Frequently Asked Questions

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Adding Adults and Roles

My joining date is wrong or showing “unknown”.

There are number of reasons for the joining date to be wrong.

  • If the record was created in the old MMS, this date is actually the date the record was created.
  • Some records will show “unknown” as there was not a date entered when the old MMS record was created.
  • On Compass, the joining date can be entered and set to any date when the record is made.

We are looking at ways to make this information more accurate, however in the meantime, it does not have any affect on anything else.

What should I enter in the ‘Known As’ name field?

The ‘Known As’ name field is where you can enter the name you normally use and like to be addressed as. For example, you may wish to be known as Ben rather than a full name of Benjamin. Please note, the name you enter in this field is the name which will appear in many places on Compass, for example in search results if anyone searches for you. You should therefore ensure that it is a name which other Member’s will be able to recognise you by. Entering common Scouting names, such as Akela, may cause confusion locally if there are more than one.

Adding a member who had a previous record

When adding an adult to Compass using the Adult Joining Process, Compass will prompt you to enter details about the member such as title, surname, previous surname (if applicable), date of birth, gender and postcode. Compass will use these details to see if there are any existing records that match the information provided.

If you know that the member has a previous record but it does not return in the results, it is likely to be because their postcode has changed since their existing record was last updated or they might have changed their surname but not provided that information initially. If you enter their previous postcode or surname and the existing record is returned in the results, they will be able to update these details once you have assigned them a new role.

Disclosure checks seem to be stuck at LPF (Local Police Force) for a long time, why is this?

The Scout Association has been informed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) that there are currently significant delays with disclosure applications being processed through the Metropolitan Police. In some cases applications are taking a significant number of weeks for the local police force (LPF) check to be processed.

While mainly affecting those who live, or have lived, within the Metropolitan Police area, there may be some volunteers in other parts of the Country who are also affected.

The DBS are working with the Metropolitan Police to resolve this delay, however if the application is over 60 days from the date of being at the Local Police Force (LPF) the applicant may wish to call the DBS directly on 03000 200 190 to escalate their application.

Searching outside the UK button – what’s it for/how can it help me?

Clicking ‘search outside the UK’ when undertaking a search will return results for Members with non-UK postcodes as part of their current address. This feature is primarily aimed at supporting Members who are in British Scouting Overseas. It allows you to search for a postcode that is not in the standard UK format (e.g. E4 7QW.)

Adding under 18 year olds to Compass

At present Compass should only be used to record adults (ie people over 18).

The only reason for adding someone who is not yet 18 to Compass is to start the application for a disclosure check. (This may be necessary for example when they are planning to go to camp on / shortly after their 18th birthday.)

Once an under 18 year old has been added to Compass it is essential that a disclosure application is made without delay. The disclosure compliance procedures starts from the date they are added to Compass (even if a later start date is entered) and so the individual will only have 30 days (60 days where a paper application is required) before they become liable for suspension. (See this FAQ for more details)

For those in who use Atlantic Data the application will be automatically available to process the day after the new member has been added to Compass following the overnight sync.

Please note that you are not able to manually request a disclosure application from Compass when adding them as you would for those over 18.

In cases where someone under 18 has been added to Compass in error and needs to have their role closed, please contact the Information Centre.

Who will references be returned to?

References will be returned automatically to the member who requests them on Compass. Guidance on requesting references can be found here. Once returned, they should be passed on to the Appointment Secretary or relevant person involved in the Appointments Process who can update this on Compass.

Adding under 18 year olds to Compass

At present Compass should only be used to record adults (ie people over 18).

The only reason for adding somone who is not yet 18 to Compass is to start the application for a disclosure check. (This may be necessary for example when they are planning to go to camp on / shortly after their 18th birthday.)

Once an under 18 year old has been added to Compass it is essential that a disclosure application is made without delay. The disclosure compliance procedures starts from the date they are added to Compass (even if a later start date is entered) and so the individual will only have 30 days (60 days where a paper application is required) before they become liable for suspension. (See this FAQ for more details)

The CE check field on an appointment is blank, what do I do?

It can take up to 10 days for a CE check to clear, so during this time you do not need to take any action.

We are aware of a small number of new adults, returning adults and changes of role where the CE check is not recording properly. We are currently working on a fix to resolve this issue as soon as possible. In the meantime, if this is the case, please continue to implement and record on Compass the other elements of the approvals process as necessary (Commissioner and AAC approval, disclosure check, Getting Started training etc.) Once these have been completed, the CE check should complete automatically within 5 days and the role will become full. If this is not the case, and after 5 days the field is still not populated, the Appointments Secretary should contact the vetting team via the Information Centre or at vetting@scouts.org.uk .

Do I need to log into Atlantic Data when I request a disclosure in Compass?

If you need to process your disclosure through Atlantic Data, it is really important that when you click the button to request a disclosure in Compass you make sure that you log in to Atlantic Data as well, using the login screen that opens automatically. If you do not login to Atlantic Data at this point, the disclosure will not have been requested properly and the Member will not appear in Atlantic Data. You can find guidance on doing this and more information on how to request a disclosure here.

If you have accidentally requested a disclosure without logging in to Atlantic Data, then an overnight process will automatically request the disclosure in Atlantic Data as well. You should wait until the next day to check Atlantic Data for the member whose disclosure you are trying to process. If you still cannot find the member in Atlantic Data the next day, you will need to contact the Scout Information Centre for assistance.

How does the mandatory suspension process regarding disclosures work?

 

There are three key elements to the mandatory suspension process regarding disclosures. These are:

  • Welcome and reminder service for new adults joining Scouting who require a disclosure
  • Reminder service for existing adults whose disclosure requires renewal
  • The suspension and unsuspension of adults who have not submitted a disclosure application

In order for these systems to work efficiently, it is important that all volunteers (including Occasional Helpers) have a valid email address recorded on Compass so that the reminders are not missed.

New adults joining (or re-joining) Scouting who require a disclosure will receive a welcome email two days after they are added to Compass. (Note: the “clock” starts when they are added to Compass, not from the role start date) The email will remind them that obtaining a disclosure plays an essential part in safeguarding the young people in the Movement. It will also explain how to obtain a valid disclosure and that they need to complete the application process within 30 days (60 days in Scotland & BSO). This email will be copied to their line manager, the relevant Commissioner and Appointment Secretary.

If a completed disclosure application has not been made within 20 days (40 days in Scotland & BSO), a reminder email will be sent to the individual and copied to their line manager, Commissioner and Appointment Secretary.

Adults who are required to renew their disclosure will receive  reminder emails informing them that their disclosure is about to expire approximately 90 days, 60 days and 30 days before it does. The email(s) will explain what they have to do in order to apply for a new disclosure. Their line manager, Commissioner and Appointment Secretary will also be informed at 90, 60 and 30 days that the disclosure is about to expire.

If by the time the original disclosure expires a completed application has not been made, further reminders will be sent 1 day and 20 days (40 days for Scotland & BSO) after expiry.

Suspensions of adults who have not submitted a disclosure application

If after 30 days (60 days for Scotland and BSO) (of being added to Compass as a new adult or expiry of their disclosure for existing adults), a completed disclosure application has not been made, the relevant commissioner (normally the District Commissioner) will be informed that they must suspend the individual concerned.

Suspensions are not an automated process, however they are mandatory and Commissioners will need to complete the suspension process on Compass (including obtaining the approval of the next Commissioner in the hierarchy). It is critical that ‘No valid disclosure’ is selected as the suspension reason.

The Commissioner must also inform the individual concerned (usually by telephone or face-to-face meeting).

An alternative to suspension is to close the role(s) that require a disclosure. For some people, particularly new volunteers and Occasional Helpers, this can be the best approach to adopt at this point.

Once suspended on Compass; provided that they have a valid e-mail address on Compass, the individual will automatically receive written notification of their suspension together with a link to the notes for a suspended person. If they do not have a valid e-mail address on Compass the Commissioner will be required to send them a suspension letter.

If suspensions are not implemented by the relevant Commissioner and/or a disclosure application is not submitted within 7 days of notification or the role(s) closed, the matter will be escalated automatically to the next Commissioner in the hierarchy.

Once suspended, in order to be unsuspended the individual concerned will need to complete a disclosure application, obtain a valid disclosure and complete the vetting process. Once they have cleared the vetting process, the relevant Commissioner and Appointment Secretary will be notified and the individual will be unsuspended by HQ. The Commissioner will need to contact the individual concerned and tell them that they have been unsuspended. They must confirm this in writing and a specimen unsuspend letter is available here.

If a disclosure has not been applied for within 60 days (90 days for Scotland & BSO) of suspension (i.e. at least 90 days (150 days for Scotland & BSO) since a disclosure expired or was required), the roles held by the individual concerned will be closed. If they subsequently wish to re-join Scouting they will need to restart the joining process.

The process for obtaining a disclosure remains unchanged. For England & Wales you can find additional guidance about how to process disclosure checks here, for Scotland it is here, for Northern Ireland here and for BSO here.

Quick start and full user guides on using Compass can be found on the Compass Support website.

 

I am not able to edit the ‘Visible role title’ field when I add a role to a Member?

When you assign a new role to a Member there is a field titled ‘Visible Role title’, which show you how the Member’s role title will appear on their record and within Compass. This field is not editable. When Compass was available locally last year, some Members were able to edit this filed. However this caused confusion with role reporting and so has been switched off and the filed is now not editable by anyone.

A Member’s disclosure is showing in Compass as ‘Pending’, but there is also an Issue Date and an Expiry Date showing. What does this mean?

If there is an Issue Date and an Expiry Date, this means that the Member has a valid disclosure – it is the status field, currently showing as ‘Pending’, which is an error and needs to be amended by Headquarters.

If you come across this on a Member’s record, please contact the Scout Information Centre with details of the Member (including their name and Membership number) and they will be able to amend the record for you.

I am an Appointment Secretary and have received an Alert for some who has joined. When I try to go to their record I cannot view it. Why is this?

This is likely to be because the person who has been added is currently under the age of 18, and Members’ records are not visible until they turn 18.

We are currently investigating a long term solution to notify the Appointment Secretary again when they turn 18. For now, you will need to keep a local record of this Member to action at a future date. When they turn 18, if you log into Compass and search for them you will be able to see their record and start the Appointment Process for the role which was previously added.

Can I search for people by their previous surname?

In most searches, including basic and advanced, you can only search by a member’s current surname as they display it on Compass. If you think a member has changed their surname, for example because they are now married, you will need to search by other criteria and leave the surname field blank to ensure they come up in the search results.

When adding a member or searching for a permit holder/assessor, search results will include results for previous surnames.

Adding a Training Adviser – Managers and Supporters role variant

The steps below outline how to add the role variant of “Training Adviser – Managers and Supporters” to a members record.

1. Follow the instructions in the online user guide Adding a new role to an adult member.

2. When selecting the role from the dropdown menu, you will need to select “Training Adviser” as the role.

TA role

3. Once you have selected the role, you will need to select “Managers and Supporters” as the role variant from the dropdown menu.

TA Manager and supporter variant

I can’t find the member I want to add a role to using ‘Assign New Role’, why is this?

There are two key reasons this might occur – because the member you want to add a role to does not have other active roles currently, or they are not in your hierarchy. If either of these is the case please use the ‘Add Adult’ option, which will find the member in Compass as a duplicate and allow you to add a role to them. When using the ‘Add Adult’ option you will need to know the information that the member currently has on their Compass profile, which they should be able to give you. More information on adding roles can be found here.

New members who have not held roles in Scouting before will always need to be added via the ‘Add Adult’ function and guidance on this can be found here.

I want to add a Member in an ‘Acting’ role, e.g. acting GSL or acting DC, as a Member’s line manager. However, they do not appear as an available option to select. Why is this?

It is only possible to assign Members with substantive roles as line managers within Compass and not those in acting roles. For example, it will let you assign a GSL but not an acting GSL or a DC but not an acting DC. Unfortunately this is a limitation of the system.

If they have an acting role, please keep a local record of who the line manager is. You do not need to record a line manager on Compass in order to make a role full.

There is no ‘End’ or ‘Cancel’ button for a provisional role – how to I end it?

To end a provisional role, search for the Member you want and go to their ‘Roles’ page. Click ‘Edit’ next to the relevant role and then enter a date into the ‘End Date’ box (please note, this must be a past date.) Once you’ve done this, click ‘Save’ and the Member’s provisional role should now have been ended and will show as closed on the Member’s record.

Please see the quick start guide ‘How to end a pre-provisional or provisional role’ or the user guide ‘Ending a Provisional Role’ for more information and guidance.

An appointment is showing as Provisional when it should be Full, why is this?

Whilst a lot of work has taken place to make training information as correct as possible, there are some updates which require local knowledge to complete. To amend this click ‘Edit’ next to the relevant role on the Member’s record, go to the ‘Approval’ page and validate the relevant Getting Started training modules. Alternatively, you can open the members PLP in the ‘Training’ tab, click on “update” and enter the information required – this will have the same outcome.

This will usually resolve the problem. If the problem persists, please contact the Scout Information Center.

Do I need to ‘select location’ at each level to add a role to a Member?

When adding a role to a Member choosing a location at each level will automatically populate the level below with options (e.g. when selecting a County the District drop-down box below will turn from grey to white so that you can select an option).

You only need to select down to the level of the hierarchy you want to add a role for and not below. For example, if you want to add a County level role, leave the District drop down as the default ‘select location’ and then select the role you want from the ‘Role’ dropdown menu.You can find more guidance on adding roles here.

Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader Roles

The roles “Patrol Leader” and “Assistant Patrol Leader” have now been added to Compass in order to record adult appointments for Roverway 2018.

These roles have been created to include appropriate training and appointment requirements.

To add these roles in England and Overseas:

Step 1: Add a section

The Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader role are available at County Section Level within Compass for those in England, British Scouting Overseas and Branches.

Each County/Area will need to add a new section within their County in the My Scouting hierarchy for Roverway. Details on how to add a new County Section can be found in this quick start guide as well as the full user guide.

Step 2: Add the roles to members 

Once these sections have been created, you will be able to add the relevant “Patrol Leader” or “Assistant Patrol Leader” role with the role variant of “Roverway 2018” to member’s records within this newly created section.

To add a Unit Leader or Assistant Unit Leader role to a member’s record:

  • Search for a member and view their roles tab
  • Click add role
  • Ensure that the relevant County is selected
  • Set the county section to the new section you have created for the World Scout Jamboree
  • Select either Unit Leader or Assistant Unit Leader as the Role
  • Select “Roverway 2018” as the Role Variant
  • Set the Start Date to the date appointed

 

To add these roles in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland:

The Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader role are available at Country Section Level within Compass for those in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. A new Country Section has already been set up within each of the countries of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland called “Roverway”.

To add a Patrol Leader Leader or Assistant Patrol Leader role:

  • Search for a member and view their roles tab
  • Click add role
  • The Country needs to be selected as Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland
  • Select “Roverway” as the country section
  • Select either Patrol Leader or Assistant Patrol Leader as the Role
  • Select “Roverway 2018” as the Role Variant
  • Set the start date to the date appointed

 

 

My appointment is correct but in the wrong Section.

A small number of members may find that their record is showing the correct role, but just in the wrong Section. The relevant line manager can click on “Edit” next to the role concerned and change the “Location” drop down box to the correct section.

When I add the role of Assessor to someone, why does the PLP which is added to their training page show two different versions of Module 25?

This is because the ‘Assessor’ parent role (which both Activity Assessors and Scout Show Assessors are variants of) has to have a generic setup within Compass, including the same training requirements. However, as we know, the variants of this role have slightly different training requirements: Scout Show Assessors are required to complete Module 25 Assessing Learning (Scout Shows), whereas Activity Assessors are required to complete Module 25 Assessing Learning (Adventurous Activities).

In order to work around this at present, when the PLP is automatically added you need to delete the module which is not required by clicking the ‘Delete’ button on the right hand side and then clicking ‘Ok’. More guidance on how to delete a module can be found here, and guidance on the training requirements for different roles can be found here.