Recognising Participation in the Programme
Thursday 22nd July 2021As part of the launch of the new programmes for the Company and Seniors age groups we are pleased to have also launched a range of ways to recognise participation and achievement in the programme.
Badges, certificates and other resources provide a great way to recognise young people’s achievements and encourage them to learn new skills. They can be used to map a young person’s progress through the organisation and provide an incentive for them to continue their journey through the movement. They can also help to add structure and a focus through encouraging completion of activities in each of the 6 activity areas, ensuring young people participate in a balanced programme.
It is important that participation in the programme is recognised and rewarded
Read on to find out more about how we will recognise participation and achievement…
Care Activity Awards
The Core Activity Awards for each age group are all about recognising participation in the programme. The awards are gained by completing a number of activities from each of the 6 Activity Areas. There is no minimum requirement in terms of time for a single activity to be completed, but that members fully participate in the chosen activity.
The Core Activity Awards for Company age group are Bronze, Silver and Gold and for Seniors age group are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
With the Core Activity Awards it is not intended that the programme has a formal ‘awards’ time, but that children and young people gain recognition for their participation in the programme as a whole. So it is more about identifying which parts of the programme will be recorded under the award scheme. Remember, that activities should be programme led, not awards driven.
With no set levels of attainment for the activities for the Core Activity Awards, these are gained by young people participating in particular activities; no external controls are to be applied. The level of achievement will vary for each individual according to their ability and age. During a young person’s time in the age group their level of skill is likely to vary greatly. The onus is on the leaders to ensure that they are fully participating and developing at an appropriate pace.
All the awards involve completing a minimum number of activities in each Activity Area as well as 4 additional ‘Free Choice’ activities from across the Activity Areas encouraging a balanced and varied programme, but also providing some local flexibility. With the ‘Free Choice’ activities young people may choose which additional activities they wish to do, perhaps those they enjoy most, or which give them new challenges. Companies may also decide to concentrate on particular activities that reflect the skills of the leaders, equipment available or meeting space.
A key change in presenting the Core Activity Awards is that only the highest award gained in the Company age group will be retained on the armband when a young person moves into Seniors.
Membership Awards
The Membership Award is to be presented to new members in the age group once they have completed one activity in at least 3 Activity Areas and being introduced/inducted into the age group. There are separate membership awards for Company and Seniors, and the awards should be presented to those moving up age groups as well as those starting out on their BB adventure.
The Membership Award replaces the Compass Badge in the Company age group. Only one Membership Award will be worn at any time (i.e. replaces previous age group’s membership award).
Staged Awards
The Staged Awards are being introduced to build on the Core Activity Awards, as additional (optional) awards that run across both the Company and Seniors age groups. There are 18 Staged Awards, which are all linked to one of the 6 Activity Areas found in the programme continuing our focus on providing a balanced programme with a wide range of opportunities.
Whilst the Core Activity Awards are based on recognising participation in the programme, the Staged Awards take things a step further with young people completing awards based on a set syllabus. The syllabus for each award sets out elements to be completed for each award. Each Staged Award has 4 levels, with Level 1 being an introduction and developing through to Level 4. Young People will be able to work towards any number of staged awards at any one time.
The Staged Awards can be linked to our Major Awards (President’s & Queen’s Badge) and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to help encourage participation in those awards. Certificates will recognise completion of Levels 1 and 2, with badges recognising completion of Levels 3 and 4.
Major Awards
The Major Awards including Discovery Badge, President’s Badge and Queen’s Badge bring together a young person’s achievements in the Company and Seniors age groups and their BB journey as a whole. As part of the age range changes the Discovery Badge will move to being the highest award in the Company age group (gained in year 3), with President’s Badge and Queen’s Badge being gained in the Seniors age group.
The only significant changes across the Major Awards is the introduction of a ‘Faith Journey’ element and requirement
to either complete a specified number of ‘Nights Away’ or ‘Adventure Days’. More details on the requirements for each of the awards can be found on the Programme Hub.
Other Awards
Young people will continue to be able to work towards and gain other existing awards including Nights Away and Recruitment Awards.
