Nights Away Notification Guidance
Guidance to supports the use of the Nights Away Notification (NAN)
This guidance supports the use of the Nights Away Notification (NAN) form through scouts Digital Tools, in line with the Scouts' Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR).
Published February 2026, replacing January 2026
Before beginning your Nights Away process, please check with your Lead Volunteer or Nights Away Assessor or Approver to confirm the correct procedure that you should follow.
Districts are in the process of moving all approvals of Nights Away to within the new digital membership system. As a result, your County/District may implement this process right away or choose to wait until closer to the transition date (deadline to be determined). At the District's discretion, you can still use the existing systems (downloadable nights away notification form or local digital solution).
For more information about the changes, please visit the Volunteer Experience webpages.
The NAN form is designed to gain approval and record key information relating to the Nights Away aspects of Scouting activities, including accommodation, catering, safeguarding and welfare plans. To support approval and show a well-planned event, the form asks for a summary of activities. Other activities must be approved in accordance with the normal activity approval process outlined in POR 9.1.2.
Multiple Units of Scouting
When nights away involve multiple units of Scouting or groups, it is worth considering who needs to complete a NAN.
NANs must be completed in line with the systems of control and to notify all relevant Lead Volunteers, meaning multiple NANs may be required for a single event.
When considering who should complete a NAN, consider:
- Who provides equipment (including kitchen and tents),
- Who is providing the catering?
- Who collects and holds medical information,
- Who is responsible for the medical administration and welfare of the young people?
- Who has an InTouch plan?
- Who is responsible for identifying and implementing safety controls (Risk Assessing)?
The following examples may help further...
A Beaver team are organising a sleepover for their colony in their local meeting point. Betty, a Team member, is sorting all the admin, including collecting all medical information. Unfortunately, Betty can not stay overnight.
Bob, a team member, is arranging the evening activity and catering. Bijal, the Team Leader, has a Nights Away Permit.
Who completes the NAN - Betty can complete this; however, Bijal, as the permit holder, will need to take responsibility and review all of Betty and Bob’s plans.
Mark, the district campsite team leader, is organising their annual chilly challenge for all Scouts and Explorers in the district. Mark has a Nights Away Permit and will provide all the catering; participants must bring their own tents. All participants will register through a central portal that collects medical information.
Who completes the NAN – Mark can complete the NAN. As part of his controls, he will check all participants' tents prior to it going dark.
Imagin plans to take her scout group to the county camp, but does not have a Nights Away Permit. Imagin will need to provide camping equipment and catering for her group. The camp will provide all the activities and a risk assessment covering camping and the site.
Who completes the NAN – Imagin will need to complete a NAN for her group; however, she will need support from another volunteer with a Nights Away Permit to take responsibility and check all of Imagin's plans.
In addition, the event team will need to complete a NAN(s) for volunteers not covered by another NAN. This could be tasked to sub-team leaders for larger events.
Edd’s Explorers are looking to go on a DofE expedition with the neighbouring county’s DofE team. Edd is not the permit holder; however, he is planning to support the expedition.
Who completes the NAN – Edd will need to complete a NAN for himself and his explorers. He will need to add the permit holder from the neighbouring county to the NAN and add notes to the program box to explain the nature of the joint expedition.
The neighbouring County team will also need to complete NAN(s).
Local communication between approvers is key to make sure suitable plans are in place.
Completing and submitting a NAN using the Digital Tools
As every Night Away is different, it is important to discuss your plans with your Lead Volunteer and Nights Away Approvers to make sure your NAN includes all relevant information in a timely manner.
The following are some top tips to consider when completing a NAN…
Location – this will determine where the NAN will go for approval. Please make sure you set it appropriately. For example, if you select your Section as the location, this will go to the District Lead Volunteer / Nights Away Approver as long as they are not the Permit Holder for approval.
Multiple venues – If multiple locations are required, for example, when embarking on an expedition, please include the location of the first Night Away and add any additional locations to the Activities box.
Number of Attendees - This is an approximation of the number of participants you expect to attend the event. This helps the Nights Away Approver understand your plans, including the levels of supervision in place.
Adding Permit Holder and Adults/Leaders Attending – It’s recommended to use membership numbers here to avoid adding the incorrect person.
Note - In Scotland any Young Leaders & Young Helpers acting in a regulated role must also be added to the Nights Away Notification form so their PVG status can be checked
If an individual does not show, this is likely to be due to their permissions settings (Please see details here)
InTouch Details – Please add a summary of your InTouch plan; this should be more than just a home contact. You can upload your full plan as a supporting document. For more information about InTouch plans, please visit our website here.
Saving – This enables you to save your progress and return to amend details before submitting the NAN. Please note that NANs will not be saved if documents have been attached, and saving will not enable others to view the NAN.
Further Notes:
Where possible, NANs should be submitted 7 days prior to the start date to give the approver time to review, discuss and approve the activity. However, last-minute Nights Away requests do happen, so good local communication with your Nights Away approver is key.
It is important to update your NAN as changes are made to remain accurate. However, we know the number of young people attending may change right up to the event start date. As such, only an approximate number of attendees is requested.
This is the person completing the NAN. This can be any volunteer with a full role and does not have to be the Leader In Charge or Permit Holder; please see examples above.
The NAN form only allows for one permit holder to be named. If this person changes during an event, this should be noted in the ‘Activities’ box and allow the Nights Away Approver to check appropriately.
A NAN is not needed for an adult-only event, including Network events. However, notification should be sent to the relevant Lead Volunteer, and activity approval gained.
A Risk Assessment must be uploaded to the form before submitting. This must be relevant to the dates and location covered by the NAN and cover all elements of nights away activity.
Where risk assessments are split over multiple documents, additional information can be added to the Supporting Documents section.