The new Balanced Programme is all about joining in, or participating. There is much less emphasis on passing tests, and a much greater emphasis on encouraging young people to learn from taking part. This simplifies the number of records that a Leader needs to keep for each individual. The Balanced Programme has three essential components, which are listed below.

The Programme Zones

These are essentially areas of activity. Each Section has its own set of Programme Zones, and they range from five in the Beaver Scouts to eight in the Explorer Scout and Scout Network Programmes.

Each Section includes Zones that cover activities such as Outdoors, Community, Fitness, International, and Beliefs and Attitude. Leaders planning their Section's Programme need to visit each Zone regularly, to ensure that they deliver a Programme that is balanced. Sometimes the meeting night or event will cover activities from just one Zone, while some meetings will draw activities from a variety of Zones. There is no specific list of activities that need to be included in each Zone. Leaders are free to select activities that they feel are appropriate and will appeal to the young people in their Sections.

The Methods

Each Section has a range of Methods that help Leaders to explore each Zone in an imaginative way. While they vary slightly from Section to Section, most Sections include Methods that involve playing games, making things, going on visits, helping others, using the outdoors and following themes. The range of Methods helps to bring as much variety as possible into the Programme.

Underlying Ways of Working

These can best be described as the first impressions of someone walking in to your meeting. They would see lots of activity, and young people having fun. They would see teamwork and commitment, and as the young people get older, evidence of leadership and increased responsibility.

For taking part in the Programme, young people receive a special badge, awarded on the anniversary of their first Investiture in a Scouting Section. It is a chance to celebrate what has been achieved through their involvement in the Programme. In the Beaver Scout and Cub Scout Sections this is called the Joining-In Award, while in the Scout Section it is known as the Participation Award. In Explorer Scouting and the Scout Network, the badge is replaced by a certificate, which records the young person's achievements during the year, and looks at the opportunities that exist for the following year.

Every Section has a number of Challenge Awards. They grow naturally from the activities in the Programme Zones, and challenge the young people to use the skills they have learned. By undertaking a Challenge individually, or as a member of a group, members can earn a badge in the Colony, Pack or Troop, or a certificate in the Explorer Scout and Scout Network Units. The Challenges in the Explorer Scout and Scout Network Units are compatible with the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards.

It is important not to see the Challenges as taking the place of the present awards, such as the Adventure Crest Award in the Pack or the Pathfinder Award in the Troop. They are, however, the route to the top award in each Section.

All the Sections have a top or key award. .

• For Beaver Scouts, the top award is the Chief Scout's Bronze Award. To achieve this, a Beaver Scout will need to earn two Challenges, and complete a personal challenge, which is agreed between the Beaver Scout and the Leader.
• The top award for a Cub Scout is the Chief Scout's Silver Award. The Cub Scout must earn three Challenges, one of which must be the Outdoor Challenge, and complete a personal challenge.
• Scouts need to achieve five Challenges, one of which needs to be the Outdoors Challenge, together with the personal challenge.
• In the Explorer Scout Section, the three key awards run in parallel with the three Duke of Edinburgh Awards. They are the Chief Scout's Platinum Award, the Chief Scout's Diamond Award and the Queen's Scout Award. Most Explorer Scouts do not complete their Queen's Scout Award however and continue to work towards it during their time in Scout Network.
• In the Scout Network Section, the key awards are the Chief Scout's Diamond Award and the Queen's Scout Award, which also run in paralell with the relevant Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts can all work towards a range of Activity Badges. While these are an optional part of the of the Programme, they can be used to complement and extend the Balanced Programme. In addition there are six Staged Activity Badges, each with a number of levels that can be taken by any Scout under 18 years of age at any time. They are IT, Musician, Nights Away, Swimmer, Hikes Away and Emergency Aid. These are the only Staged Activity Badges.

Group Awards provide another way of helping Leaders to run a Balanced Programme. They can only be earned by members from two or more Sections working together. There are three Group Awards - the International Friendship Award, the Environment Award and the Faith Award. There is considerable flexibility in the rules for working for these Awards. The Group Award must include a project that is worked on over a period of three to six months.