As it’s summer, and Scouts has stopped until September, I have an opportunity to sit back and take a break. But where’s the fun in that? What the summer break does give me the opportunity to do is reflect on the reasons why i.SCOUT. These will be published over the next few weeks, in no particular order.

• To help young people experience an everyday adventure.

Despite the fact I wrote just above that these reasons were in no particular order, this one has to sit right at the top. The main reason why I volunteer as a Scout Leader has to be to help young people experience Scouting.

Scouting has so much to give to young people. A chance to develop themselves physically and mentally, and to develop skills – of both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ types – such as social skills, fire lighting, knots, orienteering/map skills, camping, using knives and saws, climbing, archery, and many many more! This allows Scouts (and Cubs and Beavers) to grow in confidence and have self respect and respect for others.

However, more than this, it is a chance for young people to have fun and to do activities which normally they would not have the chance to do. So few young people really get the chance to go outside and do the activities we do – they used to be the usual pasttimes during summer – go outside and play and muck around. Even when I was young not so long ago, we would go outside and play all day long, but those activities have been taken over by video games and TV, and often many parents do not want their children outside unsupervised. But kids still love being outside and getting dirty! Scouting provides that opportunity and the necessary training for it to be safe.

It is learning through having fun – but mainly just fun!