Our vision for 2025
Our vision for 2025 was to have prepared more young people with skills for life supported by amazing volunteers that deliver an inspiring programme. The aim was to grow, be more inclusive, shape our work by young people and make a bigger impact in our communities.
As we’re now in 2025, we’re developing a new strategy in line with volunteers and young people’s needs. Since mid 2024, we have been conducting research with people inside and outside of Scouting to inform the development of our next strategy. Watch this space!
Read on for our strategy for up to 2025.
Our mission
Scouts actively engages and supports young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.
Our values
We act with care, respect, integrity, cooperation, exploring our own and others’ beliefs.
Our goals
Our plan is to build on the success of the previous plan: to continue to grow, become more inclusive, to be shaped by young people and to make a bigger impact in our communities. We set new goals for 2025.
Growth
We want to continue growing, bringing skills for life to more young people across the UK.
By 2025 we’ll have:
- 547,000 young people in Scouts, made up of 487,000 young people aged 6-18, plus 60,000 Squirrel Scouts
- 88,000 frontline adult volunteers (Section Leaders and Assistant Section Leaders)
- 19,500 Young Leaders
Our update from the January 2024 census:
- We have 444,682 young people aged 4-18 in the UK (452,109 aged between 4-25).
- 1,700 Squirrel Dreys helping more than 25,000 young people.
- 83,792 frontline adult volunteers
- 19,775 Young Leaders
Inclusivity
Scouts is open to all. We believe it’s a priority to reflect the diversity of the communities we are in.
By 2025 we’ll have:
- 500 more sections created in areas of deprivation since 2018
- 5% of our adult volunteers from Black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds
Our update from the January 2024 census:
- We’ve welcomed and increased the number of volunteers from these backgrounds from 2.7% in 2023 to 3.8% in 2024
- Nearly a third of our total UK movement is female.
Youth Shaped
There has been a growing momentum to ensure young people are shaping their experiences and taking on leadership roles at Scouts. We want to continue to build on this.
By 2025 we’ll have:
- 66% of young people (6-18) will be influencing what happens in Scouting locally
- 57% of young people (6-18) will be using their skills to run Scouting activities for other young people
- 40% of young people 4-14 will be achieving Top Awards
- 10% of young people 14+ will be achieving Top Awards
Community Impact
Since the launch of our social action campaign, A Million Hands, in 2015, over 250,000 young people have had the opportunity to take part in high quality social action on four big issues of our time. The campaign won ‘Cross-Sector Partnership of the Year’ at the Charity Times Awards in 2016.
By 2025 we’ll have:
- 42% of young people will be making a positive impact in their community each year
- 40% of young people 4-14 will be achieving Top Awards
- 10% of young people 14+ will be achieving Top Awards
Our update from the January 2024 census:
- We’re delighted to have given out over 78,000 top awards to our young people in 2024
- This is almost 14,000 more compared to previous year.
To read more about “Our Vision 2025”, please use the following links:
Find out more about what we learnt from the Census in 2024 I Scouts
Developing the plan I Scouts
Our programmes of work I Scouts
The next steps for growing our movement I Scouts
2025 and beyond – Developing our next strategy I Scouts