Guide to organising Pride
This guide is for individuals and teams wanting to organise Scout attendance at a Pride event in the UK. It provides a checklist of important information and sets out a timeline of actions to plan your event, along with additional supporting resources and contacts.
Overview
Why do Scouts attend Pride events
Attending Pride is a fantastic way of engaging young people and adult volunteers in supporting inclusion and helps to show Scouts is open to all, regardless of gender identity or sexuality.
Pride attendance is supported at many levels, from Groups, Districts and Counties to at a National level. It's a great way of engaging with the public, providing a prime opportunity to promote inclusivity and encourage new people to join Scouts.
What happens at a Pride event
Pride itself is usually run in an area, town or city. It's often run by a charity committee, who organise a parade, a community fair with stalls, or a combination of the two.
Pride events are usually recognised as family friendly events, which makes community fairs at the events a great opportunity to talk to young people and adult volunteers.
Pride Parades tend to last between one and three hours. They normally feature local companies, charities and other organisations wishing to showcase their commitment to equality.
Community fairs are made up of lots of stalls and entertainment. Pride events often finish with a community fair. Running a stall can be an effective way to reach out to potential new members and get them in touch with Scouts locally.
Important information when thinking about organising or attending Pride events with Scouts
This needs to be shared with your local team, whether at District, County or Region level. A copy should also be sent to the National Pride team, as this can help support other Pride organisers when planning and completing similar risk assessments.
Take a look at our guidance on Risk Assessments and planning safe events.
The InTouch Contact will need the names and details for every participant, plus copies of any consent forms for under-18s.
The InTouch contact will need to have contact details for the relevant Scouts local line management.
They'll also need the Scout Support Centre/Duty Emergency Number, as well as all of the key coordinator contacts for the event. Find out more about InTouch Contacts.
You may need to register your group or participants with the Pride event or book a stall at the fair.
You may need Scout members to register interest for joining in with the Scout Pride event in advance of registering with the Pride event.
Before the event, you hold planning meetings and a ‘pre-event briefing’ for Coordinators, Key Contact and the InTouch Contact.
The ‘pre-event briefing’ should explain the event, the emergency procedure and any event specific information.
You should plan who your first aiders will be and who will carry a first aid kit. You should go through the risk assessment and day's schedules, or decide who'll bring or make any flags and banners.
This must include the following for the Attendee:
- Name
- Preferred pronouns
- Address
- Date of birth
- Email address
- Telephone contact number (for the day of the event)
- Any relevant dietary requirements, allergies, additional needs or medical conditions. This may include allergies to face paint.
It should also include the following details for their Emergency Contact:
- Emergency Contact Name
- Emergency Contact telephone contact number (for the day of the event)
- Emergency Contact email
- Emergency Contact's relationship to attendee
Please note that the emergency contact can't be at the event.
All young people under 18 need to complete and submit a Consent Form, regardless of whether parents and carers are attending or not. It needs to be signed by an appropriate parent or carer, giving their consent for the young person to attend.
Have a safe space to meet before the parade or event, which is shared with all participants. If possible, away from roads.
You need to share the meeting time, parade or event times, the parade route and any possible schedules for the day.
If taking part in a parade, make sure routes are suitable for all participants – consider any reasonable adjustments for those with additional needs. Remember, roads may be closed for the event, so follow designated parade routes and stewards to make sure the route is followed. Outside of the event, while moving around, remind everyone to use designated crossing points and look both ways when crossing the road.
Plan an Emergency Rendezvous Point (ERP) is established and communicated to all participants. This'll be used by all participants in the event of an emergency incident occurring during the event.
Have a register and check everyone is present. Be clear on headcount and do regular checks throughout the event. Pride Coordinators should aim to have a fully charged mobile phone, including charging power pack.
Remember to follow the Purple card guidelines in the event of an emergency or incident.
An emergency card should easily identify the location of the ERP (by use of a mini-map or an appropriate app, such as What3Words).
The emergency card should also provide telephone numbers for at least two of the event organising team, such as the Pride Coordinator and one other, plus the telephone number for the InTouch contact.
You could print this information onto wristbands, or you may want to include the meeting point, first aid details or day's schedule on this card too.
Participant details and checklist need to be provided to any on-site coordinators (your Pride team) and InTouch contact for use in the event of an emergency.
These contacts should also have a copy of the risk assessment, day's schedule and a map of the event.
All the on-site coordinators need to have easy access to the contact numbers, ideally stored in their phones and deleted after the event.
You should have a register to check everyone in or out, and ask people to check in with you before leaving the event.
It's important to register who attends on the day for emergencies to keep everyone safe. Remind everyone to go to the ERP if an emergency occurs.
Have a safe space to meet before the parade or event, which is shared with all participants. Make sure everyone knows the times.
Someone should take a register and note who has attended. Check everyone is present and be clear on headcount for regular checks throughout the event.
You should hold an event briefing for all participants at the start of the event, before any parade or engagement with the main pride events. The In-Touch contact, parade information, event specific information and a briefing on the emergency procedure they're expected to follow for the event should be provided.
You should remind everyone that they're representing, so need to be mindful of this and follow their Scouts values.
You can distribute the emergency cards, put on any face-paint for those who want it, and any flags and banners, too.
It's always nice to welcome and introduce everyone with name tags, or similar. You can ask people to include their preferred pronouns too if they wish to share them. Encourage everyone to make new friends, too.
It’s best to plan in advance before capturing photography, video and audio. Take a look at our guidance and consent forms for photography, video and audio at Scout events.
The most important thing is making sure any individuals are well informed in advance of any recordings or photography, and have an opportunity to express their wishes or opt out.
You should send out the consent forms in advance of the event, if you plan to capture photography, video and audio. You should also put up signs on the day.
Wristbands could be given to anyone who doesn’t want to appear on camera to make sure they’re kept out of photos or videos.
Make sure you've planned for cold weather or hot weather, as well as told participants what to bring.
You may need to share where the nearest toilets are. You may remind people to wear sturdy, comfortable shoes for parades, ask everyone to bring coats, or tell people to bring snacks and a drink.
In case of bad weather, you may need to plan an indoor or sheltered meeting point.
Our code of practice (also known as the Yellow card) sets out guidance for all adults in Scouts and should be followed at all times. This should be sent to all members prior to the event.
Use the Scouts brand centre to help create banners or flags for the Parade. Remember to plan for the product being made and delivered when you come to order them.
You could also use balloons or face paint or use products from the Scout Pride collection on Scouts Store.
Remember to plan how you'll talk to potential new young members or volunteers and encourage them to join, especially at a community stall.
Plan how you'll quickly and efficiently handle any new enquiries after the event and how you'll safely and securely gather any contact details on the day.
You could give out some resources with your contact details on too or direct them to Join Scouts.