Information for Officers

An Introduction to The Queen's Badge

The Queen’s Badge is the highest award that can be gained by a member of the Boys’ Brigade. It brings out the best in a young person - active leadership, commitment, and making a worthwhile contribution to the community.

Only those who hold the President’s Badge or Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award, plus other elements, can undertake the Queen’s Badge - a Captain can register a young person for the Queen’s Badge when they apply for the President’s Badge or confirmation of the D of E Bronze Award. Forms are available on The Boys’ Brigade website and should be returned to the District Queen’s Badge Organiser. The young person then receives a QB record book, via the Company Captain. Captains should not hold onto this, but with the young person should then arrange to meet with the Battalion Queen’s Badge Advisor. This is usually done with other new candidates in the Company or Battalion and is known as the Candidates’ Conference - a meeting of the candidate, an officer from his company, and the Advisor, to agree a programme of work. The programme for the Queen’s Badge will include:

Leadership Training Course

Every candidate must attend a Leadership Training Course, within the first 6 months of registration. Normally one will be organised locally, though candidates are free to attend anyone they wish - details could be obtained from BBHQ or the Queen’s Badge Organiser. The course is a progression of many of the skills candidates will require in many aspects of thier service, so it is important that it is taken as soon as possible after registration.

Practical Work for the Queen’s Badge

This falls into three main headings:

(i) Service in the BB - the candidate must spend at least 18 months working as a junior member of staff in a BB Company (not necessarily his own), in whichever section the candidate feels most comfortable with or challenged by.

(ii) Service in the community - a minimum of 30 hours must be spent with people in the community (outside the Company), offering services, which help those people.

(iii) Recreation activities - the candidate must choose to undertake an
expedition, skill or physical element - these are done to the
standards for Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Silver level.
(Note - if all three sections are completed then the candidate can
qualify for the D of E Silver award.)

Record Book

The work undertaken for the Queen’s Badge must be logged in the Record Book - candidates are encouraged to include photos and newspaper clippings to give a colourful account! The Book also includes “Candidate’s Questions”, which encourage some investigation into The Young persons’ Brigade as a movement and into youth work in a wider sense.
Queen’s Badge Completion Course
To complete the QB, each candidate must attend a Completion Course. The course aims to draw together the work done by:
- assessment of the work the candidates have done
- in tutorials, candidates discuss what was undertaken for each section, what the candidate learnt, what experiences and emotions had been felt, and other de-briefing aspects
- further sessions continue the candidate’s development

Details of completion courses are available from BB HQ or the Queen’s Badge Organiser.

ALL QUEEN’S BADGE APPLICATIONS NEED TO BE SIGNED BY THE DISTRICT QB ORGANISER BEFORE THEY ARE SENT TO BBHQ.

The Queen’s Badge is the highest award in the Boys’ Brigade. Completing it is a great achievement for all young persons and is something all should aim for. Talk to your Battalion Advisor, and then get your young persons to take part - you won’t regret it!

Download a copy of this information

Queen's Badge Regulations

1. Hold the President's Badge.

Registration of Candidates for the Queen's Badge is done via the President's Badge Application form.

2. Attend a Queen's Badge Candidates' Conference.

This should be undertaken as soon as possible after registration for the Queen's Badge.

Agree an individual Programme of Activity . In all things, the Candidate is encouraged to take ownership of the Programme of Activity, and to discuss alternatives with the Adviser and Company Mentor.

3. Participate in skills-based training.

This should be undertaken as soon as possible after registration, and not less than 6 months prior to completion.

Training should include at least one of the following, and may be provided by the Brigade or other suitable external agencies:

(a) Practical Skills Training :

i. Relevant skills-based training to support work in the Company or Church

ii. Relevant skills-based training to support service to others

iii. Relevant life-skills training to support the personal development of the

individual

(b) Leadership Skills Training

Relevant based training to enhance the leadership skills of the individual

4. Take Responsibility within the Brigade or Church.

Candidates are expected to assume an appropriate degree of responsibility for an aspect of BB or Church activity. A minimum of 30 hours activity is required across the planned period of involvement, and could include two or more different experiences in two or more Brigade Sessions. Activities can be at any level within the Brigade or Church, and some Candidates may benefit from undertaking part of this activity outside their own Company or Church.

Candidates are encouraged to explore options suitable to their own situation and are invited to submit proposals as part of their planned Programme of Activity . These may include (but are not restricted to) the following:

(a) Responsibility for others within the Brigade or Church :

i. Work with younger members of the Company or Church in a regular programme of activity for a minimum of 6 weeks.

ii. Work with peers within the Brigade or Church in a regular programme of activity for a minimum of 6 weeks.

(b) Projects and activities within the Brigade or Church :

i. Take responsibility for the planning or delivery of all or part of an event in the Brigade or Church

ii. Take a responsible role for regular activities within the Brigade or Church for for a minimum of 6 weeks.

iii. Take a responsible role for a special project or new initiative within the Brigade or Church

5. Provide Service or Support to Others outside the Brigade

Candidates are expected to undertake practical service to others in the Community. A minimum of 30 hours activity is required across the planned period of involvement, and could include two or more different experiences in two or more Brigade Sessions.

Candidates are encouraged to explore options suitable to their own situation and are invited to submit proposals as part of their planned Programme of Activity . Service to others may be provided in one or more of the following areas:

(a) Service to individuals or groups outside the Company

Undergo appropriate briefing, then provide regular practical service to individuals or groups of people in the community for an agreed period of time.

(b) Service to other agencies working with individuals or groups in the Community :

Undergo appropriate briefing, then provide regular practical service to another agency or charitable cause with direct benefit to other people for an agreed period of time.

(c) Service to the wider community :

Undergo appropriate briefing, then provide regular practical service as part of a group working for the benefit of the community at large for an agreed period of time.

6. Develop Interests

Candidates must undertake at least two activities from the following three sections:

(a) Skills : Learn a new skill, or develop an existing one

(b) Physical : Take part in a new activity, or develop existing participation

NB Where both of the above activities are chosen, participation should be for a minimum of 6 months in one of the above, and 3 months in the other. Where only one is chosen, participation should be for a minimum of 6 months.

(c) Expedition / Exploration :

Undergo appropriate training, including at least one supervised practice venture, then undertake a 3-day, 2-night venture with at least 7 hours planned daytime activity (eg journeying or exploration) per day.

The activities and attainment standards for the above are comparable with the Duke of Edinburgh's Silver Award. If all three are undertaken, this will enable the Candidate to qualify for relevant parts of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

7. Participate in a Completion Course

Candidates must participate fully in a residential Queen's Badge Completion Course.

(a) no earlier than the session equivalent to Year 12 (England & Wales); S5 (Scotland and Eíre); or Year 13 (Northern Ireland),

(b) not less than 12 months from the date of registration, and

(c) not less than 6 months from the completion of skills-based training.

The Completion Course is not a training course; but will provide opportunities for personal and shared reflection and evaluation; to share experiences, celebrate achievements, challenge opinions, and explore new opportunities within the Brigade, Church and wider community.

8. Record Activity

The Candidate should maintain a log of activity and Record of Achievement.

Download Regulations

Registration

A candidate is enroled for the Queen's Badge on completion of his President’s Badge. The candidate’s Captain submits the application form and fee to the District Queen’s Badge Convenor. The candidate’s service towards the Queen’s Badge commences from the date of approval. The President’s Badge is sent to the Company Captain (to be presented at the Captain’s discretion) together with the Queen’s Badge Record Book. The Battalion Queen’s Badge Advisor receives notification, identifying the potential Queen’s Man and his starting date. The Captain gives the record book to the candidate as soon as possible to be studied, and arranges a meeting with the young man to discuss the contents of the book and a possible programme of activities, which must last for at least one year.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

The activities a young person will be completing for their Queen's Badge are the same as those for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (D of E). You may want to discuss this with the young person and if they want to complete the D of E Silver Award then you will need to purchase a Silver Record Book from BB Supplies. If the young person has not previosly done the Bronze Award you will need to download a copy of the D of E Enrolement Form and return it to BB Headquarters. (In this instance leave the ID Number blank. This will be filled in by the Award Officer and the card containing the number returned to you). If they have done Bronze then all that is required is the Silver Record Book, the ID Number is the same as for Bronze. Your Battalion D of E Convenor should be able to provide you with more information.