We know that many of you are keen to get to back to face-to-face Scout meetings and activities. However, we can only do that when it’s safe to do so – for both young people and volunteers.
Please refer to the national guidance in the first instance. We have provided some helpful links and informaton here but this is taken from the national guidance page.
Links
Main guidance document: https://prep-cms.scouts.org.uk/media/7124/getting-back-together-safely-a-framework.pdf
Guidance for Leaders completing risk assessments: https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/scouts-at-home/getting-everyone-back-together-safely/guidance-for-leaders-developing-your-risk-assessments-for-face-to-face-activity/
Process for submitting your risk assessment: https://cms.scouts.org.uk/media/7253/getting-your-section-back-together-safely-requestor-user-guide.pdf
Guidance
Scout Groups themselves will make the decision about when to resume face-to-face meetings and activities, along with their volunteer line managers (or District for Explorers). These decisions need to be made within a national framework (‘The Scouts’ Framework’) designed to help everyone stay safe.
Section Leaders, Group Scout Leaders, Commissioners and Executive Committee members need to make sure that their plans for restarting face-to-face meetings and activities are developed so that volunteers and young people at all times:
-
Comply with social distancing requirements (determined by their government)
-
Ensure hygiene levels are maintained, including hand washing, as well as surface and equipment cleaning
-
Safely manage any risk to volunteers, young people and the wider community, including a reduction in group sizes where necessary.
-
Make sure vulnerable young people and adults can be effectively safeguarded, both in relation to COVID19, as well as other risk factors.
-
Volunteers, parents and young people all clearly understand what adjustments need to be made to ensure everyone’s safety, and have had a chance to inform them.
Volunteers locally should not resume face-to-face activities until sufficient control measures or mitigations are in place, if they feel that these conditions cannot be met or managed in a safe way, they should wait until they are able to do so.
If a Scout Group has one or more sections, the Group Scout Leader and the Chair of the Group Executive are required to state that the group, in whole or part, is ready to restart face-to-face activity safely. Before starting, all evidence of written risk assessments must be approved and signed off by the nominee of the District Executive and District Commissioner, and written agreement of such approval recorded. These records should also be accessible to County Commissioners and their teams.