Unfortunately, we all do. Without them we would have no way of knowing what will happen next.
If the rule about driving on the left side of the road was ignored; mayhem and death would no doubt occur. Similarly, if we took away an activity rules, (such as wearing a climbing helmet when climbing) the result would be similar. Young people join scouting for activities, challenge and adventure. We need to make sure we fulfil those needs and wants, but in the safest possible way.
Scouting has a set of rules which are designed to ensure the safety of all members. Some may appear to be obvious, others less so.
All the rules of The Scout Association are in a publication called Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR for short). Most of the rules are about how Scouting works and how it is made up. In POR there are a number of rules about all types of activities: water, air, land and creative. Some rules in POR are supported by factsheets. These are available as free downloads from Scout Stores or by view the A-Z guide.
Anyone taking Members of The Scout Association on an activity must be aware of the rules as they affect that activity.
Some activities are forbidden to take part in as a member of The Scout Association. This may be for several reasons, including risk, safety and industry standards. The latest list of banned activities is here.
Planning Activities Safely
When planning activities there are certain things that we need to do before running the activity:
- Know the rules about the activity planned – Check the A-Z
- If the activity needs a permit, make sure you have leaders with in-date permits, and know any restrictions they have on them. Read more about the permit scheme here.
- Know who to tell, and get approval from. This will either be your Group Scout Leader or Explorer/Network/District Commissioner. You should check the notification guidelines here.
- Know and comply with adult to young people ratios.
- Make sure you complete a risk assessment for every activity you do. Risk Assessments should always be written down. Guidance can be found here.
- Stay up to date with safety and safeguarding information.
Your line manager, fellow leaders, training adviser will be able to help you learn how to run activities safely. Please do ask them questions about the process.
