Scouting Ireland
Scouting Ireland is a voluntary, non-formal educational movement for young people. Its membership is open to all without distinction of origin, race, creed or gender.
Scouting exists to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society. This is achieved through a programme of activities which are underpinned by an educational framework and method supported by adults who assist them in their development and help them realise their dreams and aspirations.
This is done in the context of our programme which is presented to young people when they join Scouting. Within the Scout programme and life within a Scout Group a young person embarks upon an effective apprenticeship in leadership and character creation. Scouts take a Promise when the join to ‘Do their best and to keep the Scout Law’ the Law is a series of value based guides to living as a Scout inside and outside of the Scouting Movement.
Scouting’s impact
Life skills such as financial literacy, teamwork, independence, making choices and decisions, planning, citizenship education and cultural awareness are embedded across Scouting’s programme.
Recent studies by The Scout Association UK indicated that :-
“89 per cent of Scouts identified that Scouting had helped them to build ‘key skills’ including social, team working and leadership skills. External organisations surveyed said that many of the key Scouting attributes such as respect for others, friendships, teamwork, character building and personal development were very important attributes for their staff or volunteers to have in the workplace.”
“External organisations said that staff within the workplace who had been involved in Scouting were above-average employees across a range of attributes. In particular around six out of ten employers said:
Scouts had developed team working skills
Scouts showed respect for others, which was important when working with peers, customers and clients
Scouting helped build character and personal development
Scouts showed confidence and leadership ability.”
The principles underpin the educational framework and programme, including the teaching of life skills. Particularly important are the opportunities to learn by doing, learn in partnership with adults, and learn from and teach their peers.
Development that is personal to the individual (ie. tailored to their needs, rather than identical programme delivered in the same way to all young people) is a key aspect of the Scouting experience.
Scouting is ‘different from school’ is a powerful factor in our attraction for young people and for adult volunteers, and in our success in delivering personal development and life skills. Young people who struggle in an academic setting often thrive in Scouting, as they develop confidence in a different environment surrounded by different people.
Scouting is created around a small team structure – each Scout will be a member of a small team (lodge, six, patrol, unit, crew). These small teams are more than just organisational features they are an interactive group in which young people grow and develop with friends. Each team will have an elected leader (young person within a team) and collectively they carry out the business of Scouting.
Scouting seeks to train each team in such a way that it becomes self-sufficient both in terms of skills and as a working team of young people able to undertake the many challenges that the scout programme will present.
A young Scout will undertake responsibilities as are within his/her capabilities and the level of challenge will increase in time as they become capable. Overtime a Scout will undertake and be responsible for many things far beyond the scope and capabilities of young people outside of Scouting – this is one of the unique features of Scouting as a non-formal education movement, and allows young people who are Scouts to stand out among their peers.
Scouts do not go foolhardily into these activities, many hours of training are provided at weekly meetings and activities to build up the skill level of the team to such an extent that they (young people) can take control of their own adventures. Scouting is like an apprenticeship, as we have said, so within each team will be experienced Scouts and of course those younger Scouts who are learning ‘their trade’ as such as Scouts. This is an every ending pursuit of all Scouts - to become experts in Scouting Skills.
Membership is open to young people from 6 - 25 years of age in one of our 5 programme sections
- Beaver Scouts - 6 - 8 years of age
- Cub Scouts - 9-11 years of age
- Scouts - 12-14(15) years of age
- Venture Scouts 15-17 years of age
- Rover Scouts 18-25 years of age
Currently there are 50,000 members (Youth and Adults) in the Association. It is estimated that approximately 15% of Scout Groups are operating in disadvantaged areas throughout the Country and some of these Groups require even more support from Volunteers and Professional Staff.