Moving up to Scouts

Moving on to Scouts is a really exciting time, but you might also feel a little sad about saying farewell to some of your fellow Cubs. This is an understandable reaction to change and it’s okay to feel nervous and unsure.

In the run up to your last night at Cubs, your Cub leader will talk to your new Scout leader – who you may have already met during joint activities. Together, they’ll make the move as easy as possible for you.

Although most Cubs move up to Scouts between the ages of 10 and 11, leaders can be flexible in cases where a Cub may need a bit more time due to additional needs or exceptional circumstances. Generally, they’ll also have a think about when your friends are moving, and time things so that you can start your new adventure together where possible.

To get you extra prepared, your leader might tell you about the Moving on Award. Completing it involves spending at least three weeks with a Scout section, while keeping up your normal routine at Cubs. During that time, you’ll see what Scouts is really like – getting to know your new leaders, making new friends and participating in lots of new and exciting activities. Keep an eye out, as you might even spot some familiar faces from when you first started at Cubs!

If you move to a new area, the Scout Information Centre can provide what you need to find a new Pack and get settled. Contact them to find out more.

In the right circumstances, yes. Everyone at Scouts should face a similar amount of challenge, and everyone’s individual needs are always taken in account when making decisions. More information on flexibility and reasonable adjustments can be found at scouts.org.uk/diversity. Generally, leaders will keep to the suggested age ranges, unless young people need a little extra time due to additional needs or exceptional circumstances.

When the time to take the leap does come, our visual resources are ideal for those who need a bit of extra help. They’re particularly useful for young people with additional needs – and young people on the autism spectrum – especially if prone to increased anxiety around change.

It’s easy for young people to feel like small fish in a big pond when they move to a new section. At an age where friendship is becoming an important part of a young person’s life, these small tweaks can make all the difference to making them feel happy and confident about the changes they face.

• Regularly link up with the sections above yours regardless of if you’re working on the moving on process together – doing so will help you build relationships, plan joint activities and share ideas.
• Remind Cubs of former members who have since moved on to Scouts, to reassure them familiar faces are waiting on the other side.
• Encourage young people to complete their Moving On Award, which involves spending three weeks with their potential new group while keeping up their regular routine. Doing so helps them make friends and familiarise themselves with how things will work in their new section.
• Direct Cubs to the Scout pages of their Cub Logbook – available from Scout Store. Here, there is space for them to write down the names of their new leaders and to draw themselves as a Scout. Ask them: what do they think will be different about Scouts? What will stay the same?
• Consider having a moving on ceremony to celebrate all the skills Cubs have learned during their time with you, and to help them process the change.

• Regularly link up with the sections above yours regardless of if you’re working on the moving on process together – doing so will help you build relationships, plan joint activities and share ideas.
• Go to Cub meetings, joint camps or outings to get to know everyone – leading on games and activities where possible.
• Work with Cub leaders to move new starters together, rather than by themselves.
• Keep new starters in pairs, so they always have a friend by their side.
• Direct new starters and parents to the Scouts Activity Log – available from Scout Store. It contains basic information about being a Scout and has space for the young person to write down the information they learn about the Pack as they go.