Description
At the heart of guiding are the unit meetings that girls go along to regularly. Volunteering at unit meetings means getting stuck in, meeting new people and running activities that help girls know they can do anything. You’ll volunteer directly with young people and can choose to work with girls of different age groups between 4 and 18 years in Rainbows, Brownies, Guides or Rangers. Unit meetings are usually once a week for around an hour plus prep time.
As unit leader, you'll run the unit, lead a team of volunteers, and plan and deliver a programme of awesome activities. If you'd like to become a leader, you'll be supported to complete our leader development programme. You'll have training on everything from planning activities to child safety.
Want to more about what Girlguiding involves?
All girls follow our programme. In unit meetings, they do fun activities, play games and earn skills builder badges, all while being supported by our trained volunteers.
Rainbows welcomes all girls from 4 to 7 years old for play, learning and tons of fun in a colourful, safe space. Rainbows laugh, sing and make a happy mess (and help clear it up!) as they choose their way through our programme of activities. Rainbows have plenty of magic moments: they might become a time traveller, an animal tracker, a pop singer, a stargazer. It’s a wonderful world of adventure, week after week, just for them.
Brownies welcomes all girls from 7 to 10 years old for nonstop fun, learning and adventure. It’s full of firsts: she might grow her first plant, cook her first cake, put up (and take down) her first tent, light her first fire, go on her first fun-packed weekend away with guiding friends. With a helpful hand from our encouraging volunteers, she’ll explore her creative side, get out into the great outdoors, and start learning to look after herself, others and the world we live in. There’s something for every girl at Brownies, and plenty of moments she’ll never forget.
Guides is a relaxed, welcoming space where you can have fun, learn and be yourself with good friends from 10 to 14 years old. A place where you can explore the things you love and do stuff you’ve never done before. Where else can you think up a new sport, make a new perfume, cook over a campfire, design an advertising campaign, have a mocktail party, raise money for a charity you believe in? At Guides, you can do all of this and loads more.
Rangers is your space – where you get together with other girls from 14 to 18 to have fun, learn more, give back, hang out, and just be you. It’s regular meetings with your local group, trips at home and abroad, making a difference to the things you care about. It’s an open and relaxed space to talk with good friends – it’s qualifications, and badges and awards. It’s the freedom to be more independent, and to do what makes you happy. Rangers is what you make of it.
FInd our more about volunteering with Girlguiding by registering your interest today!
Organisation aims and objectives
Girlguiding Scotland exists to help girls find their voice and build skills and confidence - inspiring them to discover the best in themselves and empower them to make a positive difference in their community. We’re 40,000 girls from 4 to 18 who come together to laugh, learn, explore and have adventures. We’re 9,000 volunteers who make guiding happen by giving our time, talents, enthusiasm and care for girls. We’re 3,000 local groups having fun and exploring activities week in, week out all over Scotland. We’re her first night away, weekend camping adventures, summer music festivals, emails to her MSP about the things she cares about. We’re the badges she collects to capture the journey she’s chosen – anything from mindfulness to rock-climbing to crafting to coding. We’re a powerful collective voice – by girls, for girls – changing the world for the better.
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Frequency and commitment details
Unit meetings are usually once a week for around an hour plus prep time.
Restrictions
To keep our members safe, anyone over 18 who wants to volunteer for Girlguiding must complete the recruitment and vetting process (including reference and disclosure checks.)The role of leader is a woman-only position.
Experience required: You don't need to have been involved in guiding before or have loads of time to make a big difference. Whatever your skills and interests, whether it’s volunteering with girls directly or supporting behind the scenes, there’s a role to suit you.
Minimum age: 18
Support
Expenses paid: Yes
Expenses details: Volunteers can claim reasonable expenses.
Taster available: Yes
Taster details: If you plan to volunteer with girls, our local volunteers will be able to arrange a taster visit to a unit meeting (either where you hope to volunteer, or somewhere else). It's a great way to get an idea of how meetings are run, talk to other volunteers and pick up activity tips and ideas. It'll also give you a chance to get a feel for our different age groups before decided which one you'd like to volunteer with.
Training details: All Girlguiding volunteers complete our Safeguarding training - called A Safe Space.
To become a leader, you’ll also need to do our Becoming a leader training, which you can find on our learning platform. It’s part of our leader development programme. If you’re new to Girlguiding, you’ll need to register as a volunteer as a first step.
The Becoming a leader training is split into three learning areas. This will help you explore, develop and apply the skills needed to run a Girlguiding unit and provide a great guiding experience. You’ll have lots of help and support along the way. When you register to start your becoming a leader programme, you’ll be assigned a mentor and they’ll help you plan your time.
If you're not sure you're ready to start training to be a leader, you can start off as a unit helper by registering your interest in the same way.