We are pleased to offer a new mental health in Scouts workshop.

This learning session is designed to offer some guidance and additional training on Mental Health awareness in Scouting, covering many subjects that you might come across as a volunteer working with young people. The session will give you help, guidance and confidence on a subject some people might find daunting.

The session will be run by a professional, who is a cognitive behaviour psychotherapist, a registered mental health nurse and a Scout Leader.

The Couse will include the following:

• What is Mental Health, The big picture and why does this matter in Scouting.
• Spotting the Signs
• How to start a conversation, and what next.
• Suicide prevention and responding to high risk situations.
• Your Role in Scouting, Limitations, The Boundaries, when to discuss with the team.
• Safeguarding, Your duties and rolls, How and when to Report/Escalate (Yellow card)
• A discussion on some scenarios

Monday 22nd September 19:15 to 21:30. Online and limited to 30 participants

As volunteers week starts drawing to a close, I wanted to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you to every single volunteer who makes Scouting in Nottinghamshire so fantastic.

It's been heart-warming to see so many of you saying thank you to each other by using our new thank you cards, and sharing messages of appreciation. If you'd like to send some recognition to a fellow volunteer, head to https://notts-scouts.org.uk/thank-you.

Never forget that the volunteering you do results in a huge positive impact on the lives of young people and other adults. You help young people grow, develop and succeed. Thank you for volunteering with us, and Happy Volunteers Week!

If you’ve completed your Growing Roots learning maybe you are looking for the next step in Branching Out learning and The Scouts Wood Badge award. The Wood Badge is one of the most prestigious training recognitions in Scouting, symbolising a leader’s commitment to personal development and high-quality youth engagement.

Established in 1919 by Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, the Wood Badge was designed to create skilled and confident leaders. Since then, it has become a globally recognised symbol of excellence, worn by thousands of volunteers who have completed their training.

In the UK, the Wood Badge scheme now follows two distinct training pathways:

1. Programme Delivery Route (Section Wood Badge) – Designed for volunteers who work directly with young people, equipping them with the skills to deliver exciting and meaningful Scouting programmes. 6 specfic section modules to Growing Roots learning.
2. Volunteer Support Route (Manager & Supporter Wood Badge) – Tailored for those in management or support roles, focusing on leadership, strategy, and mentoring other volunteers. 6 management modules in addition to Growing Roots learning.

Under the new system, volunteers no longer need a Personal Learning Plan but have a predefined path in the learning system. Each module can be achieved in steps by situational learning projects, attending a course or through working with a Learning Assessor. This makes training more flexible and accessible.

For more details on how to start the Wood Badge, visit The Scouts Digital Tools Guide on how to add it to your learning profile and talk to your local Learning Assessor or Volunteering Development team on how you can validate your learning modules.

The new Scout Learning System is designed to empower learners by making skill assessments straightforward and accessible. This system encourages Volunteers to take initiative and responsibility for their personal development.

First Response Training is an essential part of volunteers learning. Volunteers who have existing certification or have renewed it through an external organisation can self request the First Response is updated.

To request an assessment for a First Response skill, the learner begins by logging into the Scout Learning System using their credentials. From their dashboard, they can access a clear overview of their progress, including the skills they are working on and the requirements for earning badges.

The learner navigates to the Wood Badge & Skills section, click Skills, find the First Response skill and select the "Assessment" option. Before proceeding, please attach a copy of the External First Aid certificate for the Learning Assessor to review.

After the learner submits the request the assessor will review the attachment and may then schedule an evaluation, either online, in person, or by reviewing submitted evidence.

This process fosters a sense of accountability while maintaining the flexibility and adaptability of the learning experience. A short video and validation templates can be found at https://training.notts-scouts.org.uk/learning-assessment/

We want all our volunteers to have the skills and knowledge they need to feel confident to help keep young people safe and help them gain skills for life.

As part of the Transformation System go live on 28^th November you’ll have access to the new Learning Tree rather than the Adult Training Scheme. Going forward into 2025 and beyond, we'll be organising learning at Scouts in what we call the Learning Tree. This will be rolled out over the coming months. It'll be made up of Growing Roots, learning that's personalised to you as a volunteer, and Branching Out, the learning you can access to further develop your skills and knowledge (and achieve a wood badge).

Access to this learning and progress tracking will be available within the new Membership System. For any learning which requires assessment follow these handy steps on how to send it for Assessment, here, where one of our Learning Assessor Community will be on hand to check it off.