Screamline

This is one of a set of factsheets on Scout Shows. It gives guidance for District Commissioners (and County Commissioners for County shows) and what their responsibilities are, and also explains their role within the National Recognition scheme should a show wish to gain this standard.

Minimum Standards
As with all activities within your District (or County), your approval is required before a show can take place. The minimum standards listed below are designed as guidelines to help decide whether approval for the show should be given. They are nothing to do with the recognition scheme, except that if minimum standards are not reached the show will not be able to go ahead and can therefore not apply for recognition.
•    A person should be formally and specifically appointed by the Appointments sub-Committee to manage the overall show (i.e. the production team, business management team and focus on the development of young people). They are referred to in the rest of this factsheet as the 'Show Chairperson'.
You can then work with the Show Chairperson to ensure the following minimum standards.
•    Agree the objectives on which the Show will be reviewed on (e.g. increasing youth participation, development of young people to take-over key roles, promotion and material to attract the broader community).
•    Ensure that content and material is suitable for the young people involved and also the audience that will be attending.
Ensure that young people participate as part of the balanced programme within Scouting, and that the time commitment for the show is not such that this is not possible for them.
Ensure that the show is about young people and is not dominated by adults, either through numbers or through the main performance parts.
Agree on the key personnel (Producer, Director, Choreographer, trainers/instructors).
Ensure that key personnel are (or made) at least Associate Members of the Movement and encouraged to undertake Module 1 of the Adult Training Scheme.
Ensure that all adults working with the young people at any stage of the show are aware of The Association's Child Protection Policy and have completed the required checks.
Ensure that all legal aspects of public performances are adhered to. (Factsheet FS120162 'Scout Shows - The Legal Aspects' can help with this.)
Ensure that a business plan is submitted to, and agreed by, the Finance Sub-Committee before any financial commitments are made, and that the show is financially self-sufficient and will not drain the finances of the Group, District or County if they make a financial loss.
Ensure that there is formal agreement from the relevant Commissioner in GirlGuiding UK, where their Members are involved.
Conduct a review after each season of Shows.
Agree the specific and relevant actions required to meet the Key Policies of the Scout Association as set out in POR.
National Recognition
Shows, if they wish, may apply to become Nationally Recognised. This is a locally managed scheme set up to encourage shows to produce as high a standard of performance as possible, both to develop the young people involved, and to produce a quality shop window for Scouting to members of the public in the audience.
Attaining National Recognition comprises two elements:
1    Meeting the minimum standards set out above. This is a requirement of all shows before they get approval to go ahead whether they apply for National Recognition or not.
2    An assessment of the delivery of the creative elements of the show that will be conducted by a Scout Show Assessor appointed by the County.
If a show wishes to be assessed for National Recognition, once you are satisfied that they meet all of the minimum requirements, you will need to contact the Assessor and discuss when the assessment will take place and when it will be completed. If no Assessor is available in your County you should see if any Counties nearby could help out. In the rare circumstances where this still does not produce an Assessor you should contact the Activities Office at Gilwell Park who may be able to allocate an Assessor via the National Activity Adviser for Scout Shows, given sufficient advance notice.
The Assessor after watching the show will send a recommendation on the award of National Recognition, based on the national assessment criteria, to you. It is then for you to decide on and make the actual award to the show based on the recommendation from the Assessor.
Where National Recognition is newly granted or re-assessed, it is recommended that the award is announced at the show, or at a gathering soon after.

The Scout Show Assessor
The County will need to appoint one or possibly more, Scout Show Assessors. This is a specific appointment of the County Appointments sub-
Committee. As a minimum to become an Assessor a person must:
•    Be  at  least  an  Associate  Member  of the Movement.
•    Have completed a modified version of module 25 of the Adult Training Scheme, which can be validated through assessing two shows for recognition
A special word version of the module 25 workbook aimed specifically at Scout Show Assessors is available to download from ScoutBase UK or from the Information Centre.
•    Have experience in a key personnel role of a Scout Show production.
An Assessor must not assess a show they are currently involved in, and good practise would say that they shouldn't assess a show they have had recent involvement in.

Formal Review
National Recognition lasts for a set time period, set by yourself in discussion with the Show Assessor and the Show Chairperson. This should be no longer than five years or at the time of a change in the production team if earlier. Once this review date has been reached a show requires a further assessment before it receives National Recognition again.