Squirrels. A new adventure in a well known tail.
Squirrels is a completely new provision for 4–5 year olds. There are plenty of reasons to get stuck in, as Squirrels gives young people the chance to:
- Make friends
- Have fun outdoors
- Learn new things
- Earn badges through fun activities
This new programme is currently open in 200 areas, we are lucky to have opened three Squirrel Dreys in the District. We’ll get in touch when there’s a group near you. Squirrels might not be open in your community just yet, but you can still register your interest in volunteering with Squirrels now.
Will you be our next Squirrels volunteer?
Volunteering’s not just about giving back – the benefits go both ways. All of our activities are run by amazing volunteers. Volunteering lets you try new things, meet new people, and make a difference. We know that volunteering is #GoodForYou because when you volunteer, you’ll:
- Do something good for your community and yourself
- Gain skills for the future
- Spend time with your children or gain experience with young people
- Make friends
- Make memories
Volunteering will keep your body and brain active as you make a huge difference to young people’s lives – helping them develop skills for life and learn a whole lot about themselves along the way.
It doesn’t matter if you want to get involved regularly or help out occasionally – we can find the right fit for you.
Tree, two, one, go!
As the programme grows, we’ll have hundreds of activities for 4 and 5 year olds. There are already plenty of fun Squirrels activities within our activity finder, if you’re looking for something to keep young people occupied. Check out the activities and be inspired to give something new a go.
The programme
Take a sneak peak at the amazingly adventurous, fun packed, skills building programme.
Our new uniform
The Squirrels have a smart look, and a perfect place to sew those well earned badges. Take a peak at what’s available for the Squirrels to wear.
Your closest Squirrel drey
At present we have six groups launching Squirrels in Hawk District,
- 1st Rowlands Castle
- 1st Cowplain
- 1st Hart Plain
- 1st Homewell
- 2nd Waterlooville
- 3rd Hayling
Squirrels is initially only opening in limited locations and rolling out slowly over the next couple years, we’ll share an update when we open more Dreys in Hawk District.
Learn more about the Squirrels pilots
Our pilots showed that working with younger children opens up new opportunities for adults (especially parents) to try volunteering with Scouts. New volunteers have also shown an interest in supporting Scouts beyond the pilots and across different roles.
We tested three different models (family-led, partner-led and Scout-led) through the pilots to understand the best delivery model. They all ran the same programme, which combined the best of Scouts with what we (and the experts) know about young children’s needs.
Safety and safeguarding
Parents and new leaders can learn about how leaders are keeping our young people safe in Squirrels.
Inclusion
Scouts is an inclusive, values based movement. Check out how we have made sure inclusion has been at the heart of our Squirrels story.
Moving up to Beavers
Eventually, it’ll be time to say farewell to Squirrels and embrace your next big adventure.
