New Activity Badges 2014 FAQs

Transcription

1 New Activity Badges 2014 FAQs 1. How long has this been going on? It s the first I ve heard of it. The review of activity badges started in early Comments and feedback had been collated by the Youth Programme team since the last large badge review back in 2007/8. People have always been encouraged to supply their feedback so that it can be included in our Red Book (the database where we store any feedback received), and via various Your Programme, Your Voice (YPYV our quarterly questionnaire to volunteers) over the years. 2. What is the complete list of new badges? Beavers: Camp Craft Collector Communicator Cyclist Disability Awareness Gardener Photographer Sports Space Cubs: Backwoods Cooking Disability Awareness Fire Safety Pioneer Scouts: Fundraising Geocaching Explorers: Fundraising Naturalist Pioneer Survival Skills Staged Badges: Hikes Away (additional stages) Nights Away (additional stages) Time on the Water 1

2 Other QSA resources are being tweaked and reissued but no changes to badge 3. Who has been involved in the review? The number of volunteers expressing an interest in being on the project team was disappointingly low. We advertised the project twice (on the website and via ScoutingPlus) throughout 2012, but surprisingly few people seemed inclined to get involved. The final team was made up of 5 volunteers and one staff member all of whom are active volunteers within the movement. A lot of feedback on specific badges was received by volunteers that were contacted directly via previous YPYVs, the focus groups we ran over the summer and contributors to the Red Book. All 24 of the current UK Technical Advisers were contacted, along with 52 National Governing Bodies (NGBs). The Commercial Partnerships team were also given the opportunity to ask existing partners for their feedback. In addition to this, both the Air and Sea Scout Advisers have sought feedback from other leaders, as have the project team themselves. 4. How were new badges created? A list was compiled of the most frequently requested badge for each section using data from previous YPYVs and the Red Book. These badge titles were then sent out via YPYV for people to rank in order of those they would most like to see added to the programme. These badges were then developed. The majority of proposed new badges have been created by looking at what is currently available in older/younger sections and then scaling the requirements down/up. In some instances, the existing badges have been tweaked to make them more challenging to allow for the clear progression that is required. Hopefully this approach will help make things easier for leaders particularly for those who have lots of young people that have moved up from the previous section as they will have already have done the ground work of some badges. There are a few new badges that the project team felt would help provide some recognition for things people are already doing with their sections, such as the Beaver Collector and Cub Backwoods Cooking badge 5. What consultation did you do? These new badges were created as part of the programme review. Over the last 5 years we have conducted a lot of surveys, attended events and have done over 100 focus groups around the country. 6. Has anyone tested these new requirements? All new requirements were developed by current and experienced leaders, based on feedback from other leaders, and technical experts. The requirements for the new badges were sent out to leaders to review, and feedback on giving them enough time to test with their section if they wished to. 2

3 7. When can I start using them in the programme? You can use them any time from April 14 th Why not plan them into your summer Programme? Then tell the programme team how you got on. 8. Can I back date activities young people have done as they would have achieved this badge? No, these badges can only be achieved from the 14th April launch date. 9. When are these available to purchase from my badge secretary? Scout Shops will have the badges available in May to buy. 10. I suggested a XXX badge, what happened to that? We received a lot of suggestions for new badges, but obviously not all of them could be included. The project team looked at the new Challenge Badge requirements, as well as existing activity badges, and tried to identify the main gaps in the programme. They then looked at the list of requested badges and decided which of them would be suitable to fill the gaps. In addition to this, the most requested badge titles were then sent out via YPYV for people to rank in order of those they would most like to see added to the programme. The most popular badges were then developed. These were the most frequently suggested titles that people were asked about in YPYV: Beavers Cooks Badge DIY Badge Gardening Badge Geocaching Badge Home Help Badge Nature/Environment Badge Space Games (like board and card games?) Water Safety Reading, but with not boring requirements Circus Skills Toy Making Entertainer Cubs Angler Badge Archer Badge Backwoods Cooking Badge Buddy Badge Circus Skills Badge Craft badge Dance Badge Environment Badge Fire Safety Badge Gardener Badge Historian Badge Knots and Pioneering Badge Model Maker Badge Photographer Badge Scouting Skills Badge Snow Sports Badge Writer Badge Activity Plus Badge 3

4 Scouts Axe, Knife and Saw Badge Geocaching Badge Environment Badge Knotting Badge Scouting Skills Badge Map Maker Badge Observer Badge Scientist Badge Explorers Chef Badge Community Work Badge DIY Badge Environment Badge Finances and Budgeting Badge Health Badge Master at Arms Badge Photography Badge Pioneering Badge Public Speaking Badge Survival Skills Badge Knotting Badge Geocaching Badge 11. What about a XXX badge for Beavers/Cubs/etc.? We will keep a record of any further badges that are suggested as a result of this review, but there has to be a cut of time from where we stop taking feedback. There have been a number of YPYV questionnaires in which people have been given the opportunity to suggest new badges, and the Programme team have always kept a record of badges that have been suggested to them, either via , telephone or face to face this was all taken into account when developing the new badges. In addition to this, we did have to consider the financial viability of each badge, and whether the badge would appeal to enough people to make it worth creating. 12. Will there be some guidance/support on how to run some of the new badges? Some of the new badges do have some specific guidance/support on how to deliver them to your section. It is also hoped that the development of Programmes Online (POL) will enable activities on there to be linked to relevant badges, thus making leaders lives easier. As always, if you have any exciting activity ideas that can help other leaders, please add them to POL. 13. Why do Beavers and Explorers have the most new badges? The research carried out previously showed that BSLs and ESLs wanted more activity badges, and that is why the range of badges has specifically been increased for this section. It was generally agreed that the number of badges available for Cubs and Scouts was adequate for the age range, and the time spent in the section. 14. Why is there is a mountain biking badge (for example) in explorers but not in other sections? For this example, both the Cub and Scout cyclist badges have mountain biking alternatives that young people can do, if they are so inclined. With so many badges already available to these sections, some compromises have to be made, and certain topics/skills/activities grouped together. 4

5 15. Do these replace any current badges? No, all the activity badges we are launching in April are brand new and do not affect or replace the existing Activity Badges. 16. Will there be more new badges when the whole programme updates are launched? Yes. We wanted to make sure the new adult and young people resources were ready before we launched the new awards. Everything will be ready in early Will other badges be deleted? Yes. Based on the feedback we received from leaders less popular badges and awards will be removed and some amended and merged. 18. What happens with the sponsored badges? The Commercial Partners team have been involved in the review of the badges, and are aware of the timescales involved. When partnerships come up for review new resources are likely to be produced, but we don t anticipate existing partners going through the work again and amending their resources. Most partnerships are 3 years long though, so by the time these are in use the list of partners will have changed, and new ones should be sponsoring badges based on the new requirements. 19. Will any of these badges be sponsored? It is likely that these badges will be sponsored in the same way as previously done so. 20. When will resources be updated to include these? Early 2015 will see updated resources available. 21. What about Network? Work on the review of Scout Network is being carried out separately. 22. How am I supposed to find the time to do all of these new badges? As always, there is no compulsory requirement to complete all of the badges for your section. Feedback showed that leaders and young people wanted more options in the badges they could choose to do, and so new badges were created to meet this need. 23. The badges were working for me, why are we changing things now? This review is part of the larger scale Programme Development Project which started in 2010, and aims to review all aspects of the programme across all sections. The Programme Team were committed to carry out a programme review at this time, since the last review in 2000/2. Badges are an integral part of the programme and as such, were always going to be reviewed as part of the project. 24. Why are you launching these now? We were very aware that the programme review has taken quite a long time, so we decided to launch these new activity badges early, they're brand new and don't replace anything so there was no need to wait until 2015 for them to be out and being used. 5

6 25. Is this the final result of the programme review? No, additional amendments are coming in early We wanted to release these new Activity Badges first; we'd love to hear your feedback on them too! 26. When will we find out about the new programme? We are going to be sending out much more information about the new programme in the autumn of I don t like the new XXX badge. Where can I give my feedback? We will keep a record of any comments that are feedback as a result of this review, but there has to be a cut of time from where we have to stop acting on the feedback. If people do want to feedback they need to contact programme@scouts.org.uk. 6