My child is asking to join the scouts and I’m in two minds.

Op you've made up your mind so why even ask the question?

Several posters have suggested you volunteer - is there a reason why you wouldn’t?

You’re confusing a general risk to a specific one and treating them as the same.

Your school may not have been accused of safeguarding failures, and I’ll bet your local scout group also won’t have been. Some schools have though had safeguarding failures, as have some scout groups.

But there isn’t an ongoing issue with abuse. There’s a handful of abusive individuals. There’ll be a handful of abusive individuals working in the schools in your town, in the wide families of her peers. But there’s no systemic issue.

As long as an organisation acknowledges that there are safeguarding risks, and adopt policies and procedures that aim to keep children safe, that’s the important thing.

I’m confused as to why you deem your child’s teachers safer than your local Scout leaders.

The way I see it, is they won’t remember a missed camp (you don’t miss what you don’t have as a child), but they’d remember an unwanted action from a grown up for the rest of their life.

It's not an either/or, you know.

Volunteer as a co-leader then - they will be thrilled to have you. My daughter has had the most amazing experiences of her life through scouting.

My son is at cubs. Of the three leaders only one is a man, they meet in a village hall and play games/ make crafts etc. Parents can get involved on a volunteering basis if they want to. There are about twenty kids in the hall... boys and girls... I'm not sure what problems you are envisioning. When they go to the scout outdoor centres they have one bathroom for adults and one bathroom for kids so there is no mixing across the ages. We have talked to my son a lot about consent and touching so I suppose if anyone tried anything he'd know to stop it, but its never even crossed my mind as a concern. We know and trust the leaders well over the years.

Where I live you would have to volunteer to become a leader if you wanted any hope of your daughter getting a space, so your worry might well be an irrelevance.

It’s normal for children to go through Beavers and Cubs before Scouts and waiting lists are incredibly long.

My daughter is at Scouts and loves it.

I hope you let her, the kids i have seen go though scouts, cadets etc have really benefited,become more confident, gained good life skills as well as a group of friends that like being outdoors and are responsible citizens.

Safeguarding in organisations is alot more tighter than it used to be and at 11 she is becoming more able to talk about issues.

Presumably she won’t be going on any school trips or sleepovers either? Poor kid - she’s going to miss out on such a lot, including gaining the confidence to keep herself safe, because of your highly skewed perceptions.

Honesty around here scouts have a massive waiting list. You could be stressing out about a decision that you might not have to make .

Excellent advice.

My DD has had an amazing time in the Cubs and Scouts. The safeguarding has been great on camps. I also thought that adults who were interested sexually in girls, would be less likely to join the Scouts.

@BiddyPopthe2nd

Parents were welcomed on many of our activities - hikes etc. Any who did the vetting and safeguarding training were welcome to stay overnight on camp/hostel trips.

Unfortunately, sexual abuse is highly under-reported especially in the time it takes place (may be disclosed years or decades later). Having a dbs check and online training does not mean someone isn’t keen on children, it simply means they haven’t been caught for anything yet.

I understand that there are risks everywhere but risks are about balancing the benefits and potential costs. Kids need school, for example, even if their teacher is male. They don’t need a club, it’s totally optional. And a club that promotes sleepovers is going to be very appealing for abusers, as it has been proved to be in the past - and present.

Child abuse hasn’t gone away because people get DBS checks now. Sadly, it’s still alive and kicking.

https://www.boltburdonkemp.co.uk/abuse-claims/where-does-abuse-happen/scouts/scouts-abuse-map/

These are scary and enlightening statistics.

YANBU to be cautious about an organisation that has been, and probably still is, a honeypot for paeds.

My child is in Beavers and we decline all sleepovers and camping. When they’re old enough and confident enough to know what’s right and wrong and how to communicate issues, we’ll rethink if they really want to.

Child abuse is sadly rife. YANBU to protect your child and use your instincts to do so.

The way I see it, is they won’t remember a missed camp (you don’t miss what you don’t have as a child), but they’d remember an unwanted action from a grown up for the rest of their life.

Some people have very loose safeguarding measures and that’s a risk they take for themselves and their families, but there’s nothing wrong with being more cautious and protective when it comes to avoiding situations that carry risk to your child, who can’t protect themselves.

Scouting is not a club. Ssd to learm abouts such an experience but theset hingsvcan happen anywhere even on a home sleepover.

Would you let her go to Church?

You've only seen the bad stuff nobody mentions the wonderful good stuff. Let her go ask for a chat with the leaders.and encoursge her to do everything available. Scouting is the best thing for all. Dont let a few bad pennies skew your judgement. There are some of those everywhere.

I was a Cub Leader in Ireland for over 10 years (and only left to go overseas for work 2 years ago). Safeguarding was sacrosanct. Huge amount of training initially and revisions every couple of years (mandatory). Garda vetting done every 2 years. We were always clear with parents about safeguarding and what we do. The cubs were all used to being dragged along with us if we had to do something with 1 Cub (deal with a cut, or tears etc) so there was never ever a 1on1 situation.

Parents were welcomed on many of our activities - hikes etc. Any who did the vetting and safeguarding training were welcome to stay overnight on camp/hostel trips.

And overnight activities are not mandatory - we always had a few not coming because of schedule issues, some who didn’t come for not being ready or family reasons. And some who came with the intention of staying but going home late in the evening as they got homesick. Sometimes we had the odd one come for the day but planning not to stay the night but just do the activities who sent mum/dad home again in the end….so we were happy to work around what worked for each family.

The best thing is to talk to you local Leaders, and other parents in your group, and see if you are happy with how they manage.

And you can always pull your child if there’s any impropriety, and there are routes to ensure any impropriety is dealt with properly. But in my time (and my earlier time as a Girl Guide and young Leader, and as a Scout Leader in a different Venture unit), I have never had any issues to be concerned it.