Practical resources for Scout leaders, including badge guidance, activity ideas, teaching tips, safety advice and resources to help Scouts develop essential skills.
Planning a survival skills activity for Scouts doesn’t have to mean organising a complicated survival camp. With the right plan, you can turn simple skills such as shelter building, navigation, fire safety, knots, outdoor cooking or first aid into an engaging activity that gets young…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 1-3 hours depending on activitiesLocation: Suitable woodland, campsite or outdoor training areaBest for: Scout leaders, Explorers and outdoor instructorsSkills: Survival skills, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, navigation, shelter building, fire safety and outdoor awareness The best survival activities for Scout leaders are simple,…
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of our links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Packing a rucksack for Scout camp can seem straightforward until you realise just how much equipment a child may…
Preparing your child for a Scout camp can sometimes feel like a military operation. There are clothes to organise, sleeping equipment to find, toiletries to pack and the inevitable question of whether they’ve actually remembered where their torch is. The good news is that packing…
Going away on their first Scout camp can be a big moment for a child. For some children, the idea of sleeping in a tent, spending time outdoors and being away from home is incredibly exciting. For others, it can feel a little daunting. As…
If your child is going on their first Scout camp, working out what they actually need to take can be surprisingly difficult. You don’t want them arriving without something important, but you also don’t want to fill their rucksack with things they won’t use. The…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 45–90 minutesLocation: Suitable indoor or outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts, Explorers and outdoor enthusiastsSkills: Communication, signalling, teamwork, observation, Morse code, semaphore, message handling Communication has always been an important part of Scouting. Before mobile phones and digital radios, Scouts had to…
Activity Overview Can your team use grid references to find the hidden checkpoints? 👦 Age: 8–18👥 Group size: 4–30⏱️ Duration: 45–60 minutes📍 Location: Outdoors⭐ Difficulty: 3/5 Grab a map, split into teams and get ready to explore. In this navigation activity, teams must use grid…
Activity Overview Can your team build a stable star-shaped campfire? 👦 Age: 8–18👥 Group size: 4–24⏱️ Duration: 45–60 minutes📍 Location: Outdoors⭐ Difficulty: 3/5 A good campfire doesn’t happen by accident. Before you strike a match or create a spark, you need to think about the…
Activity Overview Can you spot the hazards before they cause a problem? 👦 Age: 8–18👥 Group size: 4–30⏱️ Duration: 45–60 minutes📍 Location: Indoors or outdoors⭐ Difficulty: 2/5 Imagine you’ve just arrived at a campsite. Everything looks fine at first, but there could be hazards hiding…
Activity Overview Can you build a tiny raft that actually floats? 👦 Age: 6–18👥 Group size: 2–30⏱️ Duration: 30–45 minutes📍 Location: Outdoors or indoors⭐ Difficulty: 2/5 Grab some sticks, find some string and get ready to build. This simple twig raft activity is a brilliant…
Activity Overview Can you build a safe little home for solitary bees? 👦 Age: 6–18👥 Group size: 2–30⏱️ Duration: 45–60 minutes📍 Location: Outdoors or indoors⭐ Difficulty: 2/5 Bees aren’t just busy making honey. They’re also incredibly important pollinators, helping plants produce fruits, seeds and new…
