How to use Scouts.org.uk

1 What is Scouts.org.uk?

Scouts.org.uk is the official website of The Scout Association UK. It aims to provide the latest news, information and resources about Scouting in the 21st Century.

2 What is on Scouts.org.uk?

Scouts.org.uk is broken up into seven main sections:

Main Site:

• Home – contains daily news articles on what is happening around the UK and on all aspects of Scouting both in the UK and around the world.
• About Us – about The Scout Association and our work
• Media Centre - our latest press releases and articles on what the National press are saying about us.
• Parents – information for parents of youth members.
• National Centres – about The Scout Association National Activity Centres
• Local Scouting – an interactive map showing UK Scout Counties and websites
• Resources – highlights new resources and any recent updates to existing resources.
• Magazine - Scouting magazine is the Association’s bi-monthly magazine, which is free to all Members. It can be downloaded.
• 2007 Centenary – everything to do with Scouting’s centenary in 2007, including the World Scout Jamboree.
• Shop - a site for browsing all Scout uniforms, toys and camping equipment.
• Join – how to join The Association.
• Contact us

Beavers (6-8 years old) – for Beaver Scouts, their parents and Leaders
Cubs (8–10½ years old) - for Cub Scouts, their parents and Leaders
Scouts (10½ -14 years old) - for Scouts, their parents and Leaders
Explorers (14–18 years old) - for Explorer Scouts, their parents and Leaders
Network (18–25 years old) – for Network members
Scoutbase - Scoutbase contains all supporting information that a member of The Scout Association may need. Run by volunteers, it includes such things as an online catalogue (for factsheets, publications, badges etc.), all policy information and programme support material.

3 Navigating Scouts.org.uk

To help new users move around the site, we've prepared a guide to the various navigational elements.

Navigation Section

There are two navigation bars in the upper section of every web page across the website. On the top line of every page are six text links

Home
Accessibility
Log-In
Sign Up
Search
Help

These links are the first point of contact for the user. They give the user information about the structure and technologies of the website and also allow the user to log in and check their details if they are a member of The Scout Association.

The second navigation bar contains six icons that links to the five sections of the Scout.org.uk site and ScoutBase (volunteers’ support and resources site)

On all the pages of the main section of the website there is a drop down menu bar that allows the user to navigate to any page of website from any other location in Scouts.org.uk.

Right hand bar

On some pages there is a right hand bar that advertises up and coming events and important dates throughout the year. Many of these buttons link to external websites and as a result The Scout Association does not take responsibility for their content.

Footer

The footer of the page contains a couple of things:

A copyright notice and the date the page was last changed.

Contact email addresses for the maintainers of the pages.

4 What happens if I can't find an answer?

If you cannot find the answer you are looking for on Scouts.org.uk then you have a number of options; you may try using www.scoutbase.org.uk for resources and material, use the search facility link which appears at the top of each page or you could contact The Scout Information Centre on 0845 300 1818. If you think something should be included on the site then contact us at web.team@scout.org.uk

5 What if I find something is wrong on the site?

If you find something on the site that you believe may be incorrect, then contact us at web.team@scout.org.uk and we will try and correct the issue as soon as possible.

6 What else do I need other than my web browser?

In general Scouts.org.uk uses HTML for its documents. There are some cases where this is not practical or desirable and we may use Adobe Acrobat or PDF files or Macromedia Flash; to see the content of these files you will need a PDF viewer, e.g. Acrobat Reader or Macromedia Flash Player.

Click here to download Adobe Reader
Click here to download Macromedia Flash Player

7 Who maintains Scouts.org.uk?

Scouts.org.uk is designed and maintained by the Corporate Communications Department at Gilwell Park.

8 How do I contact members of the Scouts.org.uk team?

The web team can be contacted at web.team@scout.org.uk.

9 How can I help Scouts.org.uk?

You could make a suggestion as to how we might improve the site, or tell other people about Scouts.org.uk.

If you find something on the site that helps you, e.g. if you book a campsite, attend an event, or find a really good programme idea, then tell other Members about the site and how it worked for you.

If, on the other hand, your visit did not meet your expectations e.g. you experienced difficultly in using the site; you were unable to find what you were looking for; or you found information that appeared either unclear, out-of-date or inaccurate, please contact web.team@scout.org.uk