Admission Policy

Management of Scout Group Admissions and Section Transfers

This Policy follows the principles outlined in the Castle Morpeth District Scouts Policy.

  1. We will always manage waiting lists for entries and transfers in a fair and justifiable way without discrimination.
  2. We will always try to keep waiting lists to a minimum by:
    1. Forward planning to anticipate numbers in Sections, Units and Groups
    2. Good management with Group Section Leaders(GSLs)/Leaders actively working with District/Group Registrars
    3. Increasing capacity within the Group if waiting lists become a permanent feature.
  3. Group intakes occur three times a year, at the beginning of a new term, to accommodate existing members moving through from the younger sections and new children starting.

Priority

Inevitably, waiting lists will occur from time to time. We will manage admissions and transfers in the following priority order:

  1. Transfer of members between Sections within a Group (e.g. Cubs to Scouts in the same Group)
    Further prioritisation is shown below.

    Where there are duplicate sections within a Group, the Registrar will manage requests for transfers (e.g. from one Cub Pack to another) but using these priorities as guidance.

  2. Transfer of members into a Section from another Group within or outside the District
    Priority order is: within the District, within the County, outside the County.

    Further prioritisation for each of these is shown below.

  3. Entry for non-members
    Further prioritisation is shown below.

Further Prioritisation

Where the priorities above are not sufficient to manage a waiting list, the following criteria must be applied in the order shown:

  1. Parent/guardian commits to taking up a Scouting appointment
  2. Parent/guardian commits to regular support (normally every week)
  3. Sibling already in the Group
  4. Resident of the town/village where the Group is located
  5. Resident in an area not served by a Scout Group

Notes

Applications: applications will only be considered for young people older than 4 years. There is no advantage in applying earlier than this. Any under 51/2 will be held on an ‘expression of interest’ list and contacted later.

All applications must be made to the appropriate Group registrar using the relevant Group forms. Enquiries received electronically via the Scouting website are equally valid, but may be transcribed to an application form and completed later.

The date of receipt of applications form will be recorded i.e. the date a registration form (or electronic request from Website) is received by the Registrar. This may be used for prioritising where applications cannot be separated.

Siblings: siblings will not automatically be given preferential entry. Parents/guardians must submit application forms to add them to a waiting list as is the case for any other non-member, and the priority criteria are applied.

Full groups: in the event of all Groups being full (as defined by the GSL), priority will be given to situations where a parent/guardian volunteers to assist (additional priorities i and ii), in order to create more capacity.

Availability: at the time of application, parents/guardians will be given details of the Sections in Groups with vacancies. For requests for entry into a specific Section in the Group, applicants must be informed that they will be added to that Section’s specific waiting list and that it may take longer to find a vacancy than in other Sections. Applicants will be informed if there are vacancies elsewhere in the District.

Allocation: Places will generally be assigned approx. 4 weeks in advance of the starting date. Before this time no places will be reserved. Parents/guardians listed on the application form will be notified of all available places in priority order. If an offer is rejected, the application will wait until vacancies again become available.

Discrimination: Prioritisation will only be based on the considerations listed. Importantly, there must be no positive or negative discrimination in the process for example by age, race, religion, gender, social differences or disability.

Entry/Transfer Ages

These are the ages that entry/transfers would normally be made. However, as indicated there is flexibility to cater for individual needs and circumstances at Leaders’ and GSL’s discretion. These must be used for the benefit of young members and not for the needs of Groups/Units. These ranges can be extended but must be approved by the District Commissioner.

Section entering/transfering into Entry age Flexibility to enter/transfer at
Beavers 6 years 53/4 years
Cubs 8 years between 71/2 and 81/2 years
Scouts 101/2 years between 10 and 11 years
Explorers 14 years between 131/2 and 141/2 years
Network 18 years between 171/2 and 18 years

Membership in two sections at the same time is not permitted unless in exceptional circumstances and subject to the approval of the District Commissioner.

Last updated: June 2020