On Monday, the UK Government confirmed the move to Step 2 of the COVID-19 roadmap. The National Youth Agency have also confirmed that the youth sector in England can move to the next stage of restrictions on Monday 12 April.
We know that many Sections have already been meeting since 29 March, so a big thank you if you’ve already been able to get up and running. We hope that these new updates will allow even more young people to join them in getting back together face-to-face.
The key changes from our current Amber status will be:
Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers will be able to meet indoors, with no legal limit on youth numbers, however you should keep it as one section meeting at a time with flexibility for smaller sections to join together if required. It’s important to remember that physical space will be limited and social distancing of two metres between everyone will be required. You should continue to take all measures to stop transmission and we would recommend most sections to continue meeting outdoors if they can.
Scout Network may also meet indoors but will be limited to maximum group sizes of 15. We continue to encourage outdoor meetings where you can.
Adult activities can only take place outdoors and should follow the current Government guidance.
Trips and visits are now accepted, however these should only be done where you cannot stay local to achieve the outcomes and each must be completed within a day as residential activities remain prohibited.
We’ve updated the information on our readiness levels with the full list of what you can and can’t do from Monday. Remember if you want to find any information to help with your return to Scouts, you can find it on our ‘Getting back together safely’ pages, which now includes a detailed information hub.
We hope with this next stage of restrictions easing that more young people and volunteers are able to return to face-to-face activities, we've created some activities which can help you plan your first few weeks of programme.
Whatever your role in Scouts we appreciate all of your hard work to do this safely, sensitively and in the spirit of the guidance.
Thank you for your incredible efforts to continue Scouting, both now and over the past few months, as we continue to navigate the changing landscape we find ourselves in.
Best wishes,
Sam Morris
Interim Chief Commissioner of England
The Scouts
Graeme Hamilton Deputy UK Chief Commissioner The Scouts