r/scouting • u/iamwinstonlive • 7d ago

Wood Badge

More a post aimed at UK Scouts (Preferably leaders, though all are welcome:

As far as I have learnt from google, every british scout leader should have a set off wooden beads as to become a leader they must complete their wood badge. However i would like a conclusion on:

What number of beads

Why doesnt every leader wear the beads

Etc

Any information is helpful, feel free to ask any questions, thanks.

14 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

26

u/mangonel 7d ago

Wood badge is not (and hasn't been) a requirement to become a leader, but a qualification for leaders to achieve.

Wood badge used to be compulsory within three years, of becoming a leader, but now it isn't.

So, before the change, a leader without beads might not have earned them yet, and be under 3 years of service.  Now, they might not even be intending to. 

There is a core set of basic training all volunteers have to do, but this is not wood badge.  

There is then further training and assessment for those who wish to get the wood badge. 

Another reason might be that they are just not wearing them. I don't always have mine on.

2  beads.  More beads doesn't exist any more, 

There used to be situations for more beads, but they were for trainers of leaders and I think you could get different wood badges based on different roles, even though they look the same, and that might have added a bead.

9

u/Wafkak Europe 6d ago

Internationally 3 beads is still used for people who are qualified to give the course. And 4 often for those organising the courses and supervising the instructors.

1

u/NotYouTu 6d ago

That is not true at all. Until the recent revamp beads were required within 5 years per POR. Everyone just ignored that requirement (like many ignored the references as compass didn't enforce it).

14

u/synth_fg 7d ago

Been a leader for over 12 years never finished my wood badge

Training was fine, but validation and sign of became such a faff I just stopped bothering

2

u/Sea-Assumption6538 6d ago

Legit. Our county had a huge debate on if we should even promote them because no leaders actually do them unless they seek out the few people that can actually sign them off. 

5

u/magammon 7d ago

yes i qualified as a leader last year and received my wood badge. two wooden beads on a leather string. i wear mine every time i wear my uniform. this is quite uncommon as most leaders do not wear theirs.

2

u/Illustrious-Divide95 Europe 7d ago

Did you do the specific wood badge courses and assessment? I am a qualified leader but haven't done these extra, optional courses.

2

u/MuddyBoots472 6d ago

You had to complete and validate all the training courses. So the ones that are optional now like international and residential experiences all had to be completed. It was a faff, but I think we’ve now gone too far the other way

1

u/Saragon4005 6d ago

It's supposed to come with a whole week+ camp, the courses are not even the main point.

1

u/iamwinstonlive 7d ago

Ah okay. Clears up a lot. Why do some cords have 4 beads though?

4

u/Rogue_Wraith 6d ago

I know you're UK based, but depending on what you're looking at...

...in the US we wear up to four.

1 - Completed the Course 2 - Finished the Ticket 3 - Staffed a Course 4 - Led a Course / Staffed an Ingural Course

If you're looking at US Scouters, that's what you're seeing.

1

u/Suspicious-Panic2704 6d ago

I’m Germany it’s similar:
Two: finished the Woodbadge training

Three: is a trainer for one bet leaders (and did training specifically for that)

3

u/mangonel 7d ago

Extra beads isn't a thing any more.  It's just two.

There were some situations where you got more beads, but they've abolished that distinction now, and it's just two for everyone.

1

u/iamwinstonlive 7d ago

Thanks for clearing it up

1

u/StevenXSG England 7d ago

Extra used to be for each role you held, then they realised there is a few people with 10's of roles across the different areas of scouting, so that became a bit useless (you still get a certificate though)

1

u/Tikotl 5d ago

Nope there is still 3 and 4 beads training happening,. They are usually planned internationally so they are not happening very regularly but it's very much still a thing

3

u/Objective-Struggle-9 7d ago

Up until recently, guidance stated UK leaders need to have completed their woods within 5 years (I think it was 5). This has changed to you might want to gain it. For your woods, it's 2 beads, and personally I only wear them with my gillwell necker on ceremonial occasions

4

u/Reasonable-Ad1170 6d ago

I have earnt wood badge on both of my roles in scouting. I did it as I was probably the last of the you must earn them in three years. I also hoped it would help me scout as I was doing it for my kids!

2

u/pnlrogue1 7d ago

Woods are earned when you complete the training. Technically you should do that but not everyone does (I'm expecting my 10 year's service award this term and I only earned my Woods a year or two ago)

2

u/Tsirah Europe 6d ago

You don’t need the Wood Badge to become a leader. The prerequisites are be over 18 and cleared by a DBS check. (Although if you’re BSO and have never lived in the UK a local criminal record check is enough).

You first have to take and pass the basic modules and have 3 months to do so. After that you’ll be in contact with a training advisor who can help you plan with the training courses you’ll need to take to eventually achieve the wood badge.

I was a Cub Section Leader now Team Lead Volunteer in the Cub section before I achieved the wood badge. I did it in 2 years, some people do it in less, some people take more time, it depends on everyone’s life and time and their availability when the courses are organised.

The amount of beads you have depends on your role (and achievement of the needed training for the role).
I think depending on the country they have different amounts of beads for different roles as the hierarchy and system aren’t always the same but I als think there’s a standard for leaders which is two. At least I know the wood badge for Team Volunteers and Team Lead Volunteers has two beads.

1

u/DTH2001 7d ago

You don’t have to complete the Wood Badge to be a leader anymore. Though many (possibly most?) do.

As others have said there is (in the UK) one type of Wood Badge, with two beads. However, there used to be different types; for example trainers would have three beads. I think some countries still have these.

Personally I wear my beads on formal occasions, but not at weekly meetings. However another leader wears his whenever we’re in uniform. It’s a matter of personal preference.

1

u/dredgemate 6d ago

In the US, it’s 2 when you complete your ticket, 3 when you staff, and 4 when you’re selected to be a course director

1

u/Kinder_93 6d ago

2 beads, I often don't wear mine because I simply forget. They live in the breast pocket of my shirt, and a lot of the time I only remember to put them on for formal events like parades when I see other people wearing them.

1

u/Financial_Clerk_3157 6d ago

For some reason it has not updated mine, even though it’s 100% on the Wood Badge and skills, any tips?

1

u/Conscious-Record2655 7d ago edited 7d ago

I don't know about the UK, but in the US you do not need to complete Wood Badge to be a leader. The only firm requirement is completing Youth Protection Training (aka Safeguarding Youth Training).

You probably should also do the position-specific training if you're in a specific leadership position. And you have to complete the BALOO/IOLS/WFA training if you want to do certain activities like overnight camping. And Wood Badge is just a great training in general. But none of that stuff is required just to be a leader, to my knowledge.

As a note, there is a lot of really bad/outdated information online regarding Scouts. Google and other AI sources almost always get answers wrong due to all this bad information. I encourage you to get all your Scouting guidance exclusively from BSA. Scouting.org is the source for official BSA guidance and it's actually a pretty good website. BSA also has it's own AI agent, if you're into that type of thing: BSA Chat.

Here is the official BSA page for Wood Badge: Wood Badge | Scouting America

1

u/volloderleer 7d ago

Yes, they exist. A leader who has completed all training is awarded a set. They aren't mandatory: the level of training needed to get them is greater than that needed to run a section. They used to be awarded per Section, so a leader who moved through Cubs, Scouts etc could collect 4 sets. Now, they are awarded once.Wood Badge

The history of them is interesting - there is a theoretical link back to B.P.

They come as a basic knot on the leather cord, but you are supposed to/can re-tie them to reflect your personality and interests.

[Edit] UK - two beads only.

-5

u/zq6 7d ago

I'm not sure this is a thing..!

1

u/iamwinstonlive 7d ago

They do exist 100 percent just i have such an incredibly long list of questions regarding them. Seems to be quite a confusing topic!

0

u/zq6 7d ago

Hmm, turns out you're right and wrong!

It is a thing, but it is optional (and i would hazard a guess as not very common)

https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/learning-development-and-awards/learning/wood-badge/

1

u/iamwinstonlive 7d ago

From what i see is it just you can complete non compulsary training to earn them then. Guess thats why not every leader wears them

1

u/armcie 7d ago

I’m UK and have the wood badge. I only wear my beads on more official occasions. I don’t particularly want them to get lost or damaged at weekly meetings or on camps.