Joining our group
Waiting List Policy
A clear guide to applying, waiting for a place and what happens when an offer arrives.
Version 1.4 · Effective 15 October 2026
The essentials
Apply from age two
Children under four wait until they are old enough for Squirrels.
A place isn’t guaranteed
Joining the waiting list does not guarantee admission to the group.
Check our catchment
Please check the map and the catchment guidance below.
Welcome
1st Kirkham & Wesham Scout Group offers Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. We use a waiting list to help parents and carers apply for a place and to allocate spaces as they become available.
This policy explains how the waiting list works. Please use the Join Us form to apply for a place for your child.
1. Who can apply?
- For a young person to be added to the waiting list, the following details MUST be supplied: full name, date of birth, address and postcode, phone and email contact details of at least one parent/guardian.
- There is a high demand for places within the group. Completing this form DOES NOT guarantee admission to the group.
- Young people approaching the Squirrels joining age (4 years) may only be added to the list from age 2.
- If a young person waiting for a particular section does not obtain a place in time to join that section, then they will remain on the list for the next section up. The age ranges for the sections are:
- Squirrels: 4 to 6 years
- Beavers: 6 to 8 years
- Cubs: 8 to 10½ years
- Scouts: 10½ to 14 years.
2. Our catchment area
- Our catchment area is Kirkham, Wesham and close surrounding areas. Please be aware that the other Scout Groups in the area are:
- 2nd Kirkham
- 2nd Warton
- 2nd Freckleton
- 1st Clifton
- Wrea Green Scout Group
These groups manage their own applications and waiting lists. The sections they offer and availability of places may vary. Their contact details can be provided on request. Young people who live in either the Newton or Clifton areas WILL NOT normally be eligible for a place within the group. They should direct their request for membership of the Scout Association to their local Scout Group. Places at the group will only be offered to those with addresses within our catchment area, shown on the map below.
View our catchment map
Check the boundary alongside the catchment guidance above.
Open the map image for a closer look.
3. How we allocate places
- Existing Members moving up will receive top priority for spaces within the group – consequently no places will be offered to non members until members moving up have been allocated their places
- If all of these factors have been considered and met, places will be allocated based on the length of time spent on the waiting list.
- The school that a young person attends is NOT a factor in deciding the priority for allocation of places.
- A young person wishing to transfer from another group to this group is given no special priority.
- Places will not be held empty to allow for friends to join at the same time – e.g. if 2 friends want to join but only 1 space is available the group will not hold the vacant space until a 2nd becomes available.
4. Responding to an offer
When a place becomes available, our waiting list team will send an offer email to the parent or carer’s email address registered on the application. Please use the secure link in that email to accept or decline the offer by the deadline shown.
You have five days to reply, counting the day we send the offer as day one. This includes weekends. For example, an offer sent on Monday needs a response by 11:59pm on Friday.
If we haven’t received your response, we’ll send a reminder before the deadline. Please check your inbox and spam folder.
If you accept, a section leader will contact you to arrange your child’s start date.
We receive a high number of applications, and our waiting list is managed by volunteers. Unfortunately, we cannot keep applications open once an offer has been declined or its response deadline has passed. If you decline the offer, or we do not receive your response by the deadline, your child’s application will therefore be removed from the waiting list.
You can also remove an application at any time using Section 5: Removing your child from the waiting list.
5. Removing your child from the waiting list
You can remove your child from the waiting list at any time. You do not need to wait for an offer or a review email.
Expand the section below, enter the email address used for your application and select Request link. We’ll send a secure link to that inbox. Check your inbox and spam folder, open the link, then choose which child’s application to remove and confirm your decision.
When using this management link, your child stays on the waiting list until you confirm removal. If siblings share the same email address, each application is shown separately. Removing one child does not remove the others.
Removal ends the application’s current queue position. If you apply again later, the new application will have a new waiting-list date.
Request a secure management link
Want to leave the waiting list? Enter the email address used for your application. We’ll email a secure link so you can choose which child’s application to remove.
6. Attendance after joining
Regular attendance helps children enjoy Scouting and makes the best use of our limited places. Please let your section leader know when your child cannot attend. If your child misses three meetings within a term without an explanation, we will contact you to discuss their place. Continued unexplained absence may result in the place being withdrawn. We will consider individual circumstances before making a decision.
7. Waiting times
Waiting times vary between sections and depend on places becoming available. We cannot give a reliable estimate of when your child will be offered a place, but we will contact you when there is a suitable offer.
Our waiting list is managed by volunteers, so we are unable to provide regular individual updates. You are welcome to contact us if you need to correct your application, update your contact details or tell us about a change in circumstances.
8. Questions or corrections
If you need to correct an application or have a question about this policy, contact our waiting list team.
Ready to take the next step?
Return to Join Us to complete your child’s application.