Category: New Resources

Details of new program resources available here.

Reasonable Adjustments And The Achievement Pathways

Recently a Scouts Australia webinar was held to support Scouts, Leaders, and Unit Councils to understand ways in which the program, and especially the Achievement Pathways, can be adjusted to support all young people to be able to be successful in their personal progression.

Scouting is an inclusive, values based Movement. Our membership is open to all young people and adults who share the fundamental values of the Scout Movement.

Scouts Australia approved a new Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Standard in Aug 2020. This reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that Scouting is truly open and accessible to all, better reflecting the composition of our communities.

A copy of the content of the webinar is now available, which in conjunction with the sections of the Program Handbook titled Access and Inclusion, will help you to support your Scouts with disabilities to be able to participate, to assist, and to lead across the whole program.

You can find the reasonable adjustments webinar content here:

Page:Achievement Pathways
Tab:Program Essentials (although it applies to all levels of the mountain)
Direct Link:Reasonable Adjustments Webinar

How To Prepare A Scouts’ Own

The World Organization of the Scout Movement tells us that a Scouts’ Own is a gathering of Scouts. This can be in small or large groups. In smaller groups, Scouts are able to get involved, share their experiences, and see that spirituality is something that affects them and gives meaning and direction to their lives. In large groups Scouts can enjoy a collective experience, perhaps celebrating the shared values of Scouting and the impact this has on their lives.

A Scouts’ Own is an activity that helps us reflect on our connection with nature and the world around
us. We reflect on our place in the world and with our community. Scouts’ Owns are one way in which we can develop spirituality, however they are not religious services or observances.

Use this resources to help you create your own Scouts’ Own for your Unit, Patrol, or a larger gathering of Scouts. It has helpful hints about planning, doing, and reviewing your Scouts’ Own program, and includes information about how they can be incorporated into the Achievement Pathways.

Page:Weekly Program
Tab:Programming
Direct Link:Preparing A Scouts’ Own

Concluding Activities in Scouts | Terrain

To conclude a program activity, event, or camp in Scouts | Terrain, there are a few steps involved so as to ensure this happens properly, and to correctly award participates, assists and leads in the Program Essentials Milestones. The organiser of this activity or any member of the Unit Council (including adult Leaders) are able to conclude these activities.

This resources explains how this can successfully be achieved.

Page:Scouts | Terrain
Tab:User Guides
Direct Link:How to conclude an activity

Why Units?

In our one program, one journey symbolic framework of the youth program, why are we using the word “units” to describe a formation of Scouts from any section, meeting together to actively participate in a diverse program?

Under today’s Scouts Australia program, we are all Scouts. We come together to be part of a common and familiar experience, that progresses as we grow and develop.

This resource explains the background to this particular language and why it is used in our youth program.

Page:Fundamentals
Tab:Scout Method
Direct Link:Symbolic Framework – Why Units

The Fundamentals Posters

There are some aspects that you will see in Scouting and the program that are essential to achieving the stated goals of Scouting. They are what makes our program unique as a global Movement of young people and adult volunteers. We call these the Fundamentals of Scouting.

We have refreshed some of the posters that promote the Fundamentals.. You might recognise many of these from The Adventure Begins resource kit of a few years ago. Now they have been refreshed using the the current Scouts Australia branding, with updated program language, and are now available on the Program Resources site.

Check these out and perhaps put them up in your hall!

  • Australian Scout Promise and Law posters
  • The Purpose of Scouting poster
  • Scout Method poster
  • Community Involvement poster
  • Unit Councils poster
  • SPICES poster
  • Youth leading, adults supporting poster
  • A brand new Plan>Do>Review> poster
Page:Fundamentals
Tabs:Fundamentals
Scout Method
Promise and Law
SPICES
Plan>Do>Review>
Direct Links:Australian Scout Promise
Australian Scout Law poster
Combined Promise and Law poster
The Purpose of Scouting poster
Scout Method poster
Community Involvement poster
Unit Councils poster
SPICES poster
Youth leading, adults supporting poster
Plan>Do>Review> poster

Supporting Section Transitions

A new resource has been developed to support Scouts, their youth and adult leaders, and parents, to guage when to begin their transition to the next age section.

These guides help you to explore the Educational Objectives of the age section when considering transition to the next section.

The items in the checklists are based on the SPICES I… Statements, as well as other indicators that individuals can use to determine readiness.

The checklist provides guidance as to when a young person is ready to change, and each dot point should involve a conversation with the Scout. However, this should not be the only thing used to inform the decision.

The Scout themselves, and their immediate circle of friends, family, and fellow Scouts know them the best and should be a part of the decision about when to begin transition.

Find these four new resources here:

Page:Achievement Pathways
Tab:Reflection and Review
Direct Links:Joey Scouts to Cub Scouts
Cub Scouts to Scouts
Scouts to Venturer Scouts
Venturer Scout to Rover Scouts

Examples of assisting and leading (in the Scout section)

Now available for download is a resource that gives some examples of assists and leads in Challenge Areas for for the Scout section. This one now completes the set of assisting and leading examples for all five sections.

To help Scouts and Leaders understand more about assisting and leading for each Milestone level, this resource has been created outlining a range of different scenarios.

Page:Achievement Pathways
Tab:Program Essentials (you can find the other sections here too)
Direct Link:Examples of assisting and leading in the Scout section

A History of Australian and World Scouting

A helpful new resource is now available on the Program Resources website. While it is time to look to the future, to move forward as a movement, you might be interested to know where Scouting has come from. What can we learn from the rich history of our Movement?

For over a century, Scouting has been developing young people around the world using its unique methods. Read this resource to get a glimpse of the history of Scouting, and how our founder captured the imagination of boys to form their own patrols in the early 20th Century and began this World Movement.

Take what you like from it. Dip into parts of the last 110+ years you might be interested in, or read the whole lot!. Some Scouts might be interested, others not at all. This is compiled to help anyone interested piecing together a picture of how this movement grew and evolved. You can use it for Intro to Scouting or Intro to Section, or it might help a Scout with a Special Interest Area project or an adult leader with their Wood Badge project.

This version of our history pulls together information from a variety of reliable sources. It was developed from articles provided mainly by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), The Scout Association (UK), The Scout Association of Australia, Mr Neil Westaway (former Chief Commissioner of Australia), the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and Eduard Vallory’s fascinating book that explains the largest movement on the planet, “World Scouting: Educating for Globa Citizenship” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).

This history starts off at the very beginnings of the Scout Movement, and then follows the initial
growth of World Scouting, eventually focusing mainly on the downs and ups of Australian Scouting.

You can download this History of World and Australian Scouting here:

PageOther Resources
TabScout Group
Direct LinkHistory of Scouting

All About The Scouts Australia Youth Program

Do you need an overview of the big picture ideas of the new program?

Do you need something for your Group Council to flip through to see how everything comes together in the program?

Maybe you need something to share at your next District Training Meeting (Mindari etc.).

Or better yet, talking points for Unit Leaders, Patrol Leaders, and Unit Councils of all age sections.

Take a look at the resource called New Program Overview. This presentation style PDF breaks down the program into each of its elements so that you can talk through how it all works together. This takes you beyond just “the badges” (i.e. the Achievement Pathways) and into other important elements such as the role of the Scout Method, the importance of SPICES, how patrols work in each age section, and what is meant by “one program, one journey”.

There is even some background to how this new program came about, the burning issues, and the timeline of events leading up to its launch at AJ2019 (where you might remember info boards featuring this content).

Access the Program Overview resource here:

PageFundamentals
TabFundamentals of the program
Direct LinkNew Program Overview