Volunteers at the Heart of Inclusive Scouting This Volunteers’ Week
As we celebrate Volunteers’ Week (June 1-7), it is a fitting time to recognise the incredible dedication, creativity and care shown by volunteers across Scottish Scouting.
Volunteers’ Week is a UK-wide celebration recognising the contribution volunteers make within their communities and organisations. Since 1984, the campaign has provided an opportunity to say thank you to those who generously give their time, skills and energy to help others and create lasting impact. This year, Volunteers’ Week reminds us of the powerful difference volunteers make every single day.
At this year’s Itchy Midge Camp at Everton Campsite, volunteers from across Greenock & District demonstrated exactly what that impact looks like in practice.
Young people enjoyed an action-packed weekend filled with adventure, including power boating, crate climbing, laser tag, tomahawk throwing, team challenges, zorb balls and campfire activities. But behind every activity and memorable moment stood a team of committed volunteers working together to create an experience where every young person could thrive.
What made this camp particularly special was the thoughtful inclusive practice introduced by leaders and volunteers throughout the weekend.
A visual timetable was used to help young people understand routines, activities and expectations. Positioned outside the Lodge next to the hydration station, it allowed young people to easily check what was happening throughout the day while filling water bottles and preparing for transitions.
While simple in design, the impact was significant.
These supports helped create a more accessible environment for young people who benefit from structure, visual prompts and predictable routines, including many with additional support needs, neurodivergence or communication differences. Feedback from both young people and leaders was overwhelmingly positive, with the supports benefiting far more participants than originally anticipated.
This is a powerful example of how volunteers continue to adapt, learn and innovate to support young people in Scouting.
Supporting volunteers to feel confident in inclusive practice is something we are continually striving towards. By sharing ideas, resources and learning opportunities, we can help ensure volunteers have the tools they need to create welcoming, accessible and empowering experiences for every young person.
Leaders interested in introducing similar approaches within their own sections, camps or events can explore the Scouts UK Equity, Diversity and Inclusion volunteer resources here.
We also encourage volunteers to watch this inclusion-focused webinar, designed to support leaders in building more inclusive environments: Running inclusive expeditions for 14-25 year olds
For those wanting to explore the topic further, Scouts UK’s four-part webinar series on supporting neurodiversity offers practical guidance and valuable insight for volunteers supporting young people with different needs and experiences: Supporting Neurodiversity – May 2025
A huge thank you goes to every leader, young leader, parent helper and member of the cook team who made Itchy Midge Camp such a success. Their enthusiasm, teamwork and commitment reflect the very best of Scouting and demonstrate what becomes possible when volunteers come together with a shared purpose.
As the new District Lead Volunteers reflected:
“When we all come together as one big team, there is no team like us.”
This Volunteers’ Week, we celebrate not only the adventures our volunteers create, but the inclusive spaces they build and the lives they help shape.
We know similar stories of inclusion and volunteer-led success are happening across Groups, Sections and Districts every day. If your team has introduced inclusive practices or experienced positive outcomes through supporting young people in new ways, we would love to hear from you.
Share your story with us at hello@scouts.scot and help inspire volunteers across Scottish Scouting.
