The Personal Challenge Award is different from most badges. Instead of fixed requirements, the young person works on two challenges they agree in conversation with you — one chosen by them, one chosen with their leader. The challenges are personal, so they're never the same twice. Scoutworks gives you a place to write down what each young person actually agreed, when, and how it went — so the badge carries the story of the journey, not just two ticked boxes.
This works the same way for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, each of which has its own Personal Challenge Award.
Where to find this
- Go to Badges in the sidebar (or open a member's Badge Record from the Members page).
- Open the member's Personal Challenge badge to see its detail view.
You'll see two challenge slots — the two challenges the young person is working towards.
Filling in a challenge
Each of the two slots has the same small set of fields:
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Set by | Who chose this challenge — Young person or Leader. The first slot defaults to Young person and the second to Leader, but you can change either (for example if both challenges were set by the young person). |
| Challenge | The challenge itself, in your own words — e.g. "Learn to tie my shoelaces" or "Cook a simple meal for the family". |
| Date agreed | The day you agreed the challenge together. |
| Reflection | A short note on how it went — "Did it on the third try!" — added around the time you sign it off. |
Once you've entered both the challenge text and the date agreed, that challenge automatically moves to in progress, so it's easy to see what each young person is currently working on.
Signing it off
The completion checkbox works exactly as it does on any other badge. When the young person has done the challenge, tick it off.
The reflection is prompted but never required — you can complete a challenge without typing one. So if you're signing things off quickly at the end of a meeting, you're never blocked; you can always come back and add the reflection later.
What parents see
Parents can follow along from their own view of their child's badges. They see each challenge read-only — who set it, the challenge text, the date agreed and any reflection — but they can't edit anything. Recording challenges stays with you and your fellow leaders.
What's next
- How Badge Tracking Works — the basics of progress and awarding across all badges.
- Awarding Badges — sign off requirements and formally award a completed badge.
- Badge Evidence and Reviews — collect and review evidence for badges that need it.
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What's next?
Related guidesHow Badge Tracking Works
An overview of how Scoutworks handles badge progress tracking, from requirement completion to awarding badges.
Read articleAwarding Badges
How to sign off badge requirements and award badges to members individually or in bulk.
Read articleBadge Evidence and Reviews
How parents submit evidence for badge work and how leaders review it — one requirement at a time, with a Return option that lets parents fix and resubmit.
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