Meet our District Youth Team
This team lead the District Youth Shape strategy and chair the youth forum. They mirror the Senior Leadership Team but lead on projects and initiatives of their own.
Local Youth Commissioners bring a huge number of benefits to local Scouting and help lead the work towards our Youth Shaped strategic objective. They are not the end product of the strategy; they are an enabler and champion for the Youth Shaped work locally. The role is to ensure that young people from 6 – 25 years are involved and engaged in every decision that shapes their Scouting experience locally and to empower young people to share their ideas and have a meaningful voice in planning, implementing and reviewing their programme and opportunities. Youth Commissioners work very closely with the District Commissioner, Deputy District Commissioners and Chair.
The more young people are involved in shaping their Scouting experiences the more they will get out of it, and the more likely they are to stay, do well and achieve their top awards.
Our new strategy; Skills for Life lays out a plan for the next five years to 2023 so that we can support even more adults and young people as we develop Scouting’s future together. With this plan we’re building on the successes of our last plan Scouting for all, by continuing to focus on growth, inclusion, youth shaped Scouting and community impact.
Involving young people in decision making is essential for our governance structures to stay informed and responsive to the fast-paced changes facing young people in the 21st Century. By encouraging a mixture of experiences and ages on our executive committees and District/County teams, we are more likely to encourage healthy debate and make better decisions which are relevant to the lives of young people in today’s society.
There are four themes of youth shaped Scouting:
• Programme
• Leadership (Including transition at 18 years)
• Management
• Governance
Tynemouth District Youth Commissioner Team will have its own strategic plan to work towards along with the District and National plan using the four themes above:
Programme
- Youth forums take place at District level and outputs are actioned by young people in partnership with adults
- The Youth Shaped Programme is driven by the contribution of Peer Leaders (Lodge Leaders, Sixers, Patrol Leaders etc)
Leadership
- More young people continue Scouting when they reach 18 years old, as Network members, Section Leaders and managers in Scouting
- Opportunities for young people to develop leadership skills are provided
Management
- A supportive Appointments Advisory Committee who appoints on aptitude and doesn’t disqualify due to age
- An active and engaged Youth Commissioner
Governance
- Trustees on executive committees mentor and coach their younger counterparts to create an effective and supportive committee
- Under 18s in your District are actively engaged with decisions which directly affect their Scouting experiences
DYCTeam@TynemouthScouts.org.uk
