Scout Active Support is a section of The Scout Association in the United Kingdom that provides support to delivering the youth programme of the Scouts. This support is carried out by Scout Active Support Units, which can be based at every level of the association with 35 national units (as of January 2020) and over 1,400 other units at county, district and group levels. The section was first formed in 1948 as the B-P Guild of Old Scouts but was known as the Scout Fellowship between 1976 and 2009 when the current name of Scout Active Support was chosen to more accurately reflect the aims of the section as it was changed to make them more proactive and flexible. The support offered by Scout Active Support Units varies depending on their focus and specialism but generally focuses on either programme delivery to young people, such as through instruction in scout skills, bushcraft, adventurous activities, event delivery and faith exploration or on the development of Scouting through events and administrative help.

History

B-P Guild: 1947–1976

Forty years after the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island in 1907, the International Scout Conference held in France in August 1947 recommended the creation of associations for Old Scouts by each national Scout associations with a target for this to be achieved by the following year when the 40th anniversary of the official start of the movement (as considered at the time) was to be celebrated. Three months later in November, a British Old Scouts Conference was held at Gilwell Park which planned out the creation of the new organisation, with a membership made up of old Scouts at group and district level and distinct and separate from the training sections within the Boy Scouts at the time. The new B-P Guild of Old Scouts was launched in June 1948. Five years later in October 1953, a review was made of the organisation as the Guild was not as involved with the Boy Scouts Association as originally hoped which led to the guild being split into its own separate organisation with their own constitution, elected council and committee. As part of the split, £1,000 was gifted by the Boy Scouts to the new Guild which was repaid two years later. The Scouts and the new Guild would share each others publications, liaise at all levels, share responsibility for recruiting within the Scouts and their leaders. The Scouts would urge all former Scouts to join the guild and in return each Guild branch would perform services to local Scouts as much as thy were able. It coincided with the creation of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship, of which the Guild was a founder member adopting their badge in June 1957. The Guild was renamed the B-P Scout Guild in May 1955 as it moved to admit members who had not been Scouts which was achieved in June 1958. At this time, the Guild were also given their own camp site at Gilwell Park, Ferryman field, and built their own chalet on the site which stood from 1961 to 1995. As they were not a part of the association at the time, the B-P Scout Guild were not subject to any changes as a result of The Chief Scout's Advance Party Report, although a Scout Supporters Association was recommended to be established in every district that would include all adults involved with Scouting in that area and which would include guild members. This recommendation was approved in principle but would require further research. The guild would re-join the newly renamed Scout Association in April 1971.

Scout Fellowship: 1976–2009

In May 1974 the role of the B-P Scout Guild was examined as part of a wider report into the future of adult support in Scouting. This resulted in the creation of the Scout Fellowship in October 1976 which replaced the Guild, service teams and other supporting organisations with a new district level grouping. As Fellowship began to grow it brought in other elements of the movement such as the Deep Sea Scouts in April 1991. As part of a wider review of the entire Scout movement in the late 1990s a number of changes to the Scout Fellowship occurred in 1999. A 1998 National Conference led to the development of a new plan and a motto for the group: 'providing active support' which was solidified the following year when the Scout Fellowship was made a full part of The Scout Association and integrated under the auspices of Adult Support. This move meant that the Fellowship, now a part of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, is no longer a member of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship. It gained a new sectional logo along with the wider Scout rebranding of 2002.

Scout Active Support: 2009–present

In September 2009 the Scout Fellowship was renamed as 'Scout Active Support', following a three year review that revealed some aspects of Scout Fellowship were working while other aspects were more confused by other members which resulted in the name change to make it clearer what the purpose of the section was. Following the rebrand, Scout Active Support was promoted as a flexible way for people to volunteer with the Scouts without the full-time commitment needed to be a regular leader.

Organisation

Scout Active Support is open to all adults over 18 years of age, including leaders with other sections and members of the Scout Network, subject to satisfactory checks under the Scout Association Child Protection Policy. Scout Active Support members can choose whether to become full or associate members of the Scout Association and wear Scout uniform that is identical to other adult members with the addition of an identifying badge. There is no requirement that members have been involved in the movement before joining and in recent years Scout Active Support have been promoted as a flexible way in which to volunteer with the movement for those who are unable or unwilling to commit to more regular voluntary work. Scout Active Support Units can be run at a local level by Scout groups, districts and counties or equivalent with a Scout Active Support Manager in charge and an annually reviewed service agreement in place to specify the activities of the unit. The minimum standards of a unit is deliberately limited to having leadership in place and that the unit provides an active support service to Scouting in some fashion. These local units are also overseen by the relevant local manager, such as Group Scout Leaders or Commissioners, and must support it to ensure it meets its objectives. Some local units include the term 'Scout Active Support Unit' in their name while others call their unit by another name and only include their identification as a Scout Active Support Unit on letterheads or formal communications. A small number of units which operate nationally can apply to be a National Scout Active Support Unit which operates in the same way as a local unit with the Deputy UK Commissioner for Programme (Support) taking the place of the local manager, with the Assistant UK Commissioner for Programme (Scout Active Support) co-ordinating the registration of these groups with headquarters and agreeing the three-yearly service agreement. Aside from this, these units have a manager in similar fashion to local units.

National Scout Active Support Units

National Scout Active Support Units are groups of volunteers who have formed an Active Support Unit registered directly with the Scout Association and include special interest, activity centre, faith-based and international organisations.

Special Interest

The majority of groups are broad in membership and instead focuses on providing support for a particular activity or supporting large events.

Adventure Centre

These units provide support to the national Scout Adventures centres.

Faith

These organisations promote and support Scouting and Guiding within their faith.

International

These organisations support members interested in Scouting around the world. Some are considered Special Interest Groups by the International Scout Support Unit.