Introduction to the Young Leader Qualification
The Young Leader Qualification is open to all Senior Section members aged 14 to 16. After your 16th birthday, you are eligible to start working on the full Leadership Qualification.
Being a Young Leader in guiding is a rewarding and fun experience. The Young Leader Qualification has been designed to help you take an active part in the effective running of a unit. Read this information carefully so that you can understand what you have to do. If there is anything you do not understand, ask your unit Leader, supporter, or other helpful person to help you.
Throughout your time as a Young Leader there will be lots of people who can help you, so just ask!
Most qualifications in guiding are 'competency-based'; this means that you have to show or prove what you can do rather than sitting exams or writing lots of essays. To gain the qualification you will either provide hard copy evidence (eg a copy of the programme you have organised or a letter you have written or a certificate to say that you have gained another qualification), or people-based evidence (ie when someone sees you do something, like organise a game).
The Young Leader Qualification consists of two modules. Anything that you do towards your Young Leader Qualification will count towards the full Leadership Qualification if you decide to go on and do this.
The two modules that make up the Young Leader Qualification are:
- Your role in the programme - Module 1
This allows you to demonstrate that you know and understand the programme for the section you are working with. So, if you are a Young Leader with a Brownie pack, you need to know about what Brownies do and show that you can sometimes lead different activities, like a game or a Pow-wow.
Note that you will need to repeat this module if you start working with a new section (eg moving from Brownies to Rainbows).
- Your role in Girlguiding UK - Module 2
You need to demonstrate that you can work with girls and young women and understand something about them.
Working on the Young Leader Qualification
Throughout the time that you areworking on the Young Leader Qualification, you will need to keep a diary of what you and the unit get up to and show that the unit Leaders can rely upon you.
Keep a diary recording your Unit's activities and your own
This is a fantastic idea, giving you the opportunity to make a diary of all the things that you do with your unit. It also gives you the chance to look back at the things you have done. You might just want to keep notes in your own diary or start a programme book, which you could keep if you continue as a Leader in guiding. You will need this as evidence for the Qualification.
Being a reliable member of the unit team
Being reliable means undertaking a regular commitment to your unit meetings or being responsible for letting the other Leaders know if you are not able to make it. This is an important part of this Qualification because it is unfair on the Leaders not to turn up on a regular basis. Not everyone can make every single meeting, but it is important that you let your Leaders know if you need a night off so this can be built into the planning of the programme. You may have lots of school work to do and a busy social life - so there might be times when you can't go for a few weeks, but letting your leader know this shows that you are being responsible and reliable. Keep a note of the Leaders' phone numbers or email addresses so that you can text, phone or email them to say that you are not able to come.
Support
You will receive support from your unit Leader; however your Senior Section or Young Leader Guider (if you have one) may also help with this qualification.
If you're a Ranger and a group of you are working on the scheme together, you can help each other through it. Perhaps you know of other Young Leaders in other units who might like to form a group of Young Leaders in your area for this purpose.
You will also need a supporter; this is someone who will help you if you have any problems or want to discuss anything that may come up during the time you are completing the Young Leader Qualification. A supporter can be someone who is a Leader within your unit, a member of your Senior Section group, or someone else you feel comfortable with. Ask your unit Leader or the County Senior Section or Young Leader Adviser to help you find the best person. You might find it easier if they asked the person to be your supporter.
Signing off
You can ask any member to sign your record sheets to say that you have done something as long as they saw you do it! This could be your unit Leader, your supporter or the girls in the unit. Your supporter will review your progress with you from time to time.
Young Leader Promise
When you’re ready to gain your Young Leader Qualification you must make/renew your Promise as a Senior Section member.
I think I’ve finished
If you think you have completed the award you should check it through with your supporter. Once you’ve both agreed that you have finished and everything is signed off, your District Commissioner should sign of the final section in your record book. They will notify the Badge Secretary for your badge, which will be presented to you.
What happens next?
Once you are 16, you have the option to start work on your full Leadership Qualification. If you haven’t finished the whole Young Leader Qualification – don’t worry, you can transfer all your achievements across for the Leadership Qualification, so the work you have done won’t have been for nothing. Alternatively, you may decide to carry on with this qualification if you have not finished it. You can stay with the unit as a Young Leader until you are 18.
If you already have your Young Leader Qualification, but want a break from doing more qualifications - because you are busy doing school work or going to college or working - you can carry on helping at the unit until you are 18 as a Young Leader.
If you decide to start the Leadership Qualification, you will be allocated a specific person to be your mentor. You will carry on working in the same way, gathering the evidence to prove that you have the necessary skills to be a Leader in guiding and continuing to be a member of the leadership team at your unit. Remember, once you complete the full Leadership Qualification you always have it!
If you decide to stop doing the Young Leader Qualification after you are 16 and then later want to start doing the full Leadership Qualification, you may be able to transfer some of the work that you started – how much will depend how long a gap it is since you stopped and expect to start again. If it is a long time, say over several years, you may need to repeat some training. Talk to your mentor about what you can remember doing. Remember, guiding is constantly developing and it is important to stay up to date.
Personal development through the Young Leader Qualification
As a member of the Senior Section, you will want to have fun and take part in all aspects of the Senior Section programme, which provides a great deal of variety and flexibility. Although the Young Leader Qualification is about starting to be involved in running activities for the unit, it is also important for you to be given opportunities to develop personally. Within the Senior Section, there are many opportunities for this to occur, for example through Look Wider and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
The Young Leader Qualification will help Senior Section members achieve the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Service Section and the Leadership octant in Look Wider, but taking on the responsibility of the Young Leader Qualification is much more than this.
As a Young Leader (and a teenager), you will begin to think about the future and what you would like to do with your life. Leadership skills gained through the Qualification will set you in good stead for any field of work. What this personal development section is about is gaining experiences that will help you later in life. It’s not about ticking off what you have achieved, but about having a go and giving yourself opportunities. This section offers you ideas for making choices which will encourage you to try new things. Below are some suggestions of what’s on offer to you as a member of the Senior Section and Girlguiding UK.
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