Training

If you are an adult volunteer, or thinking about being one, please take a look at the information below and the Module Matrix, or if you want to see what courses are currently planned and available visit the county calendar.

Adult training is designed to support you as a volunteer, so the training provided is relevant and tailored to each role. The Cambridgeshire County Training Team recognise there may be learning and skills you have gained elsewhere, and our training is designed to complement these with further opportunities to enhance your expertise.

The good news is that there is lots of help and support at every stage, and this includes working out what training you will need to do. This will be explained in detail at, or shortly after your panel interview.

How do I know what training I need to do?

Occasional Helpers are in the main parents of a young person within one of the Sections and would be asked specifically to be an Occasional Helper for say a camp, or an overnight event. Occasional Helpers are not required to do any training (but do have to obtain a Scouting DBS)

For all other adult roles the Module Matrix is something that the person, usually the Group Scout Leader of the relevant Group, who completes your Adult Appointment form should look at it with you, as it helps in deciding which role may be right for you.

In summary all Executive Committee roles and all Section Assistant roles have to only complete “Getting Started”, all other roles require additional modules.

You can always do more training than just the ones you have to do, and no matter what your role in Scouting, if you are going to be working with young people then certainly First Aid (Module 10) can be a good one to validate (either from relevant training elsewhere or by attending a free 6 hour course in Scouting).

A Training Adviser (TA) is appointed to help each adult volunteer through the process of completing the agreed training for the role in question.

If the person has previously been a Scouting volunteer in a different role, including being a Young Leader, then relevant skills can be taken into account as “prior learning”.

All training material is available through the Scout Association’s learner resource area.

How does the training scheme work?

The adult training scheme is made up of various modules that cover a range of different development areas, all related to your role. It is a national scheme, so the training you complete in one part of the country will be recognised in another. There are two parts to each of these modules: learning (which may not be required) and validation (always required).

Learning

Learning gives you the chance to gain or improve the knowledge and skills you need to develop for your role. There are a variety of methods available which means that you can choose ones that work for your availability and learning style, as well as fitting into your busy life. These include learning by doing, small group work, courses, one-to-one, workbooks or DVDs / videos. Importantly the scheme recognises and values prior learning, knowledge, and experience. This means you may not need to complete learning for every aspect of your training, provided you can clearly show that you are able to meet the module objectives by demonstrating these skills in your Scouting role – through the validation process.

Validation

This is simply you demonstrating to your Line Manager/Training Adviser (TA) that you can meet the objectives of the module by putting your learning into practice. There are various ways you can do this such as them seeing you “in action”, you providing evidence (such as an e-mail from another leader) or simply discussing the content of the module with your TA. Successful validation is essential for each and every module relevant to your role. Please remember the validation of your learning is something that you do as part of your normal Scouting role, so should not generate any extra work.

How long do I have to complete my training?

All roles that require training have 5 months from the date of your appointment being entered onto the Scout database system Compass, to complete the initial modules (Getting Started) – if your role requires being invested, then these must be fully completed first.

You then have a total of 3 years from the date of your appointment to complete any remaining modules required for your role.

How can being a volunteer benefit me?

Firstly being a Scouting volunteer is great fun! You can help organise or support some amazing activities for the younger members, giving you a chance to help make a positive difference to your own local community.

As a member of Scouting you will gain access to a range of discounts, designed to support you in your Scouting role with everything from camping kit to days out.

Volunteering can help you outside Scouting too, especially if you make the most of the training scheme – in fact it is externally recognised as a formal qualification through 3 different routes.

The skills and experiences you gain are invaluable, can enhance your CV and can be a real asset in everything from applying for college/university places to jobs. Not only will you have some great things to include in personal statements and on application forms but also some brilliant examples to use when answering interview questions, plus of course some ideal people to name as referees. Being a Scouting volunteer really can help you stand out from the crowd.

Scouting is a national and global organisation, which makes it easy to continue Scouting no matter where in the world life takes you and creates an ideal way to start meeting new people in your new community – whether that is when you go to University or move to another country.

How do I book onto a training course?

Courses are not only a great way to develop new skills, or enhance existing ones, but also to meet other people from across Crafts Hill District and Cambridgeshire County in similar roles.

Modules 1, and 3 or 4 are completed online together with GDPR, Safety and Safeguarding. For Group Exec members there is also a requirement to complete Trustee Introduction which is also here on-line here. Modules 5, 6 and 12A are normally completed on-line too.

To book onto a course for other leader modules simply take a look at the calendar for training through the County and follow the link for the relevant course. You will need your membership number to hand.

If you can’t see a course listed then it may be possible for the Cambridgeshire County Training team to arrange one, especially if you have at least 6 people who require the same course. This includes First Response (Module 10) and Group/District Executive workshops. Simply Get in Touch to see what can be arranged.

What about learning more practical skills?

There will be lots of practical skills you already have that you can share with the young people, and many you will learn as you Scout.

We also have County Active Support Units to help you (or perhaps you would like to join one, to share your skills in these areas) :

Bushscout – training volunteers in practical Scouting skills, so they can in turn train the young people
Mountain Activities – helping volunteers experience hillwalking, mountaineering, climbing and mountain biking ; supporting them to earn relevant permits so they can then take their young people on such adventures too

What is “mandatory ongoing learning?

For some roles you are required to keep elements of your training up to date, usually every 3 years. The good news is there are just 3 modules and it is really simple to do. Below you will find brief details, but as always if you have any questions please contact your Line Manager, Training Adviser, Local Training Manager or the District Team.

Safety – this is usually completed on-line . Once complete send the certificate to your Training Adviser who then updates your records*

Safeguarding – this is usually completed on-line . Once complete send the certificate to your Training Adviser who then updates your records*

First Response (Module 10) – all Leaders with exception of Sectional Assistants are now required to undergo First Aid training every 3 years to continue in their role (a transition till 31 December 2020 has been provided to ensure that members have time to adapt to the new requirements). If you have completed relevant First Aid (response) training you have 2 options:

if you have 6 months, or less, still left before your current training expires you can attend a 2 hour refresher course. If there are at least 6 of you interested please contact the training team via the County Get in Touch page and they can arrange something bespoke until these become part of the core offering later this year.
if you are unable to do so, or you have realised it expires very soon, you will need to arrange to attend a 1 day ( 6 hour) course. There is usually at least one of these courses every month held somewhere in Cambridgeshire.

*It is important that all mandatory ongoing learning is updated in that specific section on your records on COMPASS, otherwise it won’t appear correctly.

What is ongoing learning then?

Things are constantly changing, as are the needs of individuals, so to do a good job for our young people it is important that we are always learning and refining our skills as Leaders. Over the review period all Leaders are required to complete an average of 5 hours ongoing learning each year.

It is actually very easy for any leader to achieve this through learning from others, attending a course, gaining a permit or completing external learning that can be used in Scouting.

It is important that the details are logged into COMPASS as “ongoing learning” but this is now the Leaders responsibility to do so themselves – not their Training Adviser.

If I am a Young Leader?

If you are a Young Leader, or thinking about being one, please take a look at the Young Leader Scheme

To check for available training courses within County, go to the hot link adjacent, and to the right of the ‘Training’ page and search for Young Leader in the search field.