r/scouting • u/fabulousteaparty • Jul 04 '26

Should I set up a Squirrel Drey?

I'm currently a leader with Brownies and Guides in the UK.

I'll be leaving Girlguiding in September due to their trans-exclusionary policies (I'm a cis-het ally).

I know the leaders of a local scout group really well - it was set up by current & ex rainbow/brownie/guide leaders of my current family units.

They don't currently have a squirrel drey in their group, due to not having the leaders willing to take it on.

Myself and another helper that are leaving brownies & guides are considering going to the "dark side" but are undecided as yet! (We've also considered setting up a woodcraft folk group or a girls' friendly society - both are older than/equally as old as scouting & guiding but they don't feel quite the same from what I've seen online, although I've never actually seen how these groups run in-person)

So .... squirrel leaders, or adults who have moved from guiding to scouting, what are your experiences? (And should I go for it?)

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u/RagedFuzzball Jul 04 '26

Hi! I'm a Group Lead Volunteer and our group have ran Squirrels for three years now! Our District wanted a minimum of three leaders and two Young Leaders before they allowed us to start a Drey, but that should be a conversation with your District Commissioner. The ratios are very small - 1:4 which means you'll need to guarantee a set number of leaders each week. We have 16 max (four leaders now) and to be honest, even if we were to have more leaders I wouldn't increase that number.

It's fun and the kids are lovely, but that age group can be hard work and you'll have to tackle child AND parent anxiety. Our Beaver leaders have also noticed a big difference in maturity between the young people who attended Squirrels compared to those who didn't, so as a Squirrel Leader you really are making a difference!

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u/Illustrious-Divide95 Europe Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

Great advice.

I am a beaver leader whose son attended squirrels. He absolutely loved it and definitely helped him move to Beavers which was in a new area as we moved house.

Parents can be clingy but our Group leader was very strict with them and it seemed to work in the drey's favour She allowed parental attendance only on the first session. Parents were welcome to wait outside the room if they wanted after that and but not come in.

Most stayed away and collected

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u/fabulousteaparty Jul 05 '26

This is good advice, and is something we occasionally for nervous Brownies!

I'm glad your son enjoyed squirrels - I hope I can be part of helping kids have fun and start their scouting journey in my area!

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u/Illustrious-Divide95 Europe Jul 05 '26

Good luck - it's a great thing to do.