Squirrel Scouts – Fun and Adventure for 4 to 6 Year Olds
Squirrel Scouts are the youngest members of the Scouting family. They enjoy fun, active and creative sessions each week, building confidence, making friends and starting their Scouting journey.
Age Range and Joining Squirrel Scouts
Squirrel Scouts are young people (boys and girls) usually aged between four and six years old. Young people can join Squirrels any time from their fourth birthday onwards.
They can move to Beaver Scouts, the next section, at around their sixth birthday. There is some flexibility to allow them to move with their friends or to move on based on their confidence and readiness, helping them get the best possible experience from their time in Scouting.
What Are Squirrel Scouts?
Squirrels are the youngest section in the Scouting family. They’re recognised by their red jumpers and group neckers. A group of Squirrels is called a Drey, and Dreys normally meet weekly.
Meeting places vary between groups and may be schools, church halls or community buildings. Some Scout Groups have their own headquarters that they meet in.
What Do Squirrel Scouts Do?
During weekly meetings, activities are based most importantly around having fun, trying new things and making friends. Whilst all Dreys do different things each week, activities usually include:
- Making things and simple crafts
- Outdoor play and games
- Story time and imaginative activities
- Exploring nature and the local environment
- Basic skills for staying safe
- Learning how to look after themselves and others
Some Dreys also organise short “stay and play” sessions or Sleepovers. For many young people this may be the first time they spend a night away from home. These take place in suitable buildings, often Scout centres or campsites, or occasionally at museums or other visitor attractions.
Squirrel Scout Badges and Awards
Squirrel Scouts can gain a number of awards and badges as they take part in activities and grow in confidence.
Membership and Moving On Awards
- Membership Award – given to Squirrels after they have made their Promise and been invested into the Scout Movement.
- Moving On Award – awarded once a Squirrel Scout has completed their time in the Drey and is ready to move into Beaver Scouts.
Squirrel Scouts can earn a wide range of Activity Badges, including Be Active, Brilliant Builder, Exciting Experiments, Explore Outdoors, Feel Good, Get Creative, Go Wild, Let it Grow, Let’s Celebrate, Local Superhero, Story Time and Super Chef. Many of these badges are achieved through normal Drey meetings and activities, while others may involve simple tasks at home or things that the young person already enjoys doing outside of Scouting, such as helping in the kitchen, being active, or being creative.
Staged Activity Badges
Squirrels can also work towards Staged Activity Badges, which are shared across all sections of Scouting. This means a young person can begin a badge in Squirrels and then keep building on it as they move through Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. Examples of staged badges that Squirrels might start include Air Activities, Community Impact, Digital Citizen, Digital Maker, Emergency Aid, Hikes Away, Musician, Nautical Skills, Navigator, Nights Away, Time on the Water, Paddle Sports, Sailing, Snowsports and Swimmer. These badges are earned in stages (for example, after a certain number of nights away or hikes completed) and continue to develop as young people progress through the sections. sections.
Partnership-Style Projects
Across Scouting there are Partnership-style projects where sections work together or link with outside organisations, such as community groups, charities or schools.
While formal Partnership Awards are more commonly completed in the older sections, Squirrels may take part in simple joint projects – such as helping in the local community or working with another section – which help them begin to understand teamwork, community impact and global issues in an age-appropriate way.
Challenge Awards
Challenge Awards for Squirrels are usually completed together as a Drey rather than individually and are designed to fit within their normal programme of activities.
The four Squirrel Challenge Awards are:
- All About Me
- All About Adventure
- All Around Us
- All Together
These challenges encourage Squirrels to learn about themselves, try new adventures, explore the world around them and work together as a team. A young person can take part in challenge activities more than once, and leaders will encourage them to show growing confidence and skills as they repeat similar activities.
Chief Scout’s Acorn Award
The Chief Scout’s Acorn Award is the highest award which can be gained by Squirrel Scouts. To achieve it, Squirrels need to complete:
- All four Squirrel Challenge Awards, and
- Any two Squirrel Activity Badges of their choice.
This award shows that a Squirrel Scout has joined in a wide range of activities, helped their friends, tried new things and begun their Scouting journey.
