Session 7 – Wellbeing, Health and Safety

Many of the topics covered in this session cover information that participants may already have covered in previous training. Tasks and plenary should consolidate this knowledge, and get them to think about how they put this into practice. Food hygiene and safety is covered in the catering section.

The participants should already have covered risk assessments during the Mandatory Safety module Information covering activity risk assessments is in the Running Safe Activities module.

Including a risk assessment practical task will help embed and reinforce learners understanding. You should base this on a residential experience scenario such as checking a venue for its suitability and risks or on an activity they may have planned during the programme planning stage.

This session can delivered as trainer input, but it can be adapted using examples, pictures or scenarios or the venue around you to make the session more interactive and visual. You could make it more informal by asking participants about their fears or sharing their experiences.

The participants should already have covered basic safeguarding during the Mandatory Safeguarding module. Therefore this session should summarise the key information and put it into the context of a residential experience. This topic is one that most leaders will want information on so spend time allaying any fears and answering questions they may have. It may be useful to have someone with safeguarding knowledge run this part of the session if the trainer is not confident in dealing with the questions that may arise.

The participants may have several questions on this topic, and want to have time devoted to answering questions and putting the information into context for a residential experience. Ensuring that young people are safe is of paramount importance. You may want to allow extra time at the end or expand on the key points as you go along.

Under the 1989 Children Act, leaders have a duty of care towards the young people in their custody. This means that adults should adopt a common sense approach when dealing with injuries and illnesses. If leaders act  reasonably when dealing with a problem, it's unlikely that they can be accused of unreasonable action after the
event.

Stress to the participants the consent of a parent or carer is required before a doctor can carry out any procedures on a young person. Remind them that the yellow card provides them with details of the Policy of The Scout Association ‘to safeguard the welfare of all young people by protecting them from neglect and physical, sexual and
emotional harm’.

Cover with participants the sexual health guidance and the needs of young people (Promoting Good Sexual Health within Scouting), which may be relevant during a residential experience. This is of particular importance if working with the older sections.

Cover with participants the issues may arise with young people on a residential experience. These include homesickness, bullying, bed wetting, health and hygiene and minor injuries. Information is provided below, but before having these discussions think about the young people you have and how they may find the topic. You’ll need to choose a suitable method, this could be in small groups, or by sharing information with parents as a few examples.

A key message to young people should be about respecting each other and each other’s property. This includes being tidy, and regular routines or inspections can help people keep their belongings together.

Many young people will happily not wash for days. They may need to be reminded morning and night, so build the routines into the programme. Young people will get dirty - it's all part of the fun. But you need to ensure that it does not become a risk to health.

Similarly young people should be strongly encouraged to use the toilet facilities provided and to treat them with respect and leave them clean and tidy.

Any inappropriate behaviour needs to be dealt with sensitively and in line with the normal practices and the yellow card. They should deal with it promptly and fairly in order to prevent issues escalating. A camp code of conduct is a good idea.

Keeping young people active will often help. It may also be useful for young people not to bring mobile phones, or to have policy on their use. Homesickness tends to arise at the end of the day when tiredness sets in. When dealing with it, try to entertain the young person and ally any fears, focussing on the positives like what you might be doing the following day.

There will be times when there is nothing you can do but call the parents. They may be able to talk to the young person and settle them down, or in the worst case scenario will have to come and take the young person home. They should consider this when planning, and if you have a few young people who have never been away before,
try to keep the venue within easy travelling distance to the regular meeting place.

This can affect young people in all sections and dealing with it needs to be done in consultation with parents and the young person. They may not know before the event that there is a problem.

It should be dealt with sensitively and without drawing attention, and they can plan for such occasions by building routines into the day and having spare sleeping gear available.

Cover the topic with participants, and discuss that in the first instance it is important that adults set a good example to young people and should not be seen smoking or drinking in front of young people. You should also remind participants of the contents of the green card – Scouting and alcohol (checklist for leaders) and the reasons behind the policy. Alcohol impairs the senses and many incidents and accidents involve alcohol. They should also be mindful of any cultural or religious consideration when considering whether alcohol should be allowed on site.

Best practice is not put yourself in the position in the first place, and to remember your duty of care.

It's now against the law to smoke in public places, including tents and marquees.

Ground rules should be established with adults and older sections.

If they find young people with substances they should remove the substances, record details of the incident and seek further advice from the relevant persons.

It's important for leaders to ensure that these young people are accepted and valued as individuals and that their additional need is recognised. As part of planning, the leaders should have found out from parents if there are any needs that need to be addressed, and work with the parents to find suitable adaptations to allow the young
person to safely participate.

Examples of good practice include the following:

• talking to the young person and their parents
• ensuring that they have full written details of any additional needs conditions and medical requirements for the young person
• obtaining a clear unemotional account of the extent of support the youngster will need throughout the camp or time away from home
• checking out the venue and facilities to ensure they are appropriate
• exploring the possible ways a young person’s needs can be met
• knowing any restrictions (equipment/access etc.) when planning for activities and training events
• Sharing all the information with the other leaders and members of the staff support team

Read more about supporting those with additional needs.

There are many ways of running this quiz. The most appropriate method will depend on your venue, the participants, available time, and the variety of methods used in the rest of the session.

Methods could include the following:

• Giving the quiz out as a worksheet for participants to complete in their own time and go back through the questions in a plenary session. With this method it may also be useful to have copies of information and factsheets available do people can look up the information for themselves.
• Asking people to raise hands or shout in response to the questions which can be presented on a visual display or read out loud.
• Placing the questions around the room and asking people to indicate in answer - either with red and green sticky dots, pieces of pasta etc. whether they think the answer is true or false.
• Getting participants to move to an appropriate corner/end of the room to indicate what answer they believe is correct.

Insurance

All members of The Scout Association are insured through Unity Insurance Services while taking part in properly approved Scout activities provided they follow the rules in POR. The personal accident and medical expenses policy provides benefits to its members in the event of an injury, but this is not an income protection policy, so adults should look at their individual circumstances carefully.

There is also protection for leaders and others against any claims made by members under their control. It also covers similar claims by parents or third parties alleging legal liability arising out of injury, loss or damage during an authorised Scout activity. Failure to follow POR, especially ensuring they have the correct approval for an event may mean that insurance will not cover them.

Employers’ liability - If they pay someone to do a job they need to have this. This may also exist where there is an implied contract. They have a responsibility to ensure that the 'work place' is safe.

Non-member children - This insures children under 18 who are not members of the Movement. These young people usually take part in activities because they accompany parents who are leaders or helpers. The County can arrange this.

Short period use - When they borrow or hire something it needs to be covered by insurance. Check whether they need to cover or if it's included in the price of hire.

Travel insurance - Travel insurance must be in place to cover medical, personal liability, personal effects and cancellation costs incurred during a trip in the UK or overseas.

To summarise, let participants know that in this session they have demonstrated how to carry out risk assessments; how to ensure they follow the safeguarding policies on a residential experience and demonstrated their knowledge on accident reporting and First Aid.

Take any questions the participants may have and conclude the session, by signposting them to appropriate places or people, such as the Nights Away book, that can provide further information