I joined as an assistant leader recently. The scout leader was of an older generation and didn’t hold any stock in supporting children with additional needs, referring to them as naughty and talked about how she wished she could get them out of the pack. She would organise activity sessions for the pack but didn’t book enough spaces for all the kids and didn’t follow requirements for risk assessments. She would have meetings in her back garden without other leaders, just her and her husband.

All this was known about by senior leaders in the group and district and nothing was done to stop her. It was seen as a quirk and accepted as we did not have enough leaders. Safeguarding was less important that bums on seats. Can’t turn down a volunteer! No matter how awful they are, so long as they pass the DBS check…