A-Z Girlguiding glossary for parents and carers

Subs, Brown Owl and Girl Guides versus Girlguiding – what does it all mean? 

Girlguiding has been around for over 100 years. You might have heard us being called Girl Guides or even The Guide Association - that's still us but we go by the name Girlguiding now.

Throughout our guiding history, we’ve picked up some terms and abbreviations to help us describe how Girlguiding works. But it can be confusing when you or your child first joins. 

Introducing... your complete A-Z Girlguiding glossary!

We don’t expect you to recognise every term in this list. This guide is simply here as a cheat sheet to help you support your child in guiding – and maybe get involved yourself one day. 

Once you've had a scan, why not take our quick quiz to test what you remember?

Top 10 guiding terms 

Don’t have time to read it all? Here are the 10 most-used terms you need to know: 

1. GO – Our membership system for girls and volunteers. It records your member information.  
2. Interest badges – Badges girls can do with their unit, individually or with friends and family to explore passions and new interests. 
3. Programme – The activities designed by Girlguiding for girls to do with their units including unit meeting activities (UMAs), skills builders and interest badges. 
4. Section - The different membership groups in Girlguiding which are categorised by age: Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers. 
5. Skills builders - Activities designed to help girls build skills like first aid, leadership and camping. They can level up their skills through various stages as they move up sections. 
6. Subs – Also known as subscription fees or membership fees, ‘subs’ cover the costs of regular meetings and running our charity. Some members pay termly or monthly. It’s different depending on your area so your child’s local unit leader will discuss this with you. 
7. Unit – A local Girlguiding group. 
8. Unit leader – The adult volunteer who runs your local unit. There are lots of volunteer roles that keep units running so you might hear them just be called leaders or volunteers. 
9. Unit meeting – The regular time your local Girlguiding group will meet to take part in guiding activities.  
10. Unit meeting activity (UMA) - A one-off activity for girls to try new things and have fun as a group. UMAs are a core part of our programme. 

More terms for parents and carers 

A 

Advocates – A panel of 20 members aged 14-15 who get involved in our public affairs and advocacy work to speak up for change in girls’ lives. 

Amplify – The name of our youth steering group aged 12-18 years old who make sure girls' voices are heard and consulted at the highest levels of Girlguiding. 

B  

Badge – Girls work towards earning badges as part of the programme. There are interest badges, skills builder badges, programme awards and adventure badges. 

Badge books – A physical book parents and carers can buy from the shop. It lists every badge we have and how to complete them. It’s an important part of girls keeping track of what they’ve done in our programme and what they’d like to do next. 

Be well – This is 1 of our 6 programme themes. 

Bronze award – A programme award achieved by girls completing all activities across 2 themes. 

Brownie helper – A Guide who helps at a local Brownie unit. 

Brown Owl - A guiding term meaning the leader of a unit (usually Brownies). Some volunteers still use the term Brown Owl and it's a part of our guiding history. Not all units have them, but the leader who runs your child's local unit might still like to use it. 

C 

Census – This is what our annual subscription used to be called. See subs. 

Chief guide - The chief guide is the most senior volunteer and takes an active role in making sure volunteers are at the heart of what we do. They act as an ambassador and a public face of the charity, working in partnership with the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive.   

Commissioner – A volunteer who gives their time for free to manage all the Girlguiding volunteers in your local area. There’s a commissioner for the different levels of Girlguiding including local, county, district and division. 

E 

Express myself - This is 1 of our 6 programme themes. 

F 

Friends of Girlguiding - Our regular giving community is called friends of Girlguiding. For a donation of £5 a month or more, people can sign up to be part of our community and hear more about the work we’re doing to support girls up and down the UK. 

G 

Girls’ Attitudes Survey – Our annual research into girls’ lives across the UK. 

Girl Guides - Girlguiding has a long history and has operated under a different name in the past, including The Girl Guides Association and The Guide Association. You might still hear some people refer to us as the Girl Guides - that's still us, but we go by the name Girlguiding now.

Gold award – The highest programme award girls can earn. They get it by completing all 6 programme theme awards within 1 section. 

GO – Our membership system for girls and volunteers. It records your member information. 

Guide camp permit – An opportunity for your Guide to achieve a permit that allows them to take a group of Guides camping without a leader. 

H 

Have adventures - This is 1 of our 6 programme themes. 

I 

Interest badges – Badges girls can do with their unit, individually or with friends and family to explore passions and new interests. 

K 

Know myself - This is 1 of our 6 programme themes. 

L 

Lead away permit – An opportunity for Rangers and young leaders to earn a permit that allows them to take between 4-8 other Rangers or young leaders away for a residential trip for 2 nights or more. 

M 

Membership number – The unique number given to each Girlguiding member when they join. We may ask for it from time to time – it's stored on GO. 

O 

Occasional helper – An adult who helps in a unit on a temporary or rota basis. This is great for parents and carers who want to try flexible ways to volunteer with Girlguiding. 

Occasional residential helpers – Similar to an occasional helper, this role volunteers for residential guiding events.  

P 

Patrol - Members of Guide units are usually divided into smaller groups called patrols. These usually contain between 4 and 8 members.   

Patrol leader (PL) -A Guide who is nominated by their patrol to be the leader of the patrol.  

Patrol second - A Guide who is nominated by the patrol leader to be their deputy. 

Peer educator - An opportunity for young members aged 14-25 to deliver Girlguiding’s peer-education programme. The programme helps Brownies, Guides and Rangers to explore important topics like self-esteem, safety and gender stereotypes. 

Peer led residential - A residential event, either for Rangers and led by a Ranger or for Guides and led by a group of Guides.   

Programme – The activities designed by Girlguiding for girls to do with their units including unit meeting activities, skills builders and interest badges. 

Q 

Queen’s Guide award - The highest award available in guiding. Open to members aged between 16 and 25.   

R 

Rainbow helper - An opportunity for Guides to help at a local Rainbow unit. This helps Guides begin to understand the role and responsibility of being a leader.   

Residential - An event involving 1 night (or more) away from home, either indoors or outdoors. Rainbows can only be away from home for a total of 24 hours (including travel time), but all other sections can stay away for more than 1 night. 

S 

Second (or seconder) - A Brownie who is nominated as the Sixer’s deputy. 

Section - The different membership groups in Girlguiding which are categorised by age: Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers. 

Skills for my future - This is 1 of our 6 programme themes. 

Six - Members of Brownie units are usually divided into smaller groups called sixes. These usually contain between 4 and 8 members.   

Sixer - A Brownie who is nominated as the leader of a six. 

Skills builders - Activities designed to help girls build skills like first aid, leadership and camping. They can level up their skills through various stages as they move up sections. 

Subs – Also known as subscription fees or membership fees, ‘subs’ cover the costs of regular meetings and running our charity. Some members pay termly or monthly. It’s different depending on your area so your child’s local unit leader will discuss this with you. 

T 

Take action - This is 1 of our 6 programme themes. 

Theme award - A combination of unit meeting activities, interest badges and skills builders on the same theme will help girls build up to a theme award. It demonstrates the time they’ve dedicated to exploring that area. 

U 

Unit – A local Girlguiding group. 

Unit helper - An adult member who helps out with a local unit on a flexible basis. They don’t have a formal Girlguiding leadership qualification, but they volunteer to help when they can.  

Unit leader – The adult volunteer who runs your local unit. There are lots of volunteer roles that keep units running so you might hear them just be called leaders or volunteers. 

Unit meeting – The regular place your local Girlguiding group will meet to take part in guiding activities. 

Unit meeting activity (UMA) - A one-off activity for girls to try new things and have fun as a group. UMAs are a core part of our programme. 

V 

Volunteer shops – Volunteer-run shops where profits go into the local guiding area. Also where you may be able to pick up second-hand uniform items at a discounted rate. 

Y 

Young leader (YL) - A young leader is a young member aged 14-18 who helps at a Rainbow, Brownie, or Guide unit.   

Young leader development programme (YLDP) - An optional learning offer for young leaders. It helps them develop their leadership skills and discover the leader they want to be. 

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