Local Admissions Policy

A young person may be offered a place as a youth member of the Menston St Johns Scout Group subject to the rules and policies of The Scout Association and this Local Admissions Policy.

Registering a child’s interest in joining the Scout Group does not guarantee them a place.

The Scout Group admits youth members subject to a number of constraints, including:

• the child being the appropriate age for each unit;
• maximum unit sizes; and
• the availability of resources to deliver a safe and high-quality programme (e.g., adult volunteers, meeting space/s, supervision ratios etc…).

We record interest for places and, once the child has reached the required age, we prioritise the allocation of places as follows:

• Children of Leaders with a full uniformed role in Scouting
• Children who are already members of the Scout Movement who relocate into the Menston catchment area
• Succession within the Scout Group (e.g., an existing Cub moving to Scouts);
• Whether the child is a sibling of current or past members;
• Whether the child’s home address is in Menston; and
• the child’s age and the length of time that they have been on the ‘waiting to join’ list.

As we are a Joint Scout & Guide Group, it is our policy that a child will be offered a place in either Scouting or Guiding and not both. In line with the Equal Opportunities Policy, membership is open equally to all young people unless otherwise stipulated.

Offers of a place are valid for 14 days only. We may offer a place to two or more people at the same time, in which cases places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The decision to admit anyone to membership of the Scout Group rests with the Group Scout Leader, in accordance with The Scout Association’s policies. There is no formal right of appeal, but we welcome dialogue with parents. The Group Scout Leader can be contacted at gsl@menstonscoutsandguides.uk

The Group Scout Leader may delegate responsibility for admissions of young people to the Team Leader of the unit concerned. Any decision still must be made in accordance with The Scout Association’s policies and this Local Admissions Policy.

There may be situations where a section does not have the capacity or resources to meet the needs of a young person or make the reasonable adjustments necessary. In such instances, the Group Scout Leader will work with the parent(s) or carer(s) to find or create an alternative provision, if at all possible.