If you are volunteering to help with another Scouting Section for any reason (for instance, Duke of Edinburgh Service), you need to be a Young Leader.

This is not just a piece of paper – it will give you vital leadership and safety skills through training courses. Their are several modules (A to H), but A  is the only compulsory module. All Young Leaders MUST complete Module A within 3 months of joining the Young Leaders’ Unit. It is the responsibility of the ESL(YL) to make sure that Module A is offered often enough for this to happen. This is important because it covers key areas, which every Young Leader will need to know:

• The Purpose and Method of the Scout Association
• Child protection
• Policy, Organisation and Rules
• Activity rules and safety

You can read the factsheets on the Young Leaders Programme here and get more detail on how towork with other sections from here too.

Why bother? Explorer Scouts become Young Leaders to:

• have fun!
• gain the knowledge, skills and confidence required to become an effective leader
• further their own personal development
• complete the service requirement of one of the Explorer Scout Awards
• complete the service requirement of other awards, such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme
• acquire some of the skills needed for the Adult Training Scheme

When you do Module A, you will automatically be enrolled in another Unit, the District YL Unit. This depends on arrangements in your District. At the simplest level it may just be a list of Young Leaders in the District, kept up to date by the ESL(YL). They may only come together to complete Modules of the Young Leader’s Scheme. Then again, they may well meet regularly like any other Explorer Scout Unit, with a Balanced Programme in addition to the modules of the Scheme. Either way, all Young Leaders should be strongly encouraged to take part in the wider District Explorer Scout Balanced Programme.