Scout group
The Scout Group is the local organisation for Scouting in most countries where it is active. It combines together the different sections into a single body. Scout Groups can consist of any number of sections in the different Age Groups in Scouting and Guiding. Scout Groups can be single sex or have boys and girls in separate and/or co-ed sections depending on the group and the national organization.
The World Organization of the Scout Movement about the Scout Group: "The local group should in fact be viewed as a kind of educational centre, which is capable of implementing the whole Scout programme, from childhood until the end of adolescence. The units in the different sections have to be part of a local group and not isolated."[1]
In some countries, the different sections are independent of each other, although they might be sponsored or chartered by the same organisation, such as a Church.
United Kingdom
 |
In The Scout Association of the United Kingdom, Scout Groups form a part of a Scout District, and can work together on activities and events. There is also some healthy competition between Scout Groups, especially when there is only a small distance between meeting locations. Typically, there are around 10 active Scout Groups in a District. Scout Groups can have any number of Beaver Colonies, Cub Packs and Scout Troops, depending on the numbers of young people and leaders available.
Scout Groups in the United Kingdom are numbered according to their formation, although not all groups follow this rule, see Billingham district scouts for example where a group is named Synthonia from the sponsor they had. Sometimes, they adopt new names (for example, the 1st Whitley Scout Group became the 43rd Reading (1st Whitley) Scout Group) as District boundaries are moved and reformed.
Scout Groups can form relationships with local organisations, such as local churches, temples, or the YMCA. Typically, this involves agreements to support certain events in exchange for the use of a building or some financial payment.
Scout Groups are managed by an Executive Committee, with at least a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. They support a uniformed Group Scout Leader, and support the activities and events organised by the Section Leaders within the group.
A Scout Group is led by a Group Scout Leader (GSL) whose responsibility is to ensure that the leaders of the different sections work together facilitating progress from one section to another by the young people in the Group. The GSL is also responsible for ensuring that the other leaders in the Group take part in leader training.
The situation is similar in the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association, where the Scout Group is led by a Group Scout Master (GSM). Within the B-PSA the Group is responsible for local provision through the entire age range.
Australia
The situation in Scouts Australia[2] is broadly the same as in the United Kingdom, though the leader in charge is known as the Group Leader, or, if there is no Group Leader, Leader-in-Charge, an experienced Leader nominated to liaise between the Group and the Scouting Bureaucracy.
Venturer Units and Rover Crews can be Group or District based, depending on the numbers in the District at the time. In most Branches, Groups are part of a district, which is part of a Scout Region, although this does vary from state to state.
Groups aim to have at least one Joey Scout Mob, Cub Scout Pack, Scout Troop, Venturer Unit, and Rover Crew, although there are no limits to the number of each a single group may run, providing they have youth members and Leaders to populate it.
Sponsored Groups also exist, which are joint ventures between Scouts Australia and another body such as Schools or Churches. Sponsored Groups deliver a slightly altered program in conjunction with their parent bodies.
Italy
Scouting and Guiding in Italy is very fragmented. There are two World Organization of the Scout Movement and World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts recognized scout and guide associations (which together form Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo).
AGESCI
In Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani (AGESCI), the Italian catholic Guides and Scouts association, the group structure is very important. A typical scout group is composed of a pack, a troop and a rover crew. Sometimes, some of these units might be duplicated.
Each scout group has a "Comunità capi" (leader's community) where all adult leaders belong. It meets quite often (sometimes weekly) to plan all educational activities in the scout group. Its work is driven by a three-year plan. This plan (Progetto Educativo di Gruppo) gives a common thread to the programme of all units, ensuring a common focus across all age ranges.
CNGEI
In Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori ed Esploratrici Italiani (CNGEI) each scout group can only include at most one pack, a troop and a rover crew. All the scout groups in the same town compose a section. Adults are registered at the section level instead of the group level.
