The Scout Association - Organisation

Organisation

For more details on this topic, see Scout Counties, Scout District and Scout Group.

The Chief Scout is the leader of The Scout Association, and is responsible for determining the direction and policies of Scouting in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Crown Overseas Territories. Bear Grylls is the current Chief Scout after replacing Peter Duncan in July 2009. There is a team of Commissioners who are responsible for the Scouting programme in their respective divisions.

At all levels, Scouts are governed by an executive of trustees, known as executive committees – these could be volunteers from the local community who have had ties with Scouting, either themselves or through their children. The executive normally consists of a chairman, secretary, treasurer, and a number of other officers. In Group Executive Committees, Group Scout Leaders and Section Leaders also form part of the committee. Their role is to ensure that the best interests of the young people and the community are served by the Group, District, County, or National organisations.

Senior volunteers in The Scout Association are called 'Commissioners'. Every County/Area/Region and District is headed by a Commissioner who is responsible for ensuring the Districts/Groups under their jurisdiction meet the standards set by The Scout Association. They receive support from Regional Development Officers in England, who are employed by the Regional Development Service and deployed locally to help support The Scout Association's objectives. Commissioners in the other nations receive support from Field Commissioners, employed and directed differently. District Commissioners report to the County/Area/Regional Commissioner, who in turn report to the Chief Commissioner.

The Scout Association is divided into four mainland national groupings: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each of these divisions are further broken up into local Counties (England and Northern Ireland), Areas (Wales), or Regions (Scotland), which generally follow the boundaries of the ceremonial counties of Great Britain. The County/Area/Region consists of a number of Scout Districts, which are made up of Groups.

The Groups are the local organisations for Scouting, and are the direct descendants of the original Scout Patrols. Groups can consist of one or more Beaver Colonies, Cub Packs, and Scout Troops. Groups may also have one or more Group Scout Active Support Units, and have an Explorer Scout Unit attached to it, though Explorer Scouts are managed at the District level. Scout Groups are led by a Group Scout Leader whose main role is handling communication between the local District and the Section Leaders and ensuring the Scout Group meets the minimum standard required by The Scout Association. All leaders work as unpaid volunteers, of which there are around 120,000. In addition to this number, the Association employs 198 full-time and part-time staff to support the work of its adult volunteers.