Safety Procedures

The purpose of this document is to outline the process of organising and delivering safe activities to ensure the safety and well-being of all who take part. All procedures are carried out in accordance with the Scout Association’s Policy Organisation and Rules (POR). These procedures must always be put into practice and all adults should be made aware of the relevant procedures relating to activities.

Safety is defined as the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury.

The local responsibility for the management of the Safety Policy rests with the Group Scout Leader (GSL) or delegate. The contact for safety enquiries is Alex Windows who can be contacted via email.

It is the responsibility of the leader in charge to implement safety procedures and, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure that:

• All activities are conducted in a safe manner without risk to the health of participants.
• The provision and maintenance of equipment and buildings.
• Information, instruction, training, and supervision is provided with the objective of ensuring the safety of all those involved in Scouting activities or who may be affected by them.
• Appropriate arrangements are made to ensure safety and the absence of risks in connection with the use, transport, storage, handling of equipment, and substances.

Preparing for Running Safe Activities

When organising any activity, the following should be undertaken to satisfy safety standards:

1. Leader in Charge

All activities or events should have a designated leader in charge. This person is responsible for implementing these procedures and has overall responsibility for safety. This is to prevent any confusion over who is responsible for the implementation of these procedures. The leader in charge is usually, but does not have to be, the Section Leader (SL). Only an SL or Assistant Section Leader (ASL) may act as a leader in charge unless an activity requires a permit, where a permit holder with will act as the leader in charge for the duration of the activity. This does not include third party lead activities.

2. Information and Authorisation

‘Information’, in this context, refers to the personal details of young people and adults present during an activity, including contact details and medical information. ‘Authorisation’ refers to the permission given by parents for their child to take part in the activity or event.

1. Activities at HQ – Authorisation is not required. Information should always be kept by the SL either on paper or electrically using Online Scout Manager (OSM). The SL will usually act as the leader in charge for activities at HQ.
2. Offsite activities NOT including a night away – ‘Offsite’ refers to any activity conducted outside of the usual meeting place, regardless of distance or number of young people attending. Authorisation is required using the activity information form, to be completed by a parent/carer. This can be done either using the paper form or online. This can be obtained either before each activity or annually, so long as the persons giving permission are aware of this. Information should be accessible to the leader in charge either on paper or online via OSM.
3. All activities including nights away – Authorisation is required each time a young person takes part in an activity involving a night away, regardless of location. Parents/carers must complete a nights away authorisation form and return this to the leader in charge. This form collects a higher level of personal information. Information should be accessible to the leader in charge throughout the event, either on paper or online via OSM, however, it is good practice to have paper or offline copies of essential information, this is especially pertinent when activities are conducted where there is no internet access, or it is poor.

After the information is collected any changes to personal information or new information should be amended on the young person’s records on OSM.

3. Approval

‘Approval’ refers to the action of informing the GSL and/or District Commissioner (DC) (or delegates) that you are undertaking an activity with young people. The GSL and DC retain the right to request risk assessments, a list of people attending and arrangements as well as the right to not approve the event or activity (Approval may not be given directly, it is given implicitly by informing the GSL/DC unless communicated otherwise).

1. Activities at HQ – Approval is not required, although it is good practice to share your programme with the GSL and other SL’s. Approval is required for activities requiring an adventurous activity permit where the SL or leader in charge must inform the GSL.
2. Offsite activities NOT including a night away – Approval is required by the completion of the Terrain Zero (T0) form. The leader in charge must complete and email the T0 form to the GSL and DC before the event takes place.
3. All activities including a night away – Approval is required by the completion of the Nights Away Notification (NAN) form. The leader in charge must complete and email the NAN form to the GSL and DC before the event takes place. The leader in charge for this activity does not need to be the nights away permit holder, but a night away permit holder must be present overnight.

4. Communication (Intouch)

The Intouch system should ensure that:

• Everyone involved is aware of how communication will take place between leaders, participants, and parents/carers – Information should be communicated to parents/carers before the activity, ensuring specific details are clear, including; location, meeting and finishing times, what participants should wear and bring, costs, any other specific details, etc.
• There are details of who is present should anything go wrong – a leader should take a register.
• There is a system in place in the event of an emergency or a participant is unwell – consider how parents will be contacted individually or on mass.
• Intouch details should be outlined on the T0 or NAN form, as appropriate.

5. Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is an essential part of the safety process. All activities require a written recorded risk assessment. It is good practice that the leader in charge should share them and communicate the risks and controls with the others involved in an activity.

A risk assessment should:

• Look for the hazards – Stand back from the situation and assess it. Identify all the hazards, list them (e.g. a slippery surface, an arrow, or very high piece of equipment).
• Decide who might be harmed and how – Think particularly about participants who might have become accustomed to the presence of the hazard and young people with special needs, who might not appreciate the hazard. Also, consider visitors or members of the public close by who might not know that the hazard is present.
• Evaluate the risks – Consider the likelihood of the hazards causing harm to someone (e.g. If a surface is always slippery, perhaps it needs ‘roughing up’ as a precaution). Do whatever is reasonably practicable to make the situation safe and aim to minimise all the risks by maintaining or adding to the precautions as necessary.
• Record your findings – Tell those involved in the activity what action they should take and what actions they must not.
• Review and revise – Hazards, and the risks, will not stay the same. Review risk assessments periodically and revise them where necessary.

The following generic risk assessments are available. These will cover most of the activities undertaken in Scouting. Leaders should familiarise themselves with these and edit them as appropriate for the activity they are leading. These risk assessments have been through a QA process and will be reviewed regularly.

• Active Games
• Archery
• Bike Rides
• Craft Activities
• Fires and Backwoods Cooking
• Fireworks
• Free Time
• Hikes and Hillwalking
• Kitchen and Cooking
• Knife, Axe and Saw Work
• Nights Away and Camping
• Off-Site Activities (General)
• Pioneering
• Premises and HQ
• Section Meetings (General)
• Water Activities

Other preparations and considerations:

6. Permit – If necessary, a leader holds a valid permit in accordance with the Adventurous Activity Permit Scheme. It is the leader holding the permit who takes all decisions and act as the leader in charge for the duration of the activity.
7. Adults – There are sufficient responsible adult supervision, consider section ratios. All supervising adults and participants are made aware of who is in charge and have received the relevant training to undertake their role.
8. Weather – An appropriate weather forecast is obtained and acted upon in terms of selecting an area in which the activity will operate and that each participant is suitably equipped to tackle possible extremes.
9. Equipment – All equipment is obtained and appropriate for the activity.
10. Safeguarding – Requirements of the Safeguarding policy have been complied with.
11. Legal – Any legal requirements for the activity have been complied with.
12. Instructions – Safety instructions are communicated to all supervising adults and participants.
13. First Aid – Suitable first aid materials are available (see first aid section for details).

First Aid

First aid is the primary or initial treatment given to a person after injury or medical incident. All leaders require ongoing first aid training to be undertaken every three years. The leader in charge has overall responsibility for first aid arrangements. All trained leaders can administer first aid, persons not first aid trained should not administer first aid unless essential.

• All adults should be familiar with the location of the first aid kit at HQ and this must always be easily accessible.
• For off-site activities, a first aid kit must be carried at all times.
• Where multiple groups are meeting at the same time at different locations or similar locations a distance apart, first aid arrangements should be carefully considered to ensure it is easily accessed. E.g., multiple first aid kits with different groups.
• It is the responsibility of the GSL, or delegate, to maintain supplies in the first aid kits. These should be kept well stocked with in-date supplies and should be checked regularly.
• The first aid kit must contain a log to record all incidences requiring first aid, see the recording section. This must not be removed.
• When delivering first aid, safeguarding arrangements must also be considered, for example, not providing first aid to a young person alone and, where possible, allowing them to treat themselves under adult supervision (e.g. wiping their own cuts or grazes and sticking their own plaster on).

Medication

Some young people will require medication. Most medication will only need to be administered during nights away or long day activities, some medication may need to be administered during a normal section meeting.

• Medication should only be administered to the person whom it is assigned to by a parent/carer.
• Unassigned medication should never be given to a young person, including painkillers (e.g., paracetamol, etc.) unless provided by and/or permission is given by a parent/carer.
• This also applies to creams and lotions (e.g., sun cream, bite, or sting cream), should not be applied to a young person unless provided by and/or permission is given by a parent/carer.
• All medication must be stored with instructions, as advised by a parent/carer, including dosage, administering method and frequency.
• Medication should not be kept by a young person. A parent/carer should hand all medication to a leader for safe storage, with access only when administration is required. With the exception of inhalers, EpiPen’s or other similar medication, these can be kept by the young person. At the discrepancy of the leader in charge and parents/carers of the young person.
• Medications must be stored appropriately, out of the reach of young people. Some medication will require specific storage conditions, such as refrigeration or out of direct sunlight, special arrangements might need to be considered in this case.
• All medication should be treated confidentially, and discretion should be used when administering, in line with safeguarding considerations.

Recording

Recording of all first aid and medication, including illnesses is essential.

• All first aid must be recorded in the first aid kit record log or a separate log sheet for events (e.g. nights away), by the adult who administers or oversees.
• The person administering or overseeing the administration of medication must log each time it is taken by a young person.
• The leader in charge must provide these documents and all adults should be made aware of them and the individuals that may require medication.
• All records must be clear; the following should be recorded:
  • Date and time of the incident/administration.
  • Full name of the member(s).
  • For first aid; nature of the injury, including how the injury was sustained.
  • What first aid was administered, specific detail should be used/name of medication and dosage.
  • Leaders name and signature.
  • If the treatment or medication requires a follow up (e.g. change the dressing later, give a second dose later, inform a parent/carer etc).
• All records will be collated by the GSL or delegate, so this information must be made available after request.

Emergency Procedures

The purple card outlines the emergency procedures in Scouting, leaders should carry a copy of this.

In the case of an accident to an individual the leader in charge must:

• Alert the appropriate rescue services, if required.
• Advise the appropriate authority – usually the GSL at first.
• Advise the next of kin.

Headquarters (via the Scout Information Centre) must be informed at the earliest suitable opportunity if any person, whether a Member of the Movement or not:

• Suffers personal injury or illness where that injury or illness necessitates medical treatment (i.e. treatment by a doctor, dentist, nurse, paramedic or at a hospital). Minor injuries or illness not requiring such treatment must be recorded locally, with Headquarters being informed if they subsequently receive medical attention.
• Requires rescuing (where rescue involves any Emergency Service, i.e. Police, Fire, Ambulance, Mountain Rescue or Coastguard).
• Dies in the course of, or arising out of, a Scout activity or while on, or in conjunction with, any Scout property.
• If an accident during a Scout activity results in third party damage, Headquarters must be informed at the earliest suitable opportunity.

On receipt of this information, Headquarters will issue the necessary instructions and an incident report form. In the event of any injury or fatality or damage to third party property, no admission of liability must be made unless advised by Headquarters.

In the case of a serious accident, incident, or the loss of life by whatever cause, the Duty Media Officer at Headquarters must be advised immediately. Contacting Headquarters will ensure that appropriate media and incident support is made available.