The County of Birmingham believe that every child should have the opportunity to become a member of The Scout Association, regardless of their physical or mental abilities. For the majority of young people this can be successfully achieved within their local Scout Group. For most families it is best to approach your local scout group (contact number for HQ). However, if you have particular concerns or questions please contact Alison Hughes on alison.hughes@birminghamscouts.org.uk
Nationally, the scout association provides information about special needs, click here for more information. There are 42 factsheets, which are free to download from the Information Centre, and which should be your first port of call. Additionally, information on rarer conditions can be found on the Contact a Family website. You can also contact your ADC special needs or me, and we will endeavour to support you. Furthermore, there is a special needs training module (module 36) which runs annually through the training team or can be delivered to your group or District by arrangement. Should you need further information about a particular special need, please contact me directly.
Although the vast majority of children can be accommodated in their local scout group some special schools run groups within School time for pupils within that school. Onaway Scout group takes scouting and guiding onto wards 5 and 7 at Birmingham Children’s hospital with a team of over 10 volunteer leaders under the GSL of Roger Simpson.