Planning and hosting a street party

• Get yourselves in the celebratory spirit and start planning for your event as early as you can. Early planning’s also key if you need to contact your local council about street closures. 
• We all know working with a team of people can make life easier when managing an event, so you should build a strong team structure. You might want to think about making a smaller core team to the manage the event, with lots of helpers on the day. You could use small teams with a team leader reporting back or representing each area. 
• However, make sure everyone knows and understands their role and responsibilities. Make sure you delegate tasks and help each other out, so there’s not one person left with the organisation of everything. It allows everyone to feel involved, too.  
• By working together, there’s no doubt you’ll enjoy a successful, fun-filled street party. You could meet regularly and use online meetings tools, so everyone can make it work for them. 

• After you’ve got a team in place, create a budget for the day and allow contingency for any unpredicted expenses. 
• Remember, depending on the type of event you plan, there may not be any income from it. 
• You should map out the costs of putting on your event and make a spreadsheet of everything you will need to pay for. You could identify savings you can make and, try to find areas you can save on that don't affect the overall experience and objectives. 
• Talk with your Districts and Counties/Areas/Regions about the plans, too. You could find out what money there may be available to support this event locally, especially as it’s a fantastic opportunity to welcome and sign up new volunteers. 

• Your event can take place anywhere that communities can get together – from parks and town centres to community spaces and streets. 
• Think about the spaces local to you that often have high footfall of public. They also need to accommodate the Scout activities you want to offer, too. 
• You could use a local Scout hut, use your current meeting place, or talk to your local council or community venue owners. You may need a licence or a permit for your event, especially if there are road closures, such as for a street party. 
• Alternatively, look for other local events already happening. Check if there are other local events planned over the weekend that Scouts could have a space at. 
• Remember to make sure your venues accessible. Think about things, such as disabled access, public toilets, kitchen, emergency services access, car parking and public transport links. You may want to visit it before the event and make sure you’ve a copy of the hire contract, an invoice and receipt of payment, and a copy of the risk assessment and any insurance. You may need to think carefully about toilets and food preparation spaces if it’s a street party, as well as getting council permission and road closures in place. 

• As well as planning activities and making decorations, it’s crucial you consider the safety of your community and plan for any risks. There are two very important safety factors when it comes to running your day: trying to prevent something going wrong and getting cover for it in case it does. 
• Writing and regularly updating a thorough risk assessment will make sure there’s no potential harm or danger involved with your event and can help you to see whether it’s accessible for everyone. Consider the safety and needs of your community and make you’re following Scouts guidance.  
• Some particular risks to consider include the use of fireworks, bouncy castles, sports or other physical activities, hot weather, food safety, allergies and dietary requirements, first aid, large crowds, children running about, the availability of alcohol at the event, and safety hazards at the venue, including outdoor events.  
• Check that any existing insurance allows you to run the event. You may need to get additional events insurance.  
• If it’s an event just for Scouts and activities are allowed under POR, then the Scout groups organising the events will be covered under the Scouts Public Liability policy.  
• If it’s a public event, such as for the Big Help Out, Unity Insurance Services, a specialist Scouts insurance broker, advises that you’ll need Public Liability Cover to protect you against claims for any injury to the public or damage to other people's property.  
• If you already have insurance, check your policy to see exactly what you’re covered for, as you may need additional event insurance policy. Take a look at our Scouts safety guidance for running an event, too.  
• If you’re running a street party, make sure you’ve got permission from your local council. You may not need a licence, but your council might need you to fill out a simple application form and you may need to apply for road closures. 
• The council might also ask for a copy of our Public Liability certificate, which you can get from Unity. There’s more information on the government website. 
• For more information or any questions about running your street party, please get in touch with Unity on 0345 040 7703. They'll be happy to help. You can also take a look at their 'How to' guide for arranging event insurance.  

• Once you know you can go ahead with your street party, start thinking about activities and games for keeping everyone entertained. Take a look at our Scouts activity finder.

• We’re sure you’re hoping to provide lots of yummy food for your community to enjoy. When organising and preparing food, remember to consider allergies, intolerances and preferences, including making sure food’s stored, cooked and served safely. 
• Make sure you supply alternatives, such as vegan, halal, kosher, vegetarian, dairy free and gluten free options, so there’s something for everyone. 
• You might ask people to wear wristbands to let caterer’s know if they’re gluten free, vegetarian and so on. 

We want everyone to be able to enjoy and take part in the celebrations, so making sure your event’s accessible for everyone is key. Think about access and make sure any activities and games you run are suitable for all ages, ability and backgrounds. You may want to advertise the inclusivity elements of your event when advertising or ask people to RSVP with dietary requirements and access needs. 

Some things to consider may be: 

• Making sure dietary requirements and allergies are catered for 
• Making sure games and activities are accessible to everyone and a wide range of inclusive activities are offered 
• Having disabled access, include ramps, parking, lifts and disabled toilets 
• Having a hearing loop system and interpreter 
• Make sure the venue is well-lit, with clear signage  
• Any printed text also being available in braille or in large print  
• Make sure slides and presentations are accessible 
• Having baby changing facilities, storage space for pushchairs or prams, and a quiet, comfortable space for breastfeeding 
• Having car parking, including accessible parking 
• Having preferred pronouns on name badges 
• Being accessible by public transport 
• Having seating available for anyone who needs it 
• Having a prayer room 
• Having a quiet, calming space for relaxing or taking a sensory break 
• Have an emergency exit plan that includes everyone 
• Making sure floor plan layouts to facilitate wheelchair and mobility scooter circulation 
• Making sure there are warnings for any flash photography, loud music, strobe lights or flashing images 
• Avoid using acronyms and Scouts jargon as much as possible 
• Take a look at the National Autism Society’s advice on creating events that are accessible to autistic people or those with sensory differences 

• It’s not truly a party until there are decorations!  
• We’d love you to create your own bunting with your Scout section, group or community. It could spell out ‘Congratulations’ or ‘Thank you to all Scouts volunteers.’
• You might want to decorate your venue or have a theme using certain colours. You could also hang up some flags or create some confetti using natural materials, such as leaves or flower petals. 

• By bringing your community together at a street party, you’ll be meeting a lot of new faces and names. 
• Handing out sticky labels for people to write their names on will let your community know who you are. Remember, ask people to include their pronouns on these badges, too. 

• Sharing and creating posts for social media, will help you spread the word about your street party and encourage your community to stop by. You could advertise it in local Facebook groups, for example. 
• Try to take some photos and videos of your celebrations, so you can treasure the day in your memories. Make sure you’ve consent forms and permission to take someone’s photograph first. 
• You may want to put up posters to let people know that photography and filming will be taking place at your event. You’ll need to add on who people can speak to if they wish to opt out and you might ask people to wear wristbands if they don’t want to have their photo taken, so the photographer will know who to avoid. 

We all know music and videos can really make an event come to life. If your event’s likely to feature live or recorded music (even if it’s background music) or video, you may need various licences. Remember to check what you’ll need in advance, so you’ll have everything sorted. 

There are two separate licensing bodies you can use to protect music as intellectual property: 

• PPL UK licenses groups to play recorded music at public events, with some of the fees going to the recording artists and record companies.   
• PRS for Music licences groups to play live or recorded music at public events that’s still in copyright, with some of the fees going to composers.  

Whether you need one or both licences will depend on several factors. You may be able to avoid one, or both fees, if:  

• You use only specially recorded copyright-free music   
• Either the person playing the music or the venue you're using has the relevant licences themselves 

• Your event is private (which won’t be the case for The Big Help Out)  

If anyone at your event is showing a video, film clip, DVD or TV programme, motion picture licences and permissions may be required. The top tip here is not to do this unless your event depends on it. You can always show videos from our Scouts YouTube channel.