Any member aged 14-17 who volunteers with a unit can do the young leader development programme. This includes young external volunteers.
In 2023 welcome leaflets for young leaders and welcome leaflets for you
ng volunteers were launched to help them understand their role and all the amazing things you do in your units. They can be completed within the first term of a young leader or young volunteer joining a unit.
Once a young person has completed the welcome leaflet, they can now get a badge to recognise their achievement from our County or Division Shop
After young leaders complete the welcome leaflet, they can continue to build their leadership journey by working on the young leader development programme.
This is a completely optional, flexible programme for young leaders, made up of 12 modules, with tasks for them to complete alongside discovery resources to help support their knowledge and grow their skills.
Get started with the young leader development programme now!
Take a look at the modules and resources and plan your next steps.
From July 2024, it will be possible for leaders to use GO to record the modules their young leaders complete.
The young leader qualification is designed to help you take an active, positive part in running a Rainbow, Brownie or Guide unit.
Get Started
All the modules are listed on this page, so have a look at the name and description of each one and choose what you’d like to do.
You might want to have a chat with another leader in your unit first, to help you decide. You could choose something you’re already confident in to get you going, or look at an area you’d like to develop further. Or you might want to choose a module that links with something you’re already doing – it’s completely up to you!
Remember, you can complete the modules in any order and build your own journey throughout the whole time you’re a young leader.
Each module has a task sheet with tasks for you to complete, along with a video and a discovery sheet. These give you some background information to help you complete the tasks, if you need it.
Modules
- Connecting your community
- Delivering activities
- Finding solutions
- Getting out and about
- Giving girls a voice
- Keeping it kind
- Knowing Girlguiding
- Looking after you
- Planning your activities
- Running activities safely
- Supporting inclusive spaces
- Working with others
This screen recording shows how to download, complete and save the discovery sheets and task sheets on your phone.
Easy-to-print versions
You can complete the modules in any order and any way that works for you. If you’d like to print out the whole young leader development programme in one go, you can use our easy-to-print versions:
- Download all tasks sheets and tracker (PDF, 690KB)
- Download all discovery sheets and task sheets (PDF, 10.8MB)
The tracker is also available as a postcard from the Girlguiding shop
What happens when I’ve completed a module?
When you’ve done all the tasks then your leader can mark the module as completed for you on GO. Leaders, check out the GO help files for more information on how to do this.
Then you can choose whether you want to do another module or take a break.
For every 4 modules you complete you can get a badge and a certificate.
Once you have completed all 12 modules you can be 
awarded the empowering leadership badge and certificate
What can I do next?
All the skills you develop while completing the young leader development programme will be incredibly useful for whatever you want to do in future. Each module explains the skills you’ve gained- make sure you shout about these in job or university applications! You can also download our Girlguiding on your CV resource (PDF, 150KB) for more on translating all the key skills you’ve gained through volunteering.
Help girls have amazing guiding experiences
If you’ve enjoyed being a young leader then you might like to think about becoming a unit helper or an adult leader when you’re 18. We’ve created the leader development programme, which you can start working on from your 16th birthday on our learning platform.
When you start the leader development programme, you’ll find that some of the modules from the young leader development programme link directly to some of the becoming a leader courses in the leader development programme. If you’ve already completed these modules as a young leader, you won’t have to do the courses again for the becoming a leader training, unless you’d like to refresh your knowledge
