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Session 1B: How the Nights Away Permit Scheme works (60 minutes)

Contents

Session 1B: How the Nights Away Permit Scheme works (60 minutes)

Overall objective

Describe the Nights Away Permit Scheme and how it operates.

Key messages

Linked to the overall objective for this module above, there are also a number of key messages that learners should understand and take away with them at the end of this session. These include:

1. The Nights Away Permit Scheme supports us in ensuring that all adults taking young people on a residential experience have the skills to do so safely and provide a positive experience.

2. The Assessment is based on 8 core skill areas, but part of the role is in supporting leaders in developing these skills as well as assessing them.

3. The Nights Away Adviser also has a role in promoting nights away activity.

Cover domestic requirements such as fire exits, toilets, phones, tea and coffee and so on.

Introduce the course staff; it may be helpful at this stage to state what skills and experiences they have that might be relevant to the course.

Task (5 mins)

Participants write on post-it notes the benefits of nights away in Scouting.

Ask the participants to describe the key features of the Nights Away Permit Scheme.

These could be called out and noted on a flipchart. Ensure that the following points are raised:

  • A national scheme designed to promote quality nights away experiences for Members of The Scout Association under 18 years old.
  • Any adult wishing to take Members of The Scout Association under 18 years old away overnight must hold an appropriate Nights Away Permit.
  • There are different categories of permit available depending on the type of venue used. Outline the different categories.
  • All Districts and Counties/Area need to appoint one or more Nights Away Advisers. They have three key roles.
    • Assess applicants for Nights Away Permits and pass recommendations for granting Permits to District or County/Area Commissioner.
    • Provide support and advice to less experienced applicants looking to gain a Nights Away Permit.
    • Advise on camping and residential issues and generally promote nights away within the District or County/Area.

Nights Away Advisers must:

  • Hold the appropriate Nights Away Permit i.e. have the technical skills required to run the Nights Away Permit level they are assessing.
  • Have validated Module 25, Assessing Learning (this module), i.e. have the soft skills required to make effective assessments
  • Remain up to date with current information about the Nights Away Scheme.

Task (15 mins)

The Nights Away Adviser will be approached by an applicant and will need to assess them against eight core skills.

Give each group a poster split up as in Appendix 2. Ask them to fill in what they think they might be assessing in each core area (the first column, we’ll come back to this resource and the type of evidence we might look for in Session 3).

Hand out Assessment Checklist for Nights Away and compare this with the areas they have noted.

The Nights Away Adviser would communicate with the applicant in the run-up to the event, during the event and after the event. They may suggest that the applicant requires more practice or learning and a further event could be planned and assessed again. Once the  Nights Away Adviser is happy that the Applicant can deliver nights away safely and to the required standard, they make a recommendation to the responsible Commissioner, who makes the final decision. Permits are available in different categories (Indoor, Campsite, Greenfield and Lightweight Expedition).

It's possible to recommend a further restriction to a Permit, but only if there is a clear reason to do so, and they must be able to justify to the applicant the reasons for doing so and state what further training or experience they would require to remove or change this restriction.

Nights Away Permits are not Section specific and Districts and Counties must not operate a policy of issuing only Section specific permits.

Task (10 mins)

Part of the role of the Nights Away Adviser is to promote nights away activities within their area of responsibility. How might this be achieved?

Participants come up with a plan of six-eight things that they could do to promote nights away activities and then share this list. Ideas might include:

  • Delivering special events
  • Suggesting venues or campsites
  • Arranging partnerships between Groups to share experience;
  • Joint and shared camps

Resources

For this session you will need the following resources:

  • FS120800 – Nights Away Permit Scheme
  • FS120801 – Nights Away Permit Scheme – Applicant’s guide
  • FS120802 – Nights Away Permit Scheme – Assessment guide
  • FS120804 – Nights Away Advisers’ guide
  • AC120990 – Assessment Checklist for a Nights Away Permit
  • Nights Away resource
  • Flipchart and paper
  • Copies of Appendix 2
  • POR, or relevant rules from POR
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Session 1A: How the training scheme works (60 minutes)
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Session 1C: How the Adventurous Activity Permit scheme works (60 minutes)