The Centre for Early Childhood Launch New ‘Shaping Us’ Badge in Partnership with the Scouts

The Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood has announced a partnership with the Scouts, of which HRH The Princess of Wales is Joint President. The collaboration will see a brand-new blanket badge introduced, built around the Centre’s Shaping Us Framework.

The Shaping Us Framework defines key social and emotional skills and the vital role these play in shaping who we are. These skills begin to develop during early childhood.

The work connects the Scouts – particularly its youngest section Squirrels – with the Shaping Us Framework. It will be used to guide the development of social and emotional skills in children aged four to five. The badge will be awarded not just to young people, but also to volunteers, parents and carers who actively engage with the framework to nurture these skills.

The partnership was set up in recognition that the Scouts reach almost 500,000 young people (aged four – 18) each year, and that the activities they run inherently involve social and emotional skills. By introducing this new badge, it will raise awareness of the importance of these skills.

As part of the initiative, Scouts will use the Shaping Us Framework to help volunteers, parents, and supporters understand the benefits of nurturing these skills from a young age.

The Scouts have mapped activities from the Squirrels programme to support social and emotional skills development. These range from relationship building to communicating with others and exploring the world. The partnership with the Centre for Early Childhood will help families and volunteers see how everyday experiences contribute to children’s development.

Further information is available on the Scouts badge and the Shaping Us Framework.