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Our Volunteering Culture: Being at our best

A shared understanding for what we do and say as volunteers in Scouts, supporting each other, following our values and being at our best, while acting as role models for young people.

Why we volunteer

As volunteers in Scouts, we’re proud to help young people step up, speak up, dream big and gain the skills they need for life.

Thanks to you, young people find their place in the world, learn to believe in themselves and make a difference to their communities and society. No matter your background or experience, where you’re based, or which team you’re in, your time and skills help young people gain skills for life.

By working together, and living our values of integrity, respect, care, belief and cooperation, our aim is to have a positive, safe and rewarding experience as volunteers for a movement we truly believe in.

Our Culture is founded on our Values. That means that as volunteers we think carefully about the impact of our words and actions, and behave as role models for our young people. Here are the behaviours that we expect from each other in Scouts.

As UK Scouts we'll:

1. Make Scouts a welcoming place, making sure everything we do and say is led by the Values of Scouting and the Scout Promise
2. Commit to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in everything we do, making sure everybody has access to our activities and can thrive in Scouts
3. Support you to be part of positive teams that resolve issues with respect and integrity
4. Acknowledge your personal motivation for volunteering and the skills you already have
5. Help you develop your own potential by offering learning opportunities to give you the confidence and the skills needed for your Scout role
6. Listen to you and give you the space to share ideas and concerns so that we can improve our volunteer experience
7. Offer meaningful, relevant, and flexible ways to volunteer, with clear guidance of what we’ll require from you, and who you can ask for advice and support
8. Accept your other commitments, that your availability may change and offer you volunteering options that’ll suit you best
9. Help you understand Scouts better and the impact we make, so you can see how your contribution makes a difference
10. Do our best to overcome barriers to volunteering such as finance, accessibility and time

As a volunteer in Scouts we’ll trust you to:

1. Promote a welcoming and inclusive environment where we treat everybody fairly and with respect, making sure our values are part of everything you say and do
2. Commit to equity, diversity and inclusion, accepting that people’s beliefs, circumstances and motivations may be different to yours
3. Be a great role model in the way you act, by following our values, purpose and policies, as well as the laws of the country you’re volunteering in
4. Communicate openly and respectfully, whether verbally, in writing or online
5. Be open and honest with your team about your time commitments and let them know if things change
6. Enjoy yourself and have fun while volunteering
7. Develop yourself by engaging in learning and new opportunities depending on what you and your team needs
8. Promptly complete any learning required to ensure you have the skills for your role

This means that together, we’ll do our best to:

1. Know what we expect from each other
2. Listen to and respect everybody’s ideas and concerns
3. Feel proud to contribute to and be part of a truly equitable, diverse and inclusive movement
4. Recognise and celebrate all volunteers for their contributions, no matter how long they volunteer for or the amount of time they give
5. Make sure volunteering has a positive impact on your wellbeing and that you get the support you need
6. Contribute to an environment where everyone feels comfortable to share thoughts and ideas
7. Review how things are going, improve volunteering opportunities and resolve problems fairly

Why it's important

We understand that creating a positive culture needs role models and champions. We bring Our Volunteering Culture to life in the way we behave towards each other: in what we do, what we say and how we say it. 

This includes challenging behaviour that doesn’t align with what we believe.  

By clearly spelling out the behaviours we expect from one another, we have a shared understanding that makes it easier for us all to work together. 

And UK Scouts means every team at every level of our organisation - Section, Group, District, County, Region, Nation and HQ. It's everyone's responsibility to inspire, motivate and support our members to make Our Volunteering Culture a reality. 

What it means for me 

You’ll find Our Volunteering Culture in several places, such as in our joining journey, our Growing Roots learning, and as a key part of how we of work together in our teams.  

Our Volunteering Culture should help to set the tone at team meetings, when we welcome a new volunteer, or when we’re carrying out a review. By continuously revisiting and actively reflecting on it, we can all help to keep it relevant. 

Remember, Lead Volunteers and Team Leaders have an additional role to play, embedding and championing Our Volunteering Culture in the teams they oversee. 

What I can do now 

Once you’ve familiarised yourself with Our Volunteering Culture, you then need to reflect on and engage with it, as part of your volunteering experience. 

One practical way to do this is by running one or more of the bite-sized Our Volunteering Culture activities. These are short and adaptable, and can be done in teams, as well as self-reflection activities.