A Wood Badge is the recognition that a leader or manager has completed the required training for their role. A Training Adviser (TA) can validate your competence in each required area based on evidence from previous experience or activities in Scouting, or advise on what additional learning you may need before validation.
You have options around what leadership appointment you want to have, with how much training, and how that training can be completed. For details please see here. An overview of the training scheme modules is available here.
Agreeing a Personal Learning Plan
Before your appointment is confirmed as full, a Training Adviser will help you define a plan to achieve the Wood Badge taking into account your past experiences in Scouting, your job, or other voluntary work you have done. This will lay out:
- what modules you can already validate and how;
- what courses, e-learning or workbooks you may need to do before validating.
Details of all the modules and their validation for Leaders and Assistant Leaders is here; and for Managers and Supporters is here.
Learning via courses
Online learning courses can be done for many modules whenever, wherever you want and are available here.
Harmonised learning brings together several modules into one or two days and are available for both Leaders (e.g. Section Leaders, Assistant Section Leaders) and Managers & Supporters (e.g. DCs, ADCs. GSLs).
For Leaders we have Wood Badge days, which is great if you are new to Scouting or need learning for most of the modules. It condenses all of the Leader modules (except First Aid, which is trained separately) into two non-residential days (called WB1 and WB2). This is delivered by our experienced, friendly trainer team as fun, interactive training with other new Leaders to share ideas and build your Scouting network. By attending the whole course you cover all the modules, and can then validate your learning with your Training Adviser.
Participant comments:
I enjoyed the weekend and learnt a lot. Great taking away a lot of useful information. Good learning + a bit of a laugh. A great weekend overall and lots to learn from. Thanks. Good start to my training, enjoyed the weekend, thank you!
Simply book online through the Training page here.
For Managers & Supporters there are three courses available, Skills of Management, Achieving Growth and Meeting the Challenges which can be booked here.
For more information on training and validation of leadership roles please see here.
For those who drive minibuses there is also the MiDAS programme developed to enhance driving and passenger awareness skills available here.
If you have any questions or probelms with training please contact your Training Adviser; your Local Training Manager, or Administrator from our contacts page here; or the County Training Manager at [email protected].
Validating your learning
Validation is the documentation of your competence in each of the modules by a Training Adviser, based on evidence from previous experience or activities in Scouting. If you don’t have a TA, please ask your Group Scout Leader or line manager; or contact [email protected].
Each module of your Personal Learning Plan needs to be validated, even if you are using your prior experience without additional learning. The validation requirements for each module are detailed in the Adult’s Personal File for Section Leaders and in the Adult’s Personal File for Managers and Supporters.
Your TA will work with you to help you meet these validation requirements.
What can I expect?
- Help and support from your TA to choose the right modules for your role and validate them. A module can be validated by :
- evidence of your relevant prior experience – for example at work or from another organisation;
- agreeing with your TA activities you will complete as part of your normal Scouting role and a report back.
- Learning on courses is not necessary for any module if you can demonstrate you already have the knowledge and ability to validate the module without it.
- While it’s best to keep in touch with your own TA, other TAs can validate your modules.
How can I provide evidence for validation?
- Discussion with your TA, in person or by ‘phone/Skype or similar of activities relevant to the module content;
- a report from an observer about an activity you completed – this can be written, e-mail, or verbal;
- paperwork such as programme plans, letters to parents, instructions for activities, risk assessments, notes from activities or meetings, etc;
- photographs or videos of a validation activity;
- obtaining a qualification, such as a First Aid certificate or Nights Away permit;
- completing a questionnaire;
- a visit from a TA to see you carrying out an activity;
- presentations to adults or young people in Scouting.
If you have any questions about validation please contact your Training Adviser; your Local Training Manager, or Administrator from our contacts page here; or the County Training Manager at [email protected].
Your contact details, appointments and Personal Learning Plan will be saved on your profile on Compass.
- Registering and logging into your Compass account
- Managing your Compass profile and preferences
- Viewing your training record