Membership Policy

Introduction

Upholland Scouts is a popular group, which often means that we have more young people who want to join than we can accommodate. We want as many people as possible to take part in the adventure that scouting offers, so we maintain a membership waiting list.

If you find our waiting list too long, or you can’t make the Friday evening when all our Sections meet there are other nearby groups you can find details of on at https://www.scouts.org.uk/

Click Join Scouts on the top banner, on the next page click on the age group you need, then put your postcode in “Want to be a Scout-Find your local group”

To be transparent we have defined the criteria of how we prioritise our list. The criteria for people who are looking to become new members is set out below.

We operate within the equal opportunities policy of The Scout Association and are open to all young people, aged from 6 to 14 years, subject to spaces being available, and the section having sufficient adults to run.

Prioritising the waiting list for new members

These criteria will be used in prioritising the waiting list for new members. It does not apply to members who are moving from one section to the next. We’ll prioritise by applying the criteria in the following order:

1. Families who help run the group: The group does not exist without volunteers, and we feel it’s reasonable that someone who’s willing to invest time in helping to support the Scout Group should be able to include their child (or children) in that experience. So, young people whose parents or carers are prepared to become Section Leaders, Section Assistants, or take another formal role in regularly supporting the Group will be given priority on the waiting list.
2. Siblings: we recognise that enjoyment of scouting is increased when siblings take part. So we give priority to older or younger siblings of young people who are members of the group, but assuming they have been on the waiting list for at least 6 months. (as it would be unfair to give a place to a younger sibling whose name has been on the list one week compared to a new joiner on the list three years). Siblings must register on the waiting list just like everyone else.
3. Transferring: existing Scout Association members moving into the area from another part of the country
4. Catchment area: the group does not have a fixed catchment area for membership but aims to be an active part of the Upholland community. We are now the only uniformed young people’s organisation in Upholland and aim to support membership from pupils of our sponsor church schools, St. Thomas the Martyr, St. Teresa’s Roman Catholic and Roby Mill schools or the secondary schools they feed to. We will prioritise new members who live in the Parish of Upholland.
5. Length of time on the waiting list

The group maintains a single waiting list. The core age range for each section is:

Beavers: 5 ¾ to 8 years

Cubs: 7 ½ to 10 ½ years

Scouts: 10 to 14 ½ years