Scout duty roster
A scout duty roster the parents can actually see
Set the meeting nights for the term, add the families, and FairTurns shares the parent-helper, supper and lock-up duties between them. Leaders get on with the programme; parents check one link.
Free, with no limit on people or dates. No card.
The leaders can run the night or chase the parents, not both
Every Tuesday in term the hall needs two parents to help with the activity, someone to put the urn on and do the dishes after supper, and someone to sweep up and lock the side door. The leaders already give up every Tuesday and a weekend a month. Asking parents at pick-up, one by one, takes the last of their energy.
What happens without a roster is familiar: the same four parents always stay, others don’t realise they’re expected, and the night before a hike somebody is still messaging about lifts. Parents are generally willing. They just need to know when, early enough to plan around it.
FairTurns puts the term on one page, shares the duties between families by turns, and gives parents a link they can check at the kitchen bench.
How FairTurns runs parent duty
Term nights set once
Click the first Tuesday, set 6:30 till 8:30 and choose Every week on Tuesday. Cancel the school holiday weeks and bring them back if plans change.
Families, not just parents
Add each family by name, so either parent can do the turn. No email is needed to be rostered.
Helpers with the right clearance
If helping in the activity needs a working-with-children check, limit that position to the parents who have one. Supper and lock-up can be open to every family.
Turns shared out
Fill gives each duty to the family with the fewest turns, so it isn’t always the same four who stay back.
Camps and hikes
Add the drive to a camp or a hike as a single date in a team of its own, such as Drivers, and Fill shares those too.
Privacy on the link
The public roster shows names and dates only, never email addresses. Use family names or parents’ first names; children don’t need to appear at all.
Set it up
- 01
Create the group
Create an organisation for the group and a team for each section, or one for parent duty.
- 02
Add the duties
Add positions like Parent helper (2) and Supper and lock-up (1).
- 03
Add the families
Paste the family list, or share a join link at the next parents’ meeting.
- 04
Set the term
Click the first meeting night, choose Every week, and cancel the holiday weeks.
- 05
Fill and share
Press Fill to the end of term and put the link in the parent newsletter.
When you want it to run itself
Pro emails parents who have accepted an invitation the coming month’s roster and a reminder the day before their duty. A parent who can’t make it replies from the email, and FairTurns asks the next family in line, so the leaders aren’t sorting it out at 6:25 pm.
A$1 a month per organisation, paid 1 to 5 years at a time. See Pro and pricing
Good to know
- Roster one term at a time. Families’ lives change over the school holidays, and a fresh Fill at the start of each term picks up new families.
- Parents don’t book their own nights: you put them on, and they mark the nights they’re away. It’s a roster, not a sign-up sheet.
- FairTurns doesn’t store working-with-children check numbers or expiry dates. Keep those with your group’s records.
- The public link can be seen by anyone who has it, so keep children’s names off it and share it only with your families.
Questions
Can we run one roster for Joeys, Cubs and Scouts?
Yes. Make a team for each section with its own meeting night and colour. A family with children in two sections is never booked into overlapping duties within your group.
How do we skip the school holidays?
Cancel those meeting dates in the calendar. Each one can be brought back if a holiday activity goes ahead.
Can we roster drivers for a camp?
Yes. Make a Drivers team with a Drivers position and a headcount, say 4, add the camp drive as a single date, and press Fill. Families who are away that weekend are left off.
Do the parents need to create an account?
Parents can see the roster from the link without signing in. An account lets them mark their own away nights and, on Pro, get reminders.
What does it cost a scout or guide group?
The roster is free for any group, with no limit on families or dates. Pro is A$1 a month for the whole group, paid 1 to 5 years at a time.
Free templates and guides
Duty roster template
A duty roster format with each duty in its own column: open up, lock up, first aid, cash-up.
Volunteer roster template
A volunteer schedule with shifts, roles, a contact column and a spot to tick in on the day.
When someone can’t make it
What to do when someone drops out of a shift: who to ask, what to say, and how to stop it every week.
Similar rosters
Kindy and preschool parent help
Fruit, laundry and parent help days for each kindy group, with one link for every family.
Junior sport parent duties
Oranges, scoring, team manager and goal umpire: each family takes a turn and the whole team can see it.
Volunteer roster
A free volunteer roster app: shifts shared out by turns, away days respected, one link for everyone.