A couple of weeks in the life of a... Scout ADC Adult Training

You'll notice that I mostly blog on here about crafty and family oriented activities, but I also spend quite a lot of my time Scouting.  I've been a volunteer with The Scout Association since I was 21, and my current role is Assistant District Commissioner (Adult Training) for Clackmannanshire.

I think that the principles behind Scouting are sound - all about developing young people physically, mentally, spiritually - the whole deal.  Scouting sells itself on the outdoors and adventurous activities, but it does much more than that.  I was a Scout from the age of 15, and I certainly wouldn't be the person I am today without what Scouting offered me.  Most of my closest friends are those I made as a young Scout, and many of the friends I've made as an adult have been through Scouting.  Volunteering, as well as being fun and fulfilling for me, is also about increasing the opportunity for more young people to get the same thing from Scouting.

So what do I do as an ADC (AT)?  Here's a run down of some of the things I've been doing this last couple of weeks:

• I've delivered a course on "Valuing Diversity"
• The next night I delivered a course on "Skills of Leadership", which is a fun course involving lots of hands on activity (with toys!).
• I've updated my training spreadsheet for one of the Groups in the District, ensuring that my list of Leaders matches up with the District Directory and the membership database, updating my list of which modules Leaders have completed.
• I've been to visit a Leader who has been abandoned without a Training Adviser, and was able to validate a lot of Modules for her based on her previous experience and the knowledge and skills that she demonstrated in our discussion.
• I've spent an evening beginning the planning process for a training day/weekend that we'll be running for Assistant District and Region Commissioners, which will be held in February.
• I've started to review the new materials for Modules 11 and 20 (Administration).

Sound like the type of thing that you'd be interested in?  There are nearly half a million Scouts in the UK, and it wouldn't operate without the volunteer Leaders.  There are opportunities for people to be Leaders, administrators, to sit on committees, to occasionally help with activities.  Go to www.scouts.org.uk to get in touch with Scouting near you, and I'm sure that they'll be able to make use of whatever skills and time you have to offer.