Young Leader (aged 13½–18)

Young Leaders are young people aged 13½ to 18 who help the adult team run one of our younger sections — Beavers, Cubs or Scouts (and Squirrels once it launches). You’re not a helper who hands out the glue. You plan games, lead activities, look after a small group, and become the person the younger ones actually listen to.

This role is for two kinds of people: Explorers who are already part of the 144th (or another unit) and want to step up, and young people who aren’t in Scouts at all but want to volunteer — often for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, where Young Leading counts as your Volunteering section.

What you’d be doing

• Helping run a weekly Monday session with the section you choose — Beavers (6–7pm), Cubs (7–8:15pm) or Scouts (7:30–9pm)
• Leading games and activities, and eventually planning and running your own
• Being a role model: the younger ones copy what you do, so it matters
• Working through the Explorer Scout Young Leaders’ Scheme — 11 short modules and 4 missions that build real leadership skills. Module A (the safety and safeguarding basics) comes first, within your first three months
• Joining the District Young Leaders’ Unit alongside Young Leaders from other groups

What you get out of it

• Leadership experience you can put on a college application, apprenticeship form or CV — with adults who’ll happily write you a reference
• Your DofE Volunteering section (Bronze, Silver or Gold) — we can be your assessor
• Progress towards Scouting’s top awards if you’re an Explorer
• Badges, a Young Leader belt and a certificate as you work through the scheme
• A lot of laughs. Cubs are funnier than you remember.

Who it’s for

You need to be at least 13½ and under 18 when you apply, and free on Monday evenings in term-time. That’s it. You don’t need any experience, and you don’t need to be in Scouts already — although if you’re not, you’ll usually be doing this as a fixed placement for your DofE, and we’ll let the District know you’re with us.

Because you’re under 18, we’ll ask for a parent or guardian’s contact details on the form and copy them into everything we send you. If you’re 16 or over, you’ll also need a free PVG check, and Scottish law says it must be cleared before you start helping with a younger section. We’ll ask for some ID — you can add it on the form or send it later. We go through the Scouts “Orange Card” safeguarding rules with everyone, and you’ll always be working alongside trained adult leaders — never on your own.

If you’re 18 or over, this isn’t the one for you — take a look at our adult volunteer roles instead.

We meet at St Andrew’s Church hall on Bredisholm Road in Baillieston, in Glasgow’s East End. It’s a church hall, but Scouts is open to everyone — all faiths and none. We’re an inclusive group, not a religious one.

Want the full picture first — the modules, missions, badges and how it fits your DofE? See Young Leaders at the 144th.

Already one of our Explorers? Just apply below, or have a word with your Explorer leader on Monday — either works.