Equal Opportunities

My child has a disability or additional needs; can they join Scouts?

The Scouts is committed to being inclusive of all young people, regardless of ability or disability and has a clear Equal Opportunities Policy. There is flexibility within Scouting and our group will try to make reasonable adjustments wherever possible to support the inclusion of young people with disabilities or additional needs.

Scouting is delivered by adult volunteers and is not a statutory provision (such as the education system, for example); however we have systems in place to aid supporting our volunteers with inclusion.

If your child has a complex additional needs then we may request a meeting with the parents/carers of the young person to discuss their individual needs and plan support strategies.

There may be situations where our group does not have the capacity or resources to meet the needs of a young person or make the reasonable adjustments necessary. In such instances, we will try to help you with finding an alternative group.

If you require further support or information you can contact our national diversity and inclusion team at diversity.inclusion@scouts.org.uk

Meetings outside of the hall, day trips and residential experiences

We try to make sure that all our meetings, trips and camps are accessible to all and make reasonable adjustments to aid in this goal.

Sometimes we may ask that a parent/carer comes along to help us for these events as we may not have the necessary adult leaders or experience to accommodate your child’s additional needs requirements. This does not exclude them from attending Scouts, but outside of the hall, we may require extra support from the family to facilitate this.