The Scouts, like any other organisation, is full of terms that may be confusing. Here is a list of all the terms we think you may come across in your journey with Northamptonshire County Scouts.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Alpha
ACC – Assistant County Commissioner
ACC/A – Assistant County Commissioner Activities
ACC/ASD – Assistant County Commissioner Active Support Development
ACC/BS – Assistant County Commissioner Beaver Scouts (6 – 8yrs)
ACC/CS – Assistant County Commissioner Cub Scouts (8 – 10.5yrs)
ACC/D – Assistant County Commissioner Development
ACC/ES – Assistant County Commissioner Explorer Scouts (15.5 – 18yrs)
ACC/I – Assistant County Commissioner International
ACC/S – Assistant County Commissioner Scouts (10.5 – 14.5yrs)
ACC/SN – Assistant County Commissioner Network (18 – 25 years)
Activity badges – Specialist optional badges that extend a young person’s interest or skills.
Air scouts – Branch of scouts that has a clear focus on air activities in their programme.
Akela – Traditional name used in some cub packs for the cub scout leader. Akela is the Leader of the wolf pack in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
Assistant County Commissioner – Reports to the Deputy County Commissioner, has special responsibility for a specific aspect of Northamptonshire, i.e. Assistant County Commissioner Beavers.
Bravo
Baden-Powell – Lord Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941) was the founder of the scout movement and serves as Chief Scout of the World.
Badge – Actvity badges allow Scouts to learn new things and demonstrate their skills
Be Prepared – The motto of The Scout Association originally introduced by Baden-Powell.
Beaver scout – An invested member of the movement aged between 6 and 8 years.
Charlie
CC – County Commissioner.
Chief scout – The chief scout leads Scouting in the UK. The present chief scout is Bear Grylls.
Colony – The name given to a grouping of beaver scouts.
County – Geographical area in England and Northern Ireland which provides administrative support to scout districts and groups – In Wales, counties are called Areas.
County Chair – The County Chair leads the Executive Committee, ensuring that it fulfils its responsibilities within the County.
County Commissioner – The County Commissioner is responsible for Scouting in the whole of Northamptonshire.
County Executive Committee – The Executive Committee makes decisions and carry out administrative tasks to ensure that the best quality Scouting can be delivered to young people in the County.
County Training Manager –
County Youth Commissioner – Represents young people on the Senior Management Team, and ensures the views of the young people are presented.
County Young Leader Coordinator – ????
CTM – County Training Manager
Cub scout – An invested member of the movement aged between 8 and 10½ years.
CYC – County Youth Commissioner.
CYLC – County Young Leader Coordinator
Delta
DC – District Commissioner
DCC – Deputy County Commissioner
DCC/AS – Adult Support
DCC/DS – District Support
DCC/P – Programme
Deputy County Commissioner – Reports to the County Commissioner, and will have special responsibility for a cor aspect of county scouting
District – A collection of scout groups within an identifiable boundary, led by a district commissioner.
District Commissioner – in charge of a scouting District
District badge – A badge worn by members of each scout district to identify where they come from.
DoE – Duke of Edinburgh Award
Duke of Edinburgh Award – the DoE has three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Echo
Exec – County Executive Committee
Explorer scout – An invested member of the movement aged between 14 and 18 years.
Foxtrot
Flag break – A ceremony traditionally held at the beginning of meetings or events. The national flag is ‘broken’ and saluted by those present.
Golf
Gang show – Form of scout entertainment similar to a variety show.
Gilwell Park – The UK national headquarters of The Scout Association, national training centre and activity centre.
Grand howl – A traditional ceremony of welcome based on the Jungle Book theme. A grand howl is usually used to open and/or close a cub scout pack meeting or event. Grand howls differ from pack to pack.
Group scout leader – The person appointed by the scout district responsible for the leadership and management of a scout group.
GROW – a group of people committed to helping with growth in numbers.
Hotel
Helper – An adult who helps with a section but does not hold a leader appointment.
India
Investiture – The ceremony at which a member takes the promise when they join the movement or move sections.
Juliett
Jamboree – A large, international gathering of scouts. World Scout Jamborees are normally held every four years.
Lima
Leader – All adults who run or help run a section are called leaders.
Left handshake – A special handshake used by most scouts across the world as an act of friendship. This goes back to when Baden-Powell was a soldier in Africa. He saw a large number of tribal chiefs who carried spears and shields and noticed that it was a sign of great trust to offer your left hand when shaking hands. This was because you had to put down your shield and yet leave the other person holding a spear.
Local Training Manager –
Lodge – The name given to a small group of Beaver Scouts within a Beaver Colony.
Mike
MAPS – Manager of the Activity Permit Scheme
Membership award – This is the award given to members upon their investiture into a section.
Motto – The motto of Scouting is ‘Be Prepared.’
November
Necker/Neckerchief – Coloured scarf worn by Members. Neckers clearly identify members with a particular scout group, district or county/area.
Papa
Pack – The name given to a grouping of cub scouts.
Patrol – The name given to a small group of scouts within a scout troop, led by a Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader.
Patrol Leader – A more experienced scout who is responsible for a patrol, assisted by an Assistant Patrol Leader. Some troops also have Senior Patrol Leaders who assist troop leaders with running the troop.
Programme – The programme is the term used to describe the entire scout experience, including awards, activities and badges for all young people aged 6-25.
Promise – A public statement each member makes at their investiture and on other occasions. It states that they will do their best to follow the principles and values of Scouting. Variations of the Promise are available for different religions.
Quebec
Queen’s scout – A member who has gained the highest youth programme award: the Queen’s scout award.
Romeo
Residential experience – Any stay overnight during an activity that takes young people away from home.
Sierra
SAC – Safeguarding Awareness Coordinator
Safeguarding Awareness Coordinator – Co-ordinates all safeguarding concerns in the County
SASU – Scout Active Support Unit
Scarf – See Necker.
Scout – An invested member of the movement aged between 10½ and 14 years. This is also a generic term used to describe any member of the scout movement.
Scout Active Support Unit – allows adults (18+) to give their time to Scouting on a flexible basis. People can still be involved in Scouting without the full-time commitment of being a leader.
Scout group – A number of sections that are united by the same group name. Traditionally scout groups consist of a beaver colony, cub pack and scout troop but combinations of these or multiple sections are possible.
Scout information centre – Located at Gilwell Park, the scout information centre is a one stop-shop for members wishing to obtain Scouting information, resources and merchandise. Tel: 0845 300 1818 or email: info.centre@scout.org.uk
Scout law – The code which all members of the movement follow. (There is no formal beaver scout law; the concepts expressed in the scout law are presented to Beavers through games, storytelling and other activities.
Scout Shops Ltd. – The Scout Shops Ltd. website – shop.scouts.org.uk – stocks products from scarves and woggles and other uniform to camping equipment and souvenirs and toys.
Seconder – This is a cub scout who assists a sixer with the running of a Six in the Cub Pack.
Section – This is a unit of a scout group or district – beaver scouts, cub scouts, scouts, explorer scouts and the scout network.
Senior Management Team – the key individuals within the County who meet on a regular basis to ensure the smooth and efficient running of Northamptonshire County Scouts.
Sir John Lowther Activity Centre – the activity centre run by Northamptonshire County Scouts, based near Kettering. See www.lowtheradventure.org.uk
Six/Sixer – In cub scout packs, young people are often grouped in sixes, which are lead by a sixer, who is a cub scout that has more experience and helps look after the cubs in their six.
SJLC – see Sir John Lowther Activity Centre.
SNAPS – Supporter of the Nights Away Permit Scheme.
Staged Badge – These badges allow a young person to gain whichever badge is appropriate to the level they have reached. It is possible, for example, for a Beaver Scout who is an excellent swimmer to gain a higher level badge than a Scout who has just started swimming.
Tango
Talent Management – the identification of ptential talen and the nurturing to ensure potential reached
TM – Talent Management
Troop – The collective name for scouts (10½ -14 years old) meeting together as a section.
Uniform
Uniform – The set of clothing that young people wear in scouting. This differs for each section.
Unit – The name given to a grouping of explorer scouts or scout active support members.
Whiskey
Woggle – Device used to hold up the scarf, worn around the neck.
World membership badge – A badge worn by many scouts which tells people they belong to a worldwide movement. This is normally given to a member at their investiture.
Yankee
Young People First – The Scout Association’s policy on child protection.
