Working with The Scouts to raise awareness of CO

The creation of activities for Scouts of all ages that raise awareness and understanding of CO poisoning, and how to manage and reduce the risks

Why we’re working together

While young people are one of the demographics most at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, they’re also one of the groups least aware of the dangers of CO. Our partnership not only enables us to reduce CO harm among large numbers of young people nationally, we’re also able to raise awareness of the silent killer among young people who are potentially more likely than their peers to come into contact with CO through camping and other outdoor activities.

This year we broadened the scope of our partnership to incorporate energy efficiency and fuel poverty awareness. Educating young people how to be efficient with energy usage is something that they can not only take home, practise and share with their household now, but will also benefit them in the future when they become independent.

How we’re working together

We’ve developed a programme of 11 CO safety activities, tailored to the differing needs and interests of young people across four Scouting sections – Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. We’ve also created a bespoke Think CO elearning package into the Scout Association training materials to educate Scout leaders and adult volunteers on CO safety, helping to ensure they are keeping their groups safe from the silent killer, and empower them to confidently deliver our CO activities.

During CO Awareness Week in November 2024, we launched a new CO Awareness blanket badge, designed for older Scouting sections. It’s available all year round and includes flexible, fun activities that help reinforce the CO safety message in a meaningful way.

We also launched a programme of five energy efficiency and fuel poverty activities that educate young Scouting members, and their households, on how to use their energy more efficiently and affordably.

Partnership and community impact

The partnership between Scouts and the GDNs is instrumental in supporting the Scouts’ strategic goals of Programme, People and Perception. We’ve been able to enhance their CO safety guidance and ability to raise awareness around how to use energy safely, efficiently, and affordably. Our programme of 11 CO and five energy efficiency activities are available to Scouts’ 450,000 members, as well as people outside of the scouting movement.

This year, we developed and trialled our CO-Safety Team programme, aimed at engaging Explorer Scouts (14-18 years) to help raise awareness of CO. Explorers learn about CO risks through online resources and the bespoke Think CO e-learning, then deliver a CO session using our programme of activities to their linked group.

We’ll further expand our programme with more CO and energy efficiency activities helping us to reach even more young people and their households. This helps them understand the dangers themselves while also sharing vital knowledge with younger Scouts.

Stakeholder support

We know that by working with Scouts and raising awareness of CO and energy efficiency with younger Scouting members, we’re helping to create CO and energy champions who can take this learning home and share with their households. This is helping households we might not otherwise have been able to reach to use their energy safely, efficiently and affordably.

We’re able to effectively reach young people through a trusted organisation where safety messages are expected.

Throughout the development and delivery of our partnership with Scouts, stakeholders regionally and nationally have supported our programme.

Evaluation and learning

Building on the shared learning opportunities, we’ve developed the CO-ol Safety team scheme this year, which is aimed at Explorers. Our CO-ol Safety team will educate themselves on CO safety before delivering CO activities to other younger sections, becoming CO ambassadors in their regions.

Not only do our CO-ol Safety team ambassadors get a nice new pin badge to show for their efforts, but it also contributes towards their King Scout and Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

We’ve also seen our GDN Ambassador working group, made up of GDN employees who also volunteer with their local Scout movement, provide a wealth of input and support into our programme. Providing guidance and advice on the development of the new activities launched this year, helping design and roll out the new CO blanket badge, and supporting in the trial of the CO-ol Safety team scheme ahead of its full roll out.