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Health & Safety Policy

General Guidelines

The policy of the 1st Cheddington Scout Group is to provide its members with a range of activities utilising the Scout Association’s programme, so as to enable them to experience the fun, friendship and adventure of Scouting in an environment that promotes their health and safety.

The Scout Group does not intend to eliminate all health and safety risks, as this would prevent the Scout Group from providing virtually all of the activities (such as arts and crafts, games, camps, hikes, cooking) that its members enjoy. Instead, the Scout Group intends to manage the risks so that they are comparable with those experienced by the families of its members when they supervise their children at home, take them to places by car, walk to the shops, play games etc. Injuries may therefore occur from time to time.

The Group Health and Safety Policy potentially applies to the following people:

These people have specific responsibilities under this policy as outlined below:

Specific Responsibilities

Group Scout Leader

The Competent Person for Health and Safety purposes is the Group Scout Leader, who shall ensure that:-

  1. The headquarters and grounds receive a formal annual health and safety inspection / risk assessment
  2. There is an implementation programme for actions identified by health and safety risk assessments and that progress is monitored within the Scout Group.
  3. There is a set of Risk Reduction Guidelines maintained, that are made available to all Leaders. These Guidelines shall give concise advice on the risk reduction measures required for the Group’s main activities.

Leaders

All leaders, assistants and instructors have a responsibility to:-

  1. Consider the health and safety of young people and adults in all the activities that they run and help to run.
  2. Ascertain the Scout Association’s rules for the safe operation of activities and to adhere to them.  This includes the safety rules of other organisations for activities such as archery and water sports.
  3. Set young people a positive example in health and safety matters. This ranges from basic hygiene to the correct use of equipment and the provision of safety precautions.
  4. Train young people in the behavioural requirements and safety rules of the activities in which they participate.
  5. Inform Parents of the nature of the activities that take place during Section meetings, camps, expeditions etc.; as well as the start, end and transport arrangements. This may be via letters, emails, posters in the HQ or verbally.

Young people

All section members have a responsibility to apply both the technical and behavioural aspects of safety to the activities they do, otherwise they exclude themselves from them.

Parents

Parents and other responsible adults have a responsibility to:-

  1. Satisfy themselves as to the planned arrangements and ensure that their children are in appropriate health and arrive and are collected on time.
  2. Provide health information on the membership form, particularly in relation to food allergies and ailments that may impact the food consumed during activities or restrict participation in the activities.
  3. Inform leaders if changes are needed to a young person’s health information or other circumstances.
  4. Participate in Section rotas (on mutually agreed dates) so as to ensure that the adult to child supervision ratio is achieved. This is because the Scout Group has insufficient volunteer Leaders to run the weekly Section meetings and other activities and therefore asks Parents to help on an informal rota basis.
  5. Inform Leaders of any significant concerns that they have in relation to health and safety. Parents also have a responsibility to help the Scout Group resolve health and safety issues by helping with the work on the headquarters, grounds and equipment and / or supporting the fund raising activities that finance these improvements.
  6. Ensure that drivers and their vehicles adhere to legal requirements such as insurance, tax, MOT, seatbelts, child seats, alcohol limits, mobile phones and the highway code when transporting members to, from or during Scout activities.