A night away doesn’t have to be spent in a tent. You could sleep in your meeting place or even in a local museum. Indoor nights away need volunteers to hold the lowest level of Nights Away Permit because they’re more straightforward to run. This means they can be a good choice for your first nights away from home.
Often, people theme their nights away. A theme ties the event together – you can apply it to activities, decorations, and even the clothes everyone wears. You could theme the camp around a badge (for example, a space themed camp to complete the Astronomer Activity Badge), or you could pick something random like a story everyone knows.
When everyone starts to arrive, most people will probably be excited and eager to explore. It’s often best to start off by asking everyone to decorate the space or play an energetic game to burn off some energy and settle in. It’s also useful to make sure the sleeping area is laid out before it’s time to go to bed (if you can), so this could be a good way for everyone to feel at home.
It’s also a good idea to think about when everyone will arrive – would it be easier to ask them to eat a meal before they come, to give you more time for activities? If everyone arrives just after they’ve eaten their evening meal, you could spend some time outside stargazing (or exploring with a short walk) before bedtime.
During the day, use outdoor space as much as you can. Try to keep activities and energy levels balanced, with some time to burn off energy and some time to calm down and rest. Avoid too much waiting time between the activities – you might want to have a few activities or games people can pick up at any time to fill in the gaps.
Some people choose to split activities into bases that everyone visits. This means that everyone has the chance to get stuck in to the activity, and helps people bond as a team.
On your last day, try not to finish too late. You should leave plenty of time for everyone to tidy up, pack away, go home, and rest!
Safety
You must always:
- Complete a risk assessment
- Have the right ratios of number of adults to provide suitable supervision
- Set up an InTouch process
- Know what to do in an emergency
- Share information with parents and carers with an activity information form
- Get approval from your commissioner
Be safe outdoors:
- Check the weather forecast
Nights away:
- All nights away activities involving under 18s must have a nights away permit holder present and follow the guidance for nights away activities.
- Check the prohibited and restricted campsite directory before booking your site.
Visits abroad:
- All visits abroad involving members must follow the visits abroad process.
- Members can participate in activities being delivered by host Scouts so long as a UK leader is present and the activity is being run using the host organisations rules.
- Members can only participate in group based hospitality experiences abroad, not those in private homes.
This activity can be led by you or someone else in Scouts:
- Acceptable instructor qualifications
- Nights Away Permits - to the level appropriate to the location being used (except for adult only groups)
Guidance
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
