Every group in the district needs adults, and most need more than they have. You choose the role and you choose the hours - and you will not be handed a section and left to get on with it.
Scouting changed how volunteering works. Instead of one person holding a job title and everything that comes with it, sections and districts are run by teams, and you join a team and take on what suits you. That means you can help without running anything, and you can start small.
What You Could Do
| Role | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Section Team Member | Helping run a section week to week - games, activities, badges, the odd trip. The most common way in, and you share the job rather than carry it. |
| Section Team Leader | Leading the team that runs a section: making sure the programme happens and the other volunteers are supported. A step up, usually taken after a while as a team member. |
| Group or District Team Member | The work behind the sections - fundraising, admin, equipment, events, communications. No uniform, no Friday nights. |
| Trustee | Charity governance: finance, buildings, safeguarding and compliance. A handful of meetings a year. See our team for what the district board does. |
| Skills or activity instructor | Climbing, kayaking, first aid, cooking, bike maintenance - anything you are good at. Come for the sessions that need you and no others. |
| Occasional helper | A lift to camp, a hand at an event, an extra adult when numbers are tight. No ongoing commitment at all. |
| Young Leader (aged 14 to 17) | Helping at a younger section alongside the adult team, while you are still in your teens. A parent or carer is involved from the start, and from 16 a disclosure check is part of it. See Aged 14 to 17 below. |
How Much Time Does It Take?
Whatever you can offer. If that is every week, great. If it is once a month, that is great too - and if it is only the camps, or a hand with Scout Post in December, that is genuinely useful as well.
There is no minimum, and you do not have to decide now. Most people come along a couple of times first and work out what they would enjoy.
What Happens Next
| What happens | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Register your interest using the form below - it takes a couple of minutes. |
| 2 | Someone gets in touch for a chat about what you would enjoy and which group is nearest you. |
| 3 | Come along and see a section or two. No commitment, and no obligation to come back. |
| 4 | If it suits you, we start your appointment: references, a disclosure check and some short online training. We walk you through all of it. |
| 5 | You start, with a team around you. |
Aged 14 to 17? Become a Young Leader
You do not have to wait until you are 18. Young Leaders help run a younger section alongside the adult team - taking part in games and activities, helping the younger ones, and learning what it takes to run a group. It is a good way to try volunteering, and you are always working with a team of adults around you.
Because you are under 18, we always speak to a parent or carer first. When you register your interest below, tick Young Leader and give an email address for a parent or carer (not your own). We will write to them, never just to you, to talk about what is involved and how to get started. There is no commitment.
If you are 16 or over, you will also need a disclosure check, as the adults do. We explain it and walk you through it, and your parent or carer is part of the conversation from the start.
Register Your Interest
Tell us roughly what you are interested in and we will take it from there. Nothing you put here commits you to anything. If you are aged 14 to 17, tick Young Leader and give an email address for a parent or carer.
Common Questions
Do I Need to Have Been a Scout?
No. A lot of our volunteers had never been near Scouting before their own child joined. Everything you need to know, you will be shown.
Do I Have to Wear a Uniform?
Only if you want to. Uniformed roles wear a shirt and necker; trustees, team members and helpers do not. Nobody is buying anything before they are sure they are staying.
My Child Is in the Group - Can I Still Help?
Yes, and many do. Some parents prefer to help at a different section from their own child, which is easily arranged.
I Am 14 to 17 - Can I Help?
Yes. You can help as a Young Leader at one of our younger sections. Tick Young Leader on the form above and give an email address for a parent or carer. We always contact a parent or carer first, and we never write to a young person on their own. If you are 16 or over, a disclosure check is part of it too, and we walk you through that.
My Teenager Wants to Help - What Happens?
They register their interest on this page and give us your email address. We write to you first, to talk about what is involved and whether it suits them, and nothing goes ahead without you. Young Leaders work alongside the adult team in a younger section. If your teenager is 16 or over, they will also need a disclosure check, which we explain to you both and help with.
What Are the Checks, Exactly?
Every adult who volunteers with young people goes through the same process: references, a disclosure check, and mandatory safeguarding training. Young Leaders aged 16 and over have a disclosure check too. It is not difficult and we do it with you rather than sending you a link. Our safeguarding page explains how we keep young people safe.
I Would Rather Just Ask a Question First.
Email info@scoutsinverness.org.uk, or find your nearest group on the groups and units page and contact them directly.