Scouting is inclusive – everyone over the age of 18 is welcome to join, regardless of background, race or religion.
Scouting is a growing movement. Our membership numbers have increased every year since 2004 and there are currently around 500,000 people involved throughout the country, of which 80,000 are adult volunteers. There are several different ways you can volunteer as an adult within the Group: as a leader or helper, taking part in meetings which young people attend; as a part of our Scout Active Support team, providing fundraising support and helping out at events; or on our Executive Committee, as a part of the team which oversees the smooth running of the Group.
If you’d be interested in helping out and either know what you want to do or just need a bit more information please fill in our form and we will try and get you involved with the Group as soon as possible.
But I don’t know anything about Scouting!
That doesn’t matter to us: we don’t expect our volunteers to come to us with any particular knowledge or experience. All that we are looking for is energy and enthusiasm: we can help with everything else that you need to know.
I work full time – can I still volunteer?
The majority of our adult volunteers work full time and they fit their Scouting roles around this. Most meeting take place outside of normal working hours but even if your work means that you can’t help out with sectional meetings, there are many other ways to get involved. We will always look for ways that a role can be adapted to suit your needs, whether you can help out once a fortnight, month or term or just at special events or camps.
Are there any restrictions on helping out?
Scouting does not discriminate – whatever you gender, age, religion, abilities or skills we will find a role to suit you. Adult members must be over 18 but we also welcome Young Leaders, aged between 14 and 18.
Will I get paid?
As a voluntary organisation, none of the leaders and managers are paid for the time we give to Scouting. However, most of us find that this is part of its appeal – we do it because we enjoy it! However, you can claim expenses and your attendance at camps and other activities will often be funded.
What is the process for joining?
Please contact our Group Scout Leader Pop (Colin) with a little bit of information about yourself and what sort of role you would like. Someone will be in touch shortly to discuss how to get you involved. A DBS check is carried out on all volunteers, no matter what their role, and is required even if you already have a DBS check from a different organisation. For some roles you will have to go along to an appointments meeting, to talk to people outside of your Group about the role you want to take on. Depending on your role you may have to do some training, or demonstrate that you already have the required skills. More information about the adult training scheme is available from the Oxfordshire County training pages and from the national Scout training pages.