Photo Credit: Agnese Stare

Squirrels are young people aged 4 (minimum) to 5 who:

• Explore new skills and try new things
• Have fun and go on adventures
• Make friends
• Are curious about the world around them
• Help others and make a difference, on their own doorstops and
  beyond

Every week, they gather in Squirrel Dreys to enjoy lots of different games
and activities – stretching themselves and having lots of fun along the way.

Squirrels are not yet allowed to camp or have sleepovers as a Drey but can
participate in family camps. The first time they spend a night away from
home without family may have to wait until they are in Beavers, so that will
be a real adventure for them to look forward to.

There is one Squirrel Drey in the 100th Elvetham Heath Scout Group:

What do Squirrels do?

Our Squirrel Drey

Afternoon sessions begin with a welcome song and each Squirrel hangs their own decorated wooden squirrel onto a ‘tree’ to show they are present.

Squirrels then spend an hour enjoying a mix of games, craft work, drawing, singing, and meeting visitors etc. The programme is kept varied and fun, exploring a different theme each week, supported by a story. No two meetings are ever the same.

The session ends with some ‘reflection’ to bring everything together and a short closing ceremony and song. Squirrels take home anything they have made to show off to parents, siblings, and friends.

Exploring the great outdoors

Squirrels spend lots of time outside when conditions are right. They will explore the local area, hunt for bugs and build homes for them, learn about outdoor dangers and how to stay safe, marvel at the stars and learning how to make the world a better place.

Trying new activities and learning new things

Going to Squirrels complements whatever they learn from nursery and school but the emphasis is on exploring, playing and doing.

Key traits that Squirrels will develop are an acceptance of each other (trust), supporting each other (loyalty), recognising right and wrong (integrity) and trying new things even if they have doubts about them at first (courage).

Helping others

Squirrels will learn to help other people, in their local communities and beyond.

Badges and Awards

Over the course of (up to) five terms, Squirrels will have the opportunity to gain a number of badges, from Brilliant Builder to Super Chef, from Let it Grow to Exciting Experiments, and many more. There are plenty of activities to keep Squirrels engaged and learning.

The ultimate goal for every Drey is to give each Squirrel the opportunity to earn the Chief Scout Acorn Award Badge. This is the highest award a Squirrel can earn, and it’s something they will work on gradually throughout their whole time in the Drey. Parental support and a programme carefully designed by leaders will help Squirrels earn their Acorn Award and the badges needed to qualify for it along the way.

Please click these links for further information about badges and awards for the Squirrel Scout section.

This Scout HQ page gives the placement template for all of the uniform badges for Scouts.

Badge Sewing support

Jackie Cheeseman, a grandparent of a former scout in our Group, will sew badges onto Squirrel, beaver and cub jumpers and scout and leader shirts.

She charges 50p per badge and very generously donates all she raises to our Group. Simply arrange to take her the garment and badges and Jackie will let you know when they are ready, and pay cash on collection.

Please contact us to make initial contact with Jackie if you don’t know her phone number and address. She sews badges for any child or leader in any Scout Group, Brownie or Guide Unit, indeed anybody. Spread the word!

Squirrel Scout Promise

At their investiture Squirrels should know the Squirrel Scout promise and know and understand the Scout Motto, Sign and Handshake. They should attend sufficient meetings to get to know the other Squirrels in the Drey and their Leaders.

Promise: I promise that I will do my best, to be kind and helpful, and to love the World.

Click here for alternative Promises

What do Squirrels wear?

Uniform consists of a dark red sweatshirt and navy blue trousers. In the summer, navy blue shorts can be worn instead of trousers.

These items should be purchased from our district shop in Crondall, as the small amount of profit goes back into local scouting, and can be worn immediately, although new joiners can wear their own clothes for the first couple of weeks.

The shop is open Saturday mornings 10am-12pm during term time. After about five weeks, new joiners are invested at a formal ceremony and the gold and scarlet group scarf, woggle and badges are presented.

A gold Group T-shirt is available from our T-shirt distributor, and is often worn in place of the Scout shirt in warm weather or instead of the formal uniform during games or outdoor activities. Please email the distributor at 100ehsgclothing@gmail.com if you would like to buy one. The t shirt can also be worn in Beavers.

Moving on from Squirrels to Beavers

When Squirrels approach 6 years old they can move up to Beavers. The 100th Elvetham Heath currently has two Beaver colonies: Leopard Moth Colony on a Monday and Tiger Moth Colony on a Thursday. Each starts at 4.45pm and ends at 5.45pm. Children in the 100th have priority for places in the Beaver colonies so do let the Drey leader know which your child would like and the choice will be passed on to the Beaver leader.