
Purpose
The Group Leadership Team helps volunteers across all Sections work well together and feel motivated. They make sure the Group is respected and supported in their local community.
Who's in the team
- Group Lead Volunteers
- Leadership Team Members
Other volunteers are automatically members of this team because of their roles in Scouts:
- Team Leaders of each Section Team
- Team Leaders of any Group Leadership Team sub-teams. For example, Fundraising Team or Inclusion Team.
Support the Group’s Sections
Make sure:
- The views and ideas of young people shape decisions in the Group and its Sections.
- Section Teams help young people and volunteers feel welcome and included and make changes (when necessary) so the environment and activities are accessible for everyone.
- The demographics of young people and adults represent their local area.
Develop our volunteers:
- Work with volunteers to share skills between Sections.
- Make sure volunteers in the Group’s teams fulfil their safety and safeguarding responsibilities, including keeping up-to-date with changes and learning.
Support the Group’s Sections:
- Make sure the Group Leadership Team runs smoothly.
- Work with the District 14-24 Team to make sure there are Young Leaders in all the Group’s Section Teams.
- Help Section Teams work well, using tools to measure quality where needed.
Develop our volunteers:
- Champion Our Volunteering Culture, so Team Members are aware of it, reflect on it, commit to it, and apply it.
- Support all volunteers to grow and gain the skills they need (or would like).
- Make sure all teams in the Group follow our approach to equity, diversity and inclusion, safer volunteer recruitment, joining, reviews, and processes for leaving Scouts.
- Make sure volunteers are doing what’s expected of them, including getting learning done and completing their criminal record checks.
Engage with the community:
- Create and look after relationships outside of Scouts to help deliver the programme and recruit adults and young people. This could include local community leaders, other youth groups, volunteer recruitment agencies, and local media and social media outlets.
- Plan and run fundraising events when they’re needed.
Open new provision:
- Work with District Teams to open new Sections and support the inclusive growth of Scouts.
Manage incidents:
- Make sure all incidents are reported in the right way.
- Handle Subject Access Requests and personal data breaches.
- Follow the Complaints Policy to stop complaints escalating (where possible).
- Work with other volunteers to respond to safety, safeguarding, and data incidents, and complaints (where needed).
Support effective processes:
Oversee:
- Sections Teams, to make sure they’re briefing helpers on the practical aspects of safety and safeguarding. This includes giving them a copy of the Yellow Card, confirming they’ve read and understood it, and checking they know who to speak to in case of any concerns.
- The payment of invoices and volunteer expenses.
- Enquiries from new volunteers and new members, waiting lists, and the movement of young people between Sections.
- Equipment owned by the Group.
- Meeting places (whether they’re rented, leased, or owned).
- Supplies of uniform, including badges and clothing.
- First aid kits and accident forms for all Sections and meeting places.
- Membership system records for volunteers and young people, making sure they’re correct and up to date.
- Group social media platforms.
- Group website and emails.
- If there are staff in the Group, make sure they’re properly managed and recognised. This includes following employment law and acting as a responsible employer in line with Scout values.
- Governance administration for the Trustee Board, to include meeting preparation, minute taking and AGM organisation.
We expect that members of this team will take part in regulated activity.
All Group Leadership Team Members must complete:
- The learning everyone needs
In addition, Group Lead Volunteers must complete:
- Leading Scout Volunteers
- Being a Trustee in Scouts
- First Response
You can find out more about our learning content on the learning page.
Accreditations
Accreditations are a way of sharing tasks and responsibilities where a volunteer needs to be given certain permissions to take these on.
Group Lead Volunteers can give accreditations to help share out tasks. They can give Recruiter and Nominated Person accreditations. You can find out more about these accreditations on the Leadership Team Accreditations page.
Permissions in our new digital system
All volunteers will have access to our new digital system and will be expected to sign in to manage their own membership and complete learning. Some volunteers will have further permissions to the system features depending on which team(s) they’re in, and what their role is in that team.
All members will be able to nominate for awards, apply for grants, apply for permits and Nights Away Notifications, use Data explorer, and search for members who are visible for them.
Members of the Group Leadership Team will also be able to add and end roles, support with criminal record checks, hold reviews, create and update Units, and create custom Data explorer dashboards, and download these. The Group Lead Volunteer will also be able to support Grant applications, add and end accreditations, hold Welcome Conversations, create sub-teams and manage volunteer enquiries.
Helpful resources
We've compiled some of the most useful resources for Team Members and Team Leaders to look through, to help them understand their responsibilities. These links don't cover everything though, and Team Leaders should make sure that all the tasks on the Team Description are being carried out.
What you need to do to be ready for change
There are simple actions that all volunteers can take to make sure that they, and their team, are ready for change. From making sure that data is up-to-date, to understanding the changes, and how processes may change locally.
Find out what you need to do to prepare for changeInformation for volunteers who lead teams
There are some responsibilities that sit with Team Leaders, such as welcoming volunteers to the team, and making sure that everyone knows what tasks they're working on, and has the support they need.
Read our guidance for Lead Volunteers and Team Leaders