Is Scouting for us? My Child has Special Needs.

I have been a Scout Leader for over 20 years, and the Mom of a fabulous young man with Down's Syndrome for nearly 14 years, and I can honestly say that Scouting has been one of the best things that could have happened to my son.

The opportunities that Sam has been offered in Scouts have been incredible, abseiling, climbing, canoeing, camping, team games, survival skills, first aid...…….. the list is endless! In the 9 years that he has been part of a Scout Group, not only has my son taken part in a dazzling array of experiences, from my own perspective, what has been more important is that he has done it with friends. The young people and Adults who have been scouting at Sam's side for the last nine years have been on the whole a pretty incredible group of people, who I for one am proud to know. They have been there when Sam didn't fancy participating, helped him to be part of the team, been thoughtful about the ways that Sam can make a valid contribution to the Scouting community, but more than all of this, they have been accepting. Acceptance is an amazing gift to a young person like Sam, and one that has made him feel valued within his peer group. It has never felt strange to Sam that he has a one to one mentor working with him, he considers his one to one to be his 'friends at Scouts'.

Talk to your local Group Scout Leader, work with them to meet your family and child's needs. The confidence and sense of achievement to be gained is enormous and its amazing from a parents point of view to know that there is a team of leaders who will make your experience as easy and pain free as possible.

(These views are personal and do not represent the views of the Scout Association or Spitfire District)

What will my Child gain from Scouting?

Should I take my child to Scouts?

Will they have a good time? Make friends?

Isn't it just another kids club?

Scouts on the Beach

There are many reasons why you might consider enrolling your child in your local Scout Group, for most parents it is the friendship and fun to be had along with some life skills that takes them through the door of their local group, but there are so many experiences and skills to be gained that you may have never thought of.

When you take your child to Beavers or Cubs for the first time you will see a well planned thought through programme of activities being run by a team of experienced adults, the bit that you don't immediately see is that each evenings activities are planned to be part of an overall programme designed to build self confidence, encourage leadership skills, to care about the community around us, to know how to work as part of a team.

The simple message of a Scout Promise 'I promise that I will do my best' is HUGE! and in a lot of instances is the first promise that a child has been asked to think hard about before they make it, and it carries huge weight with our children in asking them to stretch themselves.

For me the fascination in watching our young people grow and develop has never diminished, our children are all capable of such amazing strength, kindness, and more understanding than they are often given credit for, and Scouting is a way of them testing out the type of person that they want to become.

Your child is amazing, and we want them to have amazing life experiences. Call and chat to your local scout group. #skillsforlife