Waiting list for the Scouts hits record-high as more than 100,000 children wait to join youth programme and demand for volunteers skyrockets

A waiting list to join the Scouts has reached a record-high of more than 100,000 children, as demand for more volunteers skyrockets.

The number of children waiting to join the Scouts rose from 33,000 in 2011 to 60,000 in 2017, and to 90,000 in 2022. 

It comes as parents are looking for ways to boost their children's confidence and self-esteem following the impact of the Covid pandemic.

Simon Carter, spokesman for the Scout Association told MailOnline, that some of the younger Scouts had spent a third of their lives in lockdown measures.

'Mixing with peers, play dates — all those things were missing, and so they joined the Scouts in their thousands', Simon said. 

The organisation has also seen a 5.6 per cent increase (23,018) in membership growth for four to 18-year-olds compared to 2022, which it is looking to increase by 2025.  

But in order to do this, the organisation desperately needs more volunteers to help run its programmes and to help keep up with the growing demand. 

Simon added: 'It is the largest waiting list since we started recording this data and we need more adult volunteers to give these young people the chance to learn key life skills like teamwork, planning leadership and help build resilience.'

The challenge is not declining interest, but rather keeping up with demand, he said.

The number of frontline adult leaders has grown by 4.5% (3,457) from 2022 and is gradually getting back to pre-pandemic levels. A plan is in place to boost volunteer numbers, but as of yet, the demand outweighs the leaders available. 

Simon added: 'Volunteers are at the heart of the Scout Movement. UK-wide our volunteer numbers continue to rise.

'In the last year we have recruited over 2,221 more volunteers to help young people develop key life skills.

'The more volunteers that join Scouts, the more young people can experience the life changing opportunities we offer.

'There are several strategies in place to get more volunteers. So, for example, we have a development team that works across the UK and that development team go where the waiting lists are high to support those Scout groups. 

'There's also structural work that we're doing around volunteering to make it seem less scary. We're changing the names for volunteers and cutting jobs up so they can be shared. 

'We don't just need leaders who work with children, we need treasurers, secretaries and fundraisers.' 

A total of 436,015 young people are currently involved in the Scouts and the organisation is looking to build on this growth to have 547,000 children involved by 2025. 

Simon, who has been actively involved in the Scout Association since 1997, has spoken of the value of volunteer work on people's employability skills and CVs.

He encouraged those interested to contact one of the 27,000 sections in the UK.

He said: 'Being a scout volunteer is fun and rewarding and all our volunteers are provided with training to undertake their roles.

'Volunteering with the Scouts gives adults a chance to develop new skills and friendships.'

To make an enquiry about volunteering for Scouts visit scouts.org.uk./volunteer