Beavers Badges and Awards
Even though the emphasis is on a Programme that is balanced with a variety of activities, there are still badges and awards for Beaver Scouts to aim for during their time with the Colony. Badges and awards are given in recognition of the effort made by each young person at their own level.
The Membership Award
This Award helps the young person understand the commitment they are making when they make the Promise and become a Member of the Movement. It covers the history, traditions and practices of Scouting.
Joining In Awards
The Joining In Awards recognise a commitment to Scouting. They celebrate Beaver Scouts participating in a Balanced Programme over a period of time. They are awarded on the anniversary of the young person joining Scouting.
Challenges
The Challenges complement the Balanced Programme. These have been developed to extend Beaver Scouts’ skills and experience in a particular area. There are six Challenges in the Beaver Scout Section:
Activity Badges
Activity Badges are optional, but they provide an opportunity to reward a young person who has taken part in an activity over a period of time. They should raise interest and extend a young person’s skills throughout their time in Scouting. There are 12 Beaver Scout Activity Badges:
Adventure
Air Activities
Animal Friend
Creative
Experiment
Explore
Faith
Health & Fitness Healthy Eating Hobbies Imagination Safety
Staged Activity Badges
In addition to the Beaver Scout Activity Badges, there are six Activity Badges staged across all the Sections, which gives a young person the opportunity to develop an area of interest throughout their time in Scouting from 6 – 18. They are:
Emergency Aid
Hikes Away
Information Technology
Musician Nights Away Swimmer
Partnership Awards
Partnership Awards are designed to encourage Sections to work together, and for Scouts to work with other young people in their community. There are three Partnership Awards
The International Friendship Award
The Environment Award
The Faith Award
Chief Scout’s Bronze Award
This badge is the highest award available in the Beaver Scout Section. It is gained by completing
Creative Challenge Fitness Challenge Friendship Challeng
Global Challenge Outdoor Challenge Promise Challenge
The Chief Scout’s Bronze Award can be worn on the Cub Scout Uniform once they move onto
Cubs.
The Moving-On Award
This helps ease the transfer of a Beaver Scout to the Cub Scout Pack. It also allows the Beaver Scout to be invested into the Pack immediately, recognising that they are already Members of the Scout Movement.
Beaver Scout Sleepovers
Sleepovers give young people their first experience of a night away from home without their parents/carers. They are intended to plant a ‘seed’, which then grows as the young person moves through the Sections. Leaders have to be specially trained before they may take young people away, so you know they will always be in safe hands. Sleepovers in the Beaver Scout Section must be indoors and must not exceed 24 hours. They provide an excellent opportunity for young people to try out activities that are not possible at the regular Colony Meeting. As you might imagine, the whole atmosphere of living together even for a short while as a Colony is very special for the young people involved.
Beaver Scouting…it’s just the start!
While a young person is in Beavers they will have fun, make friends and get to do exciting activities that they wouldn’t get to do anywhere else. But this is just the start! Beavers is the first step in Scouting for future development as individuals and Scouts. It will seem that they have only just started before it will be time to ‘swim up’ to Cubs!
Beavers on-line
Beaver Scouts have their own colourful pages on The Scout Association’s website where they can
find out information, play games, puzzles and quizzes. Find out more at: www.scouts.org.uk/beavers
Resources for Beaver Scouts
Beaver Scouts have their own special handbook called The Beaver Scout Logbook. It is a Beaver Scout’s guide to the programme and has lots of space for them to colour things in, draw and learn about Scouting.