Giving all young people access to an amazing programme

Our aim for 2023 is to:

Give all young people several chances to earn their top award during their time in each section;
Help sections to deliver areas of the programme which they are currently having difficulty with;
Give leaders the tools and confidence to run Community Impact projects as part of their programme;
Operate a District programme which allows young people to take part in activities a section couldn’t organise on their own;
Pool leaders’ skills so that more young people can take part in a greater range of activities;

We appointed 2 Deputy District Commissioners in late 2018 to support the development and delivery of the programme.

Headed by Ben Gray

Helping groups to review their programmes
Help groups to deliver areas of the programme that they're currently having trouble with
Identify skills needed to run activities
Supporting groups to access a district skill pool
Helping groups to run Community Impact projects

Headed by Kevin Bridge

Co-ordinate the district programme
Develop a District structure to support the programme
Make meetings accessible to Explorer Scout Young Leaders, and give them a voice in the decision making for their section
Support the OSM roll-out
Make sure Young Leaders are trained
Make sure Young Leaders get the most out of their role

By the end of 2020 groups should expect the following from the district:

A 12 month rolling plan of district events;
- Final dates for district events agreed a term beforehand so that leaders can plan their programme;
- A go / no go for district events 3 weeks beforehand;
- Any permission slips for a district event are available at least 2 full calendar weeks before the event;
3 whole district events will be run every year;
A Promise Renewal / St George's Day event will be run at least once every 2 years;
Engage all sections with at least 1 leaders' meeting a term
- An experienced buddy will be assigned to support any leader running a district event who requests the support;

Every section has awarded a staged Community Impact badge;
Every section has (at minimum) a programme for the next half term in writing (we acknowledge that this may be subject to change);
No section has a "red" on the quality programme checker;
Sections are using (digital) tools to track young peoples' progress towards awards;

Every (established) section in the district has awarded a Chief Scout's Award;
All Explorer units complete at least 1 Duke of Edinburgh's Expedition a year;
- We are converting 50% of Duke of Edinburgh's Awards into Chief Scout's Awards
We will have awarded at least 4 Queen's Scout Awards;
We will have awarded a Scouts of The World Award;
We will have completed an Explorer Belt expedition;

A district skills directory allows leaders to find other adults with permits to help run activities;
The district will have reviewed its ability to deliver adventurous activities at all District premises and taken action;