Most sections have a weekly award — Cub of the Week, Beaver of the Month, Scout of the Term. Leaders usually remember to give it out, but without a record it is easy to keep rewarding the same children and quietly overlook others. The Recognition feature tracks every award and shows you, at a glance, who has been waiting longest — so no child gets forgotten.
Where to find it
Go to Badges in the sidebar, then select Recognition from the submenu. You can also click the Recognition button in the top-right to award someone immediately from anywhere in the page.
Setting up your award types
Before awarding, create at least one recognition type. Go to the Settings tab.
Click New Recognition Type and fill in:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | What you call the award — e.g. "Cub of the Week" or "Beaver of the Month" |
| Emoji | A single emoji shown alongside the name (optional) |
| Frequency | How often you expect to give it out — weekly, monthly, termly, or custom |
| Section | Limit this type to one section, or leave blank to share it across your whole group |
Click Create to save. You can add as many types as you need and edit them at any time. Removing a type keeps all past awards safe — the type is just hidden from the award flow going forward.
Awarding recognition
Go to the Award tab. If your group has more than one section, pick the right section from the tabs at the top.
Seeing who is overdue
The Who's Due? list shows every active member in the section, ranked from longest wait to shortest. Members who have never received any recognition appear at the top. Members who received an award recently sit at the bottom.
Tap any name to open the award dialog.
The suggested member
The highlighted card at the top of the page shows the single member who has been waiting longest — tap Award to give them recognition in one click.
Giving the award
When the award dialog opens:
- Select the award type (or accept the pre-selected one)
- Optionally add a reason — it will be shared with the parent
- Tap one of the quick-reason tags — Teamwork, Kindness, Effort, Bravery, Creativity — to fill the reason in one tap
- Click Award
A short celebration animation plays to mark the moment.
Tracking progress at a glance
The top of the Award tab shows four summary cards:
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| This week | How many weekly awards have been given out this week against what is expected |
| Not yet recognised | Members who have never received any award — aim to get this to zero |
| Streak | How many consecutive weeks at least one award went out |
| Longest wait | The most days any member has gone without recognition |
Viewing history
The History tab shows a grid with every member as a row and time periods as columns. Green cells show weeks (or months) when a member received an award; empty cells show gaps.
Use this view to spot patterns across your whole section at a glance — a long row of gaps is a clear signal to focus attention there.
What parents see
When a child receives a recognition award, their parents get an in-app notification. Parents can also see their child's full recognition history on the Badges page in the parent portal — including the award type, the reason, and the date.
Fairness data (who is overdue, streak information) is only visible to leaders and admins, not to parents.
What's next
- Awarding Badges — sign off badge requirements and record formal badge awards
- How Badge Tracking Works — an overview of the full badge journey
- Sending Emails to Parents — reach parents directly when you want to share news beyond notifications
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What's next?
Related guidesAwarding Badges
How to sign off badge requirements and award badges to members individually or in bulk.
Read articleHow Badge Tracking Works
An overview of how Scoutworks handles badge progress tracking, from requirement completion to awarding badges.
Read articleSending Emails to Parents
How to compose and send emails to parents from Scoutworks, including recipient selection and access points.
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