Do parents need to download an app?

No. The Parent Portal works in any web browser on any device — phone, tablet, or laptop. Parents get a direct link to their dashboard and can save it to their home screen if they want a one-tap shortcut.

Can both parents have their own login?

Yes. Multiple parents or guardians can each have their own account linked to the same child or children. Each gets independent access to payments, RSVPs, and badge evidence.

How do parents pay for things?

Parents are notified by email and in the portal when a payment is due. Subscriptions are collected by Direct Debit and one-off payments go through open banking — no card details required. Every payment links automatically to the correct event and member.

Can parents pay event fees in instalments?

Yes. When a group sets up an event payment with instalments, the schedule is created automatically and instalments are collected on the chosen dates. If a member's RSVP changes, pending instalments are cancelled automatically.

How does Scoutworks keep parent data secure?

Your group's data is hosted in the EU (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and processed under UK GDPR, with Scoutworks as your data processor and every sub-processor named in our privacy policy. The database is backed up every day, and Scoutworks holds Cyber Essentials certification. Parents can update their own data and consents at any time.

Can parents see all their children in one place?

Yes. The portal gives parents a single dashboard across every child — whether they are in the same section, different sections, or different groups. Payments, RSVPs, and badges are organised per child but visible together.

Scoutworks for Parents

Q: How do parents submit badge evidence?

Parents upload photos, videos or PDFs against a specific badge requirement from their portal. Leaders approve it, return it with feedback, or move it to a better-fitting requirement — and parents can sort their child's badges by progress to see which are nearly done.

Parent Portal

A parent-friendly dashboard where families pay, update details, answer RSVPs, volunteer for events and follow their child's badges — all in one place. Parents see what they owe and a statement of everything they have paid, subscribe to a private calendar of their own children's events, sign consent forms from a link with no login, and claim lost property from home.

Pay and manage subscriptions, with a balance card and a yearly statement to download
Respond to event invitations and sign up to help in one place
Update contact details, medical info and consents — changes show straight away
Works in any web browser on any device — no app download required
Each parent or guardian gets their own login
A private calendar feed for Apple, Google or Outlook, showing only their own children's sections, which they can reset if the link is shared
Consent forms for activities like shooting — parents open a link, sign on screen, and you get a signed PDF, with no login needed
An email when their child moves up, with the new leaders' names, the usual meeting day and place, and a reply that goes to the new section
Spot their child's jumper on the lost property board and claim it with one tap
Badge progress and evidence — see Badges → Parent Badge Portal & Evidence

Waiting lists that rank themselves

Parents apply through your own waiting list portal. Scoutworks ranks applicants by the priority tiers you choose, such as siblings, leaders' children and local families, and suggests the right section for each one. Cross-group duplicate detection gives districts the true picture of demand.

See it live

Priority tiers you switch on and put in order — positions update automatically
Cross-group duplicate detection reveals true demand at district level
Full lifecycle tracking from first enquiry to joining, with an audit log
Triage suggests a section for each applicant, with distance, siblings and space left
Generate a shareable link or embed your waiting list on your website
Import existing waiting lists from a spreadsheet or OSM, with a preview first
Parents accept, decline or defer an offered place, or withdraw, through secure email links
Send bulk interest checks to confirm families still want their spot
Add children directly when a parent phones or asks at a meeting — source badges show how each entry arrived

Payments parents don't have to think about

Parents see what's due in their portal and get an email when a new payment is requested. Scoutworks sends reminders 7 days and 1 day before a one-off payment is due, so leaders don't need to chase. Every linked parent gets them, either can pay, and Scoutworks stops two parents paying the same thing. Parents see every child's payments in one place, with a statement of everything they've paid, year by year.

Payment requests in the parent portal and by email
Reminders 7 days and 1 day before a one-off payment is due
Every linked parent reminded, either can pay, and nobody pays twice
Current balance: what's pending, what's in progress and what failed, or 'all paid up'
A statement of every payment, by year, with yearly totals and a CSV download
Every child's payments in one place
Asked for Gift Aid when it applies, so you don't have to ask

Parent Badge Portal & Evidence

Parents follow their child's badges from their own portal and submit photo, video or PDF evidence against a specific requirement. Scouts and Explorers with their own login can submit evidence too. Everything lands in one review queue, where leaders approve it, return it with feedback, or move it to a better-fitting requirement. Parents also get a weekly round-up of what their child achieved.

Parents submit evidence against a specific requirement, and can save a draft to finish later
Photos, videos and PDFs, up to 25 MB a file
Scouts and Explorers submit their own evidence from their youth login
Leaders approve, return with feedback, or move evidence to another requirement — one queue for parents and young people
Parents see every badge by status: in progress, ready for award, awarded and awaiting review
A weekly email tells parents which badges their child completed or was awarded that week
Send Badge Check — email parents a checklist of awarded badges, so they can see which ones still need sewing on
Leaders get a Monday round-up of evidence waiting for review

RSVPs, Attendance & Parent Helpers

Parents are emailed the moment an event is published and RSVP from their portal. Leaders see responses arrive without chasing messages. Ask for parent helpers on any event, and parents volunteer from their dashboard. Take attendance on your phone during the meeting, and download RSVPs and registers whenever you need them offline.

Parents emailed on publish, and RSVP from their portal
RSVPs arrive live — no more chasing responses
Parent helper sign-ups built into every event
Tap to mark attendance on your phone during the meeting
Download RSVPs as CSV, and the register and leader-in-charge report as PDF
An attendance summary report with each member's rate and trend
Activities like shooting can require digital parental consent, signed on screen, with a PDF for each response
Leaders accept, decline or mark themselves as tentative, with email reminders before the deadline

Kit Lists

Create reusable kit list templates — one for a weekend camp, another for a day hike, another for water activities — and attach them to any event. Scoutworks comes with seven ready-made lists you can copy and change, or build your own. Parents see an interactive packing checklist and tick off items as they pack. Leaders see who has packed and who has not. Export to PDF for printing.

Seven ready-made lists — weekend camp, day hike, water activities, overnight indoor, week-long camp, cycling and a regular meeting
Interactive parent checklist — parents tick off items as they pack
Leader progress dashboard showing who's ready and who isn't
Copy a ready-made list and change it, or build your own from scratch
Export to PDF for printing and handing out at meetings
Attach any list to any event, and save an event's list as a new template

For Parents

Parent Portal

Waiting lists that rank themselves

Payments parents don't have to think about

Parent Badge Portal & Evidence

RSVPs, Attendance & Parent Helpers

Kit Lists

Everything in one place

Built for real life

Free for parents, always

Frequently asked questions

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